medium /// art show




eliana marinari

Blurry photographs? Nope. Pastel, pencil, spray paint and ink on paper, mounted on panel… have I said ‘gasp’ yet? Gasp! This is the work of Geneva based artist Eliana Marinari, and this is a description of how and why she does what she does:

Eliana Marinari ‘s practice employs a longstanding discipline of drawing, reinterpreting the genres of landscape and portrait as a means to question our perception of reality. Her work reflects an intense fascination for the power of images and explores the human ability to recall a visual object and generate semantic associations.

Her interest has been formed by current theories on visual recognition to explain the transition from a perception-driven representation to memory-driven elaboration of concepts: meaning is attributed to each feature and translated on assumptions based on previous experiences, cultural beliefs and values.

Eliana Marinari’s two main series Recognition and Recollection borrow details from archives, found images and her own photographs. Carefully constructed by glazing aerosol acrylic on pastel and pencil drawings, the vestigial image mimics the process of creating a visual representation in our mind and brings time, memory, loss and an emotional narrative to the subject.

Beautiful! If you happen to be in Geneva, be sure to stop by her solo show, titled “Recollection Memory”, at Le Salon Vert. The opening event is this Thursday January 16th from 6-8pm, and the show will run until February 22nd, 2020.





marie-claude marquis

Hahahahahaha! From hand-lettered vintage plates, to new embroidery on old embroidery – both covered in curse words and blunt sayings – this is the work of  Canadian artist Marie-Claude Marquis:

“… Touching both graphic design and visual arts, she is inspired by souvenirs, nostalgia, pop culture, Quebec identity and her own emotions which she expresses with a feminine touch and a colorful sensitivity. 

In her gallery work, Marie-Claude  has mastered the art of re-appropriation in giving found objects new meaning. T hat way she can give these objects a second life, prolong their existence and reduce her own environmental impact. Mainly by typographical interventions, she always finds a way to give new meanings to these antiques. The result of her work is often humorous, sometimes irreverent but always keeps a big focus on aesthetics.”

Marie-Claude’s latest solo show, titled “We’re All Kinda Fucked Up” opens tomorrow night, Saturday January 11th at Recess in San Francisco {816 Sutter Street}. The opening reception is from 6-9pm, and the show runs until February 1, 2020.

ps. Recess is the newest space by the wonderful people behind Hashimoto Contemporary and Spoke Art. This is their first show at Recess {previously the Spoke space}, so go and check it out! 





mya kerner

Sigh. This is the work of American artist Mya Kerner. The last time I wrote about Mya, her mountains were inky blue… but for her latest show, currently hanging at Linda Hodges Gallery in Seattle, her palette is filled with muted, dreamy pastel hues. Here is part of her artist statement for “The Rise and Fall of Stone”:

“My work revolves around ancestral history, storytelling, and ecological concern in an exploration of memory and landscape. The paintings reference specific landscapes, but I work to depict each place somewhere between reality and memory. In the landscapes, white space meets fields of muted color through shattered lines of graphite, suggesting a continuous cycle of transformation …

… My background in permaculture and a lineage of Eastern European foresters first drove me to explore humanity’s relationship with the natural world through my art practice. More recently, I have expanded on these ideas, reacting to anthropocentrism and a sense of uprootedness, both personal and intergenerational, by studying Earth-based traditions. As I reflect upon stories from the spirits of the land, my own memory, and those of my ancestors, I ask questions about how we relate to place through the lenses of wildness, stewardship, civilization, and change.”

Beautiful. This show is open now through the month of January, and the artist reception is tomorrow night, Thursday January 9th from 6~9pm. 





liza lou

Whoa. I just wrote about American artist Liza Lou a few months ago, but then this! Her installation, titled Kitchen (1991- 1996), is now on display at The Whitney in New York. Beads. So, so, so many tiny glass beads… more than 30 million if you happen to be counting!? No wonder this project took her from 1991 until 1996. I’m going to New York in March and, yes, this will be my first stop {did you see the chips!? LOVE}. Kitchen is part of an exhibit titled, Making Knowing: Craft in Art, 1950–2019, which runs until January 2021. GO!





sergey kim

Oh my word, YES. This light installation, titled “Neighborhood”, is the work of New York based artist and art director Sergey Kim. As you can probably tell by the bicycles and canals, this piece is part of the Amsterdam Light Festival, which is happening right now until January 19, 2020. Here’s a description of this absolutely gorgeous, glowing clothesline:

“Illuminated laundry hangs to dry on washing lines, as though it were a summer day in Amsterdam. Glowing white garments, and a cheerful collection of blouses, T-shirts, underwear, trousers and dresses, hang on either side of the canal. There are also some special items of clothing such as a pair of wide Turkish pants, a traditional Jewish dress, and a Moroccan djellaba. Together these pieces represent the cultural and ethnic mix of residents in the city. Spread between different houseboats typical of Amsterdam, Neighborhood is a subtle but surprising intervention in the cityscape.

The washing lines are hung between houseboats and together, they create a friendly, neighborhood feeling. It is this connection that is paramount for Sergey Kim; according to the artist, despite globalisation and the wealth of information exchange around the world, we increasingly fear foreigners. In large cities, people live in isolation, it’s common not to know your neighbors. The artist hopes to send a positive message into the world by using something as every day and universal as drying laundry to represent an image of people coexisting harmoniously.”

So beautiful, in so many ways.

{Photos via the Festival, and I found the final two images on Instagram. Closeup taken by @jenn_viss ; looking across the canal by @donoppedijk8825}




ilona szalay at pulse miami

Oil on aluminum. Sigh. I love the loose and luxurious work of Beirut born, London based artist Ilona Szalay. I’ve always found her paintings sort of mysterious and a little bit scandalous… but maybe that’s just the red paint talking. Ilona’s work will be showing all weekend, starting today {Dec 5th-8th} in Miami, so if you’re there too, stop by Pulse Miami and look for Arusha Gallery, Booth 204.

{Arusha Gallery will also be showing the work of Charlotte Keates, Casper White, Eleanor Moreton, and Rhiannon Salisbury.}





erin armstrong

Acrylic paintings… pastel drawings… paintings… drawings… okay, I’m going to have to flip a coin {probably a toonie} to decide which I love more! This is the work of Canadian artist Erin Armstrong, and if you happen to be in Seattle this week, her latest show is opening at Foster White Gallery. The show, titled “The Space Between“, opens TOMORROW Thursday December 5th and runs until December 21st.





“ask martha”

Ahhh, one of my very first art crushes… Philadelphia based artist, illustrator and teacher Martha Rich! Today’s we’re diving into, “Ask Martha – it’s like Dear Abby but not at all like Dear Abby.” Basically I invented this segment because I looooove asking Martha questions. Her answers are usually hilarious, she’s super smart, AND she has a really inspiring attitude when it comes to life. You’ll see what I mean when I ask her the questions that you guys sent in. Yep, I asked my Instagram crowd to send in some questions, and you did! I picked 5 or 6 of them – some serious, some silly and then I followed the whole thing up with a bunch of really dumb trivia questions, because listening to Martha answer trivia is hilarious. You’re welcome. You can listen right up there under “log head” (aka the photo I took of Martha while our show was being installed in Joshua Tree a few weeks ago), or subscribe on iTunes. ps. My intro is all about creating your own visual vocabulary!

First up, a couple of quick snap shots from the opening of “Crush It”, a group show at Hey There Projects in Joshua Tree featuring Martha, Bruce Lee (far right), and me! ps. The show is up until December 13, 2019:

“Double doink”. Yeah, I’m not sure what’s happening here, but it made me laugh so I threw it in! That’s me and Martha with Aaron Smith (left) and Mark Todd (right), the founders of Hey There, both of whom are fabulous artists and teachers at ArtCenter in Pasadena. Hm, maybe the “double doink” is for all the name dropping I just did! Ok, moving on…

Here’s just a little taste of the work Martha’s being doing lately, and yes, I love it all:

Donna Did It. Hahahaha! Oooh, and all of that pink FURY up there is a perfect lead into this:

YES! Martha’s new book, “The Furious Notebook”, perfect for “releasing your rage” and “chilling the heck out”. I held this furious little beauty in my hands when we were together last week, and not only is it filled with Martha Rich fantastic-ness, it’s also very helpful in the current political climate. Blarg. Anyway, let’s not dwell on that. Here’s a peek at the mural Martha is finishing up on Monday at the airport in Philadelphia:

Um, hello “selfie-opportunity” while waiting for your flight! I like the blue guy and his yellow beard. I hope he finds his missing dipping sauce. ??? (This is why I love her).

Now, I’m sure you were interested in this part of our conversation. BlueQ and Martha have been working together for a few years now, turning her artwork into bags, coin purses, socks, oven mitts, and PASSIVE INCOME:

So. Good. ps. I buy that “Random Crap” bag for people all the time. Hilarious, because it’s true.

Next, this is the fabulous artist Martha named as one of her faves, and the woman she’d love to have paint her portrait. California based artist Georganne Deen:

Oh my word, love love love! Okay, well now I need to see what “Martha Rich by Georganne Deen” would look like.

And finally, because she brought up the pineapple glasses, I have a perfect excuse to pop this beauty into the post as the final image:

Luv ya, mean it. Seriously, I’m so glad my art crush from eleven years ago turned into a really wonderful friendship with an incredible woman. Thanks so much to Martha for answering all of my questions – even the dumb trivia about cow graffiti in Texas; Thanks to THRIVE for being such a fantastic partner; and of course, thank YOU for listening. There will not actually be a new art for your ear next weekend. Saturday November 30th marks the one year anniversary of losing my dad, and I’ve decided to give myself the weekend to just be still. I’ll be back the following weekend though with Esther Pearl Watson, and she’s bringing a whole bunch of weird ‘n wonderful stories from art history. See you then ~ Danielle

Links from my intro:

  1. The Artist’s Way, book
  2. Kirstin Lamb, Episode no. 54
  3. Meghan Hildebrand, Episode no. 97
  4. Mando Marie, Episode no. 100
  5. Martha’s current show at Webb Gallery, TX (up until mid Dec)

 





diane meyer

Embroidery where the Berlin Wall used to stand. Beautiful on many levels. These are just a few of the 43 embroidered photographs that are part of “Berlin”, a series and new exhibition by LA based artist Diane Meyer. The show opens TONIGHT, November 14th, in New York at Klompching Gallery (6- 8pm). Here is a description of the show found on the gallery site:

Being shown for the first time in its entirety, the 43 artworks in the exhibition are being exhibited to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, including artworks never before shown.

Made over the course of seven years, the photographs trace the entire, circa 96 mile path of the former Berlin Wall, taking in sites in the German capital’s city center, as well as the outskirts of the city through suburbs and the surrounding countryside.

Sections of the photographs have been obscured by cross-stitch embroidery, sewn directly into the photograph. This stitching is a signature mark of the artist across her artworks. The embroidery is made to resemble pixels and borrows the visual language of digital imaging in an analog, tactile process. In many images, the embroidered sections represent the exact scale and location of the former Wall offering a pixelated view of what lies behind. In this way, the embroidery appears as a translucent trace in the landscape of something that no longer exists but is a weight on history and memory.

The show runs until January 10, 2020. Go!





joey bates

Gasp! He’s done it again. I’ve written about American born, Sweden based artist Joey Bates before, but when he keeps doing THIS to paper, how am I supposed to control myself? Must. Write. Post. His latest show, titled Everything is Fleeting, opens on Thursday November 21 {6pm} at Galerie Youn in Montreal. Here is Joey’s description of these stunning pieces:

“Energy dispersal and change comprise the impetus for this body of work. Each piece references a volcanic explosion or amalgamation of explosions to recall disruption, destruction, and eventual renewal. The flowers lend a patina of beauty and ease to a process that is jarring, disorienting, and happening constantly — whether or not we are paying attention.”

So good. Again. ps. This show will be up until January 19, 2020.