Special to:  Wandering Educators

Millenia Fine Art Gallery to present …
“Bryce Hammond … ALL New Works”

by Josh Garrick

In the world of Fine Art, the year 1998 is not so very long ago, but ever since his first solo exhibit (in 1998), painter and fine artist Bryce Hammond has exhibited throughout the United States.  And he is unique among painters in that several of the Openings for this Artist, literally “sold out” on the Opening Night.  That is the reason that his new exhibit at Millenia Fine Art Gallery – in Orlando, Florida – is called ALL New Works.
ALL the paintings ARE NEW – everything else was sold!!!

Tenant Rumor

Brooklyn Trapdoor

Mr. Hammond will open his new painting exhibit on Friday, May 1, 2009. Featured in two volumes of New American Paintings, and a recipient of a Florida Foundation Fellowship grant, Hammond shares his time between a studio in Brooklyn and a home in Florida. With particular success in Los Angeles, Hammond’s “very painterly” works have been seen in several movies – as part of the art collection of the characters in films.  A proud father of two, his children often appear in his paintings.

Painting since his teen years, Bryce Hammond attended Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. At the University, he received degrees in both Art History and Business.  Even then his head for business worked to his advantage.  As the curator of the Senior Fine Arts Exhibit, he included his own paintings along with the work of the fine arts majors.

Everything was closed

Bachelor's flat

Beginning his painting career, he worked at an Atlanta art gallery during the day and painted in a warehouse studio at night while putting together a series of ‘group exhibitions’ at the warehouse.  His exhibit of January 1994 was shut down by the fire department due to an over-capacity crowd!  In classic artist tradition, he took the cue and moved to New York City. Working temp jobs during the day and painting at night in the condemned buildings of Hell’s Kitchen and the East Village where he ‘lived,’ the background for his signature style began to emerge. Employment at the Brooklyn Museum allowed for a more stable apartment on the Lower East Side where he slept and painted in the same room.  Then, in the summer of 1995, a controversial exhibit brought television attention to the artist. That same show traveled to Atlanta where three paintings sold, and Bryce Hammond was officially an ‘artist.’  

1997 was, in the words of the Artist, “a revolutionary year for me and my work. I noticed the strength of the backgrounds in the work, and second, I noticed the notes to myself on the studio wall were interesting when I incorporated them into the work. That year, I began painting pictures of my studio: picture after picture of walls, ceiling, sink, and window. I moved on to painting run-down motels and dirty subways. It was all working. The imagery allowed me to mess with the paint, to destroy the surface and rebuild and to write all over the pieces. I set up a show in Atlanta in December of 1997. 43 of the 44 paintings sold. That was the breaking point. Everything changed after that.”

East side gallery with trap door

In the alley

The tenant rumor

In 1998, Hammond signed his first gallery contract and had his first solo exhibition in a real gallery.  Since that time, Hammond has shown successfully throughout the United States … one of the few artists in the world to literally SELL OUT his work on the Opening Night of his exhibition.  

Popular with art collectors, critics, and the press, Hammond currently works between a studio in Brooklyn and his home and studio in Florida.  He says, “The work is still based on my original concept of painting spaces and architecture. The narrative lies in the mind of the viewer.”

Bryce Hammond and daughter Eden sit in Hammond's studio located at his home in New Smyrna Beach, FL. (Todd Seimer)

Millenia Fine Art Gallery is located at 555 South Lake Destiny Drive, Orlando, FL  32810.  For information, please call 407 304 8100.

Josh Garrick is the Florida Arts Editor for Wandering Educators.

All photos courtesy and copyright of Bryce Hammond. All rights reserved.