Galerie Michael opens its fall season with an Exhibition by Artist Alumni from the Florence Academy of Art

With a private evening reception on Thursday, September 15, Galerie Michael opened its doors for the inaugural exhibition of recent paintings and sculpture by artist alumni from the Florence Academy of Art (FAA) in Italy. The exhibition showcases twenty-two artists in the academy’s west coast debut whose works are reminiscent of the European masters of the Renaissance. Technically exquisite and thematically exploring mythological storytelling and a play on life, death, narcissism and the supernatural the exhibition highlights traditional craftsmanship, observation from nature and studio expertise that these artists continue.

In his opening speech gallery owner Michael Schwarz expressed his lasting commitment in presenting the works of the artists of the Florence Academy and respectfully spoke of the integrity, stimulating artistic discourse and dedication that these young artists have offered since his first visit to the academy in Florence. Equally proud of the collaboration and launching of the exhibition program was FAA founder Daniel Graves and executive director Susan Tintori who shared insights of the academy’s history and mission.

Invited guests flocked to the gallery opening delighted to meet several of the artists in person and to view the expansive new art display firsthand. During the evening clients and artists mingled in the upstairs galleries filled with impressive figurative paintings, still lifes and life size bronze sculptures. Off to an exciting new art season the exhibition continues on view through October 15, 2011.

A fifty page full color catalog is available.

Galerie Michael
224 N. Rodeo Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Mon – Sat: 10:00am to 7:00pm
Sun: 12:00pm to 6:00pm

Paul Brown (b.1967)

Tiger, 34"x73", oil on canvas

Paul S. Brown was born in 1967 and raised in North Carolina. At the age of ten he received classical drawing lessons from painter D. Jeffrey Mims with whom he would return to during university studies for an extensive apprenticeship. In 1988 he journeyed to Florence, Italy for 2 years training at Studio Cecil-Graves under the tutelage of Charles Cecil and Daniel Graves. He would later help Daniel Graves open the Florence Academy of Art and teach there for two years before returning to North Carolina in 1992. There Paul set up a studio where he continued to paint as well as teach a select number of students in plein air figure and portrait painting. He has had a series of one-man shows in North Carolina and at Hollis Taggart Galleries in Washington D.C. Paul has exhibited with teachers and peers in Florence Academy Alumni exhibitions in London, England, The Italian Institute in San Francisco, California and the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, Florida as well as in numerous solo and group shows in the US and Europe.

Living in the UK since 1994, Paul works in his Battersea studio in London, hand making his oil paints with carefully selected pigments and oils, using old master techniques and mediums and working from life in the naturalist tradition. He enjoys painting all subjects, concentrating on the nude and still life as well as portraits and landscapes. In London, Paul has exhibited in the BP Portrait Award in the National Portrait Gallery, with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters at the Mall Galleries and had an exhibition of figure drawings at the Groucho Club in Soho. In 2003 he took part in “Realism Revisited”, an exhibition of former teachers at the Florence Academy of Art that was held at the Panorama Museum in Bad Frankenhausen, Germany, Hirschl and Adler Galleries in New York City and Century Gallery in Washington DC. In 2005 he had a one man show at WH Patterson Fine Arts Limited where he has been represented in London since 1995. Paul’s pictures hang in public and private collections throughout the world.

Hunter Eddy (b.1967)

Passion Over Purity, oil on canvas, 35"x43"


Hunter Eddy was born in 1967 and grew up in Rutland Vermont. He decided to pursue a career in art after years of drawing in his childhood. He attended the Art Institute of Boston and graduated with the honor of an “Excellence in Illustration” award from the College. His work after graduation included Aesthetics Signage Company, as well as a freelance illustrator for private clients. He spent time in Italy studying landscape painting and drawing with the Boston Visual School under the direction of painters John Lanza and George Gabin. He also studied drawing and painting with Boston artist Tom Oulette where he developed his interests in traditional drawing techniques. He then made his decision to undertake fulltime study at The Florence Academy of Art under the direction of Daniel Graves.

After the first year he was made an assistant teacher in the program and has been with the academy ever since. He has taught the advanced painting and drawing courses, and is currently co-Director of the painting program. His work has been exhibited and sold at various galleries including: Peel Gallery, Rutland Vermont, Grenning Gallery, Sag Harbor, New York, Hirschl and Adler Gallery, New York, Century Gallery, Alexandria, Virginia, Gallery Americana, Carmel, California, Anderson Fine Art Gallery, St. Simons Island, Georgia. Gold Leaf Designs, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Ann Long Fine Art, Charlestown, South Carolina, W. H. Patterson LTD, London, England.

“In painting my main goal is to create an impression of light and depth over and around the objects or people I choose to paint. I work only from life, never from photographs, and I never use artificial lighting. Drawing and painting from nature is the only way to study the effects of natural light on objects and people, and, for me, nature is a constant source of inspiration and challenge. I find there is always an emotional connection between my subjects and me. With still-life, the subtleties of the textures, the smell of the fresh fruit, the way the light changes on the objects revealing different colors at different times, all help me understand and capture what I feel to be the essence of my painting. With people, there is always an emotional energy or feeling they give off when posing, and I try to tune into this to bring out that person's nature, to bring my paintings to life, and to render the theme I have chosen."

Daniel Graves

Sunset at the Old Oak,oil on canvas, 20"x27"

Daniel Graves, founder and director of The Florence Academy of Art, exemplifies the Academy's commitment to the academic tradition and to the importance of receiving instruction from teachers who are also active painters in their own right. He graduated Cum Laude from the Maryland Art Institute in 1972, where he studied anatomy and painting with Joseph Sheppard, then pursued etching and history painting with Richard Serrin at the Villa Schifanoia Graduate School of Fine Art in Florence. After studying with Richard Lack at the Atelier Lack in Minnesota, where he also taught etching, he returned to Florence. It was here that Daniel came under the influence of Pietro Annigoni, who praised the truly unusual candor of Daniel's work, calling him one of the most gifted foreign painters in Florence.

While studying in Florence, Daniel came to understand that what is passed on from teacher to student is a language evolved through the centuries, something impossible to transmit except by visual example. After realizing that frustration was common among students unable to find solid training, he began teaching in Florence in 1984. The Florence Academy of Art was formed in 1991 on the principle that through intense observation of nature and study of the Old Masters, and the use of traditional techniques, students will develop considerable powers of draftsmanship. Daniel aims for the highest level of instruction at the Academy to ensure that his students acquire the skills needed to develop a visual language, and, ultimately, create a work of universal relevance. Daniel Graves has had numerous successful solo and group shows in Europe and the United States, and his portraits, interiors, still lives, and etchings are part of private and public collections worldwide.

Angel Ramiro Sanchez (b.1974)

Poppy, 20"x53". oil on canvas

Angel Ramiro Sanchez was born in 1974 in Maracaibo, Venezuela. At age six Ramiro was accepted with full scholarship into the Instituto Niños Cantores del Zulia, a school for musically gifted children. At age fourteen he began five years of apprenticeship with the realist painter, Abdon Jose Romero, an eminent specialist in murals for churches and public buildings. In 1993 a study grant from Msgr. Gustavo Ocando Yamarte, Founder of the Ninos Cantores, enable him to travel to Florence, Italy, Where he successfully passed the admission examination for the renowned Accademia di Belle Arti. For the next four years, he studied full time at the Accademia, receiving his diploma magna cum laude. Ramiro also attended drawing and painting sessions at the Florence Academy of Art, directed by painter Daniel Graves. Ramiro was appointed Senior Painting Instructor at the FAA in 1997. Today he is the Academy Painting Program Director and he shares his life and passion for art with his wife, the artist Melissa Franklin Sanchez.

Ramiro’s paintings came to the attention of Italian private collectors for the first time in 1996 at a juried exhibition in Montopoli, near Florence. In 2003 his paintings and drawings were subject of a monograph “Ramiro” by international art critic John T. Spike. In 2005 he received the special Director’s Award at the Florence International Biennale of Contemporary Art. He was then invited to show his work as a guest artist at the Austria Biennale in 2006. Ramiro won the prestigious Stobart Foundation Award in 2008, which is awarded to artists who use live models in their works. Paintings, drawings and portraits by Ramiro are found in public and private collections in Europe, the United States and Venezuela.

Per Johnny Kristiansen (b. 1965)

Is There a Place for Me?, 39"x31", oil on canvas


Per Johnny Kristiansen was born in Norway in 1965. He took part time classes in drawing and painting in his hometown and was enrolled in the T. Ramberg studio in Steinkjer, Norway, from 1999 - 2001. Per Johnny began his studies at The Florence Academy of Art in January 2002. He completed his three-year painting certificate and fourth year of specialization in painting in December 2005. He participated in a juried exhibition in Tromsø, Norway in November 2005, in the Second Annual Alumni Exhibit in Florence in 2006 and in a group exhibit at the W.H. Patterson Gallery in London in 2006. He lives and works in his hometown of Tromsø in Northern Norway, a town that is called the gateway to the arctic in the land of the midnight sun.

“Living in the north, and being a passionate outdoor person, where there are enormous contrasts in nature and light and dark, my passion was born. The last years I have been working with portraits and figure paintings, and I am very grateful to Daniel Graves and The Florence Academy of Art for making it possible for me to do so. In figure paintings I want to describe people of today in a classical realistic way - Contemporary Realism. And what is important to me is the sense of light, atmosphere, emotions and integrity.”

Jura Bedic (b.1980)

Moire II, 31"x37", oil on canvas

Jura Bedic was born in Croatia in 1980. He completed his studies at The Florence Academy of Art in 2002, and became a principle instructor first in the Intensive Drawing Program, then in the Painting Program. He has participated in group exhibitions in numerous galleries in the United States, as well as alumni exhibitions organized by the Academy in Germany and Florence, including “Realism Revisited” at the Panorama Museum, Bad Frankenhausen.

Jura is a winner of the 2001 Art Renewal Center International Scholarship Competition, and his work is featured in an article in American Artist’s “Drawing” Magazine in 2003, ”Classical Approaches to the Teaching of Drawing.” In 2007 he won "The best in Show" award in the F.A.A.'s 3rd Annual Alumni Exhibition. He continues to paint and teach in Florence, Italy.

"The success of a realistic painting does not depend merely on copying a subject. I believe it needs to offer the textures, colors, and tones to one's eye and become something more than just an illusion. Through an evolutionary process, painting again becomes a part of nature itself."

Cody Swanson (b. 1985)

Doubting Thomas, Bronze, 22"x20"x32"

Cody Joseph Swanson is a freelance sculpture who resides in Florence, Italy where he also has a private studio. Docy has recently completed nearly sixteen works for the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. These additions to the Cathedral where produced in collaboration with the acclaimed architect Duncan Stroik, under the patronage and guidance of Bishop Paul J. Swain. These works include pieces in marble, bronze, wood and plaster.

Currently the Archbishop in Florence, His Excellency Giuseppe Bettori, has bestowed upon Cody the tremendous honor to produce a thirteen foot sculpture depicting St. Emygdius for the Duomo of Foligno, which will be unveiled in the Fall of 2011.

Cody Swanson holds an M.A. in Liturgy, Sacred Art and Architecture from the European University in Rome with Pontifical recognition, and spent five consecutive years teaching sculpture with the renowned Florence Academy of Art where he also studied sculpture. During his time with the Florence Academy, Cody received various awards for his work including best in show in the annual ARC Salon competition. His numerous bronzes are featured in public and private spaces throughout the world including the Opus Dei oratories of Ljubljana Slovenia and Florence Italy, the famed Palazzo Arcivescovile of Florence Italy, and the Springville Museum of Art in Springville Utah.

As a privileged father, husband, sculpture and teacher, Cody Swanson hoped the fruit of his labor will give glory to God while reflecting His truth into the hearts of many.

Alicia Nicole Ponzio, ( b.1974)

The Letting Go, Bronze, 61"x32"x17"

Alicia Nicole Ponzio (b.1974) is a figurative sculptress working primarily in bronze. Originally from the United States, she is currently living and working in Florence, Italy.
Since her graduation from the Florence Academy of Art Sculpture Program in 2008, Alicia has been working in her studio and teaching Artistic Anatomy, Ecorchè Sculpture, and figure drawing at the same school. In 2009, she was awarded “Best in Show” at the Fourth Alumni Exhibition of the FAA and exhibited in a group show at the Guildhall Art Gallery in London where she was a finalist for the Founders’ Prize. In 2010, she was awarded a “Certificate of Excellence” by the Portrait Society of America and taught a course in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her work can be found in private collections in Europe, the United States, and Canada.
Alicia feels fortunate to be following her dreams and living them daily. Her goal is to bring to her work movement of forms, empathy toward other human beings and sincerity of expression.
In July of 2012, Alicia plans to open a studio in San Francisco, California, where she’ll continue to develop her work and teach private lessons in sculpture.

Vitaliy Shtanko (b. 1979)

Le Variazioni, oil on canvas, 50"x60"

Vitaliy Shtanko was born on December 25, 1979, in Drogobych Ukraine in a family of artists. He had a passion for an art from a very young age as watched his father spend hours working at the easel and looked through many mysterious and fascinating art books from his family’s home library.

At age of 10, Vitaliy enrolled into The Art College for Children. For the next four years, he studied various art techniques and methods experimenting with different media such as watercolor, gouache, oil, ink and clay. Learning to draw and paint from life was the goal of the college.

In 1997 Vitaliy enrolled at the L’viv National Academy of Arts in Ukraine where he practiced classical academic approaches to drawing and painting. In 2000 Vitaliy moved to Florence with his family to attend the school of book illustration and where he eventually met Daniel Graves. The high standards of discipline and love for traditional realism of the Florence Academy of Art attracted Vitaliy to the school. Meeting the European school style was both challenging and exciting.

Hege Elisabeth Haugen (b. 1979)

Man Juggling Light, oil on canvas, 78"x67"

Hege Elisabeth was born in 1979 in Hönefoss, Norway, a small town by the sea. She was a full-time student of Odd Nerdrum in Oslo for two years, and since 1998, has spent her summers both in Iceland and Norway studying with him. She was painting by herself for another two years when in 2003 she began her studies at The Florence Academy of Art. In 2005 she was awarded the prize for the best drawing of the year. Hege has had a solo-exhibition and participated in several group shows. Her paintings are in private and public collections in Norway as well as in private collections in Denmark and Italy. Hege Elisabeth is currently painting and working as a teacher at the newly opened branch of The Florence Academy of Art in Mölndal, Sweden.

"If only I could paint how beautiful it is to see you in front of me.”

Costanza Tacca Papasogli,(b.1980)

Eleonora Corsini, oil on canvas, 23"x19"

Costanza Papàsogli Tacca was born in Pisa in 1980. After high school she enrolled at the Fine Arts Academy in Florence in 1999, and studied with professor and painter Giulietti. She spent two years there and in 2001 left to begin her studies at The Florence Academy of Art. Costanza completed the three-year diploma in Painting in 2004, and 4th year of specialization in 2005. In the same year she participated in the First Annual Alumni Exhibition at the Corsini family stables in Florence.
“My ideas come from nature, and the beauty of the countryside surrounding Pisa where I was born. I like to represent the gestures of everyday life, especially country life. My greatest satisfaction is to be able to paint the natural beauty made up of the lines, color, and nuances of what surrounds me. I was taught from a young age to appreciate beauty, harmony and refined taste; for this reason my love of detail and beauty becomes the subject my still lifes.”

Jordan Sokol, (b. 1979)

The Studio, oil on canvas, 16"x20", 2011

Jordan Sokol was born in 1979 in Queens, New York. He began his artistic training at age fourteen when he was accepted into the Palm Beach County High School for the Arts. After graduating he enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute and in 2003 began classical training at the Florence Academy of Art, where he is currently a principal painting instructor.

Jordan’s drawings and paintings have been exhibited internationally and are in private collections throughout Europe and the U.S. In the January 2011 issue of American Artist Magazine he is named as one of eleven artists to watch in 2011.

“His interiors and still lifes are bathed in unified light that, when combined with the detailed and personal subject matter, gives them a deeply lived-in feeling. His portraits are also quiet, unified works, often tinged with a touch of melancholy. Sokol’s paintings are the work of an artist comfortable with his craft who is trying to reveal a little of the beauty and mystery of the world around him.”

-Austin R. Williams, an associate editor of American Artist.

Charles Weed (b.1970)

Dear Skulls and Butterfly, oil on canvas, 23"x18"

WEED, Charles (b. 1970)

Charles Weed was born in Champlin Minesota in 1970. He studied drawing at the Hermann-Bougie Studios in Minneapolis from 1988 to 1990. Charles was a student and assistant instructor at the studio Cecil-Graves, Florence, Italy from 1990 to 1991. He has lived and worked in Boston, London, Amsterdam, Lucca and Florence and taught at the Florence Academy of Art periodically throughout the 1990s.
Charles now lives in Svendborg, Denmark with Louise Camille Fenne and their two children and he plans to return to Florence soon.

“As exhibiting my work is, in itself, an attempt to meet the spectator at least half-way, I leave the understanding of it up to them.”

Toby Wright, (b.1976)

Dogma, 40"x30", Oil on Canvas


Toby Wright was born 1976. He began his art studies at university in England with four years studying illustration, earning a B.A. (Hons) degree in 1988. Unfulfilled with much of the instruction he received, he enrolled at the Florence Academy of Art in 1999. While studying, he was invited to assist teaching and later became the director of the drawing program for the sculpture department before moving on to being a principal instructor in the advanced painting program.

Since 2010, Toby has set up his own studio in the South of France, where he works on various projects and commissions. Some of Toby’s figurative work explores a psychological narrative, occasionally with elements of symbolism, inviting the viewer to explore a scenario that they may identify with, or to which they may simply be an onlooker. He strives to unite the visual experience with the living experience of interacting with the subject, to create a dialogue between artist, subject and viewer.

Inspired by various old masters of painting and sculpture from the 17th and 19th Century, Toby Wright believes in the method of working form life to capture the full depth of his subjects, with particular interest in the language of the human form through figurative compositions, such as the portrait or full figure. Always working from a model in the studio, orchestrating light for a still life, and spending many hours outdoors for his landscapes to give the full visual story.

Eran Weber (b.1980)

Disturbed Pan, Bronze, 31"x21"x17"

Eran Webber is a figurative artist born in Israel in 1980. The grandchild of a realist painter, Eran grew up in an artistic environment on a Kibbutz along the Carmel Coast. His artistic training began in high school as well as evening courses in Tel Aviv. In 2007, after several years of military service and traveling abroad, Eran moved to Italy to study the fundamentals of classical figurative art and began sculpting at the prestigious Accademia di Belle Arte. Later that year Eran was accepted to the Florence Academy of Art, where he could focus his interests more intensely on figurative sculpture.

At the end of his second year of study at the FAA, Eran was invited to join the teaching staff, and since his graduation, in 2011, has remained as a principal sculpting instructor. Eran’s work is indelibly linked with his upbringing. He finds sculpting a sincere way to reconcile the nostalgic fragments of the past with his continuing search as an artist

“The deeper I become involved in art, the stronger my addiction to it, and the urge to create becomes an endless need. The ideas and abilities intensify, releasing a growing hunger for the next formation. When a person stands in front of me, I choose to see him through my filters and my interpretation, making the result uniquely my own. Sometimes I strive to dig into deeper layers, seeking to find out how the surface really looks. I appreciate the opportunity to share my work.”

Per Olvav Olsen (b.1980)

Still life with garlic, oil on canvas, 12"x16"

Born 1980, in Trondheim, Norway, Per Olav spent 4 years studying drawing and painting at The Florence Academy of Art, where he earned a certificate in Painting in 2005. Afterwards, he returned to his hometown of Verdal in Norway, where he now works in his own studio. In addition to concentrating on his own projects, he also devotes some of his time and studio space to teaching drawing and painting. He participated in the exhibition "Realism Revisited" at the Panorama Museum in Germany in 2003, "Scandinavian Realism" in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2008, and the Annual Alumni Exhibition at the Florence Academy of Art in 2006, 2007, 2009 & 2010.

Maureen Hyde

Autumn, oil on canvas, 49"x27"


Maureen Hyde received an MFA in painting from the University of California at Los Angeles. She worked from 1984 to 1994, illustrating books for young adults, historical novels and classics, and also numerous picture books for children. In 1996, she began a course of study at The Florence Academy of Art, and received a Diploma in Painting in 1999.

Maureen began her teaching career at the University of California, and resumed as one of the principle instructors at the FAA in the Intensive Drawing Program. She also teaches summer workshops in portraiture and landscaping with The Florence Academy of Art and the Notre Dame School of Architecture. She has participated in numerous alumni exhibitions, and is being represented with many galleries throughout the United States and in London. Her work is also found in private collections throughout Europe and America.

“In living and working in Florence, Italy, my creative spirit feels at home. The light and natural beauty of the Italian landscape and architecture is providing limitless inspiration. I am engaged in an endless dance, chasing and choreographing light as it illuminates the natural world with glimpses of beauty.”

Justin Hess (b. 1981)

A Second Glance, oil on canvas, 35"x39"

Justin Hess was born in Ventura California in 1981. At the age of 19 he began his formal art training at Ventura College and later at the San Francisco Academy of Art University. In further pursuit of his studies, he was introduced to the Florence Academy of Art by a colleague, and left the SFAAU to move to Italy.

Justin entered the Florence Academy of Art in the fall of 2005 and was awarded “Best Drawing of the Year” at the end of his first year. He participated in Alumni exhibitions while still a student, and upon receiving his Certificate of Completion in 2008 was awarded “Most Improved in Figure Painting” during the graduation ceremony.

Justin has taught painting classes and lectured on Pigment and Canvas preparation, at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy, and Atelier Østrup in Norway. His paintings have been published in “The Artist’s Magazine” and “International Artist Magazine”, where the latter will have a featured article & painting demonstration in print this coming year. In January of 2011, Justin was juried into the Oil Painters of America as an Associate Member, followed by his painting being accepted into the OPA 20th National Juried Competition as one of the 158 participants out of 2,100 applicants.

At the age of 30, Justin has already exhibited in Italy, London, Monaco, Norway and the United States. Now, after having completed an intensive 6 years of study and work in Florence Italy, Justin will be returning to San Francisco in the summer of 2011 and opening a small Atelier offering workshops and private instruction in the classical realist tradition. Justin’s paintings can be found in private collections in Australia, Europe, Scandinavia and the United States of America.

Cornelia Maria Hernes (b. 1979)

Tooth Fairy, oil on canvas, 17"x13"

Cornelia was born in Norway in 1979. She graduated from The Florence Academy of Art, in 2007, and from University of Victoria, British Colombia in Canada in 2003, where she achieved a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree. In University she became acquainted with the paradigms of conceptual art, and became even more determined to pursue classical realism.

She began to paint with oil in her late teens. She is particularly interested in depicting human emotion and expression as a way to convey a mood, story or insight. Her interests have expanded over time to include the serenity of still lives and the intimacy of interiors. She currently lives and works in Florence, and teaches drawing and painting at The Florence Academy of Art as a principal instructor.