community arts day slideshows.

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webster's community arts day was held on saturday... as always, it was a great event, showing one of the many facets of what makes webster a great district.

the day was filled with the arts - both visual and performing.

if you want to see the artwork that was hung there (grades 1-12), check out the WTHS art department website and click on 'student art gallery' on the left side.

abstract expressionists at the albright-knox.

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if you have time, you should check out this exhibit of abstract expressionists (1940-1976) at the albright-knox art gallery in buffalo. its only an hour or so away, and well worth the drive.

as well as seeing this show, their permanent collection is amazing.
the abstract expressionists are some of the most influential american artists in history, and certainly in the 20th century.

the show will include work from: helen frankenthaler, philip guston, jasper johns, willem de kooning, robert motherwell, jackson pollock, mark rothko, and frank stella.

check it out if you have a chance! it runs from february 13 - june 10.

directions
albright-knox homepage
more about the exhibit

artist of the week :: jasper johns.

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when i was first really getting into painting in college, my favorite professor doug anderson introduced me to jasper johns and mark rothko. rothko's work was too cold and image-less for me, but johns' paintings spoke to me. his use of texture, collage, and simple yet emotive imagery i found to be very powerful.

the style in which he painted influenced my work in college - broadening my horizons from realism into a whole new realm of expressing myself. i have since continued to study his work closely and it has seeped deeply into my art.

this thursday, february 12, at rochester art supply's cascade art center, there will be a workshop / info session on encaustic painting. this was johns' main painting technique. contact classes@fineartstore.com for more details.

artist of the week :: audrey kawasaki.

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audrey kawasaki's work is easy to pinpoint, but hard to truly describe.
there is an etherial quality that makes the work this way. her influences are easy to read though - alphonse mucha's poster art, the paintings of gustav klimt and egon schiele, as well as contemporary graffiti and tattoo art. she is able to deftly combine these disparate influences into something totally fresh and new.
although her paintings are visually simple, they captivate the viewer, bringing them back for more.

for more on audrey kawasaki, check out her website
[also, you can click on the artists' names in the above paragraph to see work from her influences.]

artist of the week :: ann strassman

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i know it seems obvious that i would like ann strassman's work - bold portraits on found surfaces. its an easy fit for me - but what i find interesting about her work is the inclusion of the found markings on the boxes. she incorporates the stickers, labels, and printed words into the pieces in interesting ways. its something ive never thought of before.

beyond that, the marks she makes are quite beautiful. it seems that she studied the paintings of alberto giacometti.

here is her artist statement from 2007:
"a riot of pigment applied with an athletic force-coming together to create life.
there are no metaphors-just the magic of paint. "

see more of ann's work at the kidder smith gallery

artist of the week :: jonathan 'viner' weiner

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according to his website, jonathan weiner (aka: 'viner') “uses layers of symbolism, both conscious and subconscious, to construct somewhat ambiguous narratives that invite and challenge the audience to be an active participant in the viewing experience.” although that seems kind of convoluted, it make sense if you think about it... if you look at his work, it leads you somewhere, but its up to you to make the conclusions. which (in my humble opinion) is what art should do.

i am always impressed by viner's use of point of view, color and form stylization, as well as veiled metaphor/symbolism. they take me on a journey... in a tim burton, twisted fairytale kind of way.
not only are his paintings beautiful and worth looking at, but his drawings are great too.

here are some links for further perusal...
jonathan levine gallery (also the site of the most recent exhibit of 45rpm favorite shepard fairey)
myartspace>blog interview
fecal face interview with nice visuals (you can also check out info on future a.o.t.w. jeremy fish here)

artist of the week :: ben aronson

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atmosphere... thats what i love about ben aronson's paintings. they capture the feeling of the place, which can be so much more interesting and important artistically than the realistic look of the place.
pay special attention to the brushstrokes in the closeups of each image... how it informs our understanding of the atmosphere of the place... how he feels in that place, and how we would feel if we were there with him. if you have ever been to san fransisco, you would agree with me that these paintings perfectly capture how it feels to be there.
aronson was born in 1959. he earned both his BFA and MFA from boston university school of fine art, where he studied with phillip guston (who opened his eyes to the west coast figurative painters like thiebaud and diebenkorn). you can see the influence of all 3 artists in his paintings.
enjoy!

artist of the week :: clive smith

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a fan favorite during our drawing 2 slide show last week, i thought that clive smith would make a fitting 'artist of the week'. he is a comtemporary figurative painter born in england in 1967. one of his big breaks was in the representing representation show at the arnot museum in elmira, ny (2 hours south of rochester) in 1999.
smith explores the human figure and the frontiers (both real and imagined) that confront us all. click on the images to enlarge them, and look at the great texture in each piece. the brushstrokes help convey the message. he currently lives and paints in nyc.
strangely, there is another contemporary artist who shares his name who you may find if you search the internet for him. if you are interested in seeing more images of his work, see me.

artist of the week :: shepard fairey.

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so now all of you in my classes have been exposed to one of my favorite artists. his name is shepard fairey and he is the creator of the OBEY phenomenon. you've seen the giant logo and the 'make art not war' poster plastered everywhere in my world...

many of you have asked me questions about him, so i thought link you to a bio on him, as well as to a catalog of his prints (both via thegiant.org), as well to a san fransisco gallery that just had a big show of his work. (many of these pieces i had not even seen before, so when i stumbled upon it i was really excited.)

thegiant.org :: bio page, catalog of prints
white walls gallery sf :: shepard fairey: the duality of humanity