Month: August 2016

Daniel Kordan

Daniel Kordan, “Milky Way at the Uyuni Salt Flat in Altipiano”

“Determined to find a destination where he could photograph a completely dark sky, Russian photographer Daniel Kordan traveled to the Altiplano region of west-central South America, an area known for its absolute darkness, and which rises 12,300 feet above sea level. While here, Kordan captured the Uyuni salt flat with a special astrophotography camera. This type of camera unlocks the colors found in the sky, opening up the barriers between earth and space and casting the Milky Way onto the reflective flats.” – Kate Sierzputowski, Colossal

Rose Sanderson

Rose Sanderson: Painted Book Covers

Inspired by the natural world, especially that which is generally unnoticed or disregarded by others, most recent work focuses predominantly on the fragility of life and representations of freedom.

Seeing beauty in the seemingly ugly,  Rose Sanderson’s delicate, yet expressive paintings of insects, birds and anatomy, aim to provoke in an understated way; producing pieces that are empathetic, fresh and intriguing.

With backgrounds that give a feeling of decay (peeling layers of wallpaper, cracked surfaces; aged and ‘distressed’), combined with fine attention to detail in the subject matter, a vibrant mixture of traditional and experimental techniques are produced. Her use of old book covers relate to the cycles within nature, the subject upon them being part of a narrative; exploring life, death and existence.

Originally based in Bristol, Rose Sanderson has exhibited in a number of Cities within the UK, and others further afield including Amsterdam, Brussels, Munich, New York, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Singapore. Originally an illustrator, completing her BA(hons) in 2003, she is now a recognised artist within the fine art world.

Jane Goodall: “The Beauty Was Always There

Photographer Unknown, (The Forest Guide)

For those who have experienced the joy of being alone with nature there is really little need for me to say much more; for those who have not, no words of mine can even describe the powerful, almost mystical knowledge of beauty and eternity that come, suddenly, and all unexpected. The beauty was always there, but moments of true awareness were rare. They would come, unannounced; perhaps when I was watching the pale flush preceding dawn; or looking up through the rustling leaves of some giant forest tree into the greens and browns and the black shadows and the occasionally ensured bright fleck of blue sky; or when I stood, as darkness fell, with one hand on the still warm trunk of a tree and looked at the sparkling of an early moon on the never still, softly sighing water of Lake Tanganyika.”

― Jane Goodall

Bethsheba Grossman

Sculptures by Bethsheba Grossman

According to Bathsheba Grossman, a Santa Cruz, California artist, her art is about life in three dimensions: working with symmetry and balance, getting from the origin to infinity, and always finding beauty in geometry.

Using a background in mathematics and computer programming, Grossman creates intricate and complicated designs. 3D printing in bronze and stainless steel is her main medium – in many cases this is the only way her creations could be represented by an actual object. Traditional sculpture technology simply doesn’t operate on un-moldable objects.

Selling her designs through Shapeways and her site, Grossman’s pieces are widely available, as she eschews the limited editions common in tradional art-making.  Croudsourcing lets Grossman pursue her dream and continue to produce these facinating pieces.

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso, “The Crucifixion”, Oil on Canvas, 1930, Musee Picasso, Paris

In this work, Picasso returns to his fascination with the ‘life in death’ paradox, encapsulated perfectly by the Western world’s foremost symbol: the Crucifixion. The whole notion of rebirth and transformation has fascinated artists for centuries, as they see themselves as actively participating in an alchemical process while recreating life in their chosen medium.

“The Crucifixion” has no particular religious significance, although its interpretation of pain and suffering is intensely captured and it is a fascinating forerunner, with the use of certain shapes and expressions, to Picasso’s most famous work, Guernica (1937).

Mithra is the orange and red solar figure to the right of the cross (to the viewer)…in between three Marias: the Holy Mother in white before Christ, Marie-Thérèse Walter in the middle and the blue, skeletal head of Mary Magdalene below Mithra.  The head of Stephaton to the left with his giant moon-like sponge “doubles as a crescent moon, an emblem of Virgin Mary.”

Antonius

Roman Bust of Antonious as Osiris, 100-150 AD, Marble, Originally from the Villa of Hadrian in Tivoli, Italy, Musée de Louvre

This marble bust portrays Antonius, the lover of Hadrian, as the Egyptian god Osiris. It was fashioned by an unknown Roman artist of the first half of the 2nd century CE. The bust was found at the excavation of the Villa of Hadrian in Tivoli; it now resides in the Louvre.

Micael Reynaud

Animation Gif by Micael Reynaud

Freelance designer and stop-motion animator Micaël Reynaud creates animated GIFs. His process involves the use of video techniques like slit-scanning, time-lapse, and various forms of masking to create what he refers to as “hypnotic very short films.” Indeed many of these animations are pulled from fully realized videos which you can watch on his Vimeo channel.

Reynaud’s work has not gone unnoticed in the art world. His pigeon GIF was a finalist in the first Saatchi Gallery Motion Photography competition, and he recently won the 2014 Giphoscope International Art GIF contest.

Omar Rayo

Omar Rayo, “Xaphan”, 1968, Oil on Canvas, 66 x 66 cm, Private Collection

Omar Rayo was an Columbian artist involved in various types of artwork, such as painting, sculpture, plastic, and caricature. He was best known for using Abstract Geometry as his style. Rayo was one of the foremost pioneers of Op Art. He studied drawing at Academie Zier of Buenos Aires. He was the winner of the 1970 Salon de Artistas Colombianos. His particular focus was Op Art, also known as Optical Art, a style which employs optical illusions that interact with viewers. Op Art is considered Abstract, with many pieces made only of black-and-white. Rayo was also known to use red and other colors.

Many of the artist’s paintings, engravings, and other artworks are placed in the Museum of Rayo de Dibujo y Grabado Latinamericano, which was founded on January 20, 1981, in Colombia. The museum featured more than 2,000 of Rayo’s works as well as 500 works by other Latin artists. For most of his career, Rayo supported and tried to publicize Latin artists, with his campaigns culminating in the museum. Along with artwork, the museum features a library, theater, and graphic arts workshop. Rayo funded most of the museum himself, with the help of the Colombian government. Some of his more famous works include Sin Titula, Xumux, and Gohei V.

Insert Image: Omar Rayo, “Cinta Roja”, 1964, Oil on Canvas, 57 x 52 cm, Private Collection

David C. Roy

Kinetic Sculptures by David C Roy

Since graduating in 1974 from Boston University with a degree in physics, artist David C. Roy has been fascinated by the motion and mechanics of kinetic sculptures. Roy is a self-taught woodworker who designs limited edition wall-mounted sculptures powered by various mechanical wind-up mechanisms without the aid of electricity. Each piece can run for about 5-18 hours unassisted on a single wind, with his latest piece Dimensions capable of whirling around for a whopping 40+ hours.

From his Connecticut studio Roy has produced over 150 one-of-a-kind designs over the last thirty years, many of which he currently sells as editions through his website. Visit his site to see the archive of past works and the current works for sale:  http://woodthatworks.squarespace.com