The now and again Five Pieces of Art thing feature again. Well why not (again)? Again and again (and again and again), all this art flowing past on various feeds or wrapped up in press releases or jumping off actual gallery walls or wrapping chips or passing on the side of those Whitechapel white vans. So we ask (again) why not five pieces of art every couple of weeks or so alongside everything else that appears on these fractured pages on a daily basis? Can you think of one good reason why not to? Well besides the time involved and the this and the that and the dancing around and the skins on the tins of paint and the man at the door…
Five pieces of art then, a semi regular feature, just five pieces of art that have passed our way in the last few days, nothing more (or less) than that. Nothing really to do with an upcoming show or anything else (although maybe they are), just a simple, semi regular five pieces of art feature. Let’s do it again…
1: Rick Lowe – Just above is a rather eye-catching image of a Rick Lowe piece, “Lowe’s practice centers on interpreting and transforming shared structures and sites, using community-based projects to catalyze change. Drawn, painted, and collaged, his abstractions complement these initiatives, taking games of dominoes as starting points from which to consider relationships between people and places. Paper is a key material for Lowe, whose works on paper function both as autonomous artworks and as a way to explore varied modes of abstraction. In search of light, Lowe explores the dynamic and associative effects of color and tone in works that are distinguished by a bright, saturated palette and emphasize dramatic contrasts of light and dark”.
The works on paper currently being exhibited in Gstaad (Switzerland), of which the above is one, were completed this year, developing previous motifs and introducing new ones. In the Glyph Studies drawings, made with graphite on collaged paper, Lowe assembles collections of fragmented linear structures into abstract lexicographies. Intersecting, arcing paths are a key element of Inferno, with its fiery palette, and Becoming, which adds equally vivid cool blues and greens to those warm hues, creating spatial effects that suggest active growth…” More or RickLowe.com
2: Madeleine Strindberg is an artist, a painter we have long admired around here, she first came to our attention something like a dozen years ago when she first responded to a Cultivate open call, she had a long history before that, she’s excited us ever since. Madeleine has taken part in many Cultivate shows, she’s clearly an artist who has no option other than to make art, she’s constantly producing work that looks and feels like no one else, that constantly grabs us, her work has a beautiful energy, a preciseness, it often comes with a bite, it never is obvious, unless something has annoyed her on the political stage then it maybe is a little straight to the point. This is Camouflage, her latest piece to be posted on social media, Madeleine isn’t big on information or websites or social media, he art exists in the real world, she not the latest hot new thing, the gatekeepers aren’t going to open their gates for her, the London art scene grows more and more ageist by the week… Madeleine Strindberg’s art excites us, more soon we hope… Madeleine Strindberg on Instagram
And here’s nine more pieces of Madeleine Strindberg art, do click on the images to see the whole image or to run the slide show… More Madeleine Strindberg here – Cultivate presents Three x Three (Part Six) – an online art exhibition featuring Lisa Denyer, Liz Griffiths and Madeleine Strindberg…
3: David Bowie’s Art Collection – I bumped into David Bowie once in an art gallery, actually no, that’s not quite true, I smelt Mr. Bowie in a gallery, I was standing quietly looking at a painting and suddenly became aware of a rather expensive smell, glanced right and there he was looking at the same painting, we kind of nodded and smiled at each other and on we both went standing next to each looking at the painting and that knowing nod between people in a gallery when words aren’t needed to share the moment. This is a rather interesting film, it has been around for a year or more, it only jsut past by via our social media,
“David Bowie’s music has inspired people all over the world, but what inspired David Bowie? Join us on a journey around the world as we explore five pieces from David Bowie’s art collection and discover the impact the art he collected had on Bowie’s own artistic output”.
03:31 Part 1: The Head of Gerda Boehm 06:05 Part 2: Portrait of a Man 07:34 Part 3: The Valentine Typewriter 09:09 Part 4: Austria’s National Holiday 11:33 Part 5: Alexandra
“From mod to glam rock king, from pop star to movie star, there’s a David Bowie for everybody. Even when you invite an art historian to talk about art, they’d rather talk about David Bowie!
By the 2000’s, David Bowie amassed a substantial collection of paintings, sculptures and furniture. Following the singer’s death in 2016, Bowie’s art buyer and curator Beth Greenacre, helped to organize the sale of around 65% of the collection. The sale was a big public event and the best attended exhibition that Sotheby’s had ever put on with plenty of eminent artists to draw in the crowd.
Bowie collected works that meant something to him, however this personal side of the collection didn’t reflect the public personas of Bowie that we’ve come to know. The collection was described by critics as quiet and muted, but it was in this subtler side of the collection that Bowie’s preoccupation lay”.
4: Stik and a rather fine shot of the London artist’s East Village ‘Liberty’ mural painted in New York back in 2012 just passed our way. “The 2012 Liberty mural overlooks Tompkins Square the home of civil rights uprisings since the 1800s”. Do miss not seeing new Stik pieces popping up here in East London like they once did, do miss that East London that existed fifteen or so years ago…
5: Deborah Roberts, an artist we rather like around these parts, had a new limited edition print available. “Roberts’ figurative works depict the complexity of Black subjecthood and explore themes of race, identity and gender politics. Standing tall, the young girl poses with one hand on her hip and the other locked in a protective embrace. Roberts’ use of white backgrounds previously depicted the constant presence of the white gaze. Here, this absence of context allows for the subject to claim the space, existing freely on a blank plane devoid of history, prejudice and monolithic ideas of the Black experience. 24 karat gold leaf is used to embellish the figure’s fingernails, a signature motif used throughout the artist’s practice. As a symbol of independence and freedom, they draw attention to her defiant pose”.
Discussing her practice, Roberts explains: “My goal is that young Black girls see themselves in the work. I hope it reminds them that they are powerful and phenomenal people who deserve respect!” – Taking a stand, 2024, a new print by Deborah Roberts, is now available via Stephen Friedman Gallery.
Previously….
Some more Deborah Roberts…
And while we’re here, Yasmin Grant‘s solo show goes on in January of mext year, we are thinking about next year in terms of art now right? ORGAN PREVIEW: Black Subjective will open next weekend, a solo show from London-based painter Yasmin Grant and her powerful paintings built with lusciously painted golds, rich dark browns and yellows, deep dark blues that are almost but not quite the blackest of black…
THE ORGAN 
One response to “ORGAN: Five Art Things – Rick Lowe transforming shared structures, Madeleine Strindberg, David Bowie’s art collection, a new Deborah Roberts print, a quick bit of Stik and…”
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