Artistic influences and contextualisation

Summative Post: Contextualisation

Key Points:

5, 9 – Andrew Salgado

Being probably one of my favourite modern artists at the moment, and being recognised as one of the top 100 painters of today, Andrew Salgado has inspired my work in a few ways. The way in which he paints with precision and also in an almost erratic manor to paint his subjects. He photographs his models and then works from these images to create his composition which is a lot of what I have ben doing in my work. I also went to see his work at 2 separate exhibitions in London, and to see the work in flesh i was able to understand his mark making and process more. I was also surprised by the large scale of his work.

13. Dan Voinea

 

Inspired by the clashing of two different styles again, this time Surrealism and realism. The dream or perhaps nightmare take on the narratives he creates, and how these narratives can be open to interpretation by the viewer is what really struck me about his work and i feel he has been very influential in my work.

 

15, 16: Existentialism

This section is where I became consciously aware of the philosophy behind existentialism. Having spent some time researching it for my dissertation I was able to use certain facets of the philosophy as a focal point in my work, and further more I was able to relate this to personal experiences which drove my work forwards.

 

22. Ken Currie

 

Initially I was inspired by this artist because of the decaying, “ill” nature of the figures he paints, using pale flesh tones and crippled stances, however as my project developed, it was also the use of mirrors that he used in his paintings, and how he painted the reflections of his subject also.

 

29. Elke Rehder

 

Here I was inspired by the use of chequered boards and reference to the game of chess that is a re occurring theme in Elke Rehders work, based on a quote, “Life is like chess”. After some research I was able to make and understand the relationship between life itself, and the board game, and then use this as a devise in my own work.

 

 

The Beginning  

During the previous two years, I have come to realise that I want to focus my artistic efforts on painting, and more specifically, on particular portraits, for now. I have always had a fascination with portraiture and the use of the human form in art. This is because of a number of reasons. The main reason is, possibly, that a strong relationship between the viewer and the artwork itself can be made, such relationships that might be made in our everyday life’s when interacting with other fellow humans. Phenomena, including emotions, narrative, creativity, and self-awareness can be created in these relationships, but may not be received, explored or have the same impact by the viewer if the painted subject were perhaps a landscape, or an animal. There exists, diverse forms of portraiture, ranging from the baroque with artists such as Rembrandt (whose works and methodologies I find extremely insightful) to the photo-realism lwith practioners like Rob Hefferan or Linda Huber. I am drawn towards slightly surreal, isolated, or, distorted forms of portraiture, where the human subject is positioned in a space, or situation, that could not exist in the physical world as we know it. Further, it is frequently not the expression on a face, nor the beauty of the subject, but more, the enigmatic presence of that being, that I find intriguing. A suggestion of the subject can sometimes be enough, depending on what the artist might wish to convey in their work. A typical example of this would be the work of the Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966).

 

1. GIACOMETTI

(Caroline Series)

   

 

If we look at Giacometti’s Caroline series of paintings (above), each portrait appears, simultaneously both, expressionless, but equally portrays an essence of life. One therefore asks, from where does this life derive? There are several important painterly devices used by Giacommetti. These include (i) a very restricted palette (often black, white and ochre), (ii) space frames that focus the gaze of the viewer onto the gaze of the (painted) subject (iii) multiple short brush strokes and, (iv) often multiple overlain forms, with frequent partial deletions or erasions. The multiple outlines ambiguously define both the space occupied by the subject, and, the space which they inhabit. Giacommetti is equally known for his tall emaciated sculptures and this sculptural obsession comes through in his painted works, where he appears to explore ‘space’ more ‘volumetrically’ than many other artists. In Giacometti’s portraits of Caroline, each overall image increases in density, intensity and detail as one moves from the outer perimeter of the painting towards the relentless stare of the subject. Giacommetti wanted to represent actuality as he experienced it and progressively focused his attention inwards towards the stare, the gaze, of the sitter. During a sitting, usually of a couple of hours, he would frequently complain that he could not paint, that everything was hopeless, and that he would be content to simply draw an eye socket as he actually saw it. Each portrait variation is clearly different, but all have a similar pose, with the sitter facing square-on, hands usually crossed in the lap. Each portrait head is intensively painted, especially around the eyes, but the brush strokes increasingly diminish towards the edges of the canvas, as if they serve no useful purpose. But, as with his sculptures, which had extremely large bases or feet and small heads, this gradient in painterly marks across the canvas may serve the same purpose, so that the portrait simultaneously appears both near and far. He insisted that, in the end, everything was simply a prop for the gaze. Indeed, he did not even represent the eye precisely, in case this destroyed the very thing that was the essence of the living human he was trying to portray – i.e., the gaze. It is important to note, that the gaze he creates, is a gaze towards the viewer, but also, beyond the viewer itself. One feels that one might be obscuring that which the figure might be actually staring at – if anything at all.

 

 

2. Carl Melegari

 

Melegari’s approach to painting explores both the human form and the urban landscape, but it is essentially, his paintings of human heads that interest me most. His primary focus is on the semi-abstraction within the figures that he paints, and he has recently become increasingly fascinated by the versatility of oil paint. He often works from life and models, but more often from photos, and explores the physical properties of the paint. This, combined with the density of pigment, forms a sense of life radiating from the canvas, as if to evoke the vigor of the human form. His approach to painting explores the treatment and handling of paint whilst conveying expressionistic nudes and landscapes, and so his paintings become as much about the subject itself, as well as the application and medium of the paints.

Melegari applies multiple layers, achieved though the addition and erosion of paint. A figure materializes, suggesting how (s)he has become sheathed and partly shrouded by the vitality of the paint. His earlier works use a relatively monochromatic palette, so as to effectively reduce the form, but this additionally delineates and abstracts parts, to create a less figurative ambience. I feel that his reduced palette provides seclusion and isolation to the figures within his paintings, but they are given substance by the way in which he liberally applies paint and occasionally allows/enables paint drips and streaks to ‘reflect’ the persona of those represented in the painting. I also find that most of the figures that he paints, or, at least the ones that I am more drawn towards, are those where by the eyes of the figures are shadowed. He uses shadow considerably throughout his work, to great effect. It creates an enigmatic quality, with part of the figures being hidden from view. But it is actually these shadowed areas that stand out against the contrasting background, and which merge into the lighter tones of the faces. I have always been drawn to a subject’s eyes when looking at a portrait (e.g. the portraits of Alberto Giacometti), but, unusually for me, it is the lack of this that is appealing in Melegari’s works.

 

3. Ivan Alifan

 

2013 Paintings

A young Russian painter, Ivans paintings are an exploration of the modern gaze; of ambiguous figurative paintings that are revealed and transformed within the act of the individuals views. His portraits are not an attempt to render physical characteristics but rather to create a language of underlying “sexual subtexts”. Using ambiguity as a tool he demands the viewer’s exploration of their psyches and provokes self-awareness. To have a painting that can exist as an alluring object and shift into an eroticized figure disarms and naturalizes the modern gaze; decriminalizing sex in art. Whether an individual sexualizes the figure, or becomes embarrassed and nervous by the mere suggestion, this is all a process, which occurs independently from the painting, breaking down barriers of different modes in which the body can exist in social spheres and contemporary art.

To me this idea of provoking an idea, a concept or narrative, to which then the viewer can then explore in his or her own way

I also find the dripping form body very eerie and surreal, a bit like Dali’s melting clocks, however this overriding enigmatic quality that Ivan creates in his paintings is something I wish to explore through my own work.

 

2014 Paintings

 

 

 

As you can see, Ivan Alifan has started to push the surreal narrative element  in his later works. As a viewer, I find myself creating narratives of my won within his work. I like this idea of provoking something, an idea, to which then the audience must question and think for themselves to create their own individual conclusion.

 

4. Michael Aaron Williams

 

 

Another artist who uses narrative, or “visual poetry” as he call it, is Michael Aaron Williams, whose social statement is to “move the viewer to action or realization”. Williams is a painter, sculptor and street artist, and focuses much of his work around “the street”, the place where people live their daily lives. This allows him to interact with his audience on their own turf. He tries to depict “street” people and attempts to represent the fragile nature of life, purity and culture. He does this by creating fractured images, often using bleeding lines in and out of the subject which he paints. The calm nature of his subjects also creates a very peaceful ambiance. Most of his works are often painted with ink, onto what looks like used lined paper. This recycled concept, enforces the notion of the cycle of life, and vanity, and goes hand-in-hand with his efforts to focus on the ephemeral nature of people that he represents in his work.

 

 

 

 

 

5. Andrew Salgado

Andrew Salgado’s work explores concepts relating to the re-formulation of identity, and re-considers the conventions of figurative painting through continued pursuit toward abstraction. He aims to create paintings that engage with that which is not visible, deliberately questions the actual nature of painting itself, and sort-of a politicises identity as something that can be taken apart, rebuilt, and is almost touchable. In a manner similar to that of Harding Mayer, Salgado works from photographs, but of people that he meets in and around London, such as quasi-strangers, and people who catch his eye, and to whom he will make a proposition to sit for him or be photographed. Although partially inspired by baroque portraiture, Salgado says, “I am drawn to the rule breakers”. This is reflected in his painting methodology, where his technique uses contrasting precision, and the erratic use of brush strokes. His paintings retain the residue of a story, are an interplay of abstraction and realism, but are progressively becoming an exploration of color, tone, and form reduction.

 

6. Ryan Hewett

 

 

The paintings of Ryan Hewett are about self exploration”. The compositions start from photographs, and are developed further through his own creative imagination. Hewett’s work is similar to that of Alberto Giacometti, in that, most of his portraits look directly at, and beyond, the viewer. But Hewett’s work captures raw inner emotion whereas Giacommetti’s portraits are somewhat stripped of such a quality. Hewett blends realism with abstraction through the use of daring splashes using a palette knife, blending, edging, detailing and compounded through the partial erosion of, and through, multiple layers of paint. The paintings hold a tension between the outward appearance of the subject and what lies beneath. His work is, again, similar to that of Giacommetti, in that his uses a rather limited color pallet (of fleshy red tones), and often employs a ‘halo’ -like area around the head, which might serve to create an aura of permanence within the image. As one moves outwardss from the subject, the canvas becomes progressively plain, which tends to focus the gaze of the viewer more directly at the actual subject within the composoition. This is again a device seen in many of the works of Giacommetti.

 

7. Guy denning

 

The painter, Guy Denning, has transitioned his earlier and ,relatively abstract works into more figurative forms of emotion, and frequently, , political comment. His dynamic works, evidence the spontaneous use of colour, executed with powerful use of the brush and further erosion of the paint to intensify the emotion conveyed. Using meticulous use of stenciling, or paper cuts of text, within his work, he adds, frequently, political commentary. Again, the notion of provoking an idea in the viewer, and raising them to question their own views, is something I am fundamentally drawn to. The abstract and, sometimes surreal, elements which he infuses within his paintings, along with the heavy use of contrast and tone, makes, I believe, his work so powerful and dynamic. This further enforces the powerful message which, in general, Denning, conveys within his works.

 

 

8. Harding Mayer

 

  

The principal subject of Harding Mayar’s works, is the human face which he intensivly pursues the rendering of. He produces single scaled-up images of faces, that, are extracted from magazines, newspapers, catalogues and videos, and are worked upon over many weeks and months. The individuality of the painted face is re-created by the use of multi-layered compositions, which are essentially simple in the ‘body’ composition, but complex in specific detail and execution. Characteristics of his works are the (i) the conflicting/contrasting use careful brush strokes and the use of a loose pallet knife (ii) image distortion refecting the flickering lines of a paused video of television, , and (iii) obscuration by the partial juxtaposition of painterly elements derived again from magazines or newspapers. These give rise to the coherent and distinguishable style that pervades his works. In some of his facial images which show only the forehead down to just below the chin, there is a bordered edge that bleeds into the hairline around the head. This bordered edge creates a strong feeling of isolation, which is a quality that I seek to capture in my own work.

In Harding Mayar’s works, the faces all appear very close-up, which instills a sensation of intimacy, which, in turn, lends to considerations of the prevailing psychological circumstances. The background on which he paints his subject also acts as a tool to enhance this intimacy. The deep, dark-black void of space that he creates, sometimes with hints of blue or green, instills in me a strong sense of psychological isolation. However, it similarly acts as a simple device to enhance the being, or presence, of the subject matter.

 

9. London Trip to Beers Contemporary Art Gallery, Exhibiting Andrew Salgado

Me Standing next to One of Salgados works,

 

 

When visiting this exhibition i was initially taken by the size of Salgado’s work. The scale of his work portrays significance in its self, and one cant help but be overpowered by paintings. It was great to see the works up close as I could  look at the paintings in detail, and began to understand how he both applied the paint, and used colour.

 

 

10. Rembrant 

I find it useful to look back at the true masters of painting and portraiture. In particular, I notice elements and painterly devises that have similarly captured my attention in more contemporary artists. Rembrandt is an excellent example of this. In particular, he frequently used a light source, fairly close to the subject and positioned so as to light up one side of the face completely, and simultaneously, light up a partial area of the cheek on the other side of the face (this is known now as Rembrandt lighting). This serves to bring light and “life” into the eyes of subjects, and further allows the artist to use tones and contrast to enwrap the face. I also observe that Rembrandt’s backgrounds are usually fairly dark and dull, but, conversely, light up the subjects face. One can observe how this device has been effectively used to a similar effect in the diverse works of contrasting artsists, such as Alberto Giacometti, Carl Melegari and Ryan Hewett

 

 

11. Chuck Close

 

Whilst I am not particularly inspired by the works of Chuck Close I find his painterly devises unusual, Here, I quote comments by him which refect similar thought os mine:-.

 

“I don’t try and drain all expression out, I just want a very neutral expression. If you have an extreme expression either laughing or crying or whatever- then that’s the only content that you will get out of it. Whereas if its presented neutrally and flat footedly, you can read whatever evidence it embodies in their visage, like laugh lines and furrows or whatever, in the same way that you can make assumptions about people when you meet them at a cocktail party. I am a humanist and I hope that a bit of humanity is in there somewhere; I just don’t like to editorialize it.”

 

 

 

12. Sigmar Polke

 

The paintings of Sigmar Polke are not easilly defined. He is considered one of the most significant painters of the post war generation and his career has not been confined to painting. His experimental use of a wide range of subject matter and styles, joins imagery from unusual and contradictory sources, both contemporary and historical, using different media materials and processes. The outcome of this is an artist of a consistently diverse works, which are difficult to categorise.. Polke frequently combines paint, household materials, pigments and, lacquers, with transparent sheeting and screen print in a single piece of work. This creates a complex narrative within the image, which imposes a certain hallucinatory or a dream-like experience upon the viewer.

Polke’s enigmatic works often utilize graphical prints that are surmounted over backdrops of paint. To me, these recall distant memories relating to perhaps a scenic landscape or occasionally simply colours, with the surmounted imagery enhancing the overall effect and composition. The dynamics of the works are elevated by the contrasting juxtaposition of ‘loose paint’ over the background and more precise linear markings.

 

 

13. Dan Voinea

Dan Voinea creates oil on linen figurative paintings with a very surreal feel. People seem to float or dissolve, or have at times, transparent, or missing body parts. Despite the nature of his surreal dream like paintings, his work is technically accomplished and always striking. Despite the life like quality he captures within his figurative painting, the “distorted” and loose painterly marks that are also used help to create this clash of realism and surrealism. His work is primarily about the narrative he creates, although these narratives can be subjected to various interpretations. He uses a lot of darker tones within his work, perhaps as a metaphor for nighttime, helping to create a dream like quality, but I also notice the contrast in highlighted areas, ultimately creating quite a striking image. I think that what most inspires me is the clash between reality and surrealism within his works. The spaces around the figures are both real environments, yet have surreal elements to them. Although his paintings usually contain one or more people, some painterly devises he uses create this sense of deep vast space.

 

14. London Art Fair 

This was a great opportunity to visit hundreds of galleries all over the UK in one place, and certainly inspired me in this project.

Bellow are some of the works that caught my attention and inspired me.

Andrew Salgado, exhibiting two new pieces.

Landscape by Young Hun KIM

Gavin Nolan, As Above, Below, 2014, Oil on Canvas. I find the primal nature of the standing figure intriguing. It remind me of an earlier “us” but also remind me of how we are such a strange looking species, we just might not see it that most of the time.

Dan Parry Jones, Marrakesh, Mixed Media. What i find interesting about this piece is the layering of colours, in blocks as to create depth, and an impression of the surrounding environment. He creates a very busy atmosphere, and situates the figures within this creating perspective.

 

Alison Lambert, Various, Charcoal and pastel on paper. I find that the texture and technique used in this piece helps to deliver a weathered fragile feel. The artists, instead of using a rubber to erase her work, she instead covers each mark with a new piece of paper, as she believes each mark is meaningful, and worth documenting as a process in creating her final image. It remind me slightly of Giacomettis work, in the sense that he creates a very weathered fragile feel in his sculptures. this has been directly linked to elements of existentialism, as in representing the fragility of man. I cant help but feel that this piece by Alison Lambert projects similar connotations.

Nathan Ford, Reuben, Oil on Canvas. Similar to the above drawing, This piece I also feel gives reference or connotations of fragility. The faint lines that mark areas of the subjects skin make the subject almost look transparent but equally present.

 

Gareth Edwards, Sodium phosphate: Low tide Estuary, Ocean Light, Oil on Canavas. The “fog”in which Gareth Edwards creates in his landscapes I find suggests a vastness of uncertainty. There is a hint of what may lie in the distance but nothing is clear, and therefore becomes slightly subjective to each individual. There is certainly an element of eeriness and ambiguity present in these pieces.

 

 

Francis bacon, Seated figure.

 

 

 

Tom French, Accord, Oil on Canvas. Its the surreal narrative, that is held together with painterly gestured marks that I find appealing in this piece.

 

 

Paul Galyer, My United States of Whatever, Oil on Canvas. I had a conversation with the Galley owner of Abbey Walk Gallery, who represented this artist. Sh told me the artist spent a lot of time drawing and painting completely random objects and overlays them to create these surreal and “random” landscapes. The complexity and detail in the paintings is amazing, but it also reminded me of a section of my dissertation, where by Jeaun Paul Sartre, a philosopher, put the philosophy of existentialism into 6 humanist terms, one of them being the ‘acceptance of the banal’.

 

 

This piece Initially reminds me of Giacomettis small, emaciated figures, but what I found interesting, was how the artist has grouped the figures. They appear trapped, confused perhaps, and unaware of their environment beyond their dark cadge. There is a strong sense of survival here. It would appear the figures have 2 choices. The first is to stay in their cage, and the other, to leave, but to do this one must die, as there is a large fall or drop to the floor. So it would appear the figures, or at lest the ones we can see, have chosen to live, and in doing so, they have chosen to survive together, as a species. This I felt was reflected also in the film, ‘I Am Legend’. (clip above). The “Zombie” like creatures in this film, were previously normally, everyday living human beings. However due to an illness they are now appear to be primitive malnourished desperate creatures, yet they still retain an uncanny likeness to humans.

I think overall, it is this idea of looking at ourselves, from afar, as just another weird looking species is what i find interesting, as if perhaps to look at us through the eyes of another something not from this planet.

Fran Williams, The Undeniable (top), Can You Imagine (bottom), Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas. I couldn’t help but notice how these painting gave suggestion to a level of ambiguity, especially the above painting. The bold head, and shadowed features that avoid any specific detail, allows for a very humanist form to develop yet there is almost an alien like quality to the figure. There is no expression on the face, which also adds to this ambiguity. We might then start to question what is this person feeling? There is an “ill” quality to the subject yet his, or her, emotion does not necessarily show paint and suffering, it is more the entire ambiance of the piece that creates this.

Stephen Lawlor, Seigneur (left), Shah (right), Oil on Canvas. It would appear the artist here has completely disfigured the face of his subjects to beyond point of recognition. There is an enigmatic quality here as one wonders what the subject looked like before this transition. In terms of ambiguity however, although there is nothing too recognisable in these paintings, the issue or question is of identity, who are they, as apposed to what are they?

Wanda Bernardino, On the sense of Loneliness, Oil on Canvas. Her enigmatic portraits deliberately copy, reworks and recreates individuals from historic paintings. In seeking an elusive connection with the past she uncovers the process behind the original and transcribes marks across time. She appears to blank out the subjects faces after painting them to force the viewer to re examine the attributes of identity we ascribe to portraiture. One might see such an act as vandalism but it explored aesthetic, social, political and moral attitudes we hold towards both art and representations of history. As does Stephen Lawlor’s paints do, these paintings are more concerned with identity of the individual, as apposed to the identity of its race.

 

15. Existentilaism. 

Having researched into existentialism for my dissertation, I have found myself becoming fascinated with the topic. In my earlier work, I have been exploring how one might represent the fragility of life in a portrait. At the time i was unaware of the existential philosophy, but I found this section of text very insightful, and I very much wish to use these, or some of, the 6 facets of existentialism as the concept in my work.

Existentialist philosophy generally involves 6 basic facets of thought (Sartre 1948), namely:

• Acceptance of the Absurd: Most (though not all) seem perplexed that the world, the Universe, has no implicit meaning, no beginning, no end, and that all is futile. The Myth of Sisyphus (Camus 1946) exemplifies this, where Sisyphus is enslaved to perpetually push a large boulder to the top of a mountain, only for it to roll back down, at which, the process is repeated ad-infinitum. Upon acceptance of this, the existentialist is enabled to live life honestly.
• Take Personal Freedom: Accepting that life is possibly meaningless in itself, it gains meaning by taking the free responsibility to make choices, without exporting blame to others, thus revealing ones identity and enhancing such freedom and hope.
• Individualism: Existentialists, to express ones true nature, and pursue ones inner derived mission, oppose conformity to societal norms.
• Authenticity: Many suffer from the fear of thoughts of others, of institutions, about their own actions, which then hinders their ability to pursue their true mission. To live authentically is to perform what the individual wants himself or herself.
• Passion: Existentialists purposefully dedicate themselves to a cause, such as truth, a particular artistic expression, or a business.
• Acceptance of Death. Confronting and accepting that life is finite, enables more considered, meaningful and invigorating choices.

 

 

16. A personal Experience

Recently two very close friends of mine have both suffered from depression, mainly due to the challenges they have faced when entering the “real world”. One friend in particular would constantly challenge the meaning of life, whats his purpose was, and what the point in anything was. He would often complain about how one felt obliged by society to conform to modern day living, having a nine to five for example. This has now led him to push himself to change his life so that he may continue in a way that suits him, and that is not of the “boring”norm.

I have witnessed first hand how people can struggle with the conformities of life, and the pursuit in  purpose in this meaningless world, and I can say I have certainly been moved and affected by this. I feel that it is these struggles i wish to reflect in my painting now.

 

17. Radu Belcin.

Ive found these paintings by Radu Belcin very insightful . He removes or provokes the identity of his subjects in various ways and situates his figures in a chiaroscuro scenario. This, combined with the clash of realism and abstraction that Belcin creates in his scenes allows for enigmatic, slightly elusive, dream or nightmare like paintings.

 

18. Sebastian Schrader

 

 

The protagonists of Schraders images are daydreamers, narcissists, and clown figures—anti-heroes who, as Schrader admits, “wait and persist, while the world around them hails down.” A recurring motif in his paintings is the paper crown representing the weak will and inaction of the person wearing it. These are “very lonesome kings who only administer a small empire consisting of their own selves.” A keen observer of his generation, Sebastian Schrader confronts such timely topics as the preoccupation with the self and the ability to participate in society in his painting. He explains, “I’m interested in how my generation understands concepts such as freedom and happiness, how parameters of human coexistence shift”. His work radiates an intensity reminiscent of the Old Masters. In it, the drama of chiaroscuro meets content that is, at times, lacking any drama at all. A composition of forgotten objects, for example, references vanitas still life without containing any moral plea. The resulting gap, in turn, becomes his subject. Representational and abstract in equal measure, Schrader’s painting can be seen at the intersection of reality and imagination, as well as objectivity and subjectivity. In the same way, his subjects are not only sunk within, but also stand apart from themselves.

 

19. Adrian Ghenie

Adrian Ghenie is a young Romanian painter whose works demonstrate his fascination with history and the trauma of dictatorship. The sources for his images are derived from a combination of his own personal memories and from historical books, archives and both documentary and fictional film. Ghenie plunders visual history via disparate avenues – archives, history books, cinema, painting, YouTube and Google – to build his dense, multi-layered paintings. His preparations are intriguing in their ebb and flow between fact and fabrication. Once images are selected from different modes of representation, Ghenie creates collages with printed images that are overworked and embellished in paint. Sometimes he turns stills into cardboard models, creating a kind of mini film set, tangible, with shifting light and relative scale.

It is the disfiguration of the faces that I am interested in. The faces look as if they have been represented originally in a realistic way, however the expressive vigorous way in which he then disfigures these, creates a sense of identity, or lack of. The expressive marks create a feeing of struggle, discomfort, and pain, and something I wish to represent in my work. The chiaroscuro style of these paintings also enhances a dramatic overall tone.

20. Lou Ros

In an interview with Lou Ross, he explains how he is interested in “letting the viewer imagine their own end” in a painting. He explains how he is interested in the doing of nothing, instead of doing just average stuff. He often leaves areas of his paintings undefined, with other areas detailed and precise. For me I find that his paintings suggest a narrative, where by he puts his figures in a space of ‘wherever’. There appears to be strong definite suggestions of location or a surrounding environment, yet the loose painterly marks, the rubbing and dripping of paint leaves sections with a sense of ambiguity, a place where by the viewer can use his own imagination to “fill in the blanks”. In terms of technique, I find the clash of realism and abstraction helps to create a sense of uncertainty, and forces the viewer to fully engage with the piece, too think or his or her self.

 

22. Ken Currie

Deeply affected by political and humanitarian events in Easter Europe, Currie  depicts decaying an damaged bodies as a response to what he felt was the sickness of contemporary society. Curries paintings remain primarily concerned with the human condition even though many of the images dealing with, for example metaphysical questions do not feature figures a human presence is nevertheless always suggested. His paintings are all very chiaroscuro in nature, and almost traditional in many respects, but he creates a sense of Mortality, suffering and an almost ghostly, peaceful yet painful feeling within his painted subjects. I find the painting where by he uses a reflective surface interesting, although often the refection is not true to the subject, pushing this ghostly eerie quality that is so dominant in his work. The pale tones in which he paints his figures also enhances that sense of mortality in his subjects.

I couldn’t help but notice a resemblance of the Pale Man,that features in the film Pans Labyrinth. Firstly the pale fleshy colours distill the same sense of humanness and morality as in Kens work. The figure is skinny, with bones showing through the flesh and stretched skin, suggestive of malnourishment. I also find the ambiguous nature of the head itself very intriguing. The figure has an uncanny resemblance to a human, yet the flat nose and no eyes gives rise to a rather a different creature.

 

23. Rezi van Lankveld

 

I found this artists work very interesting in terms of technique. Van Lankveld’s paintings present Old Masterish compositions which appear, just barely, as blurry phantasms. The artist pours paint onto flat wooden slabs, moves the paint around with her fingers and pallet knifes, until an image emerges. The viewer is forced to use what suggestions might be present, and form an image out of that. Ive been drawn to images where by the human figure is its main subject. The paintings strike a note of sadness and, despite the copious amount of paint they bear, appear understated and refined. Due to the contrast in light and darkness within these muddy tonal paintings, there seem elements of Chiaroscuro, and the painterly scenes of times of hardship and illness amongst what appear to be close family members or loved ones.

 

24. Maria Lassing

 

 

Lone figures typically occupy Maria Lassnig’s paintings, often partially disfigured or abstracted and in the midst of all kinds of unspeakable mental and emotional trauma. Many are chilling, fleshy self-portraits. In one a plastic bag covers her head, in another she holds a gun up to her temple. What i find unusual, and different from the other artist I have looked at, is the colour choice. Unlike the chiaroscuro style paintings I have looked at before, which seem to evoke the already morbid tone of the pieces, her colour she uses are bright, pastel and what some might call happy colours. It is perhaps this clash that makes these paintings so stirring and unusual. Her approach to her subject matter is full on. There is a lack of subtlety that makes the paintings perhaps a bit daunting at first glance.

 

25. Jens Hesse

 

The German born artists Jesse Hesse uses the flickering of erratic disturbed signals of an old analog televisions as his inspiration and runs with this idea in multiple directions. He applies photo realism to multiple kinds of image, distorted through both analog and digital means all incorporating a certain degree of randomness. The results seem to be an eerily familiar reflection of our real life experience in a media saturated world. He occasionally uses subject matter that stands in direct comparison to famous images from art history. His paintings of the pope recall the horrifically distorted image by Francis Bacon which was in turn a direct reference to Velazquez. Its a bold comparison to make but this approach to image interpretation certainly has its points to make. How do we see the world when we spend as much time looking at distorted lo-resolution interpretations of it as we do looking at the world itself. The “randomness” of the erratic blurred lines also to me give reference to lifes randomness it-self. I also gather a sense of, or perhaps a lack of identity or belonging in the paintings. The lines might represent a sense of misplace or  uncertainty in the painted subject.

 

26. Glenn Brown

Borrowing from art history and popular culture, Glenn Brown transforms a familiar visual history into something extraordinary and alien. Paintings by Rembrandt, Fragonard, Salvador Dalí, Frank Auerbach and many others, including the illustrators for science fiction novels, have all been used by the artist as starting blocks. Yet it is not original paintings that Brown turns to for inspiration but reproductions – images printed on postcards, in books or digitised on the internet.

Brown is fascinated by how an image changes when it is reproduced. Often cropped, its scale shifts as it is transferred to a new format. Texture is lost and colour distorted as the inaccuracies of the printing process take hold. Brown adopts these various accidental alterations as painterly strategies, grossly exaggerating them to question what it is to paint and to transfer people, places and objects into this medium. In his work, naturalistic colour becomes putrid or kitsch, figures are elongated and enlarged into the grotesque, flesh grows or begins to rot and heavy impasto brush marks, painstakingly copied, are rendered completely flat.

 

27. Marlene Dumas

Marlene DUMAS Pour qui sonne le glas 2008 huile sur toile 100×90

 

Marlene Dumas is one of the most prominent painters working today. Her intense, psychological charged works explore themes of sexuality, love death, and shame, often referencing art history, popular culture and current affairs – themes you can explore through related events. ‘Second Hand images’, as she says, ‘can generate first hand emotion’. She never paints directly from life, yet life in all its complexity is right there on the canvas. Her subjects are drawn from both public and personal references and include her daughter and herself, as well as recognisable faces such as Amy Winehouse, Naomi Campbell, Princess Dian and even Osama bin Laden. The results are often intimate and at times controversial, where politics become erotic, and portrai become political. She plays with the imagination of her viewers, their preconceptions and fears.

 

28. Philip Akkerman

The self-portrait takes up an extraordinary position in most artists’ oeuvres. Traditionally they are rare depictions of the state of an artist at a certain point in its life. For Akkermans however, his self is his sole subject. Using all the means the history of art has to offer him he paints his current condition, over and over again. Allowing us to follow his interior and exterior transformations, Akkermans works can be seen as both a visual diary and a momento mori.

Already certain of his subject, Akkerman is free to focus on his technique. Almost methodically he recreates the image of himself using the wealth of painterly techniques made available through the whole of arts’ history. Ranging in style from hyperrealism to abstraction and the intentionally naïve, his portraits display as much of himself as they do of art itself. The ageing of man and art are combined into a philosophical collage of forms.

At this point in his career, Akkerman has no need for a mirror. The general shape of his own figure has become the instinctive starting point for his exploration of the styles of his artistic predecessors. Still, after thousands of self-portraits he persists to discover himself.

Although I am interested in the various ways in which he paints, and how he uses multiple methods and styles in one image, it is his persistence in self discovery that fascinates me.  This in many ways relates to this idea of existentialism that I am exploring. We all know what we look like, we look at a reflection of ourselves almost every day yet we, or some, still struggle to truly discover or define ourselves in society.

 

 

29. Elke Rehder

 

The living of ones life is infinitely less deterministic than, for example, placing a voltage across a resistive element to cause light emission. Complex systems, like the global weather, societies, human interactions are examples of such. The Butterfly effect, of meteorologist Edward Lorenz, (chaos theory), exemplifies this where even tiny changes in the initial conditions can cause hugely amplified outputs – like a butterfly flapping its wings in Mexico could cause a hurricane in China. Human life seems both fairly predicable on the one hand, where my neighbour will leave his house at 0830 every workday to go to his school, but on the other hand, there seems to be no way to predict, which day he will sell his house, die, or next kiss someone. In this sense, and at one level, life seems a board game, where outcomes depends on exactly how a dice is thrown. It is impossible to predict with absolute accuracy how a dice will fall. With the game of Chess, there is more control over the outcomes, but even then, every move or decision, can bring unexpected advantages and disadvantages, resulting in sacrifices that must be made, but with new experiences and knowledge to be assimilated. Both the wins and losses are accepted, one grows stronger or wiser, ones initial loss equally contributes to ones added strength. Most of life is like this; one learns from failure – the infant falls, it hurts, it stands up, and repeats to process until it does not fall. Failure is good. This is why I am attracted to the imagery of board games. The German artist, Elke Rehder, uses the imagery of chess boards in some of her works, where she uses the words of Boris Spassky, “Chess is like life”. The Royal Game (or Chess Story), by the Austrian, Stefan Zweg, and for which Redher made woodcuts, expands on how, through total isolation by national Socialists, the monarchist Dr. B. is driven insane by his attempts to become a supreme chess player (by absorbing every conceivable move in a book on the subject of chess), and manages to separate his psyche in to two (Black and white) personas, which causes his ultimate breakdown. These, and other psychological implications of the use of game boards as components of my language, provide attractive space-scape on which I can place figures, sometimes lost and bewildered, sometimes having found themselves. There are also hierarchies of power in chess (e.g. pawn, bishop, Queen, King), from which one can draw analogies to human societies and the impact on individuals.

 

 

 

 

---