Monday, September 10, 2012

Venezuelan Artists



In this post I will be showcasing 3 well known and 2 not so well known Venezuelan artists. They have all developed successful careers in painting and sculpture as well as pioneered new genres that involved less conventional art-making methods and materials.


JESUS SOTO


Cercle bleu dans le carré
2000
63 x 62 x 17 cm (photo Béatrice Hatala)
 

Jesús Rafael Soto was born on June 5, 1923 in Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela, an old colonial town on the edge of the virgin forest on the banks of the Orinoco.

"Until I arrived in Europe my work was above all investigative: finding new possibilities, getting to grips with what modern painting was about at the time to see if I could add anything to it."

He was the eldest son of Emma Soto and Luis García Parra, a violin player, who were to have four other children.
While working to make a contribution to the family's upkeep, he went to primary school and, when he was about twelve, began to learn the guitar. It was also at this time that he began to copy reproductions of paintings he found in magazines, books and almanacs.
At the age of sixteen he became a poster painter for the movie theaters in Ciudad Bolívar.

El tambor (The Drum)", 1963 -

http://www.jr-soto.com/fset_menuprincipal_uk.html


Make sure to visit the 3D Gallery.


Blue Penetrable



CARLOS CRUZ DIEZ:


Carlos Cruz-Diez's crosswalks in Art Basel Miami Beach
Carlos Cruz-Diez redesigned painted crosswalks, transforming the social experience of passersby. By playing with visual rhythms and using the characteristic line 'structures', this work changes and evolves according to the path of light and to the spectatorʼs angle of view and distance."

 December 02 - December 05, 2010
Art Basel Miami Beach – Art Public
Convention Center Drive and 17th Street
Miami Beach, Florida

42-Couleur-Additive-1959-1998

I had a chance to see some his work at the Hirshhorn Gallery in DC this spring.. A whole room installation: this is the pic from my visit:

At the Hirshhorn. Photography by Elena De La Ville



GEGO:

Gego
 ‘Gertrude Goldschmidt (1 August 1912–17 September 1994) also known as Gego, was a modern Venezuelan artist and sculptor. Gego's most popular works were produced in the 1960s and 1970s, during the height of popularity of Geometric abstract art and Kinetic Art. Although these genres influenced her somewhat, Gego tried to develop her own style and break from the popular art of Venezuela.’   Wikipedia


Reticularia

Her series of Reticuláreas is undoubtly her most popular and most talked about group of artworks. Her first series was created in 1969. Pieces of aluminum and steel were joined together to create an interweaving of nets and webs that fills the entire room when exhibited. Her use of repetition and layering in the massive structure causes the piece to seem endless. Indeed, Gego's attention to line and space creates a beautiful artwork for the viewer. Since her death, the permanent collection of Reticuláreas is in the Galeria de Arte Nacional in Caracas, Venezuela.[

Reticularia





ANNABELL VILLET


Show Invitation
I just ran into the work of this artist last week and have been trying to find out more. Her installation is now showing in Caracas and has certainly piqued my interest.
She is currently showing at Centro de Arte Los Galpones, Caracas


La Ventana: Lo que no pesa

Detail, Lo que no pesa

Some of herwork in Facebook


Another link to her work:


Hope to find out more about her, will let you know.


VIOLETTE BULE


Topless Matisse protest

Early one recent morning more than a dozen women wearing nothing but red genie pants gathered at the doors of the institution from where Henri Matisse's Odalisque in Red Trousers went missing, to ask for the prompt return of the painting they were emulating.

The women were photographed by the Venezuelan artist Violette Bule in poses reminiscent of the 1925 post-impressionist work that was replaced with a fake over a decade ago.

"My main goal is to have the original returned but I also want to call attention to the irony behind the way the art market works," said Bule