Romance

Looking at beautiful romantic art. Liking the emptiness and the similarities.

Ryan Mcginley

Peter Doig

Gallery finds NY

I went to a few smaller galleries while in New York quite a while ago now. These were from Clare Grill's exhibition at Jen Beckman gallery on Spring Street. I love the soft Michael Borremans, Luc Tuymans feel about these paintings, while still being strong and not too wishy washy.

Clare Grill

Power lines mach II

While trawling the web today, came across this artist, whose paintings are depressingly similar to my newest travel project. I guess it was inevitable that I would not be the first to be stunned by the melodrama of these lines across infinity...

Images from Granthaffner.com

Nendo

This is what their website says

nendo created blown-fabric for Tokyo Fiber ’09 Senseware, an exhibition intended to convey the possibilities of new materials developed with Japanese synthetic fibre technology.

but all I can think is, Disney and Studio Ghibli, Enid Blyton and Ida Rentoul Outhwaite. I guess because these creations look like mushrooms and mushrooms are oft seen in fairytale type settings. Obviously there is nothing bad about that, it's okay to use nostalgia as a means to access art works. It also makes me want to read Enid Blyton's 'The Enchanted Wood' again...

Fantasia, and, Princess Mononoke, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite and and

Cut paper

Little Ampersand, Green Spot, Turbine, Vessel,

Catch

Matthew Rich, latex paint on cut paper. I found these today and really liked them. I have recently been really interested in geometric shapes in art work. I've come across a lot of Constructivist art work recently and am finding influences of this movement in a lot of contemporary art that I have viewed in the last couple of months. Again Matisse could be mentioned in connection with these works.

Matisse, The Snail

Matthew Rich, Matisse

Hello Chris Ofili

And so now here I am again, back in Europe. It was nice getting to see the Chris Ofili exhibition in London, but that was pretty much the highlight, and 5 days once again felt too long. However I would definitely recommend the Chris Ofili exhibition at Tate Britain. This was my main reason for going back to London this time, and it was really good. I had already seen one of his paintings in SFMOMA, and was familiar with his work from Art Now, Matthew Collings interviews, etc so the first few rooms of paintings at his exhibition were not particularly new. Obviously they look better in reality, and the mass of lots of similar works, similar size, subject matter, medium is much more powerful than when viewing one painting of his amongst other artist's work, as at SFMOMA. But for me the real high point was 'The Upper Room'. I had heard about this work previously in a controversial light, as it was purchased by the Tate Britain, on whose board of trustees was Chris Ofili, conflict of interest much? However upon seeing it I had to agree with the decision to purchase. You walk down a dark wooden corridor to a dimly lit room, wherein the paintings are lit from directly above, leaving the room in virtual shadow. You enter at the back of the room and along two sides of the walls are paintings, each a different colour, each depicting a monkey facing toward the end of the room. And as is natural at an art gallery, you stop to view each painting. But the real power of this work is viewing it as a whole. It is when you look with the monkeys toward the far end of the room, toward the queen, that you can start to imagine the inner workings of these monkey's minds. You feel almost one of them, bowing toward your superior, the hushed light of the room provides a feeling of reverence and I almost felt that I should bow my head and shuffle out backwards. The rest of the work in the exhibition, the newer work, was good to. I especially liked his paintings all in shades of blue, starting from 2 tones of similar blue together, and becoming progressively more contrasting. But 'The Upper Room' was definitely the highlight. Oops I forgot to mention the elephant dung, never mind, there it is.

artfagcity also mentions similarities between Ofili and Matisse (I think generally Ofili's newer works like Iscariot Blues, picture top). I only mention this because I love Matisse, and so appreciate when other artist's honour him (even unknowingly perhaps).

Tate, timeout and thank you artfagcity