In the New Yorker this week Calvin Tompkins profiles Julie Mehretu. “Eighty feet long by twenty-three feet high, Julie Mehretu�s ‘Mural’ dominates the entrance lobby of Goldman Sachs�s new steel-and-glass office building in lower Manhattan. Hundreds of precisely defined abstract shapes in saturated colors�small dots and squares, straight and curving lines, larger geometric or free-form shapes ranging from several inches to several feet in length�move across it in an oceanic sweep. ‘It took me a long time�six months or so�to decide I wanted to do this,’ Mehretu told Tomkins. Mehretu is thirty-nine, friendly, and open. ‘One reason was this wall, which is so clearly visible from outside the building�I could never make a painting this scale anywhere else….'”
Award-winning blogazine, primarily about painting
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
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Short story: Rescue Center [Elizabeth Scheer]
Contributed by Elizabeth Scheer / I first discovered the Rescue Center while walking idly on... -
Arthouse Art House
Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / The set-up of Vasilis Katsoupis’ slickly but somewhat facilely resonant... -
Elisa D’Arrigo: Between the beautiful and the grotesque
Contributed by Kay Whitney / There is a fundamental paradox at work in Elisa D'Arrigo's... -
Confrontational color at Analog Diary
Contributed by Clare Gemima / Analog Diary’s group exhibition “Chromazones” – curated by Derek Eller,... -
Jo Baer: Space, position, and light
Contributed by David Carrier / Five smallish early Jo Baer paintings are on display in... -
Studio visit: Charles Clough’s audacious return to sculpture
Contributed by Jack Edson / A trip to Charles Clough’s studio, situated with his gallery... -
Ed Ruscha’s retro spective
Contributed by Laurie Fendrich / The work of the Los Angeles artist Ed Ruscha is... -
Part 2: On “negative criticism”
Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / It’s tempting to lament the demise of the takedown review.... -
Hudson Valley Selected Gallery Guide: September, 2023
Don't miss the last few days to see "The Summer Disaster Show," a big group... -
The real deal: James Brooks reconsidered
Contributed by Laurie Fendrich / “A Painting is a Real Thing,” the Parrish Museum’s current... -
Selected Paintings from SPRING/BREAK NYC 2023
Contributed by Fay Sanders and Bob Szyantyr / In a shift befitting this year’s theme,... -
On “negative criticism”
Contributed by Sharon Butler / Sean Tatol, the art critic who writes a snarky website...
Two Coats Obituaries
- Bushwick’s Tim Gowan August 12, 2023Even though making art is often an experience that happens in the solitude of one's studio, it rarely occurs in a vacuum. Artists rely on each other for support, reinforcement, inspiration, and challenge, forming communities to avoid feeling like fish out of water in this world. Tim Gowan was one of those artists who cherished […]
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Two Coats of Paint is celebrating National Daughter’s Day by honoring Lena, who some of you may recall was the mastermind behind our Social Media Services Project a few years ago. She has since opened her own business @honeyhomeofbeauty in #OldMysticCT. Love you @lena.alohalani ❤️🏆❤️ Daughter, visionary, and muse.
Image: @meadowflowerphotography #honeyhomeofbeauty @mystic_disc #mysticct
Latest post, link in profile / Elisa D’Arrigo: Between the beautiful and the grotesque / Contributed by Kay Whitney / There is a fundamental paradox at work in Elisa D’Arrigo’s ceramic objects – while they are unmistakably beautiful, they break every standard for what is considered “beautiful.” They are small, shambolic, eccentric objects lacking symmetry; they are not overtly colorful and don’t attempt to please. They are humble, not loudly announcing nor applauding their own appearance; understated and private, the viewer must come to them. Rather than exhibiting the mechanical surfaces of a wheel-thrown or machine-made object, her forms bear the imprint of her hands and in that way reveal the processes of their making. If there is any other artist with whom her work could be compared only George Ohr, the “mad potter of Biloxi,” comes to mind. His small “puzzle mugs” demonstrate the same sensibility — simultaneously humorous and serious, their extraordinary eccentric surfaces and coloration are reminiscent of D’Arrigo’s, exposing a shared aesthetic. Link in profile
@elisadarrigo1 @elizabethharrisgallery @k.whtny #ceramics #chelseagalleries
Image: Elisa D’Arrigo, Making a Move 6, 2023 7 x 6.5 x 4 inches, courtesy of the artist & Elizabeth Harris Gallery
“Something darkly set itself at our senses’ five thresholds without stepping over them,” a cinematic two-person show @bonnierskonsthall with Tulsa Lovell and Sara-Vide Ericson, is a haunting mediation on the past, the future, and the inexorable force of nature. In terms of craft and content, unlike anything I’ve seen in NYC. Or is it? Images are tagged.
@tildalovell @saravidee #swedishartists #konsthall #theatricalinstallation #manvsnature #bonnierskonsthall
Snapshot: Overlooking the Central Baltic Sea from @fotografiska.stockholm. We saw the @shirin__neshat and @therealpeterlindbergh shows — strange combo, but both moving in their own way. The place is dark and loud — more like a nightclub than a gallery. The bar on the top floor is beautiful.
Latest post, link in profile / Inside: Arthouse art house / Contributed by Jonathan Stevenson / The set-up of Vasilis Katsoupis’ slickly but somewhat facilely resonant feature debut Inside is deceptively simple. A high-end art thief is helicoptered onto the roof of a luxury Manhattan high-rise and, with the aid of a techie accomplice, hacks into the security system of an absurdly opulent penthouse, owned by a high-end art collector who is evidently away for a season or two. The thief is targeting several of Egon Schiele’s signature vampy drawings and a singularly valuable self-portrait. Link in profile
@insidethefilm #insidethefilm #jonathanstevenson #twocoatsofpaint #filmreview #wilemdafoe #VasilisKatsoupis
Surprise: #PatriciaTreib solo on view in Stockholm @galerie_nordenhake 💥 beautiful paintings, elegantly installed ❤️
Swedish-born and UK-based, artist, activist, writer and eco-feminist Monica Sjöö (31 December 1938 - 8 August 2005) fought for freedom from oppression, but especially for women’s rights. “THE GREAT COSMIC MOTHER” @modernamuseet is her first retrospective. Swipe for the image that was considered blasphemous and obscene in the 1970s.
Rejecting abstract art as a Western male privilege, she asked: “How does one communicate women’s strength, struggle, rising up from oppression, blood, childbirth, sexuality – in stripes and triangles?”
#MonicaSjöö #cosmicmother #modernamuseet #stockholm
In the studio of Prince Eugen Napoleon Nicolaus of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Närke (1 August 1865 – 17 August 1947) was a Swedish painter, art collector, and patron of artists. Swipe through for a wide angle of his attic studio. Yes, it has a water view :) #stockholmartist #Waldemarsudde #Djurgården #princeeugen #landscapepainting
Hi!
I'm art student from liverpool.
i'ii be very apreciate if you give me an interview pleeeeease for my assesement tomorrow. thank you!
Interviews:
When did you first discover that art would be an important part of your adult life?
I loved art from my childhood.
How has creating art shaped you professionally and personally?
What are your artistic influences? Has anyone inspired you?
How long have you been a working artist?
What is your artistic process?
Where can we see more of your art?
Are you represented by a gallery?
What trends do you see in the 'art world'?
Any tips for emerging artists?
What was the toughest point in your career as an artist? Have you ever hit rock-bottom?
What can you tell about the art scene in your area?
Has your work ever been censored? If so, how did you deal with it?
Is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the 'art world'?
In one sentence… why do you create art?
Has politics ever entered your art?
Does religion, faith, or the lack thereof play a part in your art?
Does your cultural background play a part in your work?
Really nice.
liverpoolenka–that's quite a long list of questions. I'm not sure if you're interested in my response or Julie Mehretu's. If mine, you might check out an interview I did last year with qi peng: http://theartassassin2.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/assassination-sharon-butler-artist-blogger-at-two-coats-of-paint-and-associate-professor-at-eastern-connecticut-state-university/
good luck with your class.
–Sharon