Artist of the moment………..Dave Bonzai

Tags

characters, dave bonzai, english, letters, london, street artist, text, united kingdom

 

 

 

 

Dave Bonzai is a contemporary street artist from England with a retro style that resembles the era of the birth of graffiti art in New York City. Dave Bonzai grew up on the south coast of the U.K.

Bonzai likes creating characters but also enjoys working with text and letters.

The artist began creating his own graffiti when he was a young teenager.

A few street artist he admires include Smug, Epok, and Aryz.

The artist is now based out of London, England.

Price range information: Sorry none available.

In this clip we view a collaborative effort by Dave Bonzai and Cantwo:

 

Dave Bonzai is a great example of a master letter artist who is becoming quite a painter. The artist does a great job at blending realism and abstraction. Bonzai enjoy’s taking photographs and is always looking to add abstract elements, such as the bark pattern of a tree, to his artwork.

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Artist of the moment………..Hans Hammarskjold a.k.a. Hans Hammarskiold

Tags

british vogue, hans hammarskjold, photographer, sweden, swedish

 

 

 

Hans Hammarskjold was a Swedish photographer. Hans Hammarskjold was born in Stockholm, Sweden in the year 1925.

Over his career the artist worked for British Vogue. He was also a founding member of a group called the Ten Photographers that was important an important resource for commercial images and illustrations throughout Sweden.

The artist created a large body of work with industrial images and portraits.

Price range information: Many works priced between $1,000 and $5,000.

Hans Hammarskjold passed away in 2012. He was 87 years of age.

Hans Hammarskjold was great at capturing people interacting with someone other than just the camera man. My favorite works of the artist are his birds and people images. The people with the bird on their head are very relaxed and the scene appears to be a special snapshot of a moment in time rather than a staged picture.

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Artist of the moment…………Hunt Rettig

Tags

american, biomorphic shapes, el paso, hunt rettig, sculptures, texas, wall relief

 

 

 

Hunt Rettig is a contemporary artist renown for his style of creating unique biomorphic shapes. Hunt Rettig was born in El Paso, Texas in the year 1968. Rettig attended Babson College located in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

The artist creates wall reliefs, sculpture, and mixed media assemblage works. In some works he has used polyester film, synthetic rubber, wood, silicone, metal, nuts, bolts, and acrylic paint.

Below a large circular piece by Hunt Rettig:

 

In this clip a view of a large wall piece created by the artist:

 

Price range information: Many works priced between $6,000 and $24,000.

The artist is now based out of Aspen, Colorado.

Below a link to the website of the artist:

https://www.huntrettig.com

What a great style of modern abstraction Hunt Rettig has created. Wonderful whimsical shapes that have a feeling of movement that resembles water. Even more interesting is the three dimensional feel of his work.

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Artist of the moment……….Oscar Munoz

Tags

academy of fine arts cali, academy of fine arts cali colombia, drug cartels, metropolitan museum of art new york city, oscar munoz, violence

 

 

Oscar Munoz is a contemporary visual artist from Colombia. Oscar Munoz was born in Popoyan, Colombia in the year 1951. The first picture in the gallery above is of the artist.

Munoz attended the Academy of Fine Arts located in Cali, Colombia.

Price range information: Sorry none available.

One theme the artist uses often is that of the drug cartel violence found in Colombia. The artist says many generations have lived in his country and never experienced an extended time of peace.

Another theme used by Munoz is that of human memory and its failings.

Below a behind the scenes look at the creative process of Oscar Munoz:

 

Munoz works in many mediums including charcoal, photography, installations, and printmaking.

Works by Oscar Munoz can be found in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art located in New York City.

Oscar Munoz is a great example of an artist whose style can change from traditional to contemporary. His more contemporary work reminds me of British artist Julian Opie. His more traditional works, void of color in many cases, have a feeling of an 1800’s cowboy outlaw image.

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Artist of the moment……….Christina Quarles

Tags

american, christina quarles, figure, hampshire college, painter, yale university

 

 

 

Christina Quarles is a contemporary painter renown for her unique style of figurative painting. Christina Quarles was born in Chicago, Illinois in the year 1985.

Quarles earned a B.A. from Hampshire College located in Amherst, Massachusetts. She went on to earn a M.F.A. from Yale University located in New Haven, Connecticut. She also studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.

Price range information: Sorry none available.

The artist is based out of Los Angeles, California.

Quarles often paints with acrylics.

Her figures are often engaged in sexual activity. Gender stereotypes are a point of emphasis in her artwork.

Below a link to the website of the artist:

http://www.christinaquarles.com

I enjoy Christina Quarles’ sense of design. With her figures having such great expressions her work might remind the viewer of Bob Thompson. Both artists infuse their figures with very expressive and often gratifying positions.

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Artist of the moment……….Robert Smithson

Tags

american, antiques roadshow, land art, nancy holt, painter, plane crash, robert smithson, sculptor, spiral jetty

 

 

 

 

Robert Smithson was an American painter, sculptor, photographer, and a pioneer in the field of land art. Robert Smithson was born in Passiac, New Jersey in the year 1938.

Price range information: Smithson was a very productive artist and worked in many mediums including oils, acrylics, wax, ink, metal, cardboard, paper, and gouache. Prices range from $10,000 to $950,000.

Smithson attended the Art Student’s League of New York City. He also attended the Brooklyn Museum School of Art.

The artist is renown for one work in particular called the Spiral Jetty. The work began in 1970. It was compiled of 6,500 tons of rocks, earth, and salt. In this clip we view some archives from the project on the Antiques Roadshow:

For a time Smithson was married to a fellow sculptor named Nancy Holt.

Smithson was inspired by the Minimalist movement.

Robert Smithson died in a place crash in 1973. He was filming a documentary covering a large earthwork piece called the Amarillo Ramp. 

Robert Smithson was a very adventurous artist who was always trying out new ideas and ways to express himself. As a land art pioneer he helped to create a movement that made people question if art had a size limit. His paintings, the Christ Series in particular, show his wonderful draftsman skills alongside his ability to capture emotions.

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Artist of the moment………..David Royston Bailey

Tags

British, british vogue, celebrities, david bailey, fashion, photographer, portraits

 

 

 

David Royston Bailey is a contemporary British photographer renown for his portrait and fashion images. David Bailey was born in Leytonstone, London, England in the year 1938.

Bailey had dyslexia as a youngster and quit school to go to work as a full time copy boy when he was 15 years of age. In 1956 he got called up for service in the Royal Air Force.

Price range information: Works range from $5,000 to $75,000.

After Bailey finished his call of duty the artist was interested in photography school, but due to his poor school record he was unable to find a college. The artist went to work as a studio assistant eventually working with John French.

Bailey was soon after signed to work with the magazine British Vogue.  

The artist and two other contemporaries, Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy, were the first three celebrity photographers of London in the 1960’s. The trio captured the jet set crowd of England including royalty. Over the years Bailey has photographed Her Majesty the Queen, the Beatles, the Kray Brothers, and Jack Nicholson among others.

Bailey has also directed television commercials and documentaries. Bailey is also a painter and sculptor.

Below an interview with David Bailey about his lengthy career:

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Artist of the moment………Tony Bevan

Tags

British, england, figure, goldsmith's college, london, painter, portraits, self portraits, slade school of art, tony bevan

 

 

Tony Bevan is a contemporary painter from the United Kingdom. Tony Bevan was born in the year 1951. Bevan is renown for his portraits executed in charcoal and acrylic. These works are a great blend of realism and abstraction.

Bevan had an extensive collegiate career. Bevan began college at the Bradford School of Art. The artist went on to earn degrees from the Slade School of Fine Art and Goldsmith’s College in London.

Price range information: Bevan has works in charcoal, acrylics, woodcuts, and mixed media. Prices range from $10,000 to $100,000.

In this clip a brief interview with Tony Bevan talking about his approach to portraits and in particular self portraits:

Works by Tony Bevan can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art located in New York City.

Tony Bevan does a great job of giving character and feeling to his subjects. He gives the viewer and emotional snapshot of the subject similar to the style of master artist Lucian Freud.

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Artist of the moment……….collage artist Nina Boesch

Tags

collage, German, germany, new york city subway, nina boesch, paintings, rhode island school of design

 

 

 

Nina Boesch is a contemporary collage artist and painter. Boesch is renown for her landscapes and portraits made up of discarded New York City Metro Cards. Nina Boesch was born in Germany in the year 1978.

Boesch earned a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design.

After coming to the United States in 2001 she started using the subway system. She jumped on the opportunity to make recycled art from the endless supply of used up cards she found on the ground.

The artist uses the front side of the Metro Cards for her color works. Black and white pieces are made using the magnetic strip and the back side of the card.

Works take between 6 hours and 80 hours to complete.

Price range information: Many works priced between $300 and $3,000.

Below a link to the website of the artist:

http://ninaboesch.com

Boesch is based out of Brooklyn, New York.

Below a brief interview with the artist:

What a great and innovative style the artist has created. She does a great job in her portraiture work at creating great likenesses of people.

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Artist of the moment………Photographer Elger Esser

Tags

architecture, bernd and hilla becher, elger esser, German, germany, kunst, photographer

 

 

 

Elger Esser is a contemporary German photographer renown for his landscapes. Elger Esser was born in Stuttgart, Germany in the year 1967. He grew up in Rome, Italy.

Esser attended the Kunstakademie Academy where he studied with the husband and wife team of Bernd and Hilla Becher. The Becher’s were known for their images dealing with agriculture and industrial landscapes. Esser created his style based on German postcards.

Price range information: Most works range from $10,000 to $130,000.

The artist usually makes the horizon his focal point.

Esser is based out of Düsseldorf, Germany.

The artist was a professor at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung.

In this clip a brief interview with the artist:

The artist has work in many prestigious art collections including the Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York City, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Elger Esser does a great job at creating simple compositions that have a lot of empty space. My favorite are those images that have great water reflections. His palette  featuring somber colors is like that of a traditional oil painter.

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