Art exhibit-finally up and running!!

Seeing the watercolors all together in the space was inspiring!                                                                                                                           Below are a few photos of the art crowd at Michael Peter Hayes‘ Art Salon in  Locust Valley last night.It was so wonderful to share my work and hear responses to the work!!

It has been inspiring to carry on a dialogue with others about working with the effects of light as it changes over the day. I have utilized the structure of  the “liturgy of the hours” used by so many religious orders for daily prayer. This helps me to organize my vision and  awareness and document the effects of light and shadow on my perception. I reckon that a tradition of discipline that has encouraged heightened awareness and mindfulness in prayer would help me to attain that in my visual meditation of painting.

Any thoughts on that?

fresh watercolors of light & time!

I’m back!  The  show is going up today!  Check out my website to see more work! 

It is so exciting to see the work pulling together in this show! My current work investigates how light (and shadow, of course) informs our perspective throughout the day. Check out the portfolio of work in the show for more! here is one of my “vigils” or early morning observations of light and presence.

Brooklyn Museum visit stretches my visual boundaries!

I needed to just see some artwork at the Brooklyn Museum today, and was treated to a smorgasbord of artwork that encircled, surprised and caused me to rethink how I paint and how I see.

First of all, there was an installation by Sun K. Kwak done with masking tape…black only! When in the room, I felt wrapped in a swirling and comforting ribbon river. I am enthralled that this effect came from nothing more than torn black masking tape! Simple. Different.

Gustave Cailebotte had a very pleasant group of paintings that explored the water, his love. he also rowed, raced and designed boats. Busy man!

It was also an interesting and practical touch to be able to use my cell phone to call the Brooklyn Museum and get the comments on his paintings that way. (I am easily amused.  And I like using what I have.)

 This was one of my favorites because of the energy in the line, texture and composition!  I feel the wind!

Gustave Caillebotte (French, 1848–1894). Cliffs in Normandy, 1880. Oil on canvas, 28 3/4 x 23 5/8 in. (73 x 60 cm). Private collection

“Waterfall” by Pat Steir was refreshing and powerful!

Waterfall

Here is the artist describing her approach to her work!  This is quite a bit for one day. Have you had your visual perspective readjusted lately?

Inspiring interiors, rejuvenating everyday routine!

Have you ever been caught unawares by the sunlight falling over an ordinary corner of the room?  In its path of revelation, colors and shadows that you never noticed become apparent.  The air is electric with expectation and time slows down so you can drink it in. 

                 Then you wonder , which is the real place and time?   What has allowed you to notice the lively energy and vivid colors? How can you save this memory? How can you see past your daily routines, allowing light, time and space to open another view of the ordinary?

Pierre Bonnard, in the current exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “The Late Still Lives and Interiors”, shows us the results of his attention to daily routine.  A breathtaking exhibition that brought tears to my eyes in its simplicity  and grace!  A show not to be missed! it will help you to see beyond the mundane!

interior dining room by Bonnard

dining room on the garden

Powerful imagery…raw and oppressive anguish

Although I was hesitant to go, I did attend the exhibit to see the work in person. There was a dark silence in the rooms filled with her work. The watercolors and oil washes were potent and dark. They were powerful and executed with expressive washes and strong graphic qualities. The show was difficult to be with for any length of time. I see influences of Edvard Munch. 

A review by Roberta Smith in the NY times describes much of the work as “superficially painterly”  and speaks hopefully that “Ms. Dumas’s best work may lie ahead, and in the direction of greater variety.”

Here is a slide show of more of her work.

  

Marlene Dumas

 

The work has haunted me a little. I still think about it , although I saw it a few weeks ago.So I am trying to articulate more precisely what draws me and yet repels me. This will help me to become more fluent in my own work.

I want to feel uplifted when looking at art. I want the work to nurture the spirit within me. I do not feel that with this work. But I have learned  more about the power of a singular focus that harnesses will and talent to convey a message!

I’d be interested to hear what you think about the work.

Last chance to see Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton … Interview

How exciting to find this interview on the New Museum site!

Now I am determined to go to see the show this weekend, before it comes down on the 12th!

Elizabeth is quite articulate in the interview, sharing her troublesome issues as well as her solutions.

Laura Hoptman has asked some really thought provoking questions, as well.  I wonder how I would answer them with regard to myself and my work?  Now that would be a productive and helpful exercise1

Elizabeth Peyton " Jarvis" Oil on board 11" x 14"

Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton | Interview.

Art & the global economy

I had the opportunity of going to MoMA yesterday evening. I was actually there for a lecture on economics! Hmmm… It was an opportunity to reflect upon “America and the New Global Economy” with the guest speaker Lawrence H. Summers. He navigated through the complex financial challenges we currently face. As former United States Secretary of the Treasury and current Harvard professor, he certainly has spent a lot of his life reflecting and predicting economic fluxes and solutions. He sees a window of opportunity ahead in which we will be able to reshape public policy to maintain flexibility and fiscal strength as we practice inclusive prosperity and create systems of government to manage our global economy.

Concurrently, it was inspiring to take the opportunity to visit “Design and the Elastic Mind” exhibit! This link provides a great opportunity to explore the plethora of exhibits. The flexible thinking that was mentioned in the economic lecture was reflected in the visual explorations that we were immersed in as soon as we walked through the intuitive doors! There is so much to search through, but it is amazing how intuitive our designing is becoming. One of my favorites is sketch furniture. A chair and table are sketched in 3D and then created by computer data and lasers.

Another way of expanding thinking is found in TextArc using visualization and mapping to visually analyze patterns and concepts in texts. try Visuwords yourself! For a simpler version that I have used for a while, try Visual Thesaurus.

These are just two amazing embodiments of the human imagination for your investigation at MoMA.

I find this exhibit to be a stimulating companion to the economic and political lecture summarized above. They both describe the need for the elastic thinking necessary for us to flourish together on a global level.