Musings on Photorealism, Edward Hopper, April Gornik and A.J. Fries
As many of you know Lori & I are both from Buffalo, NY and we artnerd-it-up the Queen City from time to time. One of Buffalo’s most notable living artists is A.J. Fries, a photorealist painter whom has exhibited at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, Hallwalls, Big Orbit Gallery, Buffalo Arts Studio, among others. There’s just something about his paintings that draw me in like an Edward Hopper landscape from the 1920-30s.
![AJ Fries' Skyway, 2009 vs. Edward Hopper's Wellfleet Road, 1931 [detail]](http://art-nerd.com/newyork/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/04/FriesHopper.jpg)
AJ Fries’ Skyway, 2009 vs. Edward Hopper’s Wellfleet Road, 1931 [detail]

Robert Adams, Interstate 25, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1968-72 vs. AJ Fries’s Parking Lot 2009
This brings me to the photorealism / hyper-realism painting style of AJ Fries, its been around a while (longer than I’ve been alive) and seemed to really take off in the 1980s with Eric Fischl and company. IMHO It’s Eric’s wife that shines in this space. April Gornik’s work is a classic example of atmospheric photorealism that does well in today’s art market. Comparing the last Gorkin Danese show and the last Fries Hallwalls show I saw, I walked away feeling equally satisfied and impressed with the moodiness of it all.

April Gornik’s Moonlight at the Shore, 2011 [Image Courtesy Danese Gallery] vs. AJ Fries’ Sixteen Skies, 2008
You can keep on AJ’s Paintings by liking his Facebook Page and if April Gornik is reading this, let’s hang out sometime!