Jack Ceglic | Mark Heming: Casting Call
October 4 - November 9, 2025
Press Release
(left) Jack Ceglic, "Leon," (right) Mark Heming, "Man White Ascot"
(left) Jack Ceglic, "Leon," (right) Mark Heming, "Man White Ascot"
From October 4 through November 9, The Drawing Room is pleased to present "Casting Call," a two-person exhibition spotlighting portraits by American artists Mark Heming (b. 1907– d. 1999) and Jack Ceglic (b. 1935). The show explores the distinct perspectives of two New Yorkers who embraced the diverse cross-section of their city’s communities as a rich subject for communicating the pathos of the human condition.

Mark Heming was born on Manhattan’s Upper East Side to Morris Heimerdinger and Sarah Liebmann, whose family owned and operated the historic Brooklyn-based Liebmann Breweries. He started painting as a young adult, without formal art training. His fascination with the multiplicity of faces propelled a lifelong studio practice that centered primarily on portraiture. Based upon the stirring impressions of the individuals he encountered in daily life in New York City and during family travels in Europe, his paintings and drawings reflect his empathic response to people he observed. Though reluctant to exhibit his work during his lifetime, Heming maintained an active studio practice when he moved from Manhattan to Sag Harbor in the 1950s and continued to develop new bodies of work until his death at 92. 

Jack Ceglic was raised in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, where his mother owned a butter and egg store. After high school, Ceglic studied art and illustration at Parsons, which led to work designing window displays for Bonwit Teller and other department stores. He began exhibiting in the 1960s. Highly regarded for the resonance of his portraits, which span a six-decade career, he also pioneered the design aesthetic for Dean & DeLuca emporium, which he co-founded with Joel Dean and Giorgio DeLuca. 

 

In contrast to Heming's representation of the faces that stayed with him when he worked in solitude, Ceglic’s portraits begin when he invites his subjects to model at his studio. Until 2014, the success of Dean & DeLuca kept his center of gravity in SoHo, and Ceglic kept a studio near the store where he often invited people to sit for him. The subjects of his portraits include friends and relatives, colleagues, employees, artists and people he first met on the streets of downtown Manhattan. 
 
While separated by a generation and unique circumstances, Heming and Ceglic created works that manifest their shared sensitivity to the profound expressive possibilities of the human figure. By pairing their works, "Casting Call" highlights the vitality and psychological nuance each artist brings to portraiture, offering a compelling dialogue across time, culture and techniques.
 
Concurrent with the Hamptons International Film Festival, the gallery will be a stage for characters from all walks of life.
Works