The artwork of Dan Ness.

When I lived in Portland I used to show at the Compound Gallery. One of the group shows had a piece by Dan Ness. I still remember that piece as standing out from the others in the show. He had a unique and interesting vision of the world in his artwork.

Ness' art draws reference from the likes of Robert Rauschenberg in its layering and transfer methods, and Andy Warhol in its pop sensibilities but It also has a modern feel to it that holds my interest. Ness' work follows no formula so it tends to stay away from getting stale and predictable. His approach to color (or lack of in some instances) tells more of the story. Sometimes using solid blocks of bright color and sometimes sectioning of the canvas with color blocking.

You can see more of Ness' work here and here.

Ted Larsen Solo Show at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art.

New Mexico artist, Ted Larsen, will be having a solo show opening at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art in Scarsdale, NY. The show is titled "What You See Is What You Get" and the opening reception will be June 5, 2009 from 6-8PM. The show will hang through July 11, 2009.

I have posted some of the pieces from the show. Ted's works are assemblages made from old steel from automobiles, road signs and other detritus pared down to its simplest form leaving the viewer to question intent.

You can see more of his work here and here.


"Zenith"


"Tithe"


"Segment"


"Devious"


"Bianca"

The photography of Stephen Shore.

Along with William Eggleston and Richard Misrach, Stephen Shore is one of my favorite photographers. His roadtrips across the United States during the early 1970's captured the vastness of the country as well as the simpleness of living in that time.

His view of the American vernacular, with depictions of gas stations, diners and roadside motels, was foretold by the photorealistic paintings of Richard Estes and Ralph Goings. Shores' absence of humans in his landscapes give the viewer a sense of loneliness, as if these places were void of human life.

His work has been an influence in my work for both use of roadside Americana imagery from the 1960's and 1970's and also for his sun bleached color palette.

You can see more of his work here and here.

The artwork of William Steiger.

I stumbled upon the artwork of William Steiger at Margaret Thatcher Projects in New York. What instantly caught my eye was the graphic nature of his work. Steiger takes away the unnecessary details leaving the viewer with a pure vision of his subjects. Often placed on stark, white backgrounds he uses tones of color to capture his own view of America.

Anyone who has spent time on a cross country flight will instantly connect with his series of land and river paintings from birds eye view. Steiger captures the patchwork of farms that litter middle America in a serene manner. His other fascinations include rural barns and grain silos in which he creates solid compositions with his use of negative and positive space, and the allure of classic amusement parks such as Coney Island.

You can see more of his work here and here.



"Ramble"


"Switchback"


"River Bend"


" Wheat Pool"


"Gondola and Wheel"


"Cyclone"


"Dragon Coaster"

Artwork donation for HeArt Project LA fund raiser.

Every year I donate artwork to HeArt Projects in Los Angeles for their Annual Evening of Art fundraiser. This years event is being held on Thursday, May 28 at 6:30pm at The Park Plaza Hotel 607 South Park View Street in Los Angeles.

The HeArt Project is a great non-profit organization that raises money for high school art programs for alternative schools. They offers four levels of advanced arts programs to students. Students are provided with support to succeed at each level. The levels deal with art workshops and public presentations, after school residencies and leadership, scholarships and alumni support.

My piece this year is titled "OK RV" and is 24" x 20" and is mixed media on panel. If you are interested in placing a silent bid you can contact them here.

To see the art that will be available in the silent auction go here.

Cathy Daley art show opening at Robert Kidd Gallery.

My art buddy, Cathy Daley, is having a solo art show at Robert Kidd Gallery in Birmingham, Michigan. The opening was Saturday May 16th and the show runs through June 20th. If you are in the area you should check it out. Cathy's work consists of beautiful and stark black and white pastels that capture movement and gesture using the female form.

The drawings mine contemporary vocabularies of glamour, fashion, popular culture, cartoons, street signage, Hollywood cinema, fairy tales, and mythology, to examine the iconography of the feminine as it exists in the cultural imaginary, personal memory, and fantasy.

You can see more of Cathy's work here and the gallery site can be found here.

Robert Rauschenberg Photographs.

In reorganizing my bookshelves I revisited 2 of Robert Rauschenberg's photography books. "In and Out of city limits" and "Photographs of Robert Rauschenberg" both of which took me a very long time to find as they have been out of print for many years. They have many of the photographs which he used in his transfer artwork as well as his paintings but many others that stand alone as amazing images. Here are a few.

New work for Affordable Art Fair, Bristol, England.

I have 4 new pieces of art for the upcoming Affordable Art Fair in Bristol, England. The fair will run from May 15-17, 2009
and my work is being represented by Mauger Modern. Please stop by their booth and check out their great lineup of artists.

Interested parties can inquire about my work by e mailing richard@maugermodern.com.


"Vital Statistic" 48" x 36"


"Lucky Strike" 40" x 40"


"Live It Up" 48" x 36"


"Enjoy Yourself" 40" x 40"

Randall Reid "Recontextualized - Ordered Layers" show at Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

Here are a few photos from Randall Reid's opening at Nuart Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. You may remember Randall's artwork from an earlier post on my blog. I purchased a piece of his work and we started e mailing back and forth discussing the crazy art world.

The title of his show is "Recontextualized - Ordered Layers" and the opening was Friday, April 24, 2009. The work will hang through May 10th. For the opening Randall worked with photographer Michelle Hays to photograph many of the antique toys that were included in the show. It adds another dimension to the work to see where the inspiration came from and to have these beautiful photographs accompany his artwork.

His show opening was a huge success as you can see from all of the red dots on Nuart's website. Please stop by if you are in the Santa Fe area. Nuart is a great gallery with a well lit, open space and creaky, antique hardwood floors that add character and charm.

You can see all of the work from the show here.