TheGreatNude Invitational - May 13 - 16, The Roger Smith Hotel
Due to the great amount of interest in TheGreatNude Invitational, we have rescheduled the event at The Roger Smith Hotel for May 13 - 16, 2010 - allowing for the participation of some great artists and galleries, and making this event truly exciting for the Figurative Arts community. Check the site for new information and regular updates at www.thegreatnude.tv/invitational
Artists Odd Nerdrum, Richard T. Scott, Scott Goodwillie and Adam Miller have joined the exhibition, along with a number of galleries representing some of the world’s most well-known figurative artists, including Forum Gallery.
In addition, we are pleased to announce that Peter Trippi, editor of Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine and renowned art critic Donald Kuspit, have joined our Host Committee. Click to Read More>
Galleries, Curators, Artists Groups & Art Schools who wish to exhibit at the Invitational will be happy to know about several new developments. Early payment Discounts available. Click to Read More>
Sincerely,
Jeffery Wiener
Publisher, TheGreatNude.tv
When most people are asked to describe an artistic genius, Picasso is often cited as an example. In addition to his undeniable creative talents and the large body of excellent work produced in his lifetime, his whole career appears to have been a successful strategy of exploration and risk-taking at just the right moment in history.
Picasso moved through many periods during his career; some of them depending heavily on the use of the figure, and others where the human form is broken down into nearly unrecognizable shapes. The widely varying phases of Picasso, if positioned anonymously next to each other, could easily be seen as the works of completely different artists; not only aesthetically, but in tone and subject matter as well. His life’s work reflects the desire to understand the essence of humanity and to relay it back to us.
Best known for work that nearly defined the “Pin-up”, Alberto Vargas is recognized for depicting and perfecting the image of female sexuality in the first half of the 20th century. Having worked with Esquire and more famously Playboy magazines, some would be quick to write Vargas off as a soft pornographer, and he’s never expressed any shame in that. However, from the perspective of TheGreatNude, Vargas was an artist dedicated to the figure, and produced a body of work that embodied the meaning of female sexuality and in effect became standards of feminine desire for a generation of American men.
In the early 1920’s, Vargas solidified his career as a successful artist working with the Ziegfeld Follies, and later working as a regular illustrator for Esquire magazine, where he created the infamous “Varga Girl”, a stylistic. While restricted in his ability to paint fully nude figures for these publications, Vargas was able to convey a comparable essence, stylistically depicting his women as playful, coy, and full of energy, further solidifying and advancing the concept of the Pin-Up as an icon of sexual freedom.
In the 1950’s Playboy was the master of men’s literature, delivering well researched articles simultaneously with artistic and sexual content. For decades, Vargas’ art works had a premier spot following the magazine’s premier feature: The Centerfold. It was this venue that gave Vargas the freedom to paint his strongest nudes at the peak of his career, and he produced many of his most iconographic works during this time.
Like The Spice Gallery
Brooklyn, NY
June 2009
Review by: Scott Goodwillie
Reuben Negrón’s recent exhibit of watercolors at Like the Spice Gallery is a strong display of figurative work seen in a modern, fresh light. Negron’s use of the medium is masterful, and he uses figures to creat intimate scenes filled with a warm humanity.
For a young artist, Negrón may have found a genre he enjoys and portrays well. I look forward to seeing how else he challenges our voyeuristic nature in the future.
I recently saw a small exhibit of delicate male nudes by of Paul P that were holding their own down in Chelsea, NYC earlier this year. Canadian born of Paul P (1977) lives in Paris and is gaining attention as an artist. He has done numerous exhibitions since his first in 2001. Paul P’s works make excellent use of his media, blurring the line between charcoal, pencil sketch and water color, conveying movement and strong color to subject relationships throughout his pieces in the process.
Untitled-2007
A byproduct of the late twentieth century and prominent in the gay art community, his work is characteristic of those genres. Many of his figures, generally nude males of disputable age, are posed in overtly sexually posed that are dark and somber in nature. The claustrophobic undertone, seen through facial expression and body language, creates an overall sense of oppression. His ‘Untitled’ shown below suggests two persons in a sexual positioning - but no one looks happy here. I often look for universal qualities of the human condition in figurative works, but Paul P’s work seems aimed directly at/to the Gay Community.
There are of course romantic elements in Paul P’s work. However, even where Love is concerned, the artist seems to be catering to a cultural fascination; at the very least showing a strong attention to the young male form, beautiful even though the use of the figure seems politicized in the case of Paul P.
Thinking back to when I was about, oh 13 or so, my father while working on the base of my bed found a drawing I had done from a photo of Bettie Page. He promptly called me into my room, told me what he’d found and congratulated me on my good taste. He then helped me find a better hiding place for the drawing so my mother wouldn’t find out.
The photo I had found of Page wasn’t even her most provocative but there was just something about her demeanor, her good-natured joy which captured my heart. Her curves of course had already captured my raging hormones. As I later came across more of her images, I realized she seemed happy and natural even tied up in knots not even a boyscout could undue. It’s been said that she was always comfortable in her own skin which I believe encapsulates it nicely. She also looked like someone who would talk to you if approached, just a nice girl next door with a secret or two!
When I heard of her death last week, I felt a moment of sadness in her passing. I hadn’t really thought of her in a long time even though she’d become a cultural icon and photos of her are at your fingertips in abundance online. I do wonder what she looked like as she aged. I don’t think I’m alone in this but there is a feeling I get from her better photos of intimacy and sharing in a good time. Feeling sad and nostalgic for someone you’ve never known and who was only known as eternally young. Feeling a sense of loss for someone you only knew as a photograph, that’s crazy. Right? We’ll miss you Bettie, we’ll miss you.
In our newly posted Sketch Sessions video artists Scott Goodwille and Mikel Glass and host Jeff Wiener sketch the lovely Mia, a lithe model who has worked for several of New York City’s finest art schools and drawing ateliers.
In this video, all three artists comment about the drawing process, and in particular, the use of “triangulation” to compose an accurate rendering of a complex pose. Each has their own take on the process.
Scott Goodwillie here…
Like a sampler box of fine chocolates, “realism invitationals” - which are offered up by a number of galleries around the nation each year - provide a window onto the representational art scene and a preview of what some of the finest artists are doing. The current exhibit at the Klaudia Marr Gallery in Santa Fe is a stunning offering of some known names and some not so well known. Klaudia has one of the keenest eyes in the field, and has been putting together her annual Realism Invitational since the mid 90’s. Over that time, she has garnered herself a highly respected reputation among galleries and artists alike.
Among over 40 artists on view are several standouts portraying unique takes on the nude. Steven Kenny’s work has a magic realist underpinning with crisp, detailed rendering and a symbolic relationship with the natural world. His paintings work well compositionally as well as graphically and the colors are richly saturated. Emilia Faroâ’s watercolors remind me of a somewhat kinder, but still quirky Egon Schiele-like. And Kaelen Green presents a nicely rendered graphite drawing morphing human and animal.
Most awe inspiring however are the large scale oils from Brooklyn based artist, Margaret Bowland. Like a visceral hit to the solar plexus, her imagery provides the “wow” factor in the show.
Margaret Bowland: Olympia #7, 2007
Even though she is an instructor at the New York Academy of Art, I hadn’t heard of her until this exhibit and I encourage you to visit the artist’s website for some of the strongest artwork I’ve seen in some time, as well as her description of the models and her general philosophy regarding subject matter.
The exhibit is on view at the Klaudia Marr Gallery from October 17th - November 30th 668 Canyon Road
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone: 505-988-2100
A gallery which has long championed the figurative arts in New York City is Gallery Henoch in Chelsea.
The current Sharon Sprung show defines that commitment wonderfully. A well known painter who has been exhibiting since the mid seventies, Sprung’s work is at once beautiful and quietly powerful. Seeing her paintings in reproduction doesn’t give you the true feel of her technique. The surfaces are actually quite tactile, which owes to the fact that she paints a good deal of each work with a palette knife. Not in the usual way palette knife painting is thought of, in fact she has developed a more nuanced approach which initially seems like pulling a brush with paint over a layer which has yet to fully dry. When done in the opaque areas, this enhances the flesh tones by catching more light and reflecting it back to the viewer.
Sharon Sprung - Harlequin
Sharon Sprung’s work can be seen until October 4th - at Gallery Henoch , 555 W. 25th Street , New York, New York 10001, 917-305-0003. Also check out her website, for more paintings not featured in the solo exhibit.
