Today I just finished the fifth painting of my Maybe Baby series and I think its more a return to form regarding bright colors and cool cave-like shapes and patterns. I managed to enjoy this painting more than I have in previous pieces. My painting pace seems to be slowing down lately. In the past I could have done a six part series in about a month. I’ve been working on the Maybe Baby series since January. I’m hoping that this slow down means that I’m more contemplative now about painting in general. I worry that the slower pace is the result of a reduced ambition to do larger pieces. I’m trying to shake that trepidation since its hardly stopped me in the past. My studio and apartment are full of over-sized works that I simply felt a compulsion to make. I wonder if getting older and becoming more cautious in general is making me more risk averse. I’m so much more aware of my move artistically. I wonder whether this move or that more is the right one to make for my artistic career, I mentioned these fears before in previous post. I believe going on my residency at the Vermont Studio Center will offer me an opportunity to think more about how I practice my craft, and offer some possible means to break out of this phase of my career. Here’s Maybe Baby #5:
Friday March 11 was the date of a reception of group work at Gallery 415 in Catasauqua. The show, called “Condensation”, was a great success. I had 4 works on display each hung in a salon fashion that I thought showed the works off in a very handsome manner. I was very proud to be in such good company for the show as well. Francis Betty, Jeremy Siedt, Christpher Colon and Matt Buckno all displayed impressive innovative pieces particularly Chris and Francis. Alicia Vandersluis the owner of Gallery 415 put on a great show and I wish her and the gallery great success and many sales – I could use the money! Alicia put up some nice shots from the show on her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Gallery415/.
I’d like to close with a brief profile of an artist Jeremy Siedt introduced me to at the opening at Gallery 415. Its an artist Jeremy said I reminded him of. The artist is named Roberto Matta. Matta was a Chilean painter born in 1911 and died recently in 2002 at the ripe old age of 91. He was known as a surrealist painter for much of his career. He traveled broadly and incorporated much of the geographic details he saw into his work. He was a friend of the founder of surrealism Andre Breton, who encouraged Matta and introduced him to the wider surrealist community. He would later be expunged from the group after a scandal involving the suicide of the artist Arshile Gorky. Matta’s works are known for their use of light, high contrast line work, and his evocative images from the artists psyche. Notable paintings include “Invasion of the Night” and “The First Goal of the Chilean People”, which was painted over sixteen times by the dictator Augusto Pinochet. Matta was a supporter of Salvador Allende, the man Pinochet overthrew with CIA support. Here are images of those paintings:
“Invasion of the Night” by Roberto Matta
“The First Goal of the Chilean People” by Roberto Matta on display at the La Granja city hall in Santiago, Chile.
Okay I’ll close for real with a little “Midnight Marauders” from A Tribe Called Quest. I’ve been listening to a lot of Tribe lately and heard that Marauders was being re-released for its 20th anniversary. Here’s Electric Relaxation:
Okay until next time…
Anthony Smith Jr. 