http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/ aestheticart's recent comments & reviews on StumbleUpon en-us Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:23:01 -0700 Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:00:21 -0700 http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/ http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/logo_su_36x36.png Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:02:03 -0700 http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/24574459/ http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/24574459/ http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/24574459/ Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:50:13 -0700 http://luhringaugustine.com/ http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/24224678/
"Untitled (Study for Confessions of Zeno)", 2003-2004,Oil, screenprint, modeling paste on paper, 34.61 x 26.04 cm, by Steve Wolfe.
Another painter into book covers.]]> http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/luhringaugustine.com/ Sat, 09 Aug 2008 09:54:09 -0700 http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/research/luce/object.php?id=113229 http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/24216385/
"No Nature", 1985-1986, Medium Mixed media on wood veneer, 147.3 x 86.4cm
All sorts of phallic symbolism here, and this appears to be a high priority issue with this painter.
Bypassing that, all of Dunham's work is, or at least seems, remarkably fearless - no pandering to consumers' tastes which is always an admirable trait. Though he doesn't tend to show off any particular technical abilities, there is a competence in his mixture of doodles, cartoons, bold colours and, on occasion, wit, that is interesting.]]> http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/www.brooklynmuseum.org/research/luce/object.php%253Fid%253D113229 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:14:51 -0700 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/arts/design/25macc.html http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/24175559/ "I was glad to spend a summer afternoon poolside with the "Pretty Ugly" crew, ruffling brackish water, pushing flotsam around. But the art establishment's vacation should be over now. It has gone on too long. And artists, caught up in a New York market that prospers from a million little weirdnesses, should take a head-clearing plunge back into work and see if there aren't some other ways to go. Weird can be cool; it can be powerful. (The paintings of John Currin and Peter Saul are good examples.) But as an end-in-itself exercise, which is what this show looks like, it's a waste of time.]]> http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/arts/design/25macc.html Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:13:52 -0700 http://wladimirzabaleta.net/inicio.htm http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/23908619/
This is by Wladimir Zabaleta, a Venezuelan artist with a strange penchant for Velasquez's "Las Meninas" - one might even hazard the word "fixation", and since one might, I will. Zabaleta isn't the first painter who found some sort of allure in the little Infanta - Picasso (to mention but one of the many other painters) did too, back in 1957, and there's a room-full of his Infanta re-visitations in the Picasso Museum in Barcelona to prove it.

This is one of Picasso's studies for "las Meninas" taken from undo.net/cgi-bin/openframe.pl [undo.net/cgi-bin/openframe.pl] where you will be able to see two more. There is also an excellent painting from the series at Olga's Gallery, here: abcgallery.com/P/picasso/picasso211.html [abcgallery.com/P/picasso/picasso211.html] )
And here is the painting where all this fascination began.

"Las Meninas" by Velasquez
Though at the time of painting Velasquez's Spain was slowly losing it's immense power and wealth gained, albeit in a trifle iffy manner, during the conquest of Central and South America, the realization that the good times were irreversibly slipping away was not full, and our little Infanta was still very much the golden child. It is not she, however, who is the subject of the painting. "Las Meninas" means "The Hand Maidens"- it is they, therefore, who are the subject of this work. Sycophantic as those times were, where the rich and powerful were concerned, and sycophantic as the hand maidens are portrayed, the very title is enigmatic in itself. In fact "Las Meninas" is one of those paintings supposedly full of hidden meaning and intent which is perhaps why it has enthralled its admirers for a long time.
In the background of the painting you will notice a mirror reflecting two figures - these are the King and Queen whom Velasquez (on the left by the canvas) is, presumably, painting - only he is looking out of the painting towards us, the viewers, thereby elevating our social standing, according to one theory, by quite a few rungs on the social ladder, ho! ho! Whether you are thrilled by all this or not, (I am, of course, joking) hundreds of pages and entire nights of tormented thought have been devoted to deciphering just this little issue.
Another little theory is that the Royal parents are behind one of those false mirrors much in vogue in 20th Century police stations (according to Hollywood et al) and are actually taking a discreet peep (ie. spying) at the goings on in the room unbeknown to its occupants. This could be, but mirrors used in Velasquez's time were thickly coated with silver making any peeping exercise impossible, so perhaps this theory is taking us into fantasy-land. Anyway, I'll bet the hand maidens were a good deal less adoring when the Royal Mummy and Daddy were not thought to be around, so judging by their demeanour the parents are present.
Still a further theory is that the mirror is reflecting the King and Queen on Velasquez's canvas, which takes us back to square one, etc. etc.
And so the theorizing goes on, and on, and it is this fascination with the work that is as interesting as the painting itself.]]> http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/wladimirzabaleta.net/inicio.htm Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:13:34 -0700 http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/24150282/ http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/24150282/ Reason No. 1 is the blank canvas syndrome: ie. what to do today.
Reason No. 2 is the chronic blank canvas syndrome: this hits those who have the technical ability to put paint to canvas but for some reason have little to communicate of their very own.
Reason No. 3 is the desire to associate with the great and the good in the hope that Joe Blogs doing Velasquez will, with time, become Joe Blogs and Velasquez both of whom did "Las Meninas" for example, Joe Blogs thus becoming on a par with Velasquez.
Reason No. 4 touches the realm of the Gallery Director: how to fill the gallery with something that might draw the crowds but without the participation of any of the so called "greats". Easy solution: have minor artists ( and hopefully would-be/could-be future "greats") draw inspiration from those more eminent - and dead - but whose names can thereby be mentioned on the advertising posters.
Reason No. 5 is a genuine, investigative interest of either, or both, the artists and the gallery directors, and this is also the only reason anyone will ever admit to.
The results of such an exercise can sometimes be very interesting when they add contemporary comment to ancient issues, but they can also leave a curiously empty feeling as in the case of a remarkably huge hotch-potch of incomprehensible marks and colours I was once about to turn my back on when I focused on an exquisitely copied miniature of "La Maya Desnuda" (Goya) amidst all the splodges. Promising myself to be less judgemental in the future, I zoomed in on this little gem in the belief that anyone who could do that to such perfection could splash and spatter with my full and unequivocal blessing. But, having fully adjusted my sight to this part of the canvas, I discovered it to have been cut from a photo of Goya's work and just pasted on, which isn't quite the same. That's not a re-visitation - that's simply a change of frame.]]> http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/24150282/ Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:15:54 -0700 http://sbirky.cmvu.cz/en/index.php?request=show_detail&param=631&hl=cs&lr=lang_cs&as_sitesearch=cmvu.cz&q=&qsf_where=on&sf_queryLine=...%20search http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/23468076/
"Winter" 1937, oil on canvas, 99x170cm, by Joseph Multrus(1898-1957, Czech.
Rather reminiscent of Pieter Brueghel the Elder's "Hunters in the Snow", and oddly pleasant. The charm lies in the use of colour: the yellowish-grey clouds give a sense of real cold and penetrating damp and add to the brightness of the snow in the foreground. This brightness gradually fades towards the background, as do the contours of the buildings, and it is this fuzziness that gives the piece a marked three-dimensional quality.
The painting is by no means a ground-breaking, cutting-edge, innovative work but "cutting-edge" is not always synonymous of "good", or even "vaguely interesting", and too much pushing for what has never been done before can have a boomerang effect. One of the results of this is that it opens up the doors for an inordinate amount of tat which is passed off as something worth seeing, worth buying and worse, worth keeping. The fact that something is plonked onto a canvas and spotlighted does not automatically make it art - but judging by what goes on in some galleries that is exactly what happens.
That's why from time to time it's nice to have a simple painting which isn't pretending to be anything other than what it is.
Pity the enlargement facilities are only available at the site - this is probably a little copyright protection device - but it is well worth having a look at the enlarged version to see the brush strokes, etc.]]> http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/sbirky.cmvu.cz/en/index.php%253Frequest%253Dshow_detail%2526param%253D631%2526hl%253Dcs%2526lr%253Dlang_cs%2526as_sitesearch%253Dcmvu.cz%2526q%253D%2526qsf_where%253Don%2526sf_queryLine%253D...%252520search Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:48:41 -0700 http://sbirky.cmvu.cz/en/index.php?request=show_detail&param=674&hl=cs&lr=lang_cs&as_sitesearch=cmvu.cz&q=&qsf_where=on&sf_queryLine=...%20search http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/23439772/
"Tragedy" 1943, oil on canvas, 58,5 x 69 cm, by Arnost Paderlik, 1919-1999, Czech.
Easily decoded symbolism here in this war-time painting: a despairing and unheard mother (see the telegraph pole with the lines down) holding a dead child, under an impassive sky which I suspect is a reference to the Almighty not listening either. Worthy of note is the lack of over-statement: no blood, no bits of hanging flesh, no exploding bombs - just pure misery and it's this delicacy of treatment that contributes to giving the whole scene a certain majesty.
When visiting the site don't bother clicking on any of the buttons on the left hand side of the page - all pages here are under construction. Just click on the artist button on the right which will open up an alphabet and from there it's easy going to all the other artists shown in this large collection specialising in 20th and 21st Century Czech art. There is nothing in English either but presumably there will be at some point in the future seeing they've bothered putting in a little Union Jack button.]]> http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/sbirky.cmvu.cz/en/index.php%253Frequest%253Dshow_detail%2526param%253D674%2526hl%253Dcs%2526lr%253Dlang_cs%2526as_sitesearch%253Dcmvu.cz%2526q%253D%2526qsf_where%253Don%2526sf_queryLine%253D...%252520search Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:38:45 -0700 http://www.epa.it/maionese/artiste/index.html http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/23285872/
This work is by Carme Garolera, Spain.
For those interested in women's art here is a a fairly mixed bag of creativity: some good, some iffy, some interesting and some less so. It's all a question of taste and momentary mood. Nonetheless there's a lot to see including paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography and installations.
The site is in Italian but no problem: just click on the alphabet then on any of the names that will pop up, and have a look. Worth a visit.]]> http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/www.epa.it/maionese/artiste/index.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:45:10 -0700 http://www.galerie-kaplicka.cz/shop/autor.aspx http://aestheticart.stumbleupon.com/review/23219361/
Coloured etching (no title) 36,8 x 25,8 cm, paper size 51 x 36,6 cm by Milada Sukdoláková.


"Genius loci", 1991, mixed technique, 49,8 x 39,7 cm, paper size 79 x 64,4 cm by Eva Hašková.


Etching, 1998, 27,6 x 27,9 cm, paper size 39,8 x 35,4 cm by Jindrich Pilecek.

There is merrier artwork at the site but these three artists have something alluringly dark about their work - not uncommon in art coming from what was once Eastern Europe and which is now Central Europe, international political idiosyncrasies permitting (and who knows for how long). It would be interesting to discover how such historically mobile frontiers, as are those on this particular part of the globe, influence those who create within their boundaries for it is surely never dull there - perhaps even a wee bit too exciting at times.
Large selection of Czech artists, mostly print makers. Unfortunately there's no English translation but just click on any name to see the work.]]> http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/www.galerie-kaplicka.cz/shop/autor.aspx