Parks & Recreation, The Fund for Park Avenue Sculpture Committee, and Art Nouveau Gallery were pleased to announce a public art exhibition by distinguished Venezuelan-American artist Rafael Barrios on the Park Avenue Malls between 50th and 68th Streets. This ambitious exhibition included nine boldly colored, visually intriguing steel sculptures. This exhibition opened concurrently with the The Armory Show, where Art Nouveau Gallery will showcase Barrios' smaller-scale work.

Rafael Barrios has been recognized as one of the most innovative contemporary Latin American artists. Since the 1970's he has continued to perfect his unique concept of Virtualism, a movement that he describes as "the creation of visually [participatory] pieces by dislocating events in our perception. Volume is virtually modeled and modified in form—depending on distance—shifting with the position of the observer and the changes in light throughout the day."

Following is a list of the paintings that have been sold for the highest amounts as of Spring of 2013:

Highest Price Ever Paid for a Painting 

$250,000.00

PAUL CÉZANNE

"The Card Players", 1892/93

Private sale, 2011. Seller: George Embiricos. Buyer: Royal Family of Qatar. This is the last version of this famous composition by Paul Cézanne still in private hands. The fabulous psychological intensity in the faces of the players make this painting a masterpiece of post-impressionist art.

Armando Reverón is considered as the maximum exponent of venezuelan impressionism.  He was an important painter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Venezuela. His mental health deteriorated but his artistic abilities remained. His use of color and light is highly appreciated in artistc circles. Very loved in Venezuelan culture, he is the subject of various homages in different medias, and is remembered by his "muñecas" or dolls.  His images are hardly triumphalist and his use of colors are liverish, sad and grimy.

Armando Reverón

(May 10, 1889 - September 18, 1954)

He was always painting women. Those from the 1930s gain a certain mystery from being done in close-valued whites and sepias. But basically they're standard academic nudes, slippery and slumberous. In the 1940s the tones darken, and the figures grow stranger.

This popular artist goes around major cities across Latin America and literally "stamps" the streets with his multidimensional chalk drawings that amazes spectators with unique images that makes them believe his illustrations have depth and are real.

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