Logan Riley

Born in Oslo and now working in Stockholm, Turid Ulven captures nature at its most human. Traveling to San Francisco at the age of 18, Ulven has been traveling in her heart ever since. Just like the subjects of her paintings and photography she moves and changes with the seasons, with the shadows and light. Turid Ulven has a way of making nature accessible on more than a physical level- her pictures “Feminine Sunset” brings to light the erotic softness of the Norwegian landscape through reflection and the subdued, almost hidden colours that just a typical glance would over look. In It Takes Two to Tango the viewer gets a sense of art imitating life, nature-imitating humanity. The twisted trunk, reminiscent of a hug or loving embraces brings this question to mind- is nature influenced by us, or are we also influenced by nature? The artwork- artwork in all media- of Turid Ulven is our world seen through the eyes of a caring, kind and mature soul. Working on different platforms other than art to raise awareness of the world, and to open the hearts of her peers to a beautiful world that might get over-looked. She brings to us a humane Earth full of lights and shadows, mixed with life and death- a world that is possibly more human than ourselves.

Adam Donald

Illustrating what he calls the “cultural contrast,” Hu Zhiying brings together traditional Chinese art with the eclectic styles of the West. He combines traditional Chinese symbolism and landscape with the elements of the various styles of Western art all coming together to create something more than art¬—something equal to the real world. Using Chinese varnish, silver, and gold powder with traditional ink oils and acrylics, Zhiying is able to create a unique style that pierces into the soul. In his paintings Astronomy I and Astronomy III Hu Zhiying is able to create landscapes that draw in your eyes, losing you in the colors and depth of the paintings. On top of traditional landscape backgrounds swirls of color in red and blue pop out, flow, drip and force your eyes to move around, while bright white-like lightning strikes in the foreground creating pieces, as Zhiying says, “imply a dark, mysterious world lurking beneath the dazzling surface.”

In his Buddhist Scriptures I Zhiying, using acrylic, ink and charcoal on silk, creates a depth that is ominous, foreboding, and beautiful. Reminiscent of his Astrology I and III with the climbing “vines” and landscape style, Buddhist Scriptures I looks like the mysterious underside of what we see everyday. In this painting Zhiying shows us his cultural contrast¬—the bright world with the mysterious other side that can stand along side life and art equally.

www.flickr.com/photos/huzhiying/
 www.artquid.com/hu.zhiying

Siyah / Beyaz Art Gallery

Nihat Kemankasli’s visual interpretations are deceptively child-like, humorous and captivating works, which he creates through detailed ink, acrylic and oil paint, and also in his use of bold, vibrant, colors. His paintings are a kind of electrified impressionism; with a palette of bright hues Kemankasliâs captures light and movement with an unusual forcefulness. Manipulating linear and geometric shapes, Kemankasli creates imagery that is at once surreal and rooted in an affinity to reality. The artwork was recently on display at Kemankasli’s exhibition in November 2009 at Siyah / Beyaz Art Gallery in Ankara, and the artists upcoming exhibition running on January 2010 will be at Art Eight Sofa Hotel in Istanbul, creates a magic realism which invokes a world of color, where vivid characters, swirling spaces, uncontained energy can not be trapped by the limits of the canvas, Kemankasli’s images are constantly on the move, living life, dancing before the viewers eyes. Multicolor palettes permeate through Nihat Kemankasli’s work, where the distinction between narrative and figurative is blurred, and the real and surreal become one. The exhibition of Kemankaslis’ vigorous and honest art develops debate on urgent and topical issues such as personal relationships, and love. The energy and vitality of Kemankasli and the exploratory nature of his work surely attest to a society where art at last, or once more, may find its central place.

In his art Kemankasli’s transforms painterly movements into something tangible, something intriguingly fluid on canvas, upon seeing which viewers can’t help the desire to touch and feel. His acrylic works are intuitive and vibrant, composed of shapes and lines that are free-spiritedly manipulated to form a world of fanciful naïveté yet his portrayal of humans and objects echo Classicism, while exuding warm, ominous, or eccentric atmosphere. The work is vivid and refreshing, creating an otherworldly atmosphere where nature comes to life on canvas and invites viewers for a walk in Kemankasli’s world.

Nihat Kemankasli’s exhibition at Siyah / Beyaz Art Gallery, will be on display at The Sofa Hotel in Istanbul on January 2010.

www.galerisiyahbeyaz.com

Suzie Walshe

Vivien Kabar’s work highlights elemental images, using dramatic ploys such as contrasts in scale, shifts in focus, mirrored reflections, staccato images and multiple or layered surfaces. Sensory perception for Kabar is a spiritual activity, one that leads to a heightened awareness of both nature and culture—this thought process points to a new kind of realism—one that is engaged with the actual processes of life. A diverse and curious artist Kabar’s recent work Francois, or the Schizophrenia of a Pompous Waiter highlights her interest in self-representation and portraiture. Layers of paint are composed according to a working method the artist sees as being similar to the process of drawing in that you are looking at something and re-presenting it in as direct a way as you can. The delicately incised marks of detail in this work, drawn over washes of color evoke clouds of ambiguity. In each of Kabar’s working methods there is a balance between action and contemplation. Colors are also paired with their opposites: red complemented by green and blue with orange. Through such color contrasts Kabar’s is able to suggest a special narrative using color to define rather than merely complete the form. For her abstraction in nature is not amorphous or formless. The images are just fragments extracted from their figurative context. Kabar 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.

Each of Kabar’s paintings has a visceral punch that obviates deconstructive analysis, employing 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. Kabar 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 first thing that strikes one about Kabar’s paintings is the richness of their color, and the second thing one notices is the peculiarly archaic character of her dynamic figures. In The Sorrow of the Muse Kabar 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 Kabar 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.

Abraham Greenway

The Australian bush is known for things like dingoes, walk-abouts and a rich native history. Now you can add one more-32-year-old artist Nikolas de Masi. His abstract outback landscapes are a chronicle of his life and what he sees. His landscapes differ from tradiontal ones. De Masi doesn’t just paint the land in front of him; he captures the essence or the mood, the emotions that the land brings. Junk Yard Wars at first glance is a red, sprawling glance at the Australian Outback. But then greys and whites pierce through the bush dirt and you are left with a feeling of spoiled purity, urban thought disrupting the peace of nature, infringing on the clear, unspoiled sky. Wanting his viewers to feel the passion of the landscapes, Nikolas de Masi uses stark colors and sharp forms that stem from a love and passion of the land. Nightscapes I reels the eyes around bright highlights and dark shadows. You might not be able to pick out the exact area de Masi is representing but that’s not what matters- it’s the emotions and the tumult that he wants you to feel, the vastness of the night and the bush of his country. He wants the viewer that “enjoys [his] work to be able to get a sense of belonging…” He represents his home in many different pallets and invites you to come along and feel what he sees.

Nikolas de Masi

Mieke Vanmechelen, Noted, Nov/Dec 2008
Check out Mieke Vanmechelen’s article on NYArtsMagazine.com

MARIE PEJOUAN, Noted, Sept/Oct, 2008
Check out Marie Pejouan’s article on NYArtsMagazine.com

Michelle Jaffé, Reviewed, Jan/Feb 2009
Check out Michelle Jaffé’s article on NYArtsMagazine.com.

Gunilla Oldenburg, Reviewed, last issue
Check out Gunilla Oldenburg’s article on NYArtsMagazine.com