Asen

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Born in: Taiwan
Lives in: Taiwan
Describe your art in three words: Pursue truth, goodness and beauty, enhance body and mind
See More Work: FB:Zheng Xian Xie

Street 1 - Gouache on paper 26 x 36 cm

Painting is a joy, and what can relieve stress is the pursuit of dreams. The process is like a game, thinking about how to overcome setbacks in times of difficulty, growing wisdom in adversity, and enjoying the joy of completing the work after overcoming difficulties, that is, enjoying painting endless themes, fun.

What themes does your work involve?
In recent years, I have been researching how many styles and features the streetscape presents.
Describe your creative process.
I take pictures from multiple angles, feel the atmosphere on the spot, and observe various people and things
What influences your work? What inspires you? Why do you make art?
From ancient times to the present, the beautiful masterpieces of great masters have influenced the trend of beauty in all generations of the world. People imitate and innovate, and I am also in it. With advanced painting skills, I am close to truth, kindness and beauty, and experience life. Under the influence of the epidemic in these years , more aware of grasping the moment.
What are your goals and plans as an artist in 2023?
To paint, experience life and just draw.
Street 5 - Gouache on paper 26 x 36 cm
Street 4 - Gouache on paper 26 x 36 cm
Street 3 - Gouache on paper 26 x 36 cm
Street 2 - Gouache on paper 26 x 36 cm

 

This interview was published by Circle Foundation of the Arts. © CFA Press ∙ Images are courtesy of the artist

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Hari Lualhati

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Born in: 1985, Philippines
Lives in: Cape Town, South Africa
Education: BFA, University of the Philippines, Diliman (Hons Cum Laude)
Describe your art in three words: Soulful. Inspiring. Unforgettable.
See More Work: http://harilualhati.yolasite.com/

Lean On To Innocence

Hari Lualhati prefers her latest artworks to be called as "SOULWORKS" because they are a direct connection to her soul. Her figurative subject being accompanied by animals and nature shows that we are all connected. Her soulworks are mirrors of golden life lessons, Aha Moments and realizations that the artist aims to preserve and share to others.

What themes does your work involve?
My "SOULWORKS" serve as a direct connection to my soul and represent matters that value to me. I love the sincerity and raw beauty that a naked figure represents. These qualities inspire me to use nude figure as my subject matter. I also incorporate elements of nature and animals to the human figure to show that we are all connected. I can define my creative style as a marriage of realism, symbolism and expressionism. I prefer to paint my subject in a clear realistic style to make sure it can easily be identified by anyone (no matter if they are expert in art or not) , for me to make sure I deliver the message of my artwork clearly. Then I would paint the other parts as expressive as I can so there would be balance and to make the piece more interesting.
Describe your creative process.
I mostly use oil on canvas. The creative process starts with conceptualisation. Once I've visualized my idea, I start painting. More often than not I find myself lost in my art as I go with the flow of passion running through my paintbrush. I call it: "Love made visible through Art." Quality is one of my top priorities. I never rush when I paint and give it the time and attention it needs until it speaks to my heart, until I know that I've given it my best.
Though I take into consideration the use of different techniques, I value more the feelings that I put into my works. I paint and draw with my heart.
What influences your work? What inspires you? Why do you make art?
The concept of my soulworks revolves around powerful life lessons, aha moments and realizations I've gained from life. These are those "Moments" that made huge impact in my life and have taught me to be a better version of myself. I would like to preserve and pass these lessons and inspirations to others through the best way I can and that is through my soulworks. I believe that we are all connected as human beings and that we share the same emotions. I hope that the audience could see part of themselves through my soulworks and hopefully connect to them and inspire them to have a more positive outlook in life.
What are your goals and plans as an artist in 2023?

My goal has always been the same, to be able to create quality Soulworks/artworks that are not only aesthetically beautiful but also meaningful that would hopefully inspire and connect to the heart of anyone who would look at them.

How do recent advancements in technology affect your art practice? How may recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (image generator software) affect the definition of fine art?
I always prefer to look at the brighter side of things especially when it comes to how advancements in technology affect my art practice. Part of these advancements in technology would be the use of social media. I'm grateful for it because it enables my Soulworks to connect to a wider number of people.
What is the role of the artist today?
Being able to create all my Soulworks is the most rewarding thing for me as an artist. The joy and fulfillment it gives me whenever I would finish a piece of art is comparable to the feeling of a parent giving birth to a newborn baby. Every piece is made with love. That's why I'm glad whenever someone connects with my artworks or when they get featured in a magazine or exhibited locally and abroad or receive an award. Each of my artworks has a special connection with me. They are like my babies. I believe that artists/painters have the capability to influence other people through their artworks. Art pieces serve as a great vehicle for messages/ ideas/ inspiration/ life lessons that can be pass on to different generations.
What is good art? What makes a piece of art great?
A great art for me has a perfect combination of certain elements. It should not only be aesthetically appealing but it must also carry a meaningful message. I visualise it as a well thought out art that shows the masterful skills of the artist where you can witness the disciplined principles that were followed and combined it with the freedom of expressive artistic techniques. To top it all, a great art will not be great if it was not created by the HEART. I believe that this element allows the art to connect to the viewers, making it easy for the viewers to not only understand the art but also feel the intention and message of the art.
The Dreamcatcher

 

This interview was published by Circle Foundation of the Arts. © CFA Press ∙ Images are courtesy of the artist

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Gerard Huber

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Born in: 1949, United States
Lives in: Dallas, Texas, USA
Education: Bachelor of Art from the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa/U.S.A.
Special Student in Art from Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, Indiana/U.S.A.
Master of Fine Art from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan/U.S.A.
Describe your art in three words: Sensual. Seductive. Subversive.
See More Work: www.gerardhuber.com

Juvenes Noctis - Airbrushed acrylic38 x 59 in. $12,000

"My strategy is to employ the sensuality of color, texture, light, illusionistic form, and space as subversive instruments of seduction -- sensual ways of engaging the viewer, as voyeur or partner, into a space that challenges heteronormative assumptions and which demonstrates that same-sex relationships are wholesome, healthy and life-affirming."

What themes does your work involve?
CFA curator, Myrina Tunberg Georgiou, summed up the themes of my work far more succinctly than I could ever have imagined -- "What is significant in Huber's work is not his extraordinary capacity for realism but more importantly his ability to think and create in a post-modern context where the pieces become mesmerizing for the multiplicity and complexity of the content they evoke whether that is a conversation on art itself, on sexuality or the strong man etiquette."
Describe your creative process.
I generally work in a series.I work on one painting at a time until it is finished -- between six and nine months. This time commitment means that I have to feel that the message of the artwork is important enough to keep me fully engaged from beginning to end, for that extended period of time. I chose airbrushed acrylic as my medium of choice because it leaves no trace of any changes of shape, color, composition, etc. beneath the final surface. I can make a million mistakes (and I do!) from beginning to end and no one will ever know. I combine elements from dozens and dozens of photographs, direct observations, and imagination for each and every painting.
What influences your work? What inspires you? Why do you make art?
Depictions of naked male flesh have been associated with evil such that the only way a nude male body can be tolerated is if being abused, punished, or mutilated - a sadomasochistic expiation of unconscious guilt about merely having a body, while depictions of female nudity are acceptable, according to John Berger's "Ways of Seeing", because they provide opportunities for an "acceptable" male possession whether in fact or desire. My intent is to invite the viewer to resolve the question of good and evil regarding nudity in general, and male nudity in particular, as well as provide a peacefully sensual way of drawing the viewer into spaces that challenge heteronormative assumptions of male competition, and which demonstrate that same-sex relationships are wholesome, healthy and affirming.
What are your goals and plans as an artist in 2023?

My interest is in de-sensationalizing the nude male body by placing the nude figure in an intimate domestic settings, allowing me to combine my love of the nude male figure, decorative still life objects, and tromp l'oeil effects.
Add to this mix Claudio Bravo's comment that "If someone paints a nude and there's no effect on the viewer in erotic terms, then it's a bad nude." By suggesting that the viewer is in the same room with the nude, the images beg the question of the viewer -- Is the viewer merely a viewer? Is the viewer a voyeur? Or is the viewer a participant or a partner? The reactions that arise in the viewer tell you about yourself and your fundamental values and beliefs.

How do recent advancements in technology affect your art practice? How may recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (image generator software) affect the definition of fine art?
The most recent technical advances in art which I completely depend on in my production are the invention of the airbrush, acrylic paint and slide projectors. Clearly I have barely entered the 20th century. My cellphone and the dials on the dashboard of my car can clearly outwit me. I am reminded of newspaper articles from my youth in which stories of little children, then baboons, and finally elephants making abstract paintings selling for thousands of dollars -- all as a way of ridiculing the Abstract Expressionist painters of the day. I don't believe that any entity animal, child, or mechanical (including AI) can challenge the depths of the soul of an adult human being on canvas.
What is the role of the artist today?
From my earliest memory I cannot remember wanting to be anything but an artist--no dreams of being a fireman, or policeman, an astronaut or whatever... But I do remember vividly sitting on my Father's knee and watching in amazement as he would draw freehand the comic characters from the Sunday morning newspaper. Oh the magic!!!! I was absolutely mesmerized. I still believe that making Art is both magical and utilitarian. Art beautifies our world and enriches our lives along with seducing us to stop ("and smell the flowers") in order to ponder the implications and meanings within the trivialities or significant events in our lives.
What is good art? What makes a piece of art great?
From a purely personal point of view I consider an artwork good or great if it causes a response in me "Damn, I wish I had done that!" While technical excellence goes without saying, Good and Great Art must engage the viewer in a thoughtful dialogue about important matters relating to life and death.
Amplexus Aeternum - Aibrushed acrylic 32 x 46 in. $12,000
Reflections I - Airbrushed acrylic 28 x 47 in. $15,000
Invidere - Airbrushed acrylic 42 x 40 in. $12,000
Sapere Aude - Airbrushed acrylic 39 x 60 in. $15,000
Sequi vestigia admiratorum Veneris Cnidiae - Airbrushed acrylic 60 x 48 in. $15,000
Resurrection - Airbrushed acrylic 50 x 48 in. $12,000
Sub Rosa - Airbrushed acrylic 42 x 39 in. $12,000

 

This interview was published by Circle Foundation of the Arts. © CFA Press ∙ Images are courtesy of the artist

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IHARA

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“My goal is to create a harmonious relationship between nature and artifact. By combining these two conflicting factors, we can remove nature (living organic matter) and non-natural boundaries.”

Moku-renma - Wood 10 x 7 x 8 m

Japanese sculptor, IHARA was born in 1943 and has been awarded at the Nika exhibit (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) every year between 1967-74. In 1976 he became an Honorary Member of Japan Flower Arrangement Foundation. In 1986 he built a sculpture at Misawa Gate Riverside Park in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture and in 1989 3 of his sculptures were built on the main street of Kagawa Bridge station in Hyogo ken. Ihara’s has been commissioned numerous public sculptures in Japan as well as in the USA where he has exhibited many times and received awards.

1957 Former professor of Tenpo Misho-ryukado
School（Japanese traditional art）
1967-74 He is awarded the Nika exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) every year.
1973 (The Imperial Highness Princess Takamatsu of the Imperial Family) Appointed as a special member of the Japan Ikebana Art Association
1980 Jodo Buddhism Seizan Zenrinji Buddhism Academy（Obtained
qualifications as a solemn teacher, a cloth teacher and a cultural member）
1967-74 He is awarded the Nika exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) every year.
1972 Hyogo Prefectural Contemporary Art Museum Award Winner Awarded Tokyo Art Museum Special Award.
1973 Japan Flower Arrangement Special Member .　
1989 Three sculptures were built on the main street of Kagawa Bridge station in Hyogo ken.
1991 I built a sculpture of Sho-en Sculpture Center 10 in San Diego, California.
1992 The artwork was nominated for the exhibition and won the French Maubeugeu City Art Contest.
1995 Lithuania World Sculpture Symposium. One of the sculptures exhibited permanently at the European Central Art Museum in Lithuania.
1996 I built a sculpture in Nakao Park in Akashi City Hyogo Prefecture.
1998 I built three sculptures (permanent collection) in the Skokie North Shore Sculpture Park in Chicago. the year of 2000
2001 Traveling Exhibition II "Tree of Origin" at the entrance of Center for horticulture in Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture.
Exhibition at Takashimaya Kyoto department store in Kyoto.
Traveling Exhibition "Tree of Origin" at the entrance of Osaka Museum of History, and Japan Broadcasting Cooperation, Osaka station (NHK) in Osaka.
2005 Erected 12 Sculptures of Soul Object in Okura Akashi Coast in Hyogo Prefecture.
2006 Erected a Sculpture in Kakogawa Kanno Park in Hyogo Prefecture.
2007 I built sculptures at Himeji Awa Park in Hyogo Prefecture .
2019 Moku-Renma(kigumi)was selected for an Honorable Mention Award.

En-en 2 - Wood 10 x 50 x 2 m
En-gi - Wood 8 x 18 x 4.5 m
Moku-renma - Wood 10 x 7 x 8 m
En-en - Wood 10 x 50 x 2 m

This review was published by Circle Foundation for the Arts © CFA Press ∙ Images are courtesy of the artist

 

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Gary Aagaard

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"My work is the product of my environment over the last three decades. Generally, I've had a positive experience yet tend to be irked by frequent political and religious hypocrisy, general apathy and dogma of any stripe that leads to social and spiritual tunnel vision."

FOX Muse - Oil on canvas 18 x 24 x 1.5 in.

“As a fledgling illustrator in Brooklyn during the 1980s, I took on any project thrown my way. I refer to that time as my “snack or famine days”. Eventually, I zeroed in on editorial work and soon scored assignments at publications like The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and The Village Voice (primarily covers). Since the early 2000’s, I’ve concentrated on gallery work with an editorial, satirical slant; essentially larger oil paintings with conceptual content reminiscent of my illustration years.

Lampooning politicians, pundits or spiritual leaders who specialize in alternative facts, manufactured outrage, false equivalents, convoluted conspiracy theories and tunnel-visioned tribalism (whew!) is my form of protest and provides a satisfying outlet (i.e., it minimizes shouting at the TV, reduces those pesky nightmares and eliminates my quest to prove Jeff Sessions is actually an interloper from The Shire). Of course, visually addressing the daily insanity of politics, punditry or social upheaval requires an occasional break, which is when I paint relatively non-confrontational pieces.”

Being Jare (w/apologies to Chauncey Gardiner) - Oil on canvas 20 x 16 x 1.5 in.
Ma Nature Revisited - Oil on canvas 30.5 x 22 in.
She's A Concept, More or Less  - Oil on canvas 36 x 24 x 1.5 in.
Blinded by Delight Redux - Oil on canvas 30 x 20 in.

This review was published by Circle Foundation for the Arts © CFA Press ∙ Images are courtesy of the artist

 

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Jenny Woods

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The Country - 120mm film on Ciroflex

Jenny Woods is from a rising generation of self-taught photographers. Throughout her childhood in rural America, her camera was her best friend. Now residing in Brooklyn, her work evokes her own life: the turmoil of a small town girl fighting to make it in the city. She is an avid daydreamer, and one can see this dreamlike quality reflected in her art.

Hidden - 120mm film on Ciroflex
La Loba - Digital photograph
Lady - Digital photograph
Free - 120mm film on Ciroflex

Photographer Jenny Woods wins the 2nd Place Award, in Circle Foundation’s Artist of the Year Award. The prize included a personal artist monogram and was announced in January 2018.
Jenny Woods is from a rising generation of self-taught photographers. Throughout her childhood in rural America, her camera was her best friend. Now residing in Brooklyn, her work evokes her own life: the turmoil of a small town girl fighting to make it in the city. She is an avid daydreamer, and one can see this dreamlike quality reflected in her art.

This review was published by Circle Foundation for the Arts © CFA Press ∙ Images are courtesy of the artist

 

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