Artist’s Reception for “Impressions: Works By Alvin Clayton”


The opening reception for “Impressions: Works by Alvin Clayton” will be held on Sunday, February 1st from 1 to 3 pm at the Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery at Iona College. The show, curated by Clayton’s friend and business partner Theresa Kump Leghorn, is a retrospective documenting the development of Clayton’s style and the influences of other artists like impressionist master Henri Matisse and photographer James Van Der Zee. For more information call (914) 637-7796 or visit http://www.iona.edu/About/Iona-in-Community/Council-on-the-Arts.

Alvin Clayton is a self-taught artist. Born in Trinidad and raised in the U.S., he becamse one fo the first African American male models to appear in fashion spreads in magazines like GQ, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Esquire, Glamour and Self. His work took him all over the world, and it was while living in Paris that he taught himself to paint. His biggest influence was Henri Matisse, whose paintings he studied intently – and whose bright color palette reminded him of his boyhood home.

Alvin continued to accept modeling and acting jobs, but his paintings soon began landing cameos of their own: He was commissioned to create works for films including “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” and “Run for the Dream: The Gail Deavers Story” among others. In 1992 he landed his first solo show at the Lee Arthur Gallery in SoHo. Buzz about the Caribbean-born painter whose face was a fixture in fashion magazines swelled when CNN’s “Style with Elsa Klench” profiled him. In 1999 he was invited to be part of an installation at the Smithsonian’s Center for African American History and Culture, “Location and Spirituality in African American Art.

Today Alvin’s paintings cover the walls of his eponymous New Rochelle restaurant and are in the collections of actors Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert De Niro and CCH Pounder as well as TV meteorologist Janice Huff and American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault.

Clayton’s keen eye and artistic flair are reflected in everything he touches, from the clothes he chooses to the decoration of his home and his New Rochelle restaurant, Alvin & Friends. Clayton continues to create new work in a variety of mediums including oil, pastel and charcoal, with his latest paintings moving in a more abstract style. In 2013 several of his canvases were featured in the film The Best Man Holiday, directed by Malcolm Lee, and in 2014 Clayton was one of the artists chosen to participate in the Fleur-de-Lis public art project, a collaboration between the City of New Rochelle, the New Rochelle Council on the Arts and the Business Improvement District. His jazz-inspired sculpture appears at the entrance to Library Green on Lawton Street.

 

Event Location and Ticket Information

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Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery
665 North Avenue
New Rochelle, NY 10801
Handicap Accessible? Yes

Date: Sunday, February 1, 2015
Times: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Ticket pricing:
Free event

Presenter: Alvin & Friends
Presenter Phone: 914-654-6549
Presenter Website: www.alvinandfriendsrestaurant.com