Vogel Collection at the MS Museum of Art

There is an amazing story on display at the MS Museum of Art right now.  I say that because the story of the Herb and Dorothy Vogel collection is just as grand as the collection itself.  This couple of moderate means (he was a postal worker and she a librarian) began collecting art after they were married in 1962, and slowly and methodically began to fill their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment with art.  They built up a collection of around 4,000 pieces over the years and recently donated the work to the National Gallery in Washington D.C.  In a documentary playing at the exhibition, Dorothy said that with the two of them being civil servants felt that they were merely "caretakers" of the work and donating it the National Gallery was their way of giving it back to the people of the United States.  The National Gallery was only able to take about 1000 pieces so a program was set up to distribute the work throughout the country.  It is called 50 Works for 50 States and the MS Museum of Art is the recipient of 50 pieces for their permanent collection.


The approach they took to collecting art is nothing short of remarkable.  In the documentary they were described as eccentric, compulsive, and obsessive.  The collection became a concept in and of itself.  Nothing was ever sold.  Their apartment was filled to the ceiling (with some work hanging from the ceiling).  They bought work because they believed in the artist as much as they appreciated the work itself, so many artists were represented thoroughly in the collection.  One person that stands out as being well represented in the selection given to the MS Museum of Art is the artist Richard Tuttle.  Here is where some people may have difficulty in appreciating the collection.  Tuttle was an early Minimalist artist of the '60s. His work is often very minimal.  In the documentary, Herb mentions that when they began collecting work that Pop art was the prominent New York style, but Minimalism was new, experimental, and vanguard.  In other words it was much more reasonably priced and therefore the collection has a large number of Minimalist pieces.  In an interview with Charlie Rose, the Vogels were asked what a particular Tuttle piece "signifies", and their response was "it doesn't have to signify anything, it's a visual thing".  If you do have difficulty appreciating Minimalist art, keep in mind what Becky Hendrick says in her book Getting It; that "there are only two requirements for appreciating art: we need to look at art objectively and without prejudice; and we need enough information about art's relationship to history and culture to support our non-judgemental explorations."


According to the book After Modern Art 1945-2000, by David Hopkins, the term Minimalism was rejected by many of the early practitioners.  Donald Judd, one of the primary artists of this movement is said to have felt that the term connoted a reductionist view, as though they were "attempting to reach an essential core."  He felt that one shouldn't focus on what was missing from the work when "works such as his were kept uncomplicated precisely in order to isolate specific and positive qualities."


The collection isn't all Minimalist, though.  There are some wonderful ink drawings by Mark Kostabi that have a more illustrational approach, and an expressionistic ink drawing by Michael Lash.  There are a couple of very busy, graphic, mostly abstract with some cartoonish elements graphite drawings by Joseph Nechvatal that contrast nicely with the Minimalist work.  In fact, a majority of the collection is drawings, but one of my favorite pieces is a Takashi Murakami object.  It is wild and beautiful, and represents a broadening of the collection away from drawing and away from the New York focus.


So, please go with an open mind and enjoy the story.

Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience

My first solo show as a professional artist is hanging right now at Gallery 119 in downtown Jackson until May 7th.  

This body of work is from a series of oil paintings titled "Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience." William Blake's poetry and compositional designs have been very inspiring to me over the years, and the theme of this series comes directly from his work. The concepts of the individual pieces, however, are not derived from specific works of his. I wanted to create a group of poetic narratives in which the "story" in each piece is intentionally left undefined. With this body of work I want to encourage the viewer to spend time with each individual piece, allowing them to interpret the meaning and narrative for themselves. While the images are extremely personal to me, often times being set in my house with my family or friends, I believe that the audience will be able to relate to the situations and emotions presented. The show is comprised of 12 oil paintings, six “Songs of Innocence”, and six “Songs of Experience.”  There is also a collection of drawings, some directly related to the series of paintings and some completely independent from the theme. 

All of the paintings in the “Songs of Innocence” series are on handmade paper. Over the years I have come to value the craftsmanship that goes into the preparation of a painting surface. Beginning a painting on a surface that I have already spent hours preparing, I am more likely to start that painting with increased focus and commitment.  With no training in paper making I decided to do a little research and make the 30"x30" sheets myself. I built the frame and deckle, and because of the large size I used an inflatable kids pool to pull the individual sheets. The pulp is made from scrap newspaper, computer paper, and brown paper bags. The paper is then allowed to dry before each one is primed to accept the oil paint. Because each sheet is unique, I attempt to select the one that has characteristics that will complement the final composition. I let the paper maintain the rough edges when displayed and mount them to the backing with heavy-duty magnets. Symbolically, I want the paper to be seen as representing the delicacy and ephemeral qualities of innocence. The square format represents unity.  

The “Songs of Experience” paintings are all on canvas specifically because it is traditional. I recognize that often as people get older they hold on to tradition a bit more closely. Thought process seems to get more analytical and structural which is why the dimensions of this series are all based on root rectangles as described in Jay Hambidge’s Elements of Dynamic Symmetry.

This body of work comes at a time when I am noticing a shift in my own life. I am married with two young children and see very clearly the passing of my youthful idealism and naivety. Yet I long to hold on to some of it. It is my hope that this exhibition expresses to the viewer my individual struggles and joys at this particular point in life.

You can go to my web site to see all of the work from the show, but here is a selection.  Catalogues are also available for $30.  Just contact me if you are interested.  

10 pm 30 degrees

(Songs of Innocence)

For the hundredth time 

(Songs of Innocence)

Lacrimosa

(Songs of Innocence)

32nd Birthday

(Songs of Experience)

A dog named Kat

(Songs of Experience)

Sunday afternoon adventures

(Songs of Experience)

Lea Barton's Southern Charm

There are at least two great shows currently up right now here in Jackson, if I do say so myself... because one of the two is mine.  I'll post about it later.  First I want to feature the exhibition of new work by the finely tuned collage artist Lea Barton at Fischer Galleries in Fondren.  Barton's work is unapologetically presented from the view of and about the southern woman.  In the hands of a lesser artist this narrow focus may keep certain groups of people at a distance or seem irrelevant, but Barton's witty and sincere approach is inviting.  Her pieces are challenging in the best sense.

With Barton's newest work, the Belle Boxes, I can't help but see a connection to the work of Kara Walker.  The delicate silhouettes of the southern belles are composed in shadow boxes as charming graphic pieces, but like Walker's work they seem to question the importance of the elegance.

This is an opportunity to see the work of a seasoned artist with a long exhibition list including a solo show at Denise Bibro gallery in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood.

21 Hours

Disarming

Walls of Jericho

Belle Box

Belle Box

Backyards and Beyond at the MS Arts Center

If you haven't visited the Backyards and Beyond exhibit at the Mississippi Arts Center in downtown Jackson, you absolutely should.  This isn't just an art exhibit, it is an experience.  H.C. Porter of Vicksburg, MS created this exhibition after the devastation of hurricane Katrina.  As part of the exhibition there are audio recordings from folks that were affected by the storm.  With this exhibition Porter is doing something that most artists hope that their work will do.  That is, not to just make a social statement, but to make a social impact.  Here is what she says about the exhibition... "My hope is that this exhibition will move people toward continued volunteerism and humanitarianism in Mississippi or wherever it may be needed, in our own backyards or beyond.  This is a story that must be told for a very long time."  

Besides the paintings and the audio recordings, there are large images of floors from Gulf Coast homes laid out on the floor of the exhibition space.  The floor images are of broken tiles and mud covered linoleum and holes exposing the ground beneath.  It is a moving experience that helps to give you a better sense of the massive destruction.  She also created a book of the exhibition, set up a website specifically for the exhibition (linked above), and created a non-profit organization to get the exhibition into more spaces nationally.  It is quite an impressive accomplishment logistically.

Back to the paintings.  She continues in the style that she is known for, that is painting on top of a photograph that has been turned into a high contrast black and white image.  Though she has been working this way for years I think that it particularly appealing in this application.  The faces of the subjects remain black and white while the world around is in vivid color.  By removing skin color she is ultimately removing race, and as we know the storm was colorblind.  

I believe that the exhibition is only up through the end of March so go and prepare to be moved.

Leona

Almost Normal

Letting Go

Recess

Uproot & Anguish

The Chair

Pat Walker at Brown's

I went last week to check out the Pat Walker show at Brown's gallery in Fondren.  She is primarily known for her traditional still life paintings, but there were a couple of landscapes and figure pieces as well.   She employs in most of her pieces a classic technique of applying think layers of paint (aka "impasto") in the light masses of the composition, while the shadows remain very thin.  By doing this, the physical light of the room reflects off of the impasto areas making them brighter.  See the detail of "Onions and Blue" below to see Pat doing this to the extreme.  You can tell that she really has fun with it.  


I have heard Pat's name come up several times over the past year, not in reference to her paintings, but concerning the destination she is creating at her home in Rolling Fork, MS.  After losing her home and studio in Bay St. Louis to Hurricane Katrina, she relocated to the Mississippi Delta.  There she is hosting painting workshops by nationally known realist painters/instructors.   It's quite an impressive line-up for this year which you can see here.  It is an impressive opportunity that she is bringing to this area and I hope that people really take advantage of it.   


Here's some of the work...

Peaches

Onions and Blue

Detail of Onions and Blue

Copper and Flowers

1937 MS Delta - Sharky County

Bounty of Color

Lambert and Blankenstein show at Bryant's

Bryant Galleries in Jackson is not a place that one would likely happen upon if searching for art galleries.  It is hidden in a non-descript shopping center off of Lakeland Drive.  But then again nowhere in Jackson is a hotbed of an art market.  The largest concentration of galleries in Jackson is in Fondren, and I believe that there are only about five.  Jackson isn't known for its art offerings which is why I was interested in doing this blog... to attempt to have one more opportunity for artists' work to be viewed.  So Bryant's may not be the easiest to find, but it is definitely worth the search.  They have a very unique offering of some Mississippi artists and some international artists, and they appear to be very particular about the quality of work that they show.  It's a large space, but divided nicely into more intimate areas.  

Hanging right now is a duo show of separate work by husband and wife David Lambert and Vidal Blankenstein.  David actually runs the gallery.  It's interesting to see their work hanging together because living together they must influence each other.  They both work in acrylic on panels, but their approaches are quite different.  David is also showing some of his airplane sculptures which were included in the Invitational at the Mississippi Museum of Art this year.  The Invitational show just came down so I hope you didn't miss it.  There was a long article in the national magazine, Art in America, about the Invitational written by guest curator Peter Plagens that was less than flattering but just short of condescending.  His arrogant and pompous tone did no credit to the work, but the work didn't need him.  It was obviously art of a high caliber that can stand on its own.  

When I first saw David's planes in a show at Belhaven they struck me by their witty concept and construction, and yet they were so simply assembled with disregard for attempted craftsmanship.  I was pleased to see that this visual language carries over into his paintings as well.  The consistency gives credit to the work.  David told me that he had not painted in awhile because his focus has been on the airplanes.  He looked through some old sketches and found some designs that appealed to him that he developed into paintings.  Many of the sketches are displayed next to the final pieces.  

Vidal's psychological images are much more layered and painterly.  There are recurring symbols of trees and birds and hands and ladders and almond shaped patches that seem to transition between leaves and the all seeing eye.  Vidal is a graphic designer, but I think that it is interesting that David's work is the more graphic, illustrational, and cartoon influenced work.  I think that artists who have full time jobs aside from their art often produce work that is a contrasting response to what they do all day.  Either way, it's just great that they are reserving the energy to produce the work.  

Man in Striped Shirt (Lambert)

Soup and Grits (Lambert)

War (Lambert)

Planes (Lambert)

Sanctuary (Blankenstein)

Where are you going? (Blankenstein)

Morning (Blankenstein)

Open (Blankenstein)

Kelso at Fischer

I get excited when December rolls around every year.  It's not because of the cooler weather or because of the upcoming Christmas Holiday.  I had grown tired of the mass materialistic holiday until four years ago when my wife and I had our first child.  There is a renewed sense of magic seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child.  No, the reason I get excited when December comes around is that I know there will be a show of Richard Kelso's work hanging in Jackson that month.  It is an annual event to look forward to and it is hanging right now at Fischer Galleries in Fondren.  Kelso was mentioned in my last post about color theory and the influences of Henry Hensche.  

Richard Kelso is a landscape painter.  He has produced an incalculable number of landscape paintings through the years.  You might think that this would cause someone to become stagnate in his work, producing Bob Ross like symbols for trees that are comfortable and familiar, but I continue to be amazed at the experimentation and variety he shows.  And the work is simply gorgeous.  Anyone can appreciate the beauty of the scenes in his work,  but if you are a painter you will marvel at the way he uses paint.  Every stroke is deliberate, and every color of every stroke looks as though it were mixed uniquely for that one spot.  His colors are never chalky or muddy but rich from the vibrant sunlit treetops to the deepest shadows.  Kelso holds to a standard of quality that is both inspiring and daunting to me as a painter.  

There actually are two paintings in the show that are not landscapes.  Many times in his shows there will be a small selection of paintings of his studio or things in his studio.  I always love these pieces but not only because of their masterful execution.  If you ever visit Kelso's studio which is above Hal and Mal's you will recognize the light.  There is a single window that he paints by, and from what I've seen he never uses artificial light.  The cold indirect light that comes through the window casts soft warm shadows, and he absolutely nails the atmosphere that it creates.  

My one disappointment in the show is that there are no drawings.  Drawings are so sincere and personal feeling, and Kelso's Constable-esque pieces are like little treasures.  Maybe I've been a good boy this year and Santa will bring me one.  

Autumn Glory

Evening

Green House on Hwy. 22

November Mist

Pond at Mr. Palmer's

Spring

Studio Corner