Milgate

GRB-011-MM

Steven Graber debuts at Hackett-Freedman Gallery with a stunning new body of land and waterscapes October 3–November 2, 2002.

Graber’s unique technical skills and fluid imagination combine to create these astounding black and white paintings on mylar and paper.

A self-trained artist, Graber has painstakingly explored the limits of his chosen mediums—primarily graphite, watercolor, charcoal, and graphite dust—to arrive at his singular style.

Deep blacks play against glowing whites and subtle grays in these highly detailed and photographically realistic renderings, the result of the artist patiently working and reworking his compositions.

Though he has worked from life and photographs in the past, Graber now relies on his imagination and dreams for inspiration.

Void of human presence, the works are "suggestions," says Graber. "I want to give the viewer just enough information so they are transported to a sacred, personal place. I am not interested in creating narratives, in giving too much information. The challenge is finding that balance between what is enough and what is too much."

Steven Graber, 57, has shown in galleries and museums throughout the United States. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio; the Arnot Museum of Art, Elmira, New York; the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; and the Fine Arts Museum of the South, Mobile, Alabama, among others. In 1999, the Butler Institute of American Art hosted a solo exhibition of Graber's work. The artist lives in Lawrence, Kansas.