tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31845257621884083392024-03-04T22:54:30.388-08:00carl smith paintings and art reviews europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-1438529090088013302018-08-10T09:36:00.001-07:002018-08-10T09:36:23.222-07:00"Source Material" William T. Carson and Rebecca Rothfus Harrell Camiba Art<h1 style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 24pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 9pt; text-size-adjust: auto;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial Black", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Source Material</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Black", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></h1>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial Black", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">William T. Carson and Rebecca Rothfus Harrell<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial Black", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Camiba Art, Austin, Texas 07.14.18</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial Black", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I love two person shows that are high contrast. And nothing I have seen recently could be more high contrast than rock coal art next to flat, 1970s style minimal abstraction works.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What I love about Carson’s work is his dedication to composition. Though the pieces are coal bits of various sizes glued to wood, they somehow are formed into concise compositions with the same push/pull and tension/release you’d find in any good abstract painting. The fact there is no color just highlights Carson’s excellent skills as a visual artist. Being able to use new materials with traditional techniques are what many of us art fans live for. His connection to coal seems profound, and the care and love with which he made these pieces comes across. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Harrell’s flat, laborious work stood out from Carson’s in that there were essentially no textures, this of course highlights the picture plane in a traditional way all paint heads love.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Her colors are light lending to the flatness of her forms & were varied but expect no bio morphism or improvisation from her work. The lines are drawn intentionally and patiently, slowly, extremely planned. I tend to find this boring but I can appreciate what it takes to be able to compose slowly on a flat surface and in the end the compositions work. Some of her pieces seem to have at times multiple light sources but this fact was taken apart by the forms. No gloss or sheen took away from the flatness of Harrell’s work. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I would absolutely call Harrell’s work drawings, but yeah there is gouache (I think?) but the forms are defined with pencil (I think?). IDK, I have seen her work for years in various formats large and small over the years and I think these are good pieces but I also enjoy contrasts in a single work when possible; a circle or texture that creates a dialogue (I hate that word though). I was reminded of the art genre Rayonism (look it up) and the emphasis on light rays in that genre of painting. Harrell, if she has seen someone like Natalia Goncharova’s work, would have simplified and condensed that influence into more concise forms, shapes from nature that were like placing a magnifying glass over the coal in Carson’s pieces (though there are no straight lines in nature). </span><span style="color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Camiba @ Flatbed space is not huge and this helped to make the works in the space intimate. None of the pieces were particularly large in scale nor did they need to be. Camiba has a knack for presenting clean, often minimal art shows, and they are always tasteful and never onerhung. Having seen some of their recent shows I think this two-person show stands out as one of their best primarily due to the high contrast nature of the two artists. I hope we can see more top-notch curating/shows like this in the future in Austin.</span></div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-39976317132775953052016-06-14T12:58:00.001-07:002016-06-14T13:23:36.756-07:00“100 Views” Kevin McNamee-Tweed, Lower Left / Studium Gallery, Austin, Texas 5.27.16 Art show review by Carl Smith<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
“100 Views” Kevin McNamee-Tweed, Lower Left / Studium Gallery, Austin, Texas 5.27.16<u></u><u></u></div>
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Art show review by Carl Smith</div>
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All good art takes intention, focused study, hard work and a ton of time spent consistently honing<u></u><u></u></div>
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and slowly chipping away at a personal way to make unique images. You also have to <span style="font-size: 12pt;">be honest about how you feel and what you like. Then, you have to be brave enough to share it </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">with the world. Once you get to the bottom of that, you begin to work towards good image </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">making. I think Kevin has done this necessary work. I like these </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">images not because they are masterpieces, but mostly because they aren’t. </span></div>
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Limitations are a big problem for all artists. Kevin claims “I was never a great <span style="font-size: 12pt;">drawer and when it comes to canvas my handicap is exponentially greater” but I would disagree </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">with his statement. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">To make works like these, you have to able to draw and paint well. You have to be able </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">to connect your thoughts and emotions to your weird arm and hand that the brain tells </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">to make art. This is not as easy as it sounds. People who get to this place should be celebrated </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">more often than they are.</span></div>
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Kevin is also a curator which explains his very organized and not overhung feel for his <span style="font-size: 12pt;">show. The gallery space was wide open with plenty of room to get back from the images. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">These pieces looked good under any light. There was no glazing or </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">varnishing of the works and the soft washiness of the works helped lend to their homey-</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">ness. The canvas was </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">rough; a thicker density than what we often see for paintings. This gave weight to the themes: </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">land, moons, trees and hillsides. I counted eleven of these </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">works. Kevin says that he has made seventy-one of these landscapes, and this type of repetition </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">can </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">seem like an exercise in </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“lunacy” to the non-artist, but I think this is how a lot of good art gets made. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Sometimes it’s the only way to get to the bottom of the image you really want.</span></div>
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In the notes to Kevin’s show (which were beautifully constructed by the way) Kevin said it was<u></u><u></u></div>
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okay to ignore the not painted aspects of his show. <span style="font-size: 12pt;">I did this because I wanted to see the paintings,</span></div>
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but it was hard to completely ignore the sculpture garden. <span style="font-size: 12pt;">It was difficult to ignore Landon O’Brien’s “Not Titled </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(rusty chain rack)” made with a chain, some rebar, a grill and a motor slowly </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">and annoyingly (in a good way) spinning and grinding against the pavement. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This was a really cool piece that was understated </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">like the paintings. But the vibrating bamboo piece freaked me out a little bit. A giant shaking </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">bamboo limb somehow hints at a man-made machine that terrorizes innocent plants.</span></div>
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In the end I can’t fully explain how these other sculptures related to Kevin’s paintings, but they did.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Everything fit together<u> </u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">and worked. Nothing tried too hard, nothing in the show committed too much. That the whole </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">show clung together says a lot for the creative mind of Kevin and his friends. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I love art that can feel and seem soft and subtle, not hitting you over the head with how it was </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">made but just giving you a nice, clean experience. You have to switch your thinking to enjoy this t</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">ype of work, in the same way that you have to readjust any time you transition from the city </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">to say a nature setting. Art offers this type of slowness and acceptance of the truth that life is not </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">most of the things we make ourselves do on a daily basis.</span></div>
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What else can I say? Kevin is a good artist. He set up a good show with like-<span style="font-size: 12pt;">minded talent and Austin needs more of these shows, in my opinion. Austin also needs to support </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">these movers and shakers and doers when they stick their necks out like this so they don’t move </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">away. They are essential to making Austin what it is; a haven for creative or lost people.</span></div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-9021718059422309902015-12-30T12:58:00.004-08:002015-12-30T12:58:41.423-08:00Carl Smiths third solo art show at Imagine Art reviewed by Carl Smith<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Carl Smiths third solo art show at Imagine Art reviewed by Carl Smith<u></u><u></u></div>
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Carl Smiths third solo show at Imagine Art in Austin, Texas December 2015 titled “Mountains, Valleys, Peaks, Trees, Farms, etc.” was not breaking down any painting walls. But these pieces were solidly painted, constructed simply and succinctly with a hint at abstraction and painterly objectivity in their execution.<u></u><u></u></div>
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There were around thirteen of the landscapes in acrylic on canvas, affordably priced and varied in size from around two feet square to six feet square, so yes there was a nice diversity in the sizes. The color planes representing triangular hillsides were colored and outlined in a somewhat obvious way with black lines, not too long but not too short, and I can see how this type of structure in a painting can offer an opportunity for improvisation and action-oriented execution. Acrylic paint may have many faults but sometimes the viscosity seems to help to freeze a certain velocity that Carl may have been shooting for here. Every piece had an obvious layer of blue sky at the top which would be annoying were it not for what was underneath; varied and diverse compositions combining different color combinations making for a pleasing viewing experience. One piece (the first one to sell I saw) was a nice monotone black, white and gray color combination while some employed other three to four color family groupings like pink, brown and green. Some pieces would have made for great triptychs (especially the six which were three by three feet square) on their own but the pieces were not obviously grouped together in that way. Around four of the pieces broke away from specific color families and used more of an “all the colors” type of execution which made for colorful passages and solid compositional painting.<u></u><u></u></div>
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I guess if you like mountains and abstract landscape paintings you would like this show. Nothing new or challenging was presented here but these works are good and exhibited a short (six months was the amount of time Carl was making these pieces) and fun jaunt through a small aspect of Carl Smith’s always expanding game.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Watch a video of the show here =<u></u><u></u></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6667px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">https://www.facebook.com/832238210/videos/10153757398483211/</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.carlsmith29.wix.com/arts" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.carlsmith29.wix.com/arts</a><u></u><u></u></div>
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<a href="http://www.imagineart.net/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.Imagineart.net</a></div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-38116031725369844632015-12-28T12:50:00.002-08:002015-12-28T12:51:01.867-08:00wherein i write about 2 of may favorite painters <div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Two of my favorite painters both live in New York but have very different mentalities about image making. Brian Rutenberg comes as pretty and decorative as they can while still somehow being realistic, creative and abstract. Peter Maslow's work is urban and sketchy, dingy and raw yet both artists have many similarities that put them on the same team, using like-minded processes to get very different results.<u></u><u></u></div>
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If you want to know about Brian Rutenberg it’s all out there. Just go to youtube and watch some of his studio visits; he gets really deep into who he is, how he feels and why he does what he does. Explained succinctly and directly he is educated with a capital E, and ready to paint. He has been making art forever and has had a very successful career. Much of what you would want to know about him as an artist is on the internet, like a Tom Brokaw of his own inner-world of image making, reporting a lot (too much?) from begin to end. I watch these every day and I always learn something new about art and the south and New York and how to be a good person (another damn smiley face emoticon from me, when will these go away by the way?).<u></u><u></u></div>
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Peter Maslow? Not so much with the youtube. There is a video someone made a long time ago about him but the vids are broken up into tiny chunks for some reason and we only get a glimpse into his world but it’s enough for me. All I want to know is where he is from, how hard he works, and the rest is in the paintings. I got to say Peter is my favorite painter ever. His work comes from a love of drawing, de Kooning, and the colors are bruised and urban and quite scary but contrasts extremely well with all the other art ever made. I would never want to paint the way he does but his process comes from a very personal place; the 1980s, subways, architecture, Polish landscapes, graffiti, and a New York most of us can’t deal with. The colorful gallery friendly slick thick oil paintings of Brian’s aim to please in the best of ways but I prefer a blue-collar goombah’s paintings any day.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Both artists received Fulbrights (Brian in 1997 and Peter in 1999) both went to odd Euro lands with the prizes (Ireland and Poland, respectively) and both came back from those experiences changed forever. Brian came back and went deeper into an atmospheric, hazy environ while Peter came back and saw dark greens and flak towers, yes, flak towers, where soldiers fought and killed from the tops of during WWII. In my mind, it gets no darker in painting than a flak tower but the city can also hold the same fear for me; anything can happen in a small, crowded city/apartment and often does. There are a million stories and all that. Peter’s color scheme leaves me quite sad, but he is working from a place he knows all too well and the hard work he knows first-hand on a daily basis (he is a contractor by trade) shows up in his giant pieces. His works are constructed, patiently, with experience, like buildings, with a direct architecture that is loose but still solid as rock. There is only one way out in Peter’s worlds and that is to fight up and over on a daily basis. If this is the type of person you are, and you practice over a long period of time putting that kind of effort in your paintings, it will no doubt show up there and be good. It’s hard to explain exactly how and why this is but a trained art eye will spot it in a second; Peter is a master artist who fought hard and long over many years to get to the bottom of the work he is making and it’s all paid off.<u></u><u></u></div>
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So my heart is with Peter, but my brain says Brian is on equal footing though in a decidedly different way. A career as a professional artist also requires a path few can handle; the art world is super tough with fragile egos and monster trend swings that will dismay and confuse any human. Brian has navigated this for decades and that strength comes from a specific place that is beautiful, wrought with an eccentric and scarred history, but always satisfies in the end. Brian’s art seems to come from everything natural like weather and water and a love of everything art history has to offer. Much painting today is made this way; a mish mash of styles and techniques and only the best of the best can make it all work together in a painting. Believe me when I say that Brian’s way of painting is very difficult and requires everything of an artist. Brian also represents a southern way of thinking; extremely odd but honest and humorous and loyal, maybe to a fault. Peter on the other hand represents a worker of the highest order; someone who could build or fix anything, and build it perfectly, efficiently and somewhat happily and with supreme confidence. South and north ya’ll, there is still a difference.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Both artists make total use of fictive space in an original and unique way developing super imaginative worlds that you can get very lost in. This results in highly personal and unique paintings. One is coming from nature and the other from the city (and some nature). Both guys are large dudes and both are trustworthy, honest, for the good and hard working. Both in my opinion have forged their own paths in a world and history of men and women dead set on being exactly who they are and not much more (see Americans, Abstract Expressionism, etc.) and magically wrangling that vision into a singular way of image making. Maybe they have not changed the world of painting but they have pushed it forward, even if just a small bit and that is enough. <u></u><u></u></div>
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<a href="http://petermaslow.net/paintings/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://petermaslow.net/<wbr></wbr>paintings/</a><u></u><u></u></div>
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<a href="http://brianrutenbergart.com/studio/paintings.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://brianrutenbergart.com/<wbr></wbr>studio/paintings.html</a></div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-40395973928718609492015-07-09T12:45:00.002-07:002015-07-09T12:45:05.649-07:00Carl Smith’s second solo show at Little Pink Monster Gallery 2015<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Carl Smith’s second solo show at Little Pink Monster Gallery ran for a little over a week. The show had around nineteen pieces on view, mostly abstract paintings on canvas and some smaller works on paper. About one-third of the show was paintings made with mostly spray paint. The largest was a spray-painted sixty-five inch square work on canvas and this one had a different, perhaps better sense of scale and execution than the other works. Some of these spray-painted works edged closer to pure abstraction but still missed in my opinion.<u></u><u></u></div>
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It’s hard to say whether or not the show was good. I mean there were some good works in the show and some were clunkers of course, but mostly I saw an artist struggling for a voice and searching for a unique way to make paintings. Landscape is about has simple a point of reference has you can get but can also be a template for exploring bigger artistic ideas. This seems to be the case with Carl. I wrote this in my last review, I’ll say it again; I think Carl is on the path to finding a voice but is not quite there.<u></u><u></u></div>
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I think the art world is full of very weird ideas about how art should be made. Artists are sometimes lazy and occasionally lie about how good their art is and how much it is worth. For all of Carl’s faults I will say he is attempting to be honest about who he is and where he is in his development. And I must say I find this refreshing. This behavior ensures nothing but could lead to something and if it does it will be hard won and earned.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Another positive in this show was the sales prices. Nothing is more annoying than an artist who overvalues themselves and their work and has absolutely no reservations expressing this in the sales price of their art. Please, seriously consider if your art is good, artists. Is it really worth thousands and thousands of dollars? Please keep in mind the world is watching and art history is brutal.<u></u><u></u></div>
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I am not surprised to see few people taking on the challenge of abstract painting but the ones who do seem to fall into a life of mystery and confusion searching for and dealing with the true meaning of creation. Humans are probably not meant to know the entire truth about creation. What would humans do with that information? If politicians could create planets would they use that power for good? I have my doubts, but if you do decide to paint and try to find a voice in that you can rest assured you probably won’t get too far in life. If you are lucky, really lucky, you will push painting forward a tiny bit but you will be judged for it and you will be excruciatingly questioned and ostracized.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Also, know that if you do find a voice you will probably get very far away from being able to make a dollar. I have not worked out the math on this but I know there is a correlation between how creative you are and how unlikely it will be that you will be able to make money. Paint breasts, cattle, and longhorns but by no means try to be yourself unless you want to live alone in a world of pain. You’ll make few friends and decrease the odds you’ll sell art to people who are mostly looking for ease and comfort in their imagery.<u></u><u></u></div>
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The artists that lie about their abilities and hide their limitations will always win the day. The artists that claim to be gods when they are not will make it difficult for artists with simple goals to survive at the most basic of levels. I see this all the time and nothing makes me sadder than good artists who are honest and kind getting steamrolled by people who can only think in short-term/high-dollar terms.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Hopefully Carl sees a good day in his future with some fairness and empathy.</div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-8243944167992143792015-01-06T12:30:00.001-08:002015-01-06T12:30:26.780-08:00“Counterpoint Paintings” by Carl Smith at Imagine Art Texas Review by Carl Smith December 2014<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
“Counterpoint Paintings” by Carl Smith at Imagine Art Austin, Texas<u></u><u></u></div>
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Art Show Review by Carl Smith December 2014<u></u><u></u></div>
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Carl Smith’s first solo show took place not in a gallery, but ... what I think was an artspace? Although there was ample parking and space for the work, when I entered the place, I was not totally sure where exactly I was. No wine. No champagne. Non-alcoholic art openings are not my idea of a fun time. Perhaps Carl is in Alcoholics Anonymous or something. There were snacks, so ... you know ... there's always that.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Anyway, on to the art review. Around sixteen pieces: all painted in series (I will give them that). Most are on canvas, but there are some works on paper (and I was glad to see those framed and matted -- I have been to more than one art show in Austin where the paper works are blowing in the wind whenever the front door opens). The sizes are standard and not too large with the biggest around six foot square and the smallest down to a two foot square.<u></u><u></u></div>
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The title of the show was “Counterpoint Paintings” and there was some wordy over explained description on the wall of what that meant, but I had art to look at so I skipped that stuff. It was nice to see some red dots -- meaning some works actually sold (which seems to be necessary if an artist is going to make any attempts to produce more work).<u></u><u></u></div>
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All the titles make references to “Counterpoint” so the works are essentially untitled. The bigger pieces are the weakest in the show. The materials used look like the kind of stuff you would use to paint a cinder block in your garden. There are some interesting contrasts between the spray paint, glitter and acrylic paint, but I did not see completely developed compositions. I am not sure how long Carl has been painting, but he may not be ready for the bigger stuff yet. Seeing the low quality of the paint used across a big surface emphasizes the acrylic paint’s cheapness, and makes the work and style unconvincing.<u></u><u></u></div>
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His 3x3 pieces are a little closer to what you would want to see in abstract art. Carl seems to be right in the early stages of putting together a style. His colors are bright and every piece has pink in it, which gives the works a light, pastel quality. He more often uses the cheaper quality paint along with spray paint to make the background forms, and there is almost none of the real luminosity to the colors that you would find in a standard oil painting. None of the works at the show were varnished, but I doubt that would help Carl’s case anyway.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Some of the smaller 2x2 pieces look better, and show a talent for drawing but the background forms seemed rushed together. The line work has more of a deeper darker color palette and higher quality of paint, and there is a sense of improvisation to some of the works. But this still does not make for consistent high quality image making. There are pretty, standard references to abstract-expressionism in these works and maybe even abstract landscape painting (though even those influences are not really pulled off all that effectively).<u></u><u></u></div>
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Abstract painting went out of fashion in the 1970s, so what does it really mean to be an abstract painter in 2014? It probably means consistent whining on Facebook about not selling enough art & I note that Carl does have a Facebook page for such whining. A building of confidence would go a long way in Carl’s game and hopefully this is in his future.<u></u><u></u></div>
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All in all, some of the work shows promise, and I think if Carl logs in ten or so more years, then we might see more interesting work. This critic will stay tuned and hope for the best.</div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-82265760126786910052014-12-07T07:27:00.002-08:002014-12-07T07:27:42.959-08:00online art interview 12.2014 with Carl Smith <div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Self
taught or art school? </span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Self taught, I have taken some night classes around
Austin though and I took all the public school art classes I could. I studied
Accounting in college and have worked for the IRS since 2007. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If you could own one
work of art what would it be? </span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Probably a mid 1970s de Kooning; one of his
landscapes. Untitled XII from 1975 is my favorite painting, ever. There is also
Rosy-Fingered Dawn at Louse Point, that was a little earlier. One of those. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">How would you describe
your style? </span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Abstract landscapes. I am influenced by abstract expressionism a
lot, but I am trying to get away from the aggressive mark making and just
paint. All my work comes from a landscape position and a practice of making
those. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What are your
favourite places to view art? </span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I live in Austin, so there aren’t to many places
to see art so I try to go to my friend’s art shows when I can. The internet is
a great way to get exposed to new imagery, of course its limited but I do my
best. Houston is great, the Menil collection rules and the Art Car Museum
always has good shows. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Who are your favourite
artists and why? </span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #3d3d3d;">So there is this dude in Brooklyn Peter Maslow who makes these
weird abstract urban landscape type works. His paintings make sense and are
constructed logically and intentionally. He also draws well and somehow gets
that into the work but not in a forceful way. The colors are toned down a lot
but his art makes sense. I mean, he’s not an old master </span><span style="color: #3d3d3d; line-height: 23.8pt;">but his paintings have helped me a lot to make
sense of the paintings I am trying to make. I like artists like that; that
don’t hide their limitations or their feelings. Basquiat is another one. De
Kooning of course.</span></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What or who inspires
your art? </span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I think its wanting to feel empowered or make sense of my limited
life. Painting has helped me come to terms with what I am and has helped me to
have a place to be myself. So I try to get inspired by the work I have made and
I try to work in a way that pushes forward what I am capable of. I have a good
idea of what I can not do, and that’s a huge list, but I try to own my
limitations and live within them. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Where’s your studio
and what’s it like? </span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In 2008 I built a 8x12’ studio to paint in about 30 feet
from the back of my main house, which is really small, like 830 sq ft or
something. It’s a small space which sucks but I really can do anything in there
without worrying about making a mess. That has become a big part of my process
and I have found trouble trying to paint anywhere else. It has taken years to
set it up so I can use it all quickly. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Do you have any studio
rituals? </span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Nope, I just go in and go for it. I am always under the gun time wise
so I just get as much done as I can before I have to go back to work again. Its
really messy. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What are you working
on currently? </span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I am using spray paint a lot more, mostly like an under painting
and using the contrast of that to brush stroke to create some color
perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Where can we buy your
art? </span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My website is carlmsith29.wix.com/arts but Facebook works better. I show
all around Austin but am looking for more internet sales always. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 23.8pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What are your
ambitions?<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Somehow get to the place where I can paint full time. I am
always trying to get better as a painter and learn more about composing an image.
Its all about composition. </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-13706969803390448362014-11-17T13:23:00.002-08:002014-11-17T13:23:48.114-08:00Farrell Brickhouse: Recent Paintings at Life on Mars Gallery NYC<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Farrell Brickhouse: Recent Paintings at Life on Mars Gallery<u></u><u></u></div>
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Farrell Brickhouse might have one of the best names for a painter ever. His recent show of paintings and prints is understated yet bold. The buildup of paint and understated complexity of his compositions lull and charm you into a friendly yet kind world full of lush brushstrokes and beautiful images.<u></u><u></u></div>
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His surfaces are built up in very unique ways through a multi-layering of thick oil paint and many repeated passes over a long period of time. A process this timely might become lost on new generations of painters who do everything fast and then faster. He also seems to find the most interesting surfaces to paint on. Glitter is used on almost all the pieces, while never overused.<u></u><u></u></div>
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The oil paint used in these pieces hold light in place and do a lot of the work for the painter. One of his builder series pieces has blocks of color built inches off the canvas. A strange mouse hangs out and away from the surface standing next to a vertical Tetris of colored squares. The build up toward the bottom of the piece helps give more gravity and volume to the work. I am convinced these pieces would not look good on a grand scale and Farrell has learned to use these smaller spaces confidently and humbly.<u></u><u></u></div>
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“Guys Moving Wood II” is a painting where the title says it all. This is my favorite piece in the show and it reminds me of a video game where guys grouped in threes and fours happily carry brown rectangles back and forth across a muted background. This piece is musical and rhythmic in a way that is emblematic of a painter who loves painting and celebrates his subjects with joy.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Little feet hang from the top of the piece and though it is a horizontal piece, it references a vertical continuation of the subjects. Some of the men have little hats which I love. Saying these are cute should not belittle Farrell’s efforts; art can be many things at once.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Like many abstract painters who reference recognizable subjects in their work, Farrell has developed a language system very much his own. His way of painting looks childlike at first but draws you in as you see only a skilled painter could.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Abstract Expressionism showed a large and emotional way of image making that was necessary at the time but may not be so true now. How Farrell could make these small works look so convincing makes me rethink what successful painting is.<u></u><u></u></div>
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It’s great to see late career painters revitalizing their careers via social media outlets. Facebook is turning out to be a new tool for artists and this may be the sad future for them. Gallerists also are going to have to use these new outlets to promote themselves to sell their work. Self-advocacy won’t get easier for artists but will become absolutely necessary and may hopefully shift the art world centers away from places where there is little economic diversity.</div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-26442096285465434142014-11-03T12:12:00.003-08:002014-11-03T12:12:50.121-08:00Brian Rutenberg “Saltwater” Forum Gallery, N.Y.C. Art Review 10.30.2014<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Brian Rutenberg “Saltwater” Forum Gallery, N.Y.C. Art Review <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_633417252" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">10.30.2014-12.06.2014</span></span><u></u><u></u></div>
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Enveloped in color, these pieces draw you into a unique world. The back and forth of light and shadow suck you straight to the back of these works and leave you cold and wet. Then you get shot back to the front where it is gray and dry. Your brain is kind of mush as the reality of what a landscape can be melts and shifts your gaze forcing you to see the world in an entirely new way. These works also reference a tradition of painstaking artistry that takes decades to wrangle and also includes a disciplined study of centuries of art history. The colors can’t be bought anywhere; they can only be mixed and applied craftily through repeated mistakes, patience, practice and repetition. These works show what some of the most difficult types of work there are look like; the kind that asks everything of your heart and your brain. <u></u><u></u></div>
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A repeating pattern I see in some of the works is a buildup of foreground information to the far right of the pieces. This forced me to view the piece from right to left instead of the usual left to right (one should assume Brian is right-handed). This lead to a kind of reading backwards that helped me reset my view.<u></u><u></u></div>
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“Rivulet” seems to bend from right to left in this way and has a feel of mid-evening. The south is a weird place and the Carolinas seem to have a very diverse range of nature shapes and colors. Is there any other part of the country that has this feel and diversity of plant and color life? Perhaps, but probably not, serious observation of one place and true love of that place has to go into a convincing artistic representation of it. The obsessing over how to say what is being said here does not come to life in that old 10,000 hour-rule adage.<u></u><u></u></div>
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“Mint Light” is the springiest of the works; mostly green but then purple at the bottom. Tons of yellow light peek through the trees then fade back toward right-center. If there are leaves here they are squared off as sections of colored data. The ground comes up from the left and the horizon line could be where the trees meet the ground or could be higher. Abstraction and realism collide head on in a way that satisfies and also confuses if you are looking for the usual friendly hints that occupy most landscape paintings. This is what good painting is; taking things that are old like painting and landscapes and using new techniques and fearless experimentation to present art in a new way.<u></u><u></u></div>
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“Spell” is a five foot vertical piece that pulls you back, and I mean way back from the front of the piece. The piece has just a couple of shots of yellow near the top left that shed light over the whole blueness of the piece. The heavy bottom juts out and it is sometimes difficult to determine what a tree is and what a shadow is. Like in cubism, both a shaded and a light side seem to exist in the same vertical plane. Then here they fade back as your eye goes up and away into the piece.<u></u><u></u></div>
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I am partial to the horizontal pieces and “Fringetree” has a beautiful slanting horizon line. The colors here are totally obsessed over. Some are purely saturated but then gradated and blended up and down. The bottom of this piece seems to be more in the middle and a gradation from the bottom left using purples and pinks gives the whole thing a sense of fog and displacement.<u></u><u></u></div>
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“Clover” has a milky atmospheric top and just under that to the right center are orange blades of grass (?) that dance around for about two-thirds of the piece. This has more of a definite bottom and a solid left side with black and reds that help to define the foreground. This part contrasts perfectly the way a landscape does and has a satisfying not overworked quality.<u></u><u></u></div>
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These pieces for me embody a very unique way to paint; one that looks backward to a long history of using everything possible to make a convincing piece of art. It also looks back to a history of abstraction in painting that is still figuring itself out and seeks relevancy in a world dominated by technological advances. But these pieces have everything you want in a painting and an art form: color, confidence, composition and a process that is complicated, unique and hard fought for over a long period of time. Yes, these pieces are highly decorative but also possess a dedication and perseverance needed to make good paintings that stand alone, stand the test of time and find a place in the history of painting making.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Please go to<u></u><u></u></div>
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<a href="http://forumgallery.com/exhibition/brian-rutenberg-saltwater-october-30-december-6-2014/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://forumgallery.com/<wbr></wbr>exhibition/brian-rutenberg-<wbr></wbr>saltwater-october-30-december-<wbr></wbr>6-2014/</a><u></u><u></u></div>
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to see the paintings. Forum also has a new eyeglass viewer to look at detailed parts of the pieces.</div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-68826834163200880182014-09-20T08:29:00.000-07:002014-09-20T08:29:03.439-07:00“About Thirteen Hundred People, About One Hundred Rocks, and Thirty More People” Drawings and sculpture by Russell Etchen<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;">“About Thirteen Hundred People, About One
Hundred Rocks, and Thirty More People”</span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br />
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<span style="background: white;">Drawings and sculpture by</span></span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/russelletchen"><span style="color: #3b5998; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Russell Etchen</span></a></span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br />
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<span style="background: white;">Friday, September 19, 2014</span><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Test-Tube/589783391105950"><span style="color: #3b5998; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Test Tube</span></a></span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;">at</span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TilleryPark"><span style="color: #3b5998; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Tillery Park</span></a></span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">801 Tillery Street, Austin, TX USA</span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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So yeah, when someone draws little heads, I kinda think, uh,
not much of it initially. I went to see what was up with this show anyway. Glasstire
put this show in their top five for the week so I was thinking there would be three
hundred or so people there. I was glad when there was not. My very old nose and eyes can only take so many crooked hats, fat laces and weird hipster smells. </div>
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The Test Tube space
is about 8X16’, I think. There were not a ton of pieces on view but that had
nothing to do with the space. I found a perfect amount and variety of works. The
space is well constructed but small. I had no clue what the noise was coming
from inside the space but there was some. The hanging paper heads threw me off
but what really got me were the drawings. I mean, really, I liked these. They
were made with care and love and color. They were also presented in real frames
with real glass and real beveled edge cut matte boards, which in Austin seems
hard to come by these days. </div>
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Again, I was not expecting to be into these. I prefer big
weird paintings that look like nothing real and also look completely obsessed
over but I was happy to find real art in these works. Having to seek the art in
these works made me happy when I found it. Me inaccurately thinking art would
not be in these works taught me something important; I am often a dumb ass
about a great many things. </div>
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Art is weird. Artists are bat-shit crazies. I think they
have to be. They also have to be dedicated and endure the many piles of crap
life throws at them. I think Austin is blessed to have Russell here. He is
determined and honest and works hard. </div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-15463633206705308052014-08-13T12:21:00.001-07:002014-08-13T12:21:42.766-07:00Art show review of Gigi Grinstad’s Noctuary @ Little Pink Monster Gallery August 2014<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.499999046325684px;">
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Gigi Grinstad’s Noctuary & Katie Rose Pipkin’s Six Drawings of Dogs and Rocks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">two person show @</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Little Pink Monster Gallery, <u></u><u></u><u></u>Austin<u></u><u></u>, August 2014</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Over time Little Pink Monster Gallery’s (LPMG) art shows have become increasingly better. Their recent two person show with Gigi Grinstad (GG) and Katie Rose Pipkin (KRP) was a highlight of my art year and made me glad that we are seeing more high quality art shows here in <u></u><u></u>Austin<u></u><u></u>. I have contemplated moving back to <u></u><u></u>New York City<u></u><u></u>, but shows like these make me feel better about being stuck here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Well known around Austin KRP operated a gallery here for some time. Upon graduating from UT she accepted residencies in<u></u>California<u></u>, <u></u>Oregon<u></u>, <u></u>Kansas<u></u> and <u></u><u></u>Minnesota<u></u><u></u> respectively. Was she in the Texas Biennial last year? Yes. And she graced the cover of the Austin Chronicle somewhat recently. Check out her website to experience a diverse range of artistic mediums including twitter bots. I have no clue what those are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">KRP’s intimate and precise drawings complimented Grinstad’s all encompassing installation well. Binder clipped drawings hung from thumbtacks making for a better presentation than framed and matted works behind glass. I loved being drawn into KRP’s finely crafted and cared for world of trees, rocks and dogs. Real love went into these drawings but also style and sensitivity to the medium. Drawing well takes more talent and skill then is sometimes apparent. All the ingredients necessary to make a complete and satisfying image are on display in KRP’s game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">GG is a somewhat new <u></u><u></u>Austin<u></u><u></u> resident and here she has constructed a world full of color, light and imagination. Chicken wire was sculpted into tree like forms extending from grass covered floor to ceiling enveloped with strips of colored paper. I did say grass on the ground and I mean it; sheets of real grass on the floor of the gallery. The LPMG space is not huge and this helped to enclose you in an imagined world full of the external in the internal crafted through the lens of internal artist’s world. I apologize for that last sentence. GG’s paintings also complimented her installation. There were even some abstract paintings on view from her! Or is that a wasp’s nest? I can’t tell anymore, but there was some very interesting structures and nice use of encaustic and oil in her paintings. I hope there are more two person shows like this in our future. Solo shows can get boring quickly and occasionally lack enough variety. Group shows sometimes can be overwhelming and scattered. This was a show that would have easily played well in <u></u>Chelsea<u></u> or <u></u>Brooklyn<u></u>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">My only complaint is I would have loved to see more old people there. Being 39 I am coming to an age where surrounding myself with twenty somethings on the weekend is becoming more and more depressing. LPMG, please find me some old people I can hang around with at these things.</span></div>
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<a href="http://katierosepipkin.com/windows/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">http://katierosepipkin.com/<wbr></wbr>windows/</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.gigigrinstad.com/#!current-works/cay5" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">http://www.gigigrinstad.com/#!<wbr></wbr>current-works/cay5</span></a></div>
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europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-22423439475466551162014-05-16T13:14:00.000-07:002014-05-16T13:14:47.686-07:00Julian Schnabel A View of Dawn in the Tropics: Paintings 1989-1990 Art Show Review <div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">Julian Schnabel <u></u><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">A View of Dawn in the Tropics: Paintings 1989-1990 Gagosian Gallery May 2014<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">Schnabel’s career has been quite controversial and varied thus far, but everything he does centers on his work. I love how in interviews he always redirects you back to his paintings. He obviously cares deeply about painting, the history of it and his place in it. I can’t imagine success at Schnabel’s level can be easy as the art world is well known for ruining lives. It is refreshing to look back at a slice of Schanbel’s contribution to the art world of the late eighties to early nineties and see his success in the work too.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">Schnabel does what many good painters do; he experiments with his materials and surfaces to conjure new imagery in a way that produces art.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">Yes, there is little evidence of the scraping and covering that goes along with an image hard fought for but Schanbel undoubtedly knows his craft and knows when to stop. He has a voice, preferences, and limitations like all artists but works well within that world.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">“Little Later” is my favorite piece in the show. It looks like the piece was painted with a tossed pair of jeans thrown repeatedly across the canvas but you only notice this close up. Getting back a fully formed & colorful piece of abstract art is produced. Darks and lights are placed carefully to make a good composition.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">I am beginning to understand what it means to have claustrophobia, which Schnabel has. Surfing, painting outside, living in a huge pink castle in the middle of <u></u><u></u>New York City<u></u>, moving from <u></u>New York<u></u> to <u></u><u></u>Brownsville<u></u>, <u></u>Texas<u></u><u></u> at age 15 all seem to have an influence on these works.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 10pt;">Modern day painters should consider and reconsider Schnabel’s art. Not enough artists play and mess with their materials and surface the way Schnabel does. Drag a canvas behind your car while driving over a dirt road, then a paved one. Perhaps your next stop to get something to paint on should not involve a 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby.</span></div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-89624273724118460012014-05-02T12:31:00.002-07:002014-05-02T12:31:47.589-07:003 painters I am thinking about <div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">3 painters I am thinking about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">All landscape artists. Each artist’s work results in art that has a unique voice & is full of skill and talent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Allison’s work has a perfect balance of color and linear perspective and direct decision making showing few scars of any doubt or fear. The verticals and horizontals reference the edges of the canvas the piece lives on. This helps to pull you into her landscape and you can’t really be anywhere else. The forms fit perfectly together across a series of works. I imagine it took decades and decades to be able to paint like this, and the pieces seem to be hard won and fought for. Allison must have stared at and considered landscapes way longer than most of us and the work has paid off in an artistic language system that is unique and consistently high quality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><u></u><u></u><u></u>Lynn<u></u><u></u>’s paintings easily shift from realistic to abstract. She can turn the photo lens on her work in and out at any moment to give you a detailed or abstracted view of a landscape that is satisfying and full of joy. This skill embeds it self in the abstracted and the realistic works and it’s beautiful to see the process inherent in both that relates to direct observation. The color palette is decidedly different from Allison’s; more Midwestern maybe with a certain type of light that comes from direct sunlight where Allison’s landscapes seem to have more of the snow’s light in them. The way birch trees are handled says a lot about Lynn & Allison’s work. <u></u><u></u>Lynn<u></u><u></u>’s edges are softer and bear the scars of a drawing practice; lines define edges as opposed to the lines being the forms themselves as is the case with Allison’s work. <u></u><u></u>Lynn<u></u><u></u> outlines the space more organically while Allison’s directness and economy says a lot with less giving the space a certain power found in handwriting and advertising.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Peter’s work seems to struggle with it self a little more than Lynn & Allison’s work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">His palette is decidedly darker and more urban but extremely and surprisingly color-complex. There is no aerial perspective to my eye here. There are just lots of data up front in the space that seems to fights for air within itself. The lines carve out a space that scares and confines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The canvases here are way larger than Allison’s or Lynn’s work in the same way life in New York City engulfs and takes over your psyche more than a landscape in the Midwest or Northeast might. You can hide and run through Peter’s paintings. Hofmann’s statement that “the line originates in the meeting of two planes” is sometimes ignored but then given full value.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Peter’s work reminds you that the world is not a safe place and you are going to have to negotiate and compromise your core values somewhat if you want to survive. You may want to push over an old lady over to get on the subway. Pressure and stress may get the best of you for a bit but you’ll see your way out of it eventually and feel like you have done something good. If god created the landscape in Allison’s & Lynn’s work men and women who work their lives away sculpted the landscape Peter is making. Everything natural is covered by something constructed. The world here is a city that is claustrophobic but absolutely necessary.</span></div>
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<a href="http://allisongildersleeve.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">http://allisongildersleeve.<wbr></wbr>com/</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://lynnuhlmann.com/home.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">http://lynnuhlmann.com/home.<wbr></wbr>html</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://petermaslow.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">http://petermaslow.com/</span></a></div>
europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-7879605209360038722014-03-23T12:46:00.002-07:002014-03-23T12:46:42.432-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.499999046325684px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">“Tallymarks” </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;">Philip Harrell solo show</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;">Big Medium, Bolm Location</span></div>
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<u></u><u></u><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><u></u>Austin<u></u>, <u></u>Texas<u></u></span></span><u></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">February 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">I had no reason to follow a straight path through Philip Harrell’s first solo exhibition at Big Medium. I was initially thrown from piece to piece by contrasting and somewhat conflicting forms and shapes. I then had to go back to the first piece and start again and try to make sense of it in order. Each piece had its own integrity and compositional laws.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Harrell's chunks of paint were stacked and cut in ways I had not seen before, like a tactile map of a place that doesn’t really exist. Brushed and cut with god knows how or with what. There was palette <u>knife</u> work also, and the edges of the canvas jutted out at me, enclosing the space in unique ways. Some of the rectangular shapes in the composition looked like they were ¼” thick strips of beautifully colored tape cut and placed with integrity and intention. I love art that gives you no hints about how it was made and has its own sculpted life protruding from the canvas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">There were references to plasticity in the titles, and Hans Hoffman’s influence seemed instant to me. Rectangles of pure color referenced the total rectangle and created layers of subject matter that certainly pushed and pulled in and out and around the space. The works relate to a tradition and a search that all good abstract artists venture into. I don't know what is taught in art school these days, but I am glad UT is teaching whatever they are teaching and producing artists that create work this good. The many small (10x8”) works that in a larger format would perhaps feel overhung, worked here perfectly and gave the entire show a relatable and full life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><u></u><u></u>Austin<u></u><u></u> has a seriously hard time retaining artists at this skill level but I hope we can see one or two shows more before Philip moves on. Who knows, perhaps <u></u><u></u>Austin<u></u><u></u> will grow to be a great place for artists to have full and lifelong careers. Weirder things have happened.</span></span></div>
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europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-26613904194338402802014-03-23T12:14:00.002-07:002014-03-23T12:14:25.450-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGBNZaCHEMLuqjn4Me_0elfHe1NjUiFlbuXN0Ul1_rb6-r3KNnt3RPoMLUt8ErtuxJvCXrPyqb54mmmgb9tlbX7JTMOeZ8de3pDo1alcGa6kYRzgG8CgDJQIZhByWlhK6VhebqPTfrD8/s1600/1120s.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGBNZaCHEMLuqjn4Me_0elfHe1NjUiFlbuXN0Ul1_rb6-r3KNnt3RPoMLUt8ErtuxJvCXrPyqb54mmmgb9tlbX7JTMOeZ8de3pDo1alcGa6kYRzgG8CgDJQIZhByWlhK6VhebqPTfrD8/s1600/1120s.JPG" height="320" width="254" /></a> painting of IRS tax form 1120S</div>
<br />europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-39175612644997178792014-03-02T09:04:00.002-08:002014-03-02T09:04:16.269-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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yelw lndscpe 22" sq<br />europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-11536510069558102322014-02-25T19:56:00.001-08:002014-02-25T19:56:28.957-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNy4-T2f_nbTJ_AV-AN2XM7G2rasUMufp86enjc0Bs9WEzeYwU13XPJcUspP6esdbErHkgT8zZJMXA4LnojPFkdcO6X0Lt35d-KUWLJ5UOrz4l-2EFCzVXvQq4nLOnhB3mWtAmK3NE_Yc/s1600/asmblge4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNy4-T2f_nbTJ_AV-AN2XM7G2rasUMufp86enjc0Bs9WEzeYwU13XPJcUspP6esdbErHkgT8zZJMXA4LnojPFkdcO6X0Lt35d-KUWLJ5UOrz4l-2EFCzVXvQq4nLOnhB3mWtAmK3NE_Yc/s1600/asmblge4.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
assemblge 4 3x5'<br />europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3184525762188408339.post-77871479566474099342013-03-26T04:04:00.001-07:002013-03-26T04:04:26.170-07:002012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2ycVFn_1DIsoe9X38jd_H6D7osgXDgBDE6JncbacF4VQbNJCg7Dnv56UsWEsg24AQ7NdGnC05PWXtn6DDdudoXo2CzYs86Zor9hWQo9zo0ODuBkYrk7veOdnACapuRR4RD3RDplQ_kI/s1600/sculptrI.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2ycVFn_1DIsoe9X38jd_H6D7osgXDgBDE6JncbacF4VQbNJCg7Dnv56UsWEsg24AQ7NdGnC05PWXtn6DDdudoXo2CzYs86Zor9hWQo9zo0ODuBkYrk7veOdnACapuRR4RD3RDplQ_kI/s320/sculptrI.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />europeanechoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16338452174301041999noreply@blogger.com0