Jill Saunders

Jonel Scholtz’s work captures moments of tranquillity, which contrast with vibrant compositional elements. She uses unusual color combinations, and depicts scenes from unexpected angles, all contributing to give her work a magic realist feel. In Sunday Afternoon Scholtz uses the classic portrait as a vehicle to explore form, color and shape. These elements are explicitly the subject of the painting and given equal emphasis. The dynamic relationship between the forms is emphasized by the intensive outlines and blended color forms. Recently her palette has become increasingly serene. Bright passages of color are vigorously applied in seemingly spontaneous brushstrokes. However in actuality Scholtz plans her compositions very deliberately according to formal principles, the work creates a type of visual sound through patches of lines and color—the work is made to listen to. The juxtaposition of the illusory and the manifestly tangible extends the range of our reading of the work time and again. It is a tour de force. The power that lies within Scholtz’s work is the fusion of such competing extremes as figuration and narrative, illusionism and truth.

The intimacy of drawing is something that is felt immediately when looking through Scholtz’s artwork. The viewer is placed in an environment, a mood, by Scholtz’s paintings. She creates domestic scenes in hues conveying intensely subjective and evocative interior spaces. From her home in the North West region of South Africa Scholtz explores the place of the individual and the domesticity of life. It reveals the ritual of a commonplace event, and highlights an emotional realization of the passing of time through the generations, and environments. Broadly colored yet intricately detailed, each work renders a realistic depiction of urban life that conveys an atmosphere of energy and warmth.
Scholtz uses line and form, not so much as a means of representation, but in a more abstract way, to express feelings and moods; retaining the notion that the artist role is to suggest, not define. Scholtz’s work has manifested a singular personal vision, drawing on a diverse cross-section of cultures and styles to realize her wide range of visual and conceptual ideas. She is an intuitive artist who has developed a new and unique contribution to the art and culture of her times. Her extensive travels have been a major influence, releasing her from the usual conventions of art making. Her method is contemplative, meditative, and sanguine. She maintains a fantastical, exotic vision, even when dealing with the commonplace.

http://www.jonelscholtz.co.za/

The sumptuous paintings of Barbara Palka-Winek represent a crossroads of East and West. Drawing upon sources as varied as Orientalism, Byzantine art, and Mycenaean metalwork, the artist also exhibits more contemporary references including Art Nouveau symbolism, and modernist Abstraction. Employing a strongly stylized painting method, the work is distinguished by layered shapes and elegant color. The artist’s figurative work is distinguished by dynamic, undulating, and lyrical brushstrokes combined with curved “whiplash” lines of syncopated rhythm. The striking two-dimensionality with which Palka-Winek surrounds her figures evokes the composition found in much Byzantine art, a ground that, in its negation of space, may be regarded as negating time—and in so doing, creating a figure of eternity.

In one work, entitled Profoimago the central figure’s crimson robe appears textured in a technique that evinces obvious similarities to Russian icon painting. Simultaneously, her dewy skin is rounded and dimensional attesting to an extraordinary decorative beauty. The artist treats the human figure without shadow, and heightens the lush sensuality of skin by surrounding it with areas of translucent, highly ornamental, and brilliantly composed areas of decoration. Here birth, death, and the sensuality of life exist side-by-side, suspended in a state of eloquent equilibrium. Charismatic and forceful, Palka-Winek’s use of seductive color, vibrant brushwork, and sinuous line highlight the development of the artist’s sense of freedom and her unique style.

Palka-Winek’s work straddles the line between representation and abstraction, revealing how ordinary objects often serve as a point of departure for an artist’s abstract vision, or, alternatively, how an artist’s abstract forms may subtly suggest recognizable elements. Such work addresses three significant preoccupations in contemporary art: shifting perceptions of identity; explorations of the political landscape; and the notion of the sublime and the dematerialization of the art object. The artist’s strength lies within this fluid movement between genres and categories. Caught between description and dreamlike states, and the observed and the imagined, Palka-Winek’s work transforms the natural world into poetic visions and fantasy, while still utilizing symbolic elements to convey psychological ideas and emphasize the “freedom” of art from traditional culture.

palkawinek.art.pl

Harriet Daniels

Creating a new breed of painting Bedriska Uzdilova’s work invites viewers to a world full of vibrant colors and mysterious visages. While the Prague born artist’s paintings have the swirling energy of many abstract works, they also suggest something quite different: the murmuring of numerous voices beneath each layer. The artist’s work has changed greatly over the years, and is seldom truly abstract. She courageously goes beyond the given and familiar, pioneering new techniques and materials in order to expand her own vision. Uzdilova gracefully incorporates picturesque elements into her paintings. The result is a representation that is dreamy, capricious, and out of this world. Uzdilova’s dreamscapes are endearing and mesmerizing, and emerge out of a place where fantasy and reality intersect. Her inspiration, comes from life-experiences, each like a story, are a testimony of her observation and of the feelings evoked by the scenery or characters she comes across.

The imagery is personal and objective at the same time, rendering viewers ready to relate to what they see. Whether it’s the sea, a pasture, a crowded bar, a marketplace, or a vibrant still life, Uzdilova’s manages to encapsulate a moment that is dramatic and moving. The multitude of her subjects is overwhelming, the richness of her palettes astounding, owing to her ability to segue between figurative elements and Abstraction. Pub, 1998 is an endless meadow flourishingly green, aquamarine and yellow. In other works, layers of fuchsia, purple, blue, red, and gold, deep and light, transport viewers to a dimension that seems far yet near, where they are closest to nature, with their bare eyes and hearts. The importance of compositional structure, of movement, and of the permanent interaction of colors, is the thread linking Uzdilova’s together. Indeed, color is a signature of her work, and signifies a new confidence and maturity in the artist’s handling of paint and evocation of her subjects. Uzdilova’s ambition for painting as a carrier of meanings that are accessible to all is evidence of her own immersion in the culture of painting and its potential for transformation.

Suzie Walshe

The first thing one notices about Ewa Wrobel’s paintings is the richness of their color, and the second, the peculiarly archaic character of her dynamic figures. In Looking for Aura, Wrobel uses the classic portrait as a vehicle to explore form, color and shape. These elements are explicitly the subject of the painting and given equal emphasis. The dynamic relationship between the forms is emphasized by the intensive outlines and flat unmixed color forms. Recently her palette has become increasingly vibrant. Bright passages of color are vigorously applied in seemingly spontaneous brushstrokes. However in actuality Wrobel plans her compositions very deliberately according to formal principles, the work creates a type of visual sound through patches of lines and color—the work is made to listen to.

In Intimacy Portrait, for instance the paintings are characterized not only by the layering of paint, but by the fluid movement of color across the surface at great speed and outlined in intense reds, and oranges. The subtlety of the images is one of a several exquisitely sensitive layered works that Wrobel has produced more recently. The delicately incised lines of this work, drawn over washes of color evoke clouds of ambiguity. Even in her abstract works the figure is not amorphous or formless. The images are just fragments extracted from their figurative context. Wrobel uses line, not so much as a means of representation, but in a more abstract way, to express feelings and moods; retaining the notion that the artist role is to suggest, not define. The process of painting is an intensive almost performative act for the artist.

The paintings have a visceral punch that obviates deconstructive analysis, in this series; Wrobel employs universally understood images to create complex perceptual experiences. The image and concept are dramatically juxtaposed and poetically structured in an attempt to heighten sensory experience, and in some cases to call it into question. Wrobel is concerned with making the spectator aware of the connections between body and mind, contemplation and action, inner and outer reality dealing with themes of perception, memory, and self-knowledge. The juxtaposition of the illusory and the tangible extends the range of our reading of the work time and again.

Simone Cappa

Italian artist Roberto Lucato is no stranger to new challenges. With an extensive array of visual styles from sculptural wall reliefs to abstract vistas and illustrative narratives, his body of work is vast and varied. It was with this continual sense of pushing himself in new directions that he has used to create an inspiring and impressive oveture. Inspired by his own journey through life, Lucato’s work takes its primary focus on the form of people and culture. Lucato’s artwork takes a psychological perspective of the “other.” Drawing on images from day-to-day life Lucato’s work highlights both the highs and lows, contrasts and similarities between human relationships by producing morphed images that combine literal representation with metaphor. His own relationships clearly inform his paintings and unique color palette. He layers colors to create the razor-sharp and gauzy, soft textures that coexist in his work, best exemplified in his piece entitled Senza titolo. His colorful blending of figuration with abstraction reveals his physical involvement in the work—paint has been applied with passion, leaving behind a verifiable artistic signature as testimony for the viewer. Lucato’s striking paintings draw us into an enigmatic and sensual world of fantasy, seduction, and spirit. His work features a variety of styles such as Surrealist figurative work, luscious quasi-abstraction, and folksy still life. Lucato’s work often appears formalist in its concerns; the artist is equally drawn to isolated and quiet places—as he is to crowds and chaos. The one strand linking the various facets of Lucato’s work is his overwhelming sense of fluidity, swelling brushstroke, and his sumptuous approach to applying paint on canvas.

http://www.robertolucato.it/galleria.html

Samuel Rogers

Using fluorescent paint and form to explore color, luminosity, movement, and personal relationships, Swedish artist Ulla-Britt Bolin captures the energy of the life—with raw energy and provocation Bolin’s work explores painting’s potential. Her installations, paintings, and interactive works occupy a domain between a romantic and a conceptual art form in which a deep, psychological experience is formed. In her works broad-brush strokes and graffiti-esque lines, in acidic and delicate colors, dash across an epic surface inviting the viewer inside. Bolin has developed a reputation for epic poetic works that display both delicacy and fragility, revealing a deep respect for something fundamental, primal, and indigenous.

Demanding that viewers leave at the door notions of what painting should be, Bolin allows them the freedom to let feelings be their guide. Her paintings and sketches straddle the line between representation and abstraction. The artist’s strength lies within this fluid movement between genres and categories. Caught between description and dreamlike states, the observed and the imagined, Bolin’s work transforms the natural world into poetic visions and fantasy, while still utilizing symbolic elements to convey psychological ideas and emphasize the “freedom” of art from traditional culture. While preserving both Expressionist influences, Bolin’s paintings offer a new and unique contribution to the art and culture of her times. Her method is contemplative, meditative, and indulgent. The paradoxes in Bolin’s work lie in the blurring of boundaries between interior and exterior, self and others, the physical and spiritual. This is a mysterious form of creation, in which art seems to return to its ancestral shamanic role. Reminiscent of a dream voyage to another place, Bolin’s works are deeply personal, evoking her own subconsciousness, while revealing universal truths about the journey and celebration of life.

http://www.ullabrittbolin.se/

Simone Cappa

Oslo based artist and teacher, Aase-Hilde Brekke breaths a deep spirituality into the art world. Working toward being an “impulse to change, creative energy, inspiration, and the flow good ideas” she brings her knowledge of Tibetan yoga into her photos and performance pieces. The Photo Evig, meaning Eternal, from her Mother India photo series captures the spirituality of the country as people line up to offer prayer. Perfectly capturing the masses enroute on a spiritual shows Brekke’s ability to interlace her spirituality with her art­—the toil of humanity as they reach towards the heavens—captured in one single moment in time. In every piece, in every performance and class she teaches “Om mani pedme hung” can be felt behind the scenes- pushing the base instincts and minds towards a change, a change that brings us from what we are to what we all have potential to be. Her art, whether images of Sidhartta’s homeland, moving experiments of light, moments of contemplation and ritual, or perfectly composed black and white photographs, always uplifts the spirit, urging the “mani” (the jewel of the mind) to reach for something more, something beautiful.

www.taramedia.no

A painter passionately committed to exploring the inherent properties, color, and luminosity of form, Anneli Kivinen creates work that moves seamlessly between two approaches—abstracted expressionism and simplified figuration. Her oeuvre is compelling in its diversity. Kivinen’s painterly approach revolves around uncovering the spirit of each color. She paints intuitively, instinctually coloring her canvases in bright palettes of brilliant hues. Inspired by the natural world, she infuses her works with a Zen-like spirit of harmony and balance. In fact, it is this kind of spirituality that motivates her work.

From her free-form abstracts and figurative works, to the shimmering narratives, Kivinen creates incredibly fluid, vibrant, and epic works on canvas and rice paper. Kivinen, a prolific artist whose consistent studio practice has led her to become a master of her technique, has refined and developed a methodology of layering paint into a unique, innovative, and internationally acclaimed art form. With numerous exhibitions behind her, Kivinen triumphs as a painter at the height of her career, thoroughly at ease within her chosen medium. Kivinen synthesizes historical and contemporary styles, creating evocative images that examine the tradition of painting and the role of the figure in art. In works such as Birthday Party and Family Meeting she uses every pretext to present her figures, not as articulated bodies, but as looming shapes, which are as eloquent in their silhouettes as they are mysterious in their identity, and sometimes their actions. As an experimental and vigorous artist, Kivinen effortlessly convinces us that she has not only perfected her craft, but that she has an impeccable instinct for the emotionally evocative power of color, movement, texture, and shape.

Kivinen’s strength of vision and personal style always resonate deeply within the recesses of the viewer’s heart and imagination. Her innovations are more emotional than formal; her works are forces—joyful, expressive, cosmic surges that explode the conventions and boundaries of the canvas frame. Epilogue and Hot Salsa are exemplary of Kivinen’s penchant for monolithic, eccentric, dynamic forms and bursts of color. Her works evoke a sense of abundance; swirling arabesques of color, in brilliant and translucent shades of red, blue, yellow, and green, are rich, luxurious, sensuous, fluid, and overflowing. Sucking viewers into their oceanic swirl, the works carry them along in their coils. Kivinen’s works are suspended moments of liquid in motion, embodying an intense and energetic physicality, an exuberant expression of pleasure and vitality. The magic emerges in the tension between control and spontaneity, and the result is invariably surprising, poetic, and spiritual. *

Simone Cappa

Carry van Delft works emphasize the aesthetic of a spiritual journey that is at once historically embedded and intensely intimate and personal. They awaken our emotional memory, and empower us to see more than the canvas surface. Her work encourages us to believe that a painting should not end on the canvas; it should encourage viewers to create worlds of their own. The work of Delft allows us to do just that. Passionately committed to exploring the inherent properties, color and power of paint, Delft’s ardor for life is evident in each of her paintings. As an experimental and dynamic artist, Delft effortlessly convinces us that she has not only perfected her craft, but that she also has an impeccable instinct for the emotionally evocative power of color, movement, texture and shape. Her works evoke a sense of abundance; swirling arabesques of color, in brilliant and vivid shades of blue, yellow and green, are rich, luxurious, sensuous, fluid and overflowing.

Music plays a key role in both the composition and conclusion of Delft’s work. Acting as part of the creative process—in that it takes the artist into a trance, opening her creative channels, thus making Delft ready to conceive the piece. The construction of her works, from composition, to the laying down of shapes, colors, and textures, transport us to another dimension; each work tells a story based on the artist’s search for the “sound of color”. It is here, basking in the light of her forms that our own thoughts and ideas come into play. In L Ombre des Arbres, and Je Regardais, Delft refines her own unique methodology of painting into a innovative and internationally acclaimed art form.

www.carryvandelft.nl

www.jenikcook.com

Known for her technical brilliant and startling use of light and color, Jenik Cook incorporates a plethora of references from literature, and mythology, to landscape and personal relationships. Her works form a mixed media investigation concerning the multiplicity of marginal spaces, states, emotions and spaces that exist within the emotional landscape. Cook’s works, allude to a space-between, a place of ambiguity and transition, a site of passage in which borders, boundaries and thresholds are crossed. It is an indeterminate zone of interactions and exchange between Cook and the viewer. Cook, whose diverse artistic practice engages with the concept of love and liminality and their relationship to our global landscape, utilizes the strength and subtleties of paint in order to create and art based on light and movement that in turn explores color, luminosity, and sculptural space—through movement and composition.

Conceiving her visual art on the canvas surface, Cook conveys inventive points of view that form a synthesis between abstract and figurative elements. Cook creates a narrative with light, utilizing abstract compositions that reveal a life within the clinical world of abstract painting. Her works deliver compelling patterns with graceful colors, methodical lines and arches, an aesthetic that can be closely identified with a deep spirituality. Working toward being an impulse to change, with creative energy, and inspiration, she brings her knowledge of painting, sculpture and the arts to every piece. At its core her art is an experiment of movement, light, contemplation and ritual, each perfectly composed in order to touch the viewer on a more profound level.