“I would like to say to those who think of my pictures as serene, whether on friendship or mere observation, that I have imprisoned the most utter violence in every inch of their surface.” —Mark Rothko “I would readily pay with my life For a safe place with constant warmth Were it not that life's flying needle Leads me on through the world like a thread.” —Arseniy … [Read more...]
Autogéométrie: The Art Brut of Francis Palanc
What is the sociological criterion to be one among those who are strangers to the established artistic circles yet produce spontaneously inventive works of art? Sometimes it may mean nothing, yet other times it may be a two-fold statement which may support an abundance of ambiguous creativity. Who are the creators whose works mean to the contemporary world a sort of … [Read more...]
Between Something and Nothing: Franz Marc’s Authorial Ether
A painter and writer who was born and lived most of his life in Bavaria, Franz Marc was one of the key protagonists in the great European debate on the nature and the goals of art at the beginning of the 20th century. Marc’s and Wassily Kandinsky’s 1911 hybrid art-book the Blaue Reiter Almanac was immediately hailed as a turning point in the practice of artists providing … [Read more...]
Sleevelessness
My mom’s job is to sit on a stool in our basement. Thatʼs where her art studio is. She has a drawing table there that has a square leaned-up top and ink stains all around the edges. When she’s not making her own art, my mom draws fashion illustration ads for the San Francisco Chronicle Newspaper, and for the Joseph Magnin Department Store. She makes pictures of all the … [Read more...]
On Painting On
“Why are the paintings going away?” Mommy explains: ”Your dad is having a very important one-man show at a big fancy gallery across from The San Francisco Opera House. We're going to get all dressed up and attend the opening.” I get to go and not wear my pajamas with feet. The grown-ups that belong to my friends will be there, the City Lights poets, the artists we … [Read more...]
Taxidermy
Artist's statement: We regularly use taxidermy of insects in order to define, categorize and understand them. With all this great variety of insects, people are still able to decide whether they're looking at a butterfly or dragonfly using common characteristics they know. Using Photoshop I've created new insects out of the ones I photographed. My new insects have nothing … [Read more...]
Rik Lina Art Exhbition: Hurracan
RIK LINA Art Exhibition: HURRACAN location KUNSTKERK Prinseneiland 89 - 1013 LM Amsterdam opening Friday, November 29, 5pm - 8pm. The exhibition will be opened by Peter van de Heijden. at 1800 hours. Musical entertainment by Dirk Polak. The exhibition can also be seen on November 30 and on December 1, 6, 7 and 8, from 3pm - 8pm, and by appointment. Rik Lina … [Read more...]
Seven Artworks by Gloria Avner
For years Gloria Avner has explored and taught ancient batik painting techniques using ink, wax, and watercolor on delicate Ginwashi ricepaper. Her collages enter a different realm, often focusing on tribal themes evolved from years of travel and study in Asia, Africa, and South America. Forty days ago she embarked on a new series: daily digital sketches, abstract, humorous and … [Read more...]
Review – Reaching Out with No Hands: Reconsidering Yoko Ono by Lisa Carver
Reaching Out with No Hands: Reconsidering Yoko Ono / Lisa Carver / Backbeat Books / 2012 / 978-1617130946 The popular perceptions of Yoko Ono are often unflattering: hanger-on, untalented, unattractive, shrill, remote. Lisa Carver, herself an artist and musician, strips away perception to find the real Yoko. Carver considers the merits of Ono's visual, written, and musical … [Read more...]
The Art of Don Clausen: May 1 – June 30 in Berkeley CA
Come enjoy these treasures from private collections: DON CLAUSEN'S seascapes of 1963 to abstracts of 2012, most never before shown publicly. Not all artwork shown is for sale. Yes, Clausen's still painting at the age of 82; still enjoying morning coffee with his Marine buddies. CLASSIC CLAUSEN & Contemporary ShawNshawN @ 4th Street Fine Art, 2000 4th Street, Berkeley, … [Read more...]
Blue Bird Cult
Australian Artist Paints the War in Afghanistan
Ben Quilty looks more like a lumberjack than a painter: stocky build, big beard, flannel shirt. But Quilty, from Paterson, New South Wales, is actually one of Australia’s most promising portrait artists. 2011 marked two significant events in Ben Quilty’s young career. He won the 2011 Archibald Prize for his portrait of artist Margaret Olley, and was also selected to spend a … [Read more...]
8 More Collages by Claudio Parentela
Art and the Artist: An Interview with Michelle Dunaway
Listen and you’ll hear the music in Michelle’s paintings. Of course, they wear the responsibility quite lightly. Incisive and mild, caught and emancipated, real and dreamy, they reach within your grasp like an early morning dream. Listen. You may not have heard of Michelle Dunaway – yet. A professional artist from New Mexico, Michelle Dunaway has been featured in magazines … [Read more...]
8 New Collages by Claudio Parentela
‘Leporellos in Black and White’ by Rik Lina
in ARTTRA gallery AMSTERDAM From 4 January to 12 February 2013 Opening on Friday, January 4 from 17:00 to 19:00 Rik Lina - in his atelier in Amsterdam 2012 BLACK AND WHITE My drawings and black and white paintings have their origin in nature, they are not “after nature” but arise from being and working in nature. From childhood I have done that, and this was … [Read more...]
13 Collages by Joe Castro
A Gallery of Woodcut Prints by Loren Kantor
Loren Kantor on the Carving Process I've always been an old-school guy. I prefer tattered books to e-readers, vinyl records to MP3's and classic black & white movies to modern 3-D dreck. I fell in love with woodcuts in the 80s when I attended a German Expressionist art show at the LA County Museum. The exhibit featured the work of Kathe Kollwitz, George Grosz & Karl … [Read more...]
Six Mixed Media Pieces by Donna Kuhn
Artist's Statement I make art because that is the only way life makes sense to me. A recurrent theme in my work is the face: semi-abstract, colorful and emotional. I don't choose to draw these faces. Their forms just come to me. They jump off the page and stare at you. Dare to stare back. I have tried to choose between media. I cannot. I feel fully engaged and alive when I'm … [Read more...]
