1 Artist / 1 Piece: Brett Weston

Brett Weston (1911-1993) was the son of Edward Weston and was called a "child genius of American photography" by a former curator of the San Francisco Museum of Art. He was credited by renowned photographic historian Beaumont Newhall as the first photographer to make negative space the subject of a photograph. I love how he's captured the lines and the sculptural quality of this tree. Beautiful in its simplicity.


Image

1 Artist / 1 Piece: David Maisel

David Maisel has created some eerily beautiful photographs in his History's Shadow series. It consists of re-photographed x-rays of art objects from antiquity. I love this concept. It's such a stunning way to explore these sculptures. Read the entire artist statement here.


Image

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Helga Schmid

This image caught my eye awhile back and after a little bit of searching I found the series to which it belongs. The piece was created by Helga Schmid (who is currently working on her MPhil/PhD in the Design Interactions Department at the Royal College of Art in London) as a part of her series Table and chair; pen and paper; text and time. The series explores handwriting, the passage of time, awareness, and accountability for daily actions. Head over to her site to see some videos of the project!


Image

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Joseph Cornell

Oh, Joseph Cornell. I've been an admirer of his since I was in high school. I actually went through a "Cornell Phase" which involved searching flea markets for vintage boxes and bits of interesting randomness to make pieces in a similar style. Those boxes are still taking up space in my parent's house. Cornell is a curious character. He never had any formal art training. He was more of a collector. A collector with a fantastic imagination and an eye for piecing together the most beautiful creations. Poems in a box.


Image

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Raul Perdomo

I was at the bookstore the other night and walked past a cover that really caught my eye and made me stop in my tracks. After about 2 seconds of investigating, I discovered that the cover was a painting by Raul Perdomo. I made sure to jot his name down. It was a total treat to look through his portfolio. It's filled with stunning, detailed paintings that are reminiscent of a microscopic world in a petri dish, aerial photographs, topographic maps, and space explosions. Go check it out now!


Image

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Lady Clementina Hawarden

As a big early photography buff, I've been enamored of Lady Clementina's work for many years. She began experimenting with photography in the 1850s and is now one of the most well remembered Victorian photographers. I studied her work in college during a photography course in which we spent a lot of time focusing on capturing aspects of adolescence. She mainly photographed her daughters as children and teens and, in doing so, has given us an interesting look at upper class Victorian life for a teenage girl. Although most of her images are very stylized and posed (often portraying bits of Greek mythology), they still feel very real to me. This image is an albumen print from wet collodion-on-glass negative.



Image

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Alison Dunlop

As a fan of abstract watercolor, I am completely drawn to Alison's Inner Sound series. She describes the series and her process on her website, "This series of watercolours, begun earlier this year in my new studio at the edge of the sea, is my attempt to find an equivalent in paint for the experience of looking out beyond my studio windows to the seas of the Inner Sound and the Minch. In all of these recent watercolours, with this new reality of sea and sky through my windows, the images are becoming more and more abstract, more pared-down, re-defined and it seems, paradoxically, more REAL. The process of pressing forward with this series, not knowing what the next piece will bring, where it will take me, has taken on an energy of its own. Each piece seems to grow out of the previous one(s), to teach the eye and the hand something new and to give a renewed sense of boldness and vigour. To let the hand, the pigment, the paper and the water act in unison, giving form to my inner experience of the drama unfolding
beyond my window...." I think that says it all! Beautiful. Have a look at the rest of the series and Alison's wonderful realism portfolio.

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Vasily Kandinsky

Ahh, I completely forgot that yesterday was Friday. I've had a weird schedule this week. So, here's 1 Artist / 1 Piece a wee bit late. Better late then never!

This is one of my favorite paintings by Kandinsky. At the Norton Simon Museum, they have his piece "Heavy Circles" which is from around the same time period. There's a wall plaque next to "Heavy Circles" which describes Kandinsky's thoughts on circles.
"Why does the circle fascinate me? It is:
1. the most modest form, but asserts itself unconditionally
2. a precise, but inexhaustible variable
3. simultaneously stable and unstable
4. simultaneously loud and soft
5. a single tension that carries countless tensions within it
The circle is the synthesis of the greatest oppositions. It combines the concentric and the eccentric in a single form and in equilibrium. Of the three primary forms, it points most clearly to the fourth dimension.”


Image

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Britt Bass

I spotted this mixed media piece a week or so ago and I was (and still am) smitten. The colors and movement make me think of summer and childhood. It's so vibrant and cheerful that I'm fairly sure I produce just a little bit more serotonin when I look at it. Britt is a very recent graduate of UGA with a BFA in art education (awesome). Head over to her website and pop in for a look at her Etsy shop!

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Alexander Calder

Today is the birthday of Alexander Calder so it seems only fitting to feature him. Calder started out as an engineer and then made the switch to art in 1923. I think his background definitely shines through his work. This particular mobile was created out of scrap metal and piano wire. All of the shortages during World War II prompted Calder to use scrap metal and bits of wood for his work. Fun fact, Calder also worked with Martha Graham. He designed sets for her ballets and created a moving stage construction to accompany Eric Satie's Socrate in 1936. Want to learn more? Check out the Calder Foundation.


Image

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Denise Nestor

Denise Nestor's delicate and thoughtful portraits have such a quiet beauty to them. Denise is a Dublin based graphic designer and illustrator. Lepus is definitely one of my favorites. It goes beyond traditional portraiture and I see it as a melding of moments, multiple reflections. It's almost like stream of consciousness journaling...visualized. Be sure to have a look at Denise's website!

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Sofonisba Anguissola

We're heading a wee bit further back in time with this week's artist. Sofonisba Anguissola (c. 1532 – November 16, 1625) was an Italian painter from Lombardy. She came from a family of seven children (six of whom were daughters). Her parents encouraged all of their children to develop their talents and four of their daughters became painters. Minerva, one of the girls pictured here, became a writer and a Latin scholar. When Sofonisba was 22, she went to Rome and met Michelangelo. Upon seeing her work, he recognized her talent and she was then informally trained by him. She was eventually invited to join the Spanish court to serve as painter and lady-in-waiting to the Queen. She lived to the remarkable age of 93. I chose this painting because I see it as a departure from her other work. There's a wonderful sense of whimsy and play between the sisters. She has translated the relationship between these girls in a charming way. This piece is also an excellent example of her skills as painter.


Image

1 ARTIST / 1 Piece: James Wainwright

I discovered this image while I was looking around on Flickr awhile ago and I just stopped in my tracks. Mesmerizing. There's a beautiful painterly quality as well as a sense of timelessness. I feel so transported when I look at James Wainwright's photography. You must have a look at his work here. James is based in Cornwall, UK.


Image

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Gustav Klimt

I've decided to do some alternating with 1 Artist / 1 Piece. Contemporary artist then artists of the past. This week I chose Attersee by Gustav Klimt. I think every freshman art student at my school had a Klimt poster in their dorm room (myself included *cough*). Usually The Kiss or the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer but this is my favorite of Klimt's. I'm immediately drawn to the color and feeling of calm. It seems like an early morning. I love that it's such a departure from Klimt's more well known pieces from his golden period (lots of gold leaf). I hope you enjoy it!


Image

1 Artist / 1 Piece: Martin Johansson

I've decided to start a weekly column called 1 Artist / 1 Piece. Every Friday I will choose, you guessed it, one artist and one piece of their work. While I was laying out yesterday's color post, I came across that beautiful ocean image and during my search to credit the work I found the portfolio of Martin Johansson. My eye immediately went to this incredible illustration titled Fossil. It reminds me of the Umberto Boccioni sculpture, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space. There is so much movement and texture here. It's almost like a Rorschach test from nature. What do you see?
Martin is a photographer, illustrator, and graphic designer (triple threat). You can find him here.


Image