An excerpt from Art News related to the pricing range in Miami Art Week events 2022.

Courtesy of Art Basel

“The market is more selective,” said Christophe van de Weghe, whose booth was one of the priciest at the fair. While several works priced between $1 million and $5 million found buyers on opening day, the more expensive pieces remained unsold, including a $20 million Basquiat.

Legendary Swiss dealer Karsten Greve featured brand new figurative paintings by Israeli artist Gideon Rubin on the outside wall of his booth, priced at $14,500 to $34,500, with red dots next to many—but not the pricey Cy Twombly paintings and works on paper inside.

Demand for emerging artists remained strong at the main fair as well as satellite shows like NADA and Untitled. “I haven’t found any bargains,” said Lio Malca, a New York-based collector and private dealer. “Instead of having 10 people in front of you, there are three or four now.”  

He bought several works priced at $10,000 to $100,000, but was outbid on many others, including a $4.5 million Keith Haring painting that had been pre-sold at Gladstone, he said.

Things were slower above $5 million—a sign of the dislocation between what sellers expect and what buyers are willing to pay."

Onli's iconic Rhythmistic work, "The Alchemist" was featured in the PRIZM Art Fair 2022 in Miami. Asking price was $39,000.00. Circa 1999 Acrylics on unframed archival museum profiled stretched canvas. 

Swann Galleries Auction sold this painting by Turtel Onli. Circa 1970, "Family Group" Oils on 24" X 18" canvas from the Johnson Publishing Company Collection.
 

Onli's practice offers the Visual Art collecting community a rare continuum from his being a wunderkind in the late 1960s Black Art Movement in Chicago to being a leading proponent of winning the peace in the visual arts with his Rhythmistic Future-Primitif approach to the visual arts. 

  LINK to PRIZM Art Fair 2022

Onli at the Southern Shore Gallery in the Arts District of downtown Michigan City circa 2017.  

NOTE: The painting on the right, "The Alchemist", is on market-exhibition during Miami Art Week 2022 in a major massive important group exhibition in the PRIZM Art Fair 2020. Robust well-resourced collectors and curators will be able to establish a meaningful connection to the Rhythmisitc Future-Primitif of Onli's original, hand-crafted fine art. 

 "Luv Spaceship Earth" Watercolors on archival 18" X 24" paper. Copyright 2022 Turtel Onli

 Making meaningful connections to Contemporary or Modern Fine Art is often based on multiple factors. The following is a brief journey through a few of them.

1. Attunement. Some of us nowadays may have lost our sensitivity to sensory stimuli.   Becoming a bit numb not only to the effect of most environments on the senses but also to the interactions between the five senses. To develop taste, the first course of action is to unblock the senses and become more mindful of the sensations experienced. 
   
   "Regi The Great" by Turtel Onli.  Rhythmistic portrait of the internationally known award-winning vocalist, Ms Regina Brown, done for the unreleased "Art Project".  Regi is best known for her tenures of performing with Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson. This painting was done in acrylics on canvas and was featured in the controversial "Chicago Show" in the Cultural Center of Chicago in 1989.
   
   
2. Interpretation. The second step is to interpret or translate the sensations that are experienced into the effects they have on emotions. It is about developing a deeper understanding of likes and dislikes and exploring why being drawn to certain sensations and why to reject others.
   
   
   
3. Curation. Curation is one of those words that is often used without knowing exactly what it means. The term actually relates to the word “cure.” To cure (or curate) is to restore it to health by eliminating the parts that damage or devalue it and assembling what remains in a harmonious and coherent way. In the context of business, the ability to curate objects, spaces, stories, and experiences for optimum effect and value represents an enormous untapped opportunity. But this skill requires care, judgment, and, above all, a precious human touch.
   
   Onli created this iconic illustration of the fabulous Pop- Media-Star David Bowie in 1974 for PLAYBOY Magazine's cool trendy and setting "OUI" imprint.
4. Criterion. These are a set of standards upon which art may be objectively evaluated.  Usually led by a Description, an Analysis, the Interpretation and finally a Judgement of the merits of the work of art and the artist.
5. Articulation. Individual tastemakers may be able to execute their vision on their own. But, in order to lead a team or a company, they need to be able to articulate their ideals in such a way that enables others to understand, replicate, reinforce, value and execute this vision and impact with precision.

'Ownership is the hughest form of appreciation!"

 Onli is worldwide from the South Side.......of Chicago1 Welcoming all you cool folks from Sweden, Germany, Japan, France and the USA! It was in Paris where Onli had his first complete Rhythmistic solo fine art exhibition at the FIAP, while being a regular illustrator for the MODE Avant Garde fashion/lifestyle Magazine and the Paris Metro Newspaper. 

This is when Onli overcame his closeted issues around being active in Fine and Commercial art. 

From the early orthodoxy of High Art vs Low Art.

 Great Narrative Art becomes you!

 Highly resourced collectors and bold investors will appreciate the growth potential that Onli offers in his rare, prized, appealing, and compelling Rhythmistic Narrative Figurative Visual Art.

But wait. What is figurative Art? 

Figurative Art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. The term is often in contrast to abstract art:

"Dancers Trust". 48"H X 50"W oils on linen. Circa 2015. In the rapture of music, 

the dancers trust, and sense of a harmonious bond is expressed in both touch and movement.

Available to collect.

Technically speaking, figurative art is any art form depicting a real-life image clearly. According to many historians, its advent can be traced back to ancient times, and it possesses a lineage running through several contemporary as well as modern art schools.

And what is Narrative Art?

Narrative Art is art that tells a story, either as a moment in an ongoing story or as a sequence of events unfolding over time. Some of the earliest evidence of human art suggests that people told stories with pictures.

"Danse of the 911 Phoenix". Acrylics on canvas. 30"W X 40"H. Circa 2001.  This uses the American icon of a Las Vegas Show Girl's powerfully strut to express the vitality of the American Spirit and that the evil terrorists' events of 9-11 will not prevail. Instead, this will be the phoenix moment where these challenges will blossom into the opportunity of an even greater United States of America.

Available to collect.

Rhythmism is a Future-Primitif Art Movement established by Onli.

Note: Picasso did not coin Cubism. Dali did not launch Surrealism. Renoir did not create Impressionism. But Onli did coin, launch, and advocate Rhythmism!

Onli was influenced by the Biblical Pentecostal Charts created by his late grandfather, The Rev. Samuel David Phillips, who raised him. Plus, his childhood readings of works illustrated by the links of N.C. Wyeth and Winslow Homer, including the power of Jack Kirby's industry moving works, along with the amazing musical contextuality of Jimi Hendrix. This was an era when visual artists and illustrators were celebrated cultural icons with radiant star power!

Here is a favored note per N.C. Wyeth:

 By 1914, Wyeth loathed the commercialism upon which he became dependent, and for the rest of his life he battled internally over his capitulation, accusing himself of having "bitched myself with the accursed success in skin-deep pictures and illustrations". He complained of money men "who want to buy me piecemeal" and that "an illustration must be made practical, not only in its dramatic statement, but it must be a thing that will adapt itself to the engravers' and printers' limitations. This fact alone kills that underlying inspiration to create thought. Instead of expressing that inner feeling, you express the outward thought… or imitation of that feeling."

Excerpts from the "I Dream of Jimi" Rhythmistic Production. 

The originals lost due to a studio fire in 2001. 

From age 16 onward, Onli would create Rhythmistic visual art to exhibit or produce in multi-media-video as tributes to Jimi's legacy as a highly visible Black creative thinker whose saw pass the fog of suffering and oppression to manifest an incendiary path to winning the Peace.

What is an Art Movement?

An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years.

Onli is that rare Black Visual Artist whose expressive intelligent Rhythmisitc art works are not bond to statements about oppression or suffering.  He is not like most artists-of-color who seem to have nothing to express other than some redundant tribute to the legacy of abuses or oppression.  

'Earth Angel". Watercolors on archival 18" X 24" paper. Circa 2022. Onli, since the first Earth Day in 1970, often produces works that addresses our role in saving and preserving Spaceship Earth and all it has to preciously offer.

Onli has always seen pass those limiting narratives into the vast potential in manifesting Rhythmism after having won the Peace. This often makes him a challenging opportunity for the World of Art that seems to have an insatiable lust for art that is so retraumatizing and often mediocre at best. 

This makes him and Rhythmism perfect for you!

You will love learning that Onli is a dedicated creative artist whose dynamic career has effectively touched upon a variety of disciplines in fine and applied visual art. He has been an art therapist, educator, and illustrator. He has also distinguished himself in painting, drawing, illustration, publishing, fashion, and multimedia production. 

This includes an extensive exhibition and publication record. He is known for having coined the term Rhythmistic in the 1970s to interpret his content and stylizations which fuse foundational primitive and progressive futuristic concepts in both fine and commercial visual art.

 Mistakes to Avoid When Collecting Art for Beginners

1. Caring too much about other people’s opinion!

What is the biggest mistake beginners make when it comes to art collecting? Prioritizing other people’s tastes instead of your own. The first step to art collecting is to remove any assumptions of what art is “best” and start finding out what styles speak to you.

If you want to start cultivating an art collection, you need to know what you like — not what your mom likes or what is currently considered fine art! After all, many artists are not appreciated for their genius at first, and art trends change. Start asking yourself questions as you look to focus your art collecting around your personal style and preferences. Do you love paintings? Pottery? Or a less conventional art?

Taking the time to consider your favorite styles will improve your collecting so that you have a thoughtful mindset of “a collection of art,” not just separate pieces that lack cohesion. Plus, if you buy art based on other people’s opinions, then your home will be filled with what they like, not what you like.

Always buy according to your style and your preferences. A convenient way to expose yourself to new art and to learn is to read art magazines or art books or to browse artist platforms online. However, remember to keep in mind that these are a way to develop your taste and experience new art, not a rulebook.

 Onli is working on an updated rebooted version of the "No Evils" limited edition book of Rhythmistic images and musings about dealing with evil. 

Unnamed No Evils watercolor paintings in process. 2022

Unpublished sketch from 2003. "Seek No Evils".

This edition will be an eBook. It is intended to be a compelling gallery experience in the palm of one's hand.  

"No evil in the water park". Aquarelles, circa 2007.

Bringing the brilliant power, grace, technique and style of Rhythmism in exploration of the timeless multicultural proverb of Heed No, Seek No and Speak No Evils.

                                         "Speak None". Oils on 36" X 24" canvas. Circa 2008.

The original book was generously presented to selected art enthusiasts, gallerists, collectors of Onli's original imaginative narrative Rhythmistic art and the numerous astute individuals who attended the No Evils exhibitions at the University of Illinois, Chicago, ETA Foundation for the Arts or the Munster Center for Visual and Performing Art.  

The original edition was printed with two variant covers. One showcasing "Heed No Evil".  The other featuring an impressive Future-Primitif masterwerx called "Reach".

 Prof. Onli is honored to be among the outstanding visual artists selected to participate in the Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago's event, Not Just Another Pretty Face.  Event Link!

These are samples of Prof. Onli's portrait work in watercolors and oils.

Event Link

 Onli is offering unique Rhythmistic Visual Art experiences for art enthusiasts and 

distinctive original artworks to the right collector. 

What say you?

"Kokoart": Approximately 50" sq. 

Pigments on unstretched archival cotton. 2020.

 One of four created during the height of the COVID Pandemic 

when Onli was a resident artist in the Chicago at the Hyde Park Art Center.

Each of the recontextualized Rhythmistic Kokopellis 

represents a different expressive art form. 

Visual Art, Music, Literature and the Performing arts. A collection of four.

Above: Digital prints of the Four Expressive Kokopellis. 

Visual Art, Performing Art,

Literature, and Music.

In his context of innovative solo Rhythmistic exhibitions Onli wants art enthusiasts to think of each collection as a distinct "production". Visual Art as performance.  Paintings and Drawings as staged characters. Each work a well-honed variation on a specific theme. Visual art that is hand-crafted to show the dynamic potential of the human touch and the visual vocabulary.  

Where the creativity of one feed into the narrative qualities of the other. 

Each production is an actual visual score where Future-Primitif drawings and paintings yield an appealing cacophony of color, texture, line, and visual rhythms. United by a central theme.

This euphony of visual elements and principles is conceptualized and edited with distinguishable artistic parameters that often go beyond fading trends, and stylish tastes.  They are more in the tradition of experimental narrative art where the viewer has options for discovery and re-contextualization that transcend like or dislike.  

Stark walls become like pages, the gallery a stage, and these are its opulent illustrations.

Each of these stunning Rhythmistic visual art productions is rich in stimulating content.  

Where a work of visual art is still worth a thousand words.

Wiki Link on Onli

 Prof. Onli doing his Rhythmistic thing in his studio.

(Click on images to enlarge for an enhanced viewing experience.) 

Expect dramatic oils on canvas, linen, and wood. These impressive narrative images are derived from his landmark 1981 limited edition Rhythmistic Graphic Novel, "NOG The Protector of the Pyramides".  Onli is using the actual illustrations in that innovative limited-edition book as source material for this exciting new NOG themed art collection.

To play, click the large arrow then the smaller arrow in the lower left of the image.

Animation portrait courtesy of R. T. Younger.

Per 2022 Onli is projected to produce these 20 to 25 astonishing new "NOG" paintings, for a combined total of 70 newly created Rhythmistic paintings, finished by January 25th of 2023. 

These new compelling works will be Onli's methodological birthday gift to himself. They may be discreetly shared with visiting art enthusiasts, curators, collectors, and critics. These dynamic works will be held to Onli's usual standards derived from his former practice of being a major-market illustrator and an award-winning fine artist. No smaller than 18" X 24". Using archival oils on wood, linen, or canvas. Archival watercolors on acid free papers or boards. They will be divided into his emerging "NOG NUBA" series, the celebrated "No Evils" series and his coming "Tales from the Root Lady" Graphic Novel.

For Oni, this is fun!

 Prof. Onli is open to presenting his compelling yet appealing Rhythmistic Fine Art works directly to important collecting museums, forward thinking corporations, exceptional individuals, major universities, endowed foundations, and key art centers.

This favors the host exhibitors, bold collectors and Onli by not limiting or censoring these visual production offerings.

 Exclusively from ONLI STUDIOS LLC

"Ownership is the highest form of appreciation!"

"Butterfly / Melon" Oils on 18" X 24" archival canvas board from

 the "Passion Fruit" Collection, Circa 2008.

 (Note: Her outfit contains the symbols related to sustainable practices.

Contrasting the delicateness of the butterfly with the heft of the watermelon. 

Both vital yet fragile in the cycles of health and ecological concerns.)

A collector of Onli's Rhythmisitc Fine Art selecting from works displayed at the 

Box Factory for The Arts exhibition, entitled "Rhythmistic Smogasbord". Circa 2019

The noteworthy Rhythmistic Visual Art by Prof. Onli 

makes for a perfect addition for the right collection. 

Onli showing the "Rhythmistic Bambara Madonna Quilt". 

A future-primitif recontextualized traditional world fertility icon. 

Approximate size is 7' x 4'. Inks & Dyes on cotton 

with traditional Adinkra trim included. Of the Rhythmistic Quilts Collection.

The following images, documents, talking points, and career landmarks serve as credible factors as to why these opportunities are both timely and promising to bold intelligent collectors who appreciate a more streamlined process for buying contemporary Fine Art and other collectables. 

Note: To enlarge any image simply click on it.

The exceptional collector's financial, social, personal, corporate or cultural strategy will benefit from the addition of Onli's Rhythmistic Fine Art. Buying direct from the source moves nimbly beyond the usual restrictions for a more immediate experience. Not sequestered on a blockchain or questionable origins. 

Actual Fine Art created with dedicated rigor and vision supported by an impressive pedigree.

The principal source.

Rhythmism expresses power and beauty!

"Reach": Oils on 30" X 40" antiquely framed archival canvas. Circa 2000.

From the "Metaphysical Rhythmism" collection. This bald, humble and pure Goddess is reaching to Ra, 

the source of Life, as the Sun itself is reaching to her with its life-giving energies.

 

Presenting fine art from 

the prolific & accomplished 

Rhythmistic Visual Artist, 

Prof. Turtel Onli, M.A.A.T.

"The Alchemist", acrylics on 30" X 40" canvas. 2000.

Onli earned two degrees from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago 

with studies at the Sorbonne, Atelier Pont Royal and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

                                                Cropped "Aide" from the current "NOG" collection in progress. Circa 2021

His uniquely impressive five decades plus dedicated practice has produced several complete bodies of fine art centered around distinct contextual themes. 

Cropped "Dancer's Trust" Oils on canvas.

 From the expanding "Rhythmistic  Danse" Collection. Circa 2015

Rhythmism has universal appeal! 

These comprehensive collections have been exhibited to positive transgenerational acclaim.  Their Future-Primitif stylizations, narrative character, imaginative content, archival quality materials, and experimental techniques predate and postdate the trending of Afrofuturism, populous protest art & variable predictable intersections of transitioning political or often exploited complex social agendas. 

                                           These are vital timeless nouveau classics. 

 Onli started his Rhythmistic career as an eight-teen year-old wunderkind in 1970 when he erupted on the peaking Black Art Movement and Counterculture scenes in Chicago.  

That year he formed B.A.G.: Arts Guild to facilitate the transition of young gifted visual artists from talented students into mainstream able creative professionals. 

To do great art one must have great initiative.

"Kokopellies: Art, Performance, Literature & Music". 

Each is about 48 inches square painted on archival cotton. Unframed. 

Of the "Rhythmistic Quilts" Collection. Circa 2020. 

Created during his Rhythmistic Residency at the Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago.

This autonomous guild addressed the challenges of the repressive agism and conventional orthodoxy of that era that were designed to limit opportunities for youthful emerging artists. The majority of B.A.G.'s members were of the Queer spectrum. 

B.A.G. also served as the think-tank for "Rhythmism", as Onli felt the narrow orthodox term of "Black Art" was inadequate and vague. It seemed to lack the level of intellectual resonance of terms like  Dadism, Surrealism or Impressionism. Onli saw the need to establish distinct genres and accepted these challenges and opportunities in both fine and commercial art applications. Rhythmism!

  

Prof. Onli seated in front of a Rhythmistic painting he created 

live in a demo at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Summer 2021

Hype and a news-clip from the 1991 Retrospective B.A.G. exhibition at the Prairie Avenue Gallery, Chicago.

In addition to directing B.A.G. for its exceptional eight-year tenure, Onli went on to experiment with an assortment of Rhythmistic stylizations in Fine in independent galleries and Commercial Art in major market publications while serving as a clinical community-based Art Therapist and Visual Arts Educator. 

"Tao": Colored Pencils on vellum. 18: X 24: 

From the Metaphysical Rhythmism Collection. Circa 2005

The conventional art community would insist that Onli restrict his production to one style.  To maintain a uniform sense of content and a limited, more predictable visual narrative.  Onli felt he had a lot of things to say and numerous ways to communicate them in the visual art process.  

Be it Fine Art or Illustration...Art Education or Art Therapy, Onli was curious, productive and too independent for them. 

Onli's works often are often related to narrative art or classical illustration in its contextualization of the human figure as a universal metaphor that is often expressively melded with his more abstracting Rhythmistic elements. 

Onli developed his considerable skills and expansive production methods during his tenure as a major market freelance illustrator. Especially being able to focus on central ideas while illuminating distinct concepts.

Often hidden in plain sight.

"Bowie" for Playboy's OUI Magazine, circa 1975

Book cover for Holt, Rinehart & Winston, circa 1989

His powerful works have been shown in eminent world class venues such as The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, The New Musuem of Contemporary Art, New York, The FIAP in Paris, and the DuSable Musuem of Black History plus an impressive array of independent glocal galleries.

Onli's early Rhythmistic work is featured as the lead illustration in this anthology on revolutionary jazz album cover art. Album and cassette covers were a great outlet.  During a time when Record Stores provided dynamic cultural networks Onli has honored and fortunate to have designed or illustrated enough to become a Voting Member of NARAS in the 1980s. NARAS produces the Grammies.

"Pink No Evil" per the cover of this literary anthology.

2000, Rizzoli International Publications:

 Onli has work in both the book and the exhibition at the

 New Musuem of Contemporary art that year.

 

His works are included in numerous important anthologies of Fine and Commercial art.

Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones checking out Onli's Album Cover illustration in the EMI Studios, Paris. Circa 1978. It was censored from use based on the commercial & moral norms of that era.

His major-market illustration client history includes The Paris Metro Magazine, Playboy, Capital Records, WGN Television Court Room News, The Rolling Stones, Singer Society For Visual Education, Chicago Magazine, and Holt-Rinehart & Winston.

"NOG: Nubian of Greatness" circa 1979, shown on its outer wall, 2021 

at the Musuem of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 

per its blockbuster group exhibition curated by Dan Nadel.

The "Rhythmistic Jimi" exhibition was lost in a devastating studio fire however it is being digitally reconstructed.

This insightful review was written by Harold Haydon of the University of Chicago's 

world famous Midway Studios. At the time Haydon was the dean of Art Critics working in Chicago.

 The "Rhythmistic Jimi" was a highly acclaimed growing multi-media exhibition that was a melding of creativity, politics, and counter cultural explorations. A kindred homage to the impact of the late musician Jimi Hendrix.

Onli was part of the international wearable art boom of the 1980s and showcased

 at the New York Art Expo in 1984 representing the legendary Younger Gallery of Hyde Park, Chicago.

"Danse of the 911 Phoenix": 30" X 40" 

acrylics on archival canvas circa 9-12 2001. 

Symbolic of the return of the American Spirit

after the terrible events of 9-11 which President Bush called, "An act of evil!".

 From the "No Evils" Collection.

"Never Evil" Graphite on 24" 36" archival board. Circa 2020 from the "No Evils" Collection. 2020

Onli at Michigan City's Southern Shore's group' exhibition in front of 

"Play Angels" oils on 40"-inch square canvas, from the "No Evils' collection. 

It begs the question: "Are angels the souls of the deceased or the spirits of those yet to be born?"

 

 Below "The Alchemist"; Acrylics on 30" X 40" museum profiled canvas. 

From the "Metaphysical Rhythmism" collection. Depicting the Alchemist in the mythical process of transforming lead into gold. We all wish to turn the worthless into a valued treasure.

Rhythmism is never sterile!

Onli's statement on the shocking impact of COVID. "Fear No Maskings". 

Acrylics on 24" X 36" wooden board. Circa 2020. From the "No Evils" collection.

Illustrating our primal fears at the start of the COVID Pandemic. 2020

Onli with the "Rhythmistic Bench" that is in the permanent collection of the Chicago Childrens Museum, Chicago. Crica 1995.  Located in Navy Pier, which is now the home base for the lucrative fabulous 

annual EXPO CHICAGO international Fine Art Exposition.

His academic pedigree includes a M.A.A.T. in Art Therapy and a B.F.A. in Art Education from the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with studies at the Sorbonne, The Beaux Arts, The Contre Pompidue and the University of Chicago.

Now this accomplished practice's unique Fine Art is available to insightful and resourceful win-win focused individuals, museums, corporations and institutions who are comfortable to look beyond the limits of established gallerists and expensive arts brokers.  

Offering a great way to fill those gaps in existing collections.

Calculating collectors, curators and art lovers can contact us to explore our inventory of Rhythmistic Fine Art with its proven growth potential. EMAIL

Recently an early work of Onli's sold at the SWANN GALLERIES surprisingly successful auction of the important Johnson Publishing Company's Art Collection at eight times its original cost. BTW, this painting was the second Rhythmistic oil painting created by Onli when he was 18 years old. "Family Group". Oils. 1970.

All of the key  Rhythmistic works of visual art shown above 

are available for the right collector and fine art collection.

Info & Contact Links:

 

Use our Contact Tab at our website for ONLI STUDIOS listed below. 

You may read more about Prof. Onli via Wikipedia.

Wiki: Turtel Onli

Web site: www.onlistudios.com

PRIZM