Josephine Halvorson is an American painter and print maker based out of Massachusetts. Halvorson’s approach to her paintings are very unique in both style and choice of content.The content she chooses to paint may appear flat, mundane, and uninteresting at first glance, but a closer look demonstrates her good understanding of presenting these seemingly flat objects in a way that feels tangible and familiar through her use of shading and texture.
From Solo Exhibition: What Looks BackFrom Solo Exhibition: What Looks Back
Halvorson was raised by her mother and father who were also artists that also ran a metal and blacksmithing shop, likely contributing to the rustic, almost industrial feel to some of her paintings.
From Solo Exhibition: Facings
Halvorson is known to paint her pieces on-site and in one session, which really helps solidify the idea that she captures these objects as she sees them, as they were physically in that moment. It is clear that time is a big factor for the inspiration of many of Halvorson’s works. The natural scuffs, scratches, burns, rusting, grungey textures created by Halvorson is a physical representation of time and establishes a relationship between the object/material and their deterioration throughout time.
From Solo Exhibition: Facings
Halvorson’s use of analogous color schemes also add a lot room for detail in the shading as well as showing the contrast of values. This allows for these paintings (which are often painted from a straight-on perspective) to feel three dimensional and physically tangible to the touch. This in turn puts all sorts of emotion into these objects/surfaces and what they may represent.
To me personally, this painting of these green barn doors gives me nostalgic flashbacks to my own childhood when I would roam my rural town seeing different barns with these types of patterns and grungy textures.
From Solo Exhibition: Slow BurnFrom Solo Exhibition: Slow Burn
Maryam Hoseini is an abstract artist on the rise. Her work consists of fluid imagery that exudes themes of discovery, identity, anxiety, and strength. Hoseini was born in Tehran, Iran in 1988. Her interest in art sparked at the age of 13, when she began taking an art class at school. Not only was she inspired by her teacher’s abilities, she was empowered by her teacher’s bravery to be such a strong woman in a place like Iran. Hoseini’s fascination in art grew as a teenager, as she quickly amassed hundreds of her own drawings. Her passion for art prompted her to major in Graphic Design at Sooreh Art University in Tehran. She earned her bachelors degree in 2012, which led her to move to the US to complete MFA programs from Bard College and the School of Art Institute of Chicago. She became a member of the Endjavi-Barbé Art Projects, a collective promoting Iranian contemporary artists, in 2013. She’s currently working out of a studio in Brooklyn.
As far as her art style goes, she primarily uses paint and pencil drawings to make pieces that represent her opinions of gender, sexuality, and politics. She often considers herself a drawer, not only because of her drawing roots, but because of her back and forth method of layering drawings and paintings.
Maryam Hoseini, Snake Charmers, 2013. Acrylic on cardboard. 51 x 41cm.
In her early artwork, Hoseini explored topics of humor and fear. Her love for dark humor stems from growing up watching comedy horror films from the 70s,80s, & 90s. While she was adopting macabre humor into her work, she was also dabbling in surrealism. She’s quoted saying, “The main idea of surrealism is what that attracts me the most. An attempt to create an idea beyond the reality that seems possible and actual.” She has successfully pushed beyond reality in her work, but recently she has been straying from surrealism, turning her focus towards abstractionism.
Maryam Hoseini, Black Milk, White Milk, 2013. Acrylic on Cardboard. 57 X 39 cm.
In an attempt to obscure the politics of identity, Hoseini began her shift in abstract art by cutting off the heads of her figures. Her older work was often driven by the presence of a face, so this shift marks a big change in her work style.
Maryam Hoseini, Princess and Princess in the Garden (Chapter 4), 2018, acrylic, ink and pencil on paper, mounted on panel, 24 x 18 inches (61 x 45.7 cm)Maryam Hoseini, Princess and Princess in the Garden (Chapter 7), 2018, acrylic, ink and pencil on paper, mounted on panel, 24 x 18 inches (61 x 45.7 cm)
Hoseini developed her Princess and Princess in the Garden series of pieces by conjuring an imaginary environment where women performed acts of violation and pleasure. Her emphasis on the human body, specifically female figures, explores her ideas about identity, gender, and sexuality. To Hoseini, the female body can represent power, vulnerability, anxiety, love, and inspiration. Ultimately, she sees herself in most of her work. Her use of fragmented body parts represents her experiences in life, especially as a female immigrant. She describes her bodies as having anxiety, but she’s transferring the anxiety to power and courage throughout her paintings.
Currently Hoseini is intrigued by how the space around a painting affects the way we view it. Her recent endeavors have involved painting gallery walls to enhance and extend her art, while attracting the viewer’s full attention one piece at a time.
Margaret Kilgallen was born on October 28, 1967, in
Washington, D.C. and received her BFA in printmaking from Colorado College in
1989. She combined larger-than-life paintings, handmade signs, and graffiti
into a unique American folk style that still lives on today, despite her early
death in 2001.
Photography by Barry McGee
This painting over San Francisco State University’s experimental art space, “The Lab,” is still present to this day.
As a child, Kilgallen became an accomplished banjo player, and later payed homage to Matokie Slaughter (a folk musician) by using the name as her Moniker, specifically on freight trains, as well as using the name, “Meta.”
Margaret Kilgallen in a Bay Area rail yard, CA, 2000.
With an expressed love of things that are handmade, her art reflects that in large room-sized murals of signs painted without tape for the edges, leaving the human-errors as part of the process. Her interest in manuscript paintings and the lettering of the manuscripts combined with her interest in bookbinding lead her to stylized flat painting style, straightforward and stylish with limited small details. She credits the flat painted storefront of old Americana as part of her primary influence.
Installation at UCLA, 2000.
” … I do
everything by hand. I don’t project or use anything mechanical, because even
though I do spend a lot of time trying to perfect my line work and my hand, my
hand will always be imperfect because it’s human. And I think it’s the part
that’s off that’s interesting, that even if I’m doing really big letters, and I
spend a lot of time going over the line and over the line and trying to make it
straight, I’ll never be able to make it straight. From a distance, it might
look straight, but when you get close up, you can always see the line waver.
And I think that’s where the beauty is.” (https://art21.org/read/margaret-kilgallen-influences-train-marking-and-graffiti/)
Kilgallen installing work at UCLA, 2000.
Her hand painted signs call back to a time before factory printing and machine-made duplication, where skill resided in the person rather than code, and was as limited in her processes as possible to keep the human touch present throughout. Her often wall-sized women are depicted in active scenes, surfing and riding bicycles as were two of her known hobbies.
Linda Mar, 1999. Color spitbite and sugarlift, aquatint with softground on somerset soft white paper.
After graduating from Colorado College, Kilgallen went on to
exhibit her art in solo shows in California and New York from 1997 through
1999, after which she received her Master of Fine Arts from Stanford in 2001.
She is described as “five feet ten and slender, Kilgallen
was intrepid, stubborn, and mischievous, a winsome tomboy with curly
reddish-brown hair that she often pulled back in a clip at her temple. She was
stylish and insouciant; she shoplifted lingerie from Goodwill and wore an
orange ribbon tied around her neck.” (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/10/a-ghost-in-the-family)
Margaret Kilgallen and her art in the warehouse studio she shared with Barry McGee in the Mission District of San Francisco
Throughout her secret battle with cancer, Kilgallen created
art and installation exhibits, continuing her work even while undergoing
treatment and surgeries. However, she refused to undergo chemotherapy in hopes
to bring a pregnancy to term, which she did in June 7th of 2001 when her
daughter Asha was born. Margaret died three-weeks later on June 26th.
To Friend and Foe, 1999.
Hand-painted trainyard photo, 2000.
Sloe, 1998. Color aquatint etching with chine collé on somerset soft white paper.
Several major exhibits showed after her death, both solo and her work as important pieces of larger touring works showcasing multiple artists.
Her work is still being displayed, the most recent show in the Aspen Art Museum that ran from January 12th through June 16th this year.
Marcel Dzama is an artist that explores human actions and motivations in his own unique way. The setting of his upbringing shaped his inspirations that can be seen in his artwork even now. His style is unique in being somewhat realistic and surrealistic at the same time, toeing the line between real life events and the world of the subconscious. Dzama mentions how he tries not to censor himself, and usually uses art as more of a stream of consciousness process. He draws whatever he’s thinking, however he’s thinking it. He has had an early fascination with fairy tale creatures and folk lore, themes that show very clearly in his work.
by Art21 August 26, 2019
Marcel Dzama was born in Winnipeg, Canada, a place he says he felt somewhat isolated from others due to the barrier of the frigid weather. Because of these surroundings of snow and cold, many of his pieces reflect that whiteness and emptiness of his hometown in the rather empty backgrounds.
It’s My Nature, 1999
Eight strong winds, 2005
He uses mainly ink, watercolor, and often even root beer concentrate for those brown shades. Many of his earlier works are similar to this kind of composition and palette.
Almost all of his works have political themes in them. Current events affect the subject matter of his drawings. He said that the news stories bring him down, so he uses his art to “exorcize” that negative media intake into the art, to get it out so he doesn’t have to live with it inside him. I can see a good amount of value to such a practice. His inspirations can come from many places, such as the Dada Era during World War I influencing his surrealist, almost humorous deconstruction of politics and modern issues.
Let us compare mythologies installation with Raymond Pettibon at David Zwirner, London
Upon moving to New York in 2004, Dzama’s works became more cluttered and chaotic, once again reflecting the setting he lived in. The hustle and bustle of New York rubbed off on him, and it made his work extremely crowded. He worked on bringing order to that chaos, which is why many of his works now have figures that almost look like they’re dancing in a ballet. That kind of choreography in his work helped bring a little structure and composition, and I personally like the flow of these pieces much better.
The circus is in town, 2015
September 28, 2017 – January 7, 2018 Drawing on a Revolution
The Most Incredible Thing curtain by Marcel Dzama.
All of Marcel Dzama’s works start as paintings on paper. He does many collaborations with other artists to create more multimedia creations, such as sculpture, film and even sound. One such collaboration was with Justin Peck, who worked on the coreography for the New York City Ballet. The dance poses Dzama worked with attracted his attention, and together they worked to create a production of the old fairy tale The Most Incredible Thing (Hans Christian Andersen). Dzama’s works then became costumes to illustrate this story in a truly visually stunning way.
The King, dancers Ask la Cour and Russell Janzen. Photo by Erin Baiano.
One O’Clock: The Cuckoo Bird, dancer Tiler Peck. Photo by Erin Baiano.
Overall, Marcel Dzama is a very inventive creator. He does not let the usual censorships and social rules govern his work, and he speaks his mind through his art. I may not agree with all of his views, or particularly enjoy all the subject matter he uses, but I appreciate his head on approach to these things. I also like how his art makes you think, since many of his works contain stories he’s working to tell through a visual medium.
