Child Prodigy Janel Lessing an 'Undiscovered Genius'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- For almost five decades the talent of Janel Lessing has gone unrecognized. According to Howard Bloch, manager of Bloch Gallery LLC, that is far too long.

Bloch asks, "What defines greatness? Beauty; originality; desirability; recognition among one's peers; rejection until somebody becomes a corpse? Or is it when somebody plunks down their money on the table and says, 'I'll pay this much for this'?"

In art, money defines importance. If Lessing is important, then, according to Bloch, she's worth enough to earn the respect she deserves in the art community. In Lessing, Bloch sees touches of Picasso and Modigliani, but not the same. Like Rembrandt, each of her drawings is an adventure in style and symmetry, but like her predecessor, she makes each her own.

Lessing did much of her best work at the ripe old age of 13, with sight so near she drew at 6 inches. But in despair later in life, she threw her entire personal collection away. Bloch disagrees with the artist's opinion that her work should be in a thrift store. "She's not in Davenport's, but she is in the Smithsonian."

Bloch says the artist's dejection cannot alter the gallery's course. He questions common contemporary thought. "Can't the downtrodden rise above? Is the world better because of great art of the 20th Century? Wasn't Lana Turner discovered at a soda shop counter?

"Here's our philosophy. Failure does not dictate success in a place where genius resides. In this way we can inspire the world."

Today, Janel Lessing, the child prodigy's dreams of youth have faded, but like Vincent on that fateful day, there's somebody out there that believes the legacy still survives.

Of the few remaining works, some can be viewed at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. (on website http://hirshhorn.si.edu/). One of the largest collections still in existence, at 10 pieces, can be found at Bloch Gallery LLC in Beverly Hills, California, and is now for sale.

Photos:

http://www.ereleases.com/pic/JanelLessing.jpg

http://www.ereleases.com/pic/JanelLessing2.jpg

For more information, go to http://www.blochgalleryllc.com

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SOURCE Bloch Gallery LLC