Elvis meets Paul Newman. Unsuspecting beachgoers in “Jaws” bleed out in a jumble of technicolor de Kooning scribbles. Danny and Sandy tap away on a dance floor; not made of gym-class linoleum, but rather a pink-streaked Helen Frankenthaler painting. These unlikely duos can only mean one thing. Esteemed artist and friend of the gallery, Bonnie Lautenberg, is coming to Greenwich.
Lautenberg’s innovative photography collection, “Artistica! Where Hollywood Meets Art History,” melds two perennially prevalent but distinctly demarcated cultural forces: the austere, highbrow world of high art, and Hollywood’s whirlwind.
Art afficionados who can’t make Miami Art Week 2022 during Art Basel this year will have a special opportunity to meet Bonnie and view her unique collection at C. Parker Gallery in Greenwich on October 13 from 6:30-8:30pm.
Lautenberg’s exhibition, “Artistica! Where Hollywood meets Art History,” comes to Greenwich after being featured at the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
The exhibit will be on view October 13 – November 6. To view her work and RSVP to the Opening Reception click here.
Lautenberg is an artist, photographer and writer based in New York and Palm Beach. During the past 30 years, her works have been featured in numerous museums, gallery shows and art festivals throughout the United States. Lautenberg has artworks permanently installed in eight museum collections, the New York Historical Society’s Center for the Study of American Culture, and in 2022, Lautenberg was appointed by the White House to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts (PACA).
Her compositions pair famous films and pieces of art from the same year, capturing the creative landscape of a year and creating an invaluable time capsule for a particular cultural moment.
“Artistica! came about when I wanted to do something conceptual and something different, so I began thinking about what artists are influenced by – current events, things they are surrounded by, and other art forms came to mind,” Lautengerb said in a release. “I started thinking about art forms and focused on films and paintings.”
“I love the curiosity and thought process that conceived this collection. What influences us? Are artists inspired and influenced by other artists? Bonnie’s project captures moments in history. A painter inspired by a movie? A still image from a film that seems perfectly expressed in a timeless artwork of that same year. Bonnie’s iconic pairings and creative process is brilliant! Viewers aren’t just treated to a visual delight; they are teased into a deeper cerebral engagement as they contemplate the connection. The pieces are entertaining and thought provoking. We are so honored to have Bonnie and showcase her Artistica! Collection,” said Tiffany Benincasa, Principal of the C. Parker Gallery in the release.
Bonnie Lautenberg is an esteemed artist, producer, writer, and photographer with multiple projects currently brimming at the national level. With her partner Steve Leber, Lautenberg is co-producing a new Broadway musical about the life of Andy Warhol, approved by the Warhol Foundation. Slated to debut in London next year before coming to the U.S., the new musical will be directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, with book by Rupert Holmes. She is the widow of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg, one of Washington’s longest-serving Senators (from 1982 to 2001, then again from 2003 until his death in 2013).
She has been described as “having enough Washington insider stories to fill a book” (her new book will be released by Rutgers University Press next year, about the life of her late husband Senator Frank Lautenberg, including her photography). In 2022, Lautenberg was appointed by the White House to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts (PACA) which sustains and guides the Kennedy Center, the National Cultural Center of the United States. Lautenberg’s work is in several private and museum collections, including the permanent collections of: The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture; the Boca Raton Museum of Art; the Collection of Norman and Irma Braman; New York Historical Society Museum; the Broad Museum in Los Angeles; The Newark Museum of Art; Portland Museum of Art; and Stillman College Art Gallery in Alabama, among others. Her series How They Changed Our Lives: Senators As Working People, is in the Library of Congress online in perpetuity, and was exhibited at Mana Contemporary in New Jersey. To view all collections BonnieLautenberg.com
C. Parker Gallery is a full-service art gallery and consultancy celebrating its tenth-year anniversary in Greenwich. Proprietor, Tiffany Benincasa, established the gallery with a mission to connect homeowners, art lovers and collectors with art and artists.