artsy forager

Category: Figurative

  • Nocturnes. Carla Berger.

    Nocturnes. Carla Berger.

    It might surprise you to know that Mr. F and I are kind of homebodies.  At night, any way.  We get out during the day, hiking, adventuring around each new town we find ourselves in, but we often like to just spend our evenings at home with a nice dinner and a bottle of wine.  I do get the itch sometimes, though, and tell Mr. F that I need a night out.  There is something about being out when the sky is black that feels special.  It’s that sexy I’m-out-on-a-school-night-after-curfew kind of feeling.

    Carla Berger | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Carla Berger | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Carla Berger | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Carla Berger | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Carla Berger | artsy forager #art #artists #photography

     

    The work of photographer Carla Berger captures the alluring provocative quality to the night time.  Her blurred, often closely cropped images are like fleeting glances into a film noir world.     A world filled with seductive characters and intrigue.  Proof that sometimes we all need a little escape into the night.

    All images are via Carla Berger’s Instagram.  Follow her for gorgeousness in your IG feed!

  • Anticipation. Rebecca Mason Adams.

    Anticipation. Rebecca Mason Adams.

    Some occasions in life seem all about the expectancy.  When I was young, those days leading up to Christmas or a summer vacation were filled with hope and excitement.  Even today, I get giddy thinking about what is just around the corner!  For me, these monochromatic paintings by Rhode Island artist Rebecca Mason Adams capture the feeling of those moments in wait.

    Rebecca Mason Adams | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Rebecca Mason Adams | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Rebecca Mason Adams | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Rebecca Mason Adams | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings Rebecca Mason Adams | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings

     

    Whether it is waiting to spring a surprise or hoping for the phone to ring, something about the way her figures are in a sort of tense repose, often receding into their darker backgrounds, as if waiting for a cue to begin.  It’s difficult, isn’t it, to push through and stop waiting?  Some times we don’t have any choice but to wait, but often we are the ones to hold ourselves back, fearful that the anticipation will be sweeter than the reality.

    To see more of Rebecca Mason Adams‘ work, please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s website.  Artist found via The Jealous Curator.

  • Impermanence. Fanny Nushka Moreaux.

    Impermanence. Fanny Nushka Moreaux.

    These days, I find myself feeling grateful quite often.  The fleeting nature of life has never been more apparent, which seems to make it easier to find moments of bliss.  Perhaps because the darkness is lurking, the light shines more brightly.  The work of French artist Fanny Nushka Moreaux, with faded hues and gossamer figures, reminds me how very tenuous is our own existence.

    Fanny Nushka Moreaux | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #figurativeart Fanny Nushka Moreaux | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #figurativeart Fanny Nushka Moreaux | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #figurativeart Fanny Nushka Moreaux | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #figurativeart Fanny Nushka Moreaux | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #figurativeart

     

    Perhaps it is due to our transient lifestyle these days, our desire to seize every opportunity.  Since we never know when we leave a temporary home whether we will return to the area, we tend to make sure we’ve seen as much as we can.  There isn’t much laying around on the weekends– there is too much to do, too much to see!  In many ways, we are so fortunate.  Living in one place, it is easy to stop paying attention to the world around you, to take it for granted.  And the people, too.  Live like you never know when you’ll see this world again.

    To see more of Fanny Nushka Moreaux‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Naked. Daniel Catalano.

    Naked. Daniel Catalano.

    There is more to nakedness than the simple truth of being without clothing.  It requires trust and vulnerability, traits not always easy to come by.  This season of my life, dealing with my mom’s illness, has without a doubt at times left me raw, while also virtually piling on layers in the way of self preservation and protection.

    Situations like these tend to bring out our worst or our best.  We’ve been dealing with both sides of the coin.  The best people leaving us feeling protected and safe in our vulnerable state, the worst piling on judgement and hurtfulness when we are at our most bare.

    Daniel Catalano | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #figurativeart #contemporaryart Daniel Catalano | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #figurativeart #contemporaryart

    My poor mom has been left without her own shroud physically and in just about every other way.  Stripped of her health and her independence, she has had to lay herself open, to lose the security of her ordered world, to ask for help in ways she never dreamed of.

    Daniel Catalano | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #figurativeart #contemporaryart

    I’ve had friends thank me for being so open about what we’ve been going through as they go through similar circumstances, yet keep to themselves.  And that would usually be my own way.. to keep everything private, bottled up.  But to be naked is to also let others know that they have your trust, that they are needed, that you know that you can’t do it alone.

    Daniel Catalano | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #figurativeart #contemporaryart Daniel Catalano | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #figurativeart #contemporaryart

    Since her diagnosis, there have been a lot of tears.  But there has also been meaningful conversation and deep laughter with those who’ve allowed us the freedom to be vulnerable and the security of knowing we are safe in our nakedness.

    Featured paintings are by Daniel Catalano.  Please visit his website to see more of his work.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Expectations. Julie Blackmon.

    Expectations. Julie Blackmon.

    We all have expectations of life.  Perceptions of what our ideal world would look like.  Those expectations seem to be heightened these days by the images of perfect lives we are bombarded with daily via social media and lifestyle blogs.  Every meal shall be perfectly garnished with stylishly mismatched vintage dinnerware!  Children will be the very picture of tiny fashion perfection and their birthday parties shall rival that of the royals!

    Taking her cue from the Jan Steen household, a 17th century Dutch painter’s style turned shorthand for a messy scene, photographer Julie Blackmon explores the disparagement between a society that is both “child centered” and “self-obsessed”.

    Julie Blackmon | artsy forager #art #artists #photography #contemporaryart Julie Blackmon | artsy forager #art #artists #photography #contemporaryart Julie Blackmon | artsy forager #art #artists #photography #contemporaryart Julie Blackmon | artsy forager #art #artists #photography #contemporaryart Julie Blackmon | artsy forager #art #artists #photography #contemporaryart

     

    In her domestic scenes, we often see no adult figures, only children, as if pardon this turn of phrase, the inmates are running the asylum.  I apologize for that reference, yet it is what kept coming to mind as I was going through the portfolio.  I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad point of departure.  Children need freedom and play, it is essential to their development especially in our over scheduled world.  Blackmon is capturing these fleeting moments of the chaos of childhood, in all its messy, mythic reality.

    To see more of Julie Blackmon’s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Robert Mann Gallery.

  • Facing Forward. Alejandra Atares.

    Facing Forward. Alejandra Atares.

    I’m back, dear Artsies!  Ready to hit the ground running in this new year.  I’m not sure what 2015 will bring but what I do know is that I can no longer hang in limbo.  It’s time to put my face forward and get back to it.  As I reflected upon the prospect of beginning again, I was drawn to paintings by Barcelona artist Alejandra Atares.

    Alejandra Atares | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #fineart Alejandra Atares | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #fineart Alejandra Atares | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #fineart Alejandra Atares | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #fineart Alejandra Atares | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #fineart

    Moving ahead after lingering in the unknown can be scary and intimidating.  There is a fear of beginning something exciting only to have to abandon it mid-stream. But as I like to tell Mr. Forager, the ultimate dreamer/planner..

    Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.

    He just loves it when I quote John Lennon to him!  In the end, we never know what tomorrow will bring, even when all of our loved ones are whole and well.  So we must embrace life as it is in this very moment while looking forward with hope and anticipation.

    Artist found via I Need A Guide.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Conjured Childhoods. Hannah Lewis Davies.

    Conjured Childhoods. Hannah Lewis Davies.

    Isn’t it funny how selective our memories of childhood can be?  How some moments seem so vivid while others are barely recalled?  UK artist Hannah Lewis Davies‘ paintings explore those fleeting memories as well as the imaginary worlds we create in childhood.

    Hannah Lewis Davies | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Hannah Lewis Davies | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Hannah Lewis Davies | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Hannah Lewis Davies | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Hannah Lewis Davies | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

    I have a feeling that being with my mom will bring back a lot of childhood memories.  It’s funny that what I remember most about my mom from childhood aren’t necessarily memories of her specifically, though she was a constant, caring presence, but it’s more her things.  I remember being fascinated with her jewelry and shoes.  It was the 70s and my mom had amazing taste in shoes!  Wedges to die for!  And there were the books and clothes, especially one filmy peignoir that I would wear and imagine myself as a princess or an actress accepting the Academy Award.  Without even realizing it, she set up a world that opened up my imagination– one where I could discover and reinvent myself, surround myself with beauty, go on adventures.  As an adult, I’m still striving to do all those things, but she planted the seed.

    To see more of Hannah Lewis Davies‘ work, please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Saatchi Online.

  • About Face. Harding Meyer.

    About Face. Harding Meyer.

    In the physical absence of a loved one, photographs can be an only slightly adequate substitute.  We can see a familiar face, but we can’t watch it change with expression or see it shifting slightly with age.  In his work, artist Harding Meyer paints faces once frozen in  photographs, but now isolated and animated in paint.

    Harding Meyer | artsy forager #art #artists #painting #contemporaryart Harding Meyer | artsy forager #art #artists #painting #contemporaryart Harding Meyer | artsy forager #art #artists #painting #contemporaryart Harding Meyer | artsy forager #art #artists #painting #contemporaryart Harding Meyer | artsy forager #art #artists #painting #contemporaryart

     

    The faces stare out, almost pleading for connection.  How often do we look directly into another’s eyes in the course of our day?  Maybe we stare into our partner’s eyes without inhibition, but do we ever really look into the eyes of strangers?  Are we so scared of what we may see looking back?

    To see more of Harding Meyer‘s work, please visit his website.

    Images are via the artist’s website and the website of his representing gallery, Galerie Voss.

  • Delicate Impermanence. Seung Hwan Oh.

    Delicate Impermanence. Seung Hwan Oh.

    There comes a time in this life when we come to the realization that we are, indeed, not going to be here forever.  For some, this revelation takes longer than for others, but its definitely taken its hold on me recently.  This series, Impermanence, by artist Seung Hwan Oh emphasizes the balance between creation, life, and destruction in these ephemeral photographs.

    Seung Hwan Oh | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Seung Hwan Oh | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Seung Hwan Oh | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Seung Hwan Oh | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Seung Hwan Oh | artsy forager #art #artists #photography

    From the artist’s site– “The process involves the cultivation of emulsion consuming microbes on a visual environment created through portraits and a physical environment composed of developed film immersed in water. As the microbes consume light-sensitive chemical over the course of months or years, the silver halides destabilize, obfuscating the legibility of foreground, background, and scale. This creates an aesthetic of entangled creation and destruction that inevitably is ephemeral, and results in complete disintegration of the film so that it can only be delicately digitized before it is consumed.”

    My mom’s illness has definitely caused Mr. F and I to think more closely about our own physical, emotional and spiritual health and what that means for our future.  There are no guarantees, of course, but we’re trying very hard to move through each day with a focus on not only on cultivating our all too quickly approaching future, but more importantly, to be fully present in the now.

    To see more of Seung Hwan Oh‘s work, please visit the artist’s website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via I Need a Guide.

  • Discordant Nature. Jessica Tremp

    Discordant Nature. Jessica Tremp

    When we’re out hiking, I always notice something that seems so contradictory.  One would assume that most people who hike are doing so for the enjoyment of the outdoor world.  So why in the world would they think it is OK to leave their trash all over the trail?  Man in general seems to have this sort of dysfunctional relationship with nature and in this series of photos by artist Jessica Tremp, I see the drama being played out.

    Jessica Tremp | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Jessica Tremp | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Jessica Tremp | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Jessica Tremp | artsy forager #art #artists #photography Jessica Tremp | artsy forager #art #artists #photography

     

    Nature, in its ineffable beauty calls out to our spirits and our souls.  We long to not just see it, but experience it, for it to become a part of us.  But inevitably, our selfishness gains the upper hand and we do the very thing we hate– we become part of the problem.  We drive our car too much, we let the water run while we brush our teeth, we throw away what we no longer want and so that our garbage fills what was once pristine.  And then we cry over what we have done, cursing ourselves, only to continue the cycle day after day.

    To see more of Jessica Tremp‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s website.  Artist found via The Artful Desperado.