american artists

The Art of Carrie Mae Smith

Carrie Mae Smith

At once restrained and exuberant, Smith transforms compositions of comestibles, silverware, cutlery and plates into tableaus teeming with resonance and eloquence. “Food is something we all have a relationship with,” said Carrie Mae Smith. “My work examines and re-examines these familiar subjects, experimenting with composition, brushstrokes, light and shadow, inviting the viewer to fill in the blanks of both form and context.” 

New Paintings by Eric Freeman

Eric Freeman

While we understand that these works are fastened to the canvas, that the paint is permanent once dried, there is an ever-evolving quality to their surface—one seems to not only respond emotionally, but the paintings themselves react optically to the colors and light around them. Stripped of narrative and void of external references, what remains is pure and intense color. In an age where artists are constantly exploring new mediums and trying to break away from what has already been done, Eric Freeman finds his mode of expression by pushing through the traditional medium of oil on canvas. 

Artist Shanequa Gay’s Paintings Shed Light on Homicides in Chicago

Frederick H. Lowe

Unlike some who have thrown up their hands in understandable despair, the shootings and the plight of black men in Chicago and elsewhere have sparked Gay's imagination and creativity. She used her skill as a painter to provoke members of the black community to take a new look at what is happening to their sons, not to look away. Gay's paintings also bid the black community to look at black men as human beings and fathers.

 

Celebrating 50 Years of Artist Llyn Foulkes’ Unvarnished, Unapologetic Vision

Nancy Lackey Shaffer

Ever the maverick, Foulkes was not content to stay with this format, however popular. While he would reference his rock paintings in future pieces, he took a dramatic turn with his “Bloody Heads” series—although “obscured heads” might be a better descriptor. Portraits with faces obstructed by bright red, blood-like strokes or symbolic objects (a doctor’s head, for example, has an X-ray superimposed upon his face, while a geometry teacher has a triangle) are jarring in their juxtaposition of the macabre with the mundane. 

How Pop Art Icon Peter Max Became the Quintessential American Artist

Kristin Sancken

Max’s studio is a massive 10,000 square foot loft on the Upper West Side of Manhattan filled with  photographs of the artist with every president from Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George Bush and, of course, Barack Obama. The rest of the space is filled with paintings of patriotic icons and pop culture subjects: athletes, the New York City skyline, sporting events, even Taylor Swift have somehow come to find refuge in Max’s work. 

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