Art on Paper Fair

I went to the Art On Paper Fair on Saturday.
The fair focuses on works by artists who use paper as a major influence in their sculpture, drawing, painting and photography. 
Pier 36, 299 South Street, Lower Manhattan
Link to work shown:

http://thomascampbell-art.com
www.facebook.com/artistkirkmaxson
http://www.kathbradford.com
http://www.bastny.com
https://sfelectricworks.com/artists/eggers
http://standcoffeenyc.com

http://thepaperfair.com

artist David Cass

Currently on exhibition at The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh is the solo exhibition by artist David Cass titled Years of Dust and Dry.

"I document what I see, I never thought I’d paint, I always thought I’d be a photographer, a film-maker even. These aren’t really paintings, they’re hybrids, snap-shots of a journey. And they don’t stand alone, they speak to each other, tell a story."

"I only paint subjects I have an emotional connection with – though in actual fact some of the time I document places which have negative memories of some sort. Sometimes I work with photographs to relive the experience, so painting itself becomes a process of re-earthing." 

"I’ve always been a collector. Since I remember my family laughed at me – first it was simply scrap wood, then wooden drawers, matchboxes, postcards and most recently tabletops. I collected all the way through art school. In fact, it was at college that I started to collect wood. I got so much of the stuff that I didn’t know what to do with it. I began using the wood to create sculptural work, almost to use it up really. When this ran its course, I started using wooden off-cuts in place of canvas. Now the objects have become as important as the painting. I put them in as part of ‘me’; it’s intensely personal."

http://www.davidcass.co.uk

Pete Hawkins: childhood dreams

UK artist Pete Hawkins paints on found materials: old wooden doors, school desktops, and cardboard to name a few. Mountain climbers climb towers of wooden bricks; Airplane models fight in imaginary dogfights; and one little princess dreams of riding her trike alongside Denis Hopper and Peter Fonda; all modern fables are painted on unusual surfaces. 

The doors, which were all salvaged from the British county of Yorkshire, are all visibly worn by the hands of time; this creates an interesting juxtaposition between the wood surface and Pete’s sensitive oil painting style. Each painting possesses the slightly macabre undercurrent present in both Pete’s work and the most memorable folktales from one’s childhood. The pieces become symbols representing opportunities taken or missed.

"Doors hold a lot of meaning,” explains Pete, "and not only as transitional points in people’s lives. There’s the inherent sense of nostalgia they bear. Plus, there’s the compelling suggestion of what may lie behind them."

"I believe that inspiration for good ideas is to be found in the most mundane places. It was a moment of clarity when I found a piece of wood in a corridor which had been used to work out maths sums, for doodling and the odd derogatory comment about someone's class mate. I liked the idea that these paintings are a sort of elaborate doodle of a school boy or girl’s dreams, hopes, and aspirations. In a child's mind, the possibilities are endless so with that thought I have tried to create images of obscurity where ordinary depictions of people and objects are put together to make up something out of the ordinary."
http://www.pete-hawkins.co.uk

Kirsten Stolle artist

 

Kirsten Stolle makes abstract narrative paintings and drawings based on human and natural forms. Her pieces are built up using many of mediums: gouache, acrylic paint, ink, oil, graphite and wax. She invents worlds that are frequently strange and ambiguous, her inspiration being ecological and genetics issues.  

Artist Statement: "Over the past few years, I have been interested in creating abstractions based on natural and human forms. Root systems, topographical elements, bones, and biological diagrams are often suggested in my paintings. Allowing for multiple reference points, I reinterpret familiar forms through my personal language of mark making.

I began my career as a printmaker and as in printmaking, my painting process consists of layering and reworking the surface, building up each painting slowly. I manipulate wax, oils, and inks with hand-held and electric tools allowing each piece to develop a sense of history. While there is often some initial planning, the final surface is as much a result of chance as it is control.

I continually seek to achieve a balance between the painted object as is and the negative space surrounding it. Absence of marks is just as important as the mark itself, creating tension between each shape and the edge of the picture plane. Exaggerated weighted forms counterbalance open white areas. Improvisational renderings add an additional evolution to each piece. A sense of humor is added for good measure."

http://kirstenstolle.com

http://geneticallycommodified.com/home.html

journal play

journal play

journal play

journal play

Page from journal I've been working in since 2001.

Joe Mangrum sand paintings

Watching a sand painting come to life on Sunday in NYC.

"It's about bringing art out to people that are intimidated by galleries, that aren't educated about art or feel like that can't afford a museum," says artist Joe Mangrum. His artwork is in the style of many cultural traditions from around the globe, including Tibetan Mandalas, African sand painting, Indian rangoli, and Native American sand painting from the Navajo and Hopi cultures.

http://www.joemangrum.com/artnews/about/