Why "the new reality"? What happened to the old one?

The sixty-five paintings comprising The New Reality answer this question by demonstrating how members of the International Guild of Realism not only embrace concepts and techniques borrowed from older masters of ism's including Classicism, Romanticism, Impressionism, and Modernism but also incorporate contemporary styles such as photorealism, surrealism, and super-realism to create something totally new in a centuries-old art form.

Advances in brushes, lighting, and art materials as well as in photography, movie special effects, and an openness to using the tools of modern technology as subject matter allow today's Realists to create paintings that are not seen as derivative or clichéd versions on their historic predecessors but rather as re-energized and refreshed.

Participating artists were asked to identify historical paintings that museum visitors would reference to compare or contrast with the contemporary artworks on view. Images of the historic works on gallery labels illuminate the exercise For example, Vincent van Gogh's The Courtesan (1887) is referenced with Véronique Moliner's 2006 oil Japanese Doll, and Isabelle du Toit's oil Chinese Gliding Tree Frogs is paired with a comparative of John James Audubon's Audubon Frog (1771).

In such pairings, the contrast between the old and the new is startling; in others, one can almost see the apprentice soaking up and reinterpreting the Old Master's techniques and subject matter for modern visual impact.