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CECILY BARTH FIRESTEIN*

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*PHOENIX GALLERY PRESENTS*

*AN EXHIBITION OF LARGE COMBINED MEDIA WORKS ON PAPER*

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*EAST/WEST*

*MAY 23-JUNE 16, 2012*

*RECEPTION: MAY 24TH 6:00-8:00 PM*

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*THIS EXHIBITION MARKS A MILESTONE FOR FIRESTEIN*

*PLEASE JOIN US IN CELEBRATING HER 80TH YEAR AS WELL AS HER 50^TH 
COLLABORATION WITH OUR GALLERY*


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*/"LET'S GET OUT OF THESE WET CLOTHES AND INTO A DRY MARTINI" (42"x60 
2009)/*

*Cecily Barth Firestein is a painter who combines methodologies of 
printmaking and collage while working within the frame work of 
abstraction. Firestein studied with Hans Hofmann, Hale Woodruff and 
Yasuo Kuniyoshi, among others. Leading her to embrace and question 
aspects of abstraction, expressionism and surrealism. Over the past six 
decades she bravely rested joining any particular artistic movement, 
opting instead to synthesize, hence cultivating her own unique language. 
Her paintings arrest us with structured compositions, lush palettes and 
lyrical movements while surprising us with curious imagery and wit.*

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*Firestein initiates each painting as an abstract monotype using 
oil-based printing ink. Once the ink has dried, she addresses the paper 
covering the monotype with a wash of tempera paint in both opaque and 
transparent layers. Firestein's source material archive is extensive, 
complete with Japanese color prints -- Ukiyoye, early European and 
American printed ephemera and other themes that interest her, a penchant 
for surprising juxtapositions, a visual acumen of modern abstraction and 
a keen imagination fuse to determine both the selection and eventual 
position of images from the archive. The collage elements shape the 
narrative route of the painting. Constantly probing for and 
disseminating trans-historical narratives, Fire stein draws from her 
wealth of experience, travels and multicultural studies. In addition to 
painting, she specialized in the ancient Chinese art and modern craft of 
"lifting rubbings". Her engagement with materials is incredibly palpable 
and involves pressure and sensitivity lending itself to an intimacy that 
is unusual given the large size of the paintings. Cecily Barth Firestein 
creates evocative and highly distinctive tableaux that defy 
gravity.www.cecilybarthfirestein.com *

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*PHOENIX GALLERY*

*210 Eleventh Ave @ 25^th Street, Suite 902*

*New York, NY 10001*

*212-226-8711*

*info@phoenix-gallery.com 
****www.phoenix-gallery.com 

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