March 13, 2008, 01:03 p.m. Bucharest time, 11504 votes for Brancusi

We always knew there's something not quite wholesome about Mr Saatchi, and his art gathering and promotion techniques were at times questionable. He's a great man for certain, and a great promoter of art, but this time he's went too far: fiddling with a democratic voting process. See how votes for Brancusi DECREASED during the day. Now I'm asking you: how can votes decrease? I thought people can't take their votes back. If they did, GW Bush would have been deselected from his position in no time.

Write to Saatchi and fight the power! You can't keep Brancusi down!

March 13, 2008, 03:25 a.m. Bucharest time, 11799 votes for Brancusi

Amy Bennett

Waiting, oil on panel, 16 x 30 inches

From Now On, oil on panel, 13 x 13 inches

We Can Never Go Home Again, oil on panel, 22 x 36 inches

Sleeping Separately, oil on panel, 20 x 20 inches

Someday You'll Long for This, oil on canvas, 40 x 60 inches

.

Good at Parties, oil on canvas, 36 x 48" 2003

I really am amazed when I look at Amy Bennett's works. The care and attention given to tiny, almost insignificant details is incredible. And I find myself thinking that I must be some sort of super-viewer, an uber-voyeur. Better yet, I think this is the birds-eye view that only a god who peers down from a hidden vantage point on Mount Olympus can see. They are there and observe Leisurely the lives of the mortals.

The painterly observation takes in everything with a non-critical eye, and presents it all to us, the regular viewers. It is us who can make judgments, if we feel like it. The artist just loves what she sees and, and loves us too, I think, since she lets us think as we see fit about what we see and what we want to see. (Mig)

Terry Rodgers

Immaculate Reflection, 2006, 60" x 76 ½", oil on linen

Comfort Zone, 2007, 157cm x 168cm, oil on linen

This Is Our Youth, 2004, 142cm x 229cm, oil on linen

Shades of Olympus, 2004, 179cm x 251cm, oil on linen

Negotiating the Future, 2004, 160cm x 203cm, oil on linen

The Main Attraction, 2004, 152cm x 244cm, oil on linen

I am not sure what can I say about this artist. He's a fine draughtsman for sure, and clearly knows his anatomy lessons. And also has a fine eye for lasciviousness and debauchery. And a flair for compositions with many characters - which, believe you me, are pretty hard to handle properly. Also, the great wealth of detail shows he's very skilled and pays attention to all minutiae of the depicted objects and characters (glints in crystal glasses, bra and knicker marks on suntanned bodies, sparkles on jewels). Terry Rodgers, besides being a very good painter, is also a fine connoisseur of smutty garments. An A+ for that!

What I truly wonder is whether the artist has sketched his charcters en ensemble or one by one, in individual sittings?
(Mig)

My friend Tommy Kane

Whatever I have to say about our friend Tommy Kane would never make him justice. I mean it. This artist is so involved with his art, it is really hard to find a domain of his activity (see his website) on which to pass a comment lacking admiration.

I like his paintings best because Mr Kane brings to life a plethora of characters from the American Dream and popular culture who can speak volumes about where art has got to this day (or, at least, that's what I think). Comic book heroes make an appearance not in all their Technicolor or printed glory, but in a guise similar to that of condottieri of the High Renaissace, or a glorious duke of the 17th century.

Astro Boy flies past a flabbergasted officer from a 1950s sitcom or film, but why is this nice man so surprised? Maybe he's surprised we are watching him put in a frame he would not have dreamed of. When do you think was the last time he thought about art ?

And the animal portraits manage the rare feat of characterising the depicted animals sincerely, in all their horse-ness and dog-ness. In the meantime, they are lent that specific aura only a portrait can have, that presence that makes one empathise with the depicted subject.

Good job, Mr Kane!

(Mig)

Scott Stulen

i saw this from a guy who saw it online
marker and acrylic on panel, 12 ” x 12 ” 2005


I feel I am losing my sense of wonder
marker, glitter and acrylic on panel, 12 ” x 12 ” 2005

conceptual traps for fictional animals

flashe, enamel and acrylic on panel, 18” x 24” 2006

Yeah, My Mom Grow Weeds

enamel, acrylic, felt, foam, fabric, cut paper, ink, watercolor, colored pencil, and contact paper on panel 48” x 48” 2004

well owl bee
enamel, acrylic, felt, foam and sandpaper on fabric 52 ” x 50 ” 2005

things that are gnawing at me and the trees in my backyard (detail)

graphite on paper, 52” x 76” 2005

i never wanted to be a cowboy until it was too late

sharpie, felt, and foam on fabric, 24 ” x 30 ” 2005

Well, what can I say more in praise of this artist than these images have not already told you? It's clear that something is still true about painting - and was used successfully by the likes of Warhol and Rauschenberg: - it can create a vivid, true overview of our society.

Scott Stulen likes to play with image. And, in one of the images above, he toys with Warhol's reading of ready-made culture. Famous Andy's Brillo box thus appears in the same frame as Bambi, equivalencing pop(art)-culture with popular culture: ready-made vs. archetypal cuteness, art legend vs. Disney's legend.
(And no, I'm not having a swipe at Disney's role in globalisation).
(Mig)

Robin de Goede

STRANGER PROJECT

JKR KROMAREK

Bahnhof, oil on canvas, 120X180 cm

Bunker, oil on canvas, 140X200 cm

Heimtrainer, oil on canvas, 100X160 cm

Kaefer 01, oil on canvas, 80X100 cm

Tiefgarage 03, oil on canvas, 180X60 cm

Tunnel, oil on canvas, 80X100 cm

Ueberspiel, oil on canvas, 80X100 cm

JKR Kromarek is a good example of the recent re-evaluation of painting.

You see, people, Painting is the new Photography, only way better. This is reality with a twist. Anyone could have taken a photo of a car-park, but not anyone could have put a twist in the vision of a carpark. Because it denotes reality (whereas photography represents it), painting can afford to be more personal and thus skew, embellish, or simply just report a state of fact / being. I think this is what JKR does. (Mig)

Eduard Bezembinder

Mr Bezembinder is good. He really is! His work could be catalogued under 'Compute-Assisted Illustration', but his works presented here are made in oil / acrylic / tempera / gouache on paper / canvas / panel, as a picture with the man in his studio clearly demonstrates.

But what matters most here is the surreal / unreal pictorial atmosphere, which seems to be based on landscapes from day-to-day world, transformed through the obliteration of selected details, and the addition of patterns and other details which come from elsewhere. From another painting? From a parallel reality? From a parallel universe, maybe?
(Mig)

YUKO SHIMIZU

"The P Trees" ink on paper (digitally colored version) 24"x19" / 60cm x 48cm 2002-03
(Yuko Shimizu ©2003 protected by Federal copyright law)


"The Big Wave (after Hokusai)" ink on paper (digitally colored version) 19"x24" / 48cm x 60cm 2002-03
(Yuko Shimizu ©2003 protected by Federal copyright law)


"Kiddy Pool" ink on paper (digitally colored version) 19"x24" / 48cm x 60cm 2002-03
(Yuko Shimizu ©2003 protected by Federal copyright law)


"The Mummy Man" ink on paper (digitally colored version) 19"x24" / 48cm x 60cm 2002-03
(Yuko Shimizu ©2003 protected by Federal copyright law)

book cover "letters of desire" ("A-Girl")

Yuko Shimizu © 2003 all rights reserved

Yuko Shimizu is a Japanese artist and illustrator living and working in New York. As you can see, the illustrations exude a certain quirkiness, probably due to the mix of advertising, eroticism, manga, and old Japanese masters of wood block printing, such as Hokusai.

An excellent artist! (Mig)

Thank you Sorana for tip.

Art Viewers

Art Viewer #3 (Michael), 2006, oil on canvas, 32 x 32"

Art Viewer #1, 2005, oil on canvas, 32 x 32"

Art Viewer #2, 2005, oil on canvas, 32 x 32"

Raw Power, 2006, charcoal on blue paper, 18 x 24"

The artists known as Fritz Chestnut is one of a kind, and there's no doubt about it. As far as I am aware, not many painters have tackled the subject of art viewers close and personal. Or, if they did, the result is more or less caricatural, and not quite in a benign manner (as in "my viewers are dolts, and I have to make do with that because they buy my works". At least Bruegel did think that). Raw Power is on a completely different note: the series looks like portraits of heavy metal fans and / or musicians, and in this case you can only wonder at the intensity of the expressions which arise only when the metal is raging and the loudspeakers are ready to burst into flames.

Not so with Fritz: his portraits of viewers are sympathetic and (I believe) picture the wonder in the eye of the beholder. Being a man of this age, irony is felt as well, because we could say that the viewers are wondering at their own images in art, that this is a mirror of their admiration and incredulity. It's just as if you would look at a portrait of yourself, and when you would scratch your nose, so would the painting. (Mig)

Kes Richardson

olive-06 2005 acrylic on canvas 96.5 x 96.5 cm

lily-29 2005 acrylic on canvas 96.5 x 96.5 cm

angel-20 2005 acrylic on canvas 96.5 x 96.5 cm

the lady (miss cocodrille) 2005 acrylic on canvas 86.5 x 86.5 cm

bunny 2005 acrylic on canvas 71 x 71 cm

It is clear this gentleman has seen some adult-themed materials in his time. It is also extremely clear he is a master of understatement, and of extracting and expressing the absolute from image, and preserving a clear image.

I think this is good, and I think this is also sexy (if I may put this in a non commercial way). I also like Mr Richardson's treatment of the Old Masters, as seen in The Lady with the Crocodile (formerly Hermine), where he obliterates many details in favour of several striking elements.
(Mig)

Jason Levesque

Jason Levesque, cunoscut si sub numele de Stuntkid, este mai degraba un ilustrator decat un pictor (not that I hold it against him), si nu este chiar rrrau in ceea ce face. E putin cam ciudatel dupa gustul meu, dar are lucrari care pot fi considerate bune. In paralel cu tendinta de quasi-Goth, quasi-Manga, se observa pe ici-colo unele elemente care vin de la tata lor al ilustratorilor, Mucha (vezi pe saitul omului).

Oricum, tipul este foarte ingenios. (Mig)

.

Altfel Stuntkid nu are nici un fel de scoala de arta sau plastica sau vizuala. Interesant cum a invatat pina acum:

Inspiration: The web is an endless source of inspiration to me. I love finding new artists and learning from what i see. Also I base a lot of my illustration on my own photography so I am inspired by my photography subjects.
School: Nada, I dropped out of school in 11th grade and taught myself web design. Made a couple lucky breaks and snuck into a career through the backdoor. Shhh, our secret.

(nic)

William Betts - surveillance paintings

Last Seen: 12:01:33, 2006, 39.25 x 60 inches, acrylic on canvas


Corner, 2007, 40 x 54 inches, acrylic paint on canvas


Terminal, 2006, 40x56 inches, acrylic paint on canvas


Front Door, 2006, 40x54 inches, acrylic on canvas

I rather like this guy. It is impossible not to be reminded the sheer determination of a Seurat or Signac working in the purest pointillist style. I think it was rather more than determination that made this artist paint this big canvases pixel by pixel. The subject matter itself - CCTV pictures - shows two aspects of contemporary life: the surveillance society (which some people compare to Orwell's 1984, although I don't think it's that bad yet) and the absolute routine of living in the city. Nothing happens in the paintings above, although I am sure the artist could have chosen - if he wanted to - pictures from America's Most Wanted, or Wildest Police Videos. The artist wanted to be, probably, more like Seurat with his afternoons in the park and bathers on the banks of the Seine.

Who knows, should there have been CCTV at the the time Seurat lived, he would have marked his Grande Jatte with a time-code. (Mig)

BP Portrait Award, Londra

Pomeneam in postul precedent de BP Portrait Award. Pentru edificare, iata cateva imagini, courtesy of National Portrait Gallery (unde sunt expuse lucrarile selectate si cele premiate). Ce se vede mai jos sunt, in ordine: BP Portrait Award Winner, Second Prize Winner, Third Prize Winner, Young Artist Award.

Michael Simpson
Paul Emsley
© Paul Emsley

Stephen
David Lawton
© David Lawton

Tamara
Johan Andersson
© Johan Andersson

Zuzana in Paris Studio
Hynek Martinec
© Hynek Martinec

Dupa cum se vede...

Deci, zic, dupa cum se vede, colegul Nicolae nu a pierdut prea multa vreme si inceput sa posteze ipostaze favorite de arta pictoriceasca, pentru care trebuie sa-l felicit - e un om hotarat, care stie ce-i place si ce vrea.

Cat despre mine, stiu si eu ce-mi place, dar imi lipseste uneori hotararea de-a ma ridica pe scaun, sau sa bat cu pumnul in masa, si sa sustin ca pictura inca are un rol foarte important de jucat in arta contemporana. Este interesant, totusi, ca multe galerii si institutiile de cultura au inceput sa faca aceasta drept pentru care tot mai multa pictura a inceput sa apara pe pereti.

Cred ca cel mai bun semnal dat in directia aceasta este castigarea premiului Turner 2006 de catre o pictorita: Tomma Abts - premiul mergand indeobste in directia artei conceptuale. Dar daca stam sa ne gandim putin, oare pictura nu poate fi si ea arta conceptuala? Dintr-un motiv sau altul, prezentarea de idei interesante, revolutionare, estetice, anti-estetice, etc despre arta si societate a fost considerata domeniul propriu si personal al conceptualismului.

Sa ne gandim, totusi, ca cele mai revolutionare idei despre arta si rolul sau si-au facut aparitia tocmai prin intermediul picturii, la inceputul secolului XX. E adevarat, nu era ceea exact pictura figurativa, dar intre timp figurativul, aruncat la cos de o generatie de artisti care au cochetat si au abuzat de lumea ideilor, a devenit din nou palatabil.

Cu siguranta, eforturile despuse de institutii precum National Potrait Gallery, prin premiul pentru portret, au avut ceva de-a face cu aceasta.

Pentru a nu mai bate campii in continuare, iata un link unde va puteti uita si voi la ce expune premiul pentru portrete anul acesta: http://www.npg.org.uk/live/bp/

Peter Michael Studio

Acest domn este un artist foarte interesant. Nu numai din perspectiva faptului ca are o tehnica buna, dar si din cauza ca priveste ceea ce face dintr-o perspectiva "stiintifica". Mai precis, toate modelele sunt supuse unei serii de fotografii. Dupa aceea, domnul artist selecteaza cele mai interesante sau expresive (sau ce i-o fi facand lui cu ochiul) imagini, pe care le baga in computer si le altereaza (probabil cu Photoshop), scotand in evidenta contraste, defecte, sclipiri etc. Abia dupa aceea, folosind imaginea digitalizata si filtrata / modificata drept model, domnul artist se pune pe pictat. Un rol foarte important in lucrare in are culoarea in sine - vopseaua - care dupa cum se vede este destul de fluida dar controlata in acelasi timp.

Am putea zice ca avem de-a face cu un experiment intre digitalizare, observarea gradului de uscare a vopselei si observarea atenta a portetului. (Mig)

Tribulations Urbaines de Japone

Acest domn, care se prezinta numai sub numelele de Japone, face picturi pornind de la fotografii facute de el insusi. Sustine ca face acest lucru deoarece, prin intermediul fotografiei, imaginea este deja fixata si nu mai poate fi deformata prin filtre personale (ochi obositi? minte plecata de acasa?). Pornind de la foto-jurnalism, domnul Japone ajunge la ceea ce ar putea fi numit picturo-jurnalism. (Mig)

Prima postare - ce incercare!

Acest blog taman ce s-a pornit. Pe el va aparea numai si numai ce sa vrea mushkii domnului artist Nicolae Comanescu si mushkii mei personali. Eventual, vom publica si lucruri de care ne zic alti oameni, in cazul in care ne face placere.

Caci, in principiu, aici nu va aparea altceva decat ce ne place noua sa vedem pe internet si credem ca ar trebui sa vada si alti oameni. Vom scrie in romana si in engleza ca sa fim si internationali, dar asta nu inseamna ca o sa fie traduceri pentru fiecare lucru postat. Cam asta ar fi, pentru moment.

Succese maretze, tovarshi!
Tov Mistrecul
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