Cacophonous Collage

Does this look like "yelling' to you? This sure is some loud painting and collage by Despina Stokou and it gets your attention. Yet another example of words being the sole subject matter in a contemporary composition.

Image from Elemeno P Blog.

A Show of Text Paintings

There's a show up, at the RH Gallery called Text In Progress and it's my kind of show. They have  a couple of the usual suspects like Leon Farrari and Fiona Banner who bring some familiarity to what might be a whole new experience for some gallery-goers. I can't tell you how excited I get when I encounter a painting that you can read. For me there's just something magical about that.

Other than Leon's work, I was most intrigued by Joe Hardesty. The image is from his Website.

The sticky question for me is whether this is word-text paintings or language-based art. . . . .

Hybrid Painting

Paintings by Wendy White are at first confusing; like you've stumbled into a nether world where urban art, studio practice and signage have all collided. But it doesn't take long to feel comfortable with these surprisingly sane and sensible works where language is front and center.

Her Website is straight-forward and easy to navigate.

Image is from a pieces about her in The L Magazine.

Typographic Topography

Keira Rathbone doesn't worry too much about words-per-minute; she's busy trying to get the perspective just right. It's just another proud example of artists finding ways to express themselves uniquely.

This image is from MyLoveForYou, where you'll find some more close-ups of this work and links to her site. More examples of her work Here.

And unbelievably, Mark Lawrence also does this kind of art with a more nuanced approach. Check out the middle two rows of images on his Website.

Text & Information Drawings

That's actually the title of a category (or portfolio) of works on Brian DuPont's Website. I especially enjoy his Artist Statement; his very lucid way of explaining his art. And I whole-heartedly identify with his way of thinking about text.

Here's a video of Brian showing some of his work in a studio interview.

Image from his website.

 

the 0,O,o paintings

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These oil on panel or canvas paintings by Carol Diehl make me laugh; they're wonderful!  Basically we have realistic scenes that are hijacked by different sizes and shapes of O's and somehow it works. There's nine in this series ( 2003 - 2010 ) on her Website .  And each series is so completely different from the next that you'll wonder how in the world she ever came to this particular train of thought.

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While you're at it, check out her Blog, Art Vent.

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She's also a Contributing Editor for Art In America.

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Words and Music

Give a rock-star (more or less) some art supplies, turn him loose and you've got Magne F. His works are enigmatic word compositions.

Visit his Website to see more or visit Paul Stolper to see his drypoint and monotype Exhibition titled, Alpha Beta.

Image is from UPPERCASE.

Chapter & verse

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This painting, titled "Corinthians 13-4", by Nikola Savic is not his normal fare. But I like the drama and how seeing that there's something to read, draws you in. Once you get in close you can scrutinize the figures; wondering - how'd he do that?
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The image is from the Zero 10 Gallery. Only the first seven paintings (of 15 images) are in this style.
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A Fabulous One-Off

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by  Nikolas Gambaroff and mounted on a sheet of Styrofoam, no less. Go Here and then click on the image to view it super large.
Spotted this on Contemporary Art Daily. He's in a group show at Renwick Gallery. Some Image Searches yielded nothing else of interest to me.
But THIS, this is ripping my brains out. Fantastic !
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Text Paintings

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Although this genre has been around for a while, I'm still pleasantly amazed when finding a great painting whose sole content is text. Erik den Breejen's oeuvre is about rock music and his execution ranges from silly and goofy to serious and competent. He's represented by Freight + Volume where you'll find lots of images and a short bio HERE gives insight into his work.
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Image is from the leavesofgrass blog.
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Painting With Words

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Although she makes these wonderful, jazzy compositions painting with words, I don't really think it's about the words, per se. You just need to head on over to Constance Harris' Website before forming your opinion about her oeuvre. You'll certainly enjoy her paintings, but it's not until you see her prints, mixed media pieces and sculptures that you begin to kinda-sorta get what's going on. But, like so many artists today, she refuses to provide us with any information . . . .
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Repurposed Frottage

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Scott Covert has taken frottage to a whole new level and a whole new place. You'll find a great story to explain his oeuvre, along with some images Here. You can view his online portfolio and find additional images Here, here and HERE.
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Image is from his Website.
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Metallic Language

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Words and text as art is nothing new, but David Buckingham puts his own mark on these works without using paint. In fact you might even think of these as 2-dimensional sculptures. Whether he's making outsize guns, Color Studies or words/phrases, it's all muscled together from found metal objects large and small. And visiting his Website makes you want to go all "Tim The Tool Man Taylor" on something.

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Image is from Lincart Gallery.

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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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Mixed Medium, Words

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I've been remiss in giving equal time to artists who focus entirely on words and text. My initial searches on the Internet were to find artists who wrote or used calligraphy in their paintings but eventually expanded my searches to include genres about text and language, etc. So I've got quite a few folders full of these other artists and their fascinating oeuvres.

Archie Scott Gobber likes to play around with words and does a great job of presenting them to us in a fresh new way. When you visit his Website, be sure to check out Links and News. One Gallery has installation pics from his Show and you'll find more interesting artists at the venues where he's exhibited.
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A Herd Of Letters ?

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Kade L. Twist is a fascinating Cherokee artist with many interests. What caught my eye were these two works titled, The First Syntax Rebellion (4a & 4b) top and (2a & 2b) bottom. It's quite natural to look for a solution in the jumbled letters. They don't seem to spell anything, so what does the seemingly strategic placement of the letters mean or represent ? It'd be great to have the answer.

The top image is from his page at Chiascuro. The second, blue work is from Art Envelope where they discuss the Group Show he participated in. .

Click the images for a larger view.
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Jumbled Words

As I studied these intimate and labor intensive pieces by Susie Grant, it piqued my interest as to what her Artist Statement might say. I was refreshingly surprised by the low key attitude she expressed. Simple and realistic, her Statement paints a picture of her thoroughly enjoying the work that goes into creating these small collages. Nothing super fantastic or earth shaking is going on here. Just a very creative and patient woman who doesn't mind taking the time to really, cut & paste with a sense of humor. Some of her pieces are pleasant abstracts composed entirely of different size and colored O's. Other works contain many letters that instantly set you to searching for words and phases.

It's unfortunate that there's not more about her on the Web; we'd like to see more by this talented artist.

These images are from her Website. Clicking on the images there, will show a closeup that lets you more fully appreciate the labor that has gone into these little gems.

This shows the detail from the image below.

This work is titled All I Have Is What I remember, a collage on 11" x 10"panel.

An Artist's Mind

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For all the explanations and Artists Statements, what really drives an artist to do what they do? How do you go from making the fascinating image below, from 2004, to cutting out words and hanging them on a wall ? Somehow there's a mechanism that prompts artists to craft an oeuvre to express themselves; to say something in particular. And then many go on to say other things in other ways.

Annie Vought has decided to write and then carefully cut out the letters and/or phrases with an exacto knife. Some works are large and continuous, others consist of seemingly random words scattered on the wall; others she frames. You can see her work by visiting her Website.

Top image from Budget Gallery.

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Painting By The Numbers

Or rather, painting with numbers.

Joseph Woolridge.




At least a year or so ago I came across the work of Joseph Woolridge on re-title. Did a post about his work and was happy to hear from him. Since then it seems he's dropped from the radar. So it was a pleasant surprise to come across a review of an exhibition of his work at the Five Myles Gallery in Brooklyn in May/June o 08. The image is from Shift. Great article, good review.

Joseph makes his paintings with numbers. He paints numbers.
Really. Usually with the number 2.

This is one of several images he sent me and is my favorite. Below is a close-up.

Say What You Mean - Mean What You Say

Male or female, you gotta love an artist with Guts; which is the title of the yellow painting below. That image is from the Bellwether Gallery where you'll find 42 examples of her work and other information. You can also see installation shots of her Sept, 07 Exhibit there, titled' Dana Frankfort: DF. There's nothing like seeing paintings in the context of a gallery or home to get the gist of their full personality. And that's something that comes across in each of her works.





Dana Franfort is all about painting one word, two or three words or sometimes even a very short phrase. But that is the sole content, composition and construction of her paintings. Well, and then there's the color; loud, bright, "hello, I'm over here" color. The truly amazing part of her oeuvre is how she manages to create a feeling of atmosphere, a dept of field.
There's a short interview at Artslant that gives pretty quick insight into her oeuvre. It's pretty straight up and straight forward. At the end of the interview she's asked which artists "challenge and excite you, both historically and currently?". The seven artists that she lists is quite a surprise. Check it out.









The bottom painting, titled "BELIEVE BELIEVE BELIEVE" 2006 Oil on canvas on panel, 45 x 84 inches, is from her Nov, 2006 Show at the Kanto/Feuer Gallery.





She's also represented by the Inman Gallery.


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