Mixed media altar piece and details.
Read MoreIt's been a while...Selections from Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California.
While in Long Beach I always make a point of stopping by The Museum of Latin American Art. A relatively new space dedicated to both historic and contemporary Latin art, I have never been disappointed in their quality exhibits.
One bonus is the Reciprocal Museum Membership that many museums such as the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach share with The Ft Lauderdale Museum of Art. Four southern California museums, The Museum of Latin Art, The Long Beach Art Museum, Laguna Art Museum and the Orange County Art Museum in Newport Beach became destinations to explore thanks to my membership.
This trip I was traveling with my artist friend, Blima Efraim. Always a pleasure to share these rewarding visual experiences in the moment. Blima standing before the artworks and installations provide an awareness of the monumental scale of the artwork.
https://www.molaa.org
DREAMLAND a Frank Romero Retrospective is a visual delight. Highways of imagination have you traveling to a time that still feels like the present. Slices of life and politics are a collage of references unified by an extraordinary sense of color and brush marks. The combination reveals a wonderful personal journey.
From the lovely Dreamland brochure. Art as an educational experience is a mission of this museum for sure.
I am happy to share some amazing photos of Frank Romero's interesting and powerful work installed impeccably at the MOLAA Long Beach!
This gentleman seemed like he was part of the exhibit in a Norman Rockwell kind of way.
Installation view
Detail.
A matter of scale.
The Process: Collages of found references are assembled and drawn. These large scale drawings display fine detailed network of crosshatched modeling.
The drawings are ultimately developed as large scale expressionistic paintings. His naive approach to composition draws you into what seem like random compositions.
A couple of details from other Romero work although painted in the 70's - 90's.
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=6213
Art is for me a way to learn about culture and history and personal expression. It has been a pleasure to discover the work of Frank Romero during my visit to The Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, CA.
I will be sharing my art adventures here. Stay tuned for some visual treats.
Up Close and Personal. Recent observations from National Gallery of Art
While visiting museums I find myself on instinctual drive by mode. Every visit potentially draws me to different artworks seeking varieties of visual experiences. I had these thoughts and captured some beautiful moments in paint. The mastery of so many approaches humbles and invigorates me.
While the days of working six inches from the surface of my oil painting may be over for now I have been happy to replace this meditative approach to my digital explorations. I have been drawn to pattern and repeating forms from the days I began making images. The source may surprise you but I will save this discussion for a different conversation.
But now contemplating a return to painting (only with total outside air) and I have started drawing once again with graphite and color pencil. I will find some time when it is not unbearably hot or I will wait until fall or a cooler climate.
At dinner we all enjoyed a stimulating conversation in Old Alexandria with Shaina Rowell, a grad and pre med student about her memory research and maintaining memory. I was thinking about how memory would serve my return to painting. Research substantiates that repetition is the path to keeping and maintain previous connections. With that in mind the depth of the brain’s capacity to store information is extensive however if you don’t use it you may lose it is proven to hold some truth. We can nurture memories, repeat older tasks, remember the positive or dwell on the negative memories.
Detail from Life Voyages by Thomas Cole. 1842
My art training was all about the mark, the surface the design and to me most importantly the narrative (which was not as well accepted but I knew I had to be serious about it to fly). I feel like I have the opportunity to return to my roots of mark making fused with present thoughts.
Detail from Gare Saint-Lazare. Edouard Manet. 1873. The master of the mark.
This selection of images were photographed on Mother’s Day (2015) At the National Gallery in DC. I was intuitively draw to examine the mark close up revealing the texture, the layers and the drawing with the brush.
I am grateful for the opportunity to share some close up captures of amazing paintings. With limited time I cruised on auto pilot and let instinct direct my attention.
Detail from an Edgar Degas painting. I have searched National's collection and the web and can't find this painting. hmmm
Detail from Odalisque. Auguste Renoir 1870.
Slightly cropped Still Life of Oranges and lemons with Blue Gloves. 1889. A recent acquisition to the National Gallery collection.
Detail from A Young Girl Reading. Jean-Honore Fragonard. 1776.
Detail from Still Life: Apples on Pink Tablecloth. Henri Matisse. 1922.
Still researching title and date. Was draw right into those eyes...
Detail from Daniel in the Lion's Den. Peter Paul Rubens. 1614 / 1616.
Detail from Head of a Young Man. Anthony Van Dyck. 1617 / 1618.
Detail from Woman Holding a Balance. Vermeer. 1664.
Scott entering the show.
An Afternoon with Frida, Diego, Picasso and more...
As it was Easter Sunday I was elated to see the museum bustling with people there to see the Frida Kahlo + Diego Rivera, Mexican Modern Art at the NSU Art Museum, Ft. Lauderdale. The museum also offered a fine display of Picasso ceramics with photos of the master and drawings, the superb photography collection from the Martin Z. Margulies Collection, Miami, a few large scale Schnabel digital works with paint smeared on them and the Glakens permanent collection.
With a diverse offering the museum is a great place for educational field trips. We encountered an enthusiast docent who offered lesser know insights into Kahlo the woman her work and her relationship with Rivera and other artists of her time. The museum has strict policies for photography so only a few quick shots were possible before the guards politely informed me that photos were not permitted.
I did return to find some of the works from the show on line. With the art fresh in my mind I adjusted the images to be a true to the color as possible. I am happy to share these here.
Painting on the Los Angeles Times.
The photos accompanying the exhibit were fantastic, an intimate glimpse into her life and art. this one Diego and Frida. In today's world their relationship would be labeled " complicated".
Tehuana Self Portrait. Oil on canvas.
Detail of Self Portrait. Oil on canvas. The full size art I estimate is 40 x 30 inches
Before there were “selfies” there were centuries of self portraits, in fact I have a book titled 500 Self Portraits published by Phaidon I would share with my students while we discussed concepts for their self portraits. Personally I am inspired by portraits that tell a story that can be told with images, color and mark. Like Frida I have turned to self portraiture during moments where my journey was getting interesting.
Anyone familiar with my work would be aware of my fascination with exploring dualities.
I have always been drawn to Surrealism. The idea that reality can be depicted through multiple points of view has been an integral part of my entire body of work. Thoughts, emotions and representation emerge through a surrealist process of allowing for subconscious decisions while making work. One image can be interpreted on several levels, spiritual, physical and emotional. This has and continue to be the affinity I have had for Frida’s work
Large still life. Oil on canvas.
I have always felt that still life's were a form of self portraiture as long as the objects had personal meaning to the artist. Frida's later works became less focused on her physical appearance and turn to morphine influenced still lives. Every item in the work symbolically replacing the image of her face.
I always enjoy some personal artifacts that enhance the museum experience. Also shown here but not in the museum La Casa Azul. the Frida Museum in Mexico.
Sorry about the quality but the only image I had the impulse to photograph of the Picasso exhibit. A lovely drawing that fits right in with the Frida portraits,
Julian Schnabel. A digital print on canvas with paint. Two pieces of canvas adhered to wood I would assume to create the very large scale of the work
another Schnabel where you can see the scale and the materials used.
am all for experimentation with digital art and it is inspiring to see the scale can be as impressive as the large paintings in the Louvre. Somehow though technically interesting the overall effect is under-wheming, especially in the presence of smaller more emotive works.
I will leave it to my readers to make "make an assessment" of Schnabel's work. I highly respect his film making endeavors and have watched the artist evolve over time. His forward movement is respectable however it leaves me staying only for a second.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to visit Kahlo’s work right here in Ft Lauderdale. A half a century after her passing Frida continues to draw admirers of all ages, the work,s still mysterious and an enigma to most.