EXHIBITION : FATIH IN..

To view exhibition only listings – go to bottom of page to the exhibition link.

Brian Randolf: Uncharted Waters

Artist:  Brian Randolf from New York Adorned.

Uncharted Waters Exhibition, 2008.

Pen on life sized photographs – series by selected New York tattoo artists.

My last two blog posts are both personal to me, relating to faith.  This tattoo artists is one of my favourites in the world, he creates beautiful geometric works that are very unique.  Tattooing for me personally is a way to etch into the body, lifes turns, significant events, decisions, beliefs, personal asthetic and faith.  Tattooing traditionally was a right of passage and is still used in that manner for many today.  Although its become more common and popular there is a deep history and meaning to this art form.

Niki White : Portraits

Niki White

Portraits of my daughter Anataia age 3, 2008.

Colour Photograph, 16 x 20, Private Collection.

Taken with a Canon 40D & Bowen Lighting

This is a series of photographs I took of Anataia last year.  The studio setup just fitted in our lounge and we had a fun time playing round together.  I’ve included this in my exhibition because Anataia gives me faith in life and love.  Children change your world in such a profound way with their pure nature, raw true emotion.  Blessed.

Damian Hirst : For the Love of God, 2007

Damian Hirst, For the Love of God, 2007

Life sized, diamond encrusted skull.  Cast from an 18th-century skull.

For the Love of God – For the Love of God is a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds.  Weighing 1,106.18 carats.   Set on the forehead is a large, pear-shaped light fancy pink diamond, called the Skull Star Diamond, reportedly worth $4.2 million alone.  The teeth are from the original skull.  Hirst financed the project himself and estimates it cost between 10 and 15 million. It is priced at $99 million, making it the priciest contemporary artwork ever made.

This well known work by Hirst is stunningly extravagant and beautiful.  There are quite a lot of examples of bejeweled skulls in archaeology, for example Mexican skulls encrusted in turquoise.  Here Hirst creates one of extreme decadence .  This is a beautiful commentry on death (hirsts signature theme), beauty, materialism, value and ritual.  It also has an element of humour as the title of the work was inspired by Hirst’s mother who asked her son, ‘For the love of God, what are you going to do next?’

Hirst said of his work,  ‘Death is such a heavy subject, it would be good to make something that laughed in the face of it’. However with the ongoing controversy over blood diamonds from Africa, Hirst has felt the weight of creating something people may have actually died because of.  ‘Thats when you stop laughing,’ Hirst has said.. ‘I felt like Oppenheimer or something. What have I done?’

Akiane: Beginning

Akaine

Beginning

Acrylic on canvas, Age 13 (2008) 48 x 60 inch.

This girl has been selling paintings since she was 6 years old.  She is an incredibly talented artist, writing poetry and painting works inspired by her faith.  She references nature, children, life, faith and spirituality.

Mike Lewis: Christ Eyes

Mike Lewis

Christ Eyes, 41 x 51 cm Giclee Print, Private Collections.

I chose this piece because its stunningly beautiful.  When I did some more research about the artist I found out he is a deeply religious young American that primarily paints Jesus.  I’m not religious personally, definately more on the metaphysical side of things.  But I’m really interested in religious art (if you can’t already tell). This guy has a really interesting style, using his hands alot, brushes, throws paint while in a focused meditative like state and what results are these large bold works.  He has been doing painting projects in the community, on the streets and subways of New York and in the mountains of Idaho.

Edward Munch. Madonna, 1895.

Edward Munch (1863 – 1944)

Madonna, 1895.

Oil on canvas 91 x 70.5 cm.  National Gallery, Oslo

Munch’s first Madonna art work was a black and white lithograph in 1895.  During the next seven years, Munch hand-coloured several impressions, as seen above.

I love Mother Mary, Madonna art works, the symbology of the sacred heart, light, faith, calm and strength they portray.  I also like the contrast of Mary images that are innocent and ‘holy’ compared to the more kali like darker images that some artists focus on.

Sassoferrato : The Virgin in Prayer

The Virgin in Prayer, 1640-50

Sassoferrato (Giovanni Battista Salvi) (1609 – 1685)

Oil on canvas, 73 x 58 cm.

Head at the National Gallery, London.  Bequeathed by Richard Simmons, 1846.

Max Gimblett – Person of Zen2, 2008

Max Gimlett (1935 – ), NZ

Person of Zen 2, 2008

gesso, acrylic and vinyl polymers iridescent silver fine, epoxy, palladium leaf, canvas, 15 inch quatrefoil

Exhibited at the Gow Lansford Gallery May 2009

Function:  The use of the quatrefoil has references to both Eastern and Western religions.  The materials he uses also have religious associations with precious metal references.  He combines gold, silver, copper, bronze, epoxy, resin, plaster, paint and pigments.

I’ve included this work because Gimblett references religion, spirituality and psychology.  He studied psychology after becoming an accomplished painter and you can see its influence in his mindful, beautiful paintings.  You can feel the focus and calm in his use of colour and flow of lines.  I think he creates stunning works that show faith visually in a non denominational way.

Mapplethorpe: Lisa Lyon, 1981

Robert Mapplethorpe ( 1946 -1989)

Lisa Lyon, 1981

Black and white, gelatin print. 450 x 453

Photograph from the Collection of Lisa Lyons at New York auction October 16, 2008.

Private Collection.

Mapplethorpe produced a series of black and white portraits of female bodybuilder Lisa Lyons between 1980-82.  Taken on a large format press camera.  I think the function on the work was to show the bodies beautiful form and strength, the naturalness of the body.  His work also questions the gender roles and female stereotypes of the 1980s.  This work is displayed in the publication of the book, Lady: Lisa Lyon (1983).

I chose Mapplethorpe because of his raw portrayal of nature and humans within the medium of black and white photography.  This relates to my theme of faith as many people carry strong faith in their bodies and nature, its ability to heal, birth, shape, move, change.  Mapplethorpes photography has a raw vision of that pure nature.  Also black and white imagery can also be a metaphor for individuals black and white points of view regarding faith.  Mapplethorpe often chose subjects to challenge our beliefs, our black and white views of what is feminine and masculine.  He photographed nudes with religious and mythological symbols and in the early 70s photographed the underground S&M community as well as famous artists portrayed in raw ways.

self portrait