Two Landscape Artists

I’ve been looking at the work of two well known landscape artists, April Gornik and Peter Krausz. Both work in large scale landscapes with a strong sense of physicality, places that are uninhabited by people. Both masters of the poetry of landscape. I started to see what felt like masculine and feminine traits embodied in their work.

In Peter Krausz’s work, nature is remote, seen from above as if we are gliding down into it. There is a wistfulness, something longed for, but out of reach, we must go to it. The surface is filled top to bottom and side to side and the eye becomes active and sweeps in direct strides diagonally, from side to side across multiple angles and peaks. The brush work is active also and the mark making is clear.

April Gornick’s work has a gentle but powerful stillness. The landscape is viewed from slightly below eye level as if we are in a receptive state to wait for the inescapable mystery about to descend. There is a hushed, expectant feeling in the plentiful negative space. There are recurrent themes of clouds and water seen with a slightly diffused and enveloping softness here and there and around the edges.

Criticism

I wonder if anyone has ever conducted research to discover what the correlation is between art crticism and growth in art making. It seems to me that genuine feedback provides a mirror for an artist and an art community to see past their blind spots and that with this comes a refining of work and direction on all sides, for the artist, the art writer, and the art audience.

A Voice?

I went to the panel discussion, "Are We On the Same Page" which was held at L.A.C.E. yesterday afternoon. This is the second panel in as many months. The other was "Whither Arts Journalism in LA?"

Here are comments about yesterdays panel from Sean Bonner.

It Must Be Spring...

Fever. After months, or longer, of painting foggy, cloudy, monchromatic, mainly gray paintings I am suddenly drawn to watercolors and fresh paint. I'm painting with some yellows and blues and a bit of pink, with plenty of crisp white edges.

Secco

Currently on exhibit at the Forum Gallery are the paintings of Peter Krausz. His medium, called Secco, is an ancient one. and means 'dry' in Italian. Here is a little bit about it from the Forum Web page http://www.forumgallery.com/2005/e_krausz.html

The difference between fresco and secco:

In painting, the term fresco (pl. frescoes) comes from the Italian phrase buon fresco, ("really fresh") a technical term in opposition to in secco ("on dry surface"). True, or buon fresco, technique consists of painting in pigment in a water medium on wet or fresh lime mortar or plaster. In secco painting is done on dry plaster and with the pigments in a binding medium, like egg. The difference between the two techniques is that the wet plaster as it dries absorbs the pigment and the painting becomes part of the wall surface rather than resting on top of it. This makes a very durable work of art; if the wall is destroyed the painting can often be reassembled because of the size of the plaster parts.

Are We On the Same Page?

There is going to be another panel discussion about art journalism.

Are We On The Same Page? :: LA art journals, artists’ publications and independent publishers & imprints Sunday 17 April starting at 4pm @ LACE (­Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) - 6522 Hollywood Blvd.

I learned this on Art Blogging LA. http://art.blogging.la/

Af Klint, Kunz, and Martin

A friend forwarded this article from the NY Times. I am interested in Af Klint's work and especially in her processes.

The Modernist vs. the Mystics

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/12/arts/design/12draw.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th

A review of the "3 x Abstraction: New Methods of Drawing," at the Drawing Center (NY), by Ken Johnson.

"Academic art historians and critics still tend to discourage talking seriously about the spiritual in art. But considering how many artists continue to be motivated by spiritual urges, however the word spiritual is defined - this is something worth discussing. And this exhibition, problematic as it may be, offers an excellent occasion to do so. "