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Aloha! Yep, I’m in Hawaii! What better way to kick off the week than with the work of a fellow, probably slightly frozen, Canadian. This is the work of artist/illustrator Genevieve Simms. Bathing beauties silkscreened in three colors and finished with hand detailing. Simple, gorgeous, oh, and that color palette… love… although, I’m hoping I don’t end up quite that pink.
Well, this could not be more timely. I am so thrilled to have Kentucky-born, Brooklyn-based artist Natalie Baxter on the podcast this week. Her work is beautiful, smart, and yes, very timely. This was such an interesting conversation, with a very clever woman, who’s using her art to make people think. Granted, according to her comments section, people think all sorts of things about her work. Perfect – that’s the point of this whole art thing, right? You can listen right up there under that knotted/bloated flag, titled “AMERICA, CURRENT MOOD”, or you can subscribe on iTunes.
First up, Natalie surrounded by hundreds of plush guns in her Brooklyn apartment, followed by a few of my favorite pieces from her “WARM GUN” series:
Oh my word, I could not love them more! And in case you haven’t listened yet, the story behind all of her work is just so interesting. Almost a happy, obsessive accident thanks to her creative curiosity and growing up with a grandmother who knew quilting inside and out.
Alright, from a bunch of cozy guns, to “BLOATED FLAGS”. I love this series so, so, so much:
Gah! So good! And yes, that completely gold/tassel-covered flag is titled, “PEOPLE WILL THINK YOU’RE MAKING A TRUMP FLAG”. Again, the story behind that title is, in fact, gold!
Alright, from Trump flags to slightly droopy “artillery”:
Yep. The gun-lovers weren’t huge fans of these pieces (and, spoiler alert, may have been the ones leaving terrible, nasty comments on Natalie’s social channels.) Sigh.
And finally, during the not-so-speedy speed round, I asked Natalie if she could only choose one to work with from now on – would it be tassels or gold fabric:
She chose tassels… see, I told you she was smart. Thank you so much to Natalie for not only taking the time to talk to me, but for making this wonderful work. I can’t wait to see what comes out of the residency she’s doing right now. Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this 85th episode; and as always, big high five’s to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.
Other links:
Quiet chaos. I feel like I can’t take a deep breath or all of those colorful homes will topple into the sea. I had to include the close-ups, because at first glance I didn’t realize these were paintings. Small, perfectly stacked sculptures maybe? No… really big, absolutely gorgeous oil paintings. They are the work of renowned German painter Ulf Puder. I still haven’t exhaled.
Artsy experiments literally jumping out of the sketchbook! This is the work of North Carolina based artist Eva Magill-Oliver. Her portfolio is full of gorgeous paintings {both abstract and landscape}, but these frame-worthy “sketchbook” pieces, from her inspiring Instagram feed, grabbed me and would not let go. Those pink leaves… ♥
{via Brown Paper Bag}
Wow, now these are a punch to the creative gut. This is the powerful, gorgeous, insanely detailed work of New York based artist Jeffrey Gibson. He grew up all over the US, not to mention living in Germany, Korea, and England along the way. With a Choctaw and Cherokee background, Jeffrey uses traditional elements (beads, metal cones) mixed with contemporary elements (Everlast punching bags) to make his very powerful point about the treatment of Native Americans. Most beautiful TKO, ever.
Gasp! They look like close-ups, and they are, but they’re also the final pieces… sigh… oh, so many big, beautiful blooms! These large-scale oil paintings are the work of American painter (and classical ballet dancer) Abigail McCallum. She has only been painting for six years… Yeah. I know. I think we should all keep an eye on this prima painter.
Some of her work is available via Hang Art.
ps. scale, and ballet skills:
Watercolor, colored pencil, and acrylic on paper … figured I’d put that list out there right away, seeing as that was the first thing I asked myself when I saw the work of American artist Justin Margitich. I would love to jump into one of his magical / weird worlds, but since I can’t, I guess the next best thing would be to see them in person. If you’re in LA you can see his current show that just opened on Saturday January 14. It runs until February 25 at Moskowitz Bayse Gallery. I’ll be in LA mid-February, so that’s my plan!
I wrote about London based artist Claire Brewster for the first time in early 2009. Yep, I have loved her delicate, intricate, paper-cutting work from the moment I saw it. Since then I’ve written about her several times, always keeping an eye out for what she might be up to next! It was so lovely to finally speak to her in person and to hear her story. From a little girl cutting kittens and saucepans out of magazines at the kitchen table, to a full-time artist using those same {although honed} cutting skills to cover gallery walls with lace-like birds. Listen right up there under that stunning bird and his shadow, or subscribe on iTunes.
Ok, a little taste of what I love about Claire’s work:
I mean, come on!? How beautiful are those? All of the old maps? The colors? THAT CUTTING SKILL!? And I’m just getting warmed up. How about these insane shadows, that were basically happy accidents:
Sigh. Stunning. Speaking of which, her metal pieces:
Right? Those birds are insane… they look like metal lace.
Now, we talked about commissions and installations, both of which Claire loves doing. Here’s a peek at a few of my favorites – from a hotel lobby, to a gallery, to a corporate office:
Magical! If you’d like to work with Claire either in a commercial space, or in your home… call her!
And finally, at the end of our conversation we got a little political. She’s working on a new top secret series, but what she could tell me is the premise, and why she’s feeling compelled to move in a new direction. It is simply, and beautifully, this thought:
Yes. Yes we do. Thank you so much to Claire for doing this with me; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting yet another episode; and of course, thank you so much for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.
Other links:
She had me at birds on skateboards. Sigh. This is the surreal, sweet, weird work of Canadian artist/illustrator Esthera Preda. Watercolor, gouache, and ink mixed with a healthy dose of odd, and voila… stunning work! Where does she come up with her ideas? Perhaps this will shed a little light:
“As a child, [Esthera] was read Hans Christian Andersen and Brothers Grimm fairy tales every night by her mother who escaped the iron curtain. She lived across the hall from her grandmother who was prone to night terrors. Although, she had wonderful parents, one of her favorite pastimes was to pretend that she was an orphan so she could build, with her brothers and sister, multi-level cardboard houses in the summer and igloo villages in the winter. The world that her art exists in lies somewhere between those ephemeral seasons, night terrors and folk tales.”
Ephemeral seasons, night terrors and folk tales… a perfect description, indeed!
“From Scraps” … love! This work, by Philadelphia based artist Lydia Ricci, feels like a folded, glued, taped walk down memory lane for me… roller skates, a boombox, and don’t even get me started on that rotary phone {I can almost hear those little rotating ticks now!}. She refers to this series/her work as “from scraps”, and she means it:
PAPER, BOARD, THE BACK SIDE OF ANYTHING, GLUE, HOT GLUE, TAPE, STAPLES AND WHAT WAS ALMOST THROWN AWAY.
Phew! Thank goodness none of those bits n pieces made it into the trash!
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