Art, Artists, and Galleries

Rant about van Gogh

2012-02-01T08:32:00.006-06:00

Once again I have someone ask me, "didn't she/he (insert artist's name) commit suicide. This time it was ask about Warhol and no he didn't. The myth of Vincent van Gogh is so strong in the general public. It seems from his myth two basic assumptions emerge. 1. All artists commit suicide, which might not be even true for van Gogh. 2. Artist's art makes not money until they are dead. Taking on the first, it seems a vast majority of artists I bring up in class or even in general conversation to people in other disciplines, enviably someone says, "didn't he/she commit suicide, and I have to inform them "NO" nearly every time. I have been asked about whether Leonardo da Vinci, Monet (which he just attempted), Picasso, Matisse, and the list goes on. Or if they don't remember suicide, they remember the cutting of the ear. 2. The vast majority of artists through out history made a living off their art. Almost any artists that didn't make a living off their art did some other job as well, or quit making art. Sure, most artists have a really hard time at first, especially the artists from poor families, but if they had the talent and the passion, often times this is overcome. Vincent might not have sold a lot, but he still painted and he still was able to eat, from his allowance from his brother. He created a great deal of work over a short period. To debunk the poor artist myth, I give you our current artist millionaires, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. They are alive and well, and making buckets of cash which they spend on making bigger and gaudier works of art.

Sophia Ainslie

2012-01-30T17:12:00.003-06:00

Another artist that has helped me just from the work I have seen is Sophia Ainslie. I am amazed at the detail, minimal organic shapes, and large areas of white space. I love the action and movement of this work along with the hard edge solid colors. Great feeling of contrasting ideas, but at the same time the shapes seem to relate a great deal. The website is just amazing as well. I the front page, work, and press page. She has got it together. When I was up last summer in Boston, I visited the Kingston Gallery, where she had a recent show. Wish her work was up at the time, I would have took notice right away. The gallery was nice, it was located with all the other contemporary art spaces. I think more cities should invest in a concept like Boston. It would create more tourism around buying art. Of course, there is something to be said about Dallas' organic migration to the Design District.

Ink on Clayboard

2012-01-29T20:55:00.004-06:00

The image is a little yellow, but the basic concept is to create imaginary text of a book I have never finished. This piece is titled "97% of Moby-Dick." That is right, I have read 3% of the book if I ignore the graphic novel version I read completely through, which I do. That is like saying I read the book because I saw the movie. This piece is 7in x 5in. I have to goal to finish one a week, so I will post a new one each week to keep me motivated.

Amanda Hughen

2012-01-28T09:51:00.003-06:00

I find photographic my work a real problem. So when I saw Amanda Hughen's work, I though, wow, those images are great. How in the world did these get photographed. Well, beyond the nice images, is also the the great work. These are explosions of geometric shapes and wonderful lines with acrylic paint that mutes out areas and allows the work to have overlapping depth. I ran across the work at Marcia Wood Gallery website. Amanda Hughen has an amazing website and the shots of details is what I aspire to get done with my own work. It is time I take my art career more serious and make the important steps towards real and meaningful success that will provide for my family and be the career I dreamed it would be. I just cleared my mornings for three days, so I can get some smaller works done. I have been sending out my information to group shows, jury shows, and other venues. It is time I make my mark. And I would like to thank Amanda Hughen's inspirational work to show me the way.

INK inc. show

2012-01-19T15:39:00.009-06:00

In 2010, Holly Johnson Gallery had a group show titled INK inc. Along with my own work, the show had John Adelman, Isabel Albrecht, Astrid Bowlby, Ernesto Caivano, Craig Dongoski, Jacob El Hanani, Il Lee, Linn Meyers, and M. It was great to be among artists using a wide range of the medium. The pictures above is my work in the show with artists from UNT, editor of ModernDallas.net Jeff Levine, and my brother.

Language Reconstruction

2012-01-18T22:51:00.014-06:00

Todd Camplin at Holly Johnson Gallery:

Language Reconstruction, November 2010 - January 2011

Here are some shots of my work on the wall at Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas, TX.

Rivane Neuenschwander

2012-01-17T11:11:00.006-06:00

2004. Synthetic polymer paint and ink on printed paper

When Richard Prince removed the text to smoke ads in magazines and then presented the images as a new image, Prince was being iconoclastic. When Warhol and Lichtenstein used comic books as subject matter, they were breaking from the abstract school. Now combined the three artists' achievement and you might get something like Rivane Neuenschwander paintings. There is a strong tongue in cheek nod to minimalism. I like that Neuenshwander is giving the bare essentials to referencing comic books. Like abstract art, Neuenschwander is allowing the viewer to make up their own stories with little prompting.

Roosevelt Sanon

2012-01-16T22:50:00.002-06:00

It is a good time to think about Haitian art with all the remembrance of the earthquake on the news. After all, a really important industry that Haiti has is the artists. This work by Roosevelt Sanon is beautiful and idyllic, but you have to think of the context this work is painted. Haiti never really recovered from their deforestation to pay off the French for their independence. So a sense like this could only be imagined. Sanon is painting what might be, or what should be. A renewal of land and people in harmony. Stylistically, this work reminds me a little of the American Regionalism of the 1930's. Every collector should have at least one work from a living Haitian artist. Not only to support them as artists, but Haiti has a unique aesthetic that has strong roots in their religion, hopefulness, and you find very interesting critically challenging work.

Jean Paul Gaultier

2012-01-14T19:10:00.003-06:00

I finally got around to the DMA's collection of Jean Paul Gaultier fashion retrospective. Very wild designs and some adult suggestive images to boot, but that did stop parents from dragging their kids to the museum. I think people watching was as much fun as the show. It was so funny to see old men with accents with two models on his arm and old ladies dressed up in the most outrageous outfits. Paul Gaulter did clothes for all kinds of celebrities. One of my favorites was a piece that looks like the Mr. Body, only for a woman. I like how on the sailor series, the museum projected faces on the manikins. The made the show all that more strange and interesting. I had a fun time all around with this over the top, genius show. I came away liking the majoriy of Paul Gaultier work I saw, if only hating a few outfits.

Alex Schaefer

2012-01-04T06:47:00.004-06:00

Instead of destroying property, psychologists will tell you to refocus you energy to something creative. But when you do, someone always seems to be disturbed by your creative outlet. Alex Schaefer has tapped into a lot of peoples anger toward the banks and he has made a clear message of his feelings. The LAPD has taken issue with his work, which I am sure to the delight of Schaefer. With the prices he is fetching, he could make a good living off this series. And after all, making a living off our art is all we artists are asking. Trust me, the high prices he is fetching now will pay for those many years of lean living. And those lean years come in waves, so Schaefer, like most artist, is likely see to have a few more years of lean to go in his life. So, when you read about artists making large sums of money for some work, please don't complain. Most are working their tail off to generally little reward. We should be happy for those that have a moment in the sun.

Primary Buttons

2012-01-01T19:11:00.010-06:00

Four Years ago, I reviewed the presidential candidates graphic design on their buttons. Of course, I am positive that the best design won the last election for Obama, (really I think it at least played a small role), so I thought, who will likely win the Republican primary from their design on their buttons. Ok, so we have a lot of contenders and you know they are already dropping like flies, so I had to get this out now. The GOP primary players are the following: Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Buddy Roemer, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum. Here are the examples of their buttons.

Here is my verdict. Under the snooze category is Santorum. The most exciting thing about this design is the stars falling off the sides. Both Paul and Bachman use a stripped flag in their names, but I don't see a lot of graphic optimism here. All but Huntsman and Gingrich use a text that serif fonts. Huntsman's font projects a more personal relationship font, but his "H" logo looks like a logo for an corporation rather than a presidential candidates. Gingrich is pretty odd. The bold text looks fat, baby blue background is painful to look at, but not as painful as the informal red font of his "2012." But nothing could be as bad at Koemer's button. From the 3D letters, pictures of the candidate, and the flag in the background which makes the text less readable, I would have thought maybe a very young family member had design the button. Perry's is not bad, but nothing really memorable about it either. Romney's R shaped flagged is inspired, but I think his tag line helps the button the most, "Believe in America." Paul has a tag line too, but "Restore America Now," isn't vague optimisms. After all, I am left to ask, restore it to what? Where as a tag line "Believe in America," is about a vague as "Yes we can." Therefore, it works for politicians.

Recycle Art

2011-12-30T09:57:00.004-06:00

Several artists have been on a mission to save old paintings from themselves. John Lytle Wilson says on his website, "Occasionally, an artist will paint something, but neglect to include monkeys and/or robots. When I can, I fix that." His work above shows a classic painting you might see in a frame shop that most likely came out of a Chinese painting factory. I am sure Wilson picks up these works at thrift shops, ebay, or even "starving artist sales." Wayne White is another artist that takes old paintings, but he uses text to interact with the old paintings. I blogged about him a while back. Peter Schuyff also makes painting on top of old images only Schuyff make abstract images that are more related to minimal painting. So you have a Re-Pop artist, text artist, and minimalist artist, but all are recycling paintings that needed a face lift.

Age of Culture Cycle

2011-12-23T09:52:00.005-06:00

I was talking to my brother about the state of the arts. He pointed out that we are in a "age of culture." If you look at history, we have periods of great creativity and periods of culture. Modernism was about 100 years of creativity, from 1870's to 1970, give or take some years. After Modernism, we find our self in an extremely pluralist art world. Styles, ideas, and mediums are as diverse as they have ever been. Some artists are commanding high prices and there seems to be a great deal more artists than there ever was in the past. Modernism ideas and styles are being taught at every academic level. Modernism has been institutionalized, so little is left to shock the establishments in art. True, some art shocks a particular sub-culture or group of sub-cultures, but in general few artists make a real sink anymore. That is unless you live in the UK, where art has managed to get some press.

There seems to be this desperate need for excepting artists' and their vision. So, having value judgements become criticized as being narrow minded. This is another symptom of the "age of culture." You don't have a Museum like the Nasher in Dallas call Martin Creed a fraud when he fills a room with balloons. The museum acts like he was the first to come up with this idea or at least the best to rehashing the idea. Read my piece on lazy art and Creed. I thought I was watching the movie Untitled. In the "age of culture," we find that museums and auction houses taking risks instead of just art galleries and juried shows. That expansion of the market of risk also shows a build up to a crisis point in the market. A great example of market risk taking is the case of Damien Hirst. I the middle of the 2008 melt down, Hirst skipped the gallery for the auction house to rack in a hefty take home. The same could be said for some of the mid to late 1800's artists that didn't become Impressionist or Expressionist. They to were commanding good prices for their work in the French art market. After all, during this time, France was experiencing an "age of culture." Even though these artists were successful in their time, they have lost the magic that the Modernist had captured. Thus the French Academic schools have lost out to the people with new ideas.

Can individuals shine during the period of "culture." Yes, but the trick is to be the precursor to the next thing that sparks the next "age of creativity." Plus, seeing that we only ended Modernism 40 some years ago, we might have another 60 to 100 or more years before we reach our next "age of creativity."

Ian Davenport

2011-12-21T16:25:00.003-06:00

I have been looking for artists that use minimal lines and colors in a unique way, so I was happy to come across Ian Davenport. I really enjoy the colors and dripping quality of this work. I think there is something natural about the flow at the bottom that starts to make to an ordinary minimal work come alive. Really this is a good twist on the theme of line paintings. Davenport has paintings that have paint spilling on the floor.

Yarn Bombing

2011-12-17T09:20:00.003-06:00

My wife is crazy about knitting and crocheting. So, naturally I started to look up other artists that also use yarn. I came across Yarn Bombing. This kind of art is really graffiti art, just with yarn, but somehow it makes the world a little more magical. Glasstire and Texas Monthly did a profile on Yarn Bomber Magda Sayeg. It appears the art movement might have its source in Dallas and went global. It is really huge in Europe, but so is a lot of graffiti. I have a few sites for you to visit so you can see this kind of work. First is blog Street Art Utopia, then there is blog Yarn Bomb, and the Glasstire article on Magda Sayeg. The Glasstire article also has some interesting comments about the artist. Apparently there is some bitterness about her rise to fame.

The Secret of Kells

2011-12-15T21:11:00.003-06:00

I love well crafted cartoons with powerful illustrations and interesting stories.The Secret of Kells is one such cartoon that is full of imagination and drama. The style of drawings remind me of the series Samurai Jack. Though, the story and images were more complex in the Kells movie. Some how the drawings manage to be simple idealized images while remaining highly complex with subtle small details.

Keysook Geum

2011-12-13T17:58:00.002-06:00

I was looking at New Orleans galleries, when I came across the artist Keysook Geum. When I first viewed the image of Geum's work, I thought these works would also make great drawings, but the are sculptures. This fashion/art hybrid is another important step in blurring the lines of art through fusion of disciplines. When you fuse forms or create a hybrid form, the last bits of craft and art argument fade away. This image comes from a blog about the hand made and here is a collection of the artist's work at a Chicago gallery - Andrew Bae Gallery.

Poem by Troy Camplin

2011-12-09T22:07:00.005-06:00

Before I get to the poem, I would like to explain why it is here. This is a poem by my brother, Troy Camplin. I turned this work into a very black, pink, and read art work. So, here is the poem and the image will come later.

Warning

Below my surface lies an undertow
That wants to drag you down, most unexpected,
Into a rapid, roiling, turgid flow,
Our movements breaking onto undetected
Stones – our emotions shattering the pieces
We were to these west winds of weariness.
I have grown weary and my heart, it ceases
Desiring each gentle, deep caress
Of my emotions, intense undertow,
A pull that drew me down into the deep
Parts of myself that nearly drowned the glow
Of life itself – I wanted cool, cool sleep.
My currents make me fear for you and me –
Desires that drive me to stay and flee.

Text Artists

2011-12-09T16:39:00.002-06:00

I ran across this blog about text art, so being a text artist myself, I thought I would link to it. Some of the text artists I ran across by Googling "text artist" is Kim Rugg, Sam Winston, Annie Vought, Chris Rusak and Ryo Shimizu.

Ingrid Calame

2011-12-05T21:00:00.007-06:00

Ingrid Calame #181 Working Drawing 2005 illustrated above shows a type of color pencil drawing on trace mylar. I get a similar effect with the great and wonderful projector. I love the projector as a tool. I love blowing up my own drawing and making large layered finished compositions. In Calame's work, the lines and shapes interact and layer like transparent clouds or complex topographical maps. The dark lines seem to be close the the surface, while the lighter yellow seems to fall back into space. I like the feeling of movement and action in the lines. Calame really makes a busy drawing.
I like how Calame takes graffiti on the street or makings on the road or even stains on a porch and then traces those as a kind of recording and reworks them into her own work. It is like taking temporary text and partly preserving and partly reshaping to full remake the street art.

Ink on Paper abstract poetry

2011-12-01T01:10:00.005-06:00

Title: Alison Pelegrin's poem Music Ends

Another piece I made this year. A work on paper using only 005 tip pens. I am excited that I was able to use so many colors, while not making a work that clashes. Just like all my current pieces on paper, the words are from a poem and each object is made up of a stanza. As soon as I get pictures, I will share with you my new series on clay board titled "unread."
I'm still an artist who use text in my art, just my new works takes a new spin on the concept.

This work uses all the words from a poem by Alison Pelegrin titled "Music Ends."

Fresh Faces 2X2

2011-11-30T09:39:00.004-06:00

Bath House Cultural Center is having a group show of artists that are emerging and have never exhibited at the Cultural Center, so curator - Rita Barnard organized a hugely diverse group of artists. Opening reception will be December 3rd, at 7 to 9 and the show will run through January 28th, 2012. I will be exhibiting the debut of my new work on clay board.

Artists: Ray Alvarez, Vicki Barringer, Carol Beesley, Coral Bourgeois, Todd Camplin, Michael Christopher, Dan Colcer, Brian A. Crawford, Dave Cudlipp, Kiki Curry, Chance Dunlap, Brett Dyer, Suzanne Edmonson, Peggy Epner, Angie Fitzgerald, Brad Ford Smith, George Fowler, Frankie Garcia III, Mary Gargour, Lydia Gowens, T.J. Griffin, Jeremy Hahn, Luke Haynes, Ellie Ivanova, Brian Keith Jones, Sonali Khatti, Dave Klucsarits, Bonny Leibowitz, Michael Longhofer, Laurie Mahoney, Jeanne C. Neal, Lisa Yelizaveta Nersesova, Ricardo Paniagua, Dean Pettit, Carolyn Rekerdres, Mike Salcido, Clint Scism, Brian Scott, Kasten Searles, Caroline Shaw Ometz, Jane Sublett, Steve Uriegas, Robin A. Walker, and Douglas Winters.

John Aslanidis

2011-11-28T13:27:00.003-06:00

I always wondered, where could Op art really lead? I think John Aslanidis has managed to take the optical tricks of the 1960's and 70's Modernist movement and added content of representing sound in a visual sense. I have been looking for artists that represent a kind of sound wave or multiple sound waves in a painting. I enjoy Aslanidis' approach of overlapping the sound waves like ripples in a pond. You still get a nice vibration in you eyes and you can easily imagine layered sounds. Like nearly all hand made hard edge paintings, the amount of tape used to create the lines is a great deal. I would think Aslanidis has a mountain of tape by now.

Dallas on Monday

2011-11-21T20:01:00.002-06:00

Every time I visit Dallas for meetings on Monday, I find myself limited to my art consumption options. So, North Park Mall with the Naspher Collection on display is always nice to visit. Not a lot of rotation of work, but something to behold if you like shopping and experiencing art in the same place. I generally see malls as just museums anyways, because I can never afford anything, but I love looking at the fashions and displays. I also made my pilgrimage to large Half-Price Bookstore and their huge collection of art books. I nearly bought a few catalogs of artist's work, but I ended up buying the art essays of Apollinaire, which is a true treasure already. I finally went to the Barns and Nobel, across from the North Park Mall. I went upstairs and I has horrified that the art section had been moved downstairs and left as a shell of its former glory. This B&N had been a haven for top of the line new art books on multiple shelves and now the space for art is like any other B&N, crap little. I was so disappointed I walked over to the magazine rack to find that it to had taken an extreme cut back as well. I couldn't even buy an ArtNews or Art America. I don't know the reason for the change, but that is the last time I go out of that particular store. I guess I will have to visit the DMA museum store or save up my money for the CAA convention to get any good new art books.

Wainer Vaccari

2011-11-17T23:04:00.004-06:00

I was in LA about three years back and I found myself in China Town. A lot of art galleries art in China Town, so I got to see a lot of interesting art. I saw so much, I think I forgot a few shows. Wainer Vaccari wasn't one of them. The show consists of Vaccari's series of boxers. The images were painted with gestures of text, symbols, and abstract lines. I have recently seen a TV commercial that shows numbers playing over the body. I think it was some kind of drug company. Well, anyways, as soon as I saw it, I thought of Vaccari work. How we are made up of numbers, letters, or in better term; Information. Vaccari uses the traditional paintings gestures with these writing symbols to create a painting that bridges the past with current information theories and ideas. Apparently Vaccari is considered a "Maximalist."

Michelson Museum of Art

2011-11-16T21:27:00.003-06:00

When I am in far east Texas, on my way to Jefferson, Michelson Museum of Art is a must see. Near the Louisiana border, you will find a very charming art collection. They have a collection by a Russian artist, Leo Michelson and a two other nice collections that rotate in the permanent collection gallery. Then they rotate other shows, often by Texas artists, but also some traveling exhibitions stop in to Marshall, TX. I love the children space, because my kids can spend a few hours playing between visiting galleries.

Bratsa Bonifacho

2011-11-12T21:46:00.004-06:00

I am always a fan of artists that use numbers and letters in their art. I was looking at Canadina art galleries, when I ran across Herringer Kiss Gallery, where I ran across the artist Bratsa Bonifacho. However, Bonifacho is a little conservative in composition approach, almost to the point of decorative or quilt like. I personally think some of the other work on his homepage is stronger, but you will have to explore and judge that yourself.
I would imagine that Bonifacho uses a kind of system to create this work. To me, systems work best, because you can walk right up to a canvas and paint/draw a piece a lot easier than always coming to a blank canvas with no idea what to paint. I find it easier to just sit and think in the studio for a while before hitting the work. Although, preliminary steps before I hit the art work take a lot of mind time too.

Ink on paper 2

2011-11-10T21:19:00.008-06:00

My first diptych ink on paper in this style. Words from old year books, Facebook posts, and other sources.

Ink on paper

2011-11-09T23:48:00.006-06:00

This is a drawing by me and also the one below. This is another one of my ink on paper drawings. The art work is made up of words taken from a sonnet. Each object in the image is made from the words of each stanza.

This work above uses all the words from a poem by Andrew Hudgins titled "Wasp."

The work above is also from a poem. This work uses all the words from a peom by Anna Evens titled, "What You Lost."

Surrealism Second Generation

2011-11-08T08:14:00.002-06:00

I was writing a review of Katja Loher at ModernHouston.net and I began to think about Surrealism. Mostly because of her work, but also because I thought to myself that Surrealism never really had a second generation. Sure, magical realist painters have populated South American artists for quite some time. And maybe Surrealism has lived on in pockets, but it has not really came of age until video artists. Here is my observation in the article.

"It would seem many painters have almost abandoned Surrealism, whereas, more and more
video artists have been able to adapt and reframe the dream element in a fresh and often stunning way. After all, Abstract Expressionism had a second and third generation, if not
fourth. As well as Pop art and I can’t count how many generations of DADA have come out."

If you want to get technical, Surrealism was an out cropping of DADA, with a focus on the unconscious. But, Surrealism did define itself and evolve into Abstract Expressionism. However, it seems that where most painting movement continued in a second generation, (Impressionist, to Post-Impressionist to Fauvism) and (Cubism to Futurism), Surrealism didn't have anyone pick up the mantle until the video artists came along. Sure, there a were many artists that used fantasy or Magical Realism in their work, but fantasy and Surrealism is not the same thing.

Of course, this is likely a moot point all together, because we live in a Post-Post-Modern area where all the forms of Modernism are being refined, repeated, rehashed, redone, and ripped off. Maybe artists are only using forms and ideas of the past, but only making reference to past movements. Maybe movements in art has passed with movements of Modernism and Post-Modernism. Maybe I need to drop the labels and only talk about what clear influences the artist is using in her/his work. As much as I would like to do this, general terms help people to categorize an artist as generally having particular features. Labels helps to describe art, as long as you explain how the labels applies and doesn't apply. Am I over thinking this?

Longview Museum of Fine Arts

2011-11-07T08:56:00.001-06:00

East Texas has a few art museums that are worth a look. I keep an eye on Longview Museum of Fine Arts, because it is on my way to my some family, but also, because there are often interesting shows. I got to see a kind of retrospective of artist Robert Jessup and a great show of Vincent Falsetta paintings. So, if your traveling down I20, and you want a little cultural pit stop in East Texas, take a look at this charming museum.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

2011-11-06T08:26:00.004-06:00

I just saw the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas on Sunday Morning show. This museum could be on my way back to Kentucky to visit family, so of course, I am going as soon as possible. Why, because Walmart money bought this museum and the art, so some of the work I only read about will be there. The museum will be open November 11th and it is free to the public. Maybe I will visit during spring break. The modern art collection was bought with the help of a consultant, so I am also optimistic about this collection as well.

Kate Rivers

2011-11-05T23:43:00.002-05:00

What other animal is known for creating collages? A bird, of course. Kate Rivers knows this and reflects this in her work. These nest works caught me off guard, because I didn't even think about this fact about birds collaging until I saw her work. But enough about birds. Kate Rivers work is attractive as a collage, because she is taking a fresh approach to an art form. I mean, typically if you have seen one collage you seen them all, but Rivers really shakes it up with a more representational approach, rather than something purely abstract or something that uses to much of the recognizable part of the images in the collage. Not Rivers, she plays with these cutouts and creates an amazing composition of strips of paper.

Beatriz Milhazes

2011-10-30T16:08:00.003-05:00

Brazil artist Beatriz Milhazes is really tapping in a trend in contemporary art where graphic elements overlay abstract work in a mix and match of information. So many artists are working in this kind of mixture that I wish I was cleaver enough to give this group of art a name.Really, this work is abstract and popular graphic images. She uses images that reflect simplistic versions of Brazilian cultural images. Sometimes decorative, this style of art piles up graphic upon image of graphic with minimal elements or abstract gestures laid under or over the designs. Two artists that I have seen uses this style is Nancy Brown and Murielle White.

Lewk Wilmshurst

2011-10-27T22:55:00.006-05:00

Lewk Wilmshurst, among others, has open my eyes to the power of details in their photographs of the work. I knew I needed to make details of my work, but Wilmshurst detail in the second image tells the story of the art so plainly that I am slapping my head for not doing this sooner. So, it is time to call in another photographer and get this work photographed properly. But enough about me, what about Wilmshurst. I mean look at this great work that is made up of found images about the history of humans. Great theme, made into a chaotic structure. Wilmshurst is allowing us to make the shape have meaning and not forcing the shape something else goofy or obvious. I had experimented with images as well, but I made the mistake of using the same image. It made the work to simple. I knew multiple images would work better, so that is why I stuck with text. Wilmshurst has solved a direction to a problem I had abandon, so it is really quite cool to see another artist make such a successful piece off of similar idea. Here is the site I found the work.

Victòria Pujadas

2011-10-21T20:03:00.003-05:00

When painting and collage photography combined, you often get layered mess, but in Victòria Pujadas case, you get less of a mess and more of a message. I think the limited color palate of black and white on a color photo helps the work avoid an easy read. Is it pro or anti fashion photography, I think it is leaning to anti, but I am still not sure. I do think the work is a comment on beauty. I like the iconoclastic nature of Pujadas' work. She is tearing down and editing the photo while allowing the paint to reveal expressive marks. This work reminds me of the graffiti styling of Christopher Wool.

Nasher Sculpture Center

2011-10-19T06:39:00.003-05:00

Nasher Sculpture Center is another gem of Dallas for art exhibitions and for a nice stroll around in a garden. Surrounded by buildings, you get to enjoy the downtown of Dallas while looking at wonderful sculptures and architecture. Some of my favorite shows include works by Alberto Giacometti, Piccaso, and Matisse. A really fun piece they have in the garden is Jonathan Borofsky's "Walking to the Sky." You have figures on the ground and then several figures walking up a long and thinning pole. A great place to visit if your in Dallas.

Michael Abraham

2011-10-18T20:39:00.005-05:00

With the Internet and social networks, we get more and more aware that people out there have the same first and last name. Michael Abraham is one such artist I was researching, when I came across two very different artists. Michael Abraham the younger makes geometric art work with beautiful hard edges and in a few pieces show exposed wood. The one above is a simple and created with elegant lines. I love the very clean lines and minimal soul of the work. Abraham's sculptures reference gems and naturally grown crystals.
Michael Abraham the older is figurative with crazy narratives. The work reminds me of my professor at UNT, Robert Jessup's early work.

Moustapha Fathi

2011-10-16T22:12:00.005-05:00

Syrian artist Moustapha Fathi (1942-2009) reached deep into the past to create abstract images of traditional shapes and patterns. You can almost feel the first written language in this work. I am excited to see an artist that is so steeped in history and historical images, while remaining fresh and new. His work reminds me of many of the Modernist of the 20th century, someone like Paul Klee particularly comes to mind. Klee was representing images inspired by children, but Fathi was harking back to when humanity was just making their first creative steps into language representation. A monumental task for an artist. Check out his patterns and shapes from his show at Ayyam Gallery.

Tim Best

2011-10-14T06:55:00.003-05:00

Tim Best's photography is scary powerful, sometimes funny and fun, often times magical, and always mysterious. His series of black backgrounds focusing on the figure remind me of Rembrandt's dark moody paintings that allowed the feeling of infinite space behind the figures through the use of an abyss of black space. You can also see these pieces referencing the stage performance of a soliloquy. Each actor is pouring out their heart in the role Best staged for them. When I had my MFA show at 500x in Dallas, I was luck enough to be exhibiting with his work, which was down stairs. This particular photograph was there, printed on Dibond aluminum, just like my digital prints in my show. Check out his current activities on his blog.

Beverly Acha

2011-10-13T20:37:00.003-05:00

I was looking at the Yale MFA program and they list their current graduate students. Beverly Acha got my attention because of her painting/sculpture. It looks like the works is made encaustic, paper, and paint that has been thickly layered on. The work above reminds me a little like Bernardo Cantu's work. He also uses layers, but in a very different way than Acha. My favorite feature is the paper sticking out in patterns that flow like a wave. The painting feels like a futuristic/rustic object. Acha's older works are thick painted objects of expression. You can see a good progression of shapes and thick paint that eventually ended up with this nice body of work.

Jennifer Caine

2011-10-12T19:21:00.003-05:00

Jennifer Caine’s recent show at Co-Lab in Austin, TX, “Chronotope,” takes the approach of Paul Cézanne’s depiction of memory. Like Cézanne, Caine’s cut-paper installation uses impressions of abstract images to give a feeling of how the brain works in memory, spotty and incomplete. Neuroscience Jonah Lehrer claims and I agree that Cézanne would leave canvas exposed to simulate what the eye really does. Caine uses the patterns in her cut outs and your eyes try to draw a picture.

Jennifer Caine work quietly vibrates with little packages of information creating an almost complete picture, but not quite. Her lines imply the feeling of something emerging or becoming, but she stops drawing, painting, or cutting paper at the moment just before you see the image. Sometimes I think I see roots from a tree, or a wooded thicket, but I am left to wonder what these lines would become. I like this kind of tension in a work, because art like Caine’s really start to rev up your imagination. Like a “connect the dots” puzzle with not instructions or numbers to follow, you want to try to complete the image with your mind’s eye.

I would seem that Jennifer Caine might be on a mission to solve the universal laws of physics through artistic expression. After all many artist have preceded their scientific counterparts in discovering properties of the universe and the mind. Jackson Pollack predate Chaos theory and of course, Leonardo da Vinci is a classic example of an artist breaking all kinds of boundaries through his observation. Caine seeks to explore the interconnection between time and space in memory, so her investigation could help us make sense of memories in relationship to the universe. Though this work leaves you guessing, her goal to fuse past and present, space and time could help to change that way we see the world. If not, at least it was worth the effort.

You might wonder where all these high minded ideas started to jell, and I would point to the likely source of her education. Jennifer Caine received a BA in Studio Art and Mathematics at Dartmouth College and an MFA in Painting from Boston University. I think her background in mathematics has positively informed her work.

Dallas Museum of Art

2011-10-08T07:34:00.002-05:00

I have been a member of Dallas Museum of Art for about 4 or 5 years now. It has been worth supporting a museum on the rise. After their 2007 show, Fast Forward, their collection has exploded to an impressive assortment of Modern Art. I love visiting the contemporary section. Although I have seen their permanent collection there many times, I still get the joy of seeing the work shuffled into theme shows. Often times this helps to contextualize the work and make me see a painting or sculpture in new light. I now and then look at some of the older collection to see if they pulled out a few oldy but goodies. I think it is important to support your local museum, because it helps to keep them running, but also it supports rotating shows and new acquisitions.

Eva Hesse

2011-10-03T08:12:00.002-05:00

Once when I was in Houston, got to see a show of my favorite post-minimalist artist Eva Hesse. Menil Collection had some of her sketch books and some of her sculptures. I loved the feeling of process I got from the show. She was really inventive with the objects, but it is unfortunate that the material to make her work was so toxic. Some of the material has also not aged well, but the road to conceptual art was really less about the object and more about the idea. That tension of object vs idea has been lost to the Baroque taste of the international art trade. Artists are starting to be separated into artists that make sellable art and those that make art for non-commercial purposes. Lucky, there is less and less value judgment by one group over the another whether one is superior to the other. Seem like calling people a "sell out" was a passing fad. I guess making a living off your art is not seen as a bad thing any more.

Bohemia

2011-10-02T08:06:00.000-05:00

Bohemia is a Waco art and literary journal. I ran across a copy at the Croft Gallery, and then at the Waco Cultural Arts Fest where I ended up pick up a copy for free. I like their spirit and ambitious pursuit to publish an art journal in Waco. Although, this is a college town, the college is pretty conservative and so is much of the town. There are a few oasis of culture that I like to frequent, but you have to really start emerging yourself into the local scene to get a whiff of what is going on around here.
The journal features an artist, some poetry, short stories, and other interesting articles. I Check out their web page, and they have a really active blog over there, but it took me a minute to navigate it. Guess I am not use to Wordpress blogs. It was so refreshing to read an art review for a Waco art show.

Bridget Riley

2011-10-01T18:46:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite artist to introduce my students is Bridget Riley. I found that her Op art is perfect to get even the most reluctant student to get a little exited about what art can do. She has consistently, over the years, made art that plays with your eyes. Even when fashion stole from her, then help cause Op art the fade in popularity, she pressed on with her work and her perseverance has payed off. In her 80's she is still is making art that blurs the lines and plays with how our eyes are imperfect instruments. She inspired me to try out some of my own illusion effects. I am still work on perfecting a few moves, with varying success.

Cory Arcangel

2011-09-27T22:32:00.003-05:00

Hacker style artist, Cory Arcangel can take something digitally discarded and re-tweak it into something interesting, annoyingly beautiful, and sometime overtly sublime. One of his early work is titled, I Shot Andy Warhol (2002). From his website, "I Shot Andy Warhol is a modification of the NES game Hogan’s Alley, where the gangsters have been replaced by Warhol, and the “innocents” have been replaced by the Pope, Flavor Flav (pre MTV show!!!!), and Col Sanders." I love the movie with the same title and I can't think of a better game to make reference to his image. Video games are just scratching the surface when it comes to all the technology he manipulates to make his work. You have to click around his site to get a larger picture.

Miltos Manetas

2011-09-24T09:28:00.002-05:00

Miltos Manetas uses these sublime colors that are muted and understated. The reason why I was looking at this work is that I love the subject matter. Wired magazine and media other sources have continued to talk about the paperless and now wireless society, but as we all know this reality is a long way off if ever a true future. So when I came across Manetas work, I thought to myself, finally an artist that is taking on the a true plight on society, wires. My house has so many wires and so many plug ins that I have to have a folder full of instructions to make sure I know where they go and what they do, in case the my kids unplugs everything, which they have. My house wires looked much like this painting and I would bet many people have their own fun stories about being over wired.

Maine beach art

2011-09-23T23:51:00.002-05:00

This summer, my family and I went to Maine and we came across this sculpture garden on the beach. This was one of the most extensive piling of rocks, but not the only grouping I saw. This grouping of stacked rocks might have been started by one person, but it became clear that the building of ever more structures was in constant flux. I watch adults and children add to these structures or destroy one to create another one. This ever changing sculpture garden is driven by a public compulsion to participate. My son and I had to make our temporary make with a piece of our own. The process of balancing these rocks were extremely satisfying.

Ben Terry

2011-09-17T09:10:00.004-05:00

Ben Terry, what can I say, but a real rising star. In a world of self absorbed people, the rise of memoirs, and artists interested in self portrait, Terry jumps into this world head first, but with a skill that not only reflect the society he is in, but also with a strange sense of irony and the right amount of self-criticism that make the work more than just an easy surface reading. Here what I said at ModernDallas.net, for the "110 Degrees" show at Cohn Drennan Contemporary.

"Benjamin Terry takes a more cubist approach to his figures. His paintings play with multiple self-portrait perspectives. The paintings use a limited muted color palate that blands out any attempt to create emotional content through color. We are forced to draw our emotional response through
the self-portrait rendered figure. A risky move with a powerful payoff."

Hiroyuki Hamada

2011-09-15T18:49:00.003-05:00

Finally, an artist that makes work referencing Sci-Fi that isn't cheesy. I can almost feel this work floating in space as it hangs on the wall. It is so funny how every space ship made for Sci-Fi movies or series always has cool stuff thrown on with no meaning. It is all about the visual experience of space. Now an artist takes on this fact head on and I am loving it. One piece looks like a possible robot at rest, but it could be just an object, Hamada leaves it ambiguous. That I think is the reason why this work successes so much more than other before. Check out the site.

Jennifer Riley

2011-09-13T20:01:00.003-05:00

When I was in Boston this summer, I got to see Jennifer Riley's work. I love this simple but elegant composition. This work reminds me of an assignment I gave to my class. Only, this work is much more of an impressive scale. You can also see a kind of abstract stain glass window. I enjoy the feeling of a spontaneous drawing, while at the same time I can tell that the work was painstakingly painted. I am glad to see Riley in a New York gallery, Allegra LaViola Gallery.

ModernDallas.net

2011-09-04T16:10:00.012-05:00

So, I have been writing art reviews for ModernDallas.net and I would like to thank Jeff Levine for this wonderful opportunity. I though it would be good to try to catalog those links every now and then. Here are a list of the artists and shows I have reviewed so far.

ModernDallas.net

Otis Jones at Holly Johnson Gallery
David Collins at Valley House Gallery
Gary Perrone at Firehouse
Ruben Nieto at Cris Worley Fine Arts
Michael Francis at Ro2 Gallery
Andrew Williams at Magnolia Art Gallery
John Adelman at Holly Johnson Gallery
Ursula O'Farrell at Craighead Green Gallery
Bonny Leibowitz at Rising Gallery
Summer Series 11 at Haley-Henman Gallery
"110 degrees" at Cohn Drennan Contemporary
"import" at Ro2 Gallery
Derivatives: Origins in Geometry at MADI Museum
New Texas Talent XVIII at Craighead Green Gallery
September 11th Remembered at Kirk Hopper Fine Art

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ModernHouston.net.

Culture Laboratory Collective at Box 13 Artspace
Houston Fine Art Fair
Gabriel Dawe + Philip Low at PEEL Gallery
Large-Scale: The Painting Show at Wade Wilson Art

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ModAustin.net

"Wild Beast" at Champion Gallery
4 artists at D Berman Gallery
"Pattern Plan" at grayDuck Gallery
Video artists at the ArtHouse at the Jones Center

Dimitri Kozyrev

2011-08-30T23:37:00.004-05:00

I have been looking for a few artists that look and feel like Modernist. Dimitri Kozyrev, a Russian born artist, leads me to believe that this artist hearkens back to the ideas of broken shapes like Cubist, muted colors of many Minimalist, but the artist's rejection by simulated dimensionality sets the work apart, because the artworks refuse to be flat like and Abstract Expressionist work. I have been in long debate on whether I like Kozyrev work, but I think it have been won me over, because normally I only post artists I like on this blog. I must be going through another phase of "it is all about Modernism." It is likely my constant return to Peter Gay's book Modernism: The Lure of Heresy. The book always get me excited about new aspect of the Modernist period.

CMCA and Shannon Rankin

2011-08-05T01:06:00.004-05:00

When I was in Maine, I had to visit the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport and I was not disappointed. The space was broken up into three stories. A large ground floor, a small, hallway space and activity room down stairs, and an interestingly lay out space upstairs. They had on display 4 artists, but each were given the right amount of space for the work. Upstairs there were two artists, Steve Mumford and Shannon Rankin. Steve Mumford's works were journal illustrations of his time in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was struck by the everyday life he captured in such a sublime setting.

Shannon Rankin was a good parring with Mumford. After all, maps and the political implications are some of the root problems of our long running conflicts. Thou Rankin's work doesn't seem to have this political baggage. The work invokes a more bio-geography that uses the "cartography language" to make her work. The painstaking cuts help describe mathematical structures on the one hand and on the other, an almost body like form that flows and moves like dripped paint. I love the roads she cut out to leave the gaping empty spaces, while emphasizing the web like structure the road leaves behind. I could go on and on describing all the inovative ways she reworks map matterial, but why not see for yourself on her website.

Andrei Roiter

2011-08-04T18:08:00.004-05:00

Russian born artist, Andrei Roiter suspends these painted still lives like sacred, single objects to be considered. "Time Capsule" (seen above) is a mish mash of object roiled up in a nice package. A lot of Roiter's images have a feeling of old, warn out past lives. You can really feel the history in the objects. I want to know more of the story behind these objects, because there is a narrative, all be it missing or hidden, in these images. I see a refined Dada look in the work, because of the collage reference and the "found object" feeling of the images. Roiter lives works in Amsterdam and New York. Ah, the life of an artist. Roiter just took down a show at the Moscow branch of the Regina Gallery.

Nicky Broekhuysen

2011-07-26T07:09:00.003-05:00

Bang! #3 Archival Ink Hand-Stamped on Paper, Framed 150 x 150 cm Unique

The above work is by Nicky Broekhuysen. The image is made of works and letters organized in a circle and then slowing being destroyed around the edges. I love text based work that has a sense of decay, because it accents the mounds of information lost and our narratives as people disappearing one house fire, one spring cleaning, and one discarded life story at a time. These little tragedies degrade the whole picture, but we are still left with a core narrative and only something like WW III or an asteroids hitting the earth could break the center.

Joan Saló

2011-07-25T15:39:00.006-05:00

When I see an artist taking an obsessive approach to pen and ink, I take notice. Joan Saló is not only obsessive, but her approach really highlights subtle color shifts that make a kind of even flow of motion. I can't help but think of rain in the "untitled" work above. As if I were watching the sea off the coast of Maine, I feel calmed by this work. The color contrast does, however, have a sense of tension or feeling of an underline event about to occur.

I happened upon this work from a blog titled The Jealous Curator. I like the fun angle the blog writers take on reporting about art.

Rebecca Howdeshell

2011-07-24T09:50:00.003-05:00

Minimalism visual art has always struck me a elegant, powerful, meditative, and contemplative. Rebecca Howdeshell art accomplishes all these ideas by using the soft white material of felt. She imprints into the surface beautiful patterns and shapes that make you want to follow with you fingers the lines and surface of the work. You get a sense that these works want you to get as close as possible to really get the full impact. I am so glad to reconnect to Howdeshell. She is one of the great artists coming out the University of North Texas MFA programs. I was luck enough to see her studio there and see some of the works in progress pieces. Howdeshell's work will make you fall in love with minimal sensibilities all over again.

Art Process

2011-07-23T09:53:00.002-05:00

One of the more interesting things about artists blogs is that many times they show a work in progress. Like a cooking show, process of a painting is great to watch and many times helpful to the rest of us. Lynne Oaks' blog shows a her painting "The Conversation" in process to finished work. Oaks' work is well structured and disciplined approach to layering on the paint to make an image. Kat Ostrow's blog is completely dedicated to the work in progress. Ostrow's portrait work is full of lines and sketches that make the process fun to watch. There are also blogs out their that are about "making art" in general. Tessa McSorley's blog "How to Make Art," covers inspiration and motivation, which is big issues that is thankfully being covered.

Richard Ross

2011-07-21T11:24:00.004-05:00

The fun, street smart, sometimes goofy, and sometime poignant work of Richard Ross invokes a child like wonder and imagination that I find his art as my guilty pleasure. I had the privilege to show with Ross years ago in an alternative space run by the once present Pigeon Stone Project. I was still showing my old pastels and our work seemed to work well together. I have continued to run into his work at various group shows and the Deep Ellum Art Fairs. The Kettle Gallery down in Deep Ellum of Dallas will be featuring his work in a group show titled "Fractal Logic Mural Show." It should be a fun show and I hope it is up by the time I get home.

Shawn Smith

2011-07-18T00:16:00.000-05:00

"Double Dahl" (2007) Plywood, ink, acrylic paint 22 x 53 x 16 inches

Shawn Smith has been around a while making these wonderful block sculptures that remind me of pixelated images. The pixels entering our space, freed from the computer referenced image and from the 2D prison, which allows this type of work to come into our 3D world. The best part of Smith's work is that he doesn't reference old hat computer game characters, but Smith's chooses animals that appear to be stuffed or outdoor references to camp fires. Smith take the unexpected with the pixel and then he does the unexpected with the type of images he choices. I feel completely off my game looking at Smith's work and that feeling of unbalance keeps me guessing and coming back to the works with more questions.

Simeen Farhat

2011-07-17T10:27:00.004-05:00

One of the great artist of our time that moves words into three dimensional space with great skill and power of motion is Simeen Farhat. She creates shadows with extreme skill. She uses famous Farsi and Urdu poets as her source material. And the focus of these poems relate to freedom of expression. I think when words push upon your presences by entering your space, you are confronted with need to understand the text. The movement of the work only expresses the further power of the text. I think Farhat's work is transformative and I am glad to see such a dynamic artist in Texas.

Bath, Maine Art Walk

2011-07-16T16:59:00.002-05:00

While in Maine, I visited the Bath Art Walk. I was pleasantly surprises to see so many non-tourist artists working here in town. My first stop was C. Ford Studio where I saw some fun illustrative paintings. The works were bright and fun, with a children storybook look. I also wormed my way up three flights of outside stairs to get to Tom Paiement studio space. He had a great little grouping of abstracts based off of the guitar and he showed me his "Entropy Trilogy" or his three panel collage paintings of a world in decay, rebuilding, and optimistic "2001 a Space Odyssey" like work. I really like the epic qualities of these particular pieces. Judson Pottery gallery featured a scenes from Maine, but some work were highly detailed pen and ink drawings, which instantly attracted me. Plus she has a noticeable interest into elephants. I visited a few other open studio with wonderful local color and flare of their own. A very nice visit with many surprises.

Nja Mahdaoui

2011-07-14T00:01:00.003-05:00

Calligraphy has been something of a passion of mine in research and development in my own work, so when I run across a master, I take notice. Tunisia artist Nja Mahdaoui is an amazingly talented at his craft. The images he creates out of script is a thing of pure beauty. His 2010 "Mellita" above, illustrates this point perfectly with its form so close to the organization of the universe, you can feel a real powerful connection to the his work. Mahdaoui is taking a traditional form of art and continuing a playful dance with words.

Shariar Ahmadi

2011-07-13T00:01:00.001-05:00

Iranian artist Shariar Ahmadi, reminds me a little bit like Cy Twombly's work. Both artists use reference to text to reinterpret abstraction, however, Ahmadi incorporated his experience with calligraphy and his inclusion of Persian historical references. His rich abstracts, like "Untitled" from 2008 is layered with paint and then parts are eliminated or edited out of the image. Some of his work also uses old images with script that he reworks and erase the image with painted gestures. He is showing that history is not stagnate, but changes with the flow of information or lack of information. His work also reminds me of some of Rauschenberg's work. Particularly the iconoclastic nature of Ahmadi's paintings.

Phish Pot

2011-07-12T04:42:00.000-05:00

Photography has not been my focus in the visual arts, but with a little training from my photographer friends, I think I can tell when something is working. When I first came across India artist Phish Pot's work at his blogspot site, I wasn't totally sold on the images, but after a few years later and a second look at his work, I have gotten to appricate what was good all along. Pot has two new sites at tumblr and flickr which really grabbed me. There is a maturity here that has clearly grown from his experiences. At his "tumblr" site, he captures deep seeded emotions in his subjects. And at his "flickr" page you can see the depth of his travels.

David Sequeira

2011-07-11T10:44:00.004-05:00

Australia artist David Sequeira really plays with the Post Modern condition through his strong understanding of color. His works are as diverse as his collection and display of glass objects, his rearrangement of his father's library into color organization, his colorful gouache on paper designs, his geometric line drawings over old master prints, and his sharply rendered color circles over old prints; to name a few. Sequeira interacts with relations of color and those that have come before him by re-contextualizing the images and objects presented. His collection pieces are really a beautiful way to re-present Duchamp's ready-mades. His old masters series uses patterns and shapes that overlay the influence of geometric design element and historical influences of the eastern cultures had on western art. The color elements over old prints are almost like speaking elements laid over the image. You can hear the colors speak from these circles.

David Sequeira keeps it simple and elegant. He uses a diverse grouping of ideas that are thematically connected through color and line. I wish he would have another show in my area of travels again.

Maine Art

2011-07-09T17:43:00.003-05:00

If you find yourself driving up the coast of Maine, drop by a few galleries and you will start seeing a consistent type of work. Lots of boats, lobsters, and seasides are the subjects of the vast majority of paintings and drawings. As my wife calls it, tourist art. However, I wish I could visit them all. I know it is just the pure novelty, but there is a ton of talented traditional image makers. Some have a nice spin on the typical styles, however almost every watercolor looks like it could have been done by the same artist. Rockland, Maine had a nice grouping of art galleries that didn't follow the "for tourist" trend. And the Center for Maine Contemporary Art is a must see if you want to see some really talented artists. Studio galleries are all over too, so talking to the artist or their family members is a bonus.

I can't blame these artists, I have had the urge to get out my paints and create a scene canvas as well. I feel so dirty. I guess I will stick to my sketches of the landscape to inspire the abstracts I make.

Cy Twombly 1928 - 2011

2011-07-05T23:02:00.002-05:00

Cy Twombly has passed. His work was a true inspiration to my own work. I visited the Cy Twombly Museum in Houston Texas and on the trip home I began to think about using hand written signatures as abstract shapes. I began a whole series of work soon after. I have visited the museum several more times and I have caught a few focus shows of Twombly's work. I like some series more than others, but in general Twombly was a monumental artist that will continue to inspire generations to come.

Todd Camplin - Art Critic

2011-06-22T09:09:00.001-05:00

ModernDallas.net has asked me to write an article a week for their e-zines. I will be reviewing shows and I will be writing about artists that are having a great impact on the Texas art scene. I will continue here creating blog entries about my thoughts on art, artists, and gallery.

Annabel Daou

2011-06-21T22:45:00.005-05:00

Annabel Daou work at Conduit is nothing less that epic. Daou takes sound bits, quotes, poems, and slogans from America's pop culture and then she hand writes them all over a large 7 foot by 13 foot composition. The words flow in and out of space to create an image that resembles a kind of imaged landscape. Daou is imaging America in much the way Kafka approached in his novel. Both take what they know, but then they begin to build their own narratives out of the pieces they find. Although Daou is both Lebanese and US, she really rearranges things like an outsider looking in to the words that have shaped the identity of the nation. I found the work very engaging up close, and when I stepped back the work began to take shape with a kind of sky and ground with paths of text flowing down hills of other words. It also helped a great deal that the work was hanging away from the wall so you could walk around the piece. Some how this made the work stand out even more. She represented the United States in the 2010 Cairo Biennial and will represent Lebanon in the 54th Venice Biennial in June of 2011.

Art Lies

2011-06-15T22:08:00.002-05:00

Art Lies the contemporary art journal is no more. They are closing up shop and this is a real hard hit to the art criticism world and to Texas in particular. The journal was extremely heady and I would often times pick one up from galleries around town. I even subscribed now and then to the publication. I even bought a few at book stores. Each time I read in depth articles on some of the best art in Texas. However, I had to disagree with the value of some of the art covered. I would read an article and see the pictures and then I would exclaim to myself, 'I guess you had to be there to appreciate the work.' I still remain skeptical of some of the critics coverage. None the less, you don't have to agree with everything to still appreciate the coverage and the level of intelligent writing coming out of such a powerful source for good in the art world. The journal will be greatly missed.

June Mattingly

2011-06-14T10:22:00.005-05:00

Critics are extremely important to the artists, art historians, galleries, and collectors. June Mattingly is one of those important critics that is helping advance the discourse in the arts in Texas. A really good critic also tends to curate shows and Mattingly is also great at picking artists for group shows at some of the best spaces in Texas. Her blog, Texas Contemporary Art is an articulate read and Mattingly voice is a much needed voice of the visual arts.
Her website explains that 'Mattingly’s all consuming interest in the field of Contemporary Art spans her lifetime with a degree in studio art from Bennington College,her paintings selected in three juried shows at the Dallas Museum of Art,as a serious art collector and curator,taught a popular course at Southern Methodist University on collecting art,owner of a prominent gallery in Dallas where she discovered and showed Texas Contemporary artists,and all of this is the subject of her new book.'

Texas Contemporary

2011-06-07T09:15:00.002-05:00

Coming this October 20th to the 23rd the first Texas Contemporary art fair will launch in Houston. This art fair will be at the George R. Brown Convention Center. This is a huge convention center which will have tons of space for an art fair. Visiting their website, it looks as if they are still taking gallery applications.

Art fairs in general have been popping up and having greater an greater success. Even during the downturn, art fairs seem to have pushed on through. Art fairs have been a great space to get ideas on how other artists are making work and presenting the work. I find that art fairs also get you familiar with galleries that you might (after the show) want to approach for showing your work. It is also a great place to take some work home as well.

Here is the press release:

artMRKT PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES
TEXAS CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR
HOUSTON OCT 20 - 23, 2011

Houston’s booming art scene and steady economy attract international
art dealers for the inaugural Texas Contemporary art fair

Opening night party to benefit the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
(Houston, TX, April 2011) – artMRKT Productions, a newly formed Brooklyn-based organizer of modern and contemporary art fairs, announces Houston as the host city for its inaugural Texas Contemporary art fair taking place October 20 – 23, 2011 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Texas Contemporary will present 50 contemporary art dealers from around the world, including a section showcasing special projects and pieces that focus on energy and sustainability by Texas-based artists featured in solo booths.

Texas Contemporary’s opening night preview will be held Thursday, October 20 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., with a VIP preview party following. Proceeds from all opening night ticket purchases will be donated to the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. The Texas Contemporary fair will continue through October 23.

“CAMH is thrilled to be involved with a fair dedicated to the ‘contemporary’ as a discussion in art and culture that matters deeply,” said Bill Arning, Director of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. “As a museum that has over 60 years of experience showcasing the best and most interesting art as it is happening, we welcome the Texas Contemporary team to a city that has a very active and inquisitive arts community that is always eager to experience new art.”

Houston dealers Kerry Inman of Inman Gallery and Fredericka Hunter of Texas Gallery are guiding the local programming and production elements of the show, and veteran Miami dealer Frederic Snitzer and San Francisco’s Catharine Clark are also involved as early participants.

"Houston has a vibrant art scene, with fantastic museums, galleries and collections,” said Max Fishko, Co-founder of artMRKT Productions. “With Texas Contemporary, we are looking to present fresh ideas to the Houston audience by presenting galleries across the nation and showcasing some of the very special contemporary work being done in Texas."

In conjunction with the fair, Texas Contemporary is proud to present MRKTworks Texas, an online and live benefit auction, with proceeds going to a select number of Houston based arts non-profits. Opening online two weeks in advance of Texas Contemporary, on Monday, October 3 at 3:30 p.m., MRKTworks Texas will offer a select number of artworks for auction donated by participating Texas Contemporary dealers. Bidding will culminate with a final live auction call on Saturday, October 22 onsite at Texas Contemporary, followed by a private event to honor the beneficiaries, donating galleries and winning auction bidders.

Texas Contemporary show information:

HOURS:
Thursday, October 20
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Benefit Preview Party 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
VIP Preview Party 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.

Friday, October 21 - 11 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 22 - 11 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 23 - 11 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

TICKETS:
1 Day Ticket - good for Friday, Saturday OR Sunday - $20 online / $25 at the door
3 Day Ticket - good for Friday, Saturday AND Sunday - $40 online / $45 at the door

CAMH Benefit Preview Party Ticket - $100 online / $110 at the door
*Includes Thursday Night Benefit Preview Party + Thursday Night VIP Preview Party + all day Friday, Saturday AND Sunday.

Student Ticket - good for Friday, Saturday OR Sunday - $10 at the door

Texas Contemporary is currently reviewing and selecting exhibitors for the fair. Interested galleries may visit Texas Contemporary’s exhibitor application page at www.txcontemporary.com.

###

About artMRKT Productions:
artMRKT Productions is a Brooklyn-based organizer of contemporary and modern art fairs. Co-founded in 2010 by Max Fishko and Jeffrey Wainhause, artMRKT Productions currently presents three fairs annually throughout the United States – artMRKT San Francisco, artMRKT Hamptons and Texas Contemporary. artMRKT Productions combines a selection of internationally renowned modern and contemporary galleries, in addition to individual regional focuses, creating unique marketplaces that enable visitors access to the art world’s emerging contemporary talents and historically significant works.

For more information about artMRKT Productions and Texas Contemporary, visit www.art-mrkt.com or www.txcontemporary.com.

About the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH):
The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is a non-collecting institution dedicated to presenting the best and most exciting international, national, and regional art. Founded in 1948, the Museum prides itself on presenting new art and documenting its role in modern life through exhibitions, lectures, original publications, and a variety of educational programs and events. It occupies an iconic stainless steel building in the heart of the Houston Museum District. This highly recognizable building was designed for the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston by the award-winning architect Gunnar Birkerts and opened in 1972.

For more information on the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, visit www.camh.org.

Media note:

For interview requests or media inquiries about the Texas Contemporary, please contact Heather Wagner Reed at heather@juiceconsulting.com / 713 208 3891.

For interview requests or media inquiries about artMRKT Productions, please contact Wendy Norris at wendy@norriscommunications.biz / 415 307 3853.

For inquiries for the CAMH, please contact Connie McAllister at cmcallister@camh.org / (713) 284-8255.

Adela Andea

2011-06-02T09:22:00.004-05:00

When I first viewed photographs of Adela Andea's work, I was sceptical that her art was just bells and whistles. But then I saw the work at Cris Worley gallery and I was taken back by the movement. The lights are places like brush strokes of an expressionist artists. There is a nice organized randomness to the work that has many contradictions. You can follow the wires and watch to slow pulsating fans all day. It is no surprise that she struggled with the traditional sculpture department at UNT, but lucky for her, she easily slided over to the new media department. In her artist statement she says, "In my vision there is not one unilateral truth or message about reality." I think her vision comes through clearly in the work. Andea's work is the kind of art that you have to see in person to really get a sense of the work. Pictures can not do it justice, but here is 'Blue Alchemy' from the Dallas Art Fair.

Ricardo Paniagua

2011-04-25T16:49:00.005-05:00

"Technological Marvel"
72in. x 43in.
Enamel and Lacquer on Canvas 2011

Every time I see Ricardo Paniagua art, I feel that I have just come upon an epic event. Paniagua's work sums up the post war art and then he seems to spin it into a completely contemporary moment of irony and icon. The AB EX + Minimalism + Pop like colors birth these 2001 A Space Odyssey monolith paintings that feel like they will at any moment give off an epiphany to the viewer. Maybe I should touch them next time and see if I get a spark. I respond to the impromptu drips with the highly disciplined minimal lines. This is such a powerful contrast in style and meaning that I feel like I will never fully sort out the paintings. I somehow feel a little cooler in the work's presence. Like the sum of the past 60 years of the coolest and hippest artists helped to collaborate on a body of work. Clearly Paniagua channels the past, but he has a fresh approach to contemporary concerns.

Old work Haunts

2011-04-24T15:39:00.003-05:00

Sometimes your old work comes back to haunt you. Sometimes in a good way, other times, not so much. This work above is a cubist style drawing I did when I first came to Dallas. I was still working in this romantic style that played in the realm of fun art and not so serious art, but I was trying to be serious and emotionally charged. A collector reminded me of this work and I think it was one of the better works of that style I did, but I also no longer make anyhing like this drawing, so I cringe a bit when I see my old art.
It was like the time a piece of my old work ended up on Craigslist. I had completely forgoten I had made the work, but as I looked at the work further, the story of the work came flooding back to me. The style and skill behind the work was that of a very undergraduate level painter that had split his interest on too many things to have taken the time to be skillful at making the work. However, someone really liked it and bought it from whom ever was selling the work. So, I guess the painting wasn't that bad. I guess it helped that the buyer contacted me to get the back story of the painting.

Patrick Dougherty

2011-04-13T21:30:00.004-05:00

Patrick Dougherty made this wonderful piece in Waco , TX. On a good day, you can walk inside and see this nest structure up close. On bad days, volunteers placing a gate around the work to rebuild parts that have been altered by the visitors. With this constant destruction by the visitors and creation by the volunteers of Waco, Dougherty's work has really taken on a life of its own. I know Dougherty intended the work to fall apart over the course of maybe five years, but with the constant re-nesting of the volunteers, it is hard to say when the piece might disappear. I think the battle is really fun to see play out and I love how passionate the volunteers defend this wonderful structure. This is a must see piece when visiting Waco. (pic from)

Dallas Art Fair

2011-04-11T17:15:00.004-05:00

The ever growing Dallas Art Fair had two satellite art fairs that helped to supplement the excitement around town. I had only time enough to visit the main art fair and although I only had an hour before they started packing up, I was able to see a lot of good work while spending a little time with some of my favorite artists work. The fair was a nice mix of contemporary art galleries and secondary market galleries. The most fun about being there at the end of the show was to see all the packing and the backs of the paintings. I ran into several of the professional packing companies and art handlers. I think I either went to school with have of them and I was in group shows with the other half. I talked to a few galleries about the art work, but most everyone spotted me as an artist or gawker rather than a buyer.

Conduit Gallery

2011-04-03T15:36:00.003-05:00

The Conduit Gallery is a gallery in Dallas, TX that started the trend of art galleries moving to the Design District. The city had galleries all over the city and many of the galleries were in the expensive part of town or the Deep Elm part of town. The Design District combined the more inexpensive rent with less of the bar scene. Thus many galleries and eventually the Dallas Contemporary came down to be part of Conduit's trail blazing. When ever I am in town, I make it a mission to visit this ground braking gallery.
A great show is going on at Conduit. The artist are featured: Michael Tole, Ted Larsen, and in the project room is Alison Starr. Larsen had his nice industrial minimalist pieces, Alison Starr has these wonderful sown birds and nest like structures with thread hanging of them, and Michael Tole had what can only be described as the most impresses break through made by a DFW artist I have seen this year. I had got a hint of his new work from a studio visit, but the work in the show filled my heart with with a feeling of pure aesthetic beauty. These were figure paintings that were there and not there. They were action in an orgy of sensual actions and rest. In the show, there were two paintings with several figures. These paintings felt like classical images connected to all of art history and then captured with contemporary methods of paintings and content of modern dance. Tole's jump from still life to figures has allowed his images to become epic narratives and I am excited to see the show again.

Turkish Cini Pottery

2011-03-20T16:13:00.006-05:00

Some of the best crafted art works are the cini pottery. Our group went to a production house with a gallery space. They let me throw a pot and what the pots get painted. The gallery housed about 6 large rooms of cini ware. Here are some examples of this work. I could have dropped what I was doing in life, moved my family over, and then sit there and learn the processes. The thought still tugs at me.

Turkey Trip

2011-03-13T12:17:00.002-05:00

After a great deal of traveling in Turkey this week, I really got to see the old art of Turkey. As most touring groups go, old is the way to go, so if I want to see any new work I will have to come back and plan my own trip. However, this has been a good taste of Turkey. I got to see of Greek ruins at Ephesus, tons of Ottoman Empire palaces and castles, the Blue Mosques, Hagia Sophia, the war college at Istanbul, a great archaeological museum in Izmir, among other nice places. Were ever you go, during the day you will hear the call to prayer. It fills the city with many voices and just for a moment it seems the cities pause, but then quickly return to thier business. The tour group is with teachers from my area and so we also spent some time visiting school and learning the Turkish school system. One thing is for sure, next time I take a trip like this, I really want to take my wife. She really would have enjoyed it. I hope my pictures come out so I can post a few here.

Subodh Gupta

2011-02-18T23:19:00.004-06:00

International Pop art seems to go on an on. India artist, Subodh Gupta, is one of those artists that has been compared to Damien Hurst and Jeff Koons. These artists are international in their appeal and there critics, they also have a lot of localism that affects there content. Hurst is influenced by the Natural Science and History Museum that the British are famous for having a rich tradition in stuffing, collecting, and preserving animals. Koons is highly influenced by the American culture. An American culture that tries to play as if it is low brow and high brow with middle class taste and you end up with a bunch of kitsch. Subodh Gupta is making Pop imagery, but Gupta is also influenced by past images of his own culture. He also is heavy into recycling objects to form Pop imagery. As some transnational scholarship suggest, there is a further homogeneous spreading of style across the globe, and at the same time the regional images and content can't help but anchor the work.

(Untitled)

2011-02-12T17:04:00.003-06:00

(Untitled) the movie, is a great film about the contemporary art scene. The movie takes at snap shot of a life of a collector, a gallery owner, a few visual artists, and features an atonal musician. The film is just a plan attack on the NY art scene and the actors that play a part in this scene. The film of course exaggerates the extremes to illustrate the point that maybe the art that is being promoted by galleries has no real value, no use, no propose, no craft, no thought, and no connection to life. For some of the 'art' out there, this might be the case, but when I go to shows I find that I see art that is exciting, advancing ideas, and bring to life the human condition. The film excludes this art, because that wasn't the point of the film. I like this film a great deal, but at the same time I really would like to see more films on contemporary art that takes different angles on the scene at large.

Tomma Abts

2011-01-27T21:48:00.006-06:00

Eppe, 2006

In 2006, Tomma Abts won the Turner Prize. This prize often puts controversial artists on the short list in a seemingly gimmicky way to promotion the Tate Modern. Although, some of the artists are less than interesting than others, at least the controversy often sparks conversation about art and artists in a way that I find our own press here in the US doesn't seem to have an interest in pursuing. Likely it is because of our short attention span for anything more meaningful than a sound bite.
Tomma Abts was a good choices for a winner out of the bunch. Her work is time consuming and great care is given to each of her works. Most of the work seem connected to the Op Art of British past, but there is a play with this idea that I think Abts takes it further. A little minimal ground in this piece helps each element stand alone as individual objects. Abts work in general is a kind of a high modern bland, and I am not sure she is always successful with innovation. However, I must remind myself that innovation isn't everything in art and maybe a further investigation of these types of forms is important and valid. I the end, In still have not made up my mind about her work.

Symbolist

2011-01-08T21:11:00.000-06:00

I was reviewing a period of art named Symbolist art. The majority of this work is heavily narrative. Some of the work seems to be the source inspiration to a lot of high school and some undergraduate painting. However, by now these works are very clichés. I can see how some of this work is more less in the minor artists canon. Although a few are in the major category. I categorize them in major and minor, because art historians seem to do the same. The big problem is that there are to many artists and to little room for every artist to fit in a general survey book. The artists in the general survey book usually are the only artists that the general public has exposure. Thus historians have to pick and choose the artists that best represent their genre.
Well, I digress; a lot of the Symbolist art I viewed had all the graces of a chainsaw. I can see why many of the artists were overshadowed by the Realist, other Neo-Classical, other Expressionism and other Impressionist. I think the Symbolist category is more of a sub-category, because these artists relied upon the styles of other art movements. Symbolist really were trying to bring extra content to the work, but often times this only made the work too heavy or too obvious what the artist was doing. I think much of the Symbolist work sucked out all the mystery and ambiguity. Here is a list of these artists.

George Frederic Watts (1817–1904), Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824–1898), Gustave Moreau (1826–1898), Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901), Henri Fantin-Latour (1836–1904), Odilon Redon (1840–1916), John William Waterhouse (1849–1917), Jacek Malczewski (1854–1929), Félicien Rops (1855–1898), Mikhail Vrubel (1856–1910), Fernand Khnopff (1858–1921), Franz Stuck (1863–1928), Leon Spilliaert (1882–1946), Ferdinand Hodler (1853–1918), Jan Toorop (1858–1928), Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), Edvard Munch (1863–1944), Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer (1865–1953), Jean Delville (1867–1953), Konstantin Bogaevsky (1872–1943), Hugo Simberg (1873–1917), Mikalojus Čiurlionis (1875–1911), Eliseu Visconti (1866–1944), Emile Bernard (1868–1941), Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), Ze'ev Raban (1890–1970)

Erik Parker

2011-01-02T11:49:00.003-06:00

Erik Parker has a focus show at the Fort Worth Modern. I looked at the work, (the great colors, shapes, and ideas) with dumbfounded awe. The lines were sharp and the images were extremely funky. As I looked at the work, I could image that this might have been a good direction to go for my own art about 10 years ago, if I had not changed so much in what I am interested in and what Texas has helped shape me. I don't think I would have stuck to the gross high school style Parker is following. But the sharp edges on such a funky image really creates a contrast that was extremely refreshing. Usually funk is pared with messy painting and this has been so over done. Parker's dropping the messy application of paint has really reshaped my opinion on what this kind of work can accomplish. The colors are highly refreshing too, because the colors range to very graphic design, strait forward colors to extremely loud colors that command attention. I just wish I could have seen the light like Parker did.

A few words

2010-12-14T00:00:00.005-06:00

I am trying to work a little more complex with this new work. I want to maximize the lines I produce on paper without completely covering the surface. I wanted to share a few words from others about my work. 'Meticulous', studiokasten blog describes the work and I hope I am achieving this goal. Dallas Observer suggests to 'take advantage of the chance to look at them over and over.' Usually I only hear crickets chirping after I have a show, so it is nice to get a little press. I figured movies use quotes to get people to see the show, maybe artists should start using these quotes in big bold letters outside their shows.

Random Bot Posts

2010-12-10T22:28:00.003-06:00

I an attempt to cut down on the random comment from what clearly is from bots of some sort, I now have people identify themselves. I hope this change will not case away the two people that read this site. Now on to the question at hand.

What is safe art?

Safe art does nothing new or innovative. It often uses well used tropes and is highly marketable to the masses. A good example of safe art is all those 'wonderful abstractions' out there that use brown earthy tones with a few gestures here and a few odd shapes there and on a canvas of standard size and shape. Any art that can go unnoticed for years in a doctor or layer office. Some safe art uses the crutch of whimsy and will depict more illustration type work.

Non-safe art will demand your attention or at least give you some sort of pay off when discovered. Non-safe artists are never concern if the work will sell, but if the work will challenge or engage people.

Safe artists will take a commission without thinking about how the work might fit into their artistic vision. Non-safe artists might take a commission, but will not allow the commission to overshadow their over arching vision. After all, a non-safe artist does not care if the work is rejected from a commission. The work had to be made that way and the artist can not compromise. Other wise she/he is graphic designer. The non-safe artist is able to separate between their graphic art work and the fine work. The safe artist may want to separate the work, but the work is essentially the same.

Re-Frame the Couch

2010-12-05T13:29:00.003-06:00

It is time to re-frame the couch. A few months ago, I hang a large diptych of my drawing above a collector’s couch. My work did not match the couch, but she had to hang it somewhere in the house that had room enough for a 76 inch wide and 50 inch tall drawing. The couch is tan, the drawing is blue and green, but the frame was tan, so I guess that work out. I don’t like a lot of art out there and Dallas does have a lot of bad art (like every other town), but I am thankful people are buying art from living artists. This is a good habit people are getting into and if their first few purchases are not as informed as they need to be, they are collecting and as one collects art, one cannot help but start to be educated about art and the processes. Dallas locals are really just beginning to be educated on art and the best artists in town. I think more art the collectors get exposed to the better choices they will make. Then again, this is optimistic of me, but I only hope the collectors see the light over time. Then again, selling to collectors is just one small aspect of getting your art out there for consumption. Non-profits installations, grants, guerrilla shows, and other ways around the market that are ways to have people see your vision. None the less, the couch is here to say and thank goodness for those that want to place something above it that was made by a person and not a cheap poster from Hobby Lobby.

Cycle

2010-12-02T01:00:00.000-06:00

Yale Brozen used the economic cycle description of 'invention, innovation, and imitation' to describe how economic systems rise and fall, but the same cycle can easily applied to art. We live in an age of imitation par excellence. Over imitation in the market causes economic failure. Over imitation in the arts also leads to a failed art scene. During the time of the Impressionist, the truly desired works of art were the highly imitation art of the Academic School. The critics, dealers, collectors, and museums were very supportive of the Academic School and very hostile to the Impressionist with a few exceptions. Hostility is an often reaction to invention in the arts. Innovation like many other Modernist movements also had slow acceptance. In the Post-Modern era, all the art is being easily consumed, because the vast majority of the art being created is imitation of Modern tropes. I was listening to Scott McCloud about the crisis of falling interest of comic books in the US market. He said that the industry had invested so much into hero fantasies that the market was not able to adapt or reinvent itself. If you look at any amount of concept art, you will notice a pattern of mainly imitation. Now when so many things are in imitation mode when are we going to have invention?

Cy Twombly

2010-12-01T22:04:00.004-06:00

Cy Twombly is an abstract art that does paintings that feels like drawings or a kind of writing. I have visit his museum in Houston. The ceiling of the museum is a mesh that allow just the right amount of sun light. Best design for displaying art that I have seen. Although, I'm not always a fan of every work by Twombly, I general enjoy his work; especially the world that mimic writing. These works return back to a kind of ancient language. I really respond to the brush strokes. I love it when paint in an abstract plays the role of another medium.

In the Beginning there was Jasper Johns

2010-11-29T22:34:00.010-06:00

With the possible origins of the universe on the left and Jasper Johns painting (with that ugly black boarder I left on) on the right, I begin to think, 'wow, yet another artist preceding the scientist.' Roger Penrose describes this kind of shock wave like event at the beginnings of our universe. Johns' work gives that exact same effect. I know your saying, but he was thinking of something else completely when he made these works. But I would say, maybe he was taped into the Universe's origins and your just jealous your science isn't keeping up with the arts. Often times like these we see the scientists slacking off while us artists are making the real break through around here. After all, it took an artist Like Jackson Pollack to show us the way into Chaos Theory, and Edward Munch had the forethought to explore unconscious before any phycologist existed. So I say to scientist, look back to us artists and see what we already know.

Holly Johnson presents Todd Camplin's Language Reconstruction art series

2010-11-12T22:50:00.004-06:00

Who: Todd Camplin

What: Showing his Language Reconstruction art series

When: Saturday, November 20 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Where: Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas, TX

The Why: After reading the philosopher Derrida, I find myself consciously reconstructing poems and novels into mental images. Sometimes I am able to capture those word images in abstract ink drawings. Subconsciously I have always seen words as images, because of my dyslexia. So the conflict between image and text is my passion and my burden. The conflict inspires creation and innovation, so through my personal conflict I have transformed words into transcendent abstractions. The words and letters have become something more than language, and these words transcend their meaning. No longer recognizable metaphors for words, the letters thus return to origins as images.

Harold Rosenberg

2010-11-10T22:11:00.002-06:00

I just finished reading Rosenberg's art criticism book, 'The Anxious Object.' I knew the book would be about how great those Ab Ex artists were, and how Pop art was bad. He saw Pop art as bad, and I think he might have suspected that Pop art might be signifying an end or a new way of thinking that contradicted his own. Modernism was ending and all that baggage that went with it. Modernism had this grand idea of progress in art. However, this lens excludes many artists and art work made during the Modern period 1880's to the 1950's. I think Pop was such a radical break with Modernism that a critic like Rosenberg couldn't help but be a man of his time and reject it. What was interesting, however, was the chapter on globalization of art. In predicting trends, Rosenberg was really hitting the mark with this chapter. He suggests that their could not be a 'Paris' and longer for most artist to flock to, but artists will be attracted to many cities across the globe and no one city will dominate the artist's attention. I felt some of the writing lamenting about the 'good old days' a bit when he suggested that the books that publish reproduction of art and the increase of the museum goers was some how diluting the art scene in some way. The book is a nice snap shot of the period in art and worth the read.

Silver Maple Gallery

2010-10-23T20:15:00.004-05:00

Friday, I visited an opening of a gallery that has been in business for over 7 years. With a name like Silver Maple Gallery, (located in Waco, TX) you would expect to see very traditional work and you would be right. Cowboys, cats, and flowers with a splash of abstract art. Richard Skurla had some work their that reminded me a little of Cy Twombly without the Cy Twombly confidence. I talked to Mr Skurla and he seemed to feel that the art establishment was to harsh and judgemental. This also seemed to apply to his current grad school experience. One of the artists declared the work part of the Illustrationist movement. That is a new one on me. And yes, the work did seem to employ illustration methods, but since the work was landscapes, I am not sure it was really illustrating anything clearly. So, I am wondering if this is a just a style reference?
Although, the work really wasn't particularly strong, I appreciate the effort the artists were making with a gallery in a small town. The gallery also has a painting school component.

Tim McFarlane

2010-10-18T21:06:00.003-05:00

This is Tim McFarlane's work 'Daydream Drift' from this year. McFarlane has a nice measured color pallet that I am highly attracted to. I also like the shift of cloud like structure from the figure 8's, lines, and drips. The brush strokes seem to be applied with confidence and the image seems to play with enough simple repetitive objects to make a complex image. Check out McFarlane's work at the Bridgette Mayer Gallery. He works in Philadelphia, a place I would like to visit/live in again.

Nancy Brown

2010-10-12T06:45:00.004-05:00

Nancy Brown is one of those artists that continues to amaze and delight my senses. When I got to see her show at Mod Shop Gallery last year, I was blown away by her images. The theme was red and the images were nicely fractal. Brown takes takes small drawings of simple objects that play in the realm of wing-ding or clip art and then she repeats and reorganizes these objects to make a complex image. The drawing above are of simple lines with complex fussy edges. I talked about Browns work a little bit in an older post. Check it out.
Brown is having a show at the Mercantile Coffee House, Saturday, October 23rd at 6:30 to 8:00 PM. The MAC curated the show.

Raychael Stine

2010-10-03T12:27:00.004-05:00

Raychael Stine was just finishing her art degree at the University of Texas of Dallas when I was starting my MA in humanities. Stine was already kind of a star from the school. She came out the with a show in Marfa, Texas. She worked with Richard Patterson (an artist in the Sensation Show and part of the Young British Artists). She had a great show at Road Agent Gallery a few years back. She just finished her Master of Fine Arts in Chicago. I think her new work has moved into a more conservative phase that has dropped some of the comic book outlines and fun gestural painting. I am not sure about the new direction, but I know Stine is talented enough to surprise me again.

Update: August 9th 2011, I knew I was right, Stine came back to a more experimental style. I really like how her work shifts from abstract, to collage, to realist work. It is clear she took the tools from her MFA and ran with it in an exciting and new direction. I hope to see another show of her work in Dallas some day.