mary crenshaw's blog

Paintings Month of February

2012-02-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

This is a page of what I feel to be the most successful paintings that I have finished since the January residency. I tried doing some paintings after the collages, but don't like them. I am going to stick with abstract mark-making.

100x70cm acrylic and spray paint on paper title: Engulfed

100x130cm acrylic on canvas title: Jungle Gym

100x70cm acrylic on paper title: La Terra dei Fuochi

100x70cm acrylic on paper titled: Embedded

130x100cm oil on canvas title: Stalactitic

130x100cm oil on canvas title: Scaffolded

More Collages

2012-02-24T00:58:00.000-08:00

25x35cm mixed media on paper

30x25 mixed

35x20cm mixed

10x30cm mixed

30x40cm mixed

40x30cm mixed

Paris continued...

2012-02-24T00:10:00.000-08:00

Sainte Chapelle

Galerie Lafayette (department store)

the french constitution on the tiled walls of the metro stop Place de la Concorde

street art

Sue takes my picture

In front of Sacre Coeur, Montmartre

from Albers exhibit at Pompidou Center

Life imitates art

Artist Montmartre

Line at Musee D'Orsay

Paris

2012-02-24T00:03:00.002-08:00

Lucio arriving in Antony

Lucio and Sue in front of Notre Dame

La ville lumiere

The Pompidou Center

another view

Manteau by El Anatsui

detail Manteau

Tires

2012-02-17T06:58:00.002-08:00

These are some collages I've been working on to generate ideas for tire paintings. The idea to collage as a starting point was a suggestion from professor Steck . I was warned to steer clear of the political for making paintings, and use the tire motif as only "a departure" for the work. I tried to be playful and loose with them.

Each collage is 20x25cm, acrylic and photographs on paper

Denyse Thomasos

2012-02-12T01:47:00.000-08:00

Great use of color and perspective.

Snow Pix

2012-02-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

David Hockney's iPhone Passion

2012-02-09T23:19:00.000-08:00

More Paintings

2012-02-08T13:12:00.000-08:00

Well, we are having a sub-zero (Celsius) weather due to a cold front from Siberia! I've been wearing my thermal underwear to work in the studio, and have been comfortable. I am trying to make my hours for this week because Friday there's supposed to be more snow and we all could end up snowbound.

acrylic on canvas 130x100cm title :Jungle Gyms

These three paintings are about mark-making, without reference to anything! I realized I am not interested in architecture per se, even though elements can find their way in and that's ok too.

100x70cm acrylic on paper untitled

The next ones will various sizes. The idea is that they will interrelate, yet work separately.

100x70cm acrylic on paper untitled

Finished Painting plus a New One

2012-02-04T11:13:00.000-08:00

100x70cm acrylic and spray paint on paper

detail of above

100x70cm acrylic

detail of above

Keltie Ferris exhibition

2012-01-31T23:56:00.000-08:00

http://www.art21.org/newyorkcloseup/films/keltie-ferris-has-a-show/

New Work

2012-01-30T07:07:00.000-08:00

100x70cm unfinished

First studio session after my third AIB residency in January. This a work-in-progress acrylic on luscious Hannehmuhle paper. Even though it is not finished, I wanted to post something. I am thinking paper is the way to go and want to bring only work on paper or either small stretched canvases to the next AIB residency. Today I tried to think about a few things that were brought up in crits, but mainly I just had fun. I will do some large canvases as well, but will not take them to school. I had an eventful crit with Ben Sloat before heading to the airport. He liked one black and white painting from last June and said that mark-making is important, and much contemporary painting is steeped in that tradition. So, I think I am just going to relax and have fun this time. I feel like I know pretty much the direction I need to take. My new mentor Annabel and I skyped briefly last week. She encouraged me to consider light and space, and look at architecture.

Art Documentaries

2012-01-28T02:34:00.001-08:00

http://www.artbizblog.com/2012/01/art-documentaries.html
Thanks to my friend Leigh Yardley for this one!

Love her! Kelty Ferris

2012-01-27T11:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.art21.org/newyorkcloseup/films/keltie-ferris-spray-paints-in-solitude/

Ilya and Emilia Kabokov at Lia Rumma

2012-01-22T05:53:00.000-08:00

http://www.espoarte.net/2012/01/ilya-emilia-kabanov-da-lia-rumma-a-milano/

Interesting show in Milan's most impressive gallery space. Lots of the work looked like expensive toys for rich children, but there were a few valid works. Four paintings suggesting the artist during different epochs alone in the studio, the piece at the entrance of what seems likea person under 40 meters of pinkinsh-grat felt, and some small sculptures were the least commercial. For the rest, I was reminded of crèche scenes. I'm sure the gallery goers will enjoy them.....very saleable.

Provisional Painting by Raphael Rubinstein

2012-01-20T08:53:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting article Laurel Sparks told me about.http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/2011/05/provisional-painting-at-modern-art/

Back from Third AIB Residency

2012-01-18T10:18:00.000-08:00

Hello all. I am back home from my third residency at the Art Institute of Boston 's low residency MFA program. I am extremely happy to be working with professor Jan Avgikos as an advisor and painter Annabel Emson as a mentor.
I was so busy this time that I forgot to take pictures of the work I brought. There were some interesting visiting artists; Jean Lowe, J Morgan Puett, Tony Cokes, and Liz Deschennes. Liz was the visiting professor this time and lots of people were lucky to have her for critiques.

Jennifer and Julie on our walk back from the MFA

Jarrod with his hair down

Ri-TA

Party animal Leigh Yardley

Casey with bystanders

Bandana bikini by Molly Painter

Linda Fitzgibbons' ceramic installation

Very cool sculpture by Julie Lindell

Jennifer and Molly at opening of show in Cambridge

Julie showing her video of Texas tornado

Jennifer, Janna, and James

goodbye Boston

Only 3836 miles to home....

Helen Frankenthaler

2011-12-28T00:36:00.001-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/arts/helen-frankenthaler-abstract-painter-dies-at-83.html?p

Here are some more of Frankenthaler's paintings.

"Verdilizzante or Fatlizer" written and directed by alfie nze

2011-12-15T00:30:00.000-08:00

London Visit

2011-12-05T22:44:00.001-08:00

Joan Mitchell at the Tate

A reconstucted Vladimir Tatlin tower in front of the RA

Gert and Ewe Tobias at Maureen Paley

A jewel-like Tomma Abts painting

Energetic Ida Echblad

Matisse Blau Thomas Kiesewetter

Max Ernst

I saw lots while I was in London for a visit with my mentor Catrine Bodum. She and I got together in her Lambeth studio for a final crit of my work on my last day in town. The night before Catrine and the group of artists in Make Space Studios held an open studio reception, something they do twice a year. I had a bit too much to drink, got to socializing, and totally forgot to take any pictures!
The rest are just some photos of paintings and sculpture I saw going around to museums and galleries.

Def Poetry: Jill Scott

2011-11-26T05:28:00.000-08:00

Pipilotti Rist at the Cinema Manzoni, Milano

2011-11-25T23:25:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I took in this intallation by Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist. The Cinema Manzoni, a beautiful but out of business movie theater built in 1947, was filled with her work. From outside, looking through the huge glass doors at the entrance, you see the underpants chandelier titled Cape Cod Chandelier . The artist projected a video on the sculpture, giving it a "lit from inside" effect. On the ground floor on the movie screen there was a loop of her (reminded me of Jenny Saville paintings-but Rist, I am pretty sure, did this first) smashing her face on a pane of glass, mixed with what looked like the inside of a psychedelic lava lamp, called Open my Glade, from 2000. I liked this part of the film, because it was so much like painting. My interpretation of this piece is that we are basically slime and jelly, like the lava (trails of saliva, make-up, ect were left as evidence on the glass).

One of the windows of the Armani Store across the street-It took up the entire block and was pretty amazing and as good as the art across the street.

The best was upstairs! A video of two Swiss misses frolicking in leaves - very psychedelic- was projected on the ceiling titled Homo Sapiens Sapiens from 2005. What made it richer was the glittery mosaic of the old theater's ceiling. There were pillows made from pairs of pants to wrap around your neck and shoulders, for your viewing pleasure. I did not take pictures of this because I think I had an acid trip flash-back from the seventies, and was too spaced out. It also could've been having that warm pillow around my neck. I wasn't expecting to like this, and was pleasantly surprised. The not thinking really makes you think, like doing yoga and emptying the mind. Brava Pipilotti!

Ten Tousand Kilometers of the Yangtze River, by Wu Guanzhong

2011-11-20T22:54:00.001-08:00

"Ten Thousand Kilometers of the Yangtze River"is by the late Chinese artist Wu Guanzhong, who died last year at the age of 91. This oil painting just sold at auction in China for the equivalent of 23.6 million dollars. Painted in 1973-74, it is considered one of the artist's best works. Ihis is a detail of the painting.

Minimalism and Biography

2011-11-08T07:21:00.000-08:00

Lynda Benglis, looking extremely cool.

Eva Hesse, looks about eighteen.

Lucy Lippard-simpatica.

Simone Forti-dancing

Yvonne Ranier in a leotard.

Ana Mendieta, performing "Blood"

Just for fun I found images of the women artists mentioned in "Minimalism and Biography" by Anna Chave.

Cecily Brown at Gagosian, Rome

2011-11-08T00:03:00.000-08:00

www.gagosian.com/artists/cecily-brown/

Cecily Brown is a painter whose work I have admired for a long time. She is the late David Sylvester's daughter, btw.

FutureModern: Josh Smith at Luhring Augustine

2011-11-04T00:55:00.000-07:00

FutureModern: Josh Smith at Luhring Augustine

installation Josh Smith

drawings and artist book

artist book

more artist books

I discovered this interesting artist at the Venice Biennial. Here is my photograph of his giant installation in the Arsenale. There was also an exhibition of his artist books in the Biennial library. What I like about Smith is his youthful energy and simple materials.

Paul Thek: Diver, A Retrospective

2011-11-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Paul Thek: Diver, A Retrospective

My Paintings

2011-11-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

"Abstract Expressionism and the American Experience:A Reevaluation" by Irving Sandler, from 2009, is the author's second book on abstract expressionism. The first book Sandler wrote in 1970 when he published "The Triumph of American Painting." He worked on it for twenty some years. Lee Krasner was omitted the first time, but is included in the new book(she's the only woman included-grrr). The following is a passage that I like.

"The advanced New York painters made use of accidental drawing and painting, but they recognize that reflection and critical appraisal were required to invest a painting with a sense of emotional truth and a cogent pictorial structure. Actually their painting was more improvisational than spontaneous." Irving Sandler

Spontaneous means visceral. To improvise means to devise.

The following paintings are still referring to elements in the city; building sites, subway and train stations, scaffolding, disgarded tires. My mentor suggested that I look at colors from photographs I have taken. I did this and also have been using imagery from the internet and newspapers. I am thinking about how shaky everything is these days, from the toppled Italian prime minister (yes!), to dramatic climate changes (floods in Liguria, at the Cinque Terre) and the toxic waste problem that plagues southern Italy and elsewhere. There was a small photograph of a river of garbage in the paper that found its way into "A Napoli"(In Naples).

acrylic, spray paint on canvas 100x60cm title: Escalating

acrylic, spray paint on linen 40x50cm untitled

acrylic on linen 40x50cm untitled

acrylic on linen 130x100 cm title:A Napoli (this refers to a river of garbage that overflowed during recent heavy rain). There is a huge toxic refuse problem in Naples.

acrylic on canvas 120x120cm title: M

acrylic on canvas 130x130cm title:Bolted

130x130cm acrylic on canvas title: Toxic Towne

acrylic, spray paint on canvas title: Tires

acrylic ,spray paint on linen 100x130cm title:Skeleton

130x100 acrylic on linen title: Infinity Tires

The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Mountains Clearing after Rain (Fengqing ge yu tu)

2011-10-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Mountains Clearing after Rain (Fengqing ge yu tu)

New Paintings-Transfer the Visual Thing into an Action

2011-10-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

title: <-
(I've decided to title paintings after marks that are in them)
This is acrylic on canvas, 200cmx 60cm

title: XXX
acrylic on canvas 200x80cm
These were inspired by the city and caligraphy.

This is a quote from Phyllida Barlow. Lately I have been thinking about the approach she takes to her work. Repair-destruction-collapse-this is how our cities mutate every twenty years or more.

"The urgency toget something done is very important in my work. I make work very quickly. Ithen need ages to understand what I’ve done., and that is an odd paradox. I’vetalked to a lot of other people who make work very quickly, and they almostdon’t know what they’ve done. They don’t know where it’s come from. And that’squite bewildering. And when I say that I don’t know what the subject is, Ireally don’t. Therefor there is an ongoing chase to find that.

And for somepeople who maybe get into art, and they may be driven the whole time throughgetting it right or observation, to suddenly to be given a completely new wayof being an artist and recognizing how you might transfer that visual thinginto something else-a physical action-is a real epiphany. And it certainlyhappened to me".

title Path acrylic on canvas 200 x 40 cm

A Quote from Viola Frey

2011-10-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

"If you make it (art) based on what is stylish, or acceptably good, then you have nowhere to take it".

Some New Paintings

2011-10-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Untitled acrylic on linen 130x100cm

Untitled 100x60cm acrylic, spray paint on canvas

A Summary of September and October- Work

2011-10-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

acrylic and ink on hahnemuhle paper 70x100cm untitled

These are the pieces my mentor thinks work the best. She wanted me to reintroduce color. At first I went a little wild, and had this brought to my attention. Currently I am using three colors and mixing them to get other tonalities. Using color has been a challenge after working in black and white. I began painting on paper, but am now working larger on linen primed with clear acrylic gel. My infuences come from architecture building sites, surrounding industrial buildings, and using the paint. I discovered the sculptor Phyllida Barlow who also looks to architecture, but says it doesn't really matter.It is the use of the material that counts! Catrine wants me to pay attention to space and the way the shapes I am using relate to it. I have been working and experimenting alot, but have hit some dead ends.The only solution for that is to keep at it.

acrylic, ink, spray paint on canvas 50x40cm untitled

acrylic on linen 130x100cm untitled

acrylic, ink, spray paint, pastel on canvas 60x30cm untitled

acrylic on linen 100x130cm untitled

ink,spray paint on hahnemuhle paper, 60x100cm untitled

title:Colato di Cemento (Poured Cement) ink, spray paint on hahnemuhle paper 60x100cm

Venice Update

2011-10-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

Anybody remember the REAL Swept Away, by Lina Wertmuller? This is the actress who played the starring role, Mariangela Melato. She's very well known here and does mostly theater.

Also when the train pulled into the station the Orient Express was waiting to leave. Everyone on board looked very posh, and was sipping champagne at 11:00 am.

I've never taken a gondola, because they are too expensive. But, I discovered the Tragetto Gondola that costs 50 cents to take you across to the other side so you can walk instead of using a vaporetto.

Back to the Biennale. This is part of the UK Padiglione, represented by Mike Nelson

Part of Mike Nelson's installation. Got a bit queezy maneuvering the space, but that was the point. It was like descending into hell.

Germany, or Germania in Italian-The Ger was replaced by EGO.

Interesting

This reminds me of Robert Bern's work from last residency. It has writing on it...

Film by German artist (need to look up names here-lost the documentation for Germany. Sorry!)

Uncomfortable Spaces or In a Tight Spot might be a better title for this years' Biennale, instead of the insipid Illuminations. Artists seem to be thinking about how problematic living has become for us all, old and young.

Christian Boltanski is a genius, but his piece especially fits into the pompous category. I like scaffolding as much as the next person, but this over-use was unnecessary. When I walked into the exhibition space there were people climbing on it in order to make repairs. That made it a bit more interesting.The pictures of newborns' faces running throughout, like a newspaper being printed were supposed to be moving in a loop. Even trying to describe the installation is tiresome, so I won't bother. Monsieur Blotanski, where is your refreshing poetic simplicity? Has fame gone to your head?

Impressions from the Venice Biennial

2011-10-14T00:35:00.000-07:00

Arriving in Venice is an emotional experience. I was wheeling my trolly behind a group of college-age French girls and one, seeing the Piazza for the first time kept repeating, "Oh my god!" None of her friends paid any attention to her, but I appreciated her sensitivity.

The Biennial is enormous, with lots of splinter exhibitions throughout Venice, but the two main spaces are the Giardini and the Arsenale. Once you make it to the Giardini (I walked about an hour from my hotel) you buy a ticket and begin visiting the Padglioni. The first one on the right was the Swiss, with Crystal of Resistance, an installation by none other than superstar Thomas Hirschhorn. It was an incredible experience, and I told the guard that I'd seen enough and could leave now. He said that in the summer with the heat it was even more dramatic and people would lose their sense of space and have to be carried out on stretchers (not really, but almost). Hirshorn is so messy, it is hard to believe he's Swiss! I spoke with a Swiss artist/art therapist and she agreed. Her non-artist travelling companion didn't get him, but we heart you, Thomas H!!!!

A partial view of Hirschhorn's work

Next was the Nordic Pavillion, no less spectacular! Andreas Eriksson and Fia Backstrom represent Sweeden. This is decidedly the most beautiful space, with trees growing in the middle, a requisite of what I consider a dream house. I got the listening device for Fia's piece and used it throughout the entire Biennale, since her installation is dispersed throughout. Borderless Bastards is thought provoking and hits a nerve with anyone who has ever lived and worked outside of their native country. One woman artist's comments about how she felt more aware of her emmigrant status in the UK after she became a mother and had to consciously make decisions about how she wanted to raise her child rang true.

Eriksson's work was not only visually pleasing, but thought provoking. The artist depicted nature as seen through his studio window with distortions of reflected light. The works refer to the place where they were created and the space where they are exhibited. This Pavillion was the least pompous of all. I felt throughout the Biennial it was a battle between the artists of being bigger and better. Typical Swedish understatement prevailed. These artists' works are refreshing, as well as intellectually challenging.

Paintings by Canan Tolon

2011-10-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

My mentor Catrine suggested I look at these paintings by Canan Tolon, originally from Istanbul. Tolon has a degree in architecture.

Venice Biennial

2011-10-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

I just booked a train ticket to Venice for Wednesday. I will take lots of pictures, especilly of work by Fia Backstrom and Francesco Bocchini. I'll be staying at the Hotel Tivoli for one night, because it takes two days to see everything. Last time my husband Lucio and I drove and he got the Stendal Syndrome after two hours of pavillion hopping, so I figure it's better to go alone."Meglio solo che mal accompagnato"(Better alone than with the wrong person). Wish my AIB friends (Leigh, Julie, Janna, Rita, Jason, Molly, Flannon, the two Jennifers, Jenna, Mandy, Kristin, Jason, Noelle, Andres, Ya, Nina, ect ) could be there with me.
A change of scenery will be good and the weather is still nice.
ARRIVEDERCI

Moped Meltdown

2011-10-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

Moped melter strikes again! For the second time in a month on this block (in front of my studio) someone has torched a moped. The car is pretty fried too.

130x100cm Trying here to keep my colors limited.........

200x40cm Also limiting colors

Welcome to Trecella!

Same truck, all shiny and new.

Play of light on green netting.

Eddie South and his International Orchestra - Marcheta (1931)

2011-10-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

Eddie South - Nagasaki

2011-10-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

Some Sculpture by West from the 2007 Venice Biennale

2011-10-04T00:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a photograph of sculpture by West from the 2007 Venice Biennale. It is papier maché!

Art Biennale 2011 - Franz West

2011-10-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

Acrylic on Linen

2011-10-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

130x90cm acrylic on linen

100x70cm Ecoline, graphite, acrylic spray paint

The first painting is acrylic on linen. Just like with the painting on linen from last week, it was sized with transparent acrylic gel. Because of a tendency to over work, I am stopping when I feel like the paintings are "full". I didn't want to go over with other layers of shapes because the painting seems finished. Probably the fact that the ground is a color helps speed up the process. I like doing these one day paintings. It is an exercise in restraint. I went a little wild with the spray paint on the work on paper, but the way the spray paint sticks to the Ecoline when it is slightly damp creates an interesting effect.

Last of this Week's Work

2011-09-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

Ink,spray paint,water-based enamel,acrylic,pastel on canvas 60x35cm

Ecoline, spray paint, and India ink on paper 100x70cm

Ecoline and India ink on paper

Acrylic on linen 130x90cm

Ecoline,India ink,spray paint on handmade paper 35x20cm

I had a very productive day today. I started off by stretching the linen and sizing it with acrylic gel. While waiting for it to dry, I finished the first small painting. I worked on the linen painting most of the day. It is at a point where I can stop working on it. Getting ready to leave the studio, I noticed the green Ecoline bottle on its side on the floor, lying in a puddle of green. Well, not wanting it to go to waste I grabbed a sheet of paper and wiped it up, also using the small handmade paper piece to blot up the spilt ink. So, the two larger green and black paintings on paper came about because of the knocked over bottle.

Paintings and Photographs

2011-09-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

Acrylic, Ink,graphite, spray paint on canvas 50x40cm

Acrylic, spray paint, graphite, water-based enamel on paper 100x70cm

Acrylic, sprat paint, water based enamel ,graphite on paper 100x70cm

acrylic, spray paint, water-based enamel on linen 120x100cm

Sidewalk in Trecella

Eletrical housing on wall of Bar Pinto in Trecella (where the retired men hang out at all hours of the day).

These are a couple of photographs I took as an "explanation" for my work. I struggled with the painting on linen because it was sized with clear acrylic gel and the Ecoline (liquid watercolors) would have worked better on a gessoed surface. But, I like the linen surface and will try another, only using other painting materials. Now that I am back to using color I am trying to be parsimonious. Catrine and I discussed how the colors work best underneath the layers. I have to remind myself these things!

Photographs

2011-09-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some things I've recently photographed.

Work by Phyllida Barlow

2011-09-24T03:32:00.000-07:00

ARTIST TALK: PHYLLIDA BARLOW with Isolde Charim

2011-09-23T23:40:00.000-07:00

What Barlow has to say about her work as being a collection of actions that doesn't have meaning, really hit home. She describes the city as being in constant evolution going from repair to destruction to rebuilding to collapse and how this leaves many open questions. This is an artist I need to research.

Paintings on Paper

2011-09-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

Colata di cemento (poured cement-has a nicer ring in Italian). My dad once told me that when they need good cement say in buildings or sidewalks, builders always want Italians, who are expert cement makers.Well, cement was invented by the Romans.

Street scene-this has brown and yellow, a return to color.

I just finished these two paintings on paper using ink, spray paint and acrylics. The imagery is related to the urban environment. I've been noticing lately that there are few curves, if any, in buildings, bridges and machines. There are mostly right angles. I will be using more color in the next paintings, limiting my palette, since Catrine thinks it will be a good idea. Both paintings are 100x80cm.

Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli and Eddie South Improvise on Bach

2011-09-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

A finished painting-Back to using color

2011-09-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

This work is finished. I used Ecoline (liquid watercolors), acrylic, and spray paint on Hahnemuhle rag paper. I really enjoy spraying, though think in my small, poorly ventilated studio I might have to cut down for health/ safety reasons. I found a brand of supposedly non-toxic spray paints here ( you can't get Krylon, it has to be ordered from the UK).
I wear a mask most of the time, but can feel I'm breathing the stuff. I have been toying with using spray bottles, the kind you pump with your finger, and filling them with inks or some kind of paint that won't clog.

Boy, is she in a bad way, or what?

Along with this completed painting are some images of things on my commute from home to the studio.

Spontaneity; Two Different Approaches

2011-09-17T01:44:00.000-07:00

Frank Auerbach, Shell Building Site,1958 graphite and ink on paper, 19x22cm

Zao Wou-Ki, Untitled,2005 ink on paper, 57.5x59.5 cm, 2005

These two works are the subject of my comparative analysis essay due October 1.

Mentor Catrine Bodum's Exhibition

2011-09-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Here are images of Catrine Bodum's exhibition at Sammlung Galerie S/Z, in Uerikon, just outside Zurich. I wish I'd gotten more pictures of the actual paintings, but the gallery got crowded quickly!

The artist, looking lovely in green.

A few of Catrine's paintings and the gallery director, before the show got swamped with people.

Peti and Jane, who live next door to the gallery.

Beautiful white gallery-the paintings looked amazing.

One of Catrine's biggest fans (her mom).

Swiss Landscape

The painting on the invitation (sorry, but don't have a title)
oil on canvas, approximately 150x120cm

Some Amazing Calligraphy

2011-09-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

This reminds me of street art.

My paintings with black circles were inspired by disgarded tires.

Inside New York's Art World: Lee Krasner, 1978

2011-09-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Last Work of Summer

2011-09-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

90x60cm ink and spray paint on paper

100x100 cm spray paint and ink on kraft paper

100xm x 100 cm ink and acrylic and spray paint on kraft paper

200cm x 40 cm ink and spray paint on canvas

110cm x100 cm ink and spray paint on paper

100 x100 cm ink and spray paint on paper

Ink and Spray Paint on Paper

2011-08-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

60x90cm

200cmx60cm

In My Studio

2011-08-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

These are oil and acrylic on paper on panel, 100x65cm.

Photographs

2011-08-18T06:11:00.000-07:00

Found on a hike with my husband who wouldn't allow me to take it back to my studio (it was an enormous cow skull)

Fernando, my nephew, and son Elia. Both fifteen-they couldn't wait to take off somewhere on Ferdi's moped later.

Adriana, Eugenia, and Maria.

Here are a few pictures from Southern Italy, land of concrete, wires, rust, tv antennas, fantastic food, and friendly people. Over the years I have developed a theory that everyone here is an artist.........

Tomaso Saraceno at MACRO Rome

2011-08-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Saraceno shot images of the dunes and sky in Arizona and projected an animation using these photos onto plastic circular tubes. The result was dramatic and hypnotic.

Frank Auerbach Landscapes

2011-08-12T02:14:00.000-07:00

Accident

2011-08-11T23:15:00.000-07:00

This is a total accident. Maybe I can learn something from it....

Giorgio Gaber - La Sedia da Spostare-A Social Commentary on Italian (Democratic Decision -Making)Government Inefficiency

2011-08-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Duchamp interviews and Zao Wou-Ki Lithograph

2011-08-05T00:14:00.000-07:00

Lithograph Zao Wou-Ki

Finished

2011-07-31T03:43:00.000-07:00

I wanted to finish these for the studio visit with my mentor Catrine tomorrow.

Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald

2011-07-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

Back in the Studio

2011-07-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

oil on paper, 50x70cm

Lucien Freud is a hard act to follow! Anyway, I should be working on my Critical Theory II Summary, but wanted to post a painting I finished the other day. It looks figurative, but really is just a bunch of marks and squiggles of nowhere in particular.

The Queen by Lucien Freud

2011-07-22T23:16:00.000-07:00

Freud at work on portrait of Queen Elizabeth II

This painting is tiny, nine by six inches. How many artists would have the nerve to paint a portrait of a sovereign that small? I don't think it's ever been done. Her crown sparkles and her face is that of a real person. It is one of the top ten best paintings ever made.

Tomas Saraceno at Macro (Rome)

2011-07-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Progetto speciale che l’artista argentino Tomas Saraceno ha concepito per la grande sala Enel, sviluppando il proprio dialogo con Yona Friedman e le teorie di Richard Buckminster Fuller.
Con quest’opera, l’artista reinterpreta completamente lo spazio MACRO, trasformandolo in una “città aeroporto”, come se fosse “una nuvola di sabbia” in grado di fecondare l’ambiente, la vita sociale e le menti. Attraverso l’interazione tra l’installazione – oltre 500 dodecaedri costituiti da 18 km di tubi per cavi elettrici – e immagini video realizzate nello straordinario paesaggio naturale del Lencois Maranhenses Park nel nord del Brasile, Saraceno trasforma i 1200 mq della sala espositiva in uno straordinario universo fluttuante e sospeso, in cui il visitatore potrà fondersi con nuove forme e immagini e scoprire nuovi modi di vivere, viaggiare e comunicare.

Not only is our "dorm" at AIB called the Buckminster, I was fortunate to hear Fuller speak at VCU in the 1970s. What a positive person he was. He was in his 80s and had the energy and enthusiasm of a twenty year old.

On our way to Naples, we always stop in Rome to see cousins Massimo and Cinzia. So hopefully this will be up when we go the first week of August.

Back in the Studio

2011-07-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

75x75cm acrylic, India ink, graphite on paper

These two paintings on paper are based on the obsessive drawings I've been doing in sketchbooks. It's is a start.

Gerhard Richter

2011-07-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

Henri Michaux

2011-07-17T02:23:00.000-07:00

Henri Michaux's paintings always remained figurative, in-spite of all tendency towards abstraction. The artist's intention was not to flee from the world, but to expand the world by changing the awareness. The real world was to be enhanced by additional levels of perception.
Henri Michaux died in Paris in 1984 at the age of 85.

Asian Ink painting

2011-07-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Handscroll, ink and color on paper, 14inchesx17ft
Wang Yuanqi, Chinese, 1642-1715

Xie Zhiliu, Chinese 1910-1997
View of Yosemite National Park, California

The abstract painting by BelgianTachist Henri Michaeux once belonged to Francis Bacon. Bacon claimed that Michaeux was better than Pollock.

Mitzi Pederson at Ratio 3 San Francisco

2011-07-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

Clem Crosby

2011-07-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

I know I'm supposed to be looking at black and white, but my pal Leigh sent me images by this artist. I especially like the last one, where he gets loose. Thanks Leigh!

Notebooks

2011-07-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

Some obsessive drawings from a couple of notebooks.

Frank Auerbach

2011-07-10T04:12:00.000-07:00

Frank Auerbach has always been one of my favorite painters. I was happy to read that he too has a small studio and has been there since the 1950s. Michael Newman suggested I look at his work, namely the landscapes. I was pleasantly surprised by these black and white paintings and sketches. As for my own work, at present I am working on filling up two sketch books with obsessive drawings done with black and gray markers. I miss using charcoal, but don't miss the charcoal dust going up my nose and into my lungs! For now, I'm sticking with materials that don't smear.

This drawing is done on layers of paper. I'm not quite sure I understand how he did it. This is something I'll have to research.

Guernica

2011-07-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

Guernica was the first city ever to be bombed by air. The bombing which took place in 1937 was a Nazi experiment. This was condoned by Franco during the Spanish Civil War so he could overthrow the Spanish government in a coup to join forces with the Germans and Italians. Picasso was scheduled to represent Spain at the Universal Exhibition of 1937 in Paris. He created this work to denounce this atrocity. Painted in two months, the artist made 45 preparatory sketches for Guernica. It measures 3.5x8 meters.

My Two Cents

2011-07-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

Manifesto on Black and White Painting

1. Black and White Painting is old-fashioned.

2. Black and White Painting is contemporary.

3. Black and White Painting is alive.

4. Black and White Painting is individual and collective.

5. Black and White Painting is internal and external.

6. Black and White Painting is connected with the universal.

7. The old-fashioned and contemporary create balance between the collective and the individual.

8. Whoever believes in art and culture is accepting of the old as well as the new media.

9. Everything has already been done in painting and it is okay to look to the past in order to uncover personal discoveries.

10. It is also okay to steal ideas in Black and White painting-all important painters do and have done this.

11. Look at contemporary Black and White art.

12. Look at Black and White of the past masters.

13. Look at your friends’ Black and White art.

14. Treat Black and White painting as a full-time job.

15. Love Black and White painting.

16. Hate Black and White painting.

17. Nobody ever made a good Black and White painting by just talking about it.

18. Listen to your peers and professors.

19. Remember painting is not about words.

20. Do not take anyone’s advice.

De Stijl Manifesto

2011-07-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

Kline vs. Chinese Brush Painting

2011-07-04T14:10:00.000-07:00

Monet's Haystacks

2011-07-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

It was suggested that I do a series of one thing, like Monet's Haystacks.

James Welling Photographs

2011-06-29T05:20:00.000-07:00

Finished Black and White

2011-06-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

110x210 acrylic on canvas
No more time to work on this one. It's also too big to take with me to AIB, so I thought I'd post it.

Another Chinese Painter, Xie Zhiliu

2011-06-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Black and White

2011-06-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

The Larks "Shadrack" Killer Gospel-Soul

2011-06-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Qi Baishi

2011-06-05T01:11:00.000-07:00

This painting by Qi Baishi just sold in Beijing for over 65 million dollars. It's the highest price to be paid for a contemporary work of art sold in China.

Here are some more of this artist's works, where just a few brushstrokes get his message across.

Vinicio Capossela - Che coss'è l'amor

2011-06-03T05:16:00.000-07:00

Milano, Anish Kapoor in mostra, Rotonda della Besana e Fabbrica del Vapore - Style.it

2011-06-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

Milano, Anish Kapoor in mostra, Rotonda della Besana e Fabbrica del Vapore - Style.it

Green Painting, Brown and Blue Painting

2011-05-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

110x210 acrylic

must measure, about same dimensions as other one
I have re-worked these, trying to finish them before it's time to leave for the June residency.

Art Biennale 2011 - Bice Curiger Countdown for the Biennale di Venezia-Opening is June1

2011-05-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

Piazza Cadorna- Claes Oldenburg Sculpture

2011-05-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day today, and I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd take some pictures of the needle and thread sculpture. I recently discovered that, because there's an on-going argument between Italians about the colors of the flag (I've lived here 24 years, and will never understand the minutiae of the Italian psyche), the thread is yellow, red, and green, instead of white. Many don't like this work and believe it's not suitable for Piazza Cadorna and want it moved elsewhere. Others think this is a wonderful work and like it in front of the Cadorna station, designed by Gae Aulenti.

Revised Orange Painting

2011-05-24T03:58:00.000-07:00

acrylic on canvas 110x110

Dixie Cups - Iko Iko (Rare clip)

2011-05-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

Revised painting, Cut Pieces

2011-05-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

THE ARTIST - HD-Trailer - Michael Hazanavicius - Cannes 2011

2011-05-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Can't wait to see this!

More.............

2011-05-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

acrylic on canvas 110x110cm

110x110cm acrylic on canvas

One More...

2011-05-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

acrylic on canvas 110x100cm

Back to the Grindstone

2011-05-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

Just returning to work in the studio after a brief hiatus of re-writing topics paper and both sons getting a bout of the flu simultaneously.

acrylic on canvas 210x110

110x100cm acrylic on canvas

Heather has me working with one color or limited palette. Here are two I finished today.