The first time I saw high-definition tv, I thought to myself, “I can’t believe people are paying more money for this imagery.” The resolution was so ultra-high, it was too crisp, too clear, lacking the depth to be found in blur and shadow. The work of Brooklyn based artist Caroline Zucchero Hurley uses loosely arranged shapes that, like our old analog screens, give us hints at what is there, allowing our minds and eyes the freedom to connect the dots.
Trees of Eden, oil on linen, 48×48
Much of what I love most about Hurley’s work has to do with the sense of balance and control in what may seem at first to be unfettered patterns and brushstrokes.
Dirt Stains, oil on canvas, 60×60Thank You, Virgin America
For all their seeming randomness, there is a deliberate quality to their placement, letting us know that each composition is by no means accidental. Yet, the artist arranges these shapes and colors with a deft hand, revealing just enough to suggest at what might be there.
Brights, oil on canvas, 60×60
To see more of the work of Caroline Zucchero Hurley, please visit her website. In addition to works on canvas, the artist also translates her love of shapes and forms to jewelry and linen throws— be sure to check those out, as well!
Happy 2013, Artsies! I’m excited for a new year and even more than that, I’m thrilled to spend this first month of a new year featuring the work of Tennessee artist, Christina Baker! Look for lots more loveliness coming your way from this talented painter all throughout the month of January. Stay tuned to the blog, Facebook, and Twitter feeds ( click the buttons to the right to follow! ) all month long!
Isn’t it amazing to think of all the precious stones, metals, and other extraordinary objects growing in the hidden places of our world? The sculptural work of artist Brett Freund seeks to explore questions of value and preciousness, what makes one thing more prized than another?
Crystals series, porcelain
Do we place a higher value on something that takes a longer time to ferment and evolve into its ideal form? Or is a thing’s rarity more important? And what about objects that are always growing and changing?
Freund’s work, with its fractal shapes that seem to be metamorphosing right in front of our eyes, making us think of old things, covered in signs of age and transformation. They are no longer what they were, but have become what they were meant to be.
Vessel, porcelain
Which is more valuable, what is at the beginning or the end? To see more of Brett Freund’s work, please visit his website.
Not too long ago, Mr. Forager and I had yet another conversation about what makes one piece of artwork successful over another.. Another piece of the puzzle leading to an extraordinary composition, he has concluded, is depth. Whether real or perceived, depth just makes work more interesting, giving our eyes places to go and hollows to explore. Albany artist Deborah Zlotsky’s work involves shapes moving in and out and around each other, giving our eyes plenty of places to get lost.
Everything Must Go, oil on canvas, 48×60
The artist paints intuitively, shifting shapes and depth with each tweak, a change in color here causing one form to fall back while another comes forward.
Unknown, oil on canvas, 36×36Can the Devil Speak True, oil on canvas, 36×36Tragedy Tomorrow, Comedy Tonight, oil on canvas, 36×36
With her highly planar compositions, it is almost as if Zlotsky is moulding sculpture in two dimensions. You can almost see her brush as a sculptor’s hand, carving out shapes and forms, delineating her own hollows and bumps.
Wishful Thinking, oil on canvas, 36×36
To see more of Deborah Zlotsky’s work, please visit her website.
If an artist were to translate your life into paint, what would it look like? Would the palette be bright and cheery or grey and solemn? Montreal artist Claire Desjardins’ work has the feeling of a warm and colorful life.
Playlist, acrylic on canvas, 36×48City Lights, acrylic on canvas, 36×36
Many of Desjardins’ pieces are abstract impressions of moments or memories, the colors, forms, and textures telling us their visual stories, yet leaving us to form our own conclusions.
Pomme, acrylic on canvas, 60×40Income Tax, acrylic and latex on canvas, 22×28
In the layers of paint, can feel the scene– the sights, the sounds, the scents. Paintings filled with the fleeting moods of everyday life, when taken altogether, create an extraordinary existence indeed.
How to Bake a Cake, acrylic on canvas, 72×48
To see more of Claire Desjardins’ work, please visit her website and Facebook page.
All images are via the artist’s Facebook page, linked above.
While Mr. Forager and I had originally made plans to trek to Big Bear over the weekend, a thick blanket of snow and us sans the CA law required snow chains, along with a sick-with-a-cold Mr. Forager led to a change in plans. So following our Saturday ritual of breakfast in Joshua Tree ( at Crossroads Cafe— their “piggy pancakes” are my favorite indulgent breakfast ) and stocking up on victuals at the little JT Farmers’ Market, we drove through the wind farms to Palm Springs.
We wandered around the shops and a few galleries in downtown PS ( note: Stark + Kent Gallery— best contemporary selection in PS, including a few artists featured here on Artsy Forager! ). After doing the requisite touristy photo-op under Anish Kapoor’sMarilyn statue, currently installed in downtown Palm Springs, we decided to make our way over to the Palm Springs Art Museum. Now I normally have pretty low expectations for small town art museums, knowing they don’t usually have the financial support of big city institutions, so we were pleasantly surprised by what we found there.
Jim Isermann installation
Palm Springs being a hot bed of modern architecture and design, it was no surprise that one of the current special exhibitions featured the design-art hybrid work of Fernando and Humberto Campana in the exhibition, Antibodies. Their functional yet incredibly artistic designs take inspired living to an entirely different level.
Antibodies, Fernando and Humberto Campana ( photo by David A. Lee )
But it was the museum’s contemporary collection that delighted us most. As we walked up the stairs past the giant yellow Isermann installation ( see above pic ), so the magic began. Marina Abramovic’sThe Kitchen V, Carrying the Milk, held us spellbound, as we watched the artist as she stood, she the very subject of the Vermeer-esque vignette, holding a bowl of milk, at times struggling to hold her pose.
The Kitchen V, Carrying the Milk by Marina Abramovic
Moving away from the Abramovic video installation, our eyes were caught by what from a side angle looked to be an interesting light sculpture installation, but then I stood in front of it and that’s when something bewitching and delightful happened.. see the video!
Exploded View ( Birds ) by Jim Campbell
Here are a few more of our favorite highlights from the contemporary collection–
Casualty in the Art Realm by Robert ArnesonExploded Crystal Chandelier Headache by Ed RuschaRainbow Picket by Judy ChicagoMr. Forager, contemplating Corona 2003 by Anish Kapoor
Corona 2003 by Anish Kapoor ( above ) with its beautifully disorienting reflective surface and its acoustic properties ( when standing in front of it, as Mr. F is above, someone a few yards behind can hear what is being said into it ), we found it much more interesting than his giant Marilyn Monroe sculpture getting so much attention outside. I’m glad we took the time to escape the masses huddled around her upended skirt to experience something much more satisfying.
Unless otherwise identified, all images are by Artsy Forager. Other image sources are linked above.
You know how sometimes you aren’t immediately blown away by an artist’s work, but then you sit and look at it for a while and realize it’s freakin’ amazing? Yeah, that’s what happened to me with the artist I’m featuring in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today, Amanda Stone Talley. Consider my mind completely blown away. See more of Amanda’s work here and decide for yourself!
Through my travels with Mr. Forager, I’m always struck by the many similarities there are to be found in such vastly different landscapes. And how, the elements of each interact with one another in a very specific way. The Chroma series of Ohio artist John Sabraw, a passionate environmentalist, are inspired by the micro and macro worlds we find ourselves in and our connection to every one of them.
Phyto: 2, mixed media on aluminum composite panel, 24×24
These unique works are created by layering paints of varying viscosities, allowing them to intermingle and naturally evolve in response to the environment of his studio.
Karst: Opal, mixed media on aluminum composite panel, 12×12Joules 12-4, mixed media on aluminum composite panel, 12×12
In each we see what could be the tide pools of Yellowstone or blood cells within our own bodies. They could be images made by satellites or microscopes. Whatever it is that we see, is a part of our world, whether it be nearby or far, far away.
Synchline: Tumeric, mixed media on aluminum composite, 12×12
To see more of John Sabraw’s work, please visit his website. You can read more about his Chroma series, including information on the artist’s sustainability practices here.
In the creative world, there is a great deal of pressure placed on creatives to produce works of great meaning. After all, art has to be about something, doesn’t it? If the artist has nothing to say, then what is the point? A great many artists struggle against the urge just to paint, sculpt, do vs. what the result of their creativity has to say. Sometimes artists just want to play. Create for the sake of creating, the way California artist Thomas Campbell does.
Big Flower, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, money, thread, pencil on paper, 14×13.5
According to his Artist Statement, when pressed, Campbell will concede that his work is “affirmational in a self-referential sense”. If his work must be about something, perhaps it is about the journey he takes each time he begins anew.
Give a, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, money, thread, pencil on paper, 15.5×16Umm to the Infinite, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, money, thread, pencil on paper, 14.5×12
For surely within each creative path an artist embarks upon, there are new and wondrous lessons to be learned. There is always deeper meaning to be found, if we look for it or read such things into the work.
YAR Exhibition InstallationInside the artist’s studio
But perhaps in many cases, it is merely a matter of an artist caught in the act of creating. Which is is what makes one an artist in the first place.
If you would like to see more work from this painter, sculptor, photographer, film maker, stuff maker, please visit his website.
When I was taking painting courses in college, we were required to stretch our own canvases. At first, I was pretty horrible at canvas stretching.. as in there were about a gazillion staples in each side of the canvas! But eventually, I got my hands on a decent staple gun and came to appreciate the act of stretching a canvas as part of the creative process. The stretching of textile collages over deep, geometric-shaped frames transforms stitched fabric and threads into strong and delicate sculptures for Colorado artist Jen Pack.
I am a Cube!, chiffon, thread, and wood, 58.5×58.5×3.5
Some of Pack’s work, such as I am a Cube! ( above ) have a seemingly hard-edged sleekness to them, yet upon closer inspection, we see soft lines and gradations in the colored fabrics, giving the work a painterly feel.
Domesticated Thread, thread, chiffon, and wood, 59.5×35.5×3.5Scrap 1, chiffon, thread, and wood, 31.25x10x3.5
Then in other pieces, Pack’s purpose seems to be one of deconstruction, as in Domesticated Thread ( above ) and Purple, Yellow, and Green Toadstools ( below ). Here, what we are met with seems to be an unraveling of the more “finished” and “structured” pieces. It’s almost as if someone pulled a loose thread, which caused the slow unraveling of each piece.
Purple, Green, and Yellow Toadstools, thread, moshi fabric, cardboard tubes or pvc pipe, dimensions vary
To see more of Jen Pack’s work, please visit her website. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, you can see her solo show, UnQuiet Chroma at Taylor De Cordoba Gallery until December 15th! Oh how I wish I was going to be able to get myself to L.A. this weekend!
