“The White Cosmonaut” (2009): The oil-on-board paintings by Melbourn-based (New Zealand-born) painter Jeremy Geddes send a veritable chill up my spine. The eerie images of dangling astronauts – fallen angels in bubble-top helmets, their stories and vital signs unknown – suggest ever-increasing alienation. Geddes is methodical in his preparation of these large-scale paintings, going through many drafts before beginning a grisaille underpainting. Grisaille (French for ‘grey’) works are entirely monochrome, and then layers of colors are may be added. After attending art school, Geddes worked in video game development and has been painting full time since 2003. See more seriously stunning imagery on his website: http://jeremygeddesart.com/paintings.html
Archive for April, 2011
“Black Orpheus and Voodoo Funk” (2011): Artists have been making collages for hundreds of years, and the medium is alive and well in contemporary art. The term derives from the French “colle” meaning “glue”, although the word applies to plenty of forms besides the two-dimensional, including music, literary, architecture, and film. Enter Victoria Topping, a London and Berlin-based artist whose own interpretation of collage involves Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and traditional drawing & painting. Her work blends musical themes – disco lyrics, floating notes, LP covers – with a distinctly modern flair. Awesome and vibrant stuff from an artist to keep an eye on: http://cargocollective.com/victoriatopping
“16 Eyes”: Victor Rodriguez (b. 1970 in Mexico City) is an especially sophisticated oil painter living and working in New York City. Recurring themes in Rodriguez’s work include eyes, Rubik’s cubes, and naked women stretched lithely across the canvas (he also pays homage to Edouard Manet’s ‘Olympia’ painting, that historically tantalizing subject). I am impressed with Rodriguez’s skin tones, interesting compositions and indisputable skill with a paintbrush. For more see his site: http://web.mac.com/victor.rodriguez/
Zen For Ren 