QUOGUE LIBRARY SEPTEMBER 1 - 30 ANAHI DECANIO: UNEDITED ABSTRACTIONS Reception: Friday, September 8, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. Anahi DeCanio is a multi-disciplinary artist working in a variety of media, including collage and assemblage. She is also the Creative Director of ArtyZen Studios, which focuses on fine art and product design. Ms. DeCanio, born in Uruguay, started her career on Wall Street and has been painting professionally for over a decade. The artist sees “every brushstroke, color, element or scratch as symbols of the marks left behind by life events and the passage of time.” She explores this concept by applying countless strokes of paint and occasional collage elements and gilding to create intricate abstract landscapes. The alternating of opaque and transparent pigments adds to the complexity of these richly textured and luminously colored paintings. “Some of these layers are part of the story but remain hidden,” the artist says, “some subtly reveal themselves in small glimpses.” Ms. DeCanio is the founder and curator of the eco-friendly art and design show eARThHamptons, held annually on the East End. She is an active participant and volunteer in several charities and art organizations. Her work has been published widely and can be seen in several TV and motion picture productions. She has won numerous awards in national juried competitions andhas participated in group and solo exhibits in Long Island, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Washington D.C. The artist is also a licensed agent with Douglas Elliman. Her work can also be seen at Naula Showroom in Brooklyn (by appointment only) and at William Ris Gallery in Jamesport where she will be having a two person exhibit with Charles Wildberg over the Labor Day Weekend of 2017. Lulie Morrisey and Cristina Kepner are chairs of this exhibit, which will be on display from September 1-30. Meet the Artist Opening Reception - Friday, September 8 - 5 to 6:30
0 Comments
So... it's been a bit busy around here. Participating in four major shows in about four weeks and curating eARThHAMPTONS... I was so grateful to collaborate with so many wonderful artists, including 90 year old master Athos Zacharias! The show was attended by more than 300 people and covered in several news media. Tons of work but soooo worth it! A few surprises coming up! Now getting ready for BKLYN Designs where I'll be exhibiting at the VIP Lounge beautifully designed by Naula! Stay tuned! eARThHAMPTONS 2017, an Earth Day Friendly ART & DESIGN Weekend Celebration at historic Ashawagh Hall, will be held the weekend of April 21st through the 23rd. In 2017, eARThHAMPTONS will include a strong and eclectic art exhibit, design elements, and the participation of local farms and purveyors. Following last year’s tradition hosting talks such as a presentation on pesticide free lawns by Edwina von Gal, 2017 programming will also include panel discussions and talks of interest to a wide audience.“We are truly delighted with how well received and welcomed the event has become. We look forward to continue growing an enjoyable way to combine all the elements that make up our habitats at large and bring more attention to sustainable practices in the art and design world as well as our everyday lives” comments organizer DeCanio who is particularly fond of the natural beauty found on the East End. Springs artist, and one time assistant to Willem de Kooning, Athos Zacharias. Zacharias’ work will be on exhibit as a special feature at the event. His paintings can be found in important collections including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Museum of Art in Providence, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. The roster of accomplished artists participating will make for an exciting and eclectic show bringing a mix of styles and genres that range from classic tradition to contemporary art with an edgy bent. Alongside Athos Zacharias, artists include the work of Anahi DeCanio, Peter Gumpel, Phyllis Chillingworth, Lori Horowitz, Alyssa Peek, and Lisa Petker Mintz. Followed by a Unique Motion graphics video: “REBOOT” and "REDRESS" a projection mapped motion graphics video by John Jinks, viewed on the outside of Ashawagh Hall at dusk! Think very cool Drive-In Movie! An invitational section of the show includes talented local artists, including artist and Art Groove organizer Geralyne Lewandowski, Charles Waller, Scott Bluedorn, Blair Seagram, Christine Newman, Gia Schifano, Nicole Barylski, Carl Scorza, Anu Annam, Nicole Passman, Live Thiers, Cynthia Sobel and Palm Beach artist and curator Elayna Toby Singer. These artists will be displaying one work each, adding additional media, techniques, and visual interest. This year’s event includes a sister show at the William Ris Gallery in Jamesport entitled eARThNOFO. In addition, owner and gallery director Mary Cantone will bring select works from her gallery to the South Fork by participating in eARThHAMPTONS in East Hampton. Her gallery has quickly become a strong contributor to the arts in the region, representing a stable of talented prominent artists and artisans. Mary’s career in designing interiors and space planning has included collaborating with artists and clients to incorporate the fine arts into their lives. A bonus to Cantone’s innate and nurtured abilities is her keen sensibility for mixing mediums, styles and colors. The gallery has been received to great success and has become a major contributor to the arts in the East End. Her exhibits and art openings always bring in a crowd of art collectors and enthusiasts who have become loyal followers of the gallery. Adding much excitement is the participation of acclaimed master craftsman and fine custom furniture designer Angel Naula. Naula will be contributing the Hamptons Stiletto Daybed, the latest version of his award-winning design as a special addition to the show Naula Workshop has collaborated with such acclaimed interior designers and architects and has completed high-profile residential projects for Robert Kennedy Jr., Hugh Jackman, Norah Jones, among others. Additionally, Naula created custom made pieces for the penthouse exquisitely designed by Kelly Behun for architect Rafael Viῆoly’s 432 Park Avenue. Naula will be participating in upcoming BKLYN DESIGNS designing the VIP lounge with high end furniture pieces and artwork from Ms. DeCanio. Naula’s work has been featured in such notable venues as Esquire SoHo, Pulse Contemporary Art, Maison de Luxe Beverly Hills, Elle Décor, New York Magazine, The New York Times, and the Hamptons Designer Showhouse. Besides his prominent role in the world of luxury design, Naula is a constant contributor to several numerous charities, including Design on a Dime. Stark Carpet is contributing to the event by providing a rug as a floor design element to offset the Hamptons Stiletto Daybed. Following last year’s format, there will be additional programs and events throughout the weekend. On Friday evening, the show will host a special broadcast of the 2017 Wealth Report created by a team of experts from Knight Frank Residential in collaboration with Douglas Elliman. The report is the industry’s leading publication on global prime property markets, wealth distribution and luxury trends. The panel of experts discuss trends in art collecting, classic cars, and wine markets as well as real estate. The Wealth Report offers invaluable insight into global trends and what will impact personal assets in the years to come. After the broadcast, a chat will be led by Dawn Watson, creator of Hamptons Party Girl and public relations manager for Douglas Elliman for the Hamptons and Long Island. Anahi DeCanio has recently joined the Douglas Elliman team combining her Wall St. background and the same matchmaking and marketing skills she uses to put together eARThHAMPTONS to work with clients in the world of real estate. On Sunday at 1 pm, a thought-provoking and informative talk in keeping with the weekend’s eco-friendly theme. Panelists will include Laura Rose Dailey and Katie Rose Leonard of Amber Waves Farm, Ella Snow, members from Share the Harvest Farm and Scott Bluedorn. Treasure Hunting for a Good Cause...
The design community, artists, artisans, and committed volunteers got together to create a great event for the benefit of Housing Works in New York City. A great treasure hunt where donated items are offered for sale at a significant discount. So much talent under one roof! The more than 60 shopping vignettes are a great treasure trove of some of the best the design world has to offer. Proceeds from Design on a Dime fund Housing Works’ wraparound services and supportive programs for New Yorkers living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. This year, Anahi DeCanio will be donating abstract artwork to the very talented designer extraordinaire Robin Baron and fine custom furniture maker Naula. It's a wonderful opportunity to make a contribution and for shoppers to see these exclusive vignettes and find some great deals. April 26th-29th, 2017 Tickets available! Thursday, April 27, 2017 Opening Night Reception VIP Cocktail Hour & Preview, 5:30 pm Shopping, 6:30 pm Public Sale Friday, April 28, 10 am – 7 pm Saturday, April 29, 10 am – 5 pm Location: Metropolitan Pavilion 125 W 18th St New York City See Naula's complete collection at their Brooklyn Showroom 349 Suydam Street, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11237 Anahi DeCanio Artwork WWW.NAULAWORKSHOP.COM RobinBaronDesigns By RANDY KENNEDY JAN. 10, 2017 - Click HERE for original article in THE NEW YORK TIMES The natural history of the postwar New York art world is usually understood according to a fairly simple geography. Abstract Expressionism, America’s entry into the major leagues, was shown uptown, by tony dealers like Betty Parsons, Sidney Janis and Eleanor Ward. By the time Pop and Minimalism had taken over in the late 1960s, the center of gravity shifted downtown, to SoHo, where pioneers like Paula Cooper and uptowners like Leo Castelli followed clairvoyant artists into cheap industrial lofts. And finally, after retailers and real-estate agents realized that those lofts were gorgeous, galleries were pushed west, to the warehouses of Chelsea, where their greatest concentration remains today. But something happened along the way, in the 1950s and early 1960s, that has never been fully accounted for, a kind of foreshock of the earthquake that propelled the cutting edge of the art world south. “Inventing Downtown,” an art-packed historical deep-dive at the Grey Art Gallery at New York University, tells the story of that lost chapter, the upstart gallery scene that flourished for more than a decade in the East Village, bequeathing a body of work that considerably scrambles not only the map but also the lock-step narrative of 20th-century art movements. It was a diverse scene that held out a hint of utopian promise at a time when Abstract Expressionism was waning and new categories had not yet hardened: It included many more women than the uptown art world; it was not completely white; abstraction and figuration jostled side by side (if not always comfortably), along with genre-bending sculpture; and the gloriously messy birth of modern performance art took place in the midst of it all. Pieces of the history have been gathered before, most notably in Joellen Bard’s “Tenth Street Days: The Co-ops of the 50’s,” a small 1977 book about the formation of the D.I.Y and at times gonzo gallery district near Cooper Union largely built by artists banding together against commercial and critical indifference. But the book quickly went out of print. Even artists from the scene who went on to long and celebrated careers, like Claes Oldenburg, Alex Katz, Lois Dodd and Lucas Samaras, describe having lived through a kind of historical lacuna, one that ended abruptly with the Pop revolution started by artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. “Pop Art just killed it,” said Mr. Samaras, 80, the sculptor and photographer, who performed in Allan Kaprow’s “18 Happenings in 6 Parts,” a performance-art landmark in 1959 at the Reuben Gallery on lower Fourth Avenue; it was one of the artist-run galleries that made up the downtown milieu. “It was as if there wasn’t enough time to write about what went on in those years,” Mr. Samaras said. “There wasn’t enough information available. And then suddenly it was gone.” But over the past six years, Melissa Rachleff, a clinical associate professor at New York University’s Steinhardt School, has almost single-handedly recaptured the grain of those years, for the exhibition and a comprehensive catalog that focuses on 14 artist-run galleries from 1952 to 1965. She interviewed surviving participants, sifted through archives at the Museum of Modern Art and elsewhere, and gathered works by aging artists that were all but lost to history, along with pieces by downtown luminaries like Robert Rauschenberg, Yayoi Kusama and the sculptor Mark di Suvero, who encouraged her to pursue the project. “I had some artists just hand me their work from their closets, and say: ‘Here. I might not be alive by the time this show happens, but I want you to have this,’” Ms. Rachleff said, strolling the once-seedy blocks where the galleries stood, principally East 10th Street between Fourth and Third Avenues, near where many young artists in the 1950s lived in cheap cold-water apartments. “This was my parents’ generation — I was born in 1963,” she continued. “And I really thought I had no interest in what happened in those years, especially because it was a time of white male privilege and exclusion and all of that. Yet here I am, and what I found here just knocked me out. I was like, ‘Mom, Dad, why didn’t you tell me?’” The exhibition comes on the heels of a new book by the photographer and musician John Cohen, “Cheap Rents ... and de Kooning,” published by Steidl, documenting Mr. Cohen’s personal travels through the East Village scene, along with a show of his photographs from those years on view through Feb. 11 at L. Parker Stephenson Photographs on the Upper East Side. The figurative painter Lois Dodd, the last living founder of the Tanager Gallery (1952-1962), the most influential of the artist-run galleries that clustered on East 10th Street, said it was difficult for people in today’s supercharged contemporary art world to imagine how profoundly uninterested collectors and dealers were in the 1950s in most art being made at the time. “Most uptown galleries, with a few notable exceptions, were showing stuff that still looked like Impressionism,” said Ms. Dodd, 89, in an interview in the rough-hewn walk-up loft on East Second Street where she has worked since the late 1950s. “We didn’t have any illusions that we were going to be selling anything. In fact, we were kind of torn at the beginning about whether we should open a cafe or a gallery. We just wanted a place to see our friends and show each other our work.” The Tanager was founded on East Fourth Street in a former barbershop, then relocated in 1953 to 90 East 10th, a cheaper, narrow, four-story building upstairs from a gin joint. That building now houses a defunct real-estate office where the gallery used to be. Next door at No. 88, now an architect’s office, was the studio of Willem de Kooning, a hallowed place for most of the young artist-gallerists who lived near it. (“It was like this giant living next door,” Ms. Dodd said. “He was a little older than we were, and he was really revered that way. I remember when he made his first big sale, the word went up and down the street like wildfire: ‘Bill sold a painting! Bill sold a painting!’”) The art historian and critic Irving Sandler was hired as the gallery manager (the sole employee) of the Tanager in the mid-1950s, when he was a graduate student at Columbia University. He said in a recent interview that in his three years running the gallery “I sold a sum total of one piece.” Though that abstract sculpture, by a now-forgotten artist named Joe Messina, sold for $125 to the collector and heiress Rachel Lambert Mellon, known as Bunny, who told Mr. Sandler to deliver the piece directly to the Museum of Modern Art, to which she donated. (In his 2003 memoir, “A Sweeper Up After Artists,” he noted mordantly that when she gave him her name, he asked, in all sincerity: “How do you spell that?”) Mr. Sandler, now 91, said that when the East Village galleries all coordinated their openings to Friday nights, “the streets around them would be just packed, the way streets in Chelsea are now.” “It was really a rich communal life that didn’t depend on money,” he said. “Everybody was poor. There weren’t really any winners or losers yet. It was a pretty glorious place to be.” Across from the Tanager was the Brata Gallery, probably the most racially diverse of all the neighborhood’s galleries. It showed the work of the African-American painter Ed Clark and the Japanese-American artists Robert Kobayashi and Nanae Momiyama, as well as Ms. Kusama, whose 1959 solo show of “Infinity Net” paintings set her on the road to becoming the star she is today. The building that housed the Brata, along with those of the Camino Gallery, the Area Gallery and the final location of the Club, the renowned salon where the battle for the soul of Abstraction Expressionism was waged, are gone now, replaced by apartment buildings or stores or construction sites. The East Village scene — more than the art world of SoHo, where a few remnants remain of the history that coursed through the streets — disappeared virtually without a trace. By the time it ran out of steam in the early 1960s, many of the women who showed there, including Ms. Dodd, were struggling to attract the kind of attention that their male counterparts were getting. Many women either stopped making art or stopped showing commercially. “I was too stupid to realize that women weren’t going to have the same opportunities,” Ms. Dodd said. “But you have your friends, who keep encouraging you, so you don’t stop.” When Ms. Rachleff and I recently went unannounced into the architecture office in the building where de Kooning’s studio had been, a man came out and said that once in a great while, art aficionados like us stopped by and he let them stand around and use their imaginations. Around the corner, at the building that once housed the Reuben Gallery — a game-changing crucible of performance art that the critic Lawrence Alloway once described as “anti-ceremonious, anti-formal, untidy” and “highly physical (but not highly permanent)” — we rang the doorbell of what now seemed to be a mime troupe, but no one answered. “I think the main reason this history is so little known is that it just didn’t fit any of the paradigms — it confused people,” Ms. Rachleff said. “My major revelation in doing this work is that if you follow what artists tell you, you quickly start to see that categories never really work the way historians would have you believe. This neighborhood was living proof.” A version of this article appears in print on January 15, 2017, on Page AR24 of the New York edition with the headline: Recalling When Artists Ran the Galleries. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe I love the North Fork! Anyone who's visited would know why. If you haven't... it's time to go visit! However, full disclosure is in order. We are a bit biased about this newly published article from the North Forker about places to get cozy during the Winter months. The first highlight is the Sherwood House Vineyards Tasting Room. Not only is the staff super friendly, the wines superb and the room just where you want to be on a Winter afternoon - but it is also directly adjacent to the William Ris Gallery where I'm proud to exhibit some of my latest abstract paintings along with some very talented artists and master craftsmen. Take a look at the other cozy spots mentioned.... All definitely worth a visit! Anahi Click HERE for link to original article on Northforker.com _____________________________________________________________________ Where to get cozy on the North Fork By Vera Chinese 1/6/2017 It’s the Danish word for cozy and for the Danes it’s a way of life. Now you can seek out your own hygge (pronounced HOO-gah) — a lifestyle that includes the pursuit of fuzzy socks, hot tea and good company — on the North Fork.
So while the NoFo winter might be bad for sunbathing and water sports, there are other ways of seeking bliss. Here are eight places to get cozy on the North Fork. Sherwood House Vineyards The Sherwood House Vineyards tasting room. (Credit: Randee Daddona file photo) Prominently positioned on Main Road in Jamesport, Sherwood House earns its status as a cozy North Fork retreat courtesy of its rustic charm and warm wood accents. The tasting room’s well-placed couches next to the impressive stone fireplace appear to beckon, encouraging guests to sink into their depths and enjoy the ambiance. Stop in and enjoy a flight. Sherwood House Vineyards, 1291 Main Road, Jamesport, (631) 779-2817 Jedediah Hawkins Inn The Jedediah Hawkins Inn in Jamesport. (Credit: Randee Daddona) Bountiful in its sense of Old World charm and rustic elegance, Jedediah Hawkins Inn in Jamesport is a veritable tour de force on the North Fork when it comes to setting a mood. Modeled in the Italianate style complete with ornate architectural details and a belvedere, the Jedediah Hawkins was built in 1863, when it was revered as one of the finest residences on the North Fork. Years later, after the house fell into disrepair, it was blessedly saved from the wrecker’s ball and meticulously restored. Don’t miss the inn’s foremost attraction, the authentic speakeasy, located downstairs. Join the eatery for a wine dinner with Saltbird Cellars in the speakeasy on Jan. 13 ($85). Call the restaurant for reservations. Jedediah Hawkins Inn, 400 South Jamesport Ave., Jamesport, (631) 722-2900 Aldo’s A cup of Aldo’s Hot Chocolate. (Credit: Randee Daddona) Few things warm your bones quite like the decadent hot chocolate served at this Greenport café. There, Aldo Maiorana makes espresso the way he likes it: strong. The red and yellow walls cast a warm hue over the solid wood tables, making this a prime cozy spot. If you live on the East End and are looking for a “third place” the Front Street coffee shop is a good option. The fresh-roasted coffee, tasty lattes and outstanding scones also make it a must-stop for visitors. Aldo’s Café, 103-105 Front St., Greenport, (631) 477-6300 Orient Country Store A cup of tomato coconut curry soup at the Orient Country Store. (Credit: Vera Chinese) The homemade soups at the Orient Country Store are, quite simply, the best around. Pictured above is the tomato coconut curry, which is made with a blend of spices, coconut milk and puréed tomatoes. It is delicious. Another cute, down home touch: If you get your meal to stay, the soup is served in a mug bearing the store’s logo. Their comfort food will warm your tummy on a cold day. Orient Country Store, 950 Village Lane, Orient, (631) 323-2580 Homeside Florist and Greenhouse Homeside Florist and Greenhouse in Riverhead. (Credit: Vera Chinese) OK, so this isn’t a place to relax with a warm coffee or stiff drink, but a walk through the greenhouse is sure to add some color and warmth to an otherwise dreary day. Pick up a succulent or spider plant to get your green fix in winter. Homeside Florist and Greenhouse, 139 Main Road, Riverhead, (631) 722-3380 Brix and Rye Evan Bucholz fixes a drink for patrons at Brix & Rye on Main Street in Greenport. (Credit: Krysten Massa) The exposed brick and dim lighting combines with classic cocktails and live music to create a unique atmosphere at Brix and Rye in Greenport. The establishment’s diverse menu, which features everything from Trader Vic’s mai tais and gin gimlets in the summer to hot apple toddies of amaretto in the winter, also sets the Main Street subterranean bar apart from the competition. And in January 2016, a New York Times piece focused on hot toddies and other warm drinks labeled the bar “sophisticated” and likened its dimly lit decor and old-fashioned drinks to a speakeasy. Brix and Rye, 308 Main St., Greenport, (631) 477-6985 The Tavern The bar at The Tavern. (Credit: Julie O’Neill-Bliss, courtesy) If you’re wintering on The Rock, few places are more inviting than The Tavern at Shelter Island House. In winter, Wednesday is burger night with half-price beer or wine with burgers. The bar opens at 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday during the winter. The restaurant opens at 5 p.m. on those days. The Tavern at Shelter Island House, 11 Stearns Point Road Suite 2, Shelter Island, (631) 749-5659 North Fork Roasting Co. Inside North Fork Roasting Company in Southold. (Credit: Nicole Smith) Either jumpstart your day or spend a leisurely weekend morning getting your caffeine fix at this Southold hot spot. Curl up on the couch, pick up a copy of The Suffolk Times (The New York Times will do in a pinch) and sit in front of the fire — a perfect antidote to a dreary winter’s day. If you’re lucky, you might get to pet Sinatra, owners Jennilee Morris and Jess Dunne’s chocolate lab. The café also offers breakfast and lunch. North Fork Roasting Co., 55795 Main Road, Southold (631) 876-5450 Aldo's, Jedediah Hawkins Inn, North Fork Roasting Co., Sherwood House Vineyards Karen Higginbottom - CONTRIBUTOR - I write about the junction between being human and the workplace. The impact of art in the workplace is often underestimated. Splashes of color in a painting can alter the mood of a meeting room or a piece of unusual artwork can provide a talking point in a bland corporate space. But can artwork have a direct impact on employee productivity or well-being? It seems the answer is yes.
Research by Exeter University’s School of Psychology found that employees who have control over the design and layout of their workspace are not only happier and healthier — they’re also up to 32% more productive. The research involved more than 2,000 office workers in a series of studies looking at attitudes to and productivity within working space. But it was two further studies, one at Exeter University and another in commercial offices which saw participants take on a series of tasks in a workspace that was either lean (bare and functional), enriched (decorated with plants and pictures), empowered (allowing the individual to design the area) or disempowered (where the individual’s design was redesigned by a “manager”). This study found that people working in enriched spaces (decorated with art or plants) were 17% more productive than those in lean spaces. The notion that art in the workplace is merely decorative was dispelled in a survey of more than 800 employees working for 32 companies throughout the U.S. that have workplace art collections. The survey, a collaboration of the Business Committee for the Arts and the International Association for Professional Art Advisors drew responses from firms ranging from food distributors to law firms that house workplace collections. It found that art in the workplace helps businesses address key challenges such as reducing stress (78% agree), increasing creativity (64% agreed) and encouraging expression of opinions (77% agreed).A smaller study at Cass Business School explored the perceptions of employees towards art in the workplace and its effect on themselves, the clients or company image. Both male (64%) and female (73%) respondents agreed that the design of their workplace has an effect on their working day. Interestingly, male respondents not only rated art (39%) as one of the most important elements of interior design of the workplace compared to other elements such as plants (39%) or a lounge area (35%), but they also give art a higher importance as an interior design element compared to female respondents. Only 17% of women named art as a crucial component of interior design. However, the impact of art on the individual employee regarding work ethic/motivation, creativity, stress-level and general well-being seems to be greater on women than on men. While 80% of the male respondents agreed that art has a minor effect on their work ethic/motivation; all of the female respondents agreed that it has some effect on them. Specifically, 54% of women acknowledged that art has a moderate to big effect on their creativity at the office (47% of men) and 80% of the women agreed that art at the office could reduce their stress-levels (66% of the men). Furthermore, 92% of the women stated that art affects their general well-being, compared to 71% of the men. Rise Art supplies art to many firms in the City of London. One of those firms is law firm JAGShaw Baker who chose quirky, eclectic pieces of art which are unusual for a sector known for its conservatism. “When it came to fitting out the office, I wanted something that was fun, open and didn’t look like a conservative law firm,” explains partner, Tina Baker at the law firm. “We wanted to pick artwork that was really fun. Our clients really appreciate the art we have in our conference rooms. In the meeting room, we have maps from New York, San Francisco and Berlin by Ursula Hitz.” Baker believes that art is very important to any environment, whether it’s home, office or public space–you feel very different in a space that is blank as opposed to being in a place that has a lot of art or color. We used the artwork to add splashes of color.” Please click HERE for original version of this article on Forbes.com Sharing an interesting article on abstract art written by Noah Charney featured on Salon.com12/22/2016 This is your brain on art: A neuroscientist’s lessons on why abstract art makes our brains hurt so good - Noah Charney It took a Nobel-winning scientist who specializes in human memory to break new ground in art history Credit: Getty/Daniel Leal Olivas By now, it's no secret that abstract art is where my heart lives. I don't necessarily get moved by all abstract painters and their work, but some speak to me visually more than others. I hope to share a bit more about that in the future. For now, I'd like to share an interesting article I found that relates to abstract art and how it affects us. Hope you find it as interesting as I did.
Anahi Abstract Art Makes Our Brains Hurt so Good... The greatest discoveries in art history, as in so many fields, tend to come from those working outside the box. Interdisciplinary studies break new ground because those steadfastly lashed to a specific field or way of thinking tend to dig deeper into well-trodden earth, whereas a fresh set of eyes, coming from a different school of thought, can look at old problems in new ways. Interviewing Eric Kandel, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, and reading his latest book, “Reductionism in Art and Brain Science,” underscored this point. His new book offers one of the freshest insights into art history in many years. Ironic that it should come not from an art historian, but a neuroscientist specializing in human memory, most famous for his experiments involving giant sea snails. You can’t make this stuff up. I’ve spent my life looking at art and analyzing it, and I’ve even brought a new discipline’s approach to art history. Because my academic work bridges art history and criminology (being a specialist in art crime), my own out-of-the-box contribution is treating artworks like crime scenes, whodunnits, and police procedurals. I examine Caravaggio’s “Saint Matthew Cycle” as if the three paintings in it are photographs of a crime scene, which we must analyze with as little a priori prejudice, and as much clean logic, as possible. Likewise, in my work deciphering one of most famous puzzle paintings, Bronzino’s “Allegory of Love and Lust,” a red herring (Vasari’s description of what centuries of scholars have assumed was this painting, but which Robert Gaston finally recognized was not at all, and had been an impossible handicap in trying to match the painting with Vasari’s clues about another work entirely) had to be cast aside in order for progress to be made. Ernst Gombrich made waves when he dipped into optics in his book, “Art and Illusion.” Freud offered a new analysis of Leonardo. The Copiale cipher, an encoded, illuminated manuscript, was solved by Kevin Knight, a computer scientist and linguist. It takes an outsider to start a revolution. So it is not entirely surprising that a neuroscientist would open this art historian’s eyes, but my mind is officially blown. I feel like a veil has been pulled aside, and for that I am grateful. Ask your average person walking down the street what sort of art they find more intimidating, or like less, or don’t know what to make of, and they’ll point to abstract or minimalist art. Show them traditional, formal, naturalistic art, like Bellini’s “Sacred Allegory,” art which draws from traditional core Western texts (the Bible, apocrypha, mythology) alongside a Mark Rothko or a Jackson Pollock or a Kazimir Malevich, and they’ll retreat into the Bellini, even though it is one of the most puzzling unsolved mysteries of the art world, a riddle of a picture for which not one reasonable solution has ever been put forward. The Pollock, on the other hand, is just a tangle of dripped paint, the Rothko just a color with a bar of another color on top of it, the Malevich is all white. In abstract painting, elements are included not as visual reproductions of objects, but as references or clues to how we conceptualize objects. In describing the world they see, abstract artists not only dismantle many of the building blocks of bottom-up visual processing by eliminating perspective and holistic depiction, they also nullify some of the premises on which bottom-up processing is based. We scan an abstract painting for links between line segments, for recognizable contours and objects, but in the most fragmented works, such as those by Rothko, our efforts are thwarted. Thus the reason abstract art poses such an enormous challenge to the beholder is that it teaches us to look at art — and, in a sense, at the world — in a new way. Abstract art dares our visual system to interpret an image that is fundamentally different from the kind of images our brain has evolved to reconstruct. Kandel describes the difference between “bottom up” and “top down” thinking. This is basic stuff for neuroscience students, but brand new for art historians. Bottom up thinking includes mental processes that are ingrained over centuries: unconsciously making sense of phenomena, like guessing that a light source coming from above us is the sun (since for thousands of years that was the primary light source, and this information is programmed into our very being) or that someone larger must be standing closer to us than someone much smaller, who is therefore in the distance. Top down thinking, on the other hand, is based on our personal experience and knowledge (not ingrained in us as humans with millennia of experiences that have programmed us). Top down thinking is needed to interpret formal, symbol or story-rich art. Abstraction taps bottom-up thinking, requiring little to no a priori knowledge. Kandel is not the first to make this point. Henri Matisse said, “We are closer to attaining cheerful serenity by simplifying thoughts and figures. Simplifying the idea to achieve an expression of joy. That is our only deed [as artists].” But it helps to have a renowned scientist, who is also a clear writer and passionate art lover, convert the ideas of one field into the understanding of another. The shock for me is that abstraction should really be less intimidating, as it requires no advanced degrees and no reading of hundreds of pages of source material to understand and enjoy. And yet the general public, at least, finds abstraction and minimalism intimidating, quick to dismiss it with “oh, I could do that” or “that’s not art.” We are simply used to formal art; we expect it, and also do not necessarily expect to “understand it” in an interpretive sense. Our reactions are aesthetic, evaluating just two of the three Aristotelian prerequisites for art to be great: it demonstrates skill and it may be beautiful, but we will often skip the question of whether it is interesting, as that question requires knowledge we might not possess. We might think that “reading” formal paintings, particularly those packed with symbols or showing esoteric mythological scenes, are what require active problem-solving. At an advanced academic level, they certainly do (I racked my brain for years over that Bronzino painting). But at any less-scholarly level, for most museum-goers, this is not the case. Looking at formal art is actually a form of passive narrative reading, because the artist has given us everything our brain expects and knows automatically how to handle. It looks like real life. But the mind-bending point that Kandel makes is that abstract art, which strips away the narrative, the real-life, expected visuals, requires active problem-solving. We instinctively search for patterns, recognizable shapes, formal figures within the abstraction. We want to impose a rational explanation onto the work, and abstract and minimalist art resists this. It makes our brains work in a different, harder, way at a subconscious level. Though we don’t articulate it as such, perhaps that is why people find abstract art more intimidating, and are hastier to dismiss it. It requires their brains to function in a different, less comfortable, more puzzled way. More puzzled even than when looking at a formal, puzzle painting. Kandel told The Wall Street Journal that the connection between abstract art and neuroscience is about reductionism, a term in science for simplifying a problem as much as possible to make it easier to tackle and solve. This is why he studied giant sea snails to understand the human brain. Sea snails have just 20,000 neurons in their brains, whereas humans have billions. The simpler organism was easier to study and those results could be applied to humans. “This is reductionism,” he said, “to take a complex problem and select a central, but limited, component that you can study in depth. Rothko — only color. And yet the power it conveys is fantastic. Jackson Pollock got rid of all form.” In fact, some of the best abstract artists began in a more formal style, and peeled the form away. Turner, Mondrian and Brancusi, for instance, have early works in a quite realistic style. They gradually eroded the naturalism of their works, Mondrian for instance painting trees that look like trees early on, before abstracting his paintings into a tangle of branches, and then a tangle of lines and then just a few lines that, to him, still evoke tree-ness. It’s like boiling away apple juice, getting rid of the excess water, to end up with an apple concentrate, the ultimate essence of apple-ness. We like to think of abstraction as a 20th century phenomenon, a reaction to the invention of photography. Painting and sculpture no longer had to fulfill the role of record of events, likenesses and people — photography could do that. So painting and sculpture was suddenly free to do other things, things photography couldn’t do as well. Things like abstraction. But that’s not the whole story. A look at ancient art finds it full of abstraction. Most art history books, if they go back far enough, begin with Cycladic figurines (dated to 3300-1100 BC). Abstracted, ghost-like, sort-of-human forms. Even on cave walls, a few lines suggest an animal, or a constellation of blown hand-prints float on a wall in absolute darkness. Abstract art is where we began, and where we have returned. It makes our brains hurt, but in all the right ways, for abstract art forces us to see, and think, differently. Noah Charney is a Salon arts columnist and professor specializing in art crime, and author of "The Art of Forgery" (Phaidon). MORE NOAH CHARNEY. PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE. It's always exciting when an artist gets an email announcing that your art submissions make it into a juried art exhibit. When you get the call that you won an award... that's a happy day. Today was such a day. I'm honored and excited to be part of this great exhibit juried by Phetus. Super excited to have had my mixed media abstract "Brooklyn Walls" be awarded best in show!
Many talented artists are participating in the show to be held at the Main Street Gallery of the Huntington Arts Council in Huntington, New York. The Council holds several exhibits throughout the year and they are deeply involved in promoting and supporting the arts. Please pay them a visit by clicking HERE. Details on exhibit hours and dates are listed on the invitation at the bottom of the post. Below is the list of participating artists. Virginia Bushart, Anahi DeCanio, Jonathan Duci, Terry Finch, Jim Finlayson, Nicole Franz, Tim Gowan, Bill Grabowski, Geraldine Hoffman, Stefanie Kane,Jade "MUMBOT" Kuei, Jennifer Lau, Theo Lau, Jude Lobasso, Sharon Lobo, Jared Long, Celeste Mauro, Kasmira Mohanty, Stephen Palladino, Reme 821, Rodney Rodriguez, David Rogers, Jennie Sjostrom, Jeff Slack, Christina Stow and Stephen Wyler The arts play an important role in enriching the lives of our communities. Hint hint... Please support the arts! Today, on so called "giving Tuesday" I'm compelled to write a short note about ReachingU. I've been lucky enough to have been part of this wonderful team of volunteers for a few years. They openly give of their time and work tirelessly to open doors and provide opportunities for children and those in need of a hand.
This year's event marked their 15th anniversary of what grew from an idea to give back and make the world a better place - starting out as a simple garage sale - to what is now a well run major influencer supporting a broad swath of causes and contributing to several organizations which are approved after passing strict due diligence measures. The mission is to promote initiatives and strengthen organizations that help Uruguayans living in poverty.We promote initiatives and strengthen organizations that offer educational opportunities so that all Uruguayans living in poverty can develop their full potential. With a number of member branches that have sprouted over the years, fundraising events held every year worldwide have become increasingly successful over time. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend the NY Gala which this year honored famed Uruguayan born architect Rafael Vinoly. His foundation also generously contributed to the evening's fundraising efforts. As usual, the hours of work behind the scenes from the host chairs, committees and volunteers showed. There were several donors who contributed to the auction, including several other artists. I had an amazing time fun time made all the better from the chance to attend with friend and colleague Angel Naula, president of Naula Workshops, meet the warm and engaging Vinoly and a chance to chat with the very cool (and gracious) Sebastian Arcelus from House of Cards and Madam Secretary. But more important than all the fun and glitter, I'm anxious to hear the stories of how the results from the night will make a genuine difference in the lives of so many. Feel lucky and honored... Please take a moment to check out their site and all they do by clicking on the logo below. Thanks! Saturday December 10th and 11th. OPENING RECEPTION SATURDAY DECEMBER 10TH - 4 TO 8 PM. PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: Anahi DeCanio - John Todaro - Annie Sessler - Sarah Jaffe Turnbull Four local artists who make a seamless connection between nature and the abstract will be showing at Ashawagh Hall on December 10th and 11th. Their work includes abstract painting, ceramic sculpture and prints from a variety of techniques including monotypes, solar prints, fish prints and photography. In addition to what promises to be a stunning collection of larger wall pieces, they will be creating an “art-boutique” with the idea that fine art can make fine gifts. ANAHI DeCANIO moved with her family from Uruguay to New York when she was a child. She is a multi-disciplinary artist working in a variety of media, including award winning product designs. Her work is part of private and corporate collections in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Winning numerous awards in national juried competitions, she has participated in group and solo exhibits across the US in several galleries and museums. Her work has been published in a number of publications, including The New York Times and TIME, and has been used in several TV and motion picture productions. Anahi is also the Creative Director of ArtyZen Studios and founder and curator of eco-friendly art and design show eARThHAMPTONS. She is an active participant and volunteer in several charities and art organizations. “Every brushstroke, color, element, or scratch as symbols of the marks left behind by life events and the passage of time” - She explores this concept by applying countless strokes of paint and occasional collage elements and gilding creating intricate abstract landscapes. Art imitating life - some of these layers are part of the story but remain hidden, some subtly reveal themselves in small glimpses. Inspired by nature as well as urban settings, the results are richly textured surfaces exploding with color and nuance. SARAH JAFFE TURNBULL moved to the East End in 1981 from Vermont, where she had practiced law and been involved with community issues of health, civil rights and criminal justice. She continued her involvement in public service while raising a family. She began working with clay around ten years ago and started exploring sculpture about five years ago. Sarah’s ceramic sculptures are deceptively metallic looking due to the glaze, which implies a strength that on closer observation belies vulnerability. Some of the forms are architectonic, but off balance, creating a different kind of tension. Her prints, both monotypes and solar, work with color and movement- some peaceful and others edgy. Her work has been exhibited in numerous venues, the most recent being the 2016 Long Island Biennial at the Heckscher Museum in Huntington, NY, and the internationally juried exhibition of solar plate prints at the Alex Ferrone Gallery in Cutchogue, NY. ANNIE SESSLER’S prints have been featured in the New York Times, on the CBS Sunday Morning Show, in Dan's Papers, Edible East End, Manhattan & Brooklyn, on the menus of the Red Lobster restaurant chain, in the East Hampton Star , EH Press and on OneKingsLane. Her Japanese inspired original Gyotaku ink impressions are hand rubbed onto cloth, while her line of digitally reproduced works can be machine printed onto fabric or fine art papers. These fine reproductions can include alterations to color, form and scale. They can also form the basis or skeleton of mixed media drawings and collage. The show will include framed and loose prints, along with excerpts and abstractions of her traditional fish prints. Annie lives and works in Montauk. JOHN TODARO’S award winning photographs are widely collected. His work in on permanent display at Southampton Hospital and at the Harold McMahon Medical Center in Amagansett. In 2014, his photograph “Aperture” was selected for the cover of Mark Doty’s “Deep Lane,” and his work has been published by The New Yorker, Unicef, Shutterbug, Crain’s, Men’s Journal and other magazines. In the ’70’s, John studied with master printer Anthony Nobile, gaining inspiration from Nobile’s studies with Minor White and Paul Caponigro. He also worked as a ranger for the National Park Service, cataloguing the collection of 19th century photographs at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. John is most known for his landscapes, but at Ashawagh the focus will be on a compelling new collection of semi-abstractions with a particular emphasis on botanical forms. This work (rendered in both color and monochrome) is unified by simplicity of form and a distinctive lyrical voice. For interested collectors, there will be a large group of “first prints” along with a full selection of miniatures and unframed work. John works year round from his home-studio in East Hampton. |
Archives
September 2023
|