artist spotlight Archives - Art Business News

Art Santa Fe 2024 Spotlight Artist Recipient: Bill Sabatini

Hannah Smith — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 01:09:42 +0000

Art Santa Fe 2024 returns to the Santa Fe Community Convention Center July 12-14. This year, Redwood Art Group is honoring four Spotlight Artists. Get to know Bill Sabatini below.

Q: Introduce yourself — who you are and what your vision as an artist is? What is your background?

A: A retired architect residing in New Mexico for most of the last 50 years, I am living a lifelong calling, to be a fine artist. I believe we cannot live without art. Whether it is music, film, dance, or visual art, it feeds our soul. I strive to make art that reaches, touches, and connects us to ourselves and others. I have chosen the language of abstract art, a language like no other, with no dictionary to translate it but is open to each individual’s imagination and interpretation. Unlike architecture, there are no constraints. Total freedom is a refreshing change.

My background significantly influences my art. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, a place with honest, hardworking people. My dream, even as a young child, was to become an architect. With encouragement from my family, I attended Franklin and Marshall College where I studied art history and perfected studio skills that prepared me to pursue an M Arch from the University of New Mexico. I became licensed and through a very successful and rewarding, 40-year architectural practice, I was able to design a diverse portfolio of projects and achieve a fellowship in the American Institute of Architects. In 2020, I retired and now realizing another dream, to be a fine artist.

Q: What is your work philosophy and how does that impact your work?

A: My architectural training and practice taught me a way of thinking. I value simplicity. I’m fascinated by geometry, strong shape and form. My focus is composition. I’m not a fan of making “wallpaper” by creating amorphous or repetitive patterns. I believe, like a good building considers and organizes both the positive (interior) and negative (exterior) space, a good painting does the same. Regarding color and contrast, the high desert environment of the southwest inspired and awakened my creative sensibilities. What can be more visually powerful than an orange sky with purple clouds? Or the lush green, life-filled forest of the Rio Grande moving through rocky earthen, parched mountains? Those contrasts and others are compelling.

Q: What artist(s) inspire you?

A: I am most inspired by Richard Diebenkorn, a genius in composition and color. Never constrained by formalistic rules, he used the entire canvas in unpredictable ways. He was a master of creating strong shapes and forms. He was not afraid to use any color adjacent to any other. His use of line created movement while also contrasting simple planes of color. Like many great artists, he was a rule-breaker for his time. We know he challenged the status quo at the University of New Mexico when he was there in 1950. No adobes adorned with chiles for him. That inspires me.

I’m inspired by many other artists but most notably, the dramatic work of JMW Turner, the color and techniques of Cezanne, Monet and Matisse, and the boldness and simplicity of Franz Kline. Lately, I am enamored with the spontaneity of contemporary artist, David Mankin.

Q: What is the best advice you’ve received?

A: My architectural training taught me to always say, “What if” never relying on one idea. But the best advice that I struggle to comply with daily tells me to not overthink, to follow my own instincts, and to not be afraid to make an ugly painting. Mistakes are opportunities.

Q: When you are not working, where can we find you?

A: Residing in Albuquerque, you can find me with my family and friends enjoying New Mexico’s scenery and perfect weather. Or traveling to see and experience new places that recharge me.

Q: What does exhibiting at Art Santa Fe 2024 mean to you?

A: I’ve been painting in earnest now for about 5 years. Although I have successfully shown my work locally, I’m exhibiting in Art Santa Fe to finally test the waters with a broader audience. The truth is, that artists are constantly looking for validation. I hope I get it here.

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Art Santa Fe 2024 Spotlight Artist: Elizabeth Frank

Hannah Smith — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:17:59 +0000

Art Santa Fe 2024 returns to the Santa Fe Community Convention Center July 12-14. This year, Redwood Art Group is honoring four Spotlight Artists. Get to know Elizabeth Frank below.

Q: Introduce yourself — who you are and what your vision as an artist is? What is your background?

A: I’m a carved wood, mixed media artist. I grew up in Arizona and Washington State. Throughout my life the natural world has been a guiding influence. I try to walk lightly on the earth. To that end I choose sustainable, found and reclaimed materials whenever possible.

My work would not exist had I not spent hours walking in the woods and deserts observing plants and animals, had I not seen perhaps, one hundred people crossing the desert heading north from the Mexican border, walking silently, single file, in search of safe passage, had I not helped free a coyote from a steel jaw trap.

I make art because I believe it can help keep the world in balance.

Q: What is your work philosophy and how does that impact your work?

A: I think of my studio time as something akin to a yoga practice. It requires both discipline and an open heart. My work is very labor intensive but I like to invite elements of play and imagination into the process by incorporating new components like found objects or fresh materials.

Q: What artist(s) inspire you?

A: I am most inspired by artwork that seems to spring from the soul of the artist. I love folk art, African art and outsider art, the work of Frida Kahlo and Giacometti to name just a few. Most recently I’ve been looking at the work of Leonora Carrington.

Q: What is the best advice you’ve received?

A: Listen to your inner voice. Find your own vision. Don’t be afraid to take the path less traveled.

Q: When you are not working, where can we find you?

A: Outside enjoying nature or spending time with my dear ones. Exploring.

Q: What does exhibiting at Art Santa Fe 2024 mean to you?

A: It means so much to me to have the opportunity to exhibit at Art Santa Fe this year. The landscape and culture of Santa Fe and New Mexico have inspired me since childhood. I’m excited to share my artwork with fair visitors, to meet new customers and the other artists at the show.

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Art Santa Fe Spotlight Recipient: Ouida Touchon

Hannah Smith — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 20:11:52 +0000

Art Santa Fe 2024 returns to the Santa Fe Community Convention Center July 12-14. We’ll be highlighting the four Spotlight Artists for this year’s fair starting with Ouida Touchon.

Rattlesnake Kate Redeux, mixed media on canvas

Q: Introduce yourself – who you are and what your vision as an artist is? What is your background?

A: More than a printmaker, or painter, I think of myself as an image maker. My background is in fashion design and pattern making. I worked in the ‘rag trade’ designing clothing and traveling all over the third world to see how well these designs were put together.

Q: What is your work philosophy and how does that impact your work?

A: I enjoy working in the studio on various media including printmaking and painting as well as collage. I am drawn to historic female characters; strong women and what I imagine that they would wear.

I create, I do not quantify or measure time, I work until the artwork speaks to me and tells me it is complete. It’s a joyful calling. I know that my audience is the world’s smallest and that I am not attempting a mass-market appeal. I listen to my imagination and I try to stay on a flow that avoids tributaries and tangents. What I ask myself each time I come near completion of an artwork is: is this piece remarkable? That’s how I measure.

Q: What artist(s) inspire you?

A: I am inspired by many of the modernists, especially the Santa Fe and Taos modernists of the early 20^th century. Also, I love to look at ancient manuscripts and illuminations for pattern, and composition. The Ukiyo-e Japanese woodcut print artists are always a delight to look at and I am drawn to contemporary public-art artists such as Shepard Fairey and emerging black artists such as Delita Martin and Bisa Butler.

Q: What is the best advice you’ve received?

A: The best advice I’ve received is from a professor in my Masters Degree program who told me to see more and paint less. On a more business-of-art direction I listen to Seth Godin, Akimbo podcast and find value in his philosophy about the world’s smallest audience and being authentic and remarkable with my work.

Q: What does exhibiting at Art Santa Fe 2024 mean to you?

A: Exhibiting at Art Santa Fe means a lot to me in that it is an opportunity to show with an Event Company that has great experience and a track record of putting on well-marketed and well-designed shows of high-caliber artists. I am hoping to find a small audience of galleries and collectors who are interested in purchasing and representing my artwork.

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Art San Diego 2022 Spotlight Gallery: Catalyst Contemporary

Hannah Smith — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 03:13:25 +0000

Art San Diego is returning to the San Diego Convention Center September 9-11, 2022 after a three-year-hiatus. Here at Art Business News, we will be showcasing this year’s Spotlight Artists. The Spotlight Artists are handpicked by Redwood’s curated group of art industry experts.

Catalyst Contemporary is pleased to premiere at Art San Diego and to introduce our artists to the West Coast. They are a fine art gallery focusing on contemporary art that tells stories. Located in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood – the cultural heart of the city, Catalyst forges relationships between artists, collectors, and both creative and civic-minded individuals.

Catalyst will be showcasing five artists at this year’s fair including Alberto Cavalieri, Se Jong Cho, Brian P. Miller, James von Minor, and Arthur Jedson Smalley.

Alberto Cavalieri

Alberto Cavalieri s a Venezuelan visual artist who, throughout his long career, has achieved renown for his monumental sculptures and public works integrated into architectural forms. His oxidized sculptures and digital drawings deal mostly with the paradox between form and matter, as well as the duality between the essence of a material, and its visual possibilities.

Metal allows him to create an overriding paradox between matter and form. It enables him to create sinuous forms that are full of life and movement, which contrast diametrically to the rigidity and structure of the steel used to make them. Knots are a metaphor for life and one of the abstract forms used. And its multiple symbolisms enrich his work and increase its scope and resonance. Knots imply human activity and have different symbolic connotations in terms of how they are used, to the point that the connotations could be contradictory and/or ambivalent.

Se Jong Cho

Se Jong Cho is an environmental engineer and self-taught painter who embraces science’s counterpoint: art and creativity. She paints forms that offer intriguing entryways into the surreal, an art form that is equally concerned with reality (based in science) and with the mind’s unconscious thoughts (where creativity exists). In surrealist art, one finds juxtaposed objects and settings that make no sense. But the Surrealists were also interested in those scenarios as pathways to the unconscious and subconscious—in their terms, into one’s dreams—for in dreams one’s true nature is revealed. Fascinated by botany and the sun, Cho finds poetry in the intermingling of science and artistic creativity.

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Her works sit at this intersection of dreams and reality. Cho’s paintings featuring eclipses and other celestial bodies remind us that the sun is life-sustaining, and eclipses are a spectacular and unusual reminder of its centrality. In her work, the sun brings together concerns about the fragility of human existence in a world and universe that we have no hope of controlling. It is also a universal presence in our human experience, tying our prehistoric origins to our future.

Brian P. Miller

Brian P. Miller is a photographic-based artist steeped in all aspects and history of the medium. With a Mercurial disposition, his explorations in photography flit from one idea to another and back again. As a photographer, he is drawn to the moment of image-making – of light impressing upon silver, as a contemplative exercise where synchronicity exists between that which lies within and the outward perception.

Using traditional and new imaging techniques alike, Miller works with a process that suits the needs of the work at hand. “Alt/Arc” is a series begun in 2017 and focuses on dissolving the evidence of photographic, reducing the lens and film-based imagery to graphic impressions. The brightly colored and sometimes tessellating lines and shapes in this work celebrate and call attention to urban architecture and the spatial relationships it generates as an overwhelming array of abstraction.

James von Minor

James von Minor is a Maryland-based artist who is internationally known for his paintings, drawings, constructions, and sculptural installations. In his work, abstract, organic forms integrate into geometric patterns and shapes. These seemingly opposite styles depend on a delicate juggling act of balance, shape, color, and pattern. Humans are predisposed to look for dualities as an organizing principle; for every idea, there is a counter idea. But Von Minor suggests that this is an artificial concept in need of deconstructing.

He has dedicated his lengthy career to uncovering ways to move beyond the limitations of that duality-based thinking. The inspiration for this body of work is the Islamic architecture of southern Spain in which strict, rational, logical geometries are coupled with decorative, organic calligraphy and plant forms. In his work, Von Minor unifies concept and experience, as well as geometric and organic. In addition, the artist questions the nature of painting, drawing, and sculpture. Most of his work merges qualities of all these classical approaches: the paintings are sculptural, sculptures are painterly, etc. Von Minor blurs these boundaries to construct a new union of pattern and organic abstraction.

Arthur Jedson Smalley

Arthur Jedson Smalley is an artist who is deeply committed to the balancing act of control and chance. In fact, it is an essential part of his creativity. Smalley makes sculptures in wood, using both found and milled lumber, which form organic Möbius strips, and paintings of landscapes using latex house paints dripped from brushes attached to long sticks. The tension between the artist’s hand and the inherent tendencies of the medium tips one way or the other within the course of making the work. It is only in the struggle between artist and material that Smalley is uncomfortable enough to be comfortable with the results.

Smalley starts his paintings with a particular landscape in mind, one that he is deeply familiar with and visits often to study its forms and the way light plays across its features (only very rarely does he paint en plein air). Working with the painting surface (he uses artists’ board not canvas) lying on the floor, Smalley drips colors onto the board, all the while trying to control what that daubs or drips do. Because of the length of the tool of application and the viscosity of the paints, Smalley must embrace the pooling of the paint, accepting and counting on any accidents. He says, “paintings are compromises,” and admits that he tries to paint from his subconscious, letting go of any predetermined ideas save for the generalized landscape giving it visual structure.

Catalyst Contemporary will be exhibiting September 9-11. 2022 at Art San Diego, booth #313.

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Artexpo New York 2021 Spotlight Artist ARO (Caroline Bergeron)

Hannah Smith — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 18:12:13 +0000

Artexpo New York 2021, taking place October 28-31, will feature hundreds of talented artists and galleries from around the world. The event, held at Pier 36, is bringing back its popular Spotlight Artist program this year, awarding six cutting-edge artists for their skills and achievements.

Meet Spotlight Artist Caroline Bergeron aka ARO.

Q: Introduce yourself — who you are and what you do?

A: I’m Caroline Bergeron and my artist’s name is ARO. Aro is a diminutive of my first name Caroline but mostly means Authentic, Romantic and Original. After graduating in administration and marketing, I did a minor in management at HEC de Montréal and continued at the École d’Entrepreneurship de Beauce, one of the best schools of business in Canada. It was during a creation workshop in 2017 that I returned to art, after a career as a restaurant owner. This workshop was a revelation for me. It changes my career path. I now present myself as an artist-entrepreneur, creating emotions. I do abstract art painting, mostly with acrylics on canvas. Several elements mark my journey since 2017, notably my meeting with Michelle Obama, to personally present one of my paintings to her, and my exhibition at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. I also participated in group exhibitions which prompted me, very early in my artistic career, to exhibit in Canada, in the United States, France, Poland, and Turkey. From my early days in the art world, I won prizes and distinctions for my work. I have been the subject of several articles, reviews, and publications in books and trade journals as well as numerous television appearances here in Canada. I present several personal exhibitions over the years where the time and the emergency of living were the main themes.

Q: What is your background?

A: I am a self-taught artist. From the very beginning of my artistic practice, I use pure instinct. An ample gesture that expresses feelings and emotions on canvas. Each artwork has its own story. I draw inside myself and share my thoughts, what is inside me. I use knife painting tools for my creations. My mother was a ceramicist and I worked in her studio during my teenage years. My optional courses during my studies were art courses. I took a few white canvas workshops with the artist Suzanne Longval in 2017. In 2019, I took a drawing class session with the artist Sonia April. Finally, I took a workshop on the history of art at the National Museum of Fine Arts with HelenCaroline Fournier, art expert and art theorist, specialist writer, and critic.

Q: How do you work?

A: I do my artworks in successive layers. Dripping and knife all-over are found in my work, which sometimes falls at the crossroads between lyrical abstract and geometric abstract. I paint my life and offer my sensitivity. I create without limits, like when you throw yourself into a void without a safety net. My sources of inspiration are multiple. My relationship with others influences who I am and the way I create. Reflections on nature or on humans live in her and push her to create in her studio. “I listen, I let emerge, I try to understand, I make connections.”

Questioning begins the creation process. I conceive my work in the manner of a dance, where each step, gesture, movement, corresponds exactly to an interior melody which is expressed in colors on the canvas, thus revealing a state of mind or a state of to be. I’m doing one with my work. The structure of the painting results from the energy and the psyche that animate my body during creation. This ballet of expressed emotions is a testimony of the living body, in action, in movement. Art is a very powerful and unique emotional marker for me. Art provokes emotions. For me, painting is a stripping bare “a way of revealing oneself, of showing one’s vulnerability”. Painting is a liberation, a letting go. In this process of liberation, three acts stand out: being in the present moment, fulfilling the need to express oneself, and inspiring people.

Q: What art do you most identify with?

A: I identify my painting as contemporary abstract art. The TV news here in Quebec introduces me as the Riopelle of modern art when I present my first solo exhibition: the sum of my encounters.

Q: What artist(s) inspires you?

A: I’m inspired by Jackson Pollock and Jean-Paul Riopelle. I’m also inspired by Charles Carson, another Canadian artist.

Q: What is the best advice you’ve received?

A: I have few advice to change my life and mindset. The first one was from my mother: when you say ‘I don’t have time, change the word time by the word life. The second one was from Maya Angelo saying: People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. And finally, you need to believe that everything is possible if you want to fulfill your dreams

Q: When you are not working, where can we find you?

A: With my husband, Dominique of the last 24 years, with my daughter Sarah-Maude who studies to be a nurse, and with friends, sharing good meals and time. I also love to walk in nature and go to our cottage in Lac St-Jean for resting time.

Q: What does exhibiting at Artexpo New York 2021 mean to you?

A: It means the world to me. Doing my first international show as a solo exhibitor it’s a big step forward to achieve my goal of being represented by a prestigious art gallery in the world. I must be seen to be discovered…so here I am, with all my heart and joy! I will present the Pure collection of which one of the works is now in the private collection of Michelle Obama. I will also introduce pieces of my newest collection Introspection, that leaves no one indifferent.

Don’t miss ARO at Artexpo New York 2021. Booth #S608.

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Redwood Art Group Spotlight Artists – June 2020

Linda Mariano — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 20:41:20 +0000

Art Business News is a business partner with Redwood Media Group. We are intrigued by Redwood’s new Online Art Marketplace, where art enthusiasts and collectors can shop a curated collection of artwork from the artists and galleries that exhibit at Redwood’s art fairs. Of course, at ABN, we’re always looking for artists to shine the spotlight on because of their talent, creativity, and resulting artworks. We are thrilled to introduce you to our current obsessions from Redwood—14 artists you’ll definitely want to watch and collect. This group includes painters, sculptors, and photographers with already flourishing careers as well as those just bursting onto the art scene. We’re excited to bring their cutting-edge talent to the forefront.

Amy Shekhter | Studio Jackie

Amy Shekhter is a pop artist inspired by iconic figures of the past and her love of today’s fashion. She uses a creative mix of mediums, combining digital design with various layers of texture found from resin, crystals, glitter, and paint. By putting a modern spin on familiar imagery, Shekhter’s pop art not only introduces younger generations to these important icons but also touches on materialism and values in today’s culture.

Shop Amy Shekhter > https://redwoodartgroup.com/brands/amy-shekhter/

Clare O’Neill

Each piece of Clare O’Neill’s work is beautifully created with intent—each with its own story to tell. Working in mixed media, O’Neill combines her photographs with pigments, wax, and oils, adding a sense of mystery and intrigue to her contemporary photo encaustic paintings. O’Neill uses rich imagery, bold brush strokes, and playful drips to create paintings full of gesture, spontaneity, and motion. It’s a labor-intensive process where the photographs are printed on tissue paper in multiple pieces and then carefully embedded into layers of hot beeswax. The result is a stunning, modern, ethereal design with a warm textural appeal.

Shop Clare O’Neill > https://redwoodartgroup.com/store/ClareONeill/

Diana Vurnbrand | Contemporary Art Projects USA

With prestigious degrees from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem and the New England School of Photography in Boston, Diana Vurnbrand is inspired by 15th-century paintings to create powerful yet romantic portraits of women. She creates models of romantic rooms, then photographs the image as the last step of her artistic process. The real work takes place in the construction of the elaborate headdresses and painted backgrounds, fabricating an atmosphere of mystery and romance and developing an interaction and statement between mother nature and strong beautiful women.

Shop Diana Vurnbrand > https://redwoodartgroup.com/brands/diana-vurnbrand/

Diego Guti | Studio Jackie

Award-winning artist Diego Guti was born in Colombia and achieved academic success at both the Miami International University of Art and Design and the University of Antioquia. Interested in creating artistic works aimed at the intervention of social problems, Guti work predominantly features urban aesthetics and themes. With clear reflections about life on the streets and mass consumerism, Guti approaches the individuality of the human being from the perspective of the daily differences of each side of the social gap. From this, he draws his inspiration.

Shop Diego Guti > https://redwoodartgroup.com/brands/diego-guti/

Dmitry Syrov | Syrov Art

Born in Russia, Dmitry Syrov studied geology and geography after high school but found that this was not his path in life. By 25, he had totally dedicated his efforts towards his beloved craft of art. Syrov believes in the freedom of art. His paintings are sensual, passionate poetry, locked away on a canvas. Embracing the mood of the painter, viewers are forced to live, dream, and become unbounded by their imagination. The search for balance and harmony on the canvas becomes self-evident in both his impressionism and abstract paintings. Syrov is an artist unwilling to let the negative products of civilization hold him back, believing that it is better to love the world around him than to live in the tension of hating it. Rather than scare or shock or reflect the reality of today, it is better to move on into eternity, fantasizing, pleasing, and realizing people’s dreams. No character is needed: His reality is on the canvas. He creates without system or rules, letting the atmosphere of the painting speak.

Shop Dmitry Syrov > https://redwoodartgroup.com/store/syrov-art-inc/

Jacinthe Rivard | Studio Jackie

Jacinthe Rivard lives in a little town just outside Montreal, Canada. For years, she had been painting portraits. Then, one day in 2017, she painted a six-pack of Coca-Cola. The response was overwhelmingly positive, so she started painting more objects from her youth. She realized that a vintage telephone could bring a range of emotions—like that first love, sitting by that phone waiting for them to call. A water gun can bring back memories of younger days playing in the yard on a hot summer day. She also loves to paint food items. Food makes people happy, and that is what her art is all about. Rivard paints in oil from photographs she takes herself. She can spend hours behind her camera, trying to make water droplets stay on a Perrier bottle or to make three donuts balance on top of one another. When you see her paintings, they look like a photo until you take a closer look. Then the brushstrokes and all the texture are revealed. It’s hard not to touch them and “feel” the painting. Today, she is internationally recognized, awarded, and collected.

Shop Jacinthe Rivard > https://redwoodartgroup.com/brands/jacinthe-rivard/

Jackie Fuchs | Studio Jackie

Strewn with waggish details of high society, the collages and dog sculptures that spring from the imagination of Jackie Fuchs invite the viewer, with a series of visual winks, to momentarily delight in the absurdity and artifice of the blue-chip contemporary art world. Everyone knows what she is referencing. Her scenes are glamorous but, somehow, not entirely fun—like a fancy party you would go to just to snoop through the big house. The figures, too, seem to occupy the space as art objects. Fuchs’ images, if taken seriously, offer a kind of Hirstian dystopia of the contemporary art community. Hers is an all-too-familiar world in which art is, like an Hermés bag, a symbol of wealth, status, and a certain kind of cultural literacy—something to be hung above a mid-century lamp, gazed from behind Chanel sunglasses, and Instagrammed. Her work is definitely recognizable and relatable and collected.

Shop Jackie Fuchs > https://redwoodartgroup.com/store/studiojackie/

Janet Bothne

Mixed media artist Janet Bothne has been “weaving” with paint for over three decades. Although her focus shifts from time to time, her signature of vibrant color remains. Bothne has been passionate about the power of color throughout her life. “I see color akin to music,” she says. “It’s no coincidence they both can be described in terms such as soft, loud, or bright—they have keys and tones. To put it simply, music is color for the ears, and color is music for the eyes.” Her work has exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across the U.S., and her collectors span the globe. She currently resides in New Mexico and works out of her studio in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque.

Shop Janet Bothne > https://redwoodartgroup.com/store/janetbothne/

Luis Kaiulani | Contemporary Art Projects USA

Growing up as a child in Hawaii, Luis Kaiulani describes his influence as a mixture of culture, nature, geography, and philosophy. His upbringing involved absorbing all of the wonders of the Hawaiian forests, playing in the sands on secluded beaches, meditating on mountaintops, and diving into one of the world’s most amazing bodies of water, the Pacific Ocean. Although he credits his affinity toward nature to this idyllic time, there is another side of Kaiulani that is fiery, passionate, and aching for excitement. He attributes this to his Latin American heritage. For the past 20 years, Kaiulani’s attention to fluidity, mindfulness, and color dimension brings his artworks into a realm all of their own. Kaiulani creates abstract works that draw from his Hawaiian and Venezuelan backgrounds and are expressed via his sculptures, paintings, and art objects. For the onlooker, his work simultaneously feels strong and imaginary, much like the archipelago he hails from. His focus on color brings to life his work’s objective. “My art is a metaphor for nature’s constant quest for growth through learning, experience, and contribution,” he says. And this objective is made evident when one looks at the color and rhythm his works exude. Kaiulani’s amazing sculptures are each a testimony to his life force.

Shop Luis Kaiulani > https://redwoodartgroup.com/brands/luis-kaiulani/

Maddi Ring

As a self-taught photographer, Maddi Ring has traveled extensively to over 80 countries, exploring remote parts of the world and seeking out unusual images of people, still life, landscape, and architecture. Her focus is often on remote areas, though there are more popular travel destinations, including her home city of New York, in her collection. She uses both color and monochromatic tonal ranges to reproduce the scene and set the mood. Then, working in an image transfer process, she creates a completely different watercolor effect. She also uses digital manipulation on select images to produce tinted black-and-white images as well as fanciful color abstracts.

Shop Maddi Ring > https://redwoodartgroup.com/store/maddiringphoto/

Rose Masterpol | Studio Jackie

Rose Masterpol’s work emphasizes multilayered systems of abstraction within time and space. All of Masterpol’s paintings have a geometrical component as well as an emotional relationship and meaning. The paintings are either from the gestural action painting part of her career (energetic, chaotic, free form) or the newer body of works that are narratives of the “language of shape.” Masterpol’s newer collection is called “The Geometrix,” representing a shift and departure from her previous more gestural work but containing residual remnant style, shape, thought, and emotion from the prior works. She designs them digitally and then draws the shapes on canvas. Then the painting begins. Masterpol has been a graphic designer for over 25 years. Today, the two mediums are a collaboration—a marriage of the digital virtual world into a two-dimensional surface world. The imagery comes from the choreography of melding organic shapes that embody and influence a formal relationship among structure, form, movement, tension, transparency, hierarchy, flotation, and emotion. Her works are literally a ligature between contemporary art and mid-20th-century design.

Shop Rose Masterpol > https://redwoodartgroup.com/brands/rose-masterpol/

Stefanie Demas

Born in Brooklyn before it was cool, Stefanie Demas is a self-taught—and still Brooklyn-based—artist. Endlessly inspired by wildlife, she uses ink, oils, and watercolor to paint portraits of endangered species. Her work depicts the powerful beauty of these animals while also reminding us of their precarious and possibly fleeting existence. She strives to raise awareness of the climate crisis and resulting in mass extinction through her art. A portion of all proceeds is donated to wildlife conservation charities.

Shop Stefanie Demas > https://redwoodartgroup.com/store/sdemas/

Tysen Knight | Studio Jackie

American street artist Tysen Knight grew up during the peak of the street art movement and has been inspired by the works of famous street artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Knight’s art style also reflects the styles of fine artist Pablo Picasso and pop artist Andy Warhol. He uses these influences to create unique pop culture graffiti pieces that can not only be found on city murals but also in fine art galleries. His work transitions between two worlds, fine art meshed with street art and graffiti all coming together to help him cultivate his style. He has created something new that captivates people from all walks of life.

Shop Tysen Knight > https://redwoodartgroup.com/brands/tysen-knight/

Joseph R. Locke | JRL Artistry

JRL Artistry is Joseph Locke’s photography studio based in Brooklyn. He specializes in transforming original photography into unique works of art. Locke believes there are no boundaries on how one’s view of photography can be shaped. Art can expand, evolve, and inspire. Therefore, there’s one element woven into the fabric of what he creates and that’s quality. Quality from the angle of perception to the equipment used to capture the vision to the material images are printed on to remarkable imagery that will wow collectors. In short, Locke believes quality is his art.

Shop JRL Artistry > https://redwoodartgroup.com/store/jrlartistry/

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Meet the Artist: Grace Chadwick

Hannah Smith — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 21:49:27 +0000

Q: Introduce yourself – who are you and what do you do?

A: My name is Grace Chadwick. I’m a sculptor working mostly in fiberglass, plastic, photography, and metal. I was born in the San Francisco Bay area in 1967, and grew up near Portland, Oregon. I now live outside of Seattle, Washington, and have a shop in the Okanagan-Similkameen in BC, Canada and Fishhawk Lake, Oregon.

Q: What is your background?

A: I always had a camera in my hand as a kid, I did things backward and began as a stringer photographer for The Oregonian newspaper when I was in High School. Then, I headed to the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara and found that I am much better at teaching myself. I headed back to Portland after school to experiment with sculpting materials. Finally, when YouTube came out, a whole new world opened up for me. I learned how to plasma cut metal and weld without traditional instruction in a classroom. I would rent equipment, watch YouTube, purchase equipment, and lose all track of time, slowly becoming a night owl.

Q: How do you work?

A: In solitude. I work on several pieces at a time, especially with fiberglass as there is a long cure time for each layer. I also like to let my art “sit” before tackling it again. I am constantly trying to get the art out of my head and dreams and into the shop. I am obsessed with experimenting with transparency and light with new materials.

Q: Which type of art do you most identify with?

A: Contemporary art that forces me to think of the meaning behind it.

Q: What has been your favorite experience so far as an artist?

A: Just one?! My current art project, which is a permanent installation on a 145 ft wall outside in the new development on the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington. Also having the opportunity to install my “Flower Kisses” at the Spectrum Miami / Red Dot Miami entrance in Miami…the best learning experience.

Q: Who inspires you?

A: All artists that are true to themselves and make art the way they want to make it, to the core.

Q: What is the best advice you have received?

A: From my dad: “If something like the plumbing goes out, try and fix it yourself and if it still doesn’t work, you can THEN call the plumber.” I’m sure this is why I’ve always thought I could learn skills on my own without help.

Q: When you are not working, where can we find you?

A: Skydiving or scuba diving. Adventuring where it is not too touristy.

The post Meet the Artist: Grace Chadwick appeared first on Art Business News.

From Frustration to Fruition: Five Steps to the Business of Art

Art Business News — Tue, 03 Jan 2017 17:45:12 +0000

–By Peri Schwartz

Back in 1999, when I was 25 years into my career, a good friend came to visit me at my studio. I complained bitterly to her about my lack of success in the art world. I’d experienced some success with commercial galleries, but I wasn’t getting the level of recognition I wanted, and I was disappointed and frustrated over the situation. She recommended I call Lucy Werner, a business consultant for individuals, small businesses, and non-profit organizations. As an artist, I didn’t necessarily view myself as a “business,” but I opted to reach out anyway (and Lucy fortunately agreed to accept a barter relationship in lieu of fees). It turned out to be the best decision I could have made.

I felt an immediate connection to Lucy, who offered the perfect balance of nurturing encouragement and realistic advice. She quickly took on the role of a coach during our monthly 30-minute calls, in which she helped me aim higher and identified five key actions I could take to improve my chances of success:

Reach out. The first thing Lucy told me to do was pick up the phone and call three successful artists I knew to ask for advice and to find out how they showed and sold their work. The first call I made was to a former fellow art student from Boston University. She gave me the name of the curator at a financial company in Boston that had included her work in their collection. I called the curator and sent her slides, and she bought a large painting for their collection. It was a great connection that ended up buying more pieces over the years. The curator also put me in touch with a gallery in Boston, where I have been showing ever since.
Another artist I reached out to suggested that I contact the curator of prints and drawings at the Boston Public Library. The Library owned a small print of mine, so she encouraged me to go back, since they had bought repeatedly from her and she thought the chances were good that they would want more of my work. I made an appointment with the curator and he bought three prints. To my delight, he also gave me the names of two other curators in Boston. When I called them, explaining that my work was represented in the Library and that the curator had suggested I contact them, they agreed to see me—and my work ended up in Harvard’s Fogg Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Find a new audience. In 1999, my focus was on self-portraits in a variety of mediums. These works were extremely difficult for galleries to sell. Lucy and I agreed that the subject matter may be better suited to museums, which were more open to including portraits in their collections. Thankfully, the curators looked at my work for its artistic value and the gap it could fill in their collections. Their acceptance validated my work and boosted my confidence. Even though I no longer do self-portraits, having a list of museum collections on my resume makes it easier to approach curators who are not familiar with me or my work.
Stay organized. Lucy explained the importance of maintaining detailed and organized records, especially when it came to showing my work to curators. Curators are busy working on exhibitions and are often inundated with artists trying to get their work shown, so getting their attention is difficult and takes perseverance. When I first started reaching out to curators (remember, this was back in 1999, before emails and JPGs were commonplace), I made a list of contacts and started calling them. Often, it took repeated calls and a tremendous effort to even get them on the line. I took notes of each phone call and what they wanted next, which was typically for me to send slides. I never got a call in response, but always took the initiative and followed up with another phone call. It was a combination of attentive tracking, patience, and perseverance that got their attention and made the sales happen.
Shift your market. As a native New Yorker, it was natural for me to want to show in Manhattan. But the city is awash with artists, making it difficult to break into the gallery scene. Instead, Lucy helped me identify university galleries as better venues, which could also serve as stepping stones to commercial exhibitions. Not long after, in 2000, I had a show at Washington and Lee University in Virginia and made a detour to visit a gallery in Charlottesville. That gallery owner put me in touch with a gallery in Richmond, which resulted in a 15-year relationship that is still going strong.
Get over your emotions. Like any business, running your own studio requires a certain amount of objectivity. But detachment can be difficult for artists who invest so much of themselves in their work. Lucy taught me to take a step back and understand that just because gallery owners or curators may not see a work’s value doesn’t mean it’s not valuable. That attitude served me well back then and continues to guide me to this day.

The steps I learned from Lucy weren’t novel; they were simple actions that any business owner would conduct. The key was shifting my perspective to view myself not just as an artist, but also as a business—one that’s now spanned more than 15 years, thanks to her guidance. As for our monthly calls? Those have endured as well, though now we spend our time catching up as friends first.

For more information:
Peri Schwartz www.perischwartz.com
Lucy Werner: Email: lucypullenwerner@earthlink.net

Bottles & Jars III – Peri Schwartz

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