David Tobey, Artist & Juilliard Graduate Hosts Benefit For The School At Pleiades Gallery In NYC

Online, October 25, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Beginning November 2nd, a solo benefit exhibition of art by Juilliard alumnus, violinist, painter, sculptor & teacher David Tobey will be held at Pleiades Gallery, 530 West 25th Street in New York City's Chelsea Art District. A full 50% of all proceeds from the sale of any of Tobey's paintings, sculptures and prints on display will go to benefit The Juilliard School. Two receptions for the show's opening will be held at the 4th floor gallery on Thursday evening Nov. 4th from 6 to 9 p.m. and on Saturday afternoon Nov. 6th from 3 to 6. Both parties will feature refreshments and programs of live musical entertainment, and the public is cordially invited to attend.

Tobey is the son of Rosalyn Tobey, a concert pianist and the late noted painter and historical illustrator Alton Tobey. In his teens, David studied both music and art -- at The Art Students League in New York and at The Music Conservatory of Westchester in White Plains, NY respectively. In music, he went on to complete his bachelor's degree at Juilliard, and his master's in art at The College of New Rochelle where he currently lives and teaches both art and music.

Tobey has had solo and group shows in New York and in the tri-state area for over ten years, with most of his recent ones as benefits for causes and organizations he actively supports, including the Westchester Philharmonic, where he regularly performs with the orchestra; for the American Cancer Society, The Danny Fund, The National Scholastic Chess Foundation and others.

Tobey's work in this exhibition consists of new paintings in his 'pop art' style, many of them based upon musical themes; and others painted in his traditionally and best known abstract style, along with welded steel sculptures and giclees. Anyone interested in previewing the show before its opening can contact Tobey to arrange an appointment to see his work, since the 50% of all the proceeds from any purchases made from the date of this release until November 27th, when the show closes, will also go to benefit Juilliard.

Tobey's work has been favorably noted in reviews: Art in America described David's art as ". . .human drama, subconscious imagery, and a playful imagination, all coalesce in paintings and sculpture", and Gallery & Studio commented on his sculpture as having " . . .a unique draftsmanly fluidity in metal, surpassing even that of [Julio] Gonzalez". His work has been published in a book and on CD covers, and is in important private & public collections, including the George Bush Library, The American Cancer Society and others.

The Juilliard School established this country's standard for education in the performing arts, beginning with music in 1905. In 1951, its Dance Division was established, with combined training in contemporary and ballet technique. Juilliard became part of Lincoln Center in 1968, and added a four-year drama program. A residence hall - the School's first - was completed in 1990, and in 2001, Juilliard broke new ground with the addition of its jazz program; a graduate program in Historical Performance began in Fall 2009, the same year that Juilliard inaugurated its partnership with the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

As Juilliard commences its second century of excellence, it has expanded its facilities with a 39,000 square-foot addition, completed in 2009. Currently more than 800 young artists from 44 states (plus Washington, D.C.) and 46 foreign countries attend Juilliard. For more information, visit Juilliard's Web site at www.juilliard.edu.

More about David's art and his career as an artist and musician can be found on his web site at www.davidtobey.com, and he can be contacted by phone by calling (914) 632-8226 or by email to him at [email protected].