Thick, interlocking lines of paint layered over obscured black and white imagery? Could I be more intrigued? Check out the work of Portland artist Alex Steckly in my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life. Because I need to know I’m not the only one obsessing over these. Check out the post here!
Alex Steckly on Escape Into Life.
Sometimes, work just catches my eye because it’s interesting and well executed. Then the more I look at it, the more I’m amazed by it. And then, I read the artist’s statement about his work and I’m left speechless at the way the creative mind weaves and works. Tennessee paper artist Charles Clary uses layer upon layer upon layer of hand cut paper to render intricate worlds that “mimic viral colonies and concentric sound waves“. ( !?! )
Recognizing the similarities in pattern between microbial outbreaks and sound waves, Clary’s work shows us, in a way, what could be lurking under any surface. We are lulled into a sense of ease and complacency by the smooth, unblemished surface of the canvas, yet what is revealed is a complex system of layered, interconnected shapes.
Despite their slightly menacing associations, for me, the work is reassurring rather than disturbing. I find it comforting to think that despite appearances, there is always more than meets the eye. What is taken for granted as simple, may very well be extremely complex. Like peeling back an onion, it’s only when we look beyond the surface that we see the layers.
To see more of Charles Clary’s work, please visit his website.
All images are via the artist’s website.
In our current gypsy-like state, Mr. Forager and I try to travel as lightly as possible. But we do acquire things along the way, some we find unnecessary, contributing to a local Goodwill every where we go, but others we hold onto tightly– art and books. Small pieces of our own art enrich each temporary home, while the books we carry with us enrich our minds, spirits, and souls. The work of Southern California artist Lisa Occhipinti centers around books, not just their physical pages but our emotional and spiritual connection to them.
The artist incorporates pages from various tomes in her work, sometimes in a conspicuous way, like the pretty coffee table books we may buy but never really read.. or in a more subtle way, like the self-help books and other guilty pleasures we keep hidden in the nightstand.
Delicate drawings and inky washes call to mind margin notes and doodles peppering well read stories. Almost as if the reader of Occhipinti’s visual story is distracted not because the story doesn’t hold their interest, but they lost in becoming a part of the tale being told.
To see more of Lisa Occhipinti’s work, please visit her website. I chose to focus on her painting work, but you’ll also find wonderful book-y sculptures and photography on her site.
All images are via the artist’s website.
Our currently semi-vagabond lifestyle dictates that Mr. Forager and I travel light. Any purchase of a new object is always weighed against whether it’s truly necessary, how much room it will take up when in transit, or if it is too beautiful/wonderful/amazing to live without. In his work, Illinois artist Chad Wys takes on our obsession with possession, questioning whether we can truly possess a piece of artwork, what our possessions say about us, and how we objectify the world around us.
When we purchase a piece of artwork, what is our motive? I believe the majority of art is acquired for aesthetic reasons– something about the work, whether it be the subject, the colors or the composition, appeals to us. But what about artwork that doesn’t appeal, isn’t pretty? Is it any less valuable?
And what do the objects we possess say about who we are? And what makes the things we own or the things our ancestors owned so special? Or are they not really special at all?
To see more of Chad Wys’s work, please visit his website.
Thank you to artsocial for reminding about this artist! All images are via the artist’s website.
While visiting with friends in San Diego recently, somehow the topic of self-worth came up. My friend Veronica mentioned that the Dalai Lama didn’t understand the Western issue of low self-esteem– we are not born thinking negatively about ourselves, yet something sinister creeps in. The work of Boston area artist Jane Maxwell uses vintage fashion, advertising, and pop-culture ephemera to deconstruct the messages being sent to women and young girls by the fashion and entertainment industries.
Our body image issues don’t always begin with someone actually telling us we’re too fat, too skinny, too pale.. we are inundated daily, especially as women and young girls, with images of stick thin fashion models and actresses, being held up as the current standard of ideal beauty. Maxwell chooses to use silhouetted versions of these iconic figures, deconstructing them so that they become an anonymous “every woman”, which could help us to see the somber truth that these women have indeed become pawns in this game of idealized beauty.
This standard of beauty seems to fluctuate with each generation, remember the days of Reuben and his voluptuous figures? Or the curvaceousness of the iconic beauties of the 1950s? When will we reach a point where women of every size, shape, and color are held up as quintessentially beautiful? Maxwell’s work recognizes that struggle within us of that longing to be lauded for our unique beauty yet we continue to strive to attain the ideal.
What are your thoughts on Jane Maxwell’s work or on self-image in general? Where do you see the struggle?
To see more of the work of Jane Maxwell, please visit her website and Facebook page. Her work can be seen in galleries throughout the US, you can find a list of her representing galleries on her website.
Artist found via Lanoue Fine Art. Images via the artist’s website and Lanoue Fine Art.
OK, I’ll admit, I’m not a big action-movie fan. In fact, the latest super-hero based film is usually the very last on my movie watching list ( although I end up watching them with Mr. Forager so that he’ll watch the latest costume drama/foreign film with me ). But I might be rethinking my prejudice due to the work featured today. The recent work of Brooklyn artist Jim Gaylord is based on action sequences in films– now there’s an action movie screening approach I could get into!
In Gaylord’s work, some paintings, some collage/mixed media, we are met with a cacophony of shapes, colliding upon one another. The crashing of objects, the roar of engines.. it’s almost audible. Can you hear it?
Pops of white amid the chaos resemble clouds of smoke, distorting the full scene from our view, while smaller forms are catapulted out from the midst like shrapnel.
I think I’ll be looking at action sequences a bit differently from now on, won’t you? To see more of Jim Gaylord’s work, please visit his website.
All images are via the artist’s website. Artist found via Gregory Lind Gallery.
I am loving the mixed media work of Los Angeles artist Chyrum Lambert, featured today on my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life. They remind me of wonderful puzzles waiting to be solved! See more of Chyrum Lambert’s work on EIL here.
One memory I have of my grandmother is of she and I in her dining room, sewing patterns spread out over fabric, pinking shears in hand, as she cut out the pieces to yet another new dress for me. The crunch of that brown tissue paper is now always associated with those times together. Austin artist John Westmark incorporates paper sewing patterns into his work, reinterpreting them as he explores feminist narratives, mythical figures, and the segregation of stereotypes.
Not only does the artist incorporate the patterns into his work as a means of literal and visual texture, the patterns and their associations are the catalyst behind the explorations of themes in each series. For instance, in his Folklore series ( including Corona below ), Westmark references the traditions of story telling, incorporating the instructional verbiage of the patterns themselves. While in his Double Bind series ( including She-Crab below ), he reinterprets these instruments of traditionally feminine work into images of female mythical heroes and warriors. Adding an additional level of interest, he adds to the patterns custom text from contemporary feminist writings– creating work not just to be seen but to be experienced.
For his Flight series, Westmark continues the visual conversation between the feminine and masculine by creating a bridge between the typically female sewing patterns and the mechanical drawings of aircraft, usually a more masculine endeavor. Each patterns upon which to build and construct, looking very similar upon first glance– it is only when we examine more closely and determine their origin that we assign a stereotype to each.
To see more of the phenomenal work of John Westermark, please visit his website. His work can be seen at Stark + Kent, a contemporary art gallery in Palm Springs, where I first spotted these extraordinary works, or at Gilman Contermporary in Sun Valley, ID, where his solo exhibition, Into the Fold, is showing until January 20, 2013.
Artist found via Stark + Kent. All images are via the artist’s website.
Mr. Forager and I are forest & woods people, with a bit of the ocean on the side. Which is a big part of why we love the Pacific Northwest so much and can’t wait to get back there ( only 3 1/2 more months! ). The quiet, the depth and darkness of the woods is a salve to our souls. Artists Anke Schofield and Luis Garcia-Nerey aka KOLLABS, are two artists who work collaboratively, exploring the role of humans within the forest and the environment as a whole.
In their work, KOLLABS often shows human and animal interaction, but taken out of the literal context of the woods. As in Conversations ( above ), it may seem that the bear, shrunken in size, perhaps to belie its power, is there to entertain the wealthy woman. Or perhaps she has invited the bear in, to try to get to know him and his ways so that she might better serve him.
As so many of us live far removed from the woods, usually only glimpsing wild animal at the zoo, photographs, or other media, it’s easy to forget that these creatures once ruled. That they, along with their forest homes, were treated with reverence and respect.
After all, they were there first. To see more of KOLLABS’ work, please visit their website. You can see their work in person in several galleries across the US, including Diehl Gallery in Jackson Hole, WY, Gilman Contemporary in Sun Valley, ID and Lanoue Fine Art in Boston, as well as Whistler Village Art in Whistler, British Columbia.
Artist found via Diehl Gallery. Images via Diehl Gallery and Gilman Contemporary websites.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of the Artsies around the world! I’m taking a break from the blog today to enjoy the holiday with Mr. Forager. With so much tragedy going on in our world, the greatest thing we can all wish for this day is peace on earth. May it be so and may it begin with me. Wishing you a most wonderful, peace-filled holiday!
Artwork by this month’s Featured Artist, Marsha Glaziere. See more of Marsha’s work on her website and on the Artsy Forager Facebook page!