Artwork for Sale

Here are several of my finished pieces which are for sale. As you can see, my use of media varies widely.

 Dysfunctional Wardrobe: 2010

Plywood and found objects

4 x 2 x 1 ft.

$350

Gargoyle Wings: 2011

Wrought iron, sheet metal, leather and fabric

3 x 4 x 2 ft.

$300

Distressed Door: 2011

Antique door and digital painting

2 x 8 ft.

$200

Sodden Figure: 2010

Acrylic, India ink and graphite

6 x 12 in.

$70 

Bespattering Slumber: 2010

Acrylic, India ink and graphite

6 x 12 in.

$70

Self Portrait: 2010

Charcoal, pastel, India ink and coffee stain

18 x 12 in.

Commission Only

Out of Eden: 2010

Marker, India ink, graphite and cardboard

12 x 6 in.

$80

Beads I: 2010

Digital photography

$60

Beads II: 2010

Digital photography

$60

Paws I: 2010

Digital photography

$60

Paws II: 2010

Digital photography

$60

Paws III: 2010

Digital photography

$60

Jamaican Evening: 2008

Digital photography

$60

Jamaican Waters: 2008

Digital photography

$60

Audrey Kawasaki: My Creative Inspiration

Audrey Kawasaki: Biography

The themes in Audrey Kawasaki's work are contradictions within themselves. Her work is both innocent and erotic. Each subject is attractive yet disturbing. Audrey's precise technical style is at once influenced by both manga comics and Art Nouveau. Her sharp graphic imagery is combined with the natural grain of the wood panels she paints on, bringing an unexpected warmth to enigmatic subject matter.

The figures she paints are seductive and contain an air of melancholy. They exist in their own sensually esoteric realm, yet at the same time present a sense of accessibility that draws the observer to them. These mysterious young women captivate with the direct stare of their bedroom eyes.

Kawasaki studied fine art painting for two years at the Pratt Institute in New York City, but left after two years without completing her degree. She cites the emphasis in the New York art scene on conceptual art, an approach at odds with her figurative, illustrative style, as among the reasons she left. As of 2006, Kawasaki is considered a rising star in the Los Angeles art scene. In 2005 Kawasaki designed the cover art for Alice Smith's For Lovers, Dreamers & Me. In 2011, singer Christina Perri was tattooed with Kawasaki's painting, "My Dishonest Heart."

Alone
oil and graphite on wood 6.5″x29″
Space Yui in Tokyo
2009

Daydream
oil and graphite on wood 9.5″x28
Space Yui in Tokyo
2009

"Blue" ブルー
oil and graphite on wood 8.5"x11"
"Hajimari"@Jonathan Levine Gallery in NY
2009

Oyasumi
Oil on wood 10x19
Chubby Bunny - Gallery Nucleus
2006

I'll Stay Here
mixed media on wood 9.25"x11.25"
Art Basel Fair with Thinkspace Gallery
2008

Lili and her Ghosts
oil and graphite on wood panel 24"x24"
Merry Karnowski Gallery "Restlessly Still"
2011

Mayakashi
oil and graphite on wood panel 12"x12"
"The Next Generation" group show @ London Miles Gallery curated by Thinkspace Gallery
2010

Overlap
oil and graphite on wood 28"x14"
Outre Gallery
2009

Saying Goodbye
oil and graphite on wood 26"x21"
Space Yui in Tokyo
2009

My Little Secrets
oil and graphite on wood panel 24"x24"
Thinkspace Gallery 5 year Anniversary Group Show
2010

She Entwined
oil and graphite on wood panel 16”x20”
Outre Gallery. Australia.
2010

Superstition
oil and graphite on wood 16″x16″
Space Yui in Tokyo
2009

The Way She Likes
oil and graphite on wood 10.5″x28″
Space Yui in Tokyo
2009

"Warabeuta" わらべ歌 a child's song
oil and graphite on wood 21"x32"
"Hajimari"@Jonathan Levine Gallery in NY
2009

"Yuuwaku" 誘惑 allure
oil and graphite on wood 20"x26"
"Hajimari"@Jonathan Levine Gallery in NY
2009





My Similarities to Audrey Kawasaki:

Similar to Kawasaki's artistic preferences, I myself find that I am very discouraged and uninterested in the pressure from both professors and peers attending DAAP, attempting to persuade me that art must be conceptual. I am disgusted by the pressure they force upon me. Allow me to create because I enjoy my innovative inventions which do not have a conceptual background.

Silence thy knave mouths and allow me to proceed upon my own merry way.

Furthermore, I do have a passion for combining both innocent appearing fingers while also adding a twist of disturbing imagery.



How My Art Differs from Audrey Kawasaki:

My art differs from Kawasaki's work in the way I approach my medium. Like herself, I use planks of wood but rather than using oil paints, I explore digital media along with some multimedia two dimensional surfaces, acrylic and watercolor paints. After scanning the physical piece of wood with all of its two dimensional mediums, I bring the image into Photoshop and digitally paint directly upon the scanned surface.

Kawasaki places her figure on the wood surfaces and often times they are unrelated to the wood grain. I myself prefer to to enhance the wood grain by submerging the figure within the grain of the wood. Which causes the figure to be both engraved and protruding from the surface.

In my first image, I created the collage and scanned the image into Photoshop. The square surface seemed to be non-reflective of the organic and natural form and twisting wood grain. My teacher Daniel Leonard encouraged me to push my passion for the organic further and use an actual plank from a tree limb. I find this method of working to be more aesthetically pleasing to my passions and interests.



In Progress Project I and II:

Project I

Step 1

Step 2

Untitled
Beads, lace, fringe, paint, wood and digital painting
2012




Project II

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Untitled
Wood and digital painting
2012

Weston Art Gallery Exhibition Review

The Weston Art Gallery (supported by Alice F. and Harris K. Weston) is a non-profit exhibition space devoted to the promotion of local and regional artists. The space is located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati's restaurant and theatre district. On the website for the gallery space, it reads "Independent curator Matt Distel (Cincinnati, OH) returns to the Weston with a group exhibition, Material Witness, that examines artworks in which the exposed structural components dictate the conceptual and formal readings of the objects."

www.westonartgallery.com

In this review I will be discussing the work found in the exhibition of Material Witness.

Upon arrival through the main doors with my Advance Sculpture class taught by Linda Einfalt, we viewed a very large pale blue deer carved out of sculptural foam. The title of this fawn, formed by Matthew Flegle, is Bewilderness. It stands ten feet tall and twelve feet in length. Grounding the massive but lightweight structure are cement blocks at the base of each hoof. The fawns left rear leg is supported by three metal rods and a bucket filled with cement. Across the deers nose and covering its eyes lies a very large white and angular horn. behind the entire sculpture is a drywall structure created for the display of the piece. within the wall is a gaping hold which is a perfect fit for the horn upon the deers head. When walking behind the wall one can see its form projecting through the structure.

Directly across the large room can be found a collapsible house which can be folded and unfolded to allow for protection or extra space. The house is made of materials which would be destroyed by weather if it were located outside in a natural environment. The house is made of plywood and cardboard, drywall and etc. All of the walls of the house are on cabled which can be lowered or pulled tight. Currently in the exhibit the walls are up only allowing slight cracks for the viewer to peek through. On one side of the structure is an open door way. Upon entering the viewer can see a cushioned seat with a video projection reeling on the wall. The video demonstrates the function of the house and informs the viewer that what they see is only portion of the entire creation. This piece is created by Philip Spangler and is titled Open Source Project Space (prototype).

After leaving the top level, the viewer proceeds down the staircase and around several turns to arrive at a new location. They enter a room where a single cushioned and damaged chair sits propped up on planks of wood and other such scrap material. The walls in the space are painted in a disarray of gray and white stripes similar to those once painted on submarines which were designed as camouflage similar to that of Zebra's which is meant to confuse the attacker. The work produced in this room is five TV screens across the walls all showing different videos. Each video has its own soundtrack of instrumental music. The work produced is created by the organization called Design 99 and titled Total Benefit Solutions.

In one video a bulldozer travels around in search of abandoned mattresses to the sides of streets. Collecting them the bulldozer creates a totem in their commemoration by cutting down a tree and sawing its remaining form into a sharp spike. It then pushes each mattress onto the remaining tree until the tree protrudes from the springs and cloth. After placing several mattresses on the tree in this way it tops of the totem with a cushioned chair. This piece is titled Clearing a path to the Future: Garbage Totem No.1 which is part of a bigger project titled the Powerhouse and Neighborhood Machine. Copy and pastthe link below to watch the video.

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=H-EmIYFbAFE"

Furthermore, other videos in the room display film of the Heidelburg Project. This project produced by Tyree Guyton, takes place in Detroit, Michigan. This artist purchases run down and abandoned neighborhoods and alters them by painting vibrant colors and designs across the buildings, houses and walls. He also sets up signs which have inspiring and thought provoking messages about religion and life. On Heidelburg.org it is stated regarding the project, "Tyree Guyton’s vision has created a world-wide audience of both artists and non-artists and at the same time brought a renewed sense of health and hope back to an impoverished community."

In a room near this previous space can be found a thirty foot long array of hanging rings ranging in size from large to small and back to large. This piece is constructed out of carved and smoothly sanded wood created by Terry Berlier. The piece is made to reflect the age and formation of tree rings. It is titled Divergent Timing

Finally in regard to the pieces involved in the exhibit Material Witness displayed at the Weston Art Gallery I will discuss the work produced by Chris Vorhees. He found a disregarded cardboard box which previously contained a "Sofa Server" purchased from Ikea. He designed a structure nearly identical to the picture of the "Sofa Server" portrayed on the box. Quoted about the process involved in the creation of the piece it was stated, "The discovery of a discarded box for a bentwood side table on wheels — marked down to $3.99 — prompted Vorhees to try to replicate the design. About $2,000 later, he figured it out. I’m still trying to figure out if the joke is on him or on us."

In regard to all of the work involved in the exhibit which I did not reference, especially my favorite pieces which I could not find images for, I greatly enjoyed my experience at the Weston Art Gallery and plan to return as soon as possible to visit the next upcoming exhibition.