JAMES STREET - Why Buy Local Features TWFINEART
We were approached by James Street to give our take on why it's important to buy local. Christmas might have passed, but the reasons to buy locally remain the same.
TW FineArt
Newly Added: Fine Art Prints by Gert Geyer
Yesterday we added a new portfolio of artwork in fine art print by Brisbane artist Gert Geyer.
[caption id="attachment_10482" align="alignleft" width="356"]
Red House, 2014.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_10497" align="alignright" width="348"]
Peach House, 2014.[/caption]
Red House, 2014.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_10497" align="alignright" width="348"] Peach House, 2014.[/caption]
Gert is an artist, illustrator, florist and designer whose practice explores form, repetition and the space between the corporeal and the abstracted. She has studied writing and visual communication and her attempts to elevate detail through the exploration of colour and pattern hark back to her roots as a language-based communicator. Gert’s illustrated zines have featured in a National Gallery of Victoria exhibition and her work has been published in the comic anthology Tango. She has curated pop-up exhibitions within domestic spaces and is currently in the process of implementing a site-specific mural in the Redlands.
Geyer's minimal, stylized prints are reminiscent of the infamous Alex Katz, with a local, personal flair as she documents the homes of neighborhoods of Brisbane's suburbia. We are excited to be working with her and look forward to seeing her fantastic work in the homes of our customers.
Inside the Mind of the Artist - Paintings by Keren Paz
TW: We’ve known each other for some time now, but it has been a while since I saw your work in person. There seems to have been a gradual departure away from the type of work you were making when we lived in New York. I once got a verbal scolding when I said to Mike Goldberg that the paintings he made on the Italian Coast during the summer had a different quality about them to the work he made in New York City - I still believe it to be true despite what he said ;-). I’m therefore hesitant to ask, but how much has the environment in Israel influenced the evolution of your work?
KP: I believe that the geographical and political environment we live and work in has a great influential force on the work, as well as the personal and psychological dispositions of the artist. By geographical I mean both natural and architectural scenery as well as a specific quality of light. if you look at the classical northern European paintings you find a unique quality of light you won't find elsewhere, and the reason to that is the natural light that these great painters knew.
Mike Goldberg was part of the New York school of abstract expressionists, who were very much influenced by the writings of Clement Greenberg. One of these painters' endeavors was to create an arena of painting that is exclusive, in which subject matter can only be painting itself, with regard to its history alone. Personally I think that painting cannot release itself from pre knowledge of vision. however, that ideology may explain the verbal scolding coming from Mike...
TW: Absolutely, Mike was a purist in that sense but I totally agree with you. The environment around is inescapable, how could it not influence both his perception and use of space and color. I think in retrospect he might look down and agree. Was that a clap of thunder?
KP: A few months after I moved back to Tel Aviv, I felt I had to find new approaches to my work, to come up with a different technique than the one I was developing in NY. I decided to put paint aside for a while and was only drawing for a few months, until I felt that one of the drawings needed a space [see painting below]. That space was very much derived by the seascape seen from my studio window, and the beginning of a long painting period which led to the work you are about to show in your gallery.
TW: Your earlier paintings were quite process based, with a lot of spontaneous gestural drawing and layering, where you would scrape away the paint with a large pallet knife or squeegee to build the surface. The resulting abstractions had visual references to the photograph or negative. It looks as through the paint brush has returned in your more recent works. Would you say that the content, or subject matter of your later work has driven the type of materials and tools that you use? That being said, has the content of the work become more interesting to you than the process?
KP: It is true that the process or the technique was much more evident and extroverted in the older work, and that the decisions that were made while working were more spontaneous because of the rapid nature of the work. However, the full content always reveals itself through the work, and I never know where the work on a painting would lead me to. It is always the process that really creates the work for me, not so much an idea or prevision, even though every painting begins with one.
I think that along my evolution as a painter what mainly changed is the temper or tempo. I would say that the Temper of the older work had more to do with hysteria and hunger whereas now it is stiller. Also, the older work was more physical and it's substance more evident, almost like sculpture, the new work is lighter in substance and tends to the gaze more than to the body.
TW: I know your art vocabulary is very extensive. Who have you been looking at recently? Who have you found interesting and/or inspirational?
KP: Last June I took part in a project by Gilad Ratman that represented Israel at the Venice Biennale and thus was able to look at the fabulous work of a Belgium painter named Thierry de Cordier that was shown there. His dark seascapes stayed with me ever since. also, a few years back i saw Peter Doig at the British Museum, which i found very interesting and I believe had touched my work.
[caption id="attachment_10455" align="aligncenter" width="577"]
Seascape - Thierry de Cordier[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_10454" align="aligncenter" width="587"]
The Milky Way - Peter Doig[/caption]
TW: The horizon has always been a part of your work in some form or another, plastically and or conceptually. I remember a beautiful piece that you did a long time ago (during the more process driven period) where the canvas was seamed together to create an horizon. The horizon has become much more a part of these later paintings. What is it about the horizon that interests you?
KP: Wow i really can't believe you remember that, it's fantastic! You are right, the horizon carries a great metaphorical meaning for me thanks to its liminal quality. To me It represents the meeting place and conciliation of endless dichotomies such as mind and matter, knowledge and faith, catastrophe and salvation, etc etc.
I think that the clash of such dichotomies lies at the root of our being and is a source of great wonder as well as deep agony and frustration.
TW: Your newer paintings have a darker, more brooding color pallet in contrast to the lighter, quite joyous paintings from Series 1. Has this been conscious and where do you feel the work is heading?
KP: True, the work has lately become less joyous and more dramatic. The conscious decision, which of course is only part of the full picture, was to examine the roll of color in my work. I wanted to see to what extent the work relied on color, and if I only painted monochromes, when or if the use of color became a necessity.
Also, to me there is something very strong about the vast white fields. They carry the quality of a silent and ambiguous desire craved to be fulfilled, and this is also a good metaphor to end with regarding where the work is heading; It is an ambiguity that I desire to reveal.
[caption id="attachment_10476" align="aligncenter" width="708"]
Untitled 2014 - Keren Paz[/caption]
We are thrilled to be exhibiting Keren's work. For a great art experience, be sure to visit the TWFineArt Gallery in September and see it in person!
KP: I believe that the geographical and political environment we live and work in has a great influential force on the work, as well as the personal and psychological dispositions of the artist. By geographical I mean both natural and architectural scenery as well as a specific quality of light. if you look at the classical northern European paintings you find a unique quality of light you won't find elsewhere, and the reason to that is the natural light that these great painters knew.
Mike Goldberg was part of the New York school of abstract expressionists, who were very much influenced by the writings of Clement Greenberg. One of these painters' endeavors was to create an arena of painting that is exclusive, in which subject matter can only be painting itself, with regard to its history alone. Personally I think that painting cannot release itself from pre knowledge of vision. however, that ideology may explain the verbal scolding coming from Mike...
TW: Absolutely, Mike was a purist in that sense but I totally agree with you. The environment around is inescapable, how could it not influence both his perception and use of space and color. I think in retrospect he might look down and agree. Was that a clap of thunder?
KP: A few months after I moved back to Tel Aviv, I felt I had to find new approaches to my work, to come up with a different technique than the one I was developing in NY. I decided to put paint aside for a while and was only drawing for a few months, until I felt that one of the drawings needed a space [see painting below]. That space was very much derived by the seascape seen from my studio window, and the beginning of a long painting period which led to the work you are about to show in your gallery.
TW: Your earlier paintings were quite process based, with a lot of spontaneous gestural drawing and layering, where you would scrape away the paint with a large pallet knife or squeegee to build the surface. The resulting abstractions had visual references to the photograph or negative. It looks as through the paint brush has returned in your more recent works. Would you say that the content, or subject matter of your later work has driven the type of materials and tools that you use? That being said, has the content of the work become more interesting to you than the process?
KP: It is true that the process or the technique was much more evident and extroverted in the older work, and that the decisions that were made while working were more spontaneous because of the rapid nature of the work. However, the full content always reveals itself through the work, and I never know where the work on a painting would lead me to. It is always the process that really creates the work for me, not so much an idea or prevision, even though every painting begins with one.
I think that along my evolution as a painter what mainly changed is the temper or tempo. I would say that the Temper of the older work had more to do with hysteria and hunger whereas now it is stiller. Also, the older work was more physical and it's substance more evident, almost like sculpture, the new work is lighter in substance and tends to the gaze more than to the body.
TW: I know your art vocabulary is very extensive. Who have you been looking at recently? Who have you found interesting and/or inspirational?
KP: Last June I took part in a project by Gilad Ratman that represented Israel at the Venice Biennale and thus was able to look at the fabulous work of a Belgium painter named Thierry de Cordier that was shown there. His dark seascapes stayed with me ever since. also, a few years back i saw Peter Doig at the British Museum, which i found very interesting and I believe had touched my work.
[caption id="attachment_10455" align="aligncenter" width="577"] Seascape - Thierry de Cordier[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_10454" align="aligncenter" width="587"] The Milky Way - Peter Doig[/caption]
TW: The horizon has always been a part of your work in some form or another, plastically and or conceptually. I remember a beautiful piece that you did a long time ago (during the more process driven period) where the canvas was seamed together to create an horizon. The horizon has become much more a part of these later paintings. What is it about the horizon that interests you?
KP: Wow i really can't believe you remember that, it's fantastic! You are right, the horizon carries a great metaphorical meaning for me thanks to its liminal quality. To me It represents the meeting place and conciliation of endless dichotomies such as mind and matter, knowledge and faith, catastrophe and salvation, etc etc.
I think that the clash of such dichotomies lies at the root of our being and is a source of great wonder as well as deep agony and frustration.
TW: Your newer paintings have a darker, more brooding color pallet in contrast to the lighter, quite joyous paintings from Series 1. Has this been conscious and where do you feel the work is heading?
KP: True, the work has lately become less joyous and more dramatic. The conscious decision, which of course is only part of the full picture, was to examine the roll of color in my work. I wanted to see to what extent the work relied on color, and if I only painted monochromes, when or if the use of color became a necessity.
Also, to me there is something very strong about the vast white fields. They carry the quality of a silent and ambiguous desire craved to be fulfilled, and this is also a good metaphor to end with regarding where the work is heading; It is an ambiguity that I desire to reveal.
[caption id="attachment_10476" align="aligncenter" width="708"] Untitled 2014 - Keren Paz[/caption]
We are thrilled to be exhibiting Keren's work. For a great art experience, be sure to visit the TWFineArt Gallery in September and see it in person!
Introducing the Art of Gert Geyer
I recently had the pleasure of meeting South East Queensland artist Gert Geyer. In addition to being a fantastic bubble blower (witnessed at the Brunswick Street mall re-opening) Gert combines an illustrative touch with the whimsy and spontaneous creativity of the fine artist to create these magical, graphic works of art.
The border between illustration and fine art has always been a difficult one to define. If I was to define it though, I would say that illustration tells a very specific story by communicating ideas or meaning with visual tools. Fine art on the other hand is quite an open ended exploration of the visual language.
Gert is a hybrid of the two disciplines. She skillfully draws reference from the world around her, then utilizes text and hard edge imagery to create beautiful pieces reminiscent of the work of Stuart Davis and Alex Katz. There is a lovely 1970's quality to the imagery, with a great play on space, pattern and color.
We will be collaborating with Gert over the coming month to create a unique series of limited edition prints and are looking very forward to having a very talented Brisbane local on our roster of contemporary international artists!
Michelle Matson Prints Release
In conjunction with James Street's Food and Wine Trail TWFineArt is releasing a limited edition series of food inspired art prints by Michelle Matson!
Michelle Matson Sculpture Print[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_9619" align="alignright" width="372"]
Michelle Matson Sculpture Print[/caption]
Michelle Matson, was born 1981, she currently lives & works in Brooklyn, NY. She has had various solo shows in New York, including “Cactus Milk” (2012) at the Youth Group Gallery, Brooklyn and “Rise” (2012) paper sculpture installation in Soho, NY at Issey Miyake’s Pleats Please.
These fabulous prints will be released on the first day of the Trail, July 31st 2014! STAY TUNED by registering your email address and we'll keep you up to date on what's happening at TWFineArt without clogging your inbox with spam!!
[caption id="attachment_9618" align="alignleft" width="343"] Michelle Matson Sculpture Print[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_9619" align="alignright" width="372"] Michelle Matson Sculpture Print[/caption]