A Season of Thanks

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Twas the day before Thanksgiving

and oh so much yet to do . . . . . .

Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday.

The image is from pbnmopo.

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Verbal Visuals

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If you follow what's going on in the contemporary art world, then you're familiar with the work of Ed Ruscha.




Rather than try to say anything important about him or his work, I'll let you read this very scholarly dissertation about his painting "Mean As Hell". Although it's specifically about the painting, it really "nails it down" in explaining Ed's oeuvre.

What attracted me to this video and the main reason I'm sharing it is the simple honesty with which he speaks about his career and the reasons for becoming an artist. It just doesn't get any simpler than this; and that's why it's so inspiring.

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Cut, Drawn Lines

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Seeing this image of Adam Fowler in no way prepares you for encountering his work.

Surprising and honest they are at once obvious and mysterious. Each piece starts as a gestural drawing using either pencil, graphite stick or graphite crayon. After the lines are made he removes the negative spaces in the drawings with an x-acto knife. Some works will have as few as 4 layers or individual sheets while others have as many as 74 layers in the finished piece. The lines differ in width and tone, relative to the drawing tool he used in the beginning.

He's represented by Margaret Thatcher Projects and several of the 13 images of his work are photographed from different angles to give you a better idea of the work involved.

Click the thumbnails on his Website for a generous enlargement; click again for a ginormous pdf version.

d.e.n. Contemporary has 3 images of framed work and here's a review from NYArtBeat.
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Images are from artist's website.
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Riparian Interlude

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Neo-Geo w/Dots

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Artists minds are amazing things and it's so fascinating to find out why they do the things they do; what inspired them to pursue their particular course. W.C. Richardson's oil & alkyds or mixed media works are sure enough amazing and entertaining; some are Geo-Minimal, some are more complex. You'll enjoy reading the interview, and viewing the nice large images at Geoforms. There is a short statement and 8 images that concentrate on the dots, Here. Another 8 images here rounds out the examples of his work.

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Top image from Artnet.

Bottom image from Geoforms, a wonderful site if you're into Geo-Modern Art.

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Northern Perspective

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From studying architecture, to working for a gold exploration project in the Arctic, to designing postage stamps for Greenland, Ina Rosing certainly has an interesting life to inform her oeuvre. Her mixed technique includes bursts of color and writing in the paintings. Although she uses crayons and spray paint, her passion is to - " . . . make the oil paint work in different ways and talk in different voices. My main concern when I paint is the paint itself. The colour and texture is more important to me than the subject matter." This partial quote is from her BIO at GV Art London. You can view installation shots of her Show, The Importance of Beauty and also view many more images of the work in the catalogue (pdf).


When you visit her Website, you'll need to other click and then choose "open link" to enlarge the thumbnails.


Image is from Amelia's Magazine.
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Writing In Paintings

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It doesn't matter whether it's readable or not, paintings with writing in them or on them attract me like a high voltage magnet. For me there's just something amazing about written words as content and composition.

Ludmila Pawlowska's oeuvre is at once masculine and yet there's no mistaking the feminine side. Maybe that comes from the feeling that her paintings are constructions rather than just brushwork. You'll find a beautiful blue painting and she describes her work Here.
She's represented by Galeri Elise Toft where you'll find 10 images.
Ludmila is also represented by the Tapper-Popermajer Art Gallery where you'll find 14 other images of her work.
You'll get a better picture of this interesting woman by wandering around her studio.



Top image from Galeri Elise Toft.

Bottom image from the Tapper-Popermajer art gallery.
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The Scribbler

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I would imagine that if you showed the top image to a child, they might be convinced that it's a picture of what Heaven will be like; one of the activities that they would be able to participate in - forever.

Otto Zitko is a unique artist indeed, but I think many of us want to not like him simply because he scribbles so much. Looking at his work makes us revisit our feelings about modern art, contemporary art. Just what exactly is important or meaningful ? Is his work just too simple to be important ? There are many times that I'll be viewing new work by young artists and while I'm scratching my head wondering "what were they thinking", I mentally take myself back to deKooning's Woman series - how crazy were those things ?

I'm not asking you to like his work - just to look and consider the feelings they evoke.

Google Images has plenty for you to choose from.

Top image and second image from KunstNet.

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Colorful Scribbles

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It's been a great privilege to watch several artists that I follow, change direction in their oeuvres. Just amazing to see the little morphs at first and then the full blossoming as their style grows and matures.

I'll have to admit that the early works of Gunther Forg are not my cup of tea; but these later pieces practically make me giggle with delight. There's something simple and childish and honest that makes you want to say "hey, look" to someone who's only into realistic art. Even though his new works seem very different(mush prettier and open), as you get an overview of his work, you can see that these are still connected to what he's always been about.

The above images are from Galerie Graesslin where they have so many images of all facets of his work that it's just incredible. Even though it's in German, you'll quickly figure it out and the information for each image is at the top. For a quicker overview of his work go to Galerie Filomena Soares where you can quickly scroll through 25 images - enlarging an image gives you the information. And 19 other and different images can be seen on one page at Contemporary Art Daily's coverage of his show at Galerie LeLong where you can see even more images and a pic of the artist.

I'll leave you with a video of the Vernissage for his Show at Zane Bennett Contemporary Art. They have 16 works from 2008 and some are different yet from the other sites.

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Nude Fruit

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Take a few moments to contemplate this still life. What fruits do you recognize? And the longer you look, doesn't it seem as though some are in their underwear ? This image conjures very strange thoughts, indeed. Maybe it should be included in psychological testing along with the rorschachs.

You'll find this and another thought provoking image by photographar Holger Niehaus at photoq.nl.

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Op/Dots

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These dot paintings by Amanda Reeves take the words shy and subtle to a whole new place. But spend some time with them and you really start to like their personalities. There's an atmospheric glow to her minimal, color field backgrounds where different size dots of color hover like fairytale traffic signals guiding us through a fog. Read what she says about her work at the in2art gallery and it confirms your suspicions that this is, in fact op-art. When you visit her Website, click on Paintings to choose works from 2006, through '09. There are precious few works here, but they're all gems. Her latest works are going in a new direction and I hope she rekindles the magic as she goes forward.

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Image from mocoloco.

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the really truth

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My latest painting titled "the really truth" is at once a triumph and joy to look at, but also a lesson-learned.

This image isn't the best, the frame is borrowed from another painting and the background doesn't help; but that doesn't dampen my soaring spirit and I just wanted to share it. After making simple arbitrary decisions involving color and composition and then following my intuitions, what a pleasant surprise it was to see the end result. Click image for larger view.

The fascinating thing about including metallic paints in a work is that they have an uncanny way of mimicking and blending in with their surroundings until you change the angle of view. Then, when the light hits them they pop out from the background to reveal surprise patterns. From this angle you can't see that a large proportion of the dots are Iridescent Bronze. But seen in a different light, I found them to be a little annoying. - Next time, not so much Bronze.

As for the title - if you listen you'll notice how emphatic and persuasive we can be about portraying the truth. Shouldn't the truth be just a simple explanation of reality without the need to quantify or qualify our version of it ?

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Same Old New

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This image is intellectually stimulating and rib-tickling on so many levels

The artist, David Lyle finds his inspiration for these oil paintings on panel from lost snapshots garnered from thrift shops, flea markets, etc. I don't know if he "doctored" this particular painting or not. In general his oeuvre seems to be an honest re presenting of these old photographic memories. Visit his Website.

Another Art Hero

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Calligraphy and graffiti can be very ordered forms of gesture and writing. If we travel a little further afield, where mark-making, scribbling and writing converge, that's where we'll find Hans Staudacher. If you're unfamiliar with the man's work I've included plenty of links that will wet your appetite for more from this important artist.

Galerie Ernst Hilger has a 3 paragraph Bio that explains his oeuvre. As you look at the 19 images of his work, notice the dates and you'll more fully appreciate the influences in his career.

Galerie Gergersdorfer has 6 images Here, and 7 more Here.
You'll find another 8 images at the Judith Walker Galerie.
And for 4 totally huge enlargements of his work, Galerie Seidler has 3 0n This page and 1 at the bottom of This page

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The top image is from jmcfaber.

The painting, from Galerie Gergersdorfer.
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Intense Painting

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Kazuo Shiraga gets pretty physical with his paint. He'll even swing from a rope so he can paint with his feet.

The top image is from Artnet's coverage of the June, Modern & Contemporary Mallet Japan Auction and it sold for $11,218.

He's represented by, and you'll find some interesting images of his work at Annely Juda Fine Art. Just click on Gallery Artists and then his name.

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This sweet little number by Kazuo will be coming up at auction; Christie's Rome: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 [Lot 140]Contemporary and Modern Art.

I make a habit of keeping up with the art auctions on Artnet - whether I'm perusing the catelogues of Upcoming Auctions or checking out what sold for what on their Recent Auction Results. It's quite an education !

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Abstract Graffigraphy.

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After making the case that graffiti is just another form of calligraphy, which we'll call graffigraphy, it stands to reason then, that there would also be artists making Abstract, Graffigraphy.
A good case in point would be the work of West One.


I came across his work at the Galerie Magda Danysz quite a while back, but couldn't find out much else about him and wondered if he had just dropped out of the scene. This time 'round though, I came across this short piece in HypeBeast and he's doing just fine. Like many other graffiti artists these days he's learned how to join the system and turn a pretty penny.


You'll find a great slideshow of his work, including installation shots, Here.

When you visit his Website, check out Walls and Trains.

Top image from westonefc.com.
Bottom image from Hypebeast.
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Lovely Musical Interlude

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This tilt shift - time lapse video starts out tame enough with some still shots and then really breaks loose at 1 min, 28 seconds.



I especially like the last 40-some seconds; it makes us reflect on "all-in-a-days-work" in a different way.
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Graffigraphy

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To resume our train of thought about calligraphy and graffiti, I'd like to reiterate that technically, there's no difference between the two. At the moment, and in general, you might say that calligraphy is done by a paid professional indoors using pen and ink or watercolors and that graffiti is done by a non professional, outdoors with spray paint and markers. And, as we all know, that is starting to change. The term Graffiti includes cartooning, wheat pasted images, tagging, lowbrow art and simple defacement, so I'd like to officially introduce the word graffigraphy to identify graffiti that is just writing. The easiest way to make my point is to give you the link to HandSelecta, where you can watch 30 different, short (most are under a minute) videos of graffiti artists writing a word or two - showing their style. Here are two examples from that site.






Even though you're watching graffiti being made, you instantly recognize that this is calligraphy.

So - lets call it Graffigraphy.
Now our conversations on this topic can be clearer and more intelligent since we've identified this part of the genre more precisely
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Sonic Poof

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Have you ever wondered what a sonic boom looks like ? Probably not. Well, this is what one looks like - it's actually a physical event.

The image is from evil live and the caption reads quote A U.S. Navy sonar technician Roald Dejarnett captured an Air Force F-22 Raptor executes a supersonic flyby over the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74).
pic: Navy News unquote.

This is a meaningful picture for me because I worked for a furniture moving contractor for Lockheed Martin in Marietta, GA a while back. Our work took us to almost every building in the plant. I've got more stories than you've got time to listen. What an experience it was to help with the set up, and then watch the big presentation and roll out of the F-22.

You'll find another great image of a different plane/different angle Here.
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Ab/Graff

A first look at the canvases of Howard Sherman and we immediately think of Graffiti. His heady mixture of brash strokes, muscular paint-handling and crass titles, sucks us in and then spits us out laughing. Knowing that he was a cartoonist adds some sort of equilibrium to this mix.

I've long suggested that Ab/Ex (abstract expressionism) needs paring down to better identify the many disparate oeuvres within it's shadow; names that would more precisely steer our minds in the right direction. Ab/Graff might also end up being a huge umbrella type label, but it certainly gives a better clue as to the content we'll be experiencing.

The top image is from his Website where you can see many more images of his work from "06 through 2009.
A great review in Art Lies gives us more information on the cartooning aspect in his career.



You'll enjoy the candid studio visit, video above, from chron.com; it really helps to see these large canvases in context.

He's also represented by the McMurtrey Gallery.

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