There is a quiet power that abides in certain landscapes that compels us to humilty. No cell phone reception, no internet, no traffic whizzing by. Nothing to make us believe we are the center of the universe. Just earth and rock and water and light. It is in these places that the earth is welcoming, yet can be strong and unyielding. The work of New York artist, Claire Sherman captures the essence of the quiet, raw power of our natural world.
Boulders, oil on canvas, 86×78
Sherman’s overall cool palette, tinged occasionally with warm tones conveys the earth’s reticent beauty. It wants us to explore and appreciate its wildness, but fears the mark our hand often leaves.
Butte, oil on canvas, 72×84Ravine II, oil on canvas, 84×96
This is still a dangerous place. We often forget, wrapped safely in suburban cocoons, thinking we are master of all that we survey. Yet still in many places, one wrong step and we may become prey to the earth’s power. The artist’s linear, often jagged brushwork reminds us to tread carefully. She is beautiful, yes, but we must never forget her untamed nature. Try as we might to use her up, certain parts of the earth will always remain wild and inhospitable to man.
Holes, oil on canvas, 72×60Trees III, oil on canvas, 78×84
These places are for her renewing and for moments ours, but they belong to her. That we will do well to remember. To see more of Claire Sherman’s work, please visit her website. Her work can be seen in person at the Kavi Gupta Gallery in Chicago.
Featured image is Pile of Rocks, oil on canvas, 72×78. All images are via the artist’s website.
Living in places with so many wild areas, whenever we go out hiking, we’re still very aware of man’s impact on the landscape. Salt Lake City artist Thomas D. Aaron brings attention to the natural landscape and the effect of man’s hand upon it.
20, mixed media, 48×48Bend, mixed media,66×72
Aaron uses PLSS ( Public Land Survey System ) imagery as the jumping off point of his mixed media works. Focusing on manmade grids imposed upon the landscape and the paradigms they create with the natural order of the terrain.
Two Canyons, mixed media, 24×24 each
The painterly textures mimic the natural terrain and in some, dominating brushwork overpowers the landscape, just our infrastructure has done the same to natural wild spaces.
New Blue New, mixed media, 68×60Like the Sea, mixed media, 68×60
To see more of Thomas D. Aaron’s work, please visit his website. To learn more about the motivation and ideology behind his work, check out his interview with Ellen Caldwell on the New American Paintings blog.
As I mentioned before, there were certain shows I knew I wanted to see while we were in Seattle last weekend. I’ve loved the work of Seattle artist Anne Siems since first seeing it online and was excited to get my chance to see her work up close and personal. Her solo show, Guidance is showing at Grover Thurston Gallery, just up ( or down? Still don’t have my Seattle geography down pat ) the street from Foster/White, so away we went.
Wolf Girl, acrylic on panel, 48×48
Siems’ inspiration behind the show was the evolution of her daughter from childhood into adolescence and the idea that wild animal spirits may help children navigate their way through this transition. In each of us there is a wild, animalistic-like spirit that, as we grow up and grow older gets buried under years of suppression and training in proper behavior.
Antler Girl, acrylic on panel, 40×52
In Siems’ work, we see children taking on historically grim expression and formal, constricting garb, reminding us of centuries of children whose innocence is lost all too soon. Children whose natural wild spirits may fight against the constraints of social tradition and custom.
Bison Boy Drawing, mixed media on paper, 38×50
I was particularly drawn to Bison Boy ( above ), perhaps for the way the figure is isolated starkly against the white paper background. He has been taken out of his environment, out of his element. His garments are in the somewhat effeminate style of his era, yet his bison head & skin seem to be reminding us to not forget the wildness within.
George’s favorite work in the show was Lynx Cap ( below ), as this figure retains a sprightly, little girl expression in contrast to the other figures’ more suppressed, even haughty countenances. She is still an innocent.
Lynx Cap, mixed media on paper with embroidery, 22×30Guidance Tree, mixed media on panel, 48×48
I could go on and on about these and talk about every one– they are so interesting, visually and spiritually. If you’d like to see more of Anne Siems’ work, please visit her website. If you’re in Seattle, I highly recommend a visit to Grover Thurston to see these in person, a truly stunning show.
Featured image is Heart Branches, mixed media on panel, 30×30. All images are via the artist’s website.
A huge part of what drew George & I to the Northwest was the mountainous terrain. When the weather is good, every weekend is spent hiking and exploring the mountains around wherever we happen to be. We’re gearing up for the ultimate mountain adventure this June, when we’ll take some time off to camp and explore Glacier National Park, the Tetons and Yellowstone. So it’s only natural that I’ve got mountains on the brain these days. Hope you enjoy these artist’s takes on the peak life!
Kate ShawPeace and Love by Casey Roberts, cyanotype with gouache, 60×69Colorado Electricity by Christina Foard, oil on canvas, 36×36Pile of Nipples by Marian Brunn Smith, oil on canvas, 24×18One After Another, mixed media on panel, 30×24
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’swork, 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 GalleryBone 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 NatureSweet 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!
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, 36×6065th and Roosevelt by Julia Hensley, gouache collage on Bristol board, 9×12
Parallel Bars #1 by Michael Prince, mixed media, 40×30From the Explorations of the Viaduct series by Marie GagnonFamily Trio, Seattle by Robin Weiss, oil, 12×12
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.
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, 24×36
If you get out exploring, take a close look at the small worlds happening around you!
Sometimes, I find an artist’s work so powerful, that I can’t write about it immediately. When I found New York artist Lee Price’s work, I wanted to share it as soon as possible, but just couldn’t write about it yet. So I featured her on my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life, where I can simply post images, a bio and a link.
Having been naturally thin and active almost my entire life, up until recently, I’ve never really had weight issues. There were times I actually wished to be a little more curvy, more womanly. But as I approach the big 4-0 next week (!), I find myself struggling more than ever with my body image. Having listened to every woman I know complain about her body at one time or another, I know that I am not alone.
Lee Price’s work speaks to food obsessions and compulsions so common, especially among women. Her pastel, candy-colored palette belies the darkness at the heart of each painting. Her women are isolated, surrounded not by friends, family or lovers, but by piles of food, rarely untouched.
Constantly bombarded with conflicting media, we, as women, are often left feeling inadequate and confused. We retreat into ourselves, indulging when we are alone so that the only judgement we’ll feel is our own. Will we ever stop condemning ourselves so harshly?
For me, its still a struggle to make the right choices. Gone are the days of being able to eat whatever I like and still be a size 5. But also gone are the days of eating like a bird and obsessing over the way my body looks in a bikini. I may be a bit more curvy, but I’m choosing to be happier than ever. For me, it’s been a choice worth making.
To more of Lee Price’s work, please visit her website.
Featured image is Ice Cream, oil on linen, 62×31. All images are via the artist’s website.
Does it ever seem like you are always waiting for something? An answer to a question, a check in the mail, the pizza to be delivered. At times, it can feel like life is just a series of waitings. Oakland artist Brett Amory has created an entire series of work based on the monotony and futility of our waiting.
Waiting #66, oil on wood panel, 48×48
There are times when we get so caught up in anticipating what we are waiting for that we miss out on what is happening right in front of us.
Waiting #54, oil on wood panel, 48×24
It’s easy to get caught up in what might be around the next corner or where that next bus might take us.
Waiter #10, oil on mylar, 14×17
What might happen if we all lived a little more in the moment? Instead of tapping our feet in impatience, let’s look around at where we are while we are waiting and those we are waiting with. We may find that we love where we are.
Waiting #71, oil on wood panel, 48×48Waiting #64, oil on wood panel, 71×48
To see more of Brett Amory’s work, please visit his website. What are you waiting for? 😉
Featured image is Waiting #77, oil on wood panel, 96×48. All images are via the artist’s website.
Tell me ya’ll have at least seen the commercials for Food Network’sSweet Genius show. If you haven’t, you are missing out on some unintentional hilarity! Hubby and I can’t help but imitate host Ron Ben-Israel each time he utters the show’s tagline, “Are YOU a sweet genius?” in a heavily accented voice. With shows like Sweet Genius, Cupcake Wars and Cake Boss, there seems to be a quest for confection these days. How about a few sweet artistic treats to kick off your weekend? Enjoy!
Big Banana Split by Mary Ellen Johnson, oil on panel, 38×32Black Pool Rock by Joel Penkman, egg tempera on gesso board, 17.7×23.5Pink Confetti Cake by Peter Anton, mixed media, 40x51x40Coffee and Cake by Duane Keiser
