This July, the Geary Gallery of Darien is proud to present the illusory paintings of Ridgefield, CT artist, Steve Wolf. His meticulously realistic works will be on exhibit July 2-31 at the Geary Gallery, located at 576 Boston Post Road. All are welcome and admission is free.

About Steve Wolf

After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ, Steve Wolf went on to secure a Master of Fine Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, aspiring to teach in the future. However, that goal never came to pass.

While at WashU, Wolf minored in art history and developed a strong appreciation for Italian chiaroscuro painter, Caravaggio, and German Expressionist, Max Beckman. Although Beckman taught at the college in the late 1940s, his influence was remained significant. Looking back, it was a pivotal moment in Wolf’s career. Should he pursue fine art or commercial art? While it is possible to do both, he ultimately chose to fully commit to illustration, design and art direction. The journey lasted for 30 years. He earned a reputation as the art director who could also sketch, which proved to be quite beneficial when working with clients.

So much so, that an agent in Hollywood reached out to him about creating story boards, and just like that, he was suddenly doing so for some of best and biggest global advertising agencies in the world. Although he was immersed in commercial art for so many years, Steve always found time to paint on the weekends and holidays. Painting in oil was his “center,” but the timing was not right yet.

Following the events of 9/11 and for a while afterwards, he began instinctively painting iconic New York City architecture. Manhattan offers an endless array of architectural inspiration, making it a natural choice for his work. Another event occurred that brought his priorities into focus. In 2018, his wife and son started dialysis due to a rare genetic disease. This new paradigm shift of being the official “caregiver” brought on unique roles and responsibilities, and unique pockets of free time. Painting became very cathartic, and it was during this time he dove back into oil painting with vigor and vengeance. As of today, both his wife and son have successfully undergone transplants and are recovering well.

To view Wolf’s paintings visit our online gallery.