Frank, Jill and Five Other Artists Whose Work I Especially Admire

Earlier this spring Frank Holmes sent me an email to share two recent paintings that he and his wife, Jill Mackey, had recently completed. I've always loved their work and try to make time to visit their home/studio when I go east to see my family.

”The Big Three” Oil on canvas, approximately 19 x 38 inches

In recent years Frank has been fascinated by these colored panels. Jill has focused on portraiture, so the "Smashed Head from Notre Dame Cathedral" is, in a quirky way, in keeping with that theme. I myself have been enthralled with both of their studios as well as their commitment to their craft.

“Smashed Head from Notre Dame Cathedral.” Approx. 8 x 6 inches. 

Of this latter painting, I felt compelled to ask for more about the story. Here is Jill's reply:

Ed: We took a couple of photos in Paris somewhere in a basement of the Louvre. I recently came across them and looked up their story.  Most were once on Notre Dame and were damaged during the/a revolution as they were thought to be heads of kings. Many were destroyed or sold as building material. In April 1977 a pit was unearthed containing sculptures from Cathedrals including 21 heads. [Check out Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture.] I love most painting the head, the face, and it was wonderful to see have seen the pieces in the flesh, so to speak.          
My best to you and I hope this helps. May we meet again.  Jill

HERE ARE SOME HOTLINKS TO MORE ABOUT THESE TWO ARTISTS

Frank Holmes
https://ennyman.medium.com/veteran-painter-frank-baker-holmes-discusses-his-prix-de-rome-and-life-as-an-artist-d41da5b9af37
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2021/06/flashback-friday-contemporary-artists.html

Jill Mackie
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2017/09/paintings-now-before-figures-flowers.html
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2018/04/almost-wordless-wednesday-jill-mackies.html
Check Out: Set In Stone: The Face In Medieval Culture

HERE ARE SOME HOTLINKS TO FIVE OTHER ARTISTS WHOSE WORK I'VE FOUND IMPRESSIVE

Detail from Tina Mion's A New Year’s Party In Purgatory
For Suicides in which Liberace makes a guest appearance
down from heaven just for the hell of it.

Tina Mion
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2009/08/tina-mions-new-years-party-in-purgatory.html
https://tinamion.com/art/presidents/
https://tinamion.com/art/ladies-first/
https://tinamion.com/

Studio of Elizabeth Kuth when she lived on Island Lake.

Elizabeth Kuth
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2014/08/a-visit-with-island-lake-artist_25.html
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2014/08/a-visit-with-island-lake-artist_57.html

Kehinde Wiley’s portraits of African American men collate
modern culture with the influence of Old Masters.

Kehinde Wiley
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2020/06/snapshot-of-artist-kehinde-wiley-who.html
https://kehindewiley.com/
https://kehindewiley.com/works/
Page of images at Google

Claude-Angele Boni's The Rue Morgue Avenue

Claude-Angele Boni
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2021/04/french-artist-claude-angele-boni.html
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2021/04/fun-with-collage-claude-angele-bonis.html
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2021/09/claude-angele-bonis-stuck-inside-of.html

One example of Margarida Sardinha's Alhambra-inspired
work in her exhibition titled Symmetry's Portal. 

Margarida Sardinha
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2022/04/margarida-sardinhas-da-vinci-simulacrum.html
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2012/03/exloring-hyperlightness-ad-absurdum.html
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2015/01/discussing-symmetrys-portal-with-artist.html

* * * *

All these artist's live in other regions of the country or overseas. When you travel, don't neglect any opportunity to visit the art galleries there. And when you come to Duluth, be sure to visit ours. There are a lot of people doing impressive work everywhere. 

Snapshot of Artist Kehinde Wiley, Who Painted President Obama

THROWBACK THURSDAY
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 2012

During the holidays I had the opportunity to visit Savannah for the first time. I'd heard it was a beautiful city, and it did not disappoint. Savannah is famed for its history, its food, its riverfront, its architecture and its graveyards. It is also home to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Though the aim of our three night stay in Savannah was to visit my son, who is a manager in one of the city's many nice restaurants, I also very much desired to take in the SCAD Museum of Art. It was worth the visit.

Among the exhibits on display at this time is the work of a New York-based portrait painter named Kehinde Wiley. His paintings are very large, and in the style of the classic masters, except they are different.

A museum staff member said that Wiley takes people off the street (for example, Harlem) and has them choose a classic pose, but he paints them in their contemporary garb. My guess is that he is cleverly introducing these ordinary people to extraordinary slices of culture and art history. The piece here on the left is titled, The Three Graces.

This weekend I went online to find out more about Kehinde Wiley. On his website I found the following Artist Statement.

Kehinde Wiley’s portraits of African American men collate modern culture with the influence of Old Masters. Incorporating a range of vernaculars culled from art historical references, Wiley’s work melds a fluid concept of modern culture, ranging from French Rococo to today’s urban landscape. By collapsing history and style into a unique contemporary vision, Wiley interrogates the notion of master painter, “making it at once critical and complicit.” Vividly colorful and often adorned with ornate gilded frames, Wiley’s large-scale figurative paintings, which are illuminated with a barrage of baroque or rococo decorative patterns, posit young black men, fashioned in urban attire, within the field of power reminiscent of Renaissance artists such as Tiepolo and Titian.

What impressed me was not only the conceptual fusion of art history and Black American experience, the paintings themselves were masterfully produced. Wiley's brushwork demonstrates nothing short of wizardry.

I've forgotten how long the Wiley exhibit will be up but for now through the end of January you can see the paintings photographed here at the SCAD Museum of Art. To see additional works by Wiley, visit his page at the National Portrait Gallery website.

For what it's worth, this very young artist in his mid-thirties has a lot of years ahead of him. He'll be someone to keep an eye on in the 21st century.



The Obama Portrait
Since writing this blog post in 2012 Wiley has produced an impressive body from his studios in Brooklyn and Beijing. Most significantly, he was selected and commissioned to paint President Barack Obama's portrait which took two years and was unveiled in 2017. (Amy Sherald painted Michelle Obama's portrait.) You can read more about this impressive painting here.

KEHINDE WILEY'S RESUME

Click images to enlarge.

Kehinde Wiley: Mastering the Classics

During the holidays I had the opportunity to visit Savannah for the first time. I'd heard it was a beautiful city, and it did not disappoint. Savannah is famed for its history, its food, its riverfront, its architecture and its graveyards. It is also home to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Though the aim of our three night stay in Savannah was to visit my son, who is a manager in one of the city's many nice restaurants, I also very much desired to take in the SCAD Museum of Art. It was worth the visit.

Among the exhibits on display at this time is the work of a New York-based portrait painter named Kehinde Wiley. His paintings are very large, and in the style of the classic masters, except they are different.

A museum staff member said that Wiley takes people off the street (for example, Harlem) and has them choose a classic pose, but he paints them in their contemporary garb. My guess is that he is cleverly introducing these ordinary people to extraordinary slices of culture and art history. The piece here on the left is titled, The Three Graces.

This weekend I went online to find out more about Kehinde Wiley. On his website I found the following Artist Statement.

Kehinde Wiley’s portraits of African American men collate modern culture with the influence of Old Masters. Incorporating a range of vernaculars culled from art historical references, Wiley’s work melds a fluid concept of modern culture, ranging from French Rococo to today’s urban landscape. By collapsing history and style into a unique contemporary vision, Wiley interrogates the notion of master painter, “making it at once critical and complicit.” Vividly colorful and often adorned with ornate gilded frames, Wiley’s large-scale figurative paintings, which are illuminated with a barrage of baroque or rococo decorative patterns, posit young black men, fashioned in urban attire, within the field of power reminiscent of Renaissance artists such as Tiepolo and Titian.

What impressed me was not only the conceptual fusion of art history and Black American experience, the paintings themselves were masterfully produced. Wiley's brushwork demonstrates nothing short of wizardry.

I've forgotten how long the Wiley exhibit will be up but for now through the end of January you can see the paintings photographed here at the SCAD Museum of Art. To see additional works by Wiley, visit his page at the National Portrait Gallery website.

For what it's worth, this very young artist in his mid-thirties has a lot of years ahead of him. He'll be someone to keep an eye on in the 21st century.

Click images to enlarge.