Ben Grasso - 2

"Colored Lights"  86x94"  Oil on Canvas  2011

"Fall Together"  68x42"  Oil on Canvas  2011

"Construction Proposal #9"  70x42"  Oil on Canvas  2011

"Construction Proposal II"  45x42"  Oil on Paper  2009

"Ungrounded"  50x70"  Oil on Canvas  2011

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

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

Rafa Zubiria

from the series "No Way Home"

from the series "No Way Home"

from the series "No Way Home"

from the series "No Way Home"

 Rafa Zubiria is a photographer, collagist and videographer in Spain. This particular series of images called is "No Way Home". According to the artist the series represents that point in life when you realizes that, what you always thought of as home is no longer your home. There is a break with the past that cannot be recovered. With this break comes a sense of loss and the distortion of nostalgia. These deceptively simple photoshop montages capture the mood exquisitely. The background shots carefully recreate the artless imperfection of the random snapshot and the buildings are photographed in matching light. The final is given the look of an old color print from some corner photomat. But for me personally, the "You can't go home again" interpretation is somewhat limiting. The images work beyond this straightforward narrative, juxtaposing both nostalgia and sentimentality with mystery and wonder. They remind me especially of supposed UFO photography before digital cameras. But while those old photos purported to give evidence of technological alien marvels, the mystery here is the mundane. Out of context everything around us could be perceived with awe and wonder. And that my friends, is art.
  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!

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).

"State of the Union"  41" x 66"  2011

you can see more of John Brosio's www.johnbrosio.com