Pea Water Oil, enamel and oil stick on canvas, 2021 57 x 70 inches $ 23,000
Adam Umbach: Whimsical Waters
Opens at the New Roman Fine Art & NJP!
Roman Fine Art is pleased to present Whimsical Waters, a solo exhibition by Brooklyn based painter Adam Umbach. In his most recent collection of paintings, Umbach has chosen to refocus on the maritime-centric theme previously explored in his debut exhibit, Halcyon Daze. In his earlier nautical paintings, Umbach revealed his deep connection to boating. Boats moored in the harbors and bays of the Hamptons aroused fond memories of time shared on the water with his late father in New England. In Whimsical Waters, Umbach warmly recalls the holiday boat trips of his youth, creating a series deeply nostalgic paintings connected to the sea.
Sun Chasing Oil, enamel and oil stick on canvas, 2021 18 x 24 inches $ 3,000
For Umbach, images of vessels docked in the calm, shallow waters of Long Island are meant evoke feelings of safety and comfort. Reflecting on the imagery in this series proved a powerful salve to the anxiety felt by the artist, and hopefully to all of us still struggling with the ever-lingering pandemic. Umbach adds bright colors and a sense of humor as a counter sentiment to the isolation and unease many of us have felt over the last two years. Whimsical Waters opens Friday, February 11 and will continue through Sunday, March 13. Visits to Roman Fine Art this Spring are by appointment only.
We will be hosting a wine reception for the Artist with natural wines purveyor, Nat Out East, Friday, February 11th, 5-7pm.
For a PDF of available artworks from this exhibition, please click here.
Sweet Water (yellow) Oil, enamel and oil stick on canvas, 2021 20 x 20 inches $ 3,000
Umbach’s work explores nostalgia and childhood memories by juxtaposing detailed photorealistic representations of everyday objects with expressionistic mark making. By using his non-dominant hand to create the thickly rendered lines and forms, Umbach constructs a dynamic sense of movement and physicality on the canvas that lends a sculptural, almost three-dimensional quality to the picture plane. This formal tension mirrors the balance between his playful, often humorous choice of subjects with the weight of the memories they symbolize—a sense of loneliness pervading a singular teddy bear, toy truck, or boat combined with the comfort and hope that it brings. A biographical painter, Umbach’s chosen subjects, which often repeat through differing bodies of work, belong to a personal and familial iconography. Though sourced from his life, Umbach’s paintings invite viewers to connect with this imagery by evoking their own experiences and memories.
Sunset Cruise Oil, enamel and oil stick on canvas, 2021 48 x 60 inches $18,000
About the Artist: Adam Umbach (b. 1986, Chicago, IL) currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. After being inspired from an early age by the Modern Masters collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, he received his BFA in painting from the University of Wisconsin. He has exhibited his large-scale paintings nationally in galleries such as Roman Fine Art, East Hampton, NY; Cavalier Ebanks Gallery, CT, MA & FL; Virgil Catherine Gallery, IL and Carver Hill Gallery, ME. He has also shown in numerous art fairs, including Moniker Art Fair, New York, Market: Art & Design, Bridgehampton, NY, and the Philadelphia Art Fair.