Andrew Stevovich may consider himself an abstract painter more concerned with meticulous composition than narrative, but don't tell that to the highly figurative characters who appear on his canvases. Because of his classically organized, flat backgrounds of color and simple shapes, his work has frequently been compared to the early Italian Renaissance masters from Giotto to Botticelli. However, this exhibition of more than fifty paintings and drawings will explore another facet of Stevovich's work: his relationship and inspiration drawn from twentieth-century German Expressionism. Lurking behind his figures' shifty gazes are nightclubs, neon, card games, and cocktails, all captured with an air of alienated decadence that link Stevovich directly to the tradition of artists like George Grosz and Max Beckman, known for their jaundiced looks at café society.
