The Figurative Artbeat

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Christina Bothwell employs glass, clay, wood, paint and found objects in her revealing sculptures. She includes glass within glass and painting on top of glass. Clay and wood come together to add warmth to many of her creations.

I particularly love her “dreaming” sculptures. I have always believed that we go “home ” when we sleep and come back ready to try to remember who we really are and  create a wonderful day for ourselves by what we choose to think, say, and do.

Christina states on her website, “In my work I am drawn to the processes of birth, death, and renewal. What lies below the surface fascinates me and I try to capture the qualities of the “unseen” that express the sense of wonder that I feel in my daily existence. I am attracted to glass because it can do everything that other sculptural media can; in addition, it offers an inner space and transmits light.”

She goes on to say, “My subject matter includes babies, animals, and children as they embody the essence of vulnerability that is the underlying theme in my work. Currently I am exploring metamorphosis as a topic, and have been incorporating figures within figures in my pieces. Within each glass figure there is a smaller figure seen through the surface of the glass.”

She closes by saying, “I think of these pieces as souls, each being pregnant with their own potential, giving birth to new, improved versions of themselves.”

As the viewer I was captivated by her display of what lies beneath the surface of her figures. I felt as if I were looking more deeply than I should,  but unable to look away. We are more than our bodies and Christina’s figures cause us to pause and think about what truly lies within ourselves.

Christina is an accomplished artists with many solo and group exhibitions and numerous awards. She was the 2008 Winner of the Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award.

Visit Christina’s website for more of her award winning work.

Popularity: 45% [?]

I’ve been a fan of Jereme Crow ’s action filled paintings for quite awhile now. His figures are so alive, while his colors are soft and easy on the eye. I want to laugh and tap my feet, I can feel the motion.

On his web site Jereme writes,  ”To attempt to explain my paintings would be an after thought. They  are a celebration and exploration of the beauty of colour and the human form. I am attracted to dance as a source of inspiration because of the endless compositions created by the human form. The beauty, energy and emotion that is captured through movement. Art is beauty. Capturing a feeling, or an idea and  through the use of a subject attempting to create something beautiful.”

In my opinion, he has easily accomplished all of the above and something else as well. An involvement with the viewer.

After I contacted Jereme and while I was pouring over his site to choose paintings to feature here, I noticed a link to Sam Crow. I clicked and was taken to a very exciting blog featuring textile art by Jereme’s wife Sam. To my delight, not just textile art, but figurative textile art.

While Jereme’s paintings require the viewer to move, if not actually, then mentally, Sam’s work is more introspective, slowing the viewer down to  be self  analytical.

She states on her site in reference to a recent exhibition, “For this show, most of the women are sitting or lying down, exhausted or resting, this is because i am suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome at the moment and have to rest and sleep lots…… so i was focussing on that, and trying to incorporate my feelings about that and how it effects me and others, and trying to restrict myself to those sort of postures in a similar way that we are resticted often in our activities and have to force ourselves to stop and rest….which is hard when i work obsessively and have to be dragged away from the sewing machine!

I think as women, mothers, wives, even without chronic fatigue syndrome, we can all relate to those times of shear exhaustion.

I  love this one. Contemplation, a pause in a busy life…. a look, if you will, into the dream.

What a wonderful feeling this pictures leaves us with. Maybe after a good dance, a snugly rest is needed.

Jereme and Sam Crow live in South East Kent, UK

You can find out more about his talented couple by visiting their websites. Jereme Crow’s fabulous, lively art can be seen at Jereme Crow Fine Art and Sam Crow’s wonderful textile portraits can be view at Sam Crow Drawing with Stitches.

Popularity: 39% [?]

When Annett and I first talked she was working on a project that has been evolving over several years, since she was in Art School actually. Now she works in the top floor studio of her old Victorian Home in Brighton, UK.

The painting, Synchronicity II, reflects her studies of esoteric and spiritual teachings and she is influenced by the concept of the Oneness of all things, as well as the merging of the male and female principle. She was kind enough to send me some pictures of the work in progress and I’ve posted them below.

Annett wrote to me, “It (this painting) states that people are made to be unaware of their true origin, their amazing vastness as a being that has comprised within themselves all the elements of the universe. An unspeakable wonder, but we experiencing life as limiting, suffocating and often depressing. The sensation of ‘a human experience’ stands therefore in stark contrast to our infinite, eternal existence.”

“For that reason I want to convey the couple in a confined capsule-like shape, which coincidentally reminds us of the shape of a heart – representing the idea of Togetherness within Separateness, yet sensing that the bubble will soon open.”

She goes on the say, “This is an image of male and female opposites who choose to exist in a close space together, but ending up seeking to manipulate each other to fulfill their own ends. I played with the idea that humanity is about to be birthed into a new, higher consciousness, but yet not aware of it – so the old drama of separateness, duality and dysfunction is still played out between them in their private lives.”

The progression,  the layers of paint and feeling and thought that builds this work is interesting to me. Each stage is able to stand on it’s own, yet it is still waiting for that final brush stroke. But after speaking with Annett, it still might not be “finished”. But it has been shown, here it is between two more of her energetic works at a recent exhibition.

She has had numerous exhibitions in the UK and her work is in many private collections. In 2008 she was recognized as one of UK’s Best Graduates by the SaLon Gallery in Notting Hill and exhibited at the ‘Midsummer Art Fair’ at the Landmark Arts Centre in Teddington, London.

I’m drawn to Annett’s  work, I enjoy the intertwining of contemporary texture and color with classical movement and energy. I particularly enjoy her Dancer Series and her portrait work is stunning.

Annett’s accomplishments are too many to list here, but you can find out more about her on her website and spend some time enjoying more of her vibrant work.

Popularity: 35% [?]

When I first came across Robyn Gordon’s carved figures, I had that “ahh” reaction. Here was something that spoke to me and drew me in. So interesting are each of her carvings, with found objects that she searches for in flea markets, second hand store and from nature around her, that each one demands more than a casual glance.

My father was a printer and many times I helped set type. Robyn’s niches for her “finds” remind me of the boxes that held the type. Maybe that is one of the reasons I was so drawn to her artwork.

Her use of found objects is intrinsic to the completeness of  some of her figures. It is as if she is gathering the history of a culture and proving that nothing is ever lost, that each piece of history creates the whole.

Robyn lives in South Africa and is influenced by African tribal art and tribal art from around the world. She began carving by lamp light with her mother when she was about 8 years of age. Her family  had no electricity and no television. She has a passion that can be seen in her work and a peace that she captures and sends on to the viewer.

There are her peaceful angels.

Then she has that quirky bit of humor that I like to think I share.
Her crazy colorful woman Sawabona, is magic. Makes me laugh.

And Barbie and the Woodpecker is priceless.

More of her enchanting work can be seen on her blog Art Propelled and on her Flickr site of the same name.

Popularity: 56% [?]

Andrew Myers has been artistically influenced by european life and culture. He was born in Braunshweig, Germany and raised in Ciudad Real, Spain.

At age 20, Andrew attended the Art Institute of Southern California, now known as Laguna College of Art and Design, after which he put his faith in his art and began to work as a full time artist. His personal “Leap of Faith”

A reminder to all of us to just begin. My favorite quote is,

“The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. Whatever you think you can do, or believe you can do, Begin it. Action has magic, power and grace.”  Goethe

Andrew’s subjects matter certainly makes the viewer pause for reflection. Little snippets of the life of every-man-woman.

The Idea Roadblock resonates for me  as just out of reach, that inspirational idea that I can almost touch, but I need to stretch just a bit more, just past my comfort zone. Knowing I might fail, but still taking that “Leap of Faith”, just beginning “it”.

Oh, Life’s Unexpected Moments. – Just when I think I have everything balanced, the unexpected happens and sends me flying.  It happens to us all from time to time, it is the way of the world. But then before I know it, I’m right back there stretching for the new idea and taking another leap of faith.

The blend of modern material with classical figurative techniques featuring  universal subject matter are prevalent throughout his work. He uses, among other media, bronze and cement in his sculpture and in his drawings, rice paper, charcoal, stains, wood finishes.

To learn more about this thoughtful Artist you can begin with this wonderful interview in this PDF of the Fall 2008 issue of Sculptural Pursuit. There are many pieces of his in this interview that aren’t on his website. But do take time to visit and explore more of his interesting sculptures and drawings on his website.

Thanks to Tejae Floyde for suggesting Andrew Myers’ art.

Popularity: 40% [?]

Working in figurative ceramics for the past 30 years, Linda Ganstrom explores issues that relate to her personal experiences, yet ask questions and reveal universal truths.

Issues related to these experiences including; memory, family obligation, gender roles, spirituality and personal identity are recurring themes in her work.  The various roles of women in the late 20th and early 21st century, their connection and responsibility to their community and the environment, as well as the changing perceptions of women’s potential are reflected in Linda’s figurative sculptures.

Largely hand built, and often formed of slabs or coils, Linda’s figures have a narrative, storytelling appeal that is enhanced by the addition of mixed media elements.

Most recently, Linda has been traveling to China to dedicate the installation of public sculptures intended to symbolize the friendship between her university and their partners in China.  In addition to meeting and working with colleagues in China, Linda has benefited from art travel to important ceramic sites such as Xian, Dehua, Jingdezhen and Foshan near Guangzhou.  This international perspective has reinforced her beliefs that all mankind is motivated by the same love and fear and that if we are to build a better future, we must respect our differences and celebrate our commonalities in Art as well as in life.  This philosophy has fueled new work dealing with spiritual and religious themes illustrated through the figure.

Linda is a Professor of Art – Ceramics, at Fort Hays State University. You can see more of her interesting work on her website.

Popularity: 92% [?]

Oren Lavie – Co-director / songwriter
Oren Lavie is a  songwriter, director, writer of funny books for sad children. Born in Tel-Aviv, Israel. He has long curly hair, green eyes, cold feet. Known to daydream on many an occasion.
He has written and directed several plays in London’s Off-West End and NY off-Broadway. read more »

Popularity: 17% [?]

Jason Thielke’s art focuses on urban landscapes and their inhabitants. A strong emotional connection to the built environment and its inevitable rise and fall provide the foundation for his work.

Jason Thielke’s solo exhibition, New Work, will begin July 17 and continue through August 15, 2009 at the David B. Smith Gallery, 1543 A Wazee Street Denver, CO, 80202. A reception for the artist will be held on Friday, July 17^th, 2009 from 7 PM to 10 PM.

From his press release, “The work in this exhibition speaks to Thielke’s fascination with behavioral juxtaposition within the individual. The conflict between one’s ability to implement self control and compulsion to manipulate and constantly self-gratify emerges as a reoccurring theme. Jason Thielke’s drawings illustrate this struggle with mathematical precision. Constellations of the human experience, the artist utilizes simple, structural forms to portray stark contrasts within the spirit of his subjects – swirls representing natural beauty and positive energy; straight lines referencing intentional thought and manipulation used to influence others. These figures depict the idiosyncrasies of human perception, examining the dynamics of body language, eye contact and spiritual interaction. “

Jason’s aesthetic encompasses both contemporary and traditional techniques much like modern architecture; his process of drawing, composing, and transferring images mirrors the planning, deconstruction and reconstruction phases of urban gentrification.

The architectural style in his work is applied to his interpretation of the human form, which comfortably contrasts hard lines with soft features and mixed emotions.

He often parallels this theme with the resurgence of American figurative painting.

Thielke earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Northern Illinois University School of Art and has held solo exhibitions in Denver, Portland and Seattle.

Thielke uses combinations of the following materials in his work, colored pencil, acrylic transfer, acrylic, aerosol, laser etching, and ink. You can see more of Jason’s work on his website.

Popularity: 49% [?]

Whimsey – a thing that is fanicful or odd.

Found objects - A found object, in an artistic sense, indicates the use of an object which has not been designed for an artistic purpose, but which exists for another purpose already.

From the beginning of time artist have repurposed items to create their art. In this century, I always think of Marcel Duchamp and his ceramic urinal or Robert Rauschenberg’s goat when I hear the words altered art or found objects.

In my post about sculptor Donald Gialanella I’ve shown one of his “found object” figures, Midden Woman.

I’ll be looking closely at today’s overwhelming adaption of these art forms in the months to come. I find it fascinating.

But right now, it’s time for a wide smile and homage to the throw aways, the found objects.

We all have these kind of items in our back closets or in our attics. While most of us either leave them there…or when they do come to the surface of 40 years worth of treasures, we send them on to Goodwill or a garage sale in hopes that someone might …just maybe…. decide to give it a new home. Because we know in our hearts that this one piece of yesterday is to be treasured, it represent our lives, or our mother’s life..but for the life of US, we can’t justify putting it out on the coffee table for all to see. Its old, it’s broken, it’s well..just not us any more.

Enter Lauretta Lowell. Lauretta’s found art figures, her Whimsical Curiosities, are made from antique porcelain heads and arms, vintage kitchen appliances, machine parts, junk drawer items and costume jewelry. She takes that throw away item and makes it a keeper. The entertainment value is priceless.

I’m attracted to these doll/objects, because they remind me of my childhood. Of small dolls and miniature china tea sets. Alice in Wonderland bizarreness!

Her figures make me laugh. It make me happy that there is one less de-funked treasure made new again. I laugh when I see the leg just sticking out of the bottom of a vase or an old tea pot. The old frame in the picture above would never have even made it to the garage sale pile, but Laurette makes you want to give it a place of honor somewhere in your life.

Lauretta has spent more than 30 years working with in the art community. From  Curating at the Santa Cruz Island Foundation in Palm Desert, CA to managing the Wentworth Gallery in Indio, CA. Now, Lauretta has turned her artistic talents to the whimsical figures you see here.

For more information about Lauretta and her work, visit her website Whimsical Curiosities.

And look for more posts here about altered art and found objects.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Donald Gialanella work is in found in public places and private collection around the world. When I contacted him, he had just returned from Perth Australia. His design St. George and the Dragon Parallax Cross was named a finalist for the St. George’s Cathedral sculpture competition. Incredible, what a visually delightful paradox. We certainly wish him well in the competition.

From his website I learned; Donald studied in New York City at The Cooper Union under Louise Bourgeois, Jim Dine, Vito Acconci and Hans Haacke. The school’s traditional apprenticeship programs exposed him to bronze casting, steel fabrication, painting, drawing and graphic design, while classes with conceptualists Vito Acconci and Hans Haacke introduced him to anti-academic and revolutionary aesthetics. After graduating in 1979 and being awarded the Elliot Lash Prize in recognition of his monumental wood and steel tripods exhibited in Cooper Park, Gialanella was asked by Bourgeois to work as her assistant.  Throughout the following year Gialanella worked directly with Louise, doing everything from assembling armatures for her sculptures to creating odd portals, which she was fond of scurrying through from room to room, that he punched through the walls of her Chelsea brownstone with a pickax.

(If you would  like to know more about Louise Bourgeois, you can certainly do an online search for Louise Bourgeois, but here is a link to get you started.)

Ankara Turkey In 1992 Gialanella ventured to Turkey and devoted two years teaching art at Bilkent University. One morning as he wandered through a rural part of the Old City in Istanbul, he was hypnotized by a clanking rhythm. “My ears led me to the coppersmiths who were creating intricate designs with the simplest of tools, as they have done for centuries.  This inspired me to start working on sculpture again, hammering and bending to shape the steel in an organic way. In this exotic and ancient culture I began to spiritually reconnect with myself and experienced an artistic re-birth. A year later I had my first major one-man show at Ars Gallery Ankara and gained the confidence to devote myself completely to achieving my personal artistic vision.”

I was struck by the diversity of materials in these two sculptures

I enjoy his satire as shown in this smaller sculpture depicting the mortgage crisis.

Don is well known for his animal of which he has done many. From life size horses to smaller figures of animal that you can see here on his website. The Horse is the first piece he created in his new studio in Taos New Mexico. It’s made of Heavey gauge cut and forged steel with an acid wash finish. 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and stands 5 feet 6 inches tall at the shoulder.

I love this rooster’s color .

Maybe my favorite work is Idea Man below. Although it certainly is a challenge to choose just one of Don’s pieces as favorite. There are so many to choose from that I have posted more here than I usually do.

Don writes about Idea Man, “A completely three dimensional image, this fanciful steel sculpture is a logical progression of my Fragment Portraits. He rides a simple unicycle while supporting his enormous head appointed with Hermes-like wings that give flight to his formidable powers of creativity.”

His method for creating his Fragment Portraits is fascinating. He writes, “I draw the face directly onto a sheet of steel and cut it into fragments which define the facial features in a specifically descriptive way. Then I reassemble the “jigsaw puzzle” and weld it together from the back to reunite the portrait. The color and texture is done with various chemical patinas, paint, metalic powders, and a grinder.”

To really understand his process watch the video below.

I’m going to leave you with an interesting and delightful adventure into the world we are living in. Don was featured in several Magazines both in print and online. The online Magazines are the ones that are so interesting and interactive. Not only will you learn more about Donald Gialanella work, but somehow, with both photos and video and because it is so full of life, it makes the reader/viewer more engaged.

The first is CTN Green Maganzine, his article and videos are on pages 20 and 21. The video is the same as the one above, but the presentation is really interesting.  Please take a minute, you’ll truly enjoy it. After you spend the time with Don on these pages, you might want to look at the rest of the magazine, interesting.

The second magazine with an interview with Don is Deviance from deviantART. You can download the issue to your computer. It’s well worth it.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Don Gialanella and his work. There is so much more for you to explore on his site, Donald Gialanella – Metal Sculpture.

Please take a minute to add a comment, let me know what you think, I really would like to hear from each of you.

Popularity: 36% [?]