I recently stumbled on Ben Grasso's website again. I was just as thrilled as when I first came across it. (I first posted his work in September, 2009). His paintings of buildings lifting, exploding, flying apart or flying somehow mysteriously together give new life to the term deconstruction. He uses long clean brushstrokes like boards, putting them together piece by piece to build his vision. Unlike real boards he can place them securely in mid-air where they hover above, below or between other boards, so that one has the sense of intense dynamic forces frozen in time. They feel like stills from an animated sequence. But there is often an ambiguity as to which way the sequence should run. I'm reminded that our imagination is the source of all creative and of all destructive acts. Action is impossible without thought and Ben Grasso is showing us a place where the two appear as one. There is a lot of work on his website, all of it worth looking through: bengrasso.com
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Ben Grasso - 2
I recently stumbled on Ben Grasso's website again. I was just as thrilled as when I first came across it. (I first posted his work in September, 2009). His paintings of buildings lifting, exploding, flying apart or flying somehow mysteriously together give new life to the term deconstruction. He uses long clean brushstrokes like boards, putting them together piece by piece to build his vision. Unlike real boards he can place them securely in mid-air where they hover above, below or between other boards, so that one has the sense of intense dynamic forces frozen in time. They feel like stills from an animated sequence. But there is often an ambiguity as to which way the sequence should run. I'm reminded that our imagination is the source of all creative and of all destructive acts. Action is impossible without thought and Ben Grasso is showing us a place where the two appear as one. There is a lot of work on his website, all of it worth looking through: bengrasso.com
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Corydon Cowansage
Fence #5, 2011, 108" x 76", oil on canvas |
Patio #1, 2010, 106" x 76", oil on canva |
Roof #10, 2012, 78" x 58", oil on canva |
Roof #7, 2011, 80" x 102", oil on canvas |
Chimney #2, 2012, 64 x 50 inches, oil on canvas |
The paintings of Corydon Cowansage are both representational and minimalist. Not something you see every day. Minimalism, by it's very nature, leans toward abstraction. These are no different. But we can still tell immediately what the image is of. And just in case your visual cortex isn't firing properly, the titles should clear things up. Representation is usually interested in evoking associated responses to its subject matter. This work tends toward disassociation. What we see is pattern and shape. The lesson is straightforward. Abstraction is not, if you'll allow this mangling of language, an abstraction. We are surrounded by it all the time. It's merely a different way of looking at things. Extraneous information is cleared away, the subject is carefully framed and composed and rendered at a very large scale. Scale matters. Bigger is not always better. But it can be. And here I think the choice to work large is exactly what these simple images need, so that each shape and detail can take on it's own weight and lead the viewer beyond the subject matter. You can see more at the artist's website: corydoncowansage.com
Friday, May 25, 2012
Rafa Zubiria
from the series "No Way Home" |
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You can see other images from this series plus much much more at www.rafazubiria.es (the website is in spanish) or on his Flickr page.
and here's an intriguing 10 second clip of some related video work. More please, Mr. Zubiria!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Apologies
It's been a hectic week. No new posts so far. I should get a new artist up by Friday. In the mean time enjoy this good humored piece by one of my vary favorite artists, Mr. John Brosio (as a chicken owner I can tell you that this scenario would be very, very bad).
you can see more of John Brosio's www.johnbrosio.com
"State of the Union" 41" x 66" 2011 |
Friday, May 18, 2012
Peter Feigenbaum
Everyone loves miniatures; all those model railroad sets the world over. We love to hover over them like invisible giants peering nostalgically down at the little trees and the quaint old buildings; a tiny perfect little subset of the world untroubled by war, poverty, addiction and disease. Which is why Peter Feigenbaum's miniatures qualify as art. They smack that smug giant upside the gob and say, this is your world. If you can't take the bad with the good then you're not facing reality. His miniature slums are exquisitely detailed down to the graffiti, the wreckage of old burned out cars, the trash, and the weeds growing up through the cracking sidewalks. A lot of artists these days are obsessed with visions of the imminent collapse of our so-called civilization. But these scale models remind us that great swaths of that civilization have been living in their own apocalyptic nightmares the whole time.
I also like how he often places the models in the context or actual degraded neighborhoods and photographs them in a way so that they seem to integrate perfectly with the real world. A nice way to remind us how rarely we stop and actually look around, especially when we sense that what we'll see is not so nice.
You can see many more photos on his website at www.peterfeigenbaum.com
And congratulations to Mr. Feigenbaum on being included in this year's West Collection.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Virginia Katz
Force Fields - Sand and Water I & II Mixed Media, Mixed Process on Paper 2, 22" x 30", 2007 |
Formations - Mixed Terrain Mixed Media, Mixed Process on Paper 66" x 36", 2009 |
Formations - Clearing Mixed Media, Mixed Process on Paper (Unique Monoprint and Collograph, Colored Pencil, and Gouache) 22" x 30", 2010 |
Mud - Slush Oil on Gesso on Wood Panel 16" x 20," 2010 |
Mud - Slush, detail Oil on Gesso on Wood Panel 16" x 20," 2010 |
I first stumbled across her work on www.bluecanvas.com
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Brooks Shane Salzwedel
"East River Bridge" graphite, tape and resin 24" x 36" 2012 |
"The Arch" graphite, tape and resin 24" x 36" 2012 |
"The Fourth" mixed media 24" x 36" 2012 |
"Plume #1" mixed media 12" x 8" 2009 |
"Station, Texas" graphite, tape and resin 10" x 5" 2008 |
Some works translate more easily to reproductions than others, be it in print or online. This is a case in which I'm guessing that the translation is a poor, poor substitute for the real thing. The technique used here is apparently a layering of resins and transparent tape over graphite drawing which results in an atmospheric fog-like depth. It lends the images the verisimilitude of old photographs that have that push and pull between the immediacy of a solid reality and the dreamlike distance of time. The subject matter is often a visual interplay between man made structures, especially various aerial towers and more recently bridges, and the dominant structures of the natural landscape; trees and mountains. In some of the images the two seem to harmonize, even reflect one another. In others the inherent tensions of the comparison come forth. But either way there seems to be no straightforward literal interpretation for the viewer to take home and congratulate him or herself upon discovering. The meaning, like the graphite images images themselves, is blurred and distant, shimmering beneath layers of possible context. What is clear however is the evocative power of the imagery which I can only imagine is even more effective in person.
There's more to look through at the artist's website: www.brookssalzwedel.com
thanks to www.booooooom.com
Monday, May 7, 2012
Tanya Miller
"Two Trees" acrylic 2010 |
"The Road" oils 2010 |
"Underwater" oils 2009 |
"Nature Morte II" acrylic on canvas 2008 |
"Time" Drawing 2006 |
This time around I have to thank Monster Brains for posting one of her paintings.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Benjamin Rogers
"inside the painter's studio - painting in the abbreviated field" 2011 Oil on Canvas 45" x 56"
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"the hunger artist" 2010 oil on canvas 35" x 42"
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"the critique of pure reason" 2012 Oil on Canvas 35" x 42"
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2010 oil on canvas 15" x 15"
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2011 Charcoal on Paper 50" x 64"
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Benjamin Rogers' paintings manage to be both humorous and serious at the same time. Actually they manage a lot of things. They're self-referential, inwardly focused meditations on the mundane life of the artist, and they are references to philosophical ideas and art history. They are executed in a quasi naive manner using simple lines and shapes of color, at times almost cartoon-like, and yet they are sensitively crafted paintings and carefully executed compositions. They capture something about contemporary American culture in which everything on the surface is a little tongue in cheek, a blunt joke or in affectionately poor taste, but hiding just under the surface is a well of heartfelt sincerity and self-examination. Some might call it self-indulgent navel gazing, but with the right dose of self deprecation and honesty, who cares? And with enough talent and intelligence, navel gazing can be a revelatory activity. I'll be excited to see his work progress. You can see more paintings on his website (benjaminrogersart.com) and follow along with his work, his thoughts, and the art that influences him on his blog.
The artist was recently featured on the cover (the cover!) of New American Paintings 99. Congratulations!