Collage and A Return To The 70's

I haven't seen Colin Barnes for a while. It appears he's been working on a solo show about to happen in London. Check out his website here for a sneak peak of what's in store. Intuitive art meets 1970's aesthetic meets not what you were expecting from this grass roots hip hop man. His work is clean and minimal with no heavy underpinning, simply beautiful images. The layering of subject and texture requires them to be experienced first hand to be fully appreciated. Watch this space for details.

Art London 2009

While I have experienced ArtChicago for many years, last week was a first for ArtLondon. A much smaller version than it's midwest sibling, it proved to be a lot more enjoyable and the gallery rep's were equally more receptive. Below are my top 6 favorites from the fair...

Luciano Ventrone oil on linen

Steven Nederveen mixed media

Yuko Moriyama-Wiffen graphite on paper

Pamela Stretton inkjet fragments

Anne Penman Sweet oil on canvas

Anish Kapoor

and 6 more that I just couldn't leave out...

Mack MacKinnon
John Monks
Steven Marshall
Sherry Karver
Emily Allchurch
Helen Sear

Undeniable Beauty In Solitude

Quiet still scenes people inhabit without being present. The signs we as a populus are leaving on the earth are ever more exposed in Ward Roberts images. High rise apartments, supermarkets, salt mines and forests all have the stigma of the human race. Possibly these are premonitions of a future world without us or may be they are the feeling we are experiencing today. As technology advances, we use it more as a second limb than an additional tool. We spend hours online, in chat rooms, yet still cannot connect to those we pass on the street everyday. Roberts captures our attention with classical lines and form, drawing us in with an awkward tension as to where all the people have gone.