Jonathan Santlofer will exhibit recent works on paper from an ongoing series that explores the visual and psychological relationship between artists and their art at Jim Kempner Fine Art from October 3 through November 1, 1998. In these small and intimate drawings executed in pencil gouache and other media, Santlofer juxtaposes realistic images of late nineteenth and 20th century artists with painstakingly accurate reproductions of their works. The artists in his pantheon are as diverse as Manet, Frida Kahlo, Mondrian, Warhol, Mary Cassatt and Keith Haring. Ultimately, he creates exquisite little worlds in which each artist is fused with his or her art in a way that questions our concepts of artifice, authenticity, and how we process the imagery and information we receive. Concurrently, there will be an exhibition of 50 of Santlofer's carved and painted reliefs at James Graham & Sons, 1014 Madison Avenue from September 24 through October 24.

Of this recent series Santlofer states: I have always been interested in levels of space and reality. When I make my version of say a Picasso, deKooning or Georgia O'Keeffe, I surround myself with three or four reproductions of each, study the line, surface, texture, color, everything

I can see, as well as what I remember about a work of art. Ultimately, the painstaking replication of a particular artist's work is, of course, a reproduction of a reproduction, or a collective memory. To me, this replicating or translating of another artist's art is almost completely abstract...The portrait of the artist I include in each piece - either carved or drawn or painted - creates another kind of dialogue: exactly what is the art here? Is it the carving or drawing I make of the artist's portriait, or their artwork which I replicate?

Jonathan Santlofer is represented by James Graham & Sons, NY. His work is in numerous public and pivate collections including those of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; the Art Institute of Chicago, IL; The Weatherspoon Gallery, NC; Institute of Contemporary Art in Japan;

AT & T; Chase Manhattan Bank.

For information or photographs, please contact the gallery at (212) 206-6872.