The Little Italian Kitty

Copyright John Armistead

Here little kitty!

Realist painter John Armistead brought in his donation for the PAWS for ART animal art auction.  He told me he took a photograph of this kitten on his recent visit to Italy.

This painting could be yours if you
are the highest bidder.

Come and see all 40+ works of art by area artists at Gallery Fifty Six.  The artists' reception will be on Friday, May the 20th, from 6 to 8 PM.

The public is invited

Who Let The Dogs Out? Who? Who?

Memphis artists are finishing their paintings for the PAWS FOR ART auction for the Humane Society of Memphis and Sheby County.  The exhibition opens on May 20th, and the art auction will be held at Memphis WaterWorks on May 26th.  Please call the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County for tickets and details.

This work of art was created for the animal art auction by Bebe Betz Pinkley

Copyright Bebe Betz Pinkley

Jenny Miller's Contribution for PAWS for ART



Copyright Jenny Miller

This painting, along with at least 39 others, will be on display at Gallery

Fifty Six beginning May 20, 2011.  It will be auctioned off at the Memphis

WaterWorks on Thursday, May 26th.  Please call the gallery at 9j01-276-1251

for complete details on how to participate in this worthwhile event to help

raise money for the Memphis and Shelby County Humane Society.

Artist Jenny Miller's contribution for PAWS for ART

PAWS FOR ART: Animal-themed art auction in May

Where's Home? Painted by Madison Sherman

This painting will be part of the PAWS FOR ART exhibition and auction, coming to Gallery Fifty Six.

Over 40 artists will create an 19 x 24 in. painting with an amimal as the theme. The works

will be on display at Gallery Fifty Six with an opening reception on May 20th, 2011.

The paintings will be auctioned off at a special event at Memphis WaterWorks on Thursday, May 26th.

The art exhibit is free; the art auction costs $25.00 for admission.

Please contact Peggy Foster (937-3903) at the Memphis and Shelby County Humane Society
or Rollin Kocsis (276-1251) at Gallery Fifty Six for more information



Good Morning Memphis!

FRIDAY, APRIL 15 at 9:00 AM





Copyright Emery Franklin



One of our artists, Emery Frankin, will be interviewed on TV Channel 13 at 9:00 AM.  Please be sure to tune in to see one of our most successful artists.  Congratulations, Emery!

Gearing Up For Our May Exhibitions

The month of May will be a busy month for Gallery Fifty Six.

We will have an artist's reception on May 6th for our Spring Group Exhibition.  Included in this show will be John Armistead, Paul Clarke, Mary Bowman, Bridget Russell, John Sosh, Madison Sherman, Emery Franklin, Jeannine Paul, Giorgio Vaselli, and me (Rollin Kocsis).  Each artist will present something fresh and new.  This will be a very short exhibition, from May 6th through May 14th.

In addition to the Group Exhibition, Gallery Fifty Six and the Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County will present PAWS FOR ART.

Over 40 Memphis-area artists will each create an 18 x 24 in. canvas depicting an animal of some kind. The paintings will be auctioned off at a special event on May 26th, 2011. All proceeds will go to the Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County.

The gallery will have an artists’ reception, open to the public, on Friday, May 20th, 2011 from 6 to 8 PM.  Works to be auctioned will be on display at the gallery from May 20th through May 26th. The gallery will be open on these days, including Monday, and Tuesday. (please call for hours 276-1251)

The live auction will be held at WaterWorks, 741 Cox Street (off Central Ave.), on Thursday May 26th, from 6 to 8 PM. There will be a wine reception with light hors d’oeuvres. Tickets to the event are $25.00, and will be available on line at www.memphishumane.org or call 937-3903.

Be sure to mark your calendar for these two terrific events!  Please plan to attend the artists' receptions and Paws for Art.

What Type of Art Collectors Are There?

"I think that there are 3 primary types of collectors. Well, maybe 4.
1. Collectors who use art as décor
2. Collectors who consider art to be items of prestige
3. Collectors who love art for art’s sake
And the possible 4th:
4. Collectors who fit into a combination of 2 or all 3 of the above groups"
from an article by Keith Bond, FineArtViews Newsletter.

Why Sell Original Art?

"Selling art is not inventing falsehoods, or telling a series of lies. You are helping people buy something of worth. The money they spend on art is a lifetime investment. In most cases, a piece of art is passed down from generation to generation. Art has greater longevity than most any other product on the market." Jack White, FineArtViews Daily Newsletter

Coming In August

'Work In Progress' - a silk wall-hanging by R. Kocsis to be presented
in August with Nancy White and Mary Stubbs.

I'm looking forward to August when I will exhibit my silk wall paintings with artists Nacy White and Mary Stubbs.  Nancy will exhibit her sculptural ceramic vessels and Mary will present her black and white photographs.

Slide Show of David Douglas' Exhibition

Please click this link to see a slide show of David Douglas' exhibition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0TowH9TlaM

Emery Franklin's New Slide Show

Please check out this musical slide show, featuring the work of Emery Franklin.
http://photopeach.com/album/13umws0

No Fooling! David Douglas's Show Opens on April 1st!



Copyright David Douglas

 Gallery Fifty Six is preparing for David Douglas's show: "Illuminations: Sacred and Secular". Half of his exhibit will be illustrations from the Bible, with each design compostion based on the Golden Mean. The other half will be colorful pastel abstract faces. The artist's reception will be April 1st, from 5 to 8 PM.

Art For Art's Sake in Cooper-Young

Be Part of the Hippest Spring Event in Midtown Memphis!

The Art for Art's Sake Auction will be Saturday, April 9th, 2011, 6-9:30 pm at the Young Avenue Deli.

The art auction is a celebration of local art in support of the Trestle Art and other community enhancement projects.

A show and reception for art valued over $200.00 will be exhibited  at Otherlands Coffee Bar. 




 A reception will be held there on Sunday, March 20, from
3 to 5 PM. The public is invited.

Contact Karen Capps at 497-0819 or Emily Bishop at

210-6905 if you have questions or need more information.

Artists Paul Clarke and Rollin Kocsis of Gallery Fifty Six  have donated art for the art auction.

Please help support Cooper-Young!

Madison Sherman - Energetic Artist

Copyright Madison Sherman

Do not miss seeing Madison Sherman's exhibition.  His work will be on display until Saturday, March 26th 2011.

Animal Lover's Delight

Calling all animal lovers!  Gallery Fifty Six, in conjunction with the  Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County, will host an art auction for the benefit of domestic animals in Memphis. Local area artists will be asked to create and donate an animal-related two-dimensional work of art.  The art created will be exhibited at Gallery Fifty Six during the third week in May.  The auction will take place at WaterWorks.  Tickets to the gala will be $25.00.  More information will be provided later. 

A New Resident Artist

Gallery Fifty Six welcomes Hungarian-Canadian energetic surrealist artist Giorgio Vaselli as the newest resident artist at our gallery.  Georgio works in digital media as well as in oils and acrylics.  Mr. Vaselli is currently the international organizer for the Energy Art Movement.  He was responsible for the Energy Art Movement's 2009 international exhibition at Gallery Fifty Six.  We are proud to represent such a fine artist as Giorgio Vaselli.  His work will soon be available at the gallery.


Copyright Giogio Vaselli



Copyright Giorgio Vaselli

Copyright Giorgio Vaselli

Look What's Coming

Here is our current line up for  2011:

April:  David Douglas
May:  Resident Artist Exhibiton and Humane Society Art Auction
August:  Nancy White, Mary Stubbs, and Rollin Kocsis
September: Jan Hankins
October: Chuck Wright
November: Jana Travis
December: JC Graham

June and July are still pending.

Welcome, Madison Sherman

Gallery Fifty Six is proud to announce that Madison Sherman has become one of our resident artists.  Madison currently has an exhibition in the show gallery.  His work is colorful, energetic, and meaningful.
We are very proud to have Madison on board.

Coming in April - David Douglas

David Douglas is a Memphis artist with an undergraduate degree from the Memphis College of Art and a Master of Fine Arts from The University of Memphis.  He will present a show titled "Illuminations:  Sacred and Secular".  The artist's reception will be April 1st.  This is the perfect exhibition for the Easter season.

Nancy White - Coming To Gallery Fifty Six



'Cliff Dwellers' by Nancy White



Gallery Fifty Six is proud to announce that we will now have a few art works by ceramic sculptor Nancy White.

Nancy is a professor of the ceramic arts at the University of Memphis. She has a long list of honors and recognitions and she has shown her work throughout the mid-south in juried exhibitions and invitationals.

The two pieces we will have available at the gallery are shown here.



'Sunflowers for Susan' by Nancy White