Author: sterlingsart

abstract painter living in Raleigh, NC- follow my blog to help build my mailing list!

Cole Pierce

I ran across Cole’s “199” recently on Tumblr, those of you from Raleigh (like me) may have seen his installation at the CAM in ’12. His recent work includes paintings, works on paper and public Art. I definitely find myself drawn to the planned randomness of these, as well as the early modernist pallet which doesn’t feel derivative so much as aware.

#colepierce

Warren Isensee

Isensee is an NC-born painter who has been making work since 80’s Neo-Geo almost ruined abstract painting, and to my eye is committed to formalism (his work is too insistent on being seen to be a sign for some conceptual agenda). Yet another artist I ran across while Tumblr’ing, he shows with Danese Corey. Looking forward to what’s coming based on the works on paper he’s been posting on his Instagram feed.

#warrenisensee

Regina Scully

This one is a #TBT… I got the chance to see this show about 2 years ago when the family was in New Orleans. One of the most interesting exhibits I’ve ever seen, NOMA showed Scully’s work right alongside some Japanese prints, similar to the types which directly influence her work. Check out her website but most importantly, if you ever can, see some in the reals!

#reginascully

Tomory Dodge

I have had a Pinterest board of work by Mr Dodge for a while but only got to see this LA-based artist for the first time this summer at the Knoxville Museum of Art. It was interesting recently to listen to this interview and read a synopsis of his most recent show and find we have similar interests- something I don’t always find with painters to which I am drawn.

#tomorydodge

What you will find here

… are galleries of my paintings and installation work, posts about work I made or am making, and a lot of blogs about other artists’ work that I find interesting and inspiring. If you’re looking for one of 1,000+ artists about which I’ve posted some content and at least one image, scroll down, use the menu (options to search by hashtag or thumbnail gallery) or the search bar below.

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BTW, “yes,” the title of this blog is a reference to Arthur Danto’s collection of essays “After The End of Art.” This book had a good bit of influence on me in grad school around the time I decided to take some time away – not because I thought Art was over as a historical project, which is sort of his point, but because I didn’t feel I needed to give my creative energy to the institutional part of the project any longer. If there’s nothing left we have to do as part of some grand arc of history, we should do what we love and let the future worry about what we did that was of historical value. Personally, I’d rather be a cool ancestor than a loyal descendant.

Marcia Hafif

Hyperallergic is another recent find for me- as is Marcia (apparently as you’ll read in this article, I’m not alone). I am not usually drawn to minimalism for its own sake, either visually over intellectually, but these caught my attention. It was interesting to find out after questioning the initial attraction that one of my biggest inspirations, Robert Irwin, was one of Hafif’s instructors at one point. I hope I get to run across these at some point. While I certainly enjoy a good bit of painting that considers itself conceptual, I tend to be drawn to work that is primarily concerned with formal investigation, which is of course a concept in itself. I think the key distinction is that the impetus of the type of work to which I’m referring points to itself in the end (as the writer puts it, “they offer complex visual, intellectual, and emotional experiences.”). I would encourage the reader to also Google for images of other paintings made by Hafif, she certainly explored several ways of creating these experiences.

#marciahafif

Matthieu Venot

Not sure how I ran across Widewalls but I appreciate how they have enriched my RSS feed. A recent discovery there is Matthieu Venot, a French musician turned photographer. His photos remind me of Dibenkorn’s obsession with the light in the Bay Area (except Matthieu lives in Brest). His attention to the moment shows there is always #abstractionallaroundus.

#matthieuvenot