July 27, 2013 - New York, NY: Tria Gallery presents its seventh annual "Summer Cocktail" exhibit from July 27 through August 31, 2013. On display to help viewers escape the heat will be a cool mix of colors and flavors sure to please every palette.

The works in Tria Summer Cocktail VII vary in terms of medium and style, but are united in their undeniably breezy and playful quality. There is a simple and almost innocent thrill of viscerally connecting to vibrant abstracts or compelling arrangements of geometric shapes in the colorful works on display. In the dog days of summer, this "Summer Cocktail" is intended to provide viewers with some respite and to impart a cool, colorful and joyful experience - a visual refreshment, if you will. We have all the ingredients you need for your next cool summer outing in Chelsea.

Clara Fialho

In her abstract oils on canvas, Fialho endeavors to "take the viewer away from the world of thought" using "elements from dreams" and "universal forms believed to be innately present in every human being". To this end, she uses bright, exuberant colors which emanate a sense of boundless joy. The saturated colors of the background yield to delightful and colorful swirls, splashes and dollops of paint. She has exhibited in solo shows and has participated in dozens of group exhibitions and art fairs throughout the country. Fialho received her BFA from Cooper Union.

Grace DeGennaro

DeGennaro's oils on canvas represent her "ongoing study of ritual symmetry, geometry, gnomic growth, dream theory and how the mysteries of these ancient vocabularies transcend religion and culture". She has been the recipient of numerous art awards and grants, and has shown extensively throughout the country over the past two decades.   DeGennaro has an MFA from Columbia University.

Jean Grangeon

For his large, vibrant, mixed media works on panel, Grangeon draws his inspiration from art history and literature, with a special interest in the artwork of de Chirico, Muybridge, and Bacon, and the writing of Dostoevsky, Sartre, Camus and Zola, to name a few. Grangeon is an established artist who has exhibited his work in venues throughout the United States and Europe. He spent a year in Paris where he participated in the Salon d'Automne and became a finalist in the youngest artist category. Grangeon has Masters degrees in Biology (University of Sciences, Marseille) and Healthcare.

Chris Gwaltney

Gwaltney straddles the line between abstract and figurative in his ethereal oils on canvas. He lists as his influences Twombly, Mitchell, Serra, de Kooning, Deibenkorn and Still. "The splatterers, doodlers and sloppy scribblers interest me and I distrust too high a degree of finish". As it relates to his own work, he likes to "let the paint do what it will" although he "still gets in the way". Ultimately, he claims to be a better editor then inventor. Gwaltney exhibits regularly in solo and group shows throughout California, the Southwest, and New York. He received his BA and his MFA from the University of California.

Jenny Nelson

Nelson's paintings evolve as "intuitive reaction" to her surroundings. Her abstract landscapes are inspired by her hometown of Woodstock, NY. She has been exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the country for the past ten years and indeed just completed a very successful solo exhibit at Tria. Her work hangs in private and public collections throughout the country.   She attended Maine College of Art in Portland, and received a BFA from Bard College.

Linda Ray

Ray's works are mixed media encaustics on panel which are inspired by patterns in nature, architecture and layers of paint on surfaces.  The works are colorful and playful, and layered in a way that allows multiple moments to appear at once. For her, encaustics evoke "the past, present and future as each layer is transparent and reveals the construction". Ray has shown extensively throughout the country and has won multiple awards for her work in encaustics. She has completed numerous fellowships and residencies throughout the U.S., studied at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and received her BFA from Massachusetts College of Art.

Ritchard Rodriguez

Rodriguez's work on display in Summer Cocktail is an abstract expressive oil on canvas which was "inspired by music, a phrase, and begged to be painted." In discussing his work, he states that for him, "each title or theme is followed by sets of invented instructions and a palette." Rodriguez lives in New York, but resided and painted in Europe for eight years, and his work has been collected worldwide. Rodriguez studied at the New York School of Visual Arts, and is about to celebrate 40 years of painting.

Casey Vogt

Vogt creates ornate, mandala-like compositions on panel. His slick, psychotropic, resin-covered renderings are not only painted, but also incorporate actual objects. The meticulous painting-collage hybrids are assembled into a kaleidoscope of patterns. With their euphoric colors and psychedelic designs, Vogt's work "proposes painting as a mind-altering substance". Vogt studied at the University of Akron in Ohio and received his Master's degree from Miami University.

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It is the mission of Tria Gallery to exhibit a balance of established artists with impressive resumes and exciting young talent, showing representational and abstract work, painting, sculpture, mixed media and installations. The common denominator is that the Tria artist has a unique, authentic voice and a compelling body of work which the directors feel should be given an audience.

Tria's summer hours are Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 5:00 pm (or by appointment). Tria Summer Cocktail VII runs from July 27 through August 31, 2013. For more information, please visit www.triagallerynyc.com.