UGallery releases new art and welcomes new artists to our community every week. We love seeing what each new week will bring. Last week’s new artists were Lucy Bangiyeva, Katherine Gendreau, Lana Greben, and Richard Powell! Read on below to learn a little bit more about their work.

Lucy Bangiyeva. New York, New York.

The Adriatic Waves

The intersection of travel and photography has been explored by countless photographers. Lucy Bangiyeva joins the intrepid class of artists and travels to document her own life experiences while traveling the world. Lucy says, “Photography is a way for me to capture the moments that are most memorable in my life and relive my experiences of exploring the world.”

Katherine Gendreau. Ogunquit, Maine.

Study in Blue

Katherine Gendreau received a BA in Studio Art and English from Wheaton College, where she learned to imbue her art with a literary meaning. For Katherine, fine art photography combines emotion with technique and “is an expression of the artist’s sentiment.” Whether Katherine is attempting to capture the “unseen” or record time with long exposures, she creates photographs that depict a dreamy and sensual snapshot of her life.

Lana Greben. St. Marc-de-Figuery, Quebec.

Metamorphosis

By organizing a variety of visual elements onto a single piece of art, Lana Greben is able to focus on the representing images as well as how they are perceived. She approaches art from a didactic and dynamic stance to question the individual and the collective subconscious. Lana says, “To create an image with extended emotional and psychedelic range, and to generate a meaningful viewing experience, I intersect lines, colours and textures in simple yet complex interactions.”

Richard Powell. Lakeway, Texas.

Serenity Point

Richard Powell is an avid art collector and painter. He surrounds himself with the things that will inspire his work and does whatever will help him work harder and better. Richard says his images “can arrive full blown or like cookie crumbs spread out on a path before me. I consider each one a gift to materialize to the best of my abilities. If I’ve faithfully transmitted that vision to the viewer, then I consider it a success.” He received a graduate art degree from California State University, Northridge.

If you’re loving these artists, let them know by leaving a comment on their UGallery profile page. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you.

Every Thursday, we welcome a batch of new artists and artwork to UGallery. This series of blog posts highlights each week’s new artists. 
Our new artist this week is Lynne Pell. Read on below to learn more about her. Leave a nice comment on her profile page to welcome her to UGallery!

Lynne Pell. Baltimore, Maryland.

Just like a floral arrangement, a good painting comes from an artist with a nurturing hand and a keen eye. Lynne Pell paints her abstracted florals and figures with both. Her intuition orchestrates pieces that are balanced between impressionistic and expressionistic aesthetics. Lynne’s paintings are fresh and colorful bouquets built on color and care.

Every week, curate1k creates a collection of work under $1000 with the best artwork around. Norah Guignon, the writer and art hunter of curate1k, finds Ryan Pickart’s paintings (and prints!) worth the splurge.

curate1kblog:

I find Ryan Pickart’s paintings completely mesmerizing, so it’s no surprise he was one of the first artists I bookmarked when I decided to start curate1k. The glow and patterns in his work are reminiscent of Klimt, as is the quality of being caught between a dream and waking life. With many of his originals hovering around the $1000 mark, they are a splurge in the realm of possibility. But if prints are more your speed, I’m happily featuring one on curate1k this week. Enjoy!

Tongues 

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First, there is love (or lust and infatuation). Then, there is art. If Cupid had not hovered over the shoulders of these artists, the art world would be a sad (and lonely) place.

A book by Francine Prose titled “The Lives of the Muses” delves into the relationship of artist and muse. The bond between an artist and his or her inspiration is not like the love we discussed in Celebrity Art Couples. Love, in context of the muse, is much too strong a word. I was inspired to dig up dirt on artists and their muses. With some help from Francine Prose, I present to you UGallery’s Top 5 Art Muses. 

ELIZABETH SIDDAL: The Muse of Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Poor Lizzie. If she had been loved for more than her beauty, she may not have died from a laudanum overdose. Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti used his muse, Elizabeth Siddal, in order to channel a famous female figure from the past. Siddal became a prop for his art rather than a confidante.  Rossetti went as far as exhuming her body from the grave in order to recover his book of poems. He believed it would rekindle his inspiration.

Rossetti was obsessed with his namesake, Dante, and his own muse, Beatrice. For Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal and her voluminous red locks held the key to reincarnating Beatrice. The tragedy of Siddal and Rossetti lead to one good thing: Rossetti’s art. Above is Rossetti’s “Beata Beatrix.” There is no better way to depict a muse than by using your own as the model.

MISIA SERT: The Muse of Many 

Misia Sert, or Maria Zofia Olga Zenajda Godebska, inspired more artists than can be counted on one hand. Muses tend to do that. Their presence is strong enough to inspire a gaggle of artists with a simple flick of their hair. Misia Sert was the model for Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s Misia and Renoir’s Misia Sert. Above is a lovely rendition of Misia by Renoir. 

It’s no surprise that Misia Sert is on display at the Jewish Museum in NYC in its current show, EDOUARD VUILLARD: A PAINTER AND HIS MUSES, 1890-1940. Although Edouard Vuillard had many muses throughout his painting career, Misia Sert was one of the tops. 

GALA DALI: The Muse of Salvador Dali

How did Salvador Dali manage to marry if he was afraid of female genitals? Easy. He found a muse. Gala Dali stood in as Salvador Dali’s model, wife, and agent. Salvador would sign his paintings with both his and her name. He stated, “It is mostly with your blood, Gala, that I paint my pictures.”

He even went as far as calling Gala “the Beatrice of his life.” It seems Dante Gabrielle Rossetti was not the only artist to fantasize about finding an archetypal muse. 

CHARIS WILSON: The Muse of Edward Weston

A muse is a muse with or without clothing. Charis Wilson became the center piece for Edward Weston and his photographic exploration of the human figure. Charis posed for him time and time again. One of the better known pieces, “Nude,” immortalizes Charis and marks the peak of Weston’s figurative photography. This photograph foreshadows a muse and artist relationship that would end in shame. Charis and Edward drifted apart as Edward sought inspiration from other women. In 1946, Charis filed a divorce (muse had become wife somewhere along the line) to pursue her own artistic interests.

EDIE SEDGWICK: The Muse of Warhol

Another drug induced muse, Edie Sedgwick is our final fair lady. Without even trying, Edie exudes muse. Andy Warhol wanted to make Edie “the queen of the factory.” He filmed her in multiple videos. Her notoriety and superstardom grew from there. Unfortunately, the muse affair did not last long. Edie Sedgwick left the factory only to be picked up by Bob Dylan. If there is one thing we’ve learned through our muse , it is that an artist must cherish a muse before she walks away.

So, I’ve got to ask. Who inspires you?

Kevin Brewerton is one of Ugallery’s most intruiging and talented painters. If you didn’t catch our interview with Kevin some months back, be sure to give it a read. Kevin is a five-time World Kickboxing Champion. He was so prolific that Martial Arts Illustrated wrote: “If anyone in the sport of Karate hasn’t heard of Kevin Brewerton, then they must have been in a coma for the last ten years.”

Kevin’s awesome paintings include some boxing themes, especially in his more figurative pieces. Recently, however, he’s started working with boxing materials. In his most recent series of work, Kevin has been painting on the canvases that coat the floors of boxing rings. Some of the canvases at Kevin’s disposal are from the Rocky movies and Million Dollar Baby.

We asked Kevin to tell us a little bit about these pieces and tell us about a boxing ring canvas’s journey from gym floor to high art. Here’s what he told us:

I drive to a small warehouse in East Los Angeles to buy my boxing ring canvases. I like the ones that are used and worn the most. I’m looking for the history in them. You can see it by looking at them, there’s an energy. Most of these canvases have been fought on by professionals or amateurs, either in competition or in training.

There are a number of ways to attack the work here. I’ve decided to use Color Field to break up the canvas: fighting is about dominating the ring, which is not unlike how complimentary colors fight to dominate the space on an artist’s canvas. This, amongst other things, suggests to the viewer that he/she is seeing the history of the fight. I have this in mind as I paint.

When I work with the larger canvases, I paint from standing inside the canvas. I want to become part of it, part of the art. A strange thing happens when I’m in that space, I find myself the fighter and the artist. I am fortunate to have had first hand experience from both perspectives. When I begin to paint, these canvases take on a life of their own. Each one is as different and unique as an other. Even if I try to replicate a work I can’t. There’s something epic about it. It feels like something historic is frozen in time.

Photos courtesy of Juan Monsalvez

Ugallery is delighted to announce that one of our dearest artists, San Francisco Impressionist Sarah Beth Goncarova, has published a book filled with her stunning paintings. Alex, Ugallery’s co-founder and art director, wrote a lovely intro to “A Yearlong Summer” which is available for purchase here.

To learn more about Sarah Beth and her work, enjoy this interview and browse her Ugallery or Paperwork portfolios.

Apartment Therapy came across this unique way of hanging art in an installation by Maison Martin Margiela at the 2010 Milan Design Week. Instead of lying flat against the wall, the paintings are attached to the wall via hinges, allowing them to swing out into space and become more sculptural. AT also had some suggestions about how this could work in your home:

What has us excited is that hanging art this way would make it possible to do things like hang art over a bookcase and still easily get to books behind it; hang art in a corner; cover a thermostat or fuse box (and still easily use it); or even hide a flat-panel television. We would imagine for a heavy piece you’d need a heavy-duty hinge, and that it may take knowing where the studs are in a room to successfully pull off — but we still love this creative idea.

I’m a bit nervous to attach hinges to a frame. Best act with caution if you try this technique out! (And send us pics if you pull it off!)

Several months ago I read a fairly scathing review of the book “1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die” in the Wall Street Journal. Then, recently, I was given a copy of the book. After first paging through it, I thought the review had been a little severe. I attempted to find the article on wsj.com, but it seems that it has been too long since it was printed to view it without a subscription. The main critiques that I remember are: the book’s contributors do not have impressive titles, the book is dominated by western art, and the images are too small. I believe there were more complaints but I don’t remember all of them.

After looking through the book more, my overall impression is that the reviewer may have mistaken a lighthearted coffee table book for an art history textbook. In the introduction, the editor Stephen Farthing writes that the concept for the book came about from playing the game, “if you could own any five works of art, which would you choose?” I think the WSJ writer instead looked at the book as an incomplete and poorly researched comprehensive collection of what is considered to be the world’s best artwork. In the end, it seems that Farthing is just saying, “these are my favorite paintings, and I believe you will enjoy them too.” I really like the concept.

However, there is one glaring flaw in all of this; Farthing, who is also a painter, has included two of his own works in the book. Even if you are just sharing your opinion of your favorite art, I think it is a little self-important to list two of your own works next to the likes of Michelangelo, Monet, and Picasso.

That said, overall, I like the book. It encourages people who aren’t art experts to seek out some wonderful paintings and to learn a little more about art history. And unlike art history texts which all seem to focus on the same star artists, Farthing does venture off of the beaten path a bit to show people artists that they may have overlooked, like for example, Stephen Farthing.