After having walked through some galleries both
far and wide, in New York and abroad, we found some interesting
artists to think about...
Jina Valentine manipulates found objects, mostly
found in junk stores, dumpsters, or on the curb side, to create her
delicately cut-out masterpieces. The materials she finds are already
full of history which she then instills with her own "vocabulary"
when fabricating the visual piece. In Poisonous Books,
Valentine constructs a monumental wall hanging, composed of handmade
paper and torn pages from old books, carefully cutting it into
organic shapes. Valentine currently lives and works in France.
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Italian-born David Reimondo also uses unusual
materials for his work: bread. He bakes his own bread, slices it and
then toasts it with a blow torch making specific designs and
patterns. The completed work is then placed under a transparent
resin, which both preserves the bread as well as highlights the
beauty of the art. This use of bread, combined with the modern
imagery Reimondo chooses, explores the relationship between
technology and humanity, body and space, and language and identity.
His works are not really considered paintings, photography or
sculpture but do contain elements of all three processes.
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Another Italian artist to watch is Karim
Ghidinelli. He uses metal and an image of his thumbprint to
mark the passage of time and the idea of travel. Enriched with many
layers, his work documents our contemporary daily life and the
politics of identity. Ghidinelli also works with oil, collage and
wax.
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Born in 1951, Lucille Marcotte has been showing her
artistic talent since 2004. She practiced psychology for several
years before dedicating her life to painting. Marcotte is influenced
by Japanese calligraphy. She emphasizes the purity of the line
while suspending her figures on white backgrounds. The viewer
is invited to find the face behind the canvas. Marcotte's works are
well represented in Canada.
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Suzanne Broughel is a New York based artist
working in sculpture, installation, and photography. Her work
addresses race and cultural identity from the perspective of a white
American female raised in a racially charged environment. Using
everyday household objects as art materials, she sifts through
autobiography, history, and popular culture to address privilege and
question the identity of whiteness. Here, she has created a giant
dreamcatcher made out of shoelaces, rope and a basketball
hoop.
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Canadian-born Emily Filler started to draw and paint at an
early age, greatly influenced as a child by her frequent visits to
art galleries with her father in Ottawa. Her floral landscapes are
created in her mind. By blending colors and patterns into dream-like
images, her goal is to convey the impressions which flowers and
nature leave in our unconscious.
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California-based Amit Greenberg is among a
growing number of artists using various found natural objects to
construct reliefs and installations. He likes
to manipulate tree branches to create work that evokes organic
forms with witty messages.
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