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May 8, 2015                                                                                                      

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Contessa Gallery: Providing Collectors with exceptional artwork at Art Miami New York

Friday, May 8, 2015, Cleveland, OH – Contessa Gallery is pleased to be participating in Art Miami New York this year. This international Contemporary and Modern Art Fair will be held at the world-renowned Pier 94 in New York City. Art Miami New York will feature 100 leading contemporary galleries, highlighting artwork by current contemporary artists as well as iconic holdings from Modern and Post War eras. The fair will run from May 14^th – 17^th. Contessa Gallery will be exhibiting in two booths, displaying new works by notable contemporary artists Mr. Brainwash, David Datuna, and David Drebin, as well as seminal works by Hanneke Beaumont, Chuck Close, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Louise Nevelson.

Thierry Guetta, internationally known as Mr. Brainwash, followed and documented street artists on film beginning in 1999, ultimately filming the most famous street artist: Banksy. At the encouragement of Banksy, Guetta began creating his own street art and had his first solo show as Mr. Brainwash in 2008. Mr. Brainwash’s artistic evolution is documented in the Banksy-directed and Oscar-nominated film, Exit Through the Gift Shop. Known for his Pop Art feel and street-art style, Guetta creates his works by fusing historical pop figures and imagery with current cultural iconography. Due to the success of the solo Mr. Brainwash booth at Art Miami this past year, Contessa Gallery will once again dedicate one of their booths exclusively to his work. His notoriety continues to soar as Contessa Gallery sold out of all the works he produced for Art Miami.

Last year was a watershed year for David Datuna with his Portrait of America, part of his Viewpoint of Billions series, shown at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery last President’s Day Weekend. This groundbreaking work utilized wearable technology allowing the viewers to interact with images embedded within the artwork. As the viewers explored the works visually, their reactions were recorded, archived, and streamed worldwide through the web. Datuna’s success continued with Contessa Gallery’s presentation of Nostalgia for Warhol at Art Miami 2014. This group of transformative portraits of Marilyn Monroe are part of the artist’s Golden Triangle series. This recurring triumvirate in Datuna's reportage explores past, present and future, thematically linking to our time and culture. Contessa Gallery will present new works created by Datuna specifically for Art Miami New York. These new wall sculptures incorporate Swarovski crystals into the complex web of glasses laid over Datuna’s portraits and flags. This new media will definitely be a hit at Art Miami New York.

David Drebin is one of the most successful and highly collected photographers working today. Contessa Gallery’s 2012 exhibition, David Drebin Photographs, was Drebin’s third one-man show at the gallery and celebrated the exclusive U.S. release of his newest book, Beautiful Disasters. His work was featured alongside photography giants including Penn, Avedon, and Meisel in Fashion!, one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of fashion photography ever mounted (Fotografiska Museet in Stockholm). Contessa Gallery will premiere Drebin’s most recent works in photography, lightboxes, and Neon light installations, which illuminate the secret thoughts of the Femme Fatales who inhabit the elusive world of his dramatic photographs.

About Contessa Gallery

Founded in 1999, Contessa Gallery offers artworks of exceedingly high quality as well as art acquisition counsel to collectors, museums, and institutions. Areas of expertise encompass pre-twentieth century, Modern and Contemporary sculpture, paintings, photography, and works on paper. While many galleries focus primarily upon artist representation and promotion, Contessa Gallery is collector oriented. The Gallery’s mission is to assist clients in developing collections that have deep personal meaning. Contessa Gallery encourages its clients to view their collections as a legacy to be passed down through generations of family or on to museums.

The gallery continues to expand its clientele and reputation through its participation in prestigious art fairs such as Art Miami, The American International Fine Art Fair (AIFAF), and The Armory Show – Modern. At the philanthropic level, Contessa Gallery seeks to make a difference in the community through the contribution of time, expertise, sponsorship, and educational programming for museums and arts organizations.

For more detailed information about the gallery, artists, exhibition history, art fair schedule, and philanthropic support, please visit our website: www.contessagallery.com or contact Steve Hartman at 216.956.2825 or via email: art@contessagallery.com.

For high-res images of the above mentioned works please contact Rebecca Roman at 216.382.7800 or via email: rebecca@contessagallery.com.

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