Tag Archives: Artists

Top Exhibitions: “Edward Hopper And The American Hotel” At The Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts

From a Spectator USA online review:

Hotel Lobby Edward HopperIsolation was a persistent theme in Hopper’s art and life. Was he dogged by isolation or did he pursue it? ‘Did anybody really know this silent, non-communicative man?’ asked Raphael Soyer in a 1981 interview, 14 years after Hopper’s death. His friends recollected a cynical and taciturn artist, self-doubting, introspective and distrustful of fame. But before Hopper became the painter of lonely figures in all-night diners, he was the illustrator of raucous party scenes and smiling couples waltzing together at summer fêtes.

Edward Hopper and the American Hotel, a rich exhibition now at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, highlights the contrast between Hopper’s early, lesser-known years as a commercial illustrator and his later eminence as laconic American icon, the serious solitary who painted crumbling Victorian boarding houses, faded hotel lobbies and highway motels.

To read more: https://spectator.us/motel-room-ones-own-vmfa-edward-hopper/

Art Of Food: 99-Year Old Painter Wayne Thiebaud Creates Thanksgiving Cover For New Yorker

From New Yorker article:

CoverStory-story_thiebaud_turkeySince all of my paintings—almost every single one except for the figure paintings—are done from memory, I rely specifically on the memory of working in restaurants, or of visiting farms on which I worked as a young person. I try to recall the look and feel and love of what I have experienced.

At ninety-nine, Wayne Thiebaud—one of America’s greatest painters, and certainly its premier painter of food—is still going strong. This is Thiebaud’s ninth cover for the magazine, and it riffs on one of his previous paintings, an image of a turkey that he started in 2009. A sharp viewer might pick out the added details and embellishments, but more striking, perhaps, are the Thiebaud hallmarks that remain the same: soft light, clear color, a blue shadow pooling around a plate. We recently called Thiebaud at his home, in Sacramento, to talk about his work.

To read more: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/cover-story-2019-11-25

Top New Gallery Exhibits: “Annie Lapin – Strange Little Beast” At The Shulamit Nazarian (LA)

From a Shulamit Nazarian online review:

Annie Lapin. Halving Having (StepScape 4), 2019.The artist incorporates an array of art historical scenes such as John Martin’s English-Romantic apocalypses and Edouard Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass with ubiquitous imagery sourced from the Internet. The highly rendered areas in her paintings resemble a cascade of Google image search results where cellphone photos of skylines and gardens slide past gestural marks. 

Annie Lapin Strange Little Best Exhibit at Shulamit NazarianShulamit Nazarian is pleased to present Strange Little Beast, a solo exhibition of new works by Los Angeles-based painter Annie Lapin. This will be the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.

Annie Lapin’s paintings call attention to the human desire for meaning making–our effort to create order out of chaos. In Strange Little Beast, Lapin’s paintings use her interest in art history, perception, and the materiality of painting itself to examine the role of digital technology and narrative building in our contemporary moment.

To read more: http://www.shulamitnazarian.com/exhibition/annie-lapin/#

 

Artist Profile: Painter Claude Monet’s Birthday Celebrated At Denver Art Museum On November 14

Denver Art Museum Celebrates Claude Monet Birthday November 14The Denver Art Museum will celebrate famed French Impressionist Claude Monet’s birthday on November 14, 2019, in conjunction with the exhibition Claude Monet: The Truth of Nature. The DAM will celebrate the artist’s 179th birthday with cake, the launch of the DAM’s first-ever podcast titled Beyond Monet, the reveal of a Monet-inspired painting by local artist Ashley Joon, a special Art & About program dedicated to Monet’s birthday, and a surprise Monet-themed gift bag for one lucky visitor.

Born in Paris on November 14, 1840, Claude Monet was a prolific painter and founder of the French Impressionist movement, bridging the gap between the artistic movements of the 19th century and the modernized art world of the 20th century. Monet lived a long life and had an extensive artistic career that spanned nearly 70 years. In the Monet exhibition, visitors can see more than 120 works by Monet, including the first painting Monet ever exhibited when he was just 18 years old, along with some of his very last paintings.

To read more: https://denverartmuseum.org/article/celebrate-monets-birthday-dam-november-14

 

Animated Visual Essay: Songwriter “Leonard Cohen” Interview In Video By Joe Donaldson (2019)

Direction, Design & Animation: Joe Donaldson

Original Music and Sound Design: Ambrose Yu
Executive Producer: Soo-Jeong Kang
Senior Producer: Yara Bishara
Senior Editor: Brian Redondo
Producer: Sara Joe Wolansky
Audio Engineer: Jill Du Boff

The New Yorker - Leonard Cohen Animated Visual Essay Directed by Joe Donaldson 2019

“I was recently commissioned by The New Yorker to direct, design, and animate a pilot series of three animated visual essays.

“I know there’s a spiritual aspect to everybody’s life, whether they want to cop to it or not,” he said at one point. “It’s there, you can feel it in people—there’s some recognition that there is a reality that they cannot penetrate but which influences their mood and activity. So that’s operating. . . . Sometimes it’s just, like, ‘You are losing too much weight, Leonard. You’re dying, but you don’t have to coöperate enthusiastically with the process.’ Force yourself to have a sandwich.”

Leonard Cohen (1934 – 2016)

The New Yorker - Leonard Cohen Animated Visual Essay Directed by Joe Donaldson 2019

The first film features the great Leonard Cohen as he reflects on death and preparing for the end. The initial interview, by David Remnick, was recorded at Cohen’s home in Los Angeles a month before he passed away.”

The New Yorker - Leonard Cohen Animated Visual Essay Directed by Joe Donaldson 2019

You can view the full article on The New Yorker here: newyorker.com/culture/video-dept/leonard-cohen-and-the-divine-voice

Top Podcasts: 77-Year Old Rock & Roll Legend Graham Nash Talks About His Albums And Music (PBS)

Graham Nash Interview PBS Nov 2019Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Graham Nash has hits aplenty spanning his nearly six-decade career. But the 77-year-old singer-songwriter recently chose to perform a special run of shows featuring his lesser-known first two solo albums in their entirety, which together describe a crucial chapter in his personal and artistic life. Tom Casciato recently spoke to Nash to learn more.

Science & Art: Jackson Pollock’s Drip Painting Style (And Genius) Avoided “Coiling Instability”

From PLOS One Journal online release:

Jackson Pollock Full Fathom Five 1947We conclude that Pollock avoided the appearance of the hydrodynamic instabilities, contrary to what was argued by previous studies. Pollock selected the physical properties of the paint to prevent filament fragmentation before deposition, and applied it while moving his hand sufficiently fast and at certain heights to avoid fluid filaments from coiling into themselves. An understanding of the physical conditions at which these patterns were created is important to further art research and it can be used as a tool in the authentication of paintings.

Jackson Pollock Painting TechniqueConsidered one of the most prominent American painters of the 20th century, the life and work of Jackson Pollock have been the subject of books, movies, and documentaries [13]. His paintings can be broadly categorized as being abstract-expressionist. Although his painting style evolved during his sometimes tormented life, the so-called ‘dripping’ technique is certainly the most widely recognized both by experts and the general public.

Jackson Pollock described the technique himself [4]. In summary, Pollock would lay a canvas horizontally and pour paint on top of it, in a controlled manner. To regulate the flow of paint, he either used an instrument (a stick, knife or a brush), poured it directly from a can and in some instances he also used a syringe. Viscous fluid filaments were produced and laid over the canvas while ‘rhythmically moving’ around it. It is believed that Pollock developed this technique strongly influenced by an experimental painting workshop, organized in New York by Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros in 1936 [5]. Interestingly, Siqueiros himself also developed the ‘accidental painting’ technique during this workshop, which was recently analyzed by Zetina et al. [6].

To read more: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0223706

Remembering Legendary New Yorker Cartoonist Dana Fradon (1922-2019)

From a New Yorker online posting:

New Yorker Cartoonist Dana FradonFradon’s elaborate drawings were generous masterpieces of compressed fun. One carefully detailed illustration, published in 1987, depicts a chauffeured convertible making its way up a manicured, tree-lined drive, toward an extravagant hilltop mansion. The self-satisfied owner, seated in the rear seat, says to his companion, “It’s my one indulgence.”

Dana Fradon, a New Yorker cartoonist who died on October 3rd, at the age of ninety-seven, was the last of the magazine’s legendary artists who were brought to its pages by Harold Ross. Fradon, starting in 1948, contributed almost fourteen hundred finely honed drawings of mirth and satire. The surprising stories and frozen moments in his work entertained and delighted readers for decades.

To read more: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/postscript/the-timeless-cartoons-of-dana-fradon

Interviews With Artists: Painter Eileen Hogan Talks About Her New Book “Personal Geographies”

From The Mayfair Musings:

Eileen Hogan Author of Personal GeographiesI describe myself as an urban-based painter who is interested in green spaces. Painting and drawing have been seen as profoundly unfashionable for most of my working life, and I have felt sometimes that it was quite eccentric to be a figurative painter with conventional subject matter. Looking back, my insistence on maintaining my practice as a figurative painter now seems more radical than conventional.

Browse & Darby have announced that Personal Geographies will arrive in October, the second solo exhibition by esteemed British painter, Eileen Hogan. Hogan’s principal subject is gardens, or more specifically, enclosed green spaces. The beautiful works that will be shown in Personal Geographies have travelled all the way from the US, where they formed part of the artist’s recent exhibition at the Yale Centre for British Art.

Eileen Hogan painting Prince Charles

Eileen Hogan Personal Geographies BookI was very blessed to have the opportunity to catch up with Hogan ahead of her Mayfair exhibition. I find myself entranced by her vibrant paintings that are dense with detail, filling the canvas from edge to edge with layers upon layers of paint. She has also established portraiture practice, her commissions including HRH The Prince of Wales. In a unique style, Hogan paints her sitters whilst they are deep in conversation, capturing unguarded gestures and expressions to create intricate portraits of both honesty and intimacy.

To read more: https://www.themayfairmusings.com/home/10-questions-with-eileen-hogan

Top Upcoming Exhibitions: “Paul Klee – 1939” At The David Zwirner Gallery NYC Sept. 10 – Oct. 26

From the DavidZwirner.com online listing:

Paul_Klee___Armer_Engel___1939The works on view illustrate how Klee responded to his personal difficulties and the broader social realities of the time through imagery that is at turns political, solemn, playful, humorous, and poetic. Ranging in subject matter, the works all testify to Klee’s restless drive to experiment with his forms and materials, which include adhesive, grease, oil, chalk, and watercolor, among others, resulting in surfaces that are not only visually striking, but also highly tactile and original. The novelty and ingenuity of Klee’s late works informed the art of the generation of artists that emerged after World War II, and they continue to hold relevance and allure for artists and viewers alike today.

David Zwirner is pleased to present Paul Klee: 1939, the gallery’s inaugural exhibition of Paul Klee’s (1879–1940) work since announcing its exclusive collaboration with the Klee Family. On view at 537 West 20th Street, New York, the exhibition focuses on Klee’s art from 1939, the year before he passed away, which marked one of the artist’s most prolific periods.

To read more: https://www.davidzwirner.com/exhibitions/1939#/installation-views