artsy forager

Category: Figurative

  • Artsy Lately: Amanda Clyne

    Artsy Lately: Amanda Clyne

    If you’ve been following Artsy Forager for a while, you may have noticed a few recurring themes in some of the work I write about– man’s relationship with nature, fashion industry and its psychology of influence, and art historical themes being a few.  When I first wrote about the work Toronto based artist Amanda Clyne , she was drawing reference from and making connections between historical portraiture and high fashion photography.  In her latest series, she continues the fasciation and the lines become even more blurred ( pun intended ).

    In this work, she begins with a photograph of a painting.  The photograph is then printed onto paper to which it doesn’t stick, creating a wet, workable surface.  She then “paints” the photograph, then once the residue dries, the surface is scanned and the painting then once again becomes a photograph of a painting.

    Gainsborough, Erased by Amanda Clyne Coello ( Catarina Micaela ), Erased Fragment by Amanda Clyne Van Dyck ( Henrietta Maria ), Erased by Amanda Clyne Coello(la Dama del Abanico), Erased by Amanda Clyne

    The resulting image is ghostly, with an x-ray-ish quality.  A nod to the illusory nature of the original portrait?  An attempt to find the real person beneath the layers of fashion and facade?  In style and palette, these are much softer than Clyne’s previous series.  Yet they are still asking the same questions and it seems we, as a society tend to continue to give the same answers.

    If you’d like to see more of Amanda Clyne‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Stark Gentility: Bruno Walpoth

    Stark Gentility: Bruno Walpoth

    I seem to have a thing for pale, sad faces right now ( Exhibit A ).  But just take a look at these wood sculptures by Italian artist Bruno Walpoth and tell me how I could not share them with you?  Modern, young faces full of poignant longing, these pieces are the anti-selfie.  Representations of true emotions felt by real people, rather than a facade put up to show the world how cool and hip we think we are.

    Bruno Walpoth Bruno Walpoth Bruno Walpoth Bruno Walpoth Bruno Walpoth

    There is such a vulnerability about these gentle wood portraits.  That seems to be an emotion we could all stand to use a bit more of in our interactions.  To be honest enough, with ourselves and others– to truly be real in the way we communicate with our fellow humans, might go a long way in creating the connectedness that so many of us long for.

    To see more of Bruno Walpoth‘s stunning work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Come Closer: Jerome Lagarrigue

    Come Closer: Jerome Lagarrigue

    I like to inspect things closely.  And when they aren’t aware of it, I like to examine people closely.  There is so much expression and beauty held within the eyes and the lines of each face.  French born artist Jerome Lagarrigue, in his larger than life portrait studies, focuses his brush on the eyes of his subject, revealing emotion that we might not notice without such targeted attention.

    Eye #6 by Jerome Lagarrigue Jerome Lagarrigue Lagarrigue_Eye #8 Eye #14 by Jerome Lagarrigue Jerome Lagarrigue

    Sometimes, when Mr. F & I are sitting together, reading or watching a movie, I can’t help but gaze at him for a while.  Pretty sure it creeps him out a bit when I do that!  But there is something so lovely about memorizing the face of the one you love, isn’t there?  Not to mention really seeing all the people you interact with every day.  How many of us could describe the faces of friends, family, colleagues well enough to create a true likeness?  If we don’t know a face well, how will we ever be able to read it?  To know what isn’t being said?

    To see more of Jerome Lagarrigue‘s work, please visit his website.  Take some time to sit and stare at someone you love today, Artsies. 😉

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • Great Expectations: Denise Prince

    Great Expectations: Denise Prince

    Yesterday, I shared with you Lucky Jackson‘s work and wrote about the masks we wear.  Well, it seems like I’m on a bit of an identity-crisis train this week, so hop aboard!  I was really struck by this series of photographs by Austin artist Denise Prince, in which we find women dressed in finery, yet seeming very out of place.

    Jesus, Empire Waist by Denise Prince Block Ice by Denise Price Daughters of Industry by Denise Prince Store Bought Lemonade by Denise Prince American Bingo by Denise Prince

    These women, decked out in evening wear, seem frozen in time, not just physically, but perhaps spiritually as well.  They could be the homecoming queens whose lives began with such hopes for greatness, only to find themselves living a much more ordinary, less glamorous life than they ever expected.  Sometimes, we put such expectations on our future, don’t we?  Of course it’s perfectly normal to have dreams.  Haven’t we all, especially when we were young, dreamt of accepting an Oscar or Grammy in our evening gown or tux?  Maybe we expected our lives to turn out differently.  But no matter what turns life has taken, we can always still be the star of our own story, just perhaps less formally attired.

    Want to see more of Denise Prince‘s work?  Please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s profile at Saatchi Online.

  • The Masks We Wear: Lucky Jackson

    The Masks We Wear: Lucky Jackson

    It’s that time of year.  Kids are planning who they’ll “be” for Halloween, adults are racking their brains to come up with costumes for themselves that are funny, clever, sexy, whatever the think they are or wish that they could be.  But the latest series by Canadian artist Lucky Jackson, I am the Hero of This Story, has got me thinking about the masks we all put on every day.

    Lucky Jackson Lucky Jackson

    It’s funny how we all grow up thinking we can do anything, be anything, but slowly over time as we age and life beats us down, doubt creeps in.  Maybe I’m not smart enough, or pretty enough, or cool enough, or brave enough.  So instead of believing that we can be the hero of our story, we play dress-up each day, pretending to be who we are not, faking it, hoping to make it through.

    Lucky Jackson Lucky Jackson

    Eventually though, either publicly or privately, whether when we’re young or at the end of our days, the facade will begin to crack.  We’ll come to realize that face we’ve been putting on all these years isn’t really who we are.  And hopefully, if we’re lucky, we’ll figure out who is truly hiding behind the mask.

    Lucky Jackson

    These painted woodcut pieces by Lucky Jackson harken back to those days of dreaming of who we would become, but also look to what happens to who we become as we listen to the voices around us.  Want to see more of Lucky Jackson‘s work?  Please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • Delicate Grace: Gosia

    Delicate Grace: Gosia

    Once in a while, I come across an artist whose work really captures me and I want to drink in each detail.  While perusing the work of another artist, I came across the website of his studio mate and immediately fell in love with what I saw.  The sculptures of Toronto artist Gosia haunted me with their delicate grace.

    Eva by Gosia Pearl by Gosia The Feeling Washes Over Me by Gosia Luna by Gosia The Penny Bust by Gosia

    The shrouded faces, the graceful features and gentle expressions, all rendered in snowy white.  They remind me of a quieter place, perhaps a place that doesn’t even exist, where time moves slowly and people are unfailingly tender and kind.

    If you’d like to see more of Gosia‘s work, please visit her website.  If you’re in Toronto, she has a show currently up at Latitude 44 Gallery until October 12th and will open a new show at Wall Space Gallery on October 10th!

    All images are via the artist’s website and Facebook page.

  • Transitory Nature: Kyle Stewart

    Transitory Nature: Kyle Stewart

    Transitions are always inspiring to me– the changing of seasons, the shift into a new life, the evolution and transformation.  The transitional seasons of our lives always seem to bring about a renewed energy and purpose.  In perusing the work of Toronto artist Kyle Stewart this morning, got me to thinking about how each experience builds upon the next as we move through this life.

    Hooded Girl #2 by Kyle Stewart Form #1 by Kyle Stewart Autumn's Return by Kyle Stewart Form #2 by Kyle Stewart The Conversation #2 by Kyle Stewart

    In Stewart’s work, you see him working out, playing and stretching through each canvas.  Scrolling through his paintings, you get a visual sense of each transition as he moves from tighter, more constrained abstracts into looser, quieter work, trying out narrative details along the way.  How amazingly does the life cycle of art mimic our own?  We too, move in and out of seasons, changing and transitioning, sometimes ever so slightly, sometimes in big, big ways.

    If you’d like to see more of Kyle Stewart‘s work ( and I highly recommend you do!  Every piece is stunning! ), please visit his website and follow along on his artistic journey through his Tumblr, Facebook & Instagram feeds.

    Images via the artist’s website.

  • We are Surrounded: Meghan Howland

    We are Surrounded: Meghan Howland

    I’ve written before about the impervious nature of technology in our lives.  You’re probably tired of reading about it, especially as I’m contributing to it by writing a blog.. umm.. dang.  But it’s such an intriguing subject to me and such a careful balancing act we play with it, that I can’t help but see the references in artists’ work from time to time.  In these paintings by Portland, Maine artist Meghan Howland, I see the artist conveying many of the conflicting emotions we encounter in this technology we interact with daily.

    Wake Up by Meghan Howland Folly by Meghan Howland Premature by Meghan Howland Meghan Howland Estatica by Meghan Howland

    Pale figures, starkly lit glow eerily as they are surrounded by beauty– birds, flowers– some soft, some seeming savage.  Do you see the connection?  Maybe I’m reaching.  What springs to mind for me is the way we use social media to show the best of ourselves, to unintentionally inspire envy in others when all we show is the most fabulous version of our lives.  When we don’t mention our struggles, the piles of laundry, the failures, alongside the beautiful moments, we create an unreal, imaginary life.  We gain followers who voyeuristically join our journey, yet heap praise on what isn’t our real selves, but a persona of our own making.

    I admit, I find myself censoring and editing what I share.  Mainly because, at my core, I’m a deeply private person, a bit uncomfortable with so much sharing.  But also because so much of the time, life is just what it is.  Day by day, it is beautiful in and of itself, but not necessarily Instagram photo worthy.  But why not?  Are we so scared of tarnishing our “brand” that we don’t allow ourselves to be authentic anymore?  I hope not.  What do you think, Artsies?  Do you censor what you put out there for the world to see?  Or are you all in, dirty dishes and all?

    If you’d like to see more of Meghan Howland‘s work, please visit her website.  If you’re in New York ( lucky! I love New York in the Fall! ), her work can be seen in person at TNC Gallery.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Delicate Immersion: Elise Wehle

    Delicate Immersion: Elise Wehle

    I find it very refreshing to come across an artist for whom the most important part of her creative process in the process itself. For Utah artist Elise Wehle, the delicately intense, repetitive handwork in her cut paper collages provide an escape into her world of process.
    Elise Wehle Elise Wehle It seems we can all suffer from tech and connection overload these days. Moments when we are completely disconnected and far away from a glowing screen of some sort have become fewer and farther between. These pieces in which artist Elise Wehle immerses herself with their deliberately tattered textures, precise cuts, and vintage feel are the perfect antidote to a world obsessed with tiny screens.
    Elise Wehle It’s almost as it we’re glimpsing peek of an Instagram feed deteriorated. The photographic cropping of the images recall those ubiquitous scenes in our social media each day. But they have aged, maybe giving us a reminder that those moments are fleeting– perhaps too fleeting to be constantly clicking and updating.
    Elise Wehle Elise Wehle

     

    If you’d like to see more of Elise Wehle‘s work, please visit her website.  I’m thinking of starting a little daily painting study to help me unplug & disconnect each day.  What’s your method of getting away from technology?

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Avian Flesh: Amy Judd

    Avian Flesh: Amy Judd

    Birds must have magically wonderful lives, don’t you think?  I’m always envious of their freedom and grace, their ability to walk on land, swim through the water ( well, some birds ), and fly to far off places.  As delicate as they may seem, birds are strong, hearty creatures.  In her series of avian paintings, London artist Amy Judd beautifully explores the relationship between woman and bird that has been the subject of many a myth and tale.

    Awakening by Amy Judd Beautifully Obscure by Amy Judd Amy Judd Black Laurel by Amy Judd

    Tulip Crest by Amy Judd

    In Judd’s work, the feathers serve as armor, a sign of strength and dignity.  Their delicacy belies the protection they offer, just as in their avian counterparts.  Classically lit figures glow ethereally as if somehow transformed by their gossamer shields.

    To see more of Amy Judd‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website and Facebook page.  Artist found via My Modern Metropolis.