YELLOW as a paint color has a long history. It was first seen in the cave paintings of Lascaux over 16,000 years ago. Originally derived from the yellow ochre pigment in clay, all kinds of yellows can now be synthetically produced through modern chemistry. The first three words that spring to mind when I hear the word ‘YELLOW’ are light, accent and bold. Light because yellow seems to mimic the color and warmth of the sun. Accent because yellow has the ability to highlight any other color that it’s backed up against, and bold because of it's power to do so. For all those reasons yellow can be tough to use in a painting, but spectacular when used successfully. We’ve put together a selection of our favorite paintings from history that master and celebrate all that is YELLOW. [divider] [caption id="attachment_8204" align="alignleft" width="489"] Yellow Painting, Barnett Newman 1949[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8209" align="alignleft" width="501"] Small Boudoir, Willem DeKooning 1949[/caption]               [caption id="attachment_8205" align="alignleft" width="445"] Veluti in Speculum, Hans Hofmann[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8206" align="alignleft" width="514"] Untitled, Conrad Marca-Relli[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8226" align="alignleft" width="435"] Le Grande Julie, Fernand Léger (1945)[/caption]     [caption id="attachment_8210" align="alignleft" width="510"] Number 22 , Mark Rothko 1949[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_8207" align="alignleft" width="507"] Keith Haring, 'Untitled,' 1982[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_8212" align="alignleft" width="478"] Lucio Fontana, Concetto Spaziale, 1960[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8227" align="alignleft" width="433"] Said, Gerhard Richter 1983[/caption]     [caption id="attachment_8214" align="alignleft" width="389"] Ring Image, Robert Mangold 2010.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_8211" align="alignleft" width="699"] Untitled 11, MIKE KELLEY 2008-2009[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_8208" align="alignleft" width="372"] Cy Twombly's “Untitled (Camino Real)" 2011[/caption]              

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WARNING - ADULT CONTENT In high school I painted my first female nude. I was a young kid in a conservative catholic school celebrating the female form whist also exploring my own sexual desire and identity. My art teacher put that painting front and center at our end of year exhibition, I'm sure she did it to create a bit of a stir and to challenge the schools more conservative agenda. I loved that she did! Recently there has been press associated with the ‘scandalous’ work of Milo Moire and her performance art. Moire stands on elevated planks and drops paint filled eggs from her vagina to 'give birth' to her splat paintings. Whether or not the work is good is another debate, what's intriguing is that thousands of years since the first nudes in art, we as a culture still have issues with art that explores sex, sexual organs and sexual identity. Why do we find sexual imagery in art so confronting? Perhaps it's art's rawness that has the power to confront us with our own mortality - after all, we owe our existence to sexual arousal and desire. Always one for a bit of controversy, I thought I’d revisit some notoriously sexual artworks that have caused a major scandal throughout history. [divider] [caption id="attachment_8075" align="aligncenter" width="400"] The Origin of the World, Gustav Corbet 1866[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8071" align="aligncenter" width="514"] Olympia, Edouard Manet 1865[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8074" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Self Portrait Masturbating, Egon Schiele 1911[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8076" align="aligncenter" width="424"] The Visit, Willem DeKooning 1966[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8072" align="aligncenter" width="260"] Artforum Add, Lynda Benglis 1974[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8073" align="aligncenter" width="346"] Man in Polyester Suit, Robert Mapplethorpe 1980[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8078" align="aligncenter" width="262"] Big Blonde Jerking Off, Lisa Yuskavage 1995[/caption]    

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New York City in the 1950’s was a pretty remarkable place. After WWII the city was a relative shell comprised of dilapidated buildings and neglected neighborhoods, with most people opting to live in the suburbs far away from the potential military target. Living and working amongst the derelict buildings was a group of young pioneer artists, bursting with intellect and creativity, yet struggling to have a voice in the art world. In 1951, art dealer Leo Castelli and a group of these young New York City artists joined forces to create the infamous 9^Th St Show, a self-funded exhibition that in many ways changed the course of art history forever. Europe was losing its edge and what was relevant, current and exciting was happening in America’s own back yard, despite being overlooked by the local art scene. At that time, there was only a small number of galleries in Manhattan, all were clustered around 57^th street and all dealed primarily in European art. The collective rented an abandoned antique store at 60, East 9^th Street for $40 and together put on a ground-breaking exhibition that ‘appropriated a visibility that American Society had denied them for so long’. The Abstract Expressionist Movement burst onto the scene and caught the attention of not only critics but the culture at large. These artists ultimately became some of the most celebrated and valued of all time. One of the youngest exhibitors in the 9^th Street show was TW Fine Art’s Michael Goldberg. At that time Michael Goldberg had changed his name to Michael Stuart to avoid the association with his aristocratic family and his father. Goldberg told stories of taxis lining up down the street with crowds of people amassing outside the space on opening night. The New York Times labeled it an ‘uncommon exhibit of the New York avant-garde spectacularly coming together’. Over the next 50 years the focus of the art world would shift from Europe to America and today there are over 1500 galleries in Manhattan alone. People have returned to the city. The end of the Cold War boosted people’s confidence in the safety of the metropolis and slowly but surely people began to gentrify the forgotten neighborhoods to create the New York City of today. It’s unheard of for artists to be able to rent an exhibition space for $40 anymore – the thought makes today’s artists green with envy! The creative community that existed in those days is now geographically dispersed since Manhattan is for the most part unaffordable for the young avant-garde - the artist interested in the art and not the sale. Goldberg used to loathe walking through Chelsea (the modern art hub) “I fucking hate Chelsea, the content of the work is money no matter what it masquerades as”. In many ways, what he said is true – Mike was about art, not the money that came from today’s art celebrity culture. “I consider myself an old-fashioned modernist in that I think painting can change the world. And the desperation is about the fact that I know it can’t.” Our own artist collective now lives all across the world although our roots are in New York City, where we all gathered as students, mentors and young artists. The Internet serves as our club and although separated by geographical distance, our bonds are strong and our art has been globalized in a manner that in many ways may now represent the future trajectory of the art world.      

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The print was one of the first examples in human history of a mass produced item. From humble beginnings over 3000 years ago, print technology has made it possible for hundreds, even millions of identical images to be produced from a single source. From early Chinese woodcuts to the modern machine press, the print has brought visual media to the masses. Andy Warhol was inspired by mass production, so much so that the process of reproduction became the focus of his art, both physically and conceptually. Warhol theorized that the most important, cultural significant items were those that were accessible to everyone thanks to the economy of mass production. “What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. [...] The President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke too.” Andy Warhol. In his 'Factory', Warhol would create copies of each artwork through the screen print - the original artwork essentially no different to the reproduction and no less valuable. The body of multiple prints were in fact the artwork, a piece made of numerous identical components. A friend now has a Flea Market print of a Warhol Campbell's Soup Can hanging in his living room. It may be a poster, but the image is still an exact copy of the real thing. The Campbell's Soup Can is the perfect example of an artwork that has been incessantly reproduced to the point that it has become a cultural icon. Reproducing the artwork in print hasn’t adversely affected the aura of the original series hanging in the MoMA, instead it has formed the basis of it's fame. The Campbell's Soup Can has long ceased to be famous because it is great - today it is great because it is famous.       ‘I should have just done the Campbell’s Soups and kept on doing them ... because everybody only does one great painting anyway.’ Andy Warhol  

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I met New York Abstract Expressionist Michael Goldberg in 2001 and worked with him until his passing at the age of 83 in late 2007. Watching him paint, reading books from his vast library and being a part of his life was a blessing that I thank the universe for. Last month I was approached by the Head Conservator from The Smithsonian Museum to work with her on a project to document the working practice and materials of the late artist. The Museum's collection includes a range of paintings spanning Goldberg's career and in a small way, I get to contribute to American history and the preservation of the legacy of this fantastic artist! [caption id="attachment_7130" align="alignleft" width="564"] Sardines, 1955 Michael Goldberg. Collection of the Smithsonian Museum[/caption]

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