Project: Prof. Greenwald’s Portfolio of Work From Fellowship Leave 2022-2023

FACULTY LEAVE – FELLOWSHIP AWARD
PETER (“XICO”) GREENWALD
Fall 2022 & SPRING 2033

I was awarded a BMCC Fellowship Leave (also known as a sabbatical) to conduct research on Portuguese Baroque painter Josefa de Óbidos last year, during the 2022-2023 school year.

I began my research by visiting museums, churches, private collections and other sites in Central Portugal. While in Portugal last fall, I met with museum curators, spoke to leading art historians, and toured Josefa de Óbidos’ hometown of Óbidos.

This trip included visits to the following locations:

• Municipal Library, Santarém, Portugal
• Carmelite Convent, Cascais, Portugal
• Convent of Santa Madalena, Alcobaça, Portugal
• Church of Santa Maria de Óbidos, Óbidos, Portugal
• Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, Portugal
• Museu Regional, Évora, Portugal
• Municipal Library, Alpiarça, Portugal

When I returned to New York, I developed my research into an article. My piece was eventually published in the New York Sun just this past spring. (A copy of that article is included in this presentation.)

Researching Josefa de Óbidos’ artworks and biography impacted my own studio practice; Since returning from Portugal, I’ve created a series of paintings that in one way or another reflect my study of Iberian “bodegón” painting.

I saw this painting (below) by Josefa de Óbidos, first in an exhibit at the Municipal Museum of Leiria, then in the Museu Regional, Évora, where it is part of the permanent collection:

The tenebrist-style “bodegón” reflects the influence of Spanish Golden Age still life painters, including Francisco de Zurbarán.

Here’s another still life painting by Josefa de Óbidos, this one from the Óbidos Municipal Museum:

In January 2023, I continues my study of Spanish-style still life, spending time with this canvas by Juan Sánchez Cotán in San Diego.

“Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber,” oil on canvas by Juan Sánchez Cotán, c. 1602; in the San Diego Museum of Art, Calif.

The typical Spanish-style black background in these works, as well as the simplified geometry of the architectural forms, influenced my own artwork.

Here are a few examples of some of my recent paintings, made during my fellowship, where the influence of Iberian still life can be seen.

Blue Shelf
2023
Oil on canvas over panel
55 x 51 inches

Coffee Pot, Flower, Plate
2022
Oil on canvas over panel
46 x 40 inches

Still Life with Oval Dish
2022
Oil on canvas over panel
54 x 46 inches

This artwork, attributed to Josefa de Óbidos, features still life objects arranged on steps:

Josefa de Óbidos, Flowers in a majolica vase with fruit around on stone steps, ca.1679

During my fellowship I also made a series of paintings based on this compositional arrangement of still life on steps.

Blue Steps II
2023
Oil on canvas over board
48 1/2 x 42 inches

Blue Steps I
2023
Oil on canvas over panel
48 1/2 x 42 inches

Vase with Items Around, on Steps
2023
Oil on canvas over panel
54 x 49 ½

EXHIBITIONS
Thanks to my fellowship I was able to nearly double my average annual studio output.

I hosted an Open Studio in January 2023. Here’s the flyer for that event.

I had a solo exhibition at George Billis Gallery in Chelsea in New York City in the spring of 2023.

George Billis Gallery, New York City, Spring 2023

George Billis Gallery, New York City, Spring 2023

I am currently preparing for two more exhibits featuring recent works completed during my fellowship.

I will be showing recent paintings at Andrews Gallery at The College of William & Mary, in Virginia this October.

And I am currently scheduled to have a solo show at Alice Gauvin Gallery in the Washington D.C. area this coming winter once the gallery completes its move south.

I would not have been able to achieve these professional goals without the support of BMCC’s Fellowship Award.

The lessons I learned during my year of research will be brought back into the classroom starting this fall.

An interview with the Zeuxis, an organization of still life painters, where I discuss my research in Portugal is being published in the coming weeks and I’ll certainly be sharing that with the BMCC community.