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Atang Tshikare, From South Africa, Showing Sculpture Informed By Stories Via Southern Guild At Design Miami 2016

11/17/2016

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by Patrick Ogle

Atang Tshikare, from Bloemfontein in South Africa, is a self-taught artist who works in various media creating sculpture. His work is being show by Southern Guild at Design Miami 2016.

His pieces have an unusual wrinkle; their origins are on the artists own stories. Tshikare creates a narrative and then, literally, gives it form. It wasn’t always in this order according to the artist.

“The sculptures informed the story at first but after the third piece the roles switched a bit because they had to work hand in hand. So now I have a story written  with some missing details and that’s where the sculptures come in and overtake the story and the mix just goes back in a fluid mix between what part is stronger. It’s like a relationship with two strong individuals where each takes precedence according to their strengths.” says Tshikare.

His new works are in bronze but that is not the only medium he has used.

“I’ve worked in multiple media – from wood, clay, plastic, paper and so on, but I’ve always wanted something that lasted permanently and had great value so I wanted to try bronze. When I did I discovered the idea I had could be manipulated much quicker and there was less stress about the stability,” he says. “Unlike clay there was no need to worry about the material getting damaged in the kiln and all the problems most of the materials have. So, a combination of strong, steady and treasured values made bronze more appealing.”

The stories are complex and whichever direction the influence moves, from story to sculpture to story or story to sculpture, there is a complexity to the interaction.

“I use my tacit knowledge to work between the different focuses and It’s like riding a bicycle and explaining a sum at the same time whilst you are thinking of the fastest route to your home. When you have a controlled multiple personality you feel laid back and it just happens.” he says.

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Tshikare never “decided” to become an artist; he says it was almost a bequest, a revelation of what was already in him.

“Being an artist is like learning the words to your favorite rapper’s song till you know the lyrics and then one day you’re making your own album. You practice what you’re natural at and attract it in multiple streams." he says.

Thus, it’s not something that you decide to become, you just reveal it to yourself.

“I am self-taught like my dad is and it’s the best route because it’s genetic and the skills are indelible, other paths to this career are harder and getting taught can increase your technical skill but deep inside it’s a want that you can’t turn off.” says Tshikare.

His new work is meant, in some way, to attract you, to draw n to it and not just in proximity.

"My new work is a shadow that you will tail because you’re trying to catch up with the enigma. I will only say that people  can understand the perspective I’ve
displayed because I’ve taken a piece of narrative and created a journey per my vision. I know it’s a comprehensive answer but because I am a universal mammal that wants to give a forward-thinking view of Africa I can only give this answer so people can come in for a closer look," he says. "The truth behind my art is a more elaborate labyrinth with some mystical manifestations that the West refers to as 'Law of Attraction'. So over the months I will keep people attracted to the lighter side of the work by making it accessible as sculptures with a design feature like lights, seating and so forth.“

His expectations for Miami include raising awareness about the possibilities available from Africa (as well as answering guestions about the same.) There are other hopes besides: “A mix of imaginative and curious reactions that will release mass abundance from receptacles to attract more creatures from Atang.”
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Johan Wahlstrom, From Sweden, Shows His Provocative Work At Fridge Art Fair 2016 (Miami Beach)

11/17/2016

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PictureHeil Trump
by Patrick Ogle

Johan Wahlstrom, from Stockholm, blends politics, commercial imagery, abstraction and other sorts of modern iconography into work that is a sharp rebuke, a stick in the eye, of fascism and authoritarianism of any stripe. He will be appearing as part of Fridge Art Fair in Miami Beach in 2016. Beyond the meaning there is also an aesthetic appeal, an eye-drawing attractiveness and provocativeness to the pieces.

Wahlstrom says that he is happiest when his work gets one of two reactions--love or hate.
 
"In both cases the viewer will not forget my work!" he says.

Before devoting himself to art full time Wahlstrom was a successful musician. He toured for nearly 20 years playing with the likes of Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople), Graham Parker, Mick Ronson and others. When he moved on to painting he also moved to France and spent seven years doing nothing but hone his craft. The two careers, however, are not totally divorced from one another.

"I was used to performing in front of an audience as a musician and today when I paint, many of my paintings features large groups of faces; these are to me the audience reactions, feelings and emotions on my paintings which feature clear political and social statements." he says.

Only The Winner Goes To Dinner and Distorted View Part 3

 His work, being political, has an eye on changing people's minds or at the least making them think. Making this happen isn't just about the quality of the art, however.

"It is difficult to have art matter to everyone. However, the more press coverage an artist gets, the more people will be reached. I have had several articles the last few years in the USA and Europe with my political/socially engaged art," he says. "I am confident that I have got some people to start to think about what they can do to be part of a positive change in our society for us and for generations to come. My art practice is focused on to be part of the debate and to be part of positive changes in the society."

It isn't just how good you are or what you have to say; it is delivering that message to the largest audience you can.

Perhaps the attention his work gets is due to it universality. There are famous faces that jump out at us like Trump and Putin but there are other faces, many of them, often buried in the work.

"My distorted/tribal faces figures from around the world are the audience, you, me etc." says Wahlstrom (They are) reactions. feelings, emotions to my clear political & social subject such as the Trumps/Putins and many other subjects."

Wahlstrom's work has progressed through three series:

A. House Of Lies (a series with a wide range of political and social subjects in our society´s focused on USA, Europe and Middle East).

B. Walls-Aliens With Extra Ordinary Abilities ( a series about immigration, refugees, walls that are already built, might
get built, walls in our minds where we divide one group from another group).

C. New York Stories (a series with reflections on daily situations in New York City).


"Linked to the three series, I have tons of titles written done on paper linked to the series," he says. "And in my studio, I find what title to paint and then I focus on the title and do  my best to portray that title on canvas."
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Almost Homeless
He was asked to bring some work for the Fridge Art Fair by his friend and the fair's founder, Eric Ginsburg.

"I am a good friend of Eric Ginsburg and when he asked me to be part of Fridge at The Besty Hotel in Miami, I was happy to say yes," he says. "The Art Basel week in Miami is one of the most important art events in the world and of course I am happy to show a couple of my works."

After the Miami Wahlstrom is preparing for solo shows in Stockholm, New York, Laguna Beach and outside Chicago in Bensenville.

"My agent is working hard to continue to  place me in important group shows in galleries/museums where I will be showing alongside with "the big names" in the art world." he says.

Keep an eye open for his work. You may have seen him over the past year in shows that featured artists such as Gerhard Richter, Shepard Fairey, Dino & Jake Chapman, Joseph Beuys, Nedko Solakov, Gavin Turk, Carlos Aires, Riiko Sakkinen and Nicola Verlato.

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The Art Of Empty Walls
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Susan Eley Fine Arts Bringing Four Diverse Artists To Context Miami 2016

11/16/2016

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PictureJohn Sloan Out the Window by Kathy Osborn
by Patrick Ogle

Susan Eley Fine Art () is set to show four artists in 2016 at Miami's premiere fair for Contemporary art in Miami, Context Art Miami.


This year four artists are coming along: Francie Hester, Amber George, Kathy Osborn and Charles Buckley. Their work is a mix of abstract and representative work.

Hester's pieces are aluminum wall sculptures in a variety of sizes. Eley says they are always a big draw because of their eye catching colors, patterns and textures that sit slightly off of the wall.

George is an encaustic artist whose work is a reflection of her passion for the patterns of nature and textile design. She also teaches encaustic, an ancient medium. She only works in encaustic and she teaches it. "She talks about using encaustic and keeping the windows open," says Eley. "The smell of honey floats out and bees come into the studio."

Osborn works in oil paintings that come from staged miniature scenes evoking the "complexities of domestic life in the mid-20th Century." Osborn's background is as an illustrator. She worked for Rolling Stone and many others before moving on to painting. According to Eley Osborn is "sort of" self-taught as a painter.

Buckley's work is a marriage of Pop Art and 50s iconography. The pieces, like Osborn's, tell stories across several panels in flat swaths of vivid colors.


The gallery opened in 2006 in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Their focus was on contemporary art and they aimed for a different sort of interaction with their audience. Eley hosts artist and collector panel discussions, artist workshops, non-profit fundraisers, literary salons and other events in an intimate salon-style gallery. They Change shows every six weeks. There is no particular region, style or medium. Artists range from  photographers to sculptors, from prints to paintings and from U.S. or artists from around the world. Their location has few galleries but the area is home to many artists and collectors.


"People have always welcomed that they can pass by to see good contemporary art without going downtown to Chelsea, SoHo or Brooklyn." she says.

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A 26 by Francie Hester
The gallery has also been a part of Miami's Art Week for the past nine years.

"In 2007 WE started at Bridge Art Fair at the Catalina. That's when I met a lot of people and met dealers, collectors and artists." says Eley.

Then the gallery exhibited at Art Miami. Eley has praise for the fair but looking back wonders if her gallery was a fit given the large amount of secondary art (and collectors looking for such art) at the fair. After two years at Art Miami they moved to Aqua for one year.

"I love the idea of the hotel art fair." she says.

Then came Context where they have been for the past four years. Context is one of the fairs where they regularly participate.

"Part of the problem for a small gallery is that for me to do Toronto and Miami? That is as much as I can handle. I find I am like Goldilocks looking for the right fit." says Eley.

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Mustang by Charles Buckley
These artists and their work come into the ever expanding Miami Art Week. As Art Week expands it may wind up as Art Month. This year's Context has changed a bit from previous incarnations; it is no longer right next door to Art Miami. In past years the line between the two fairs might have seemed blurred to the casual visitor but they also reinforced one another. This year, sitting across the street is new.

"I'm a little apprehensive but having a separate identity for Context is important. We are earliest to open, Tuesday." she says.

Art Week, of course, is ever changing and expanding. To Eley there is good and bad in this.

"It;s become too much of a big party and less about interesting conversations you have about art--which is what I love," she says. "It is frantic. People are rushing so they can go home and get into their cocktail dresses."

She adds that Miami still has a different and interesting crowd. At the time of this interview Eley was in Toronto.

"I am in Toronto, meeting a lot of Torontonians and Canadians," says Eley. "In Miami I sell to people from Latin America, Europe and Asia. Miami art week is where you go if you are collector"

She notes that the breakfasts, such as the one held by the Rubell Collection, are great places to meet people and discuss art and also-- "it is a hell of a lot of fun."

Sales, she says, are generally good but last year was terrible. There was heavy, unseasonable rain and the Venetian Causeway was closed (great planning!). This year she is concerned so many fairs have moved to Miami Beach. For those not familiar with the area Miami and Miami Beach are different cities, separated by a bay.

Other cities could learn a great deal from Miami, in part because of what Eley referred to as "the Bloomingdale lesson; something her mom taught her when she was a child.

"There were all these little shops around Bloomingdales and I said  to my mom; 'Won't Bloomingdales take all the business," she says. "My mother told me that, no, Bloomingdales brought the people and business to all those little shops. I always think of this lesson when I think of Miami (Art Week)."

The popularity, the growing crush, can be a problem for exhibitors though.

"If there are too many people. The one person who wants to buy doesn't want to be there but you need a healthy number of people. The  true buyers don't care. they find you."

While there may come a point where collectors might be turned off and say "screw it." That time hasn't come yet. You will see lots of dire warnings about the doom of the art world? Don't bet on it.

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Blastocyst 1 by Amber George
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