Christopher and Franklin Engel Show in Sag Harbor

The work of Christopher Engel will be presented at Romany Kramoris Gallery in Sag Harbor from July 25 to August 15, alongside the art of his father, Franklin Engel.

Christopher Engel’s unique artistic style blends figurative and abstract imagery, employing expressive brushstrokes and a masterful interplay of colors. Critics have drawn comparisons between Engel and esteemed artists such as George McNeil, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Robert Motherwell. However, it is his distinct expressionistic and symbolic approach that sets Engel’s work apart, as he deftly depicts the archetypal imagery of the collective unconscious. His connection to Carl G. Jung, whose writing and imagery have inspired Engel since childhood and throughout his life as both an artist and an educator, is evident in his work.

Franklin Engel, father of Christopher Engel, features his combine paintings in this exhibit. Franklin Engel has conjured up abstract images on aged, wooden planes, combining ceramic, wood, and stones with hidden texts, symbols, and gestures reminiscent of cave paintings and early astronomical drawings. Converging lines, triangles, and circles dominate the work over a sea of white, rust, and gold with blue burnt edges. Recollections and elements of the mind of a searcher have been recorded, and the viewer observes the never-ending journey of the mind and spirit.

“We are constantly searching for symbols and images, past and present, to catch a glimpse of the universe that holds us all,” Franklin Engel explains.

Both Engels, father and son, are speaking similar “languages” in their work. Their language of images is the speech of the unconscious - the “collective unconscious.” Both abstract and figurative images reveal a connection of both artists’ desires to understand the mystery and complexity of who we are, how we got here, and where we are going.

Romany Kramoris Gallery is at 41 Main Street in Sag Harbor. For more information, visit kramorisgallery.com or call 631-725-2499.