Artist of Interest: Do Ho Suh

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Caelan Navarrete

Do Ho Suh, a South Korean artist, focuses on creating installations that “question identity“. His work is featured in several places, including the Museum of Modern Art (New York) and the Museum of Contemporary Art (Tokyo). Do ho Suh pushes the boundaries of space in order to create unique location-set installations, such as Home Within Home.

Home Within Home, Installation view (2012)

Home Within Home demonstrates a keen understanding of the structure and foundation of a structure such as a home. However, instead of rendering the house with the standard building materials (such as brick), Do Ho Suh utilizes silk in order to create the feeling that we are peering at a three-dimensional version of a building “blueprint.” Do Ho Suh’s unique ability to create these massive yet ethereal-like structures (through the use of a nearly transparent medium) is unlike anything I have ever seen before. The piece almost seems to be reminiscent of a time that is long gone but that still haunts the artist.

In contrast to the artist’s silk-laden installations, High School Uni-Form is comprised of more opaque materials. This piece appears to be questioning identity; there are 300 of the same uniforms standing side by side, yet no individual faces to be found. This piece may suggest that individuality becomes crushed (in a sense) in such an environment in which following guidelines and rules is the most prominent goal. Similar to the ghost-like structures of houses and items that Do Ho Suh has created, this piece has a familiar sense of eeriness. It seems like a more modern rendition of the large group of terracotta warriors of early Chinese history; yet this piece does not show individualization but uniformity (in the literal and ideal sense).

High School Uni-Form (1997) – fabric, plastic, stainless steel, casters,
300 parts

Overall, I find his work strange yet utterly captivating. I want to be able to entrance viewers as much as he does with my own work and hope to utilize materials besides the regular media (like graphite) in order to convey conceptions. Do Ho Suh stands as a testament to the great lengths that humans can go in order to convey ideas, both tangible and abstract. His amazing ability to render subjects in purely silk and string first captured my attention. Nonetheless, all of his work are extraordinary because they challenge gravity, space, and question how we produce and see art.

Artist Talk: Pamela Winegard

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Caelan Navarrete

On September 19th, artist Pamela (Pam) Winegard gave an artist talk before the opening of her exhibition, “Narratives,” at the St. Edward’s Gallery. In her talk, Winegard explained how each of her unique pieces were created, including those which were not made through encaustic, which is composed of pigments mixed with wax that can be applied to canvas in layers.

Welcome Wagon I (2010-11), encaustic & mixed media on wood panels

Winegard told us the meaning behind her show’s title. In essence, she explained that she is and has always been interested in what we (humans) leave behind, either commercial and/or discarded materials. She includes many architectural references in her pieces as a way to refer to the “push and pull” she sees between what exists and what doesn’t. Winegard also stressed the notion that we need stories and storytellers to keep who we are alive; in essence, she believes that her work tells stories about what humans leave behind, which is a very important reality that needs to be addressed.

During her talk, Winegard displayed some of the compositions that she had completed, including some that were not showcased in the gallery. One such work was entitled the “Welcome Wagon Series” (2010-14), which is a reflection of the Holocaust and genocide; the piece becomes very engaging and encourages conversations on genocide through the interesting amalgamation of mixed media and encaustic. Many of her works, she explained, are in a series because each is a chapter of information that she wants to convey to the viewers.

Community Series (2011)

In the show, Winegard presented several enticing compositions, including two that caught my attention upon entering the gallery. One is entitled “Community Series” (2011). This piece includes four panels composed of a mixture of encaustic and mixed media (especially photos transferred onto encaustic); it seems to be commentary on what happens to the environment as a result of human impact. What first drew me to this piece, though, was the image of a group of people dressed in white (most likely the KKK uniform) placed next to a large building that looks like a factory; I wanted to know if they were actually symbols of racism juxtaposed to a literal representation of harmful industrialization. The surface texture of the panels, starkly contrasting colors of highlighter green, orange, and black, and muddled appearance of each scene pulls the viewer in and incites dialogue about what the series brings to the forefront as a crucial social problem.

The other piece, entitled “Paths to Nowhere” (2014), caught my attention before I had even seen it. In the talk, Winegard mentioned that she had had a dream that she wanted to depict, so she dropped all her other work in order to capture it. I have always been interested in the dream world and the many ways it can be represented, so I was immediately drawn to the concept of Winegard visualizing her dream through encaustic, a medium that I have come to love as a result of the workshop she had done with my painting class. I found that the combination of cardboard-looking pieces placed over top of photo transfers, and images of an angel, water towers, and an upside-down flag on top of a sky blue background encouraged me to look deeper into the piece. Many of her pieces are social commentaries, so I immediately began analyzing the scene, keeping in mind what Winegard regarded as symbols of the U.S. (water towers) and all of the anomalies (such as the upside-down flag); perhaps this piece is addressing the ways the U.S. has fallen from grace (hence the upside-down flag and/or the cardboard medium that looks like rubble). Unlike many of her pieces, though, the diptych seems ethereal (in the sense that it was not as serious and up-front about the social problem it was addressing) and, yet, still engaging because although it is capturing a dream (something impermanent), it is still bringing a social issue to the viewer’s attention.

Paths to Nowhere (2014) (Diptych)

Winegard defines art as a very intimate form of writing for the artist; she has put into words what I have been trying to communicate all these years as an artist myself. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to work alongside and view Pam Winegard’s pieces in encaustic. She has inspired me to experiment with encaustic and to push myself to try more mediums that can allow me to express what I desire more thoroughly.

Artist of Interest: Justin Hopkins

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Caelan Navarrete

Justin Hopkins is a mixed-media artist who grew up in Washington and began developing advertising for corporations at the early age of 14. Nowadays, Hopkins focuses on working specifically in oil.

Justin Hopkins’ work encompasses an array of oil paintings, graphite drawings on paper, watercolor portraits, ink-made compositions, and mixed media renditions of subjects. One of my most favorite of his pieces is part of his collection called “DOT.”

DOT series – Depths 2

DASH series – Hatch Girl

People Like You (Skinny Legs and All)

I became fascinated with Hopkins’ compositions created by dots because I find these pieces so captivating. The one displayed above (“Depths 2”) caught my eye because I enjoy artwork capturing water and, more importantly, the technique that Hopkins used to develop value is on point. I admire his craftsmanship and can only imagine how much time it took to create such an awesome scene. This piece appeals to my taste in art, which includes meticulously-detailed subjects.

Another piece that I also really like is one that is created with dash lines (“Hatch Girl”). The composition portrays a person that confronts the viewer behind several dashes made of differing weight. This composition caught my eye because of the way the figure is suggested; rather than being explicitly drawn, the face serves as positive space while the amalgam of dashes are the negative space. Similar to the dot-made composition, this piece focuses on using an unlikely method to create an illusory depth. I marvel at this work and hope to be able to create unique art such as this one day.

One last piece that I want to look at is called “People Like You.” Hopkins demonstrates a keen understanding and mastery of oil in realistically depicting a pair of legs. I enjoy realistic depictions of subjects, so I immediately developed a liking for this piece. The subtlety in hues and the way the neutral blue background emphasizes the flesh tones in the legs is eye-catching. Also, the brush strokes create a lucid contrast to the smoothly-finished legs that make them pop out at the viewer. Hopkins definitely displays skill in various mediums of art that I can only dream to emulate one day.

Project # 1 Artist of Focus: Karen O’Neil

Link

Karen O’Neil is an artist and instructor in New York that works with oil to capture a variety of seemingly mundane subjects, such as an orange slice. O’Neil’s range of work includes paintings of different fruits, vegetables, flowers, and items such as tea-cups.

In Orange Series # 11, O’Neil solidifies her love for still life by depicting an orange slice on a small glass plate. O’Neil’s use of hues of orange, blue, and purple demonstrate her mastery in manifesting light without using an overwhelming amount of white. I found this piece, in particular, a good model for the way I should be developing my own value assignment (which involves placing color in a mainly white subject). This piece inspires me to not be afraid to exit my comfort zone by seeing and emulating color in predominately white subjects.

Karen O’Neil, Orange Series # 11

Likewise, in February 14 #2, O’Neil’s attention to the subtle colorful hues found in a simple white flower (perhaps a white rose) create life in this otherwise flat piece. Her use of purple, yellow, orange, and even green color to capture the way light is received on the flower shows an understanding and mastery of developing light. Similar to the first project I am working on, this piece focuses on demonstrating that color can be found even on the blankest (in this case, white) of subjects.

Karen O’Neil, February 14 #2

I hope to be able to show as much fearlessness with color that Karen O’Neil shows in these still-lifes in my piece that requires paying close attention to subtle hints of color created by light. Overall, I find O’Neil’s work to be a testament to one of the ways that oil paint can capture the life of a subject through simple (even fuzzy) lines; her work has re-en kindled the love I share for oil paint.

“The Beginning is An Omen for the Whole” Artist Talk

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Caelan Navarrete

At the onset of the night, people gathered in the gallery space and waited in anticipation for the artists responsible for the diverse compositions lined on the walls to enter. The first artist to speak, Rachelle Diaz, discussed her background in art (including graduating from St. Edward’s in 2002 and being a freelance graphic designer) and her collaboration with the two other contributing artists. Together, the three artists, including Aldo Ramos and Gerardo Arellano, spoke about the significance of the theme of spirituality to the development of their artwork.

It was quite interesting to see the different ways each artist incorporated religious symbols and icons into their pieces. Diaz explained that each of the digital rooms she composed got their names from phrases she had found in the Book of the Ecclesiastes. Each of these rooms included references to religious icons such as gold crucifixes and baptismal fonts. Diaz hinted at the idea that the significance of religious icons is mostly dependent upon the context in which they are placed in.

In explaining the meaning behind his pieces, Ramos included that he just went with the flow and did not really plan out any of his creations. His work varied from chalk-like drawings of creatures and symbols to mix-and-match collages of fabric and paper. Indeed unique from Diaz and Arellano’s pieces, Ramos’ compositions alluded to the mysterious nature of spirituality that has perplexed the human spirit since the dawn of time.

Finally, Arellano’s mixture of mural-like paintings and installations juxtaposed next to home-made crafts (such as the yarn on wax manifestation of the beginning of time) hinted to the idea that spirituality does not have to do just with religion. He explained that the time he spent living among Native Americans and in exploring his own beliefs drew him to compose psychedelic-like works and compositions that refer to the notion that religion is not the only medium through which spirituality can be developed.

Overall, the gallery opening proved to be a profound speculation at the many ways in which spirituality can emerge. I look forward to seeing what artwork the upcoming gallery exhibitions bring.

Hello world!

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Caelan Navarrete

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