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Bye Bye Antoni

That is Antoni Tapies who died this week at the age of 88.  He was a major influence on my artistic vision, as I explained earlier here

For me, he was one of the most sensual of painters.

Jennifer Blessing of the Guggenheim foundation wrote about his work:

Tàpies reevaluated humble materials, things of the earth such as sand and the refuse of humanity: string, bits of fabric, and straw. By calling attention to this seemingly inconsequential matter, he suggested that beauty can be found in unlikely places. Tàpies saw his works as objects of meditation that every viewer will interpret according to personal experience; he sought to inspire a contemplative reaction to reality through the integration of materials unexpected in fine art.

These images often resemble walls that have been scuffed and marred by human intervention and the passage of time These markings recall the scribbling of graffiti, perhaps referring to the public walls covered with slogans and images of protest that the artist saw as a youth in Catalonia—a region in Spain that experienced the harshest repression under dictator Francisco Franco. Tàpies called walls the “witnesses of the martyrdoms and inhuman sufferings inflicted on our people.”

Here are a few more images to remember him by. Click on them to see them larger. Of course, you should see them in person, experience their physical presence.   I was most inspired by the work he did in the late 1950′s and ’60′s. In any case, thanks Antoni, for the beauty you left behind.

Go see this show if you can

There are so many talented young artists today. One of them is my niece, EDITH RONSE. If you find yourself in Belgium and not too far from the town of Aarschot (near Leuven), go see a show of Edith, as well as JAN VISSERS, in CC Gasthuis, Gasthuisstraat 22, Aarschot. The show lasts until February 26. On weekdays it is open  from 1pm until 11 pm, on weekends from 2 pm to 6 pm.

Unlike her uncle, Edith Ronse understands that it’s important for an artist to exhibit her or his work regularly. I wish her a lot of success.

Here are a few examples of her work. More can be seen on her website, edithronse.be

NOVEMBER NUDES

This november I participated in a group show in the Deep Tanks Studio whose name, ‘Nudus’, left little doubt on the subject matter. Although I’m not a  very good draftsman, I always have loved drawing, painting, photographing and photoshopping nude figures. Me and a zillion others of course.  But it’s a subject that can never be exhausted, as this show once again illustrated.

The other artists in this show were photographer Kristopher Johnson and the painter Shungaboy.

(As usual, click on the smaller images to see them larger)

I had one sculpture in the show, 4 collages and about a hundred paintings on paper,of which I show a selection below.  Most of them are measuring 12 by 10 by inches (32 by 24 cm). I mostly used acrylic paint, charcoal,  ink, metal powders. The bulk of them were done in the 1990’s, some before, some after. Some came into being in collaboration with my friend and fellow recycling artist Robin M Jordan.

 

  

   

  

  

  

  

  

I end with a picture of my sculpture in the show. I’ve shown it before but this picture is much better, thanks to photographer Kristopher Johnson.

“Wind me op en ik zing” (“Turn me on and I sing”) (1996) 29 by 13 by 6 inches. Gold paint and iron powder washes on plaster.  In its secret place, this beauty has a music box.

An almost complete archive of the show can be seen HERE

That’s it for now. Have a warm december…

In a Straw Space

The Newhouse Center for the Contemporary Arts organizes an exhibition called STRAW SPACE “that thematically explores nature and will be presented in a gallery made of straw”.  Two works of mine were selected for that show:

‘In the midst of it all’. 2009.  Wax, acrylic, oxidated iron, copper, dried flowers and leaves with found toy-soldier, on hand-made paper (22 x 30 inches).

At summer’s end , 2011. Acrylic, oxidated iron and copper powders on bark, crab legs and other weather-beaten objects found on Staten Island beaches (28.5 x 20 inches).

Now please excuse me, I have to go help occupy Wall Street. The summer has ended but the spring has just begun.

 

INDIAN SUMMER

Today the summer officially ended and the weather confirmed it: it was grey, chilly and wet, a typical autumn day, at least where I come from. But here in the Northeast of America, this kind of weather is not typical at all for late september and october. Instead,  around this time we usually enjoy the most beautiful period of the year: Indian Summer. Deep blue skies, brilliant light, cool breezes, warm days and chilly nights. Best of all: the turning of the leaves. The first time I saw those vibrant colors, I was so moved I got tears in my eyes. For me, the real fall only begins when the leaves have fallen and all the color is on the ground. Then the season of melancholy sets in, for which we’ll need lots of parties in order to survive untill next spring.

Here is an older work that celebrates this season and the feelings it evokes.

Indian Summer (1988),  Mixed media on wood and rubber 67 by 40 inches

Here’s a detail:

Here’s an untitled series on paper that sort of captures the transition from Indian Summer to Fall. The rusting of the colors, the leafs, swirling in the wind, dropping like colored rain,  the reflections of the flaming trees in the icy blue lakes…These images were made after walks in the Catskills. I don’t remember in what year I painted them but they are in a book of landscapes which I made in 1999.

Acrylic on paper, 13 ½ by 10 ½ inches.

Acrylic and oxidated iron powder on paper, 13 by 10 ½ inch.

Acrylic and oxidated iron powder on paper, 9 by 11 inch.

Pastel and oxidated iron powder on paper, 13 by 9 ½ inch.

Acrylic, ink and oxidated iron powder on cardboard, 14 by 11 inch.

A BOOK

I recently participated in a group show, called “RatArtOuille” in Deep Tanks Studio.  Click on this link to see all the works in this show: RatArtOuille

I got a lot of positive feedback on one work in particular, which I included as an afterthought, a book ‘about’ lost memories, which I made in 2009. That was the year after my little gardenhouse burned down, an impressive fire which consumed thousands of documents, books, letters, photographs, paintings, memories… some of the charred remnants ended in this book, which I made as a birthday present for Jacqueline.  Originally it was a wallpaper catalogue which I found on a sidewalk. Here are the front and backcovers:

You can click on the image to see them larger. Also on the following thumbnails of inside pages:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that is more than half of the book. My thanks to the photographer, Kristopher Johnson.

ICED

I’ve neglected this blog again  for which I’m sorry but I’ve been soooooo busy. Expect more posts in the near future.  This will be another short one, just to announce my participation in a juried group show in the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art called “Iced”. The invitation describes it as a “group exhibitition that explores seductive materials and the sublime desire for cool relief during the summer heat”.

You can see there, amongst other works, my painting “Nightlife”:

‘Nightlife’ 2010  (21 by 20 inches) acrylic on found embroidery

Here’s another work in the show, by Brooklyn-based artist Allyson Ross, that stays closer to the title of the show:

The Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art is in the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island New York. Open wed-sun noon-5pm.

The show  can be seen until September 4, 2011.

The exhibition has been extended until October 24.