Artsy Spots Installations Paintings Sculpture

Artsy Spot: Foster/White Gallery

A gallery that takes advantage of a beautiful space, displays a wide range of interesting work in a well-designed and thoughtful way AND feels comfortable and unpretentious?  These kind of galleries are my happy places.  Foster/White Gallery in Seattle definitely qualifies for a spot on that list.  Thanks to our time in Seattle being super limited and the tiny brain melt in which I somehow forgot that almost all galleries are closed on Monday, our only full day there and the day I’d planned to do lots of gallery hopping, I had to narrow down my galleries to visit to A) shows I really wanted to see and B) galleries that were close together.  So we took a few hours before leaving on Tuesday to visit Greg Kucera Gallery, Grover Thurston Gallery ( more on that show next week ) and Foster/White Gallery, which was by far our favorite overall gallery experience.

Casey McGlynn: Manchild and Rachel Denny: Works of Nature at Foster/White

Foster/White has been on my list of galleries to visit for quite a while and when I saw that they were showing Rachel Denny’s work, it quickly went to the top of the list for our time in Seattle.  But I’m one of those people that saves the best for last, so while I saw Rachel’s work out of the corner of my eye upon entering the space, there were so many other wonderful works around each corner that I made my way around the whole gallery before I spent some time with Rachel’s amazing sculptures.

Sculptures by Paul Vexler at Foster/White

Speaking of amazing sculptures, these bent wood pieces by Paul Vexler were exquisite.  The way the grain of the wood caught the light from the window drew attention to those beautiful curves.  As impressive as his work was ( and there is a large hanging piece in the F/W lobby that is to die for ), Cookie the elephant by Shay Church both delighted me and drew me in.

Cookie ( Asian Elephant ) by Shay Church

Cookie is part of Church’s Wet Clay series, site specific installations consisting of a wooden armatur covered with clay and sand.  In this series, Church focuses on elephants and whales, gentle yet imposing creatures who must survive long migrations.  With each passing year, those migrations grow more and more dangerous and daunting for these animals.  Cookie leans into the wall for support,  seeming to struggle to stand.  As the clay has dried, it has begun to crack and fall, adding to the emotional impact of the piece.  We are watching Cookie deteriorate before our eyes.

Bone Yard by Evan Blackwell at Foster/White Gallery

Bone Yard ( detail ) by Evan Blackwell

Another installation that caught our eye was Bone Yard by Evan Blackwell.  The white clay pieces, pinned to the way may appear to be fragments of bone, but upon closer inspection, we see that they are actually broken pieces of model jets.  Perhaps a commentary on our military policies?  Or our desensitization to such destruction?

Staccato Surface by David Alexander

The abstract, colorful reflection of Staccato Surface by David Alexander had unbelievably lovely gestural movement and a gorgeous palette.  Photos do not do it justice!  Finally we made our way over to Rachel Denny’s work.  I’ve been a huge fan of her work since the very first time I saw one of her Domestic Trophies online and have been looking forward to finally seeing her sculptures in person.  I was blown away by just how intricately constructed they are, their palettes & construction perfectly designed to catch and direct the viewer’s eye.  I was just as delighted by her work as I’d hoped to be.

Rachel Denny: Works of Nature

Sweet Tooth ( detail ) by Rachel Denny

To see more of each artist’s work and more of the amazing work on display, please visit the Foster/White Gallery website.  If you’re in Seattle, Rachel Denny & Casey McGlynn’s current shows will be up until April 28, 2012.  I highly recommend a visit!

Daily Artsy Sculpture

Renewings: Anne Ten Donkelaar

Spring is finally here!  This season always brings with it such a renewed sense of energy and love of life.  While I’m enjoying a day of renewal of my own following our Seattle weekend, I hope you’ll enjoy the work of Anne Ten Donkelaar.

Flower Construction #3, 70x120x6.5cm

Flower Construction #3 ( detail )

Landkaart, wings are partly made from maps where the butterfly originated, 26x20x5.5cm

Flower Construction #8, 70x120x6.5cm

Flower Construction #8 ( detail )

Please visit Anne Ten Donkelaar’s website to see more of her beautiful work.  Be back in full swing tomorrow!

Featuerd image is Flower Construction #3 ( detail ).  All images are via the artist’s website.

Abstract Art Daily Artsy Mixed Media

Multi-Faceted Abstractions: Jackie Tileston

I love work that speaks to me on several levels.  ( Yes, I can hear the artwork talking to me! )  The work of Philadelphia artist Jackie Tileston seems to communicate to us from several worlds at once.

No Matter Where ( Not Pictured Here ), oil and mixed media on linen, 72x60

Atmospheric foundations hint at other-worldly landscapes filled with mystery, while pops of graphic color and pattern create a layer of modern visual language.

Untitled ( Green ), oil and mixed media on linen, 48x60

Linear color leads the eye to dance across each composition against backgrounds of painterly texture.  Tileston’s surfaces fairly crackle with excitement and visual energy.

The Transcendent Who Superintends Reality, oil and mixed media on linen, 60x72

Phenomorama, oil and mixed media on linen, 72x60

To see more of Jackie Tileston’s work, please visit her website.

Featured image is Auspicious Circling of Mad Utopias, oil and mixed media on linen, 72×60.  All images are via the artist’s website.

Abstract Art Artsy Forager Featured Artist Figurative Mixed Media

April Facebook Featured Artist: Steve Williams

When I launched the Artsy Forager Facebook Featured Artist program this month, I was thrilled when Steve Williams agreed to be my inaugural artist. Like me, Steve is a native of our hometown, Jacksonville, Florida and has long been a fixture on the art scene there.  Steve, along with his then gallery partner, Jim Draper, encouraged a young Artsy Forager  to continue painting just out of college.  Even though I allowed myself to get sidetracked, I never forgot their kindness.

Marco Polo, mixed media

As he splits his time between being president of his family’s successful sign business, Harbinger Sign, the gallery he has created at the business’s headquarters, Florida Mining, his own work as an artist AND being a devoted father of three, Steve is a busy soul.  Which makes it all the more amazing to see the quality of thoughtful work he creates.

Jackson, mixed media

His experience in the sign business is evident in the strong graphic quality and balance evident in his compositions.  His most recent Money series ( images above ) explores currency as symbolic of all that we strive for as a society yet ensnares and imprisons us.

Into the Goodly Land, mixed media on panel, 60x72

While I love this current direction, my personal favorite works of Steve’s are those that incorporate layers of texture and color in which graphic signs and images are enshrouded.  These works, as well as the Money series, invite us in, asking us to look more closely at not only the world around us, but the motives and desires within us.

TV Exploration of Mars II, mixed media, 12x12

Revolutionary Exploration: Shallow Discovery, mixed media, 11x19

I hope you’ll check out more of Steve Williams‘ work on his website.  And do yourself a favor– don’t miss his blog, Making Cheddar, or his Twitter feed.    He’s as hilarious as he is insightful.

Featured image is Grant, mixed media, 60×36.  All images are via the artist’s website.

Mixed Media Paintings

Friday Faves:  Seattle On My Mind

If you’ve been reading Artsy Forager for a while, you may have noticed me mention the love my hubby & I have for Seattle.  He was living there when we began dating and although we’d known each other a long time before, it was in the Emerald City that we truly fell in love.  Exactly 2 years from this Sunday, I flew to Seattle to celebrate my birthday ( the 15th ) and George’s birthday ( the 11th ) and to truly test the waters after 12 years of friendship, 1year of online flirting and 1 month of long distance dating.  Not only did I fall madly in love with George, I fell hard for the city of Seattle.  So we’re heading there on Sunday to spend a few days soaking in the delights of our favorite city.  Needless to say, I’m pretty Seattle obsessed today.  Hope you enjoy these artists’ renditions of our city of love!

Snow White by Deborah Scott, oil and mixed media on canvas, 36×60

65th and Roosevelt by Julia Hensley, gouache collage on Bristol board, 9×12

 

Parallel Bars #1 by Michael Prince, mixed media, 40×30

From the Explorations of the Viaduct series by Marie Gagnon

Family Trio, Seattle by Robin Weiss, oil, 12×12

Deborah ScottJulia Hensley | Michael Prince | Marie Gagnon | Robin Weiss 

Have a fantastic weekend!  Posts will be going up as normal for the next few days, but I’ll only be online sporadically to answer questions and approve/respond to comments.  See you on Wednesday!

Featured image is The Original Starbucks at Pike Place Market, Seattle by Marsha Glaziere.  All images are via the artists’ websites.

Daily Artsy Mixed Media

Paraphernalia Resurrected: Randy Mora

“There is nothing new under the sun”, ( Ecclesiastes 1: 9 ).  Each generation thinks they are better than the last,  but if that were so, why do we as a human race continue to repeat our old patterns and mistakes?   Colombian artist Randy Mora, takes vintage ephemera and creates digital collages that explore ideas that may seem to be modern yet still hearken to the styles of eras past.  His work reminds us that time has not erased our patterns and prejudices.

Torre Blanca, digital collage, 51.35x66cm

Mora’s illustrations seem to show us that none of the issues we face today is really all that new.  Man is man and has been of a similar nature since his beginning.

La Pitonisa, digital collage, 50x65cm

There has always existed a quest for wealth, for supremacy, for power and subjugation.  It seems to be in man’s very nature to isolate ourselves with others who are like us, judging and condemning those who are not.

Pan de Vida, digital collage, 46x60 cm

We live in a world divided between “us” and “them”, being taught from an early age to look out for ourselves first, creating within us cynical, fearful souls who become so self-centered we are unable to empathize and understand anyone whose views may be different from our own.

Magritte's Trap, digital collage, 43x50cm

My Favorite Independent Bookstore: Gay's the Word, London, commission for The Guardian ( UK )

The inability to empathize and see the world from someone else’s point of view too often breeds in us feelings of first fear, then of superiority.  Why are we afraid?  Why do we think ourselves better than another?  Each of us is born in the same way, completely innocent and knowing nothing of the world.   To see more of Randy Mora’s work, please visit his website.

Artist found via Escape Into Life.

Featured image is Este Año Sí…, commission for Dinero, Business & Economy Magazine.  All images are via the artist’s website.

Abstract Art Daily Artsy Mixed Media

Beautiful Accidents: Caroline Wright

Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans..”is a favorite John Lennon quote of mine.  Often, it’s those unexpected moments that bring the most joy.  Austin artist Caroline Wright’s work is full of incidental beauty.

Icarus, acrylic on rice paper, 72x39

Abstract painters like Wright know that these happy accidents contribute to the rhythm and spontaneity so many of us love about abstract work.

Fragments for Sappho

Her work has wonderful little punctuations of color that keep the eye moving across the surface. But it’s the unintentional drips and marks that really make each piece soar and create tiny little compositions waiting to be discovered.

Tropicalia, acrylic on rice paper, 72x39

Even in her quieter compositions, such as the watercolor & mixed media below, the accidents are more subtle.  The way the colors are delicately placed and soak into each other create soft, exquisite transitions.

Longing Floats, watercolor, ink, acrylic and graphite on paper, 24x18

Dog House, acrylic, watercolor, ink & pencil on handmade watercolor paper, 30x22

To see more of Caroline Wright’s work, please visit her website.

Featured image is Rain Poncho, acrylic, watercolor and pencil on handmade watercolor paper, 30×22.  All images are via the artist’s website.

Abstract Art Paintings

Artsy on Escape Into Life: Laura Gurton

I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the beauty of the natural world lately.  As the weather warms, the hubby and I are getting out and doing more hiking ( we may actually be hiking when you read this! ).  I love the natural, microcosmic beauty of Laura Gurton’s work being featured over on Escape Into Life today.

From the Unknown Species series #56, oil & alkyd on panel, 24x36

If you get out exploring, take a close look at the small worlds happening around you!

Laura Gurton on Escape Into Life