New Center for Figurative Painting

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The Center for Figurative Painting a new “museum/gallery,” as described by artist Simon Dinnerstein, in the heart of Chelsea, New York’s lively art epicenter, opened its inaugural exhibit on February 3rd, 2020. But although the coronavirus pandemic curtailed that exhibit, its future is bright.

Reporting by David Stone

“The Center for Figurative Painting was formed to provide public exhibition and display of Post-War American Representational painting,” says the founders on their website.

“Post-War American Representational painting, often overshadowed by other Post-War American art movements, is an important art movement in its own right,” they add, “and deserves a museum dedicated to its display and further study.”

I hadn’t given that much thought until an email from Simon Dinnerstein landed in my inbox. An invitation for CFP’s first show, of American masterpieces, one of them his own Passage of the Moon.

Center for Figurative Painting FAQ

About Simon Dinnerstein

Simon Dinnerstein created The Fulbright Triptych, a modern masterpiece. Painted in the early 1970s, a “rarely seen realist masterpiece,” it toured the nation last year.

I met Dinnerstein by chance, a few years back. He stood beside a picture I love: Can the Universe Be Held in the Gaze of a Small Dog?

It was the Museum Mile Festival, a multi-block tour through centuries of art. Galleries along 5th Avenue open their doors for free.

Dinnerstein’s new work was on a wall at the National Academy Museum. He folded his arms beside it like a proud father.

In the years since, we stayed loosely in touch, and my wife and I visited his home when he had an open house. Some artists say little about their work, especially that in progress, but Dinnerstein is different. A teacher, he talked about his active work with anyone asking.

My experiences with and the genius of his work taught me that the Center for Figurative Painting was on the right track.

Conclusion

Click here for a list of the CFP’s artists. More importantly, go there, sample the first effort by this promising museum/gallery.

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