paintings

My Own Art Gallery On the French Riviera

| Angie Brooksby Arcangioli

My life as an artist changed in a big way since December. In March I became the owner of an art Gallery in Hyères, someone gave it to me. I thank that person from the bottom of my heart. The gallery is well known all over the Var, that’s the region on the French Riviera that encompasses the turquoise beaches from Toulon to Saint Tropez. Hyères is in the middle. It’s that little needle that sticks out into the crystalline waters of the French Riviera. The Olympic Games will be here next summer.

The gallery is on the main pedestrian street, 26 Rue Massillon. It’s called click >>La Nouvelle Galerie Massillon. I thought of changing the name to Galerie Brooksby but it didn’t seem right. Galerie Brooksby is light and easy. Galerie Massillon has punch. And the gallery came with some serious baggage. I’ll tell you about it in a minute. Let’s talk about Hyères.

Queen Victoria had a villa here. It’s a museum now. The jet set came here once upon a time. Belmondo, Serge Gainsbourg, Dalida, Charles de Gaule, Simone Veil, Aznavour, Chiraq, Mitterand… etc.

From the Book C’était Hyères.

But Hyères seemed to fall off the beaten track when huge shopping centres were built 20 minutes west. Lots of people come here and spend a week at the beach then never come into the historic center. The town is a jewel. It has museums, lots of art galleries, and artists’s ateliers. Excellent restaurants and an amazing market on Saturday mornings. It’s not overrun with international franchises. It’s got local shops with local products and produce. Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this. Our little paradise will explode.

For the last nine or ten years my gallery hosted a slew of exhibitions. Every week a new show happened. A club of amateurs showed here for years. Professional painters and sculptures as well.

I was overjoyed to open the door the first time and settle in. A few days later I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, lifted off my feet and swirling in a storm of battles. The French administration was the easy part. The worst was having to tell all the artists who planned to show here this year that I could not honour their shows. I decided to host professional artists and young artists. I can’t talk about lots of things that happened. Too personal.

On April 22 I inaugurated the gallery with a series of oil paintings done onsite. Charlotte Wood did a Gong Bath. My whole family came across the Atlantic and down from Paris and Germany to support me and to be there.

Here is the poster for the show I am having until May 30th. And one of my new works that is a street in Hyères.

Come visit me. I’ll be there until May 30th, End of July to Mid August. Again in September. Most of the summer several artists will have solo exhibitions.

La Nouvelle Galerie Massillon

26 rue Massillon

83400 Hyères France

Tuesday – Thursday
2pm – 7pm, Friday 11- 7pm, Saturday 9:30- 12:30 2pm-7pm

Featured on the header

| Angie Brooksby Arcangioli

In the last month Singulart selected two of my paintings for curated collections. Times Square Nite. was selected as the banner image for the entire collection. What a wonderful surprise!

Clic on the images to see the collections.

This is a screenshot from the page of the collection

The painting is Times Square Nite and it’s in this collection. Travel with Singluart: North America.

For sure Times Square is a bucket location. It’s worth seeing it once, even if you aren’t a city person. When I was there some guy rode by on his bicycle and complained about the tourists. I thought that was funny.

Here is what this gorgeous painting would look like on your wall, if you live in Paris :)) . The mannequin on the left is for sale, it’s called Place Colette. The other one moved to a luxurious apartment on the other side of Paris.

From Singulart’s collection À Table.

Another painting that was selected for a curated collection is Le Bistro du Peintre. Probably the largest cafe scene that I’ve made to date. It looks great on this red wall. It’s in the collection À Table.

It pleases me to be featured in this collection because my paintings have been about food for years. In Italy I painted food in the style of the Romans. It was called Xenia when they decorated the walls of villas with still life’s of fruit. They did this as an offering. Anyone who came was offered fruit. LOL, you couldn’t eat it but you were offered. I like that.

Iconic Paris Paintings

| Angie Brooksby Arcangioli

During my 14 year sojourn in Paris a few sights always caught my eye. The Eiffel tower and the cobblestones. During its construction the Eiffel tower was heavily criticized by artists and writers. They considered it to be a monstrous erection that violated the Parisian canon of beauty.

Oil Paintings of Contemporary Paris by Angie Brooksby-Arcangioli
Oil on Canvas 100x 100 cm, original one of a kind by ANGIE BROOKSBY-ARCANGIOLI
Available on Singulart

The skeleton is sort of out place amongst the Haussmannian architecture. Perhaps it was the beginning of the dystopian era. Where beauty and harmony are sacked for function and shock. It is a “sight” and climbing it is always an event. I took the photo for this painting on my way to meet girlfriends for dinner on rue de Monttessuey. The drizzly fog cast halos from the shop lights. My minds eye saw the painting while I stood in the middle of the friggin boulevard with cars racing around me.

The first time I went up the Eiffel Tower I was 9 months pregnant. Pregnant women didn’t wait in line, despite nasty protests from tired tourists. At the time the lines were awfully long. Now that’s changed. My idea was that my baby would be born on the top. Luckily that didn’t happen. I was more than ready to lay that egg.

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See me latest paintngs.
Place Contrescarpe the Latin Quarter

The cobblestones in the Latin Quarter and the 6th arrondissements are the other thing that always mesmerize me. I had visually integrated cobblestones because I walked on them for years in Italy. Feet baking rocks they are. The could probably melt iron in Florence. The rocks on Nantucket Island that feign for cobblestones are insane. You need moon boots to navigate them. In Paris they are special because it rains often, like all the time. You can get away with stilettos unless the apéro dinatoire lasted until 1am. Then it’s a barefoot boogie.

These two sexy paintings are available for sale via Singulart. Clic on the images for the link.

#eiffeltower #latinquarter #Paris

Three Parisian Waiters & the Shakti School

| Angie Brooksby Arcangioli

Before I show you my new work, I decided to spill the beans about a secret that I’ve kept for over a year. In 2020 I began donating a percentage of my sales Saving Lives in Rishikesh and to the Shakti School of Arts for girls in Rishikesh.

Through a series of events and a common friend I was put in touch with Ram Das and Tarini Ma who take care of lots of people in Venezuela and in Rishikesh. It all started when I was cleaning out my closets and saw a post on Facebook from Ram Das saying that they needed clothes and if anyone could donate them. I’d been following them for a while. I never sent the clothes because the pandemic blocked all entry of used clothes. But now my art sales go to helping young girls learn art, girls who otherwise would have no education. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to go there and meet the wonderful Tarini Ma and Ram Das. And what a dream it would be to teach a few classes on painting and drawing.

And here are the three Parisian Waiters. They are each 120×40 cm, oil on canvas. I love these three magical Parisian Serveurs. They look so chic in this white kitchen with a marble wall. Red, black and white are the colours of Parisian bistrots. One of these guys worked at L’académie de la Biere on Boulevard de Port Royal before he moved on the Cafe Delmas in Place Contrescarpe. These three waiters were all working the terrasse of Cafe Delmas when I immortalised them. Ever since I saw the Flute Player by Manet, I wanted to paint a full body portrait on a simple collared ground. Le Fifre inspired me also for the colours. These make a great triptych and they are available here on Singulart. They are named Gars Dumas 1,3 & 4. Number 2 sold. There were four of them.

A window of Paris on your wall

| Angie Brooksby Arcangioli

The Latin quarter in Paris was my digs, but I spent lots of time in the 12th. I lived in the 5th arrondissement and walked up or down rue Mouffetard at least once a day. I wrote a flash fiction about it. In the summer time, on Sunday mornings, it smells like roasting chicken, fresh seafood, camembert, wine, kebob, fresh baked bread, tobacco smoke and a cocktail of smells from last night’s partying that isn’t worth mentioning. Quite the cacaphony for sensitive nostrils.

The market on rue Mouffetard is a wonderful muse. I painted it many times. This painting is one of my best. I like the white reflecting off the cobblestones. Once it poured down rain when I walked on those stones. I ended up removing my shoes because they were useless. I had to toss them.

This painting has a history. It was in a gallery in Beruit and in Honfleur. Now it is for sale through Singulart. Here is what it would like hanging on your wall.

I just love sipping coffee in the morning and staring at Angie’s painting of Paris on my wall. I feel like I’m there everyday.

Client in California

In the 12th arrondissement the yoga studios were concentrated. I’d ride my bike there or fly down the sidewalks on my kick scooter to get to Om Sweet Om, where I taught classes. On my way I’d stop to photograph the cafes.

100×100 cm Blue Hour at Brasserie l’Européen

The Brasserie l’Européen is one of my favorites. It’s directly across from Gare de Lyon. It’s shiny; all chrome and mirrors. Paris 1980’s. I enjoyed painting this awning. The yellow and green light contrasts with the violet color of the buildings in the background. The man in the red coat is making seafood platters.

Here is what it would look like on your wall.