BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE MAGAZINE L. A.
BUREAU GUEST ARTIST INTERVIEWS
Robert Shetterly . Tom Gregg . David Palumbo . Eric Zenner . Erik Olson . Mathilde Grafstrom . Nathan Walsh
BUREAU GUEST ARTIST: NATHAN WALSH
By BUREAU EDITOR J. A. TRILIEGI
Somewhere between the very concise, concrete and physical realities of time and place in locales like San Francisco, New York City, Chicago and the Ideas of a Utopian Eye of the Mind, The Painter, Nathan Walsh has produced a series of large scale, time intensive works that equal, in counterpart, in scope, and in end result, the works of a master Novelist, Filmmaker or Architect. Nathan Walsh, is setting the bar, so high, on the painters of his generation, and those who actually have, and will, in the future, participate in this publication, that we here, are now becoming concerned for everyone else. The scale, the vision, the intricacy, the colors, the patterns, the schematics and the overall attention to detail is, absolutely, some of the best artwork we have ever seen: Now, Before and Since. His draftsmanship skills are up there with the best of the architects: Frank Lloyd Wright. His paranormal and somewhat panoramic views of intricate cityscapes rival the classicist photographers: Edward Steichen. His vibrant and variable color choices are as good or better than some of the best comic illustrators alive: Daniel Clowes.
Nathan Walsh is doing something quite different, at a magnitude and an altitude of dizzying heights. That all said, the works are mature, whilst still being fun. They are pleasing without losing anything to complexity. They are light sensitive, while still achieving refracted objects in detail. And all the while, they are somehow mathematic, without lacking the very soul contained within all truly great art. The entire body of work contains a strange balance between the sober documentation of an actual reality and an impressionistic and stylized view of a world interpreted by a rather scientific minded work-a-day, no nonsense technician. These days, in the so-called, 'Modern Art World,' becoming a house hold name, often registers automatically, due to a happenstance moment in time or place. A sex tape is revealed, an actor turns artist, a war between two parties creates a stir, an artist pushes a political or allegoric analogy, or the big end all, an artist dies, at the hands of themselves or someone else. The media or the name gallery, or the collector, rushes in and, 'Boom,' fame is bestowed upon and forever tied to the art, the artist and the story therein. Nathan Walsh is going about his business in a manner, a style, a breadth, and a fidelity to excellence, based on his own vision and expectation, that, whether any of the usual art world accidents ever do, or do not occur, he is assured a future. And we here, are proud to have him, in the present, front and center, our Guest Artist for this, our Newest Edition.
Nathan Walsh is doing something quite different, at a magnitude and an altitude of dizzying heights. That all said, the works are mature, whilst still being fun. They are pleasing without losing anything to complexity. They are light sensitive, while still achieving refracted objects in detail. And all the while, they are somehow mathematic, without lacking the very soul contained within all truly great art. The entire body of work contains a strange balance between the sober documentation of an actual reality and an impressionistic and stylized view of a world interpreted by a rather scientific minded work-a-day, no nonsense technician. These days, in the so-called, 'Modern Art World,' becoming a house hold name, often registers automatically, due to a happenstance moment in time or place. A sex tape is revealed, an actor turns artist, a war between two parties creates a stir, an artist pushes a political or allegoric analogy, or the big end all, an artist dies, at the hands of themselves or someone else. The media or the name gallery, or the collector, rushes in and, 'Boom,' fame is bestowed upon and forever tied to the art, the artist and the story therein. Nathan Walsh is going about his business in a manner, a style, a breadth, and a fidelity to excellence, based on his own vision and expectation, that, whether any of the usual art world accidents ever do, or do not occur, he is assured a future. And we here, are proud to have him, in the present, front and center, our Guest Artist for this, our Newest Edition.
CHICAGO IN THE RAIN [ Drawing ] Nathan WALSH BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Photography plays some key role in your style, could you discuss how you utilize the Images from photographs ?
Nathan WALSH : Whilst my paintings are very much the product of studio activity they are also closely associated to the experience of being at a particular location for a period of time. They make direct reference to photography and the photorealist movement of the 1970s. Photography does play an important role in my process but not to a point where I am dependent on it. On a practical level, it is the most effective way of gathering a large amount of raw material when I am visiting a new country or city.
However Instead of a painted photographic record or recreation of my memories of the location, my work exhibits an independent logic and exists solely on its own terms. It's aim is not to mimic our own world and the laws within it but to suggest a different world with it's own parameters. Like a lucid dream or hallucination it aims to describe this world with a precision and clarity equal to photography. [ cont - ]
CHICAGO IN THE RAIN Nathan WALSH / BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Nathan WALSH : [ - cont ] To be fully appreciated the first and perhaps most inventive generation of photorealist artists need to be viewed in real life. I think part of the problem with the work that has succeeded it or been inspired by it has been based on viewing it in reproduction. For example Richard Estes and John Salt were painters first and foremost, the strength of their work rooted partially in the personal exploration of methods and materials. Their work is dependent on expressive mark making and creative thinking, too close an adherence to photography or digital imagery I believe can lead to overly mechanical and artificial outcomes. When I make work I understand that the success of a particular painting will be dependent on my decisions not the solutions a camera or software package might offer me. The more it becomes about my decisions the more it moves away from objective reality, not perhaps where it becomes dreamlike but certainly the best work I’ve made has a hallucinatory quality. Most art movements start out as radical but over time become increasingly conservative. If Hyper / Photorealism is to remain interesting, then its practitioners must find ways of extending its parameters in new and unexpected ways, technical proficiency is a given and not enough to mark an artist out as significant. It will be interesting to see where this new exploration leads us, there are certainly signs over the past couple of years that some artists are making leaps forward.
Nathan WALSH in Studio Creating Drawing 59Th Street BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Your paintings shift between exacting photorealism and abstract animation, explain how you, 'design,' an image.
Nathan WALSH : People often assume my work is an accurate description or document of a specific location or recreation of a view. In actuality this is very far from the case, all pictorial elements are subject to change whether it be their inclusion or omission from a painting or their relative size or position within the composition. So in essence they are an abstraction from reality, I pick and chose what information to leave in and what to leave out. As you have noted this leads to an extended or heightened sense of the world we live in, different views get combined together, colours become accentuated and the paint itself as physical material is explored. I still want the viewer to be convinced by this new world and imagine they could inhabit it but fundamentally its a construct based on my decisions. In the future I can imagine this being extended further leading to the work becoming increasingly divorced from our own world.
Nathan WALSH 59Th Street BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : The drawings that prep each painting, to me, are artworks unto themselves, its really an amazing process, share that early work with readers.
Nathan WALSH : Experiencing the city as a human being is an immersive experience. I wanted to find a way of translating that experience in a convincing way which removed the detachment involved using a camera. My approach to drawing explores this is hopefully sympathetic to this idea, allowing the viewer to see not just what's in front of them but whats around them.
Drawing allows me to make human pictorial decisions instead of relying on the mechanical eye of a camera or software package. This process is open ended and changes from one painting to the next. Whilst I employ a variety of perspectival strategies, these methods are not fixed or rigid in their application. Working with a box of pencils and an eraser I will start by establishing an horizon line on which I will place vanishing points to construct simple linear shapes which become subdivided into more complex arrangements. By using simple mathematical ratios I can begin to describe concrete form within my picture plane. Over a period of time I will draw and redraw buildings, manipulating their height, width or nature in relation to other pictorial elements. By introducing spatial recession to these elements I aim to present a world the viewer can enter into and move around.
Nathan WALSH LITTLE RUSSIA BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : The size of your landscapes are rather healthy, is this due to the amount of visual information you wish to provide ? Explain scale and perspective, in your work.
Nathan WALSH : My paintings are large because I want the viewer to relate to them in a physical way. I want them to function almost as alternative realities where whoever is stood in front of them feels they can almost enter into the world I’ve created. There is a huge amount of visual information contained within the paintings but hopefully there is also space and air for that information to be read effectively. I try to use perspective in a creative and fluid manner. I don't follow any particular strategy nor concern myself too much with making something that is mathematically correct. I combine and use traditional techniques with digital software in an attempt find new ways of describing space. Each new drawing or painting I make is a development from the last, in an attempt to make more complex and convincing scenes based on the world we live in. As an artist I use perspective simply as a tool to be played with not something to stick rigidly too at the expense of pictorial invention.
Nathan WALSH APPLE HIRES BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Lets discuss time and investment in each painting. Walk us through the process of your Painting entitled: TransAmerica .
Nathan WALSH : In 2011, I made a three week trip from the West to East Coast of America, which included 4 days in San Francisco. Before I visit a city I tend not have a clear idea of what I’d like to paint, I just tend to amble around, very much like a Flaneur waiting for something to connect with. When I do find something of interest I’ll take numerous photographs of a location and normally a series of thumbnail drawings in a sketchbook. Back in the UK I will sift though the raw material I’ve collected and make a series of postcard sized drawings which suggest potential paintings. I pin these to the studio wall and live with them for a while, most get rejected but whichever one I eventually chose must have the most visual potential to make a dynamic full scale painting. Once I’ve decided on the size of the painting I start to draw elements in a fairly loose and organic way. [ cont - ]
Nathan WALSH DETAIL of Drawing for TRANSAMERICA BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Nathan WALSH : [ - cont ] This drawing stage can take up to a month for a large painting, In some ways it could be argued as the most creative part of my activity. Once complete I brush over a glaze of oil paint and begin blocking areas of colour with heavily diluted washes of paint. Over the subsequent months paint layers are built up and sanded away. The goal is not to mimic the flatness of a static photograph but to make reference to a rich linage of European and American painting, seeing my work up close reveals a personal system of mark making and investigation of the physical properties of oil paint. Surface and texture has becoming increasingly important to me, finding new ways of applying and manipulating paint leads to richer and unexpected outcomes.
‘Transamerica' Is a reflected view of a San Francisco street seen through a Chinese gift shop. Instead of a real reflection I have 'sandwiched' together photographs taken in front of me with shots taken directly behind. By describing a series of layers of information some opaque, others translucent the intention is to suggest a heightened reality, one we could not experience in the real world.
Nathan WALSH DETAIL of PAINTING TRANSAMERICA BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Nathan WALSH : [ - cont ] I like the idea of dipping into the resources and technology that are available in a fluid and open ended way. The ‘Transamerica’ was a composite of information, part photographic, part observational drawing, part vector based artwork that I’d downloaded then mapped to my preparatory drawing. Many of the objects including the Chinese Dolls in the foreground were bought in the UK and painted from life in the studio. Using Don Eddy and Tom Blackwell’s window paintings of the 1970’s as a point of departure the painting became a palimpsest of cobbled together information. The challenge then of course is get these different types of information to function together in a coherent way. Whilst in essence the painting is a fantasy my aim was still to make it a believable one.
The methods that I’m adopting are in part a conscious attempt at avoiding the numerous pitfalls open to contemporary realist painters. Instead of employing a ‘catch-all’ strategy for making work I’m accessing different approaches in an attempt to reveal new ways of depicting the world.
Nathan WALSH PAINTING GROUND ZERO BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Where did you go to school and how did that particular experience make up who you are as an artist, site influences.
Nathan WALSH : I followed a fairly typical art education in the UK, an interest in art at school led to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at University. I studied drawing, painting, printmaking and typography all of which have left a mark on my current activity. People often assume that I’ve had some formal architectural training but this isn’t the case. Whilst realist painting is not particularly popular in the UK ,I was fortunate on my Masters degree to be taught by two exceptional realist painters, one of whom, Clive Head I have remained in dialogue with till today. Head is one of the most significant contemporary figurative painters and his works and writing have been a significant influence on me.
Joshua TRILIEGI : Do you actually use projection when creating the original impetus, if so explain, if not explain ?
Nathan WALSH : No, freehand drawing is fundamental to all of my work allowing me to take full ownership of photographic material. Rejecting the mechanical transfer of imagery forces me to construct each object from scratch and allows for a fluid and inventive approach. Fixing pictorial elements to separate vanishing points allows the construction of a space independent of both reality and any photographic record of the scene. A shifting horizon line allows to viewer to look up and down into the space, and question their position in relation to the scene. I have nothing against the use of projection as part of an artists methodology, but for me its a limiting activity and would lead to predictable results.
PIRANESI ETCHINGS Influence of PAINTER Nathan WALSH BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Can you recall an early painting influence, visit to a Museum, art book, etc ?
Nathan WALSH : I started collected art related books as a student. This has served as daily form a of inspiration and guidance for my own practice. Looking at significant artists and paintings of the past can often be intimidating but can also suggest ways forward. My inspirations are numerous and varied from Piranesi’s engravings to the decorative tiles of William De Morgan. What connects all of these interests is a strong sense of structure and pattern. Most of the artists and designers I admire had or have a rigorous approach to composition and commitment to process perhaps more than outcome. I often think my own work as “sampling” these inspiring figures, whether it be the palette of Bonnard or the dynamism of a Bernice Abbott photograph.
I also have quite a close network of artist friends which serve as quite a supportive network whether that be through email dialogue or visiting each others studios or exhibitions. Painting by its nature is as a solitary activity so the sharing of ideas and experiences with other like minded individuals is often a healthy exercise.
Nathan WALSH DETAIL of Drawing for Z BAR BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Does music or literature or film help you in your process, if so please site examples ?
Nathan WALSH : Film is probably the most important of the three in terms of an influence on my studio life. I’m not that interested in narrative, more visual language and spectacle. To give you a taste here’s a list of films that I’ve connected with: Alphaville, Koyaanisqatsi, Bladerunner, Man with a Movie Camera, Inception, 2001: A Space Oddyssey, Metropolis, Stalker, Solaris, Brazil, Her, The Seventh Seal, The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari, Synecdoche New York, The Holy Mountain, The Master, Videodrome.
BERNICE ABBOT Photo Influence of PAINTER Nathan WALSH Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : What drives you to commit to each painting and then to actually persevere ?
Nathan WALSH : I believe some people are born with a desire to respond to their environment by making things. This might be a piece of furniture or jet engine, but the initial impulse is the same. I’m not sure I ever made a conscious decision to try and become a full time artist, but I certainly had a desire to develop and improve the paintings I was drawn to make. The notion of improvement is essential to my activity in that its very difficult to justify spending time on something which I already know how to do. Although many artists have a successful formula for making work the idea of doing the same thing over and over again doesn’t appeal to me. I’m excited to see how far ideas can be explored and how I can find more elegant and complex solutions to visual problems. The paintings are very labour intensive and dependant on their size and complexity I might only make two large works a year. Sometimes I’ll make a smaller work but I find myself drawn to making increasingly larger and more complex work. I usually paint six days a week but often that can turn into seven as one week blurs into the next. My day follows a fairly fixed pattern. I leave the house at 7am and arrive at the studio for 7.30. After cleaning my palette from the day before I start painting at 8 o’clock. I’ll work through till 12, go and have lunch then return for 1. I’ll normally work till 6pm but the afternoon painting session always seems tougher than the morning. This daily ritual is crucial for the work to progress in any reasonable fashion. Painting full time is rarely a physical job but a long day of concentration often leaves you exhausted. There are many potential distractions but in time you learn to ignore them and focus on the ever present problems of painting.
Bernarducci Meisel Gallery
37 W 57th St #3, New York, NY 10019
THE BUREAU GUEST ARTIST : NATHAN WALSH is Represented in New York City By The Bernarducci Meisel Gallery at 37 West 57 Street at 5th Avenue A long established crossroads of the art world. The focus is the presentation of the finest contemporary realist art including established and emerging artists of the genre. Since the Gallery's inception, our artists have exhibited both nationally and internationally and their work has been included in important museum surveys and featured in solo museum exhibitions. In 2010 the Gallery expanded from 3,000 to 6,000 square feet at 37 West 57 where we now occupy the entire third floor. In addition to greater visibility, this larger space gives us the ability to present more comprehensive exhibitions, now and in the years to come. Our goal is to provide the foremost opportunity for the world's leading realist painters and sculptors.
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BUREAU GUEST ARTIST PAINTER ERIK OLSON
image : BUREAU GUEST Artist Painter Erik OLSON / Courtesy of The BRAVIN LEE Gallery
Joshua TRILIEGI : Modern Artists in today's day and age, seldom paint, yet you, a youngish artist, have taken to the medium with a 'Very Painterly Style', brush strokes abound: Why?
Erik OLSON : There is no reason to paint really. I’ve always made drawings but it was around the time that I got my first job, painting houses, that I also started trying to put paint to canvas. That summer I found a love for the medium – it’s transformative potential – and I’ve been focused on it ever since. Painting is one of the oldest, most basic and direct art forms. In the same way that we need stories, singing and dancing we need painting.
image : BUREAU GUEST Artist Painter Erik OLSON / Courtesy of The BRAVIN LEE Gallery
Joshua TRILIEGI : You discuss color and utilize its power accordingly. Would you talk about that power a bit theoretically?
Erik OLSON : One of painting's particular qualities is its direct connection to pure color. The relativity of color and its interplay within a canvas is fascinating to me. I try to tune my colors higher than in nature: I am not trying to make an image that is realistic, let alone photographic. I try to use color to express what it is like to think or feel. I work with images but it is color that puts me most at ease in its evocative, suggestive and flexible interpretations.
Joshua TRILIEGI : When it comes to creating bold bodies of work, I have always felt that genuine curiosity in a proficient talent can take leaps and bounds above a real pro who is seasoned to perfection.
Erik OLSON : Curiosity, at large, leads me to topics of interest, at least for myself. A body of work often begins with an open question on a topic or something I am interested in. I follow my curiosity down these roads without knowing exactly where I’ll end up. It’s a balance of heading in with intention and direction but also reacting to the unplanned and unexpected. The world is a fascinating place, if I chase the sites and situations that most interest me, I tend to end up in some pretty interesting places. I let the paintings flow from that. The need to make paintings, the need to communicate, is what drives me and yet it’s what I discover along the way that in turn informs the paintings. I try to use this process with all my work.
image : BUREAU GUEST Artist Painter Erik OLSON / Courtesy of The BRAVIN LEE Gallery
Joshua TRILIEGI : Give us a list of your most lucrative alliances with music, your paintings and why?
Erik OLSON :
1 Bob Dylan: If marooned on a desert island, I’d bring the Dylan records.
2 Philip Glass: The repetition keeps me on point.
3 The War on Drugs: One of my favorites these days; Great, rolling, driving, experimental rock.
4 David Bowie : Especially the early albums and the late ones.
5 La Düsseldorf : Local talent from Düsseldorf itself.
6 Recomposed Vivaldi : the Four Seasons by Max Richter & Robot Koch.
7 VietCong : Kick-ass band from my hometown, Calgary.
8 Joe Strummer : Always been a fan of the Clash, but love his albums with the Mescalero’s.
9 Amjad Ali Khan : Heard this man play the Sarod while in India. Incredible Indian classical.
image : BUREAU GUEST Artist Painter Erik OLSON / Courtesy of The BRAVIN LEE Gallery
Joshua TRILIEGI : Size also plays a key role in your work, yet power is seldom sacrificed, some of your smallest works seems extremely effective, ruminate on all things large and small and how they affect us.
Erik OLSON : That's one of the things about a painting, it is an image but it is also an object with a particular scale. The painting and the viewer, the relation of scale between the two is one of the variables, like color or imagery that you have to entertain within the painting. The scale of the painting and the scale of the subject matter, the dynamism between these scales is hard to describe but is something I think about and try to use. I think some of my really small portraits are some of my most powerful paintings and some of the really large pictures the most playful.
Joshua TRILIEGI : You dabble in sculpture and also have a clean-collage-like-technique when building a painting, talk about the diagonal split that we see in some of the early work.
Erik OLSON : The “diagonal split” first appeared in a painting I made of a multicolored shack that I saw on the island of Roatan, Honduras, in 2005. The shack was built from broken pieces of differently sized and painted slats of wood in what, at a cursory glance, appeared to be an utterly haphazard manner – and probably was – but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and the integrity of this “spontaneous and fortuitous assemblage” has stayed with me. I have used the motif of that structure in many of my portraits, in my sculptures and even in some early landscape paintings. I’ve made many more paintings than sculptures but I also think about sculpture a lot as I paint. I like to take my time on the sculptures and have them sitting around the studio as I work. Slopping paint on them from time to time as necessary.
Joshua TRILIEGI : Does literature or design or film or philosophy enter into your process, share some impressionable works which have directly influenced the work?
Erik OLSON : I try to let it all in – literature, design, film and philosophy – Not all at once, of course... but it might be more accurate to say that wherever my interests lead me I try to leave myself open to recognizing it when it turns up, whether in film, architecture, park design, advertising, graffiti, even – imagine – when it arrives from viewing art. While I was motorcycling through India in 2010, I read 'The Living Tradition' by the painter K.G. Subramanyan. His generation of artists in the 1960's were responding to modernism and how to deal with it in relation to Indian folk art traditions. His writing explores the idea of the “living tradition”, the notion that it is possible to maintain a cultural tradition and yet allow it to grow and change by merging with outside influences. As an artist of my generation there’s something about this attitude that appeals to me. I always try to keep the artists of the past that I love in my back pocket while looking forward. It’s really this idea that if you take something from the past, combine it with something from the present you’ll end up with something new. This seems to be an approach that almost all of the artists I admire use to some degree. It is not that the point is to make something new or novel, I think that it is more important than that: I think that this is fundamental to how creativity works.
Joshua TRILIEGI : You have been working overseas in Germany, take us on a small tour of Düsseldorf.
Eric OLSON : Düsseldorf is cool place to be right now. It is a relatively small city – about a half million proper – but is right next door to a bunch of interesting cities; Cologne, Bonn and Mülheim to name a few which collaborate to create an urban area of nearly 18 million with all the attendant myriad of galleries, museums and culture you might expect in a European metropolis. However, when in Düsseldorf it's all about Kunstakademie, which is what originally brought me here. The Kunstakademie is an unusual experience. The building, constructed in the late 1800’s, is a huge neo-classical structure with vast studio spaces. It was purpose-built for painting and I think perhaps more than any other school in the world, it retains a bold posture towards avant-garde painting. In many ways it’s more a giant studio building than an art school in its gritty physicality.
Joshua TRILIEGI : Do you believe that art can change the world: Picasso's Guernica for instance, or are we here to make the place [ Earth ] look better, Papa Matisse for example ?
Erik OLSON : Francoise Gilot put it much better than I am able to in her book 'Matisse and Picasso': Matisse wanted to reach a non-dualistic, global vision of the universe as permeated by love in the broad sense of the term. His primary goal was to unite. Pablo was possessed by the desire to know, to analyze, to discover, even if that meant in part to destroy or to divide. Matisse seemed to believe that the ultimate reality in the universe was an innate thrust toward coherence in all things, and he wanted to join in, while Pablo suspected an inherent malignancy in the general scheme of things. Basically Manichean, he felt that the die were loaded, that it was incumbent upon him to find out where and why.
Joshua TRILIEGI : Do you have some advise for Younger artists ?
The BUREAU INTERVIEW MATHILDE GRAFSTRÖM
BUREAU : How did PHOTOGRAPHY originally attract You as a Medium to express oneself ?
Mathilde Grafstrom : I grew up with a father who loved to photograph, and I used to read his National Geographic magazines as a teenager. The photographs fascinated me and I began to dream of traveling around the world and becoming a great photographer someday. I would also like to share my father's interest to be able to spend more time with him, so I asked him if he would teach me the art . He quickly lost patience in me, because I am a slow learner and did not understand his explanations . But it did not take the spirit from me, I taught myself the art over the years. I must admit that I wanted to impress my father by being clever enough to create images, but I never really managed to do so, in spite of my current success as a photographer. To this day, I seek his approval, even though I know it's silly, I guess, I am, in many ways, still a little girl seeking for a fathers love and approval.
BUREAU : Could you explain your most recent project and how the cancellation of your photo exhibit thrust your photo art into the international limelight ?
Mathilde Grafstrom : My current project, which I have worked on for almost three years, openly displays what natural beauty is. I photograph a woman from her truest side and thus one sees what qualities she posesses. I do not understand the deeper issues such as philosophy or that kind, so I stick to what I do best: to show women's beauty through my lens. And maybe I can show that beauty is not what is on the surface, but what you exude when you are most yourself. Since I am a simple and self taught girl from the country side in Denmark, I do not entirely understand what the recent international breakthrough means, but of course, I hope that people out there are enjoying my pictures and that one day I can make a difference in the world with my projects. I understand now what neo - puritanism means and that it is not good for society, so if my breakthrough can change this sad trend, I am very satisfied. How my art got to the international media, was through the danish TV2 who wrote about my exhibition that was not allowed by the authorities, and this was picked up by the Independent in Britain, and after that the articles exploded all over the world!
BUREAU : How long have you been taking pictures and what is it about the female form do you think is always so ' controversial, ' according to governments across the world ?
Mathilde Grafstrom : I have photographed since I was about 13 years, but the female beauty project started 2.5 years ago. What I think makes my photographs of the female bodies controversial is that they stand in contrast to the wave of neo - puritanism which is upon us today. It feels like we are living in the 1950s in many ways. The naked and innocent body obviously cannot be tolerated by many because we have become too uptight in our attitude to the body and we judge it as being something dirty and that sexuality is something dangerous that we should not talk too much about. My work is a reminder that it is not the body itself, which is impure, but people's attitudes towards it.
BUREAU : Has the most recent intent to edit your works changed the way you look at art, explain how it has effected your work ?
Mathilde Grafstrom: The censorship I've experienced has not affected me in such a sense that I photograph any different than before. I am just becoming more aware that advertising and money has become more important than art. It's incredibly sad that art is suppressed in this way and I have set myself up to fight for my right to be an artist and to show my work, and it's not only a fight for myself as an artist, but also for other artists living in Denmark and in the world. I believe that it's important that art is higher up on the priority list than money! Politicians in Denmark, due to recent censoring from the authorities, have begun to look at whether the rules should be changed, and I am delighted by that. The police must not be a moral authority, and art should only be censored on quality not on the degree of nudity, that is absurd. Naked bodies have always been a major part of the arts, and it must remain like that despite people's prudishness.
BUREAU : Could you discuss why these images are important to you as an artist and why ?
Mathilde Grafstrom : My art is important to me in the sense that it is the work that makes me happy. And it's important to me that young women's self - image is more natural. Many women suffer from today's beauty ideal and I'm happy to be able to show images to the world of what natural beauty is, and hope that they make such a big impression that they can influence society in a healthy direction. I think it is unhealthy for women to always think they are not beautiful enough. We are naturally beautiful as we are. Why make us into something false which is not beautiful and it makes us so unhappy? I love the cliché, "Love Yourself As You Are," because it is so true. But first we must look at who we have become and then find ourselves again.
BUREAU : Let our readers know how they can view, purchase and participate in your upcoming photographic projects.
Mathilde Grafstrom: My photographs can be viewed and you can also support the project by buying a picture or contact me directly to actually participate as a model or investor.
ROBERT SHETTERLY: PAINTER
Guest Artist for Spring 2015 Literary Edition of BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine is Painter and Social Historian Robert Shetterly. He is the Creator of an On - Going Series of Portraits entitled, "Americans Who Tell The Truth." Yeah, the title alone is loaded with a multiplicity of meanings & interpretations. We were initially attracted to the Artwork itself, and have since been drawn in by the large cast of characters that make up this original and interesting series. Today, We honor the Art of Robert Shetterly & Americans Who Tell The Truth.
by Joshua A. TRILIEGI for BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE LITERARY EDITION SPRING 2015
At first glance, one notices the vibrant colors, the bold backgrounds and the striking faces staring directly at the viewer. Closer inspection reveals inscriptions and quotes scratched directly into the canvases. Looking closer yet, one begins to actually behold the energy, the spirit, the 'vibe', if you will, of the subject. Somewhere between the WORDS they have spoken and the faces they were given and often times, mingled with the historical aspects of American history: Robert Shetterly's subjects come to life. The portraits are awake, they speak to us, they educate us, they demand respect in one way or another. There is bravery, beauty and brevity in this body of work. For sure, it is indeed, politically charged and at the same time, on either side of the aisle, politically speaking, many of these, "Truths," being espoused could ultimately be embraced by any person who cares deeply about America and beyond that, the rights of human beings everywhere. On the American front, the subjects vary from respect for the environment, to the right to be a pacifist, to the concerns of racial equality, to the rights of women, to the original values of the native Americans and on into the original purpose of creating a country like America to begin with. This is a series of paintings that many of the founding fathers and mothers of America would appreciate. With over 200 portraits and no shortage of subjects to honor, Mr. Shetterly has found a way to take his inspirations and hand them directly back to the people of the world in an absorbing and educational manner.
The subjects vary from extremely famous personalities to little known local activists who have brought to light the simplest universal truth to an issue that concerns themselves and the broader world. In a time of increasingly draconian rule with multiple abuses of power at the highest levels by some of the most powerful overbearing decision makers in America: The Series is a Beacon of Light. The power of an Individual, You, or Mr. Shetterly, or Me, or any of the American Subjects lovingly painted here, is very much alive. One may not even realize this fact, without perusing the Series itself. It is a very liberating and honest sequence of images, ideas and complete revelations. America is a beautiful idea, it promises so much freedom, so much opportunity, so much success and yet, the flip side of that promise is the very fact that if we as a people do not stand up for those original values, we stand to lose them and quite possibly, we already have. "Americans Who Tell The Truth," is an important, relevant and absorbing series of works that, in my estimation, is one of the most forthright, timely & intriguing series of paintings to have ever been created about America. Why? Because the truth is very hard to come by these days. The truth is a commodity, like money or property. Those who have it know how good it feels. Those who want it will do anything to get it. Those who try to take it away will lie to do so and in that act itself, become the antithesis of TRUTH. Such is the paradigm of the equation. Telling The Truth in America can lead to many sorrows and yet, it could also lead you to the presidency. Retaining that truth, once you get there, may be all but impossible. Mr. Shetterly's art retains an integrity and a value that will last well beyond the terms of any president, senator or congressperson, so too his subjects. How then do we proceed ? For starters: Simply Tell It like It Is.
ROBERT SHETTERLY: INTERVIEW
Joshua Triliegi : The Project entitled, "Americans Who tell the TRUTH" is a very intensive and wonderful body of work. How did this series come about ?
Robert Shetterly : The Americans Who Tell the Truth project was not something I intended to do. I had never painted a realistic portrait. In the wake of 9/11 our government began using 9/11 to beat the drums of war for an attack on Iraq. Iraq, as I hope you all know, had nothing to do with 9/11, no links with al Qaeda, nor did it have weapons of mass destruction. This was a tumultuous time. The 2000 election was full of corruption, then 9/11, then an avalanche of lies and fear to promote an unnecessary, illegal, immoral war. I was in a rage of grief for all the potential victims. And I was in a rage of grief for the total failure of our democracy. I was not surprised that the government was lying, but I was outraged that the corporate media was cheer leading for war and not exposing the lies. In a functional democracy, the Iraq war could not have happened. I felt alienated and marginalized more than I ever have in this country.
"The answer for me turned out to be very simple. Instead of obsessing about the people who were lying, I chose to begin surrounding myself with Americans I admired. I painted their portraits & scratched quotes from them into the surface.I chose a constituency I believed in and could draw strength from to stand up against a corrupt government."
I had a career as a surrealist painter and print maker, but all of my work seemed irrelevant now. I knew that I had to use the thing I do best -- art -- to gain a voice. And I also knew that if I presented my anger through my art, no one would be interested. I had to take the energy of that anger and use it in the service of love, compassion and justice. But how? The answer for me turned out to be very simple. Instead of obsessing about the people who were lying, I chose to begin surrounding myself with Americans I admired. I painted their portraits & scratched quotes from them into the surface. I chose a constituency I believed in and could draw strength from to stand up against a corrupt government. The US has always had a large gap between the values it professes and the reality of its actions. I was painting some of the people who have dedicated their courage and persistence to closing that gap so that the ideals of equality and dignity and freedom are present for everyone. I began with a goal of 50 portraits. I've now painted over 200.
Joshua Triliegi : The Title itself has a connotation, almost humorously, that not all Americans DO tell the truth. What is your criterion for choosing a subject and tell our readers about the working process of a single portrait ?
Robert Shetterly : Frequently, when I tell people the title of my project, I get an incredulous look and the comment, "I didn't know there were any Americans who tell the truth." Most Americans are deeply cynical about the level of dishonesty in all of their institutions, but particularly the government, the media, the corporations and the financial world. Sadly that cynicism most often translates into apathy. Apathy as much as institutional dishonesty destroys any hope of democracy. People also know at some level that governments all over the world are failing to govern, and that unless some serious world issues are dealt with, we will all be overwhelmed by these problems.
"When governments fail to do the right thing, the people must lead. I've been choosing to paint people both past & present who have done that leading. Without facing the problems and telling the truth, there is no trust; without trust there is no hope. I try to choose people to paint from the entire spectrum of fundamental issues of social, economic and environmental justice. I choose some very well known people and many unknown."
When governments fail to do the right thing, the people must lead. I've been choosing to paint people both past & present who have done that leading. Without facing the problems and telling the truth, there is no trust; without trust there is no hope. I try to choose people to paint from the entire spectrum of fundamental issues of social, economic and environmental justice. I choose some very well known people and many unknown. My point is not to paint only icons, extraordinary people who make the rest of us feel insufficient. I want to show that many great changes for the better were instigated by very ordinary folks. I spend more time researching my subjects than I do painting them because this project has become all about education. I spend most of my time now in schools showing the portraits, telling the stories, exhorting, and hopefully inspiring, kids to be better citizens.
Joshua Triliegi : The Works themselves are beautiful. They are somehow connected to early portraits of The Founders of our Nation, and at the same time have a slightly folk sensibility and yet they are very freshly presented. Tell us about your education and how that influenced the actual style and look of the work.
Robert Shetterly : I'm a self-taught artist who learned to draw & paint by copying the work of artists I admired. Leonardo, Durer, Degas and Goya taught me to draw. Rembrandt, Matisse, Magritte and Francis Bacon taught me to paint. There were many others. And you are right --- I am greatly influenced by folk and outsider artists because of their intensity and honesty. But the style of these portraits was a direct result of my intent --- to paint people of integrity and make that integrity the context of the painting. That's why the backgrounds are only color fields.
"I've learned enough about art to know that the quality of the painting is what authenticates the message. I'm trying to honor people I admire and present them as role models. Whatever success I may have at doing that depends on the my attempt to make real art, not simply political placards. So, as simple as the basic composition of these portraits is, it's very important to me to make beautiful paintings"
I want the viewer to focus entirely on the character of the subject and then on the subject's words. However, I've learned enough about art to know that the quality of the painting is what authenticates the message. I'm trying to honor people I admire and present them as role models. Whatever success I may have at doing that depends on the my attempt to make real art, not simply political placards. So, as simple as the basic composition of these portraits is, it's very important to me to make beautiful paintings. If viewers can appreciate the work for its artistry, they may be more inclined to be sympathetic to its message.
Joshua Triliegi : The color Fields in your work are extremely important, you also utilize quotes and then there is the actual portrait itself. Discuss the challenges and rewards in committing to a project such as Americans Who Tell the Truth.
Robert Shetterly : I think I may have answered the first part of this question. I'll focus on the second. When I first began this project, I really didn't think I could do it. Besides not having painted portraits previously, I decided I would not sell the portraits --- selling them seemed wrong. The people I paint have freely given so much. But how was I going to live? I had supported myself and family by selling art. I told myself that I needed to take this leap. That I would trust the world to either support the project or not, but I needed to do it. Frankly, though, choosing not to sell the art gave me a great sense of freedom. I could say whatever I wanted, make all my own choices about whom to paint.
"When I first began this project, I really didn't think I could do it. Besides not having painted portraits previously, I decided I would not sell the portraits --- selling them seemed wrong. The people I paint have freely given so much. But how was I going to live? I had supported myself and family by selling art. I told myself that I needed to take this leap. That I would trust the world to either support the project or not, but I needed to do it."
If it failed and I ended up with some portraits in my basement that nobody wanted to see, that would be OK. Instead, as soon as I began to show them I began to be asked to talk about them, to tell stories, to talk about history, ethics, social change. It's been over 13 years now that I have committed myself to this project and my learning curve is still vertical. My life has totally changed. The portraits have required me to be an artist/activist/teacher. I travel to schools, colleges, museums, libraries, and churches all over the country and even outside the country to talk about the portraits. The great challenges remain --- never relaxing the quality of the work and doing enough research so that I can talk intelligently and accurately about history, politics, economics and social change.
Joshua Triliegi : Please explain to our readers about the line you walk between artist, social Commentator or witness to truth, in this case, and the actual organization level of presenting these works in the way you do around the world.
Robert Shetterly : Part of the obligation I've taken on by spending so much time --- literally & figuratively --- with my subjects is the necessity to attempt to act in the world with the same degree of courage. On the one hand, in schools I present the portraits and the quotes as places to begin dialogue: What do you think of this person? What she said? Is he right? Why? What forces was she up against? What's the historical context? Could you do that? Why was it necessary? But on the other hand, as an activist I need to put my body & integrity on the line, commit civil disobedience if I need to, take risks. If I don't do that, I undercut the lesson I am trying to teach about commitment. I have a great small team that works with me on enhancing the educational goals of the project, and another group I do political action with. Each reinforces the other.
"I present the portraits and the quotes as places to begin dialogue: What do you think of this person? What she said? Is he right? Why? What forces was she up against? What's the historical context? Could you do that? Why was it necessary?"
Joshua Triliegi : Looking at your list of Portraits, one immediately realizes that Americans that Tell The TRUTH, sometimes, pay a big personal price. Here at the magazine, we have indeed begun to experience some of that. Discuss, if you will, your views on Honesty in America.
Robert Shetterly: When one witnesses for the truth, stands up against the power of the status quo, one takes a risk. When one tries to expose institutional corruption and hypocrisy, that attempt can be very divisive and meet with ridicule, humiliation and attack. Power wants to maintain itself and all the profit that flows from that power. Challenging it makes one vulnerable to all the means it controls --- law, police, media, politics. But then where would this country be without the people who have challenged the status quo? Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rachel Carson, Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden. Thousands more.
Joshua Triliegi : I see a touch of Andrew Wyeth in your work. Would you discuss your formative Influences ?
Robert Shetterly : My influences are various. I'm particularly interested in portrait painters who succeed at revealing the character of their subjects. Andrew Wyeth often does that. So does Alice Neel. I think, though, what's important to stress here is that an influence is someone who has helped you see. Not to see like him or her, but see for yourself. For me, having the patience to learn how to draw well has been my most important portrait influence. Being able to render the the eccentricities of any face, to really see what is there, is a big part of honestly conveying the character of the person.
"Most of our courageous whistleblowers don't even have have the opportunity to make their case to the public. The powerful use the law to sequester their voices. But, often the facts can overwhelm the attempts to suppress them ---whether it's about climate change, torture, mass surveillance or political and financial corruption. In a sense this is a great opportunity for truth tellers in America."
Joshua Triliegi : Edward Snowden and Bill Ayers are in the series and have names from more recent contemporary social events. Where do you think America is headed in terms of Truth ?
Robert Shetterly : That's a tough question. Never in our history has the media been so pervasive, so powerful, so continuous in its denunciation of those who challenge political orthodoxy or risk everything to tell the truth. That's intimidating. Most of our courageous whistle blowers don't even have have the opportunity to make their case to the public. The powerful use the law to sequester their voices. But, often the facts can overwhelm the attempts to suppress them ---whether it's about climate change, torture, mass surveillance or political and financial corruption. In a sense this is a great opportunity for truth tellers in America. The general public has so little trust in the honesty of most institutional leaders that they are open to the prophetic voices. The problem is for those voices to get access to the media. The powerful are not trusted, but they do still control who gets heard.
Joshua Triliegi : Do you have any particular Portraits that are significantly memorable, if so please describe why.
Robert Shetterly : Well, each portrait is memorable if only for the energy expended in attempting to make a good painting. But many of the subjects have become friends whom I continue to work with. For instance, Lily Yeh, the woman who founded Barefoot Artists & uses art to rebuild broken communities all over the world. I went with her to work in a village of genocide survivors in Rwanda & to a refugee camp in Palestine --- some of the most memorable events of my life. I painted John Kiriakou, the CIA agent who blew the whistle on US torture policy and we unveiled his portrait together in DC right before he was sent to prison. I got to know Judy Bonds, the courageous activist from southern West Virginia against Mountaintop Removal Coal extraction. Actually, I don't like answering this question because each portrait has a story like this & has enriched me enormously. I want to tell them all. Each person brings me into contact with courage. And, as William Sloane Coffin says, "Without courage there are no other virtues."
"… Each portrait has a story like this & has enriched me enormously. I want to tell them all. Each person brings me into contact with courage. And, as William Sloane Coffin says, "Without courage there are no other virtues."
Joshua Triliegi : Whats going on with The project this year and how can our readers support and participate ?
Robert Shetterly : AWTT keeps expanding. We are launching a series of new educational initiatives. I would hope people would visit the website and spend some time there exploring the people, the issues, the ways of teaching. Your readers can support our work by modeling their own citizenship on some of the portraits, by telling teachers about the project, by buying cards and posters, by writing to me with suggestions of people to paint. But mostly your readers can understand that most of the institutions that we have entrusted to care for the common good, to care for the future of our children, to care for stewardship of the earth, to care for the maintenance of democracy have failed. It is up to us not only to insist on better governance, but to do it ourselves. Our institutions --- political and economic --- are locked into systems of profit and exploitation which are endangering the future. We don't have to accept that. We shouldn't accept that. Morally, we can't accept it. And there is great personal and communal joy in building a sane, sustainable world.
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TOM GREGG: INTERVIEW
THE BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE MAGAZINE GUEST ARTIST JUNE 2014
by Joshua TRILIEGI
Tom Gregg's paintings have a vibrancy, a super saturated presence that are difficult not to look at. Although based in realism, Gregg has taken the realist school of painting and cranked it up a bit. Sort of power popped it. Size is not really the issue here: style, color, shadow and light are. He's a very conscious painter with a clear understanding of whats happening on the canvas. As articulate on the page as off the page. Here at the Bureau of Arts and Culture, we talk a lot about craft. Tom Gregg is a master craftsman. Extremely dedicated to the personification of the object. Be it the American flag, a bottle full of candy, a crumpled piece of fabric, a disney curio toy or his famous on - going hand grenade series.
American Realist painters through the years have often been attracted to the Americana of yesteryear and the new America of tomorrow, check out the works of Richard Estes and Ralph Goings. They took signage, chrome, cars, everyday commonplace objects and locales and hyper fascinated them into extremely lush and rich tapestries. Mr Gregg is doing just that, but within a kind of candy coated lens, he's taken the rose colored glasses and used them accordingly to look at objects that sometimes by their very nature carry a much more loaded symbology and made us simply look at how the color, light and vibrato relate to one another. The single object in a Tom Gregg painting becomes a sort of icon due to the amount of time, positioning, scale and fascination with tonal studies. More than one object becomes a strange interlude, an odd marriage, a pairing of the Sesame Street variety where the question was asked to the viewer, ' Which one of these objects doesn't belong ? ' But here, Mr Gregg does not differentiate that view. On the contrary, he makes them belong together and indeed, somehow they do. Through style, tone, association and placement his choices simply make us see the union and with his saturated palette, his uber craftsmanship, his outright exuberance that radiates from the actual object, we are mystified in some way.
Where Estes and Going awed us with the fact that we could hardly believe it was a painting, Gregg takes us into a whole other ephemeral and wacked out hyper color experience that we need to see. Once focused on it, we may find it difficult to turn away, a kind of seduction of the visceral variety. An optical dessert of sorts, one bite leads to another and suddenly, we have gobbled it up. Not exactly eye candy, due to the sense of style and commitment to a serious painting, but possibly a rare delicacy. Once you have spent time with a Tom Gregg painting, the world itself may seem a bit heightened in reality, the way the light hits a color, the very sense of how colors will relate to one another, he is transferring a special experience that stays with the observer long after the viewing. It is Art.
TRILIEGI: Your work is based in realism, what led you to pursue this style ?
GREGG: As handy as it is, I hesitate to use the term realism because it tends to carry a set of limitations and might lead the viewer to be dismissive of the work before they get to what I think of as the most interesting part: the interplay of representation and thought. There is a conceptual impulse at the heart of all my paintings. They originate in an idea, a question, or a specific thought. This can be complex or ridiculously simple, perhaps even simple minded, hopefully Zen-like in some cases. In the most recent work it is as simple as a contemplation of symmetry and asymmetry, balance and imbalance.
TRILIEGI: Although it is realist work, there is a hyper saturated quality to the tones, discuss your choice of color when painting.
GREGG: I choose to keep the color as keyed up as I can without breaking the internal visual logic of the painting. I try to push it to an edge where it just starts to pop a bit. The flat, pigmented world of a painting will never really compete with raw experience and the full range of real visual stimuli, but I take a perverse pleasure in trying to get it to. On another level, color is incredibly sensual and expressive, as well as elusive and limitless. I never feel like I comprehend color in its fullness; it always gets away and I am left feeling futile, with a mere record of the attempt.I think any true knowledge of color comes from experience. Outside of simply painting a lot, there were two fundamental steps in my understanding of color. The first was studying with a man named Sy Sillman at RISD. He had been a student and collaborator of Josef Albers and had us spend enormous amounts of time, until our eyes were shot, looking and looking at color, doing all sorts of color experiments with color-aid papers. I couldn’t tell you any one specific thing I learned, but I looked at and tried to understand a seemingly endless amount of color. The second step came in Saskatchewan, where I lived for a few years in an attempt to digest graduate school. It has a vast, empty, stunning landscape with a very specific light. I painted from this landscape, plein-air style, on an almost daily basis for most of the time I was there. I would do 2 or 3 or more small paintings a day, trying to capture the light, the atmosphere, the colors. I covered a lot of panels with a lot of paint, too fast to think much about it, relying on instincts and experience. Most were failures, but sometimes something happened, something was captured. I still have boxes of these paintings in my studio.
TRILIEGI: Objects play a key role in your body of work, how do you choose what to paint ?
GREGG: When people find out you’re a painter they inevitably ask what sort of paintings you do. Early on I noticed the answer “still life” was often accompanied by a glazing over of the eyes, or an “oh”, and a slow nod of their head, as if it were some sort of unfortunate news. I learned to enjoy this, and almost take it as some sort of challenge, to try to exceed the mundane and lowly expectations of the genre. I find that still life offers me almost total control of the visual situation, not just the objects, but also the lighting, the colors, the forms, the space. This makes it a great vehicle for a certain sort of experimentation and provides a great framework for conceptual pursuits.
I have been painting still lives for decades now and my choices of what to paint and the role these objects will play has shifted many times based on the conceptual demands of the paintings. Simply put, sometimes I want the objects to make the initial impact and be seen first, at other times I want them to be more transparent and secondary to the visual orchestration of the painting. I think there is a stereotypical or classical idea of still life subject matter: fruit, glasses, drapery, flowers, etc. These objects don’t ask many questions in and of themselves and therefore allow the formal choices and the mechanics of the painting to be the focus. The challenge here is to transcend the familiarity of the objects and arrive at something that will hold the viewer’s attention, almost in spite of them. On the other hand if I choose to paint hand grenades, guns, pharmaceuticals, Big Macs or crumpled up American flags, the viewer is confronted by a whole different set of questions and has a different entry into the painting. In an odd way the challenge here is similar, but starts from the other side of the problem: to transcend the confrontational aspect of the objects and seduce the viewer into the sensuousness and beauty of the painting itself. At the heart of it all is my belief that even the humblest and most banal of objects has the possibility of being transformed in a painting, and given existence at the core of something profound and meaningful. Even the most mundane of objects seem to possess some sort of secret or a dignity that lies beyond my comprehension and seems worthy of contemplation.
TRILIEGI: Each painting seems like you invest a large amount of time into, without attempting to quantify a value point, how much time will you invest in a painting such as the new works: Cocktails, etc …
GREGG: My “work” does involve a lot of actual work, though work I enjoy. The number of hours invested in a painting seems to have little bearing on the ultimate success or failure of the piece. And paintings can get worse the longer you work on them. There is no equivalency between time invested and success, which makes the process more engaging and demanding of my full attention.My working process starts with a lot of drawing. In these drawings I figure out the scale, the composition and placement. I get to explore and work out a lot of decisions before getting into the actual painting. I find it a lot easier to change my mind in a drawing than in a painting. The drawings are very much working drawings, not finished pieces, and primarily serve as a step into the painting. I transfer the drawing to the panel, re-draw it, and rough in the painting with this as a guide. Then I try to make the whole thing come together.
A lot of the process of painting for me is looking, and marking, and looking again, and marking again, adjusting and changing, repeating this process until I feel I have captured something meaningful or profound about what it is I am seeing. This seems to go beyond illusion and has more to do with the energy found in visual relationships. My guess is that a bit of life is given to the painting when a relationship or a set of relationships is observed and experienced openly and directly, (whether it be one color to another color, or one ellipse to another, one space to another, etc.), and then that relationship is reinvented and brought into the painting itself. Time has little to do with this in any direct sense, other than that if I keep the process open, then the longer I try, the more chances I take, the more likely I am to hit on something.
TRILIEGI: The shadows in the newer works appear to have eyes, were seeing a lot of reference to that lately, in much of the contemporary art scene, is this a conscious decision or just a happenstance ?
GREGG: I am not aware of the profusion of eye references, so I can’t claim to be a part of that as a trend or as a part of the contemporary scene. But I was definitely aware of the eye - like shadows in some of these recent paintings. So the effect was heightened, if only subtly. I enjoy the extra layer of visual reference that this gives to the piece. The viewer can flip their attention from “oh, it’s two cocktails” to “there are two eyes staring out at me” and have these competing stimuli struggle a bit in your head, a bit like the classic optical illusion of the rabbit or the duck. I believe a great deal in the power of subliminal decisions and the role instincts play in how we go about things, and it is undeniably fun to discover things within things, so on some level I am responsible for those eye references in the paintings, and glad you noticed them. I will add that my father passed away, rather suddenly, about 5 years ago and ever since then I have had the tendency to fabricate faces, most often his face, in all sorts of patterns and situations, as if trying to find his presence in my world, bring him back or just ease the loss.
TRILIEGI: Do you believe in a school of thought, or does the individual artist still have the power to express something alone ?
GREGG: Tough question, it sort of goes in a lot of directions. I believe we are all so embedded in our time and world that we are more or less completely defined by it, especially in this supersaturated media culture. The world seems to be made smaller by technology but at the same time fragmented, shattered and without boundaries.
I believe we are all formed by our environment and can’t escape our place and time. We all build on the work and accomplishments of others and operate in the context of our culture. Artists have always fed off of other artists; there is no avoiding it and no shame in it. I don’t think any of us exist alone, as some sort of outsider. A favorite quote seems applicable here: “we are only as original as the obscurity of our sources”. But I also believe that we each provide a slight shading or slight shift in perspective to the larger culture.
For about 5 years I helped coordinate and curate an artist run gallery here in Kansas City. There was a core group of artists who showed consistently over that time and occasionally you could see some direct lifting of ideas or stylistic crossing over, but for the most part the artists involved were distinctly defined in interests and direction. What did seem to be shared and what did get passed around was the energy, the ambition, and the desire to be a participant in what was happening, an impulse to step it up. So there was a sort of school of energy more than thought. At this point in our culture, which is so fragmented, and has unlimited options for expression, it seems almost impossible to narrow to a school of thought in any traditional sense, everything can and does co-exist simultaneously and it makes for a much more vibrant conversation. I trust that in a hundred years the art historians will put the labels on what is happening now and give the names to the schools of thought.
TRILIEGI: The craftsmanship in your work is amazing, how long have you been painting and who were / are your influences as an artist ?
GREGG: I always flinch at the use of the word craftsmanship in regards to painting. It seems that as an artist you just have to do what the painting demands and use the materials however they need to be used to get there. Any notion of craftsmanship is integral to the artwork as a whole. So it seems to be more a matter of necessity than craftsmanship. I guess in that way I would consider De Kooning a great craftsman, because the paint does exactly what it needs to do to get those paintings to work. Paint, as a material, can do so many things and be used in so many ways that I think all painters use it a bit differently. You have to find out not just how you can use it but also how you need to use it: it evolves with the vision of the work. My use of paint is always slowly evolving and changing and providing slightly different possibilities for the paintings. As for influences, I think I am generally voracious as an art and culture consumer and digester and like to think that, at least in terms of inspiration, that all these experiences get channeled into what I do. I get thrilled at a show of Tom Friedman or an Ingres retrospective. As I think it is with most artists, there is a big sort of soup that is always on the stove somewhere in my head and all kinds of stuff, everything, really, gets thrown in there and cooked together and then it gets ladled out in the form of my paintings. The influences more directly related to my paintings are most likely predictable for the sort of painter I am. From an early fascination with Giotto, Masaccio, and Pierro della Francesca I worked my way up through art history on up to the present and Lucien Freud, Balthus, and Euan Uglow. But my heart keeps returning to the Seventeenth century where, for me, some sort of pinnacle was reached with Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Velasquez and Vermeer. I am always cruising through both the past and the present for inspiration, and easily falling in love with an artist’s work, whether for a fleeting moment, a lifelong fascination or just a new spot on the map of my art experience.
TRILIEGI: Does Music or Film or some special activity inform or inspire your work process, if so, please tell our readers a bit about that process.
GREGG: Music has always had the ability to flood me with emotion, to overwhelm me, or bring tears to my eyes in a completely irrational, physical and emotionally rooted way. I have never studied music and never played an instrument and can’t carry a tune, so there is no other way for me to experience music. It serves as a source of inspiration because it hits me directly and leaves me feeling defenseless in a manner that painting almost never does. Painting and visual art enters through my eyes and mind, music through my ears and gut. That said, I do have my own, uneducated ideas about music that filter into my paintings. I often think of color as musical tones, as having a pitch and harmonizing with other colors. I also use ideas of rhythm and movement that come from musical ideas. Sometimes I think of my paintings as small, minimalist symphonies, each “instrument” playing its’ role in the whole piece. Haiku poetry is another form that I look to and hope to channel into my work. There is a stunning beauty in the sparseness and economy of conveying emotions and ideas and a stark use of the juxtaposition of image that I often think of in relation to my paintings. I have also been practicing Chi Gong and Tai Chi for almost 5 years now and have found it making its’ way into my work, particularly the recent series of paintings. In both these practices there is a strong emphasis on subtle movements and repetition, and on balance and gravity, and on being grounded. It is all ultimately about focus, energy and awareness.
TRILIEGI: The backgrounds in the newer works are extremely worked over, when your dealing with a smaller object, like say a shot glass, is there a need to invest a certain amount of time into the background or is there simply a habit of entirely presenting a serious work on every square inch of the painting ?
GREGG: The backgrounds, or what I think of as the wall, are always an integral part of the painting and often end up being what the success or failure of the piece rides on. It is the largest part of the painting and therefore the dominant color proportionally. It is a particular challenge to paint because in order to succeed it has to have a sense of light and atmosphere and it also has to create a space for the still life to exist in. And it has to do this with the barest of elements; it is flat, without detail, and has no definition beyond the play of light across its surface. Because of this I consider it to have a certain visual and conceptual purity. It is working with color and light, nothing else. To make it work is difficult, and most often leaves me with a sense of a long pursuit that comes to an end with me empty handed. That pulsing of life and light that I saw and experienced and seemed so palpable, and that I just spent all day chasing with paint, almost always gets away.
TRILIEGI: Where do you live and work and how does that influence your work ?
GREGG: I live and work in Kansas City, Missouri. I was born in California, in Long Beach, and at age seven moved to a town outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I went to RISD and lived in Rhode Island for eight years and Connecticut for two years while at Yale, then spent two years in Saskatchewan before landing in Missouri.
Kansas City has a lively art scene, and I think a true sense of community among artists across a range of disciplines. It provides an ease and a clear feeling of being connected, perhaps due to its size. It ebbs and flows, but at times there has been a vibrant dialogue between the art makers here, a feeling that there is something being shared, that the community is being pushed farther than any one individual could go on their own. A sense that there are other tuned-in voices right here that are listening, and responding: an audience of artists and other participants in the aesthetic cultural here and now. There is a lot going on here, a lot of opportunities for artist driven projects and a real commitment to the arts all across the spectrum.
Mr Gregg The Guest Artist JUNE 2014 and you will find his work available at George Billis Gallery
in Los Angeles at Culver City's Art Row on La Cienega and in New York City with a New Show
scheduled this Fall 2014. Many of the Interviews throughout this Publication feature Mr Gregg's
Paintings and we are very pleased to have him at BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE Magazine.
George Billis Gallery LA 2716 S. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90034 T: 310-838-3685
George Billis Gallery NY 525 W. 26th Street, New York City NY 10001 T:212- 645-2621
DAVID PALUMBO : Painter
By Joshua Triliegi
Mr Palumbo is a prolific painter working in a multitude of styles. David has an ongoing series of works including: The Tarot, The Portraits, Fantasy illustration, Gallery Fine Art and his sexually charged, if not controversial Quickies. The later available in publication as well as for purchase individually. Once familiar with David Palumbo's work, each style or series is immediately identifiable and interesting. The Quickies definitely push the envelope and raise the bar as well as the blood pressure on sexually charged and inspired figural work.
David Palumbo is that rare breed hybrid of working illustrator, fine artist and individual creator who is pushing the envelope on what can be done with an image. Mr Palumbo's portraits of well known personalities such as Sidney Poitier, Mathew McConaughey, David Bowie and Jane Fonda capture the essence of the person and also stamp his own style and interpretation accordingly. David Palumbo has what we might call a painterly style: excessive brush strokes, textural experimentation, impressionistic via the materials. Schooled as a classical figural painter with a keen interest in cinema and raised among a family of artists has led him to be commissioned by a wide variety of publications and we are very proud to have him as Guest Artist for The June/August Edition of BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine & BUREAU of Arts and Culture . com & Community Sites On Line.
The David Palumbo Sci-Fi or Fantasy illustrative work is not only exciting, bold, striking, sometimes scary and even gory, but also imaginative, humorous and always services the story being told. BUREAU readers may remember Mr Palumbo's artworks affiliated with the Fiction project in the recent June edition of the magazine. David's work brought an entirely new & fresh approach to telling the story and we noticed right away how accessible and welcoming as well as supportive his work is to the text. The dark humor involved in his fantasy illustration harkens back to the American comic books from the nineteen sixties and even further back than that, some of his themes relate back to early 19th and 20th century illustrative technique's of the English variety: Sherlock Holmes and Jack The Ripper.
With the resurgence and popularity of Vampires, Zombies and a new form of sexually expressive literature, art and film in today's current creative landscape, we are sure that the popularity of Mr David Palumbo's artworks is on the rise and we are glad to introduce our readers, as well as allow Mr Palumbo himself to describe his process and share a top ten of his favorites. We spoke with David Palumbo about his career, his education and his approach when it comes to making Art for a living and who he keeps an eye on when it comes to inspiration. Enjoy The David Palumbo Interview and many Artworks dispersed throughout.
Guest Artist David Palumbo discusses his career with BUREAU Editor Joshua Triliegi
BUREAU: You are a painter, an illustrator and you are represented as a fine artist as well. How do you balance theses different jobs ? And do they inform one another ?
DAVID PALUMBO: Over the years I have placed different emphasis on commissioned work and gallery work. The gallery was initially how I was making a living, though I became more focused towards illustration after a time for reasons both personal and practical and, for a number of years, that was my dedicated outlet. To the extent that I did shift back towards gallery work, I used it as a sort of laboratory to explore and experiment which really helped me to continue growing as an artist while working commercially. Much of my current process and method was developed with that balance.
BUREAU: Your parents are both relatively established and respected artists, tell us about growing up around art and what its like to be the child of artists.
DAVID PALUMBO: I feel that the biggest boost that this gave me, other than their enthusiastic support, was removing the doubts that so many aspiring artists have to struggle with over the possibility of making a living. I saw them working daily as freelancers and understood intimately as a result that it is as viable a career as any more traditional occupation. I think that was huge.
Now that I am also a working artist, I also appreciate how fortunate I am to have so many people close to me who understand that side of my life. My brother is also a painter and just about every person who I have a close friendship with is a creative person. That isn’t to say that I can’t relate to non-artists, though I do find it easier and it is wonderful to be able to connect with my own family in that way. We certainly all push each other, either directly or indirectly, to perform at our best and to continue striving to improve.
BUREAU: Your family reminds me a bit of Stephen King and his family, each person is an artist and obviously their father is a master of the macabre. How much does literature inform your work ?
DAVID PALUMBO: I enjoy reading, though I don’t know how directly that ties to my painting. I’m sure that it doesn’t hurt, though I probably am more influenced and inspired by more directly visual mediums like cinema and photography.
BUREAU: Some of your paintings push the envelope on female sexuality, but there is such a fine art craftsmanship, that it is very difficult to call it pornographic. Do you think humans are afraid of sexuality and if so why ?
DAVID PALUMBO: From the point of view of Western culture, specifically American culture, I think that sexuality is a very complicated issue to the point that I’m not always even sure how I feel about it. Understanding how other people feel about it is likely beyond me. Even though I disagree with some cultural norms, they still shaped my views of the world and it can be difficult to navigate that at times. In general though, speaking again as an American, yes. I think we are entirely too freaked out by it. The fear of or fixation on nudity, even absent of sexual context, is a product of our weird society.
So far as my own paintings, I feel those with any sexual nuance are primarily about beauty and certainly nothing even approaching pornographic by my own definitions. I don’t condemn art which explores sexuality in more explicit detail, don’t get me wrong. For my own motives however, I tend to be more interested in simply appreciating figures from a flirtatious, confident, and natural point of view. That side of my work has been evolving for some years now and I’m sure it will continue to. I don’t always know what it is about but I think art created with an open question rather than a defined statement can be very poetic and universal, so I’ve let the series find its own direction over time. Inevitably some people will find it tame while others offensive. Like anything else creative, all I can realistically aim to do is satisfy myself.
BUREAU: Explain your process when creating works in a series such as the Tarot, The Postcards, the Subway.
DAVID PALUMBO: Working in series is something I generally find very appealing. I think in part the reason may connect with my love of art books. When I think of a series, I think of them as a chapter in my own book and somehow that adds extra interest and excitement for me. For one thing, it removes the pressure of saying everything in one image. Instead you have the opportunity to create story and communicate ideas through the broader world which the series collectively describes. I don’t often know at the beginning if a series will be short or long, that more depends on my level of interest as I develop it. When that interest dips, a new idea has most likely taken its place. Others, like the postcard nudes (and related works) just seem to continue indefinitely.
BUREAU: How difficult was it to break into mainstream illustration and tell as a story that exemplifies that hurdle ?
DAVID PALUMBO: Breaking in to illustration is just a long slow process. Even if you have the chops from the outset, which practically no body coming right out of school does, it takes time and dedication to get the work in the right hands and have them think of you at the right moments. My own long slow process wasn’t likely any different from most emerging illustrators in the post internet job market: creating samples, sharing online, and getting out to meet art directors and other artists face to face whenever possible. Repeat forever. For me it took about three years of gradual progress to really gain any initial ground. That time was spent learning how to apply my basic understanding of painting into the specific needs of illustration and then learn to do it well and efficiently. Every year since then has been dedicated to improving those skills.
BUREAU: Does any music play a key role in your work and what are you listening to now ?
DAVID PALUMBO: I like to listen to music while painting, though it probably plays the most significant role during sketching. I’ll often choose music which helps me get into the mood of the piece which I am planning and it seems to help me push that mood further. For that purpose I listen to film scores quite a bit (Vertigo is one of my all time favorites), though in general I have a pretty wide variety of tastes. I’m much more broad-minded about things like that than I used to be. I’ve always loved movies in particular and often aim to bring cinematic qualities to my work. Sometimes that might mean taking inspiration from favorite films but more often it simply means trying to bring a narrative tone and composition which is informed by them. I’ve done some very basic study of cinematography to better grasp that art form, and done quite a bit more study into still photography. I’m lucky that I really enjoy learning the technical aspects of photography as opposed to feeling it to be a chore, because the more I study lenses and photographic concepts the better I can use that knowledge to plan and execute my paintings effectively. All of that started with a love of movies though.
BUREAU: How important was school for you and share why with our readers ?
DAVID PALUMBO: I think school was pretty important, though it has become so expensive these days that I’d advise prospective students to consider less traditional options as well. My own school was very focused on an academic classical approach and I feel that was a great benefit to me. The nuts and bolts of picture making should be a huge part of your basic art education. If you want to do figurative painting and are not studying the figure from life in your first semester (or, as some people have told me, at all) then you might want to seek a different program. Besides the big art schools, there are many very promising ateliers which tend to cost less and have more intense curriculums. One big advantage to traditional art school can be the connections which you make with fellow students and opportunities you might be exposed to through faculty. I didn’t personally enjoy this perk so far as my illustration career (my school was strictly fine arts) but having family in my chosen field surely offset that for me.
BUREAU: A guy like you could put a product like Viagra out of business. Do you think that sexuality in film, in art and in literature is judged more harshly than violence and if so why ?
DAVID PALUMBO: That the two are even comparable as concerns is weird. I don’t really know. I don’t understand it. I caught some of Kill Bill 2 on TV the other day and it seemed strange to be able to show brutal fights and painful death one moment but have to dub out the word “cunt” (used in a non-sexual context even) the next. I think most people who I regularly interact with would agree that it’s craziness so I suppose that I‘ve adopted my own sort of social reality. A reality when I might have a friend pose nude and it’s no big deal. The people who are terribly concerned, I guess I just don’t get them. Not to imply that I don’t personally enjoy action and horror movies, because I generally do. I just don’t understand the relatively casual acceptance compared against the deep discomfort that many people seem to have with sexuality.
BUREAU: Please suggest a list of ten artists that our audience should know about and why.
DAVID PALUMBO: Hmmm. Ok, I hope some of these are already well known, but here are ten artists I’m currently really digging:
Mead Scheaffer - I don’t know much of his story, but damn can he paint. Scheaffer was an illustrator in the first half of the 20th century who was brilliant with design, limited color, and something about his brush calligraphy just kills me.
J.C. Leyendecker - Another early 20th century illustrator, Leyendecker was so bold with shape and silhouette that I’m often looking to him for inspiration. His stylization of figures adds such elegance and drama. Precursor to Rockwell.
Jeremy Geddes - an Australian contemporary painter who has transitioned from illustration to fine art. His work is so moody and stark. I love the illustration and gallery work equally.
Antonio Lopez Garcia - a Spanish painter, still active I believe, who is known for his immense cityscapes and incredibly life-like interiors. The depth and tangible quality of his work is unreal, especially if you ever have the opportunity to see one in person.
Sam Weber - a contemporary illustrator based in Brooklyn who’s done mostly editorial and cover work. Sam’s look has been evolving since I first became aware of him. Back then it was very graphic and stylized, often monochromatic and minimalist. Recently he’s been turning more hyper-realist but still with a strong graphic punch and terrific mood.
Alex Kanevsky - a contemporary fine artist who does very abstracted depictions of figures and such. I’m endlessly fascinated by how far he can break the lines and planes while still showing a clear representation of the figure.
Robert McGinnis - an illustrator who did a ton of crime novel covers with sexy women in the 60s and 70s. Think of Bond girls and you’d think of McGinnis.
Sanjulian - a European illustrator who did absolutely brilliant 70s gothic and horror (and romance) book covers. Wonderful 70s texture and amazing montages
Greg Manchess - a contemporary illustrator who does genre and mainstream work with a very painterly hand in the spirit of the Pyle school. Wonderful chunky strokes and incredible compositions.
John Harris - an English illustrator who does beautiful painterly space scenes rich in color and emotion. Almost nobody can get away with loose atmospheric takes on SF like Harris can.
By Joshua Triliegi
Guest Artist for October 2014 Edition of BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine is Eric Zener. Mr. Zener is currently working with figural subjects in relation to the element of water. The very act of diving in, the splash, the plunge, the immersion, the submission of giving yourself to a body of liquid. Normally, this subject might be considered a perfect summer series, but with record heat waves on the West Coast, we decided to celebrate these refreshing images. Although the work is influenced by photography and lush saturated realist tones, because of the expressionist nature of the reflections and the water's reaction to the figures, there is a large amount of experimentation and abstraction within the work. Each painting is worked over with an extreme amount of detail. Many of the subjects are proportionately larger than life, in terms of scale, which takes us into the picture in the same way that a camera might magnify a subject, bringing us as the viewer into closer focus with the subject & the scene.
The poolside in the contemporary arts has become a symbol and almost a genre of sorts. Think of films such as The Graduate and its isolationist emotional meaning or David Hockney's pool paintings and drawings, which have a new relationship's reflective quality, or on a darker side, Billy Wilder's opening and closing scene in The classic film, Sunset Boulevard. Water equals emotions, pool side water is a slightly more controlled emotion, it is not the all powerful ocean, but a man made version. Mr. Zener's most recent work gives us pause to reflect on the stages before, during and after the experience of diving into our uncertain future. Many of the works allow for the individual to feel that surge, while others within the on going series represent a relationship of two. Zener has an evolving craft that is currently at a pinnacle, Over the past decades, he has developed a style that is in a territory which might be called realism or even symbolism. What you call it is not as important as what you experience, feel and imagine while viewing it. All to often, the Art Critic, the Presenter, the Gallery and the Historian's interpretation of any given work eclipses the actual experience of simply enjoying, owning and living with a work of art. We suggest, in the case of Eric Zener's paintings, that you simply allow yourself to dive in and feel the work, immerse yourself and reflect on the refreshing qualities of relating to the element of water.
This Series of paintings brings new meaning to the term, "West Coast Cool." Also included throughout the entire edition are earlier works by Mr. Zener that relate to the elements of Wood, Earth & Air, making him a sort of alchemist of images. Man's Relationship to Nature: The great on going story that never ceases to effect, edify and entertain. Humankind's relationship to the elements are once again asking us, even demanding for a reevaluation of what it actually means to have an ecosystem, to relate directly to the elements and to reciprocate by preserving it's offering. Zener's newest work is exhilarating, impassioned and fresh. We are proud to have him as Guest Artist for the October 2014 Edition of BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine & Our On Line Sites.
BUREAU: Your work is based in realism, what led you to pursue this style ?
ERIC ZENER: As a self taught artist my approach to painting, and what has led me to where I am today, has been a long process of evolution. I grew up around art and like any child, enjoyed the freedom of expression with drawing and painting. Now after 25 years of painting full-time, it is interesting to see all the changes along the way in terms of theme and style. To be honest there was not a singular moment when any particular change happened. Often times the evolutions were slow, unplanned and unnoticed. My very early work bordered on a sense of cubism or crude illustration.
ERIC ZENER: Where the overlay into realism happened is hard to pinpoint.10 or so years ago I began to use a camera to take photos of models under water; as attempting the authentic pose in the studio with chairs, pillows and fans proved stiff and unnatural.
"… Photographic reference may have sparked a
challenge to capture more & more realism …"
Having a still two dimensional photo reference gave me a tool to capture the poses I wanted. I suppose that photographic reference may have sparked a challenge to capture more and more realism in the process. I don’t know….but clearly that is where I am at now.
BUREAU: Although it is realist work, there is a pure quality to the colors, discuss your choice of tone when painting.
ERIC ZENER: The mood of the narrative of each piece generally influences the color, which then informs the tone. I use the pose I capture only as the “police chalk outline” in a sense for general composition. After drawing the figure I think about what they are doing…where they are heading, and depending on how I feel, what the idea may convey. Are they on a metaphorical journey into the unknown?
" The mood of the narrative of each piece generally
influences the color, which then informs the tone."
BUREAU: Figures play a key role in your body of work, how do you choose subjects ?
ERIC ZENER: I think there is a universal quest we all are all on. For some it is more convenient than others to explore it. Socio and economic circumstances allow some more freedom than others to have the time to self explore. However we all at some level all desire a “break”. Immersion in water is both physically cathartic, but also speaks perhaps to a deeper metaphysical and universal human experience. We are from water in birth and made largely of its substance. Using the figure in or around water, at times anonymously, always us to find ourselves in the composition and that connection we share.
BUREAU: How much time will you invest in a painting such as the new works: Pool Subjects.
ERIC ZENER: There really is no timeline that any good painting can follow. It finds itself done when it’s done. The painting tells the painter to stop. As overly dramatic as it sounds it is like a boxing match for me. At times you are wining and at times loosing.
" When I am painting, I only work on one painting at a time. "
The beginning and ending are easy…it is the time between that the struggle pushes your passion and endurance to reach the beauty and idea you set out for. When I am painting, I only work on one painting at a time. I’ve never been able to put something aside and move on. They haunt me too much unresolved. I like resolution.
BUREAU: The reflections in many of the new works have abstractions, tell us about the need to express the abstract within the realist style.
ERIC ZENER: Somebody said once, “We don’t see the world the way it is, but how we choose to perceive it.” With that there are abstractions in everything as it’s relative to the observer. Particularly with water, I like the play on that theme as what appears solid on one side of the dividing line, between water and air, is indeed “solid” yet fluid and abstract from its opposite perspective. Like life itself, for better or for worse, we are in a constant state of transformation and change. The abstracted figures reflect that idea. Nothing really is how it really is. In fact I think we can never observe anything as an absolute. All our perceptions and conclusions are based on our relative position observing it. The mirror images in this body of work show that constant state of transformation and the metaphor of change we may or not always see.
BUREAU: Does the individual artist still have the power to express something alone ?
ERIC ZENER: I agree with the concept that the individual artist has the power to express something alone. At some level we all may be unknowingly borrowing from our life’s experience, however true authorship comes from our own voice representing our individual visions and narratives.
BUREAU: How long have you been painting and who were/are your influences as an artist ?
ERIC ZENER: Painting has been my profession for 25 years. I’ve never been somebody that has one “hero”. For me music and quotes I hear tend to provoke thoughts and emotions more than visual observations. As my tastes and interests in music have evolved, so has my taste and interest in visual artists. I may be interested in one painter for a while and then another later. No one person has been a constant influence. That said I tend to be impressed and excited about art that is very different from mine. I gain nothing creatively looking at things that are similar to my work. I would rather find the spark in something totally different than what I do.
BUREAU: Does any other Art form or some special activity inform or inspire your work process, if so, please tell our readers a bit about that process.
ERIC ZENER: So many genres of music and musicians have a daily and ever-changing influence on what I think about. I’m moved by musicians and artists who express themselves fully and vulnerably. I’ve spent my life surfing and swimming in the water and find great peace and joy there. With my nature series it may be more linear. I enjoy being alone in nature and the influence of the slow patient growth of the trees inspires me artistically and personally.
Water may have some relationship to my youth and personal pastimes. I’ve spent my life surfing and swimming in the water and find great peace and joy there. My intention in my art is not about the physical act of swimming etc., but rather the joy of the immersion into a deep and buoyant other world.
BUREAU: The backgrounds colors in the newer works set a certain tone, tell us how you decide to work with a color such as the Yellow, Turquoise & Blue background in the images.
ERIC ZENER: A great deal of my water work has been metaphorical and more open to interpretation and introspection. After a particularly challenging year, I have personally gone through a lot of changes in my life and I wanted to cathartically express the simple pleasures of joy and playfulness which these colors evoke for me. Rather than using the color or light of the water….or the depth of the figure entering as the narrative, I wanted to focus on the pureness of the figure, and hopefully their joy in that moment. Happy, bright and light!
BUREAU: Where do you live and work and how does that influence your work ?
ERIC ZENER: I live in the SF bay area, but honestly the location of where I paint has little influence. It’s the interior space of my studio and interior space of my mind that influences my work.
" I suppose being in city or in a country could have some influence, however for me it is the music, the friends and the input from other sensory and emotional sources that are the real fodder of my work. "
I suppose being in city or in a country could have some influence, however for me it is the music, the friends and the input from other sensory and emotional sources that are the real fodder of my work.
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