Inspiration Island: Seven Mile the Muse for Josef Kote Exhibit Coming to Ocean Galleries
“Stone Harbor Sunshine”
Coral-colored sunrises, waves in every shade of blue, and sunsets that shift from lavender to indigo to night … Seven Mile Beach is a festival of color, nature, and light. This summer, its beauty will be celebrated with a special exhibit when world-renowned artist Josef Kote returns to Ocean Galleries in Stone Harbor on Aug. 7, 8 and 9.
Featuring a collection of original paintings inspired by this island and created for this incredible show, Kote’s exhibit is titled “Geneses,” and will include gallery receptions with the artist.
“Honestly, for us, it’s an honor,” says Ocean Galleries owner Kim Miller. “People coming to the show should know that the paintings were painted just for this event. They won’t see anything like this anywhere else. They can’t get anything like this anywhere else. He painted all year for it. So, that makes us very lucky.”
Luck might have played a role. But it’s more than likely Ocean Galleries’ 35 years of expertise and the warm camaraderie of this family-run business attracted Kote. In fact, Ocean Galleries is one of only two galleries that Kote selected to represent his work this year.
Described as a “symphony of light and color,” Kote’s paintings combine classic and abstract elements that make them as modern as they are timeless. As bold as they are calm.
“I like to call his work expressionism, because you can tell that he’s trying to express an idea that’s in his head,” Miller says. “He’s trying to capture a certain light that he loves. And he does it in incredible ways.”
Kote’s artistic process is as interesting as the work he creates.
“A curious thing about him is that he never uses paint out of the tube,” Miller notes. “He mixes every color that he puts on his canvas. He works with a palette knife and brush. Think of the confidence, when he’s picking up that palette knife with the colors he mixed on it and he’s spreading it across the canvas. There are probably 10 different colors going through that one scoop through the canvas. And he’s layering those colors on top of colors on top of colors.”
Though his work exists on a large canvas, every inch of it contains his distinct blend of color and light.
“You could take any 12-by-12 square of his painting and if you held up your hand, you could probably see 50 different colors in that 12-by-12 square,” says Miller.
While Josef Kote’s colors are special, his “drips” are his hallmark. Miller explains, “at the bottom of his paintings he does this drip effect, in which he lets some of the paint drip to the bottom of the canvas. It becomes part of the piece itself because the colors are dripping in the same colors that were in the palette knife coming across the canvas. I explain it as pure confidence. He knows the colors and he’s so confident when he picks up that brush or knife and spreads it across the canvas, and he just knows what those colors are going to create. He’s amazing.”
Born in the scenic coastal town of Vlore, Albania, Kote has been an artist his entire life. Constantly creating, Kote turned his innate talent, ambition and classical art education into an incredibly successful career. As a painter he’s renowned for his portraits, urban scenes, rural vistas, coastal scenes, and especially his seascapes. His work has taken him around the world, from Albania to Greece to Toronto, and most recently, to New York City.
Visits to our barrier island inspired the “Geneses” collection that he will share at Ocean Galleries.
“The whole collection is wrapped around our area,” says Miller. “He’s been here and he knows what he wants to paint and he’s fascinated with the sea. So, a lot of the paintings are crashing waves, water, shoreline, sunrises and sunsets. Sometimes you see paintings and think, ‘It could be this area.’ These paintings actually are inspired by this area. It’s really special to have such an artist like Josef take such an interest in our town and do these site-specific works.”
Beyond Seven Mile Beach, the “Geneses” collection was also influenced by the unprecedented time we’ve been living in. In an introduction to the exhibit, Kote says: “How else to describe these last few months other than surreal? The landscape of humanity as we once know, has come undone in a matter of months. Never before have we all been forced to face ourselves this way. It feels like a new beginning … During this period of complexity and isolation, art has offered hope and inspiration, whether we realize it or not.
“Creatively, I used this moment to create works that have brought out the feeling of calmness; something we all need these times to get us through. And what better than a water theme does that? The ocean is the place where I usually go for soul restoration and to find a sense of calm and clarity.
“As an artist, the study of water has been a subject which has fascinated me for many years. I spent countless hours staring at it, analyzing the light, shadows, and the movement of the water. What I find mesmerizing is that every time I go, I see something new and unexpected. Given how many seascapes I’ve painted during my career, it feels like I spend several lifetimes studying the water and still have plenty left to learn.”
Looking at his paintings, it is hard to believe that Kote has anything left to learn. His mastery of color, light, shade, composition, scale and mood are unparalleled. And he happily discusses all of these aspects at his exhibits.
“He will explain in detail and tell you the colors and what moved him,” Miller says. “He’s a true artist. He’s very soft-spoken and contemplative. If you talk to him, you’ll see that he definitely sees the world in artistic terminology. It’s fabulous being around him and hearing his insights. He just has the ability to talk about art to anyone.”
As for the pieces in the “Geneses” collection, Miller says, “you really have to come in and experience them. He put so much of himself into them. Especially in the genre of our beach and our area and our water – I’ve never seen anything like it. When you see those paintings around you, you just think, ‘How did he do that?’ And they look different when you’re close up than when you’re far away. The pieces are just fabulous.”
If early interest is any indication, the exhibit will be a huge success. In July, Miller framed one of the pieces called “Stone Harbor Sunshine” and put it in the Ocean Galleries window. “It’s a big dune scene that just screams ‘Stone Harbor’ and out of everything in the gallery, it is what people have been drawn to.”
Undoubtedly, hosting this exhibit is a very proud moment for Miller and her family, who have dedicated their livelihood to bringing art and culture to this island.
“This is my hometown,” says Miller.
“I grew up in Avalon. So, for me to support the town and bring this kind of business and talented artists like Josef – is just a plus and it helps everybody. Even if patrons just stroll through – we encourage that. I always wanted to bring art to people.”
With Josef Kote’s “Geneses” collection, Miller has reached a new pinnacle.
“Really it’s about making people’s lives richer and happier,” she says. “To me, that’s very rewarding.”
For more information about Ocean Galleries and Josef Kote’s “Geneses” exhibit, go to oceangalleries.com or call 609-368-7777.
The “Geneses” Exhibit
Featuring original paintings by Josef Kote at Ocean Galleries: 9618 Third Avenue, Stone Harbor
Artist Receptions
No reservations required
Friday, Aug. 7 7-10pm
Saturday, Aug. 8 7-10pm
Sunday, Aug. 9 1-4pm
Kim Miller stresses that Ocean Galleries is adhering to all current rules and restrictions required for social distancing: “We won’t be offering wine and cheese, because people have to take their mask down to eat or drink. We’ll have someone at the door, making sure that the crowd doesn’t get over 25 people in the gallery at a time. Inside, the corridors in the gallery are big, you can manage to stay 6 feet apart.”
