Several large works on canvas and paper from Australian visual artist Leith O’Malley recently featured in the opening of “The 4th Wall Gallery” in the United States.

Opened May 21st at 2925 Fairmount Street Dallas, The 4th Wall Gallery brought its stable of popularly recognized artists from the Lowbrow movement (The underground visual art movement that began in LA in the late 1970’s and is now recognized as a widespread populist art movement called pop surrealism.) to Dallas, Texas.
O’Malley joined an amazingly diverse group of world-renowned artists brought together by one of the most respected dealers of Lowbrow editorial and illustratrated art in the US, “Storyopolis” owner Matthew Abramowitz'.

You can see photos from the opening here

Abramowitz has earned a reputation among artists and collectors for being among the most respected and finest dealers of editorial and illustrated art. The 4TH Wall Gallery is a culmination of the success achieved with The Gallery @ Storyopolis in Los Angeles.
The Gallery @ Storyopolis has hosted over 80 exhibitions for such artists as Gary Baseman, Calef Brown and greats from the illustrator and graphic novel genre such as Will Eisner. Matthew Abramowitz's newest gallery has a unique and limited collection, which is home to an amazingly diverse group of world-renowned artists. The 4th Wall Gallery abolishes labels and lets the greatness of each piece define itself. The 4th Wall Gallery is a place that celebrates artists breaking down the walls of conformity.

The 4th Wall will present a selection of O’Malley’s works, which continue his blurring of the line line between fine art and illustration.

He joins such artists as Sterling Hundley and Gary Kelley who are renowned for their works from the pages of Rolling Stone Magazine and The New Yorker respectively.  The multi-talented Brian Froud whose thought provoking work has been the soul of both “The Labyrinth” and “The Dark Crystal” is also represented.

What can't be said about Joe Sorren and his amazing work? His award winning illustrations have appeared in publications such as Rolling Stone, Print, The Los Angeles Times, Juxtapoz, Step-by-Step, Art Now, Communication Arts and have been used by Warner Brothers and Atlantic Records. Since his first solo exhibition in 1995, Sorren has exhibited his work in various group shows in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Detroit. Joe Sorren's work is in collections worldwide, including those of David Arquette, Patricia Arquette, and Nike Brand President Mark Parker. He plays also as the drummer in the band called sparkelface.

Kinuko Y. Craft is one of the most widely respected and well known fantasy artists in the United States today. She considers herself a story teller. Her past commissions have included paintings for the book covers of many well known fantasy authors, opera posters, fairy tale books and covers for many national magazines. During her career she has become known for meticulous attention to detail, a passionate love of fine art and a deep knowledge of art history.

Scott Bakal will also be exhibiting his work on the night and in the past has been commissioned for illustration work with the likes of Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The New Republic, Yoga Journal and Discover. Bakal’s work also can be found in private collections throughout the world and has recently been included in the permanent collection of the Museum of American Illustration in New York City.

An illustration graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Ana Bagayan presents her dreamy scenes merging reality fluidly with fantasy in an 'Analand' where fairy tale themes influence characters with unexpected results, and sweetness often comes packed with a punch. Beautifully rendered, her child-like figures, animals and toys bring powerful concepts to life..

Pol Turgeon's prolific production of artwork used in high profile magazines, as well as annual reports, posters, book covers, and just about any surface that could bear the imprint of such irreverent testimonials to the underbelly of contemporary culture. Turgeon’s work was repeatedly honored with distinguished awards from competitions world wide and was reproduced in countless design annuals including the prestigious American Illustration and Communication Arts Annual.

Canadian artist Anita Kunz has lived in London, New York and Toronto, contributing to magazines and working for design firms, book publishers and advertising agencies in Germany, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Canada, South Africa, Holland, Portugal, France and England. Her clients include Time magazine, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, GQ, The New York Times, Sony Music, Random House Publishing and many others.

Gallery visitors can lose themselves in the surreal world of both P.J. Fidler and Greg Noppe's work and the incredible “art meets sculpture” of Cynthia Von Buhler is sure to fascinate. Von Buhler's work is in hundreds of personal collections all over the world; Howard Stern owns a portrait of himself painted by von Buhler, while Jann Wenner, the publisher of Rolling Stone, purchased von Buhler’s portraits of Madonna and Jimi Hendrix.

Aside from his gallery shows and illustration work, Gary Taxall also devotes a portion of his time traveling through lecturing and teaching at various arts organizations and schools such as The Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Canada. He is a Founding Member of IPA (The Illustrators' Partnership of America) and sits on the Advisory Board of 3x3: The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration.

The Corvo Brothers are two artists who brilliantly fuse multiple facets, photos and painted backgrounds, into pictures—then print the combined pieces with archival pigments on fine art paper and then mounted on varnished wood panels.. Their imagery will engage and entrance the viewer!

Miguel Paredes is an urban Lewis Carroll or J.R.R. Tolkien bringing the deepest and most imaginative romance and danger from the streets into vibrant, mythical battles of survival. His paintings are all about energy, whether it's in the form of an abstracted figurative character or shape, or in the rich graphic elements that are second nature to the world he sees.
Also featured will be the French flair of Robin Zingone whose work is"absolutely positively très magnifique" and visitors eyes will be filled with the evocative and ethereal work of Mary Grand Pre in the style she describes as "soft geometry".

Alessandra Cimatoribus is a published author and an illustrator of children's books. Some of the published credits of Alessandra Cimatoribus include Poetry for Young People: William Blake (Poetry For Young People), Bebe Bigotes/ Baby Moustache, Rata Tomasa Y Tom Raton (Coleccion O), and One Night In A Stable.

Anna & Elena Balbusso, twins from Italy, live and work in Milan. Since 1994, after graduating at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, they have worked as editorial and advertising illustrators freelance for leading publishers and numerous Italian and European companies. In 1998 the American magazine "Print European Regional Design Annual" awarded them its Certificate of Design Excellent. They have illustrated various children's books and classic novels.

Nicoletta Ceccoll has illustrated many books,mainly in Italy, in the USA and in the UK. Her work has been exhibited at the Bologna Children’s Book fair seven times.She has also shown her work among the others in ‘Roq la Rue’ (Seattle), ’Magic Pony’(Toronto), ’Dorothy Circus’(Rome), Richard Goodall Gallery(Manchester). In 2001,Nicoletta was awarded with the Andersen prize as best Italian illustrator of the year. She is also a four time recipient of the ‘award of excellence’ from Communication Arts.In 2006 she received the silver medal from Society of Illustrator(New York).

Joe Rocco's illustration work has graced childrens books, animation projects and been used for many editorial art cartooning features. In fact, "Joe Bob's America" by writer Joe Bob Briggs was distributed by The New York Times Syndicate for 10 years. A freelance artist his clients include:
Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, S.I. For Kids, Time, Disney, Nickelodeon, Premiere, Scholastic Publications, The Chicago Tribune, National Geographic Kids, Fantagraphics Comics, Harper Collins Books and many other national newspapers and magazines.

On top of all of this, Groundbreaking artist Justin BUA is internationally known for his best-selling collection of fine art posters--The DJ being one of the most popular prints of all time.
whilst the Love and Jazz inspired art of Billy Dee Williams will no doubt leave many spell bound. His work explores the architecture of dreams and emotions, the mysterious qualities of the human experience that move in subtle currents under the surface of everyday life.

Toronto artist Jody Hewgill has worked on a wide variety of assignments including book covers, editorial illustration, theatre posters, and retail interior murals for clients in North America, Europe and Asia. Her paintings have been commissioned by Arena Stage, Atlanta Olympic Committee, Holland America Cruises, Mondavi Wines, Rolling Stone Magazine, Time Magazine, United Airlines and Vintage Books to name a few.
She is the recipient of many awards including American Illustration, Communication Arts, Print Magazine, The Society of Publication Designers, the Society of Illustrators in New York and Los Angeles.

Jon Reinfurt is originally from a small town in New Jersey, but later relocated to Philadelphia study illustration at the University of the Arts. After graduating with his BFA in 2002, Jon decided to move to South Philly, where he now lives with his wife Jenn and their cat Worm. Over the years he has worked with clients from all around the world, and his whimsical collage illustrations have received recognition from a number of publications such as Communication Arts and How Magazine. Jon’s paintings have also appeared in a variety of galleries on both the East and West Coasts, and his is currently teaching an illustration course at UArts.

Ivan Valtchev is a half-German, half-Russian artist based in New York. In 1986, Ivan was hired to lead the restoration of the artwork on the outside of the Hotel Washington. He is " better able to express man's archetypal struggle to master his instincts. And while Blake juxtaposes massive human males with feminine jestures and attitudes to emphasize the paradox of man's mastery over the earth yet spiritual submission to the will of God, Valtchev dramatizes both the celebration of our material condition and the tension between man and the beast which is himself.”(Washington Art Reporter, September-October 1988)

Another artists work who will be hanging at The 4th Wall will be Christiana Cerretti. She is an Italian illustrator and lives in Montecelio, near Rome. Christiana has illustrated more than 35 children's books!

Chesley Mclaren is the author/illustrator of the children's book Zat Cat! A Haute Couture Tail and illustrator of Princess Lessons (HarperCollins 2003), Town & Country's Social Graces (Hearst Books, 2002), Obsessed by Dress (Beacon Press, 2000), You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer (Scholastic Press 2000) and Dodie goes Shopping (St. Martin's Press, 1999).

Artist Karen Locke has an interesting imagination and distinctive style. Her work is a delicate balance of gentle directional strokes, and strong hard-lined shapes within the image to capture both the feminine and masculine aspects of the piece. An established Artist of Russian and Austrian descent, she was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised on the East Coast of the United States.

The 4th Wall Gallery and The Gallery@Storyopolis is opening May 21st at 2925 Fairmount Street, Dallas and runs through till July 31st.

“We look forward to bringing to this vibrant City our one of kind pieces for families who seek to invest in collections they can share with their families for generations,” says Abramowitz. “The 4th Wall Gallery is the realization of a vision to make a home for art that pushes your mind’s eye. Kristine and I are proud to have Gallery Director, Jordan Roth as part of the 4th Wall team. He brings a unique understanding to both the local and global art scene.”

Three prominent artists will be present in the opening exhibition: New York sculptor and painter Cynthia von Buhler; New York and Miami painter Miguel Paredes; and noted New York artist and illustrator Scott Bakal.

PHOTOS FROM THE STUDIO OF LEITH O'MALLEY:

Some further information on some of the artists appearing at The 4th Wall Gallery exhibition in Dallas - Opening May 21st:

Cynthia von Buhler

Art & Antiques magazine, in March of 2006, named von Buhler “one of the top contemporary surrealists.” An internationally exhibiting visual artist, her work has been on the covers of New York’s Gallery Guide, Communication Arts, and New York Arts along with feature articles. Prior to moving to New York von Buhler was chosen by Boston Magazine as one of the “40 Bostonians We Love.” Von Buhler's work is in hundreds of personal collections all over the world; Howard Stern owns a portrait of himself painted by von Buhler, while Jann Wenner, the publisher of Rolling Stone, purchased von Buhler’s portraits of Madonna and Jimi Hendrix. In February, 2007, von Buhler and her interactive sculptures, were featured on television in Japan, Switzerland, and Germany as part of the exhibit, ‘Andy Warhol: In His Wake.” Her award-winning illustrations have been recognized as being among “the best and most cutting-edge” in the country. Von Buhler is the author of the popular children’s “The Cat Who Wouldn’t Come Inside,” published by Houghton Mifflin. In the Steven Spielberg celebrity-written benefit book Once Upon A Fairytale she illustrated a story by Martha Stewart. CVB Space, von Buhler’s art studio in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, has been featured in Sex and the City, Law & Order SVU, Someone Like You (starring Ashley Judd, Hugh Jackman, and Greg Kinnear) and No Reservations (starring Catherine Zeta-Jones).

Miguel Paredes

Paredes is a product of the explosion of street culture in New York City as he attended the prestigious La Guardia High School of Music & Art-- hip hop, rap, break-dancing and graffiti-- which greatly influenced him, as did the work of contemporary artists Andy Warhol and Keith Haring and the earlier works of Picasso, Chagall, and Miro. As talented at the stove as at the drawing board, Paredes also is known for his culinary skills at such Miami hot spots Delano Hotel, China Grill, and the Booking Table. The 4th Wall opening features the largest collection of Paredes works shown to date and will focus on his new Los Ninos series.

Scott Bakal

Scott Bakal has been showing in galleries and doing commercial work for the likes of Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The New Republic, Yoga Journal and Discover. Bakal’s work also can be found in private collections throughout the world and has recently been included in the permanent collection of the Museum of American Illustration in New York City. His illustration for Me + the Devil, which recounts the story of the short life of the revered Blues guitarist Robert Johnson, has received a total of 21 recognitions and two medals. Works from the Me +the Devil series will be featured at the Dallas opening. For this series, Bakal uses simple shapes and lines to build a part fact, part fictional little known world of Johnson into something tangible for the viewer. In both the color and black and white work, he creates glimpses of life and ghostly images of what could have happened all those years ago which helped create the legend of his life and death.