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Artist Statement:
Contemporary Tachism: The
Black and White Paintings of
Misha Bittleston
by Alfred Jan
After World War II,
parallel expressionist,
subjectivist art movements
influenced by Existentialist
philosophy developed in
America and Europe. American
Abstract Expressionist painter
Franz Kline's exclusive use of
black and white mirrored the
European Tachists who dripped,
blotted, and stained black
pigment on to white surfaces.
Tachism was in large measure a
reaction against the
controlled intellectualism of
previous geometric
abstractionist schools of
painting.
Although Bittleston had
painted all his life, he came
to his current work after a
collection of written
aphorisms was stolen and never
recovered. He evolved from
intuitive textual writing to a
kind of automatic gestural
action painting, but on an
intimate scale, in
contradistinction to the huge
bombastic Abstract
Expressionist paintings on
canvas. His technique employs
inks from over the world with
unique properties of tone,
intensity, gloss, consistency,
solubility, and granularity.
Tools used to apply these inks
to paper include brushes,
towels, pen nibs, stencils,
mouth atomizers, palette
knives, razors, glue
applicators, his fingers, and
pressurized water. In addition
to traditional Tachist
techniques, Bittleston also
splashes, splatters, spits,
sprays, stipples, and scumbles
to yield preliminary results
based on randomness, chance,
and ...
Further Information
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Artist Exhibitions:
Group Exhibitions:
2004 "ReFresh Print Biennial
I," Lawton Gallery, University
of WisconsinGreen Bay
2004 "2004 Biennial
International Exhibition,"
Brad Cooper Gallery, Tampa,
Florida
2004 "The 8th Annual Sacred
Art Exhibition," BoxHeart
Gallery, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
2004 "DIGITALLY 2004
International Exhibition,"
ARTROM Gallery, Rome, Italy
2004 "Wall to Wall, National
Juried ...
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Collections:
Allan Henderson, Redwood City,
CA, USA
Astrid Heinonen, San
Francisco, CA, USA
C.J. Tomaino, Los Gatos, CA,
USA
Cindy Whithead, Palo Alto, CA,
USA
Dan Skinner, E. Sussex,
England
Deborah Hamilton, Santa
Barbara, CA, USA
Edith Smith, Palo Alto, CA,
USA
Elizabeth Sevison, San Diego,
CA, USA
Elliott & Susan ...
Further Information
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Commissions:
Coming Soon!
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Reviews for Misha Bittleston:
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Mysterious. Trying to penetrate the veil that covers dreams and visions; seeking for meaning in the harmony of color. His paintings often evoke musical compositions all wrapped in structural harmonies of poetry. Rare harmonies. They sometimes seem randomly put together but they are organized in a very conscious way. They give the surfaces lightness and/or weight, revolt and/or appease.
Marguerite Saegesser
I am impressed by the risks Bittleston takes, the boundaries he pushes, and the way these are evidenced by the assortment of media he explores.
Sarah Cramer
Misha Bittleston lives in mythos as he breathes the logos. His art creates a bridge to bring the invisible world which he has access to into the realm of the ordinary senses in which most of us live.
Rainbow Rosenbloom
Thanks for the invitation to your fabulous art show! Your work overwhelms, delights, fascinates, and inspires me. I want, I want, I want and I love, I love, I love your work / play / art.
Marcie Rose, 1993
Misha's trademark ghostly figures and colorful dreamlike images evoke the idea of radioactive people walking in explosive landscapes.
Erik Espe, Palo Alto Weekly
My daughter* and I went to see your show at Stanford yesterday (finally). We thought it terrific. I love your use of Color, Texture and great imagination. Keep up the great work! [*She went twice].
Kathy Sharpe
The influence of William Blake in Misha's work seems to have diminished for me. The difference is that he draws better than Blake. Not since Rembrandt have I seen work like this.
Henry Violin
Beautiful work with a very unique technique and style.
Theo Fanning
Misha Bittleston's paintings are very interesting and well done, masterful use of monochromatic materials. I see a lot of fractal imagery in his forms.
Bruce MacEvoy
I was very taken with Misha Bittleston's work, both visual and written. The black and white paintings in particular have a powerful clarity that can only be found when an artist truly "follows the work".
Cheryl Isaacson
Look at his site or a bit of it you could spend a lifetime on it. Some amazing, very inspiring work.
Pamela Stern
His work is incredible. I can't believe how prolific he is. My goodness, he must work all of the time! I'd love to see his work in other shows some day, so I'll keep up with his website.
Jo Jackson
I really like Misha Bittleston's art - it's very elegant and groovy.
Lorna Li
As a fellow painter and writer, I relate to your subject matter. I admire your work, and am certain it's influence will remain with me throughout my painting career.
Renee Grundgeiger
I really liked the work on the site (the black-and-white especially), got a kick out of the writing, and thought the overall site design was really great.
I've shown your website to my boss, and he was also swept away with the artwork, especially the 2003 street views and the Daliesque figures.
Your work is highly imaginative, and I am rarely impressed with new art with such immediacy as it happened this time.
Anna Seluyanova
I really enjoy passing by your installation at night. It has such a presence. Your work truly speaks to me from both a place of spirit and science. It's such a worthy exploration. I like the name of the installation too "While Joy Was Sleeping". I know Joy is your other, but I like the thought of joy, the emotion, being asleep. It's like sadness is the dream state (the illusion) and joy is the experience we can wake to (reality).
Brian Eder
I am attracted to Misha Bittleston's black and white works. Lots of movement, beauty and really captivating shapes.
Mindy Wilson
I am truly honored to have and hold the print as my most treasured art piece. It spoke to me in profound ways when I first saw it, catching me off-guard, both exciting me and baffling me all at once. Indeed, it revealed my most hidden emotions, some I had not even been consciously aware of. It is magical. Be assured it means more to me than the money it is worth, and I will hold it in high esteem, as I would all of your work.
Bernadette Wolff
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