So easy and so difficult

The simple breaking of the curved plane over the lip by the figure...it is so easy but visually, still feels like the first time I have seen it....the paired shadow carrying the viewer into the bottom of the picture plane and the balance between the large light tan area and the blue sky with the line of orange, a complementary color, cutting right through the horizontal orientation....

I ask again, how much tan will it take to balance the blue? In this piece by Aaron Farely, it's just the right amount! The figure is well placed, off to the left and not in the "dead zone" at the center of the picture plane...a moment in time, kinetically set up, with the main element dropping down conceptually but fixed visually to the lip of the pipe, and ground at the bottom edge inside the shadow.

Digging for round dirt

A modern day low relief, the work by Louise Nevelson concentrates on surface, texture and formal qualities. The absence of color focuses on what she feels really matters, the arrangement of space and world of visual language. The way the elements react to one another on a physical and visual level make for interesting conversation....

Contrast of long linear shapes in the background against the repetitive oval forms creates motion. The eye flows from the large circular form on the left, back across to the right following the half circular marks made by the loops. She plays with our sensibilities but using similar but not the same elements. The viewer has to dig into the details to really discover the meaning...

A mouthful

Some much can be said through line and symbol...changing direction and creating patterns that demarcate areas in a space...the figure in the forefront with its densely populated circles...visually pushing the image forward through activity...all areas connected by thick dark marks...the open white figure on the left creates a visual rest stop in this Keith Haring piece...

The angularity of the figures and their pose suggest an aggressor and a submissive...what does the "X" mean on each testicle? And how what is their relationship? The figure on the left is expelling varied organic lines, black flames out at the surrendering white figure...the horizon is cut low and also uses dots to describe the space...the wall or background utilizes long horizontal lines to exhibit space, but these marks also provide an active space to energize the overall composition...balanced activity, positive and negative spaces...

Order out of chaos

A texture novel...a search for meaning in a dimensional surface, moving through the subtle rhythms, tints and tones of a vast open landscape....This book by Anselm Kiefer represents one of an entire library of lead books...these mammoth, coffee table size texts are purely visual and in perfect harmony and parallel with his paintings...

I love these objects individually and in context to the whole...everything Kiefer does is monumental...and the contrast of the scale to the subtlety and conservative palette create visual and conceptual beauty...harmony where harmony doesn't exist...order out of chaos...

Peter Too

Peter Beard's journals are powerful statements of a land that is in the process of radical change...I have talked about his work before, but I love his sketchbooks/journals so much....They have texture and vivid imagery...strong visual relationships and do an excellent job of documenting his time in Africa...

This piece is a good representation of his journals...dimensional and tattered...defining age...parts of the day are attached to the large pages...incorporating his on photographs and trial attempts...these pages show his creative process...seeing them in person is the only way to really appreciate the work...but I guess I would have to say that of all art!

Dark blue hue

The motion and frenetic activity...balanced by large, monochromatic forms....the injection of color and contrast add energy to this painting by Italian artist, Sandro Chia....Repetition of the figurative element, large and close to the viewer on the right side of the picture plane and smaller, off into space just left of the middle...

The small figure glowing and isolated, floating in the middle of a sea of marks, active and warm colors balanced by dark areas and shapes in blue...the contrast and scale variations exhibits visual movement and engages the viewer....the large table, blue vase and dark background on the right hand side of the picture plane.

Contrasting spaces

A defining of color and patterns...rectilinear structures and references that are eventually re-referenced...the repetition of the patterns the green cross-hatching in the wall, image on the wall and the floor...the large scale figure is the central image in this environment...Lego man riding on a naturalistic, to scale horse...

The works of Tomokazu Matsuyama, merge the decorative with the whimsical...the playful and the trendy....this mixed media sculptural installation utilizes many of the same kinds of ideas and imagery as in his two-dimensional works. Black and white add areas of contrast, in the Lego-like man and in the striped, flat panels...a nice contrast to the greens and tieing in nicely with the white walls...another device of extremes to carry the eye around the space.