Artists Describing Their Art:
Christian Schuetz - Not only birth, pain, sexuality, work, death, the human body as expressed in manners, gestures and facial expressions are basic human and cultural experiences, but also the individual voice impressive in all its shades for emotional layers and articulated speech. Even the perception and design of signs in its communicative and meditative meaning is a cultural experience, which is common to all cultures. Universal signs are therefore a fundamental theme in my work. This work is not about their mere aesthetical illustration, but is to respect their ability to relate to complex issues, expressed in almost "endless" variations (such as: The Wanderer, BA-CH, Strings). For the changes that a sign is experiencing, I have developed certain methods that are put into action only on the computer. Analogue methods are also found in music, mathematics and even in poetics. Art for me is therefore a recognition level to which the universal perception is displayed. ...
Evie Tirado - My journey as an artist began with my first crayon. I have always been in love with color. Over the years I've developed a passion for lines, forms, space, and the spaces between . Be it paint, inks, dyes, or watercolors, each media excites me. I experiment in diverse styles, allowing the subject, materials, and concepts, to influence the final outcome. My work is often a fusion of opposites -- chance and deliberation; remnants of the past link to the present; fluid pools of color, allowed to drip and layer and develop alongside the thick, structural impasto effects. For me, art is a necessity; a surrendering, a discovery, and a celebration. It transforms thoughts and ideals into dimensional realities beyond the flat surface. The interior process of abstraction suspends me from isolation, and connects me with my most authentic self,as well as the rest of humanity. ...
Valerie Hoffmann - ARTIST'S STATEMENT: "Having a traditional art background and trained in the exacting disciplines of architectural design, I strive to explore new freedoms in interpreting form in terms of the organic shapes and elements found in nature. I prefer to use paint in a manner which best reflects the tapestry of the many textures exhibited in the earth's landscape. I apply color as a means to unite these features and to show relationships between the vividness and subtleties expressed in every part of our environment, and yet attain visual harmony." ...
Sheila Fraga - Woman figure is the main theme of this exhibition entitled "Hope." Woman body has been an inspirational and interest motive for many artists in the Art History. I had intended to take this concept in order to reflect not only the woman beauty and sensuality but also to incorporate my own living experiences within the history frame that my generation had lived. I would like to establish a dialogue between the audience and my paintings to provoke controversy and interest toward concepts of identity, spirituality and love. Characters portray feelings of love, defiance, meditation, hope, and encourage the spectator to dream. Nudity is not used to identify woman figure as a sex symbol but a bearer of feelings, spirituality, expressiveness and determination to pursue happiness and new ideas in the social scenario. The use of celestial settings depicted In the skies and clouds are implemented to reflect spirituality and its interaction with daily life. Techniques such as oil, pastel and cut-out are present in my paintings and drawings as a mean to transmit emotions and expressiveness. It's creativity that strives me to seek new ways of expression to materialize my work. To create multiple scenarios with the only...
Birgit Huttemann Holz - For me the art of encaustic is the scent of memories and dreams, sweet and eternal. I paint with beeswax mixed with pigments, fuse each layer with fire (blowtorch), even paint sometimes with the destroying hungry flame. I love the physical impact of the blowtorch, the evolving mountains and valleys, possibilities, lost designs in the mixing and melting beeswax. The inner voice - fire is literally the tool. The use of the razorblade is thoughtful, thorough, controlled. Scratching away the layers, to get to the truth of a feeling, to reveal, to find the history of a painting is my greatest joy. Encaustic is known as one of the most difficult mediums to work with. It is constant loss and restauration. It opens routes of seeing you would have never guessed. The beauty of an encaustic paintings lies in its luminosity, transparent layers let you see through the surface- and you bounce back with light and awe. -of an illiterate poet. ...
Teresa Kwiatkowska - Jonathan Livingston Seagull told: "It is good to be a seeker but sooner or later you have to be a finder. And then it is well to give what you have found, a gift into the world for whoever will accept it." I try to go this way in my life. ...
Okezie Nwosu - Art is tangible and envelops the purest form of the ideal. It is the mirror which reflects society, and the tool through which it can be shaped. Our inspiration emanates from a higher realm, challenging our minds to modify life experiences, while aiming for the ideal....
Hilary Pollock - When contemplating creativity, I admit to being impressed by the draftsmanship of Gustav Klimt,the audacity and creativity of Picasso and the fortitude of Artemisia Gentileschi and many other female artists. The "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestries in Paris move me greatly for their colour and their detail in particular. I have my own style and language which has developed over the years from experimentation with a variety of mediums and different approaches to my subject matter. Some things become favourites, contributing to a personal language and the sheer pleasure of creating. The process is the important thing. Creativity for the visual artist is all about struggle,excitement and energy....
Melissa Lambert - Investigation and Experimentation My art, whether abstract, figurative, or combinations of both, explores dimensional vibrations through the use of line, color, symbolism, and form. Geometry, particle physics, holonomic brain theory, mythology, and Jung's theories of synchronicity and the collective unconscious all inform my work. Perceiving the concepts contained in the above theories, I strive to reveal the deeper dimensions and innate spirituality that exist in the here and now of every moment....
Daniel Janssens - "It is the woman's beauty and mystery that have made me paint and sculpt in the first place." The artist, who previously painted only one human figure per painting, has recently begun to represent several figures, and these figures are no longer exclusively women. In sculpture also, the single human figures of the beginning are gradually replaced by intertwined figures, that go by two, by couple, or even by trio or quartet. "Previously, it was the individual that questioned me. Now, increasingly, I paint and sculpt attitudes and relationships." Painting and sculpture are based on different relationships: that between the sculptor-painter and his painting or sculpture, that between colors and shapes, that between the spectator and the work of art, and finally, the possible relationship between the different spectators. "However, I have not become a narrative artist, even if the spectator can invent stories about the human figures they see depicted." - But why only one subject? - Because the more one concentrates on one - and only one - subject, the deeper one can go, and the more style and technique can speak freely. If one always seeks to change subjects, it becomes difficult to specialize in it." It is the...