That visor. I’m dying. These are just a couple of the latest ceramic pieces by UK based artist Claire Partington. I wrote about her last year around this time, but these fabulous pieces are included in an upcoming exhibition, titled “Cranach: Artist and Innovator” so I just had to share her work again. Here’s some info about the show:

The archetypal Renaissance man, Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472 – 1553) was one of the most successful German artists of all time.

Cranach’s paintings of German nobility and the leaders of the Protestant Reformation made him a highly sought after portraitist in his own time, while today he is best known for his seductive paintings of the female nude, which beautifully express temptation and its consequences. Cranach was also a talented entrepreneur, founding a successful publishing business and producing powerful woodcut illustrations for Luther’s translation of the bible.

Featuring some of Cranach’s most beguiling paintings and illustrations, on loan from the National Gallery, the Royal Collection, the British Museum and Waddesdon Manor, the exhibition will also showcase Cranach’s enduring appeal to a range of modern and contemporary artists, including: John Currin, Isabelle Hayman, Michael Landy, Wolfe von Lenkiewicz, Andrew McIntosh, Ishbel Myerscough, Claire Partington, Pablo Picasso and Raqib Shaw. 

The exhibition will be on view from March 14th through until June 14th 2020 at Compton Verney in Warwickshire.

*Photos by Dan Weill

Ahhh, LA based artist Seonna Hong, one of my favorite artists… and she happens to have a new show, titled Liminal Space, opening THIS SATURDAY, March 7th at Hashimoto Contemporary in New York. I’m lucky enough to be seeing them in person later this week {I’ll be filming part of my upcoming Skillshare class there!} The opening is on Saturday from 6-8pm, and Seonna will be there… you should be too!

Oooh! This is the newest work by Toronto based painter Kristy Blackwell. I’ve written about her before {here and here}, but she continues to push her work – and herself – further and further… it’s so exciting to watch that I just had to write again! Some of her work is part of an upcoming group show which is part of Toronto FAC {Feminist Art Collective}‘s Feminist Art Fest 2020, taking place at OCADU March 5-7. Not only is there an art exhibition, there’s also a film night and conference … get tickets right here.

ps. She’s also showing her work this weekend at Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair in Toronto… and it opens TONIGHT! More info right here.

Ah, the work of California based artist Casey Gray… they’re always like an image search puzzle … for grownups. If you want an up-close look, Casey currently has a show at Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco, titled “I Can Taste The Sun”. Here’s the show description:

Utilizing his signature, complex masking and aerosolized acrylic technique to create densely detailed and symbolic works, Gray has created a series of paintings, sculptures and works on paper that celebrate the simple joys in life – from the idyllic landscapes of California to a perfect summer picnic.

Drawing from the world around him, Gray seamlessly incorporates historical painting tropes alongside studio ephemera to create surreal yet plausible still lives and scenes. Each painting is an invitation to the viewer to decode the symbolism and underlying narrative or statement held within the work, like an unfolding poem. The exhibition explores “the power of nature and the outdoors to nourish and heal.”

Dynamic new sculptural works and experimental works on paper will also be debuted at I Can Taste the Sun, showcasing Gray’s multi-faceted practice. A continuation of his wavy symbol paintings, the sculptures pull individual elements such as a flower or tree into an undulating, three dimensional object. Illustrative and graphic works on paper serve as snapshots of moments between paintings, rounding out the artist’s sun soaked world.

You’ll be able to taste the sun until February 29, 2020.

Love, love, love… indeed! Oh my word, I love everything about this work by American artist Tara Lewis. Her latest show, titled “Hell Yes!”, is currently showing at Lyons Wier Gallery in New York until February 22, 2020. You’re gonna go, right!? Here is snippet from Tara’s site about her work:

Tara Lewis creates paintings that dive into youth culture anthropology with a pop twist.  Lewis creates large scale oil portraits of models wearing t-shirts, pageant sashes and other wearables designed and printed by the artist that center on evolving perceptions of youth, irreverence, girl culture, beauty, identity, teen trends, girl empowerment, social issues and pop culture, often referring to past decades and pre-internet sources in re-freshed and boldly mundane and relevant ways. The Preppy Handbook, Seventeen and movies such as The Royal Tanenbaums, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and her MTV childhood stand as huge inspirations and prompts for oil portraits.

Um, what else can I say except… HELL YES! Happy Monday.

Oh my word … dreamy, bead-covered, aquatic, Greek goddesses in blue! This is just a tiny bit the textile sculpture work of American artist Tasha Lewis. I’ve written about her before, but she currently has a show happening in Nashville TN, so I wanted to make sure you knew about it. Yes, some of her most recent work is currently being shown at the Centennial Park Conservancy {Parthenon Gallery} in an exhibition titled Flood Lines. Here are a few words, and a quote from Tasha, from the gallery’s site about this show:

A student of art and literature, sculptor Tasha Lewis borrows from ancient artifacts to evoke contemporary narratives about women. In ‘Flood Lines’ she updates classical forms such as vessels and figures featuring hand embroidered beads, wire, and hand dyed fabric. Over 35 sculptures of exquisite craftsmanship are carefully arranged within the gallery to create an immersive space that is both formal and organic. Here life-sized human heads, legs, and torsos wend their way among Alabastron and Lekythos vessels to create what Lewis calls a “minimalist bath house.” … 

Flood Lines coincides with the 100th anniversary of the 19th US Constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. As Tennessee suffragists were instrumental to the ratification of this law, Lewis sees Flood Lines as an homage to these women.

“My figures embody an independence not unlike the Tennessee suffragists of 100 years ago who fought for the voting rights of American women. Their courage helped to make democracy available to all citizens. My work employs sewing, embroidery, and beadwork, crafts that were among the housework that anti-suffragists worried women would abandon if they got the vote. As ancient Greece is the birthplace of democracy, the Greek forms in my pieces evoke a connection between the ancient and modern, hopefully celebrating and reinventing the classical.”

You can find Tasha’s show in the East Gallery of the Parthenon from now until Sunday, May 10, 2020. I plan on popping in when I’m in Nashville this March… can’t wait!

“Stephanie H. Shih explores concepts of home—not just as a physical place, but also as cultural, generational, and emotional spaces we inhabit—through the lens of Asian-American identity.”

Okay, my mouth is watering because of ceramics. YUM! This is fantastic work of Brooklyn based artist Stephanie H. Shih. I wrote about her golden dumplings when they were part of a group show in San Francisco last year, but I scrolled past that Sriracha bottle on Instagram this morning and immediately started writing this post. Sixteen sculptures from her current body of work will be exhibited at the American Museum of Ceramic Art {Pomona, CA}, March through August of 2020. If you go, you should probably have plans for dim sum immediately afterwards, because I have a feeling you’ll be craving dumplings and spicy sauce!

Yep, he’s back! Minneapolis based artist / gallerist Terrence Payne has returned for a second installment of … “PAYNE POINTS WITH TERRENCE PAYNE”. Today we’re tackling the good, bad and ugly around social media… what to do and what to avoid. He’ll also be telling us some insane stories about tattoos and potato chips, because he’s him. Let’s get started, shall we? You can listen right up there under that blob of butterflies, or subscribe here.

First up, a look at the sloths Terrence was talking about for his latest show {titled “Stand Ins” that opens on February 8th at Rosalux Gallery in Minneapolis!}:

The amount of work he puts into each piece is just insane… hence the work in progress shot above, once he begins drawing.

Here is another piece for the same show, with a different type of WIP image:

Yep, that’s the digital version that he figures out on the computer. See? So many steps just to get to the “coloring” phase.

Ah yes, and I have to show you this…

The baby devil skeletons that the bathroom construction guys assumed was for Halloween. Fair enough 😉

And finally, I know Terrence said ‘no photos of your dogs and babies’ on your art feed, but since we talk about his sweet dogs and his amazing wife, Carolyn, so much, I thought I better throw in this little gem from a couple of years ago:

Awwww… and now you can see the face that goes with the voice you’ve been hearing! Thank you so much to Terrence for sharing his wisdom… and ridiculous stories; thanks to the THRIVE Network for supporting this episode; and as always a HUGE thank you to you for listening! ART FOR YOUR EAR is slowly climbing up to the top of the list in the Visual Arts category on Apple Podcasts, so if you wanna help it get to the top I’d love a rating/review to make that happen 🙂 Thanks! There won’t be an episode next weekend because I’ll be flying to MAUI {yassssssssss}, but I’ll be posting a brand new episode from there the following week. See you then! ~ Danielle

Other links:

1. Rosalux Gallery
2. “Stand Ins”, Terrence’s upcoming show at Rosalux
3. SQUARESPACE
4. Terrence on Instagram
5. Ashley Longshore episode re: building a team
6. THRIVE Network / Resource Library
7. Booooooom
8. Colossal

Oh my word… this is the absolutely gorgeous work {acrylic and graphite on canvas} of Nikoleta Sekulovic. She was born in Rome, to a German mother and a Serbian father, and now lives in Madrid with her family. Not only do I love her work, but I also love that her entire portfolio site features her work AND her daughters running around while she works… a perfect example of a woman being an artist and a mother. Nikoleta creates large-scale portraits of women, and this is why:

‘Every single woman is different; the way my models pose reflects a part of who they are, expressing their personality. There is no pretense, no trying to act out, they are simply themselves, and that’s great. The way a woman thinks she should look or tries to conform to an ideal of beauty should not hold her back from being who she is.’ 

Ah, so beautiful! Also beautiful, this video of Nikoleta talking about her practice, motherhood, and the drive that pushes her to create.

ps. From January 28th until February 22nd some of her work can be seen at Rebecca Hossack Gallery in London.

Breath. Taking. Oh my word, this is the latest work by New York based artist Daniel Arsham. He’s known for “visually transforming ready-made objects of the last half century into subtly eroding artifacts”… objects like Mickey Mouse phones and old school Apple computers… well, in his most recent show, he’s going a little further back in time. Perrotin Paris is currently showing “Paris, 3020” from January 11 until March 21, 2020. Here is a description from Perrotin’s site:

For this exhibition, Daniel Arsham will present a new suite of large-scale sculptures based on iconic busts, friezes and sculptures in the round from classical antiquity. Over the past year, Arsham has been granted unprecedented access to the Réunion des Musées Nationaux – Grand Palais (RMN), a 200-year-old French molding atelier that reproduces masterpieces for several of Europe’s major encyclopedic museums. Arsham was able to use molds and scans of some of the most iconic works from the collections of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, Acropolis Museum in Athens, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and the San Pietro in Vincoli as source material for this new body of work. Interested in the way that objects move through time, the works selected by Arsham are so iconic that they have eclipsed their status as mere art object, and instead have embedded themselves into our collective memory and identity.

Ranging from Michelangelo’s Moses to the Vénus de Milo, each item was cast in hydrostone to produce a perfect to scale replica of the original sculpture, a process that shares formal qualities with historic wax casting. Arsham utilizes natural pigments that are similar to those used by classical sculptors, such as volcanic ash, blue calcite, selenite, quartz, and rose quartz. From that, individual erosions are chiseled into the surface of the hydrostone, a nod to the sculpting techniques of the Renaissance sculptors. Finally, Arsham applies his signature tactic of crystallization.

If you’re in Paris, 1. lucky you, 2. GO to this show!

{via Colossal}