STUDIO: NEW PAINTINGS

These aren’t the best images (I plan on getting better ones in the near future,) but just to give an idea as to what I have been working on, I have posted some pictures of some new works below. I have had a few things going at once: the large painting, and the smaller ones as well. Not only have these things been in the works, but I am doing some writing as well—a new thesis so to speak—which I will be sharing in segments shortly. 

As for these works, there is both the exploration of ideas and material (go figure) going on. With these works, and in my writing, I am more or less focusing on how we look at art, understand it, make it, and what it all says, or means. The question at hand, I feel, is why is there something rather than nothing? This question goes beyond art making to the very core of our existence, but it does not, however, exclude it. So my investigation is to the heart of that matter of why we do make art, and how it may further still mirror something else entirely. This is what fascinates me: One of the most interesting things about art in general is that you are looking at something that has been brought into the world, and you are trying to figure out why. Art relates to creation in this very way, and the quarry of our existence. But it’s not just one sided, for the artist too, as the creator, makes something and asks his or herself “what have I made and why?”

It’s every artist’s dilemma, task, chore, duty, or what-have-you, and with any luck I hope to cover some ground in coming up with something that helps me to better understand my own work, as well as the said question raised. Mainly, my focus has been on minimalism, where it has come from, how I find myself relating to it, and how it relates to other things in general. So that is all to come, and hopefully it will shine more light on the things I have been working on, and give more explanation to these paintings. 

Blue Cross

12x12"

 Latex on canvas

 X

12x12"

Latex and graphite on canvas

Latex on canvas

73x72"

not yet titled

UARTS' MAKING IT RECEPTION

The UARTS Making IT reception had a decent crowd, and it was nice to sort of roam around unnoticed noticing people looking at my piece, talking about it, getting close, pointing,  analyzing it, and taking it in. It was a nice night.

Here are some images from the event below.

 

(These are uploaded from an iphone, so they are a little fuzzy.)

STUDIO

Getting some new things rolling at the studio (my friend Justin and I moved in at the beginning of September, and we are sharing a space on the 6th floor of the VOX Populi building.) There are some larger paintings in the works, as well as some smaller works on paper. In addition, I posted some pages from my sketchbook as of recently (some are sketches for the larger paintings.) 

 Watercolor 

 Ball point pen on Post-it Notes

Graphite

Colored pencil on paper

MAKING IT: UARTS ALUMNI SHOW

I will be participating in the UARTS alumni show Making IT, taking place on Saturday, October 22^nd, 2011. I have one piece in the show called Graced, a newer collage that was made over this past summer. Come out if you can, and enjoy the fruits of some UARTS “post-gratitude.”

SKETCHBOOK

Here are some sketckes from my book that I have been working on on-and-off for a few months now. The images aren't the best, but I'm afraid it's all I can produce for the time being. I'm hoping to post more in the near future.

 Watercolor

Graphite and watercolor

PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR AMBITIONS

These are some artists that have been sort of in the back of my mind/pulled up on my browser lately. 

Joe Bradley

 Ann Edholm

Blinky Palermo

Also just finished this book on Barnett Newman not too long ago. It has been helping me to refine my thoughts, and realize how much I have in common with him.

SCHOOLED RECEPTION

Here are some images of the show SCHOOLED while it was up, as well as some reception photos.

 Works by Ben Weaver

Works by Douglas Witmer

The latest painting that I posted, which did not have a title, now has a title.
 

Here Comes The Son
 48x17x3 1/2”
Latex on canvas
2011

 

NEW PAINTING: RELATIONSHIP

I just got some decent images of a new painting I did about a month ago. The images are not very high res, but I believe they convey an alright display of the painting. In this piece I’m dealing with the subject of relationship: relation between the wall and the painting, and relation between the painting and the viewer. What once was an object viewed on the wall, has now entered, and shares, the space of the viewer (a band of light pink highlights where this relationship between artwork and viewer’s space takes place. A relationship that is taking place on ground level). This sends the painting into a realm of teetering identity I believe, between its objecthood and being a painting at the same time. This is a piece I would like to be seen as both object and painting; something that is indeed material and object, but is still capable of transcending its materiality through its being a painting: material with a soul. As well, it is somewhat of a declaration of its (painting) ability to exist on or off the wall. This is not to say that it has been liberated in this act, because I believe the piece’s freedom comes from its silence, but rather it is more of a display of versatility: that this isn’t what painting should be, but what it is capable of. This piece is, as I believe the rest of my work is, a transmitter for something beyond material: a silence, an “articulation of spiritual meaning,” and in this case it stands on its own, but is not autonomous.  

 

(piece not yet titled)

STILL COLLAGING: FOUND AND REFUSED

 Graced

12x15"

Mixed media

2011

(detail)

I'm still working on my collages made from scrap and refuse material. The experience is always different from painting, and the outcome is much similar. With collage I am able to move pieces around to see if they fit, which enables me to be more strategic, and helps me to make the strongest composition possible. In using these materials, I am dealing with the issue of things that have had a different life at one point, but have since been discarded, left over, abandoned, rediscovered, and given new purpose and being. What once was simply utilitarian material is now made into something more purposeful in an artistic, spiritual, and transcending sense. They are now transmitters of a message and discourse, they are objects of worth, and they have since lost any reputation of utility.

I hope to post more about the things I’m working on and thinking about in the near future, as well as some images of new work.

SCHOOLED

I will be participating in another three person show this month at Second Space in Philadelphia, along side Ben Weaver and Douglas Witmer. This will also be Second Space's 1st year anniversary at the reception on June 10th, from 6-9 PM. I am really looking forward to seeing all the work up (as well as my own work beside the other two men’s work), and the affect in which it might have collectively. I think it will be a strong show and a great experience. Please come out if you can, and enjoy refreshments and good work.

Here’s where to find it: Second Space Arts at OCMC, 900 E. Howell Street, 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA.

For more information, check out the Second Space Facbook page HERE.