Showing posts with label Paintings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paintings. Show all posts
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Friday, August 18, 2017
Friday, August 11, 2017
History of Smearing
For over hundred years now young painters look at Modern Art and its various styles,approaches and techniques and being young they get tempted almost each week in different direction To be as tight and illusionistic as Ingres or as grotesque as Otto Dix, to be painting so magically that everything would seem to appear as if behind a mirror... That would impress anyone.
But, another demon would beckon toward particularly naughty direction, where thrill of doing something that everybody knows should not, not ever be done is tempting. Something as rebellious and defiling that even thought of it would be frightening to the civilized part of the mind. But- the part that secretly shines shoes with lacy curtains and pours ink to the aquarium wants to do it. The consequences might be very unpleasant and at the same time presenting a new you, not that flaccid ne'er-do-well but a formidable risk-taker, artistic buccaneer,almost a salto-mortale motorcyclist!
But, another demon would beckon toward particularly naughty direction, where thrill of doing something that everybody knows should not, not ever be done is tempting. Something as rebellious and defiling that even thought of it would be frightening to the civilized part of the mind. But- the part that secretly shines shoes with lacy curtains and pours ink to the aquarium wants to do it. The consequences might be very unpleasant and at the same time presenting a new you, not that flaccid ne'er-do-well but a formidable risk-taker, artistic buccaneer,almost a salto-mortale motorcyclist!
A crowd of uncoordinated, devoid of manual dexterity, impatient art-lurkers promote hopeful wish that figurative art is either dead or should be dead. They sense that somehow there ought to be another way into artistic success than talent and tedium of learning.
Figurative art is not promising any "fun"[there is immense ,long lasting Joy in painting, but indeed ,no fun]. Let's declare representational art dead and by necessity of moving forward let us try yet untried. What possibly could be more antithetic to painting as much as smearing?
The original first smearer,as it often is with claims of originality it may be disputed but in all events among the very first brave smearers remarkable work of Jewish émigré from Russia ,Chaim Soutin should be recognized. Everywhere in contemporary art of that time paintings still retained disciplined, tight form in drawing and young Soutin broke that confining restrain. Not being able to draw , like not being able to play piano is something most people share.
However, not being able to play the piano and giving piano recitals would be new and untried. By this analogy not being able to draw, to reflect on canvas some disciplined ,representational forms and yet obtaining great fame as prominent painter is a feat no Pianist-Who-Can-Not-Play-The- Piano has achieved. Feats like that are astounding .In other fields golden nimbus of fame and universal admiration is given to the very few highest achievers. We see no Polar Explorers who never went to polar regions and we do not see renown swimmers who do not know how to swim. Yet,in the difficult art of painting it has been possible to manufacture by the skillful uses of Dark Magic great fame and a lasting place in the pantheon of greatest artists for someone who could not neither draw nor paint.
Then,another triumph of promotion became visible and this time no longer in Paris but over the famed skyline of New York City.His name was Franz Kline.
It is hard to imagine how something so obviously ugly and chutzpiatic could ever find itself on public display, let alone national museums.And yet:
", Kline's work is distinct in itself and has been revered since the 1950s"
"says wikipedia. Reverence,no less......
"Kline's paintings are deceptively subtle. While generally his paintings have a spontaneous, and dramatic impact, Kline often closely referred to his compositional drawings. Kline carefully rendered many of his most complex pictures from extensive studies."-
one can see how much meticulous preparatory "studies" conducted by the Master with aid of interns and aspirants it must have taken before the first brushstroke appeared on canvas. Franz Kline was also known for avoiding giving meaning to his paintings, In a catalog of Kline's works, art historian Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev writes that "his art both suggests and denies significance and meaning" and what a meaning it may suggest! On top of that, just to be inscrutable-he would deny any meaning or even significance -what an appropriately naughty artiste-maudit teasing coyly the adoring historians into writing about the smears as if their meaning was as dense as a collapsed red dwarf.
one can see how much meticulous preparatory "studies" conducted by the Master with aid of interns and aspirants it must have taken before the first brushstroke appeared on canvas. Franz Kline was also known for avoiding giving meaning to his paintings, In a catalog of Kline's works, art historian Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev writes that "his art both suggests and denies significance and meaning" and what a meaning it may suggest! On top of that, just to be inscrutable-he would deny any meaning or even significance -what an appropriately naughty artiste-maudit teasing coyly the adoring historians into writing about the smears as if their meaning was as dense as a collapsed red dwarf.
When it comes to the greatest,most delightfully haphazard,deliciously emetic art of smearing the golden palm should be handed to Hans Hofmann,the very Pope of Smearing.
Through a painting, we can see the whole world" said Hans Hofmann.I am not certain he meant his painting
And one more for our edification: Frank Auerbach.
" His work is not concerned with finding a visual equivalent to an emotional or spiritual state that characterised the expressionist movement, rather it deals with the attempt to resolve the experience of being in the world in paint."-so,his paintings are some kind of psychological trial of vague angst experienced by "being in the world".The result of this unusual situation,of being "in the world" and precisely in Camden part of London calls for "resolving" through the means of gobbing ,pooling and scraping a greasy dump of accumulated paint.
".......results in an astonishing desire{it really must be "astonishing"] to produce an image the artist considers 'right'. This leads Auerbach to paint an image and then scrape it off the canvas at the end of each day, repeating this process time and again, not primarily to create a layering of images but because of a sense of dissatisfaction with the image leading him to try to paint it again" No kidding,who would react differently but scrape the thing and perhaps look for the work he could succesfuly do.
"This also indicates that the thick paint in Auerbach's work, which led to some of Auerbach's paintings in the 1950s being considered difficult to hang, partly due to their weight and according to some newspapers the paint fell off"-that quote shows how not all of it is glamour and riches : paint falls off,people are jeering...
There is a very general set of pre-existing rules of how to do something if we want a particular result. Taking part in figure skating competitions requires without exceptions very fluent skill of skating. One cannot get a job as UN translator without knowing well foreign language.
Actions taken in the process of painting are organizing paint into intense,emotional illusion of three-dimensional image, thus hiding means by which it was achieved. The degree of illusionism varies with styles and unique touch of the artist but the fundamental illusion of paint appearing as objects of the world depicted ; that fundamental rule obtains. Clearly, subversive forces embedded in XX century culture started the perversity of definitions on all fronts and art is just one of its victims. What has always been a joke has become a rule and what humanity everywhere and always understood to be in a certain way has been hung upside down and ridiculed .
Because I wanted to conclude this post without fury,I am including one of Meredith Frampton's paintings.Can you imagine him at an art-opening with those new giants?
Thanks http://againstmodernart.blogspot.com.au
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Singapore watercolor paintings by Marvin Chew
Marvin Chew is a full-time professional watercolour artist and the current Vice-President of Singapore Watercolour Society. He is actively involved in many exhibitions and competitions both locally and internationally.
He loves to paint outdoors and is often seen sketching and painting on location, en plein air. He also teaches art and specialises in landscape as well as street scenes watercolour paintings.
He usually paints in semi-realistic, impressionist style, using transparent watercolours that highlight the play of lights and shades, using spontaneous, bold brushstrokes in many of his works, which imbues the energy of Chinese calligraphy.
AFFILIATIONS AND ART SOCIETY APPOINTMENTS
Since 2004
- Member of Singapore Watercolour Society (SWS)
2005–2007
- Treasurer of SWS
2007–2009
- Secretary General of SWS
2009–present
- Vice-President of SWS
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2012
- Held first solo exhibition “In Living Colours” at GalerieSogan & Art, Singapore.
2014
- Held second solo exhibition “Eat • Drink • Paint” at Utterly Art Gallery, Singapore
2016
- Held third solo exhibition “My Watercolour Story” at ArtSafe Pte Ltd, Singapore
WORKSHOPS, DEMOS, EDUCATIONAL TALKS & OTHER PROJECTS
2009
- Performed Watercolour painting demo at SWS 40th Annual Exhibition
2011
- Performed Watercolour painting demo at Cliftons, Singapore
2011-2012
- Drawing & Watercolour Painting Workshop for Beginners at NUS Museum, Singapore
2012
- Art Instructor at Mouth & Foot Painting Artists Workshop at Suntec City, Singapore
- Performed Watercolour painting demo at first solo exhibition “In Living Colours”
- Performed Watercolour painting demo at Loy Chye Chuan & Students Watercolour Exhibition
2012 - 2013
- Watercolour Painting Workshops at Galerie Sogan & Art, Singapore
- Instructor for Urban Sketching workshop at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
2013
- Talk on “History of Watercolours in Singapore” at Affordable Art Fair, Singapore
2013 - 2016
- Outdoor / Plein Air Watercolour Painting Workshops for school art teachers held in April & October, at Singapore Teachers’ Academy for the aRts (STAR)
2013 - 2014
- Supplied framed watercolour paintings to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) as overseas trip gifts
2014
- Participated in “Re-Interpretation” International Watercolour Exhibition 2014, Suzhou, China.
- Participated in “National Day Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition 2014”, Singapore.
- Participated in “Langkawi Art Biennale 2014”, Langkawi, Malaysia
- Panel of judges for “Tampines Celebrates SG50 Art Competition”, Singapore
- Watercolour painting demo at Affordable Art Fair Singapore
- Watercolour painting demo and workshop at “World Art Convention”, Kuching, Malaysia
- Watercolour painting commissioned by Port Authority of Singapore (PSA)
2015
- Participated in Singapore Art Society’s 65th Anniversary Art Exhibition, Singapore
- Selected and participated as one of the 50 artists in “A Brush with Singapore Art Society”, at Raffles City, Singapore
- Juried into the 38th International Exhibition of Watercolour Art Society-Houston (WAS-H), USA.
- Juried into 2015 Watercolour Missouri International Exhibition, USA
- Juried into the 45th Louisiana Watercolour Society (LWS) International Exhibition, USA
- Painted 6 acrylic artworks for Radin Mas Comminunity Centre SG50 Celebration Project
- ‘Live’ watercolour painting to accompany classical music concert “Parisian Chevaliers” by Tee Khoon Tang and Elias Reyes
2015-2016
- Watercolour painting demo/ workshop at “Tanjong Goodman” Open Studio at Goodman Arts Centre, Singapore
2016
- Participated and painted on a street piano for the Singapore edition of “Play Me I’m Yours”
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS, AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
2003
- Merit Award: Project Search, Discover South East Painting Competition, Singapore
2004–2015
- Participated in SWS 35th to 46th Annual Exhibitions, Singapore
2005
- Juried into the 28th International Exhibition of Watercolour Art Society-Houston (WAS-H), USA
- Participated in the 17th Asia International Watercolour 2005, Singapore
2006 & 2008
- Participated in the Singapore Chinese Cultural Festival Grand Art Exhibition, Singapore
2006
- Participated in Penang-Singapore Watercolour Exhibition 2006 in Penang, Malaysia
2007
- Participated in Sarawak Cultural Arts & Craft Festival 2007 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
2008
- Participated in Telok Kurau Studios - Commemorating A Decade Exhibition, Singapore
- Participated in Folk Art Forum exhibition held in conjunction with Rainforest World Music Festival in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
- Telok Kurau Studios Annual Exhibition 2008 - Mountains As Non-Mountain, Singapore
2009
- Participated in Singapore Art Show 2009, “The Call of Tradition”, Black Earth Art Museum, Singapore
- Participated in Singapore Hainanese Association Art Exhibition 2009, Singapore
2010
- Participated in National Day Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition 2010, Singapore.
- Juried into the National Watercolour Society 90th international Annual Exhibition 2010, USA
2011
- Participated in Tiong Bahru Revisited Exhibition, White Canvas Gallery, Singapore
- Participated in the first group exhibition of Urban Sketchers Singapore (USk-SG) and its book launch at URA Centre, Singapore
2012
- Participated in Mini Paintings Exhibition organised by Federation of Art Societies, Singapore
- Participated in $uper $ingapore $ale Art Exhibition at ION Orchard Gallery, Singapore
- Participated in “Our Journey” Watercolour Exhibition with Loy Chye Chuan & Students, Singapore
2013
- Juried into the 36th International Exhibition of Watercolour Art Society-Houston (WAS-H), USA
- Juried into and won the “Christopher J. Doré Memorial Award” - 43rd Louisiana Watercolour Society (LWS) International Exhibition, USA
- Participated in “Unity-In-Diversity” 7-man Group Exhibition, National Library Board, Singapore.
- Participated in “Artist’s Favourite II” Group Exhibition, Penang State Museum, Malaysia
- Represented Singapore in “China-ASEAN Youth Artists Exchange & Workshop” in Beijing, China
- Six artworks permanently collected by the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China
2014
- Participated in “A Changed World” exhibition jointly organised by Urban Sketchers Singapore and National Museum of Singapore
- Juried into the 37th International Exhibition of Watercolour Art Society-Houston (WAS-H), USA
- Participated in “Re-Interpretation” International Watercolour Exhibition 2014, Suzhou, China
- Participated in “National Day Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition 2014”, Singapore
- Participated in “Langkawi Art Biennale 2014”, Langkawi, Malaysia
- Participated in “World Hainanese Art and Calligraphy Exhibition”, Singapore
2015
- Participated in Singapore Art Society’s 65th Anniversary Art Exhibition, Singapore
- Selected and Participated as one of the 50 artists in “A Brush with Singapore Art Society”, at Raffles City, Singapore
- Juried into the 38th International Exhibition of Watercolour Art Society-Houston (WAS-H), USA
- Juried into 2015 Watercolour Missouri International Exhibition, USA
- Juried into the 45th Louisiana Watercolour Society (LWS) International Exhibition, USA
- Participated in World Artists Alliance Art Exhibition in Penang, Malaysia and Hualien, Taiwan
- Participated in “National Day Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition 2015”, Singapore
- Juried into the National Watercolour Society 95th International Annual Exhibition 2015, USA
- Participated in Dr Tan Tsze Chor Art Exhibition, organised by Singapore Art Society
- Participated in “50 Cultural Landscapes of Singapore” Watercolour Exhibition by jointly hosted by Lianhe Zaobao and SWS in conjunction with Singapore’s SG50 jubilee celebration
- Participated in “A Journey to Hue” Watercolour painting tour and exhibition organised by Thua Thien Hue Fine Arts Association and Fine Arts museum of Hue City, Vietnam
2016
- Participated in the National Watercolour Society Invitational Plein Air Painting Exhibition to be held Muckenthaler Cultural Centre, Los Angeles, USA
- Participated in the International Festival of Watercolour Artists for the 234th anniversary of Rattanakosin (Bangkok), Thailand
- Participated in “Memoirs of City Port Scenes” exhibition jointly organised by Maritime Port Authority and Singapore Watercolour Society, held at Visual Arts Centre, Singapore
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