Art Hound

As a non-artist, I am fascinated by the process of creation. How it happens… how long it takes…how hard it is… how much is planned and how much is spontaneous. As a result I go crazy when artists reveal a bit of the behind the scenes like Julie Evans did for her show Cowdust at Julie Saul. It makes me feel like I can, in some small way, experience what it is to create something so unique.

In Cowdust Evans collaborated with friend and Indian miniature painter, Ajay Sharma, who she met while studying the tradition of miniature painting on a Fulbright in Jaipur. The eight paintings the two created are a marvel – intersecting two different style and cultural imagery in a way that is cohesive and inspiring.

The resulting eight works are neither abstract nor narrative. They each contain a floating central form – a surprising amalgam that combines the subtlety of Evans’ poured, ephemeral grounds and close attention to detail with the exquisite refinement of Sharma’s precise hand… They were able to negotiate the artistic gaps in their differing styles to stunning effect, with their separate voices distinctly evident in most places, while in others they are fluidly fused. – Julie Saul

I love Benicia Gantner and find it fascinating how her work has changed over time. Just a few years ago her work was uber-graphic, kaleidoscopic and abstracted like the painting below from 2006. She’s clearly developed a maturity in her work and a more subtle way to convey her ideas of nature and the material world. I love the return to more natural, organic forms.

Gantner’s show at Art Hound favorite Walker Contemporary opens tonight. Here’s what the artist had to say about her new body of work.

The reductive landscapes that define my work are rooted in my experience of the natural world, yet manifest as images that are wholly unnatural- flattened, simplified spaces, saturated with color, and populated with both abstract and recognizable organic forms… These imagined spaces are like flashes of a dream, or déjà vu—both familiar and alien…

By using industrial “man-made” materials like acrylic and vinyl, I reinforce the idea that our experience of the natural world is infused with artifice and largely synthesized. I splice and graft organic forms together, creating new hybrid forms…

The work is bittersweet. I present imagined spaces burgeoning with life, often within a seemingly vacant, desolate quietude. I affirm the possibility of regeneration of the natural world, as I invent forms that explore the genius of survival and adaptation…

More from Traywick Contemporary: Rachel Davis’ watercolor series “MSG.” Don’t you wish your biology textbooks had looked like this?

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Michelle Armas‘ paintings combine far-out abstraction and delicate, feminine florals. Very cool work, especially the dramatic dark background of Secret Garden (first image below). On another note, see photos of from my weekend here.

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These gorgeous, ethereal line drawings are by Joe Kievitt of Portland, Maine. Although the artist studied painting, he currently works in pencil and tile. Kievitt also has an tremendous knack for translating his work to large scale mosaics. Prints are available at 20 x 200.

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Deep blue-green, mustard yellow and hints of lavender: the colors of this dress by DVF (via shopbop) are spot-on for fall. And I discovered this beautiful painting, Cassidy, by Michelle Armas with the same palette and floral motif.