Snow Storm

Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth, exhibited 1842
J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851)
oil on canvas
image: tate.org.uk

Beauty and violence and near abstraction. J. M. W. Turner's scenes of the British landscape from land to sea are powerful, usually with a central "vortex" pulling the viewer in.

"It is famously said that Turner conceived this image while lashed to the mast of a ship during an actual storm at sea. This seems to be nothing more than fiction, but the story has endured as a way of demonstrating Turner’s full-blooded engagement with the world around him" (From the display caption February 2004) tate.org.uk

The fierceness of nature, expressed through the masterly painting technique, try to see a Turner if you haven't, online digital images? No justice.

This work is from the Tate, which has an incredibly significant collection of works by Turner. A few years after Turner's death his estate of paintings were bequeathed to the nation (England) and those 300 or so painting make up the majority of the Tate's collection. Highlights of the collection.

Figure times 3

John Currin
Thanksgiving, 2003
Tate Modern, London
oil on canvas


If you click on the title, you can see how the Tate breaks up its images and leads you to other works with similar subject matter and aesthetic features. I find the tree of the image really fascinating, by clicking on a subject (ie dining room, column...) you can see how many other works there are in the collection with that subject as well as link to the specific works. It is a great aid in research (and wandering as I often do :).

There is much to be discussed regarding John Currin, an artist both loved and disliked. I am drawn to this image due to not only the gorgeous rendering (something that no one can really dispute) but also the strangeness of the imagery. You may notice that all the women look similar (as often occurs) and they all have a likeness to his artist wife and muse, Rachel Feinstein (whose was a major player in my thesis). Currin's work usually covers, satirically, the topics of sexuality(his current work stems from 70's pornography), social themes and historical art themes.

Check out the slide essay "A Closer Look at John Currin" on Slate.com

Colored Figured Splendor

Kitaj, R.B. Cecil Court, London WC2 (The Refugees) 1983-84 Oil on canvas 72 x 72 in. (182.9 x 182.9 cm) The Tate Gallery, London

Click on the title and you can enlarge the image, which I recommend, as there is so much to see here, this thumbnail doesn't do it justice. Of course that is a given with all these images, so I should probably drop that commentary.

A lot of the works that I will be posting are by artists that I am not not too familiar with. This blog is also a way for me to keep up on my art education. Work is a tremendous help, as I discovered Kitaj working on a recent exhibition catalog today. As usual, I knew the name and had a vague idea of his work but my knowledge has steadily increased since this afternoon. The show was at the Marlborough Gallery in NYC recently and while it focused on Kitaj's recent work (he passed away in 2007) it was also a homage to his life and overall work. It is a great catalog, pictorially focused on the work itself, but accompanied by short texts by those who knew him and worked with him. I learned a lot in a short span of time (hardest part of my job is not getting sucked into reading!)

Kitaj was engrossed in the art world, not only as a painter but also as a writer and organizer, he put together a number of exhibitions of his own. The catalog for the Marlborough show has a number of photos of Kitaj's studios, each covered in books, papers and photos, rooms I would feel at home in at once. He drew from his life, his environment, his history, art history (with a particular penchant for Cezanne) and his loves. The figure in the chaise at the bottom of this painting is Kitaj, reading a book, while the backdrop of Cecil Court (a haven for book lovers in London, oh why wasn't I more interested in rare books in 1999?!) and additional characters burst in and out of the scene. You can find Kitaj writing about this work and others here.

There is oh so much more, but I will stop here. If find this work at all intriguing I highly recommend delving into the world of Kitaj a bit more. There is something so rich and meaning and troubling? I haven't yet reconciled the description myself (yay for art!)

Just a note if you hadn't yet noticed, I will try to always create a link to bio info for both the artist and the featured work in each post. You should be able to find it by just clicking on the artist name or title of the work. Quick and dirty learning at its best.

Hope you enjoy!!