Author: Site Adm1n

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What we Learn from Land and Sea

What We Learn from Land and Sea, view of exhibition at Paros, Cycladic Arts

On 5 August, 2023 the exhibition What We Learn from Land and Sea has opened at Cycladic Arts, an artist-run residency and exhibition space on the Greek island of Paros. The question of balancing forces, and the right ‘measure,’ connects the works of the five artists from different backgrounds. The starting point is a journal entry from the Aegean Notebooks of poet and essayist Zissimos Lorenzatos (1915-2004):

“The sky, earth and sea of Greece only allow you a limited number of things to believe, build, sketch, live or speak. The smallest wrong movement and everything can fall into the abyss. Sometimes its inhabitants have known this and have believed, built, sketched, lived (and spoken) accordingly. At other times they have missed the mark and tried to do other things which neither the sky nor the earth nor the sea in this country allow you to do. Things that the country won’t take, as they say.”

In his Notebooks, Lorenzatos recounted his trips over the Aegean Sea in the 1970s and 1980s, visiting many of the Cycladic Islands by sailboat. Daily observations about weather conditions, places, and people he met merge with philosophical reflections on language, agriculture, technology, progress, and how to live “the good life.” Lorenzatos was inspired by what can be learned from land and sea. He believed that the spirit and setting of a place offers a set of natural limitations. People who build and create should not ignore these measures, but be instructed and inspired by the environment. Lorenzatos’s writings can be read as an ode to the Aegean, as an early wake-up call concerning climate, and also as a reminder of existing knowledge. The right measures in life do not need to be invented. They are already available but need to be remembered, observed, and put into practice.

The artists in this group exhibition do not make loud statements. What they think, feel, or strive for is absorbed, reflected, and transformed in their work. It comes in the shape of archetypal figures, in bands of colors taken from houses or skies, in stony landscapes, in stories of origin, and in the act of existential balance. The exhibition presents artworks that speak about measures, boundaries, and relationships through the grace of form.

Participating artists: Nikos Aslanidis, Béatrice Dreux, Kati Roover, Sean Scully, Maria Spyraki, curated by Jurriaan Benschop for Cycladic Arts, an initiative of Dimitra Skandali. Exhibition 5 August- 30 September, 2023. Visiting hours daily 7.30 – 10 pm (except Tuesday). Image: installation view with works by Maria Spyraki (left, center) and Béatrice Dreux (right).

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Book launch & exhibition in Athens

opening and book launch Why Paintings Work in Athens

On July 12 the book Why Paintings Work was presented at Kourd Gallery in Athens. The gallery shows currently work of 8 artists who are featured in the book. There are different threads running through the show, connecting some of the works, and putting them into a dialogue. For instance Michael Markwick and David Benforado share an interest in nature and materiality, yet without presenting straightforward images of nature. Paula Zarina-Zemane and Maria Capelo both stay close to the moment of conception, when some kind of recognizable forms starts to appear on the surface of the work. In their processes a compositional idea is present, yet there is as much attention for accident and the intuition of the painter’s hand at work. Walking through the exhibition, further connections can be discovered. The participating artists are Nikos Aslanidis, David Benforado, Maria Capelo, Béatrice Dreux, Andreas Ragnar Kassapis, Michael Markwick, Paula Zarina-Zemane, Gerlind Zeilner. In the book around 30 additional artists are featured.

Until 6 August Kourd gallery is open during weekdays (Mon-Friday, 12-8 pm) at Kassianis 4 in Athens. From 7 August it will be closed for holidays. Late August and early September the show can be visited by appointment. Further announcements will be made.

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Spring Tour USA

In Spring 2023 I visit several Midwest universities for a talk about my book Why Paintings Work. The tour starts in Aiken (South Carolina), and then goes to Bloomington (Indiana), Chicago (Illinois), Fayetteville (Arkansas) and Lyon College (Arkansas). Most visits consists of a public lecture and studio visits at the department of visual arts.

Why Paintings Work navigates the stylistically diverse landscape of contemporary painting. In the book, the author introduces the work of dozens of painters, discussing the themes, techniques, and sensibilities that can be found in their art. He continually returns to the question: Why does this painting work? In what ways does it speak to the viewer? He considers both the visible aspects of a painting, such as the depicted motif and the application of paint, as well as the concepts, beliefs, and motivations that lie behind the canvas. Why Paintings Work is not just about the mechanics of looking at works of art, but also about finding a language that suits the paintings and the experiences of the present day.

Why Paintings Work is published by Garret Publications (Helsinki). Public lectures are scheduled at USC Aiken (30 March), IU BLoomington (6 April, Painting annex), University of Chicago (10 April, Logan Center) and Fayetville (20 April, UARK Fine Arts Building).

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Caitlin Lonegan in Vienna

Caitlin Lonegan

On the occasion of Caitlin Lonegan’s exhibition in Vienna, at Galerie Nächst St Stephan, Rosemarie Schwarzwälder invited me to reflect on the work . In this video you see an introduction to the exhibition, in German with English subtitles.

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Kunstenaarsgesprek Lara de Moor

Schilderij Lara de Moor Velvet, 2020

Ze komt uit een familie van kunstenaars en schrijvers, maar ze is maar tot op zekere hoogte fan van het woord, als het om beeldende kunst gaat. Woorden kunnen als loopplank toegang tot een schilderij verschaffen, maar ze kunnen het schilderij ook inkapselen, vastzetten in betekenis, meent Lara De Moor. Woorden neigen dingen hard te maken, te doen stollen, terwijl het leven zelf vloeibaar is, zich in de tijd afspeelt, steeds verandert. Net als verf, die vloeibaar is als je haar opbrengt en pas stolt als de lagen over elkaar komen te liggen, de compositie vorm krijgt, het tafereel droogt.

Leegte schilderen is een paradoxale bezigheid. In het werk van Lara de Moor gaat het om wat in de lucht hangt in nagenoeg lege huizen, om de atmosfeer die in een kamer kan worden aangetroffen. Enerzijds wordt de toon gezet door sporen van de tijd, zoals een lichtplek op de muur die verraadt waar jarenlang een schilderij hing. Anderzijds is er de schilder die een stemming meebrengt en de lege ruimtes daarmee oplaadt en bepaalde aspecten accentueert. Of is het de bezoeker die het tafereel inkleurt? Wat objectief aanwezig is of in de lucht hangt, kan niet scherp worden gescheiden van wat er in de beschouwer sluimert.

Naar aanleiding van de verschijning van Waarom een schilderij werkt, ga ik op zaterdag zaterdag 10 December in gesprek met beeldend kunstenaar Lara de Moor. De fragmenten hierboven zijn uit het hoofdstuk over haar werk. Er zal tevens een presentatie van haar schilderijen in de galerie te zien zijn.

10 dec 2022, Galerie Roger Katwijk, Prinsengracht 737, Amsterdam, 16.30 u (inloop vanaf 16u). Vrij toegang. Graag even aanmelden vooraf: info@galerierogerkatwijk.nl

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Exhibition ‘Three of a Kind’

The exhibition ‘Three of a Kind’ presents the work of three painters who share an interest in ambivalent forms of figuration: Milla Aska, Veronika Hilger, and Paula Zarina-Zemane. Their paintings depict situations or figures that cannot be identified in one, singular way but remain open to different readings. Yet in the choice of colors and the treatment of surface and paint, each of the artists develops a specific voice and unique character.

The figures in the work of Milla Aska (1993, based in Helsinki) appear to be behind a veil. They do not seem to be fully developed, but rather in the process of becoming visible and tangible. This impression is evoked through Aska’s approach to building up a painting with thin, translucent layers of paint. “My paintings seek shape around themes such as materiality and bodily sensations – for instance, how something feels against the skin, or what warmth feels like. I am intrigued by forms that seem to be something specific but don’t quite reveal themselves.”

The paintings of Veronika Hilger (1981, based in Munich) combine elements of landscape, still life, and portrait. Hilger is a specialist in ambiguous figuration. The shapes in her paintings have a familiar, often organic touch but are not specific enough to name. The artist presents them on an elementary level, stripped of details. As a result, the forms have a dynamic appearance: a foot could be a leaf, a leaf could be an animal, an animal could be a stone. “The organic is something that you can easily dock onto as a human, and that creates a kind of identification potential,” the artist noted.

In the works of Paula Zarina-Zemane (1988, based in Riga), the distinction between human and environment is blurred. The works oscillate between abstract compositions formed through clouds of color, and more concrete outlines of landscapes. The paintings are usually the result of a fast process, and they do evoke a sense of speed through the traces left by the brush. Yet the reduced composition also sets a reflective mood. “I am trying to get the result in one go,” the artist noted.

Three of a Kind opened on 30 June 2022 at KOGO Gallery in Tartu, Estonia and runs till 3 September 2022. The exhibition is curated by Jurriaan Benschop. It is part of the exhibition series Past is the Present at the Kogo Gallery in 2022.

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Athens Talks on Painting

A program of talks about painting, the way it is made, the way we look at it, and the way we use language to address it. Curator Jurriaan Benschop speaks with experts from different fields about the exhibition ‘A Grammar of Gestures’ in Athens.

“Kourd Evening Art Talks” does not take the form a formal discussion, but it engages everyone is approaching the exhibition from another point of view and create a safe space for the lovers of art to gather and exchange ideas.

9.4.22 SHIFTING SHAPES with Andreas Ragnar Kassapis painter. A shared feature of the works in the exhibition A Grammar of Gestures is the dynamics of shapes, the tendency of forms to flip and change appearance while you are looking at them. The artists seem to focus on creating pictures that are not fixed in meaning, but remain open to different readings and ways of seeing.

10.4.22 PAINTING IN THE DIGITAL AGE with Alexandros Voutsas, photographer. Within the landscape of contemporary arts and life, how does painting contribute to the conversation? What specifics does it bring to the table? The stream of digital images and information, on our phones and other screens, has created a new context and changing habits of looking. How does painting relate to the current reality of digital image production and consumption?

11.4.22 CONTENT IS A GLIMPSE with Marita Gerarchaki, clinical psychologist. What kind of responses do we have when looking at a painting? Is there an immediate recognition of what it is about? Is it even possible to speak about ‘content’ in painting? The discussion starts with a quote from abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning from the 1960’s, who stated that “content is a glimpse, an encounter like a flash.”

14.4.22 PAINTING AS A TIME BASED ART with David Benforado, painter. What if we think of painting as a time based art? As an art that took many moments to be made, and many layers for its meaning to surface? An art that unfolds only when you give it a second look and a third and see how it changes? While paintings are usually presented as static objects on the wall, time plays an important role in its production and reception.

15.4.22 GLOBAL LANGUAGE, LOCAL ROOTS with Theodora Koumoundourou, art consultant. In the exhibition five painters with different backgrounds come together. They share a common language, which creates a dialogue between their respective positions. Yet their work is rooted in different cultural contexts. How does that come out?

All talks start at 7.30 pm at Kourd Gallery, Kassianis 2 in Athens. Entrance is free. The exhibition A Grammar of Gestures is on view till 18 March 2022. Image Jurriaan Benschop (l) in conversation with painter Andreas Ragnar Kassapis (r) on 9 april.

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Young Americans in Thessaloniki

Painting Adrienne Elyse Meyers

This exhibition presents the paintings of three American artists who focus on space in their work, Michelle Jezierski, Joseph Kameen and Adrienne Elyse Meyers. The interiors, landscapes, and other constellations they create are not just physical spaces, but also spaces of the mind that evoke memories and suspense, triggering perception and the imagination.

Geometric and organic shapes come together in the work of Michelle Jezierski. To find a compositional structure, she shifts and breaks observed spaces into vertical, horizontal, or diagonal bands, rearranging them to introduce an abstract rhythm into the image. Coming from a family of musicians, Jezierski likes to approach painting through aspects such as rhythm, harmony, or dissonance.

In the domestic interiors of Joseph Kameen, the everyday order of things seems disrupted. Objects have special powers, making us witness moments of alienation or wonder. A play of light and shadow leads the attention through the rooms. “The subjects of my paintings, both figures and objects, are in the process of coming to terms with their surroundings,” the artist explains.

In the works of Adrienne Elyse Meyers, empty interiors or fragments of rooms give opportunities for speculation about things that might have happened next door, or that are about to occur. The action itself is not depicted; it is just the stage that we see in the paintings. “I play into the image’s uncertainties,” the artist remarks. “What is in the next room, outside the window, or filling a silhouette is undisclosed (…)

Young Americans opens at Donopoulos IFA in Thessaloniki on December 17th, 2021 and will be on view till 27 February 2022. The exhibition is curated by Jurriaan Benschop. Image: Adrienne Elyse Meyers, Adjoining, 2020, oil on canvas 25 x 20 cm.

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A Grammar of Gestures in Athens

Exhibition view A Grammar of Gestures

‘A Grammar of Gestures’ is an international painting exhibition. Human figures, animals, or elements of landscape appear in the works on display, but these motifs present themselves neither in a singular, unambiguous way, nor as a hard subject matter. Rather, the center of attention is on the dynamics of shapes, on the ability of forms to flip and change appearance while you are looking at them. This shifting has to do with the way the motifs are executed, with the grammar of painterly gestures that is involved in the conception of the works.

For David Benforado (image left) the canvas is both a possibility to evoke a landscape as a surface that reflects an inner state of being, and a panel of thoughts. What appears to be a night landscape might change into an internal view when reading the title of the work ‘Ultrasound.’

Béatrice Dreux (image right) uses simple motifs like a moon, a cloud, or a rainbow, and from there, she develops the forms in a process of layering and detailed surface treatment until they gain an inner strength. For Dreux painting is a language in itself. When she paints, she is not aiming to tell a story, or make some statement about subject matter. Instead it is about texture, gesture, color, and form, and how these elements together on the canvas speak to us directly.

“A Grammar of Gestures” is on view till 18 March 2022 at Kourd Gallery in Athens. With Maria Capelo, Mark Lammert, Michael Markwick, Beatrice Dreux and David Benforado.

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Caroline Walker in The Hague

The more than twenty paintings in “Windows,” London-based painter Caroline Walker’s first solo show at a museum, depict women engaged in various kinds of work: a maid in a hotel room, a hostess taking reservations in a restaurant, a hairdresser on the salon floor. Walker observes these figures through a window or doorway. Such framed views add a layer of estrangement and abstraction to her quotidian scenes, ensuring that we viewers never forget our voyeuristic perspective.

Walker is keyed to the social environments her figures inhabit, homing in on details such as lighting, decor, and body language. At the same time, she moves through different ways of mark-making, shifting gears between the clearly articulated and foggier parts of an interior, for example, or between sparkling accents such as a glistening glass with an orange drink on the table and bland patches like a blank wall.

These paintings do not contrive spectacular effects, but rather impress through their insistent focus on scenes of contemporary life that might otherwise go unnoticed. A swirling pattern of flowers on the window of a hair salon, for example, attracts our attention to what is happening inside. Through painting, the artist bestows attention on women, their occupations, and their more or less fortunate situation in society. This alone does not grant them agency; Walker’s work, often based on photographs taken in secret, is less concerned with producing empowering representations than it is with probing the act of spectatorship. She enacts the possibility of painting to accumulate layers of reflection, a haptic experience of life observed, leaving the sociological analysis to her viewers.

This text was first published as a Critics’ Pick on Artforum.com in November 2021