Jenny Kanzler

July 15, 2013, 7:26 am

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Jenny Kanzler



Education
2005: MFA, Painting, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), Philadelphia, PA
1997: BFA, Sculpture, College of Visual and Performing Art, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

Awards/Honors
2009: Nomination, John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship
2009: Nomination, Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial Award
2007: Nomination, Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial Award
2005: Pennsylvania Academy Eagles and Angels Award
2005: Nomination, Joan Mitchell Foundation Award
2004: Justine Cretella Memorial Scholarship
2004: Nomination, Daedalus Foundation Award

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Michael Zansky

July 15, 2013, 7:35 am

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Michael Zansky


Michael Zansky (Born 1947, in the Bronx, New York) is an American artist working in installation art, sculpture, painting and photography. He has been represented by the Nicholas Robinson Gallery in New York since 2003.




Michael Zansky was born in 1947 in the Tremont section the Bronx, into the family of Louis Zansky, a noted comic book illustrator. After graduating from New York City’s High School of Music and Art, Zansky entered Boston University, Boston, MA, where he graduated in 1969. While attending Boston University, he heard lectures by Philip Guston. At Hunter College in New York, Zansky studied with Robert Morris and John McCracken

Zansky left graduate school before completing his degree to pursue two parallel career tracks, one in fine art and the other in film where he has worked as a scenic artist and production designer directors such as Terry Gilliam, Francis Ford Coppola, Adrian Lynn, Joel Schumacher and Jonathan Demme.
Zansky’s art can be analyzed in various series. History as Ruin, which began in 1992 with an exhibition at Berry-Hill Galleries, Exit Art and the Aldrich Contemporary Museum of Art, consists largely of 200 individually carved and painted 4 X 8 foot wooden reliefs and freestanding sculptures. In a catalog essay by Donald Kuspit, he states: “There is nothing like Zansky’s work in modern art, certainly not in contemporary art. It holds its own with Goya’s “Quinta del Sordo” paintings, and extends their fantasy into more irrational terra incognita than Goya ever imagined in his worst dreams.” David Aust (July 2010). "Michael Zansky mid - century modern abstract art". Painting. RubyLane. Retrieved 9 July 2012.

In 1994, Zansky began a series of works collectively titled TracesZansky,Michael (05 June 2010). ""Artist Michael Zansky"". Artist Michael Zansky. Saatchi. Retrieved 10 July 2012.. For the catalog essay on Zansky’s solo show at Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc., New York, NY, Thomas McEvilley wrote: “Zansky’s work participates in a common thematics of the post-Modern moment – a reconsideration of the relationship between nature and culture. In the Modernist period these forces had been regarded as rigorously separate and indeed antithetical. The triumph of culture would consist precisely in its domination of nature: the triumph of nature in turn would be its erosion of culture back into the primeval swamp. Zansky’s work goes beyond this dichotomy in directions pointed in the art discourse by such seminal proto-post-Modernists as Robert Smithson and Joseph Beuys. For Zansky, as for both of these artists, it is the natural resolution of civilization that it should dissolve into the swamp again, and the natural expression of the swamp that it should contain a life force always ready to sprout anew.”

Giants and Dwarfs: In her curator’s statement in the catalog essay for the exhibition Land Mine at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum Jessica Hough wrote "In the kinetic sculpture from the series Giants and Dwarfs, Zansky manipulates scale using a series of large lenses positioned around a rotating carved wooden object. The object, which has been carved from plywood, looks like driftwood, a desiccated animal carcass, or a meteor – morph the viewer’s perspective so that the object continues to shape-shift. It is large and small; organic and celestial. Zansky’s sculpture, along with all of the work in Land Mine, reminds us that truth must be mined and that human history easily eludes us."
Optics became an important element in Zansky’s art starting with a series titled Still in Motion (2003), which was a precursor for the series The American Panopticon. Bradley Rubenstein wrote in ARCO Madrid 2005 catalog when describing Zansky’s lens installation The American Panopticon: “Astolphe de Custine, writing about the late 19th century Czarist Russia, said “we are all tormented with a desire to know a world which appears to us a dungeon. I feel as if I could not depart in peace out of this narrow sphere unless I endeavored to explore my prison. The more I examine it the more beautiful and extensive it becomes in my eyes.” Peering into the void, or examining things better left unexamined is the material of Zansky’s work. One is reminded of Duchamp’s Precision Optic experiments… image making machines to demonstrate the idiocy of “retinal art.” Zansky takes it a step further by creating the device, and then focusing on objects reflective of life in the 21st century. Again Duchamp reminds; the only contributions America makes to culture are her bridges and plumbing.”

In his most recent series, The Western Lands, Zansky uses digital, color photography as an end product. In contextualizing this new series, Kathleen Goncharov wrote in her essay for a solo show at Nicholas Robinson Gallery, Michael Zansky: The Western Lands, "The title of this exhibition, The Western Lands, refers to the western banks of the Nile, which in the determinist belief system of ancient Egyptian religion is the netherworld, The Land of the Dead. It is also the title of a 1987 William Burroughs' novel that explores the theme of death through a fantastic narrative, referencing Egyptian mythology, science fiction, occultism, hallucinogenic drugs magic, dreams, magic, vampires, and figures from popular culture. The bizarre confluence of characters and the utter strangeness of the novel are echoed in Zansky’s installations and photographs. Burroughs’ book and this exhibition are both counterpoints to the eternal and unchanging cosmos of the ancient Egyptian worldview. Zansky’s visual universe is as uncertain and weird as the literary one Burroughs inhabits."




SELECTED VITAE
EDUCATION
Hunter College, 1978-80
Boston University, BFA, School of Fine Arts and Applied Arts, 1969

AWARDS
2006 Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, Intelligent Design Project
1980 C.A.P.S Fellowship/Painting
1978 Fullbright-Hayes Fellowship (Peru)
1978 Louis Comfort Tiffany Award

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Raoul Middleman

July 15, 2013, 7:45 am

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Raoul Middleman

Raoul Middleman is a contemporary American painter, known for his expressive landscapes, cityscapes, still lives, and narratives.

His paintings can be found in private and corporate collections, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art; National Gallery of Art; Baltimore Museum of Art; Corcoran Gallery of Art; National Academy of Design; Johns Hopkins Hospital; New York Public Library; and Syracuse University.




Born in Baltimore, MD 1935


Education:
1957-61 - Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
1961 - Brooklyn Museum Art School
1960 - Skowhegan Summer School
1955 - Johns Hopkins University, Bachelor of Fine Arts

Peter Pagast

July 15, 2013, 11:38 am

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Peter Pagast


Education
Studio Incamminati, Philadelphia, PA, 2006 and 2007
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 1998
Associates Degree in Fine Arts, American Academy of Art, Chicago, IL, 1994
Portrait Experience
Portraits of all types, by commission, 1996 to the present
Mural Work Experience
Full-time Master Muralist, Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, Philadelphia, PA, 1998 to the present
Awards and Reviews
Featured Muralist, "More Philadelphia Murals and the Stories They Tell", 2006
Union League Annual Show Award, Chicago, IL, February 1994

David Campbell Wilson

July 15, 2013, 1:22 pm

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David Campbell Wilson


David Campbell Wilson is an adjunct professor of painting and drawing at Drexel University and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. His paintings have shown in gallery and museum exhibitions in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and Portland. Wilson is the recipient of several awards, including the Hiram Gee Painting Award from Syracuse University and the R. Tait McKenzie Medal from the Philadelphia Sketch Club. He is currently represented by Rodger LaPelle Galleries in Old City, Philadelphia.

In addition to his career as a painter, Wilson is also a fire performer, illustrator, and video artist. He has been invited eleven times to perform at the Burning Man Festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, and spent seven years in Los Angeles as director of a fire performance troupe consisting of 25 dancers, stilt walkers and safety personnel. Wilson is also a legally ordained Justice of the Peace and enjoys officiating weddings in his spare time.

David Wilson currently lives and works in Philadelphia.

Edzard Krol

July 16, 2013, 4:54 am

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Edzard Krol


Edzard Krol (1938) zoekt al schilderend bedachtzaam zijn weg. Zijn schilderijen laten dan ook een gedegen vlakverdeling zien; vormen en kleurtonen zijn weloverwogen op elkaar afgestemd.
Stilte en afzijdigheid zijn de thema’s die de onderwerpen bepalen. Krols schilderijen tonen fluisterstille, bedaarde taferelen die buiten de tijd lijken te staan: een bouwsel achter de dijk, een oude boot op het droge, een paar huizen die als een groepje mensen staan te kleumen. Dingen die niet meedoen, apart willen zijn en daardoor een ander leven leiden.

De stilering van Krol varieert. Het ene werk bevat realistische elementen, het andere is opgebouwd uit elkaar overlappende cirkels, driehoeken, ovale en rechthoekige vormen die door hun getemperde kleurstellingen tot haast ademloos kijken aanzetten. Edzard Krol beschikt over een heel eigen, fijnzinnige lijnvoering. Die zorgt, in combinatie met de genuanceerde, gevoelige verfopbreng, voor intieme beelden.

Theo Onnes

July 16, 2013, 5:26 am

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Theo Onnes


"Theo Onnes (1957) komt uit een schildersfamilie.
Grootvader Klaas, vader Minne en zus Gerda, allemaal schilderen ze.
Het was dus ook niet verwonderlijk dat hij uiteindelijk koos voor een opleiding schilderen aan ABK Minerva
Groningen waar hij in 1999 afstudeerde.

Theo woont en werkt in het voormalige Raadhuis van Eenrum in de provincie Groningen. Een prachtig monumentaal Amsterdamse Schoolpand uit 1930.
Zijn vrouw Ankie heeft hier haar galerie, Galerie Het Raadhuis. (www.galeriehetraadhuis.nl)
Bekendheid verwierf hij vooral door zijn schilderijen van koeien en geiten maar wie meer werk van Theo Onnes bekijkt, ontdekt een wereld waarin ook ruim plaats is voor landschappen en mensen. Zijn woonplaats Eenrum ligt in het bijzondere gebied Het Hoogeland dat voor Theo een onuitputtelijke inspiratiebron vormt; licht in een sloot, omgeploegd land, de zon op de rug van een geit, de vertedering van een pasgeboren kalf. Theo wordt juist geraakt door dit op het eerste oog zo alledaagse leven om zich heen. Hij vertaalt dit op krachtige wijze in zijn schilderijen en maakt zo zijn verwondering voor ons meer dan waarneembaar.
Zelfs voelbaar."

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Mieke Oldenburg

July 17, 2013, 1:48 am

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Mieke Oldenburg

Mieke Oldenburg works in clay and bronze. Serene introverte busts of women, bathing figures, women as sentinels, standing figures and reliëfs. The skin dry and yet touchable. Her colours are sometimes greyish and sometimes intense.

Women, horses, landscapes and dows are the principal subjects of the sculptures. Physically close but emotionaly distant. The calm pastel and grey tones of the works in clay reenforce the subtle beauty and contribute to a sometimes mystic radiation. The viewer is struck by the psychologial intensity of her portraits. She has the talent to give her figures a structural grace and simplicity combined with a budding sensuality.

Her horses, sybols of the power of life, are massive and enigmatic. Forms are sober, but at the same time powerful and poetic.

Mieke Oldenburg could be classified as contemporary Classicism. However she adapts the classic influences in her own way, and demonrates self conciensness and individuality.

Mieke A. Oldenburg
Education Academy for Visual Arts, Minerva, Groningen, The Netherlands
Royal Academy for Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium
Artist in residence Europees Keramisch Werkcentrum, Heusden
1981 – 2009 Works both in The Netherlands and Mozambique

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Bruno Lucchi

July 17, 2013, 2:05 am

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Bruno Lucchi, la materia in divenire
20 febbraio 2007 — pagina 48 sezione: SpettacoloCultura e Spettacoli


Dalla ruvida terra, cotta dal fuoco, alla lucentezza e scorrevolezza della porcellana, bianca pelle, candida, simbolo di purezza. È il passaggio che ha effettuato la materia sotto le mani di Bruno Lucchi. Dalle rugose e materiche donne con la pelle color terra a queste fanciulle quasi metafisiche, sublimi per via di quel candore che le avvicinano ai loro corrispettivi angelici. Ma le loro forme esuberanti ci portano di nuovo al cospetto di quelle Dee Madri abbondanti, virili e feconde, Veneri che hanno occupato gli spazi mentali dei nostri progenitori neolitici. Queste nuove opere dell’artista si possono ammirare ancora qualche giorno (chiude il 28 febbraio, orario martedì-sabato 9-12.30/15.19) presso gli spazi/ambienti del Berlanda Project in Via S. Caterina 43 ad Arco, per cura di Giorgia Lucchi.
Le forme di queste “perle” hanno mutato: non più corpi/albero, corpi/abbraccio, corpi/sogni, corpi meditativi. Ora corpi bozzolo dove le forme s’ingigantiscono fino a sfiorare l’amalgama. Non l’indistinto, non l’informe. Queste declinazioni sono lontane dalla volontà e dal progetto dell’artista. Ma la plasticità che torna a cantare le lodi della materia, i volumi che diventano forme, la donna che diventa cerchio, bozzolo. Compiendo un percorso di ritorno alle origini. Una regressione fisica, forse psichica, che ci porta l’essere femminile al suo aspetto quasi fetale. Lì dove il sesso si confonde, si mimetizza, si coniuga e il maschile non è più il maschile e il femminile non è più il femminile. Soltanto androginia, l’umana nostalgia dell’interezza.

In queste sculture l’uomo, toccato dalla sua ombra, si addolcisce e allenta la presa sui suoi ruoli e contratti ruoli e convincimenti maschili. La donna si risveglia a nuovi spazi, nitidi e glaciali, a piani di precisa coordinazione in cui comincia a tracciare con calma il proprio cammino. Da qui, da queste sculture pure, lavorate con la porcellana classica, inizia il percorso di una nuova vita. Bruno Lucchi ha dovuto compiere il viaggio degli iniziati. Andando avanti nella ricerca è ritornato alle origini - mai come queste perle/feti sono il segno dell’alfa e l’omega - per poi approdare a nuovi lidi. Queste perle si stanno lentamente sciogliendo, distendendo. I loro muscoli aggrovigliati, accartocciati, ora inscindibili dal loro centro, sono in procinto di spiccare il volo.
D’altronde la perla è il simbolo lunare legato all’acqua e alla donna. L’artista queste donne le ha colte mentre sono quasi chiuse nelle loro conchiglie, neo Veneri, simbolo essenziale della femminilità creatrice in un rapporto di triplice simbolismo Luna-Acqua-Donna da cui derivano tutte le proprietà magiche della perla. Eppure anche queste opere sono nate dal fuoco soltanto che qui, l’elemento igneo ha giocato le sue carte di purificazione, di distillazione della materia in Essere, dell’Io in pietra filosofale. Ed ecco allora le perle donne o le donne perle, centri mistici prima di essere centri carnali. Rare e preziose, pure. Matteo (7,6) diceva che la perla preziosa, una volta ottenuta, non deve essere gettata ai porci. Come dire che la conoscenza non deve essere affidata sconsideratamente a coloro che non sono indegni. Come queste opere raffinate, da gustare, toccare, accarezzare, assorbire.
- Fiorenzo Degasperi

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Bairbre Duggan

July 17, 2013, 3:06 am

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Bairbre Duggan



"My trajectory to becoming an artist has been a circuitous one - initially disillusioned by what the art schools had to offer, I became an art historian, an interaction designer, an editor and a yoga teacher, before finally coming full circle and pursuing my initial ambition which was to make images with paint. Having moved to the Netherlands, I found the school that could teach me what I wanted to learn, and some other stuff of course that I needed to learn. I graduated from the Ruudt Wackers Academie in 2009, under the mentorship of Sam Drukker."

Bairbre Duggan

Born Dublin, Ireland

Lives and works in Amsterdam

Ruudt Wackers Academie, Amsterdam, Direction: Autonomous Painting and Drawing

Trinity College Dublin & Universite de Paris VII, M. Phil Text and Image Studies

Trinity College Dublin, B. A. History of Art and English Literature

Dun Laoghaire School of Art and Design, Dublin, Certificate in Visual Education, Foundation Studies





Her work hangs in private collections in Europe, the United States, Asia and Africa

Satoru Kitago

July 17, 2013, 4:07 am

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Satoru Kitago - 北郷悟



1953Born in Fukushima 1977B.F.A. in Sculpture, Tokyo Zoukei University1979M.F.A. in Sculpture, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music1991-97Associate professor, Niigata University1996-97Stayed in Italy, Fellowship from the Agency for Cultural Affairs19971997- Associate Professor, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Member of Shinseisaku Art Society2006Professor, Department of Sculpture, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music2008International Sculpture Projects Hangzhou China

1979“Shinseisaku Exhibition”, Awarded the New Artists Prize in '80 and '821981“Selected Works of Contemporary Art” The Ministry of Education (Tokyo and other locations in Japan)1983“Tenri Biennale” Awarded a Grand Prize1987“The Art of Michinoku” Miyagi Museum of Art1990Awarded the Good Design Prize of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry1992“Contemporary Japanese Figurative Sculpture” Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art1994Work purchased by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.1997“Nuove Realta” Soloarte Gallery, Milan, Italy1999“Overstepping Borders” Iwaki City Art Museum “Sculpture: Destruction and Construction of Figurative Art” Chinretsukan Gallery, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music2000“Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture- Japan and the United States” Toki City (Gifu) “Competition of Computer Modeling Sculpture” (Kitago team was awarded a Grand Prize)2001“DOMANI” Seiji Togo Yasuda Kasai Museum of Art (Tokyo)2002“Sculptors of Eastern Japan” Tokyo Station Gallery (Tokyo)2003「Constantin Brancusi prize」Encouragement prize2005「Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture in Japan」Yamaguchi Open-air Museum 「The Art of Breathing in the World-Art and Respiration」 「SKINODELIC The sculpture/face,surface,interface 」GEIDAI Museum2006Awarded the 7th Kurayoshi City Sculpture Prize (Kurayoshi, Tottori)2007Tokyo University of the Arts 120th Anniversary Exhibition"Ima"(Tokyo) Tokyo University of the Arts 120th Anniversary Exhibition"The form which echoes and suits"(Tokyo) The 40th Anniversary of the Japanese Government Overseas Study Program for Artists　provided by the Agency for Cultural Affairs Journey - Encounters and Dialogues with Foreign Cultures(Tokyo)

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Anne Ronjat

July 17, 2013, 7:41 am

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Anne Ronjat


"I was born in Paris in 1968. My mother was a textile designer. I remember spending hours drawing next to her… At times she would slide my best drawing inside her portfolio! In this way I sold my first pattern for a fabric when I was 6 years old!

In my early twenties, I started working with clay and completed a ceramics diploma in 1990 through the CNIFOP (school of ceramics in Nevers, south of Paris). Then I traveled around France as part of a 3 year apprenticeship with renowned ceramicists such as Vanier, Deverchere and others. During this live in apprenticeship, I learnt many techniques and design styles steepped in the ceramic tradition of their region.

In 1994 I moved to Australia and started working as a thrower/decorator until I created my own range of fine functional ceramics in 1997.

I secured a studio space in Gasworks Arts Park in Melbourne from where I began creating ceramic sculptural works. In 2002 I was invited to participate in the Becton Sculpture Biennale and created a life-size trio of figurative works which helped me to create a platform for my sculptural practice. This lead to a solo sculpture exhibition at Husk, Alafia Gallery, and Mingara Gallery and numerous group shows throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Becoming involved in sculpture broadened my outlook as a designer. I released several ranges of limited editions sculptures and started to design functional ware for other companies. I created several exclusive ranges for Husk, including their tea set which for the last decade has been a best seller through out Australia. In 2007 I designed and hand threw exclusive winter and summer ranges for Country Road.

My own White range is currently retailing through boutiques, galleries, spa retreats and interior designers. For the last 5 years Mark Tuckey has sold my complete tableware range in the Melbourne store and more recently in the new Sydney store.

Last year, from the north coast of NSW near Byron Bay, I started applying new mediums on ceramics such as cut stones, silver and gold leaves while also branching out into new directions with textiles and jewelry.

  I then travelled overseas to expand my knowledge base in jewelry design and practical studies in silversmithing. Now, back in Melbourne, having restocked my suppliers with tableware, I’m pursuing the development of new designs, sculptural forms and hand painted tiles to coincide with the launch of my jewelry range in 2012."

Anne Ronjat

Pauline Koehorst

July 17, 2013, 2:29 pm

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Pauline Koehorst



Pauline Koehorst studeerde in 1989 af aan de Kunstacademie St.Joost in Breda. Haar werk bestaat uit schilderijen, video's / video-installaties en sculpturen / installaties. Het waargenomen onderwerp binnen haar werk heeft altijd een onderliggende laag. In deze laag maakt zij de kwets- baarheid van mens of dier voelbaar. Haar werk is hierdoor vaak direct en confronterend. Pauline Koehorst woont en werkt in Breda.

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Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela

July 18, 2013, 2:12 am

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Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela

Paul Emsley

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Franco Fortunato

July 19, 2013, 3:50 am

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Franco Fortunato







Franco Fortunato

In the Italian language the word 'fortunato' translates into English as lucky, fortunate; and happy. It is no coincidence that the artist from Rome, Franco Fortunato, shares this name as it personifies him perfectly. Like all great artists Fortunato is unique; there is no other artist in the world like him.


His educational background is in science. He began his artistic work with the figurative group of the artist Babuino. Franco then developed his art in cycles: beginning with Histories of the Park, Bums, Stories for Europe (dedicated in 1992 to the dawning European Union), and continuing to Pinocchio in 1994. He then worked on several series titled Inventory, Recoveries, Discovered Towns, the Vagabond and the current cycle, Emerging Past.


The themes of Fortunato's paintings are dually wry and subtly thought provoking. He has not exhausted painting the timeless Italian medieval cities and communities that disintegrate and are rebuilt, nor has the Vagabond, the man commonly shown in his work, ceased to explore the smile of the poet's moon, or the future in his quest to find his place in the universe.


Time and our relationship to it is the play of Fortunato's current work. This central theme rules everywhere, as cities float by on decaying leaves, the Vagabond carries a large clock that has no hands, and shrouded scaffolding rises up where an unfinished hull carries a magnificent dome. We are shown the complexity of arches, windows, shadows, and competing towers in which the movement through time and space, and the desire to understand our place within it, challenges the imagination.


Travel with Fortunato, on a schooner, a leaf, a puzzle piece, in a tree. Look where he takes you, visually and imagininatively, and you will not be disappointed.

L.M. Erricson

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Nato a Roma nel 1946, Franco Fortunato si forma artisticamente da autodidatta, seguendo un percorso di studio di orientamento scientifici. La formazione artistica avviene prende corpo con lo studio della pittura italiana del Tre-Quattrocento, ma anche dei Fiamminghi, ma anche certi Americani del primo Novecento,pur di provenienza estremo europea, per la linearità e la purezza figurativa e del disegno, la sintesi ed il rigore geometrico in un contesto di fantastica surrealtà e di metafisica.

Dopo le prime esperienze più giovanili, negli anni Settanta inizia ad esporre con il “Gruppo Figurale il Babuino”, partecipando tra l’altro alla grande mostra dedicata a Pier Paolo Pasolini nel 1976 da lui stesso ideata, gruppo dal quale si è poi distaccato alla ricerca di un proprio linguaggio e di una completa autonomia di azione. È in questo momento che nasce il suo particolare metodo di lavorare per “cicli”: dalle Storie del parco ai Barboni che dipinge tra il 1980 e il 1985, ai Racconti per l’Europa del 1992, dedicato alla nascente Unione Europea e ai dodici Paesi che la fondavano. Nel 1994 affronta il tema di Pinocchio, primo ciclo ispirato ad un romanzo, che riprenderà poi nel 2004. Non è però un caso se scene tratte dal Pinocchio appaiono già nel ciclo dei Racconti per l’Europa, là dove vuole rappresentare. Per l’artista, infatti, il capolavoro di Collodi è un grande affresco del nostro paese, con le sue povertà e miserie, la corruzione, le malefatte e Pinocchio incarna quindi non è una favola ma un documento ed uno spaccato della nostra società non ancora del tutto superato.

Prosegue, sempre negli anni Novanta, con l’Inventario e le Città invisibili, ciclo quest’ultimo dedicato ad una lettura di Italo Calvino, e poi con i Ritrovamenti e le Città ritrovate. Sottesa temporalmente e tematicamente rimane sempre la figura del Vagabondo, una figura poetica che attraversa quasi ininterrottamente tutto il percorso artistico di Fortunato. Un personaggio che compare nel 1980 e vive la propria esistenza vestendo varie sembianze e vivendo le problematiche più diverse.

Nel 2000 torna sui temi letterari affrontando il ciclo dedicato al Piccolo Principe, il capolavoro di Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, mentre nel 2003 sono ancora le architetture ad attrarlo con il ciclo Architetture fantastiche. Nel 2005 realizza l’importante ciclo su Moby Dick presentato in un lungo percorso di mostre, a partire dalla Rocca Aldobrandesca di Piancastagnaio, passando poi per varie città e sedi. Successivamente realizza le Storie di Mari.

Tutti c icli accompagnati da altrettante mostre in Italia ed all’Estero: Svizzera, Francia, Belgio, Spagna, Argentina, Olanda, Gran Bretagna, Stati Uniti, Germania, Canada.

Ha realizzato varie pitture murali su edifici pubblici e privati. Fra queste va ricordato il ciclo Via Matris Gloriosae nella chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore di Caramanico Terme.

Il suo lavoro si sviluppa anche nel campo della grafica, della scultura e della ceramica.

Premio Santa Caterina d’Oro per l’Arte Contemporanea,edizione 2010.

Realizzerà il Drappellone del Palio dell’Agosto 2010 nonché quello di Castel del Piano.

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BIAGIO MAGLIANI

July 19, 2013, 5:50 am

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BIAGIO MAGLIANI


2007 - RAFFAELE POLO

Nativo di Leverano, Biagio Magliani è poeta della propria terra. Lo si intuisce facilmente dalle tematiche delle sue opere, rivolte costantemente a far risaltare ed apprezzare una particolare "salentinità" che va al di là del semplice contemplare ulivi e fichi d'india. La sua è poesia del pane fatto in casa, delle giornate trascorse in campagna, dell'odore del mosto che si trasforma in vino. E' la poesia delle piccole cose, quelle importanti che ci sono rimaste dentro e ci ricordano che, nonostante tutto, il nostro mondo non è espresso soltanto da Internet e dai telefonini. Ma ha ancora il tempo per soffermarsi su odori, sapori e colori che il nostro Salento offre, immutati, da anni. Schiettamente figurativo, interprete sensibile e capace della Natura che ci circonda, Magliani non nasconde un pizzico di sincero ed apprezzabile edonismo, il gusto di sorprendere e meravigliare, con l'intelligente semplicità delle sue scelte scenografiche. Che non sono quelle di Sciltian, per intenderci: ma hanno, se possibile, una evidente composizione ricca di humus e sapore, che fa risaltare la vivacità e l'originale fattura di nature morte e paesaggi sempre ricchi di significati e colore. Più che la ricerca della perfezione nella riproduzione, per l'artista di Leverano è importante riuscire a comunicare un sentimento benevolo e rassicurante. Una vera e propria condivisione implicita si stabilisce tra l'Autore e chi guarda. Non c'è ombra di negatività, in questo meraviglioso Immaginario. E siamo chiamati a gustare, ancora una volta, il pane e la frutta semplice dei nostri campi. Semplici, gustosi testimoni di un mondo che, forse, non c'è più. Ma che rivive, come per incanto, grazie al pennello di questo bravo pittore, di questo grande Poeta.

2007 - EGIDIO DE LUCA

Biagio Magliani fa del rigore la sua filosofia. Egli dipinge con una parsimonia rispettosa di luoghi e cose, e con una creatività essenziale, limpida, che varcando i limiti spazio-temporali procede ogni volta dentro suggestioni sospese, accumuli di emozioni e ricordi, per creare alla fine un mondo immaginifico, vicino e pur lontano da quello reale, fedele ma inventato, uno spazio dove l'espandersi metafisico del tempo ricompone e raccoglie.

 
2005 - STEFANO SERRA

Biagio Magliani è un intimista, un romantico cosciente. Il suo racconto gioca, solitamente, su un unico essenziale elemento figurale e lo esalta in una malinconia struggente, dove i particolari sono descritti in modo minuzioso.
Magliani si rivela erede del secondo Ottocento italiano, la sua ricerca di artista contemporaneo, però, elimina ogni elemento retorico, portando esclusivamente in luce l’anello portante del racconto. E’ questo per esempio, il caso del “pane” e dell ”ulivo”.
Egli è maestro della tavolozza, in quanto il senso del colore fa parte della sua anima.
Magliani riesce a giocare di toni e di controtoni, gli accordi cromatici vivono in equilibrio, il blù oltremare con un rosso intenso, un violetto con un giallo di Napoli rossastro. E una pittura calda e sensuale. La riduzione all’essenziale, il rapporto tra luce, spazio, forma e colore, consente a Magliani di creare un atmosfera persino neo-metafisica.

2005 - AUGUSTO CAVALIERA

Classe, tecnica, eleganza, eloquenza del gesto pittorico, tridimensionalità dello spirito e vento che agita le fronde dell’anima, attributi e significati che si possono intagliare sfogliando con lo sguardo le opere di Biagio Magliani. Un grande artista che cela un’umanità di rapporto col mondo rara e preziosa.

Cyril Croucher

July 19, 2013, 8:01 am

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Cyril Croucher




"Cyril Croucher b.1951 Living and working in Cornwall, his surroundings have a huge influence on his painting. Cyrils current work grew out of a fascination with the height of harbour walls viewed from a low tide perspective, and with the buildings which are built on the piers and quays. He says, the sense of height one feels when looking up at the walls from within the harbour gave me the same feeling as looking upwards at the immense space inside a cathedral. I have tried to capture this feeling by introducing elements and memories from my past I hope to create a sense of timelessness, calm and intrigue."

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Martine Pinsolle

July 20, 2013, 1:35 pm

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Martine Pinsolle



Martine PINSOLLE est née à Bordeaux, France, en 1944. Elle vit et travaille sur la Côte Basque, France. Son thème d'inspiration principal est la figure humaine : nus, corps, portraits, personnages, attitudes, regards.


Voici comment elle explique sa démarche artistique : "Peintre d’atelier, le dessin est pour moi l’étape essentielle de la maturation de l’œuvre. Les images et leur composition s’imposent souvent d’elles-mêmes, prennent la forme d’une évidence sereine ou tourmentée que le dessin inscrit dans la réalité. Plus que la couleur qui envahit la toile, le trait incise, maintenant l’ambiguïté fondamentale de l’image picturale. Le trait reste la limite infrangible entre le dit et le non-dit.
Parfois, le seul jeu de la main confronte l’aléatoire et la nécessité d’une émotion ancienne ou récente dont le corps est l’ostentation violente ou résignée, mais jamais impudique. Dans le portrait, questionnement renouvelé sur l’identité, la couleur donne un sens à cette humanité.
Les natures mortes sont pour moi des temps de pauses attentives et d’interrogation du réel qui me permettent de ne plus être au centre du propos."


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Justine Brax

July 20, 2013, 2:22 pm

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Justine Brax




Diplomée de l'Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Decoratifs de Paris je suis actuellement illustratrice et enseignante en Arts Appliqués. 

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Judi Smith

July 20, 2013, 3:03 pm

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Judi Smith



"I'm Judi Smith. A self taught clay artist with an insatiable desire to learn, share and experiment along a clay art journey.

It started 20 years when a friend offered me a handful of clay and told me to go away and make something. Faces and figures were the first interest. Distractions of other forms came and went but I have returned to the beginning with the addition of the joojoo range.

For intense firing excitement, I love to raku.
For sculptural work I use an electric kiln.

You're invited to view Cup Cakes and Chocolate to learn a bit about me and Fired Up to learn about what inspires me about clay, and some stories and images from exhibitions and conferences I have been involved with.
The Clay Art Gallery of past and present clay artworks is under construction, but in this section you can see what I am currently working on, and some of the inspirations behind them.
Also check out the Clayzee Magazine, a place where I can share some of the interesting bits and bobs from the world of clay.

“What I am is but a collection of where I have been and what I have experienced.

What I am now is not what I was then. I am recreating me in the moment as you are too – collecting experiences that will reflect who ‘I am’ tomorrow.”"

Judi Smith