Rex Ray Collage

A collage by Rex Ray is on view now at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver. It is a huge piece, composed of four panels. As the museum's website says, "For Rex Ray, the joy of making and viewing art is his continuing motivation. Drawing inspiration from his acknowledged influences—the Arts and Crafts Movement, Abstract Expressionism, organic and hard-edged abstraction, pattern and textile design, and Op Art—Ray playfully combines these formalist concepts with decorators’ tips gleaned from lowbrow publications and sources of popular culture in his pursuit to create beautiful things. Gracefully bridging the gap between fine and applied art, he distinguishes himself in each realm."

Rex Ray spoke about the collage this week at the museum's book club. His personal story was interesting and he was refreshingly open in talking about his process. He said his studio didn't have space to put all 4 panels together so he was only able to look at 2 of the panels together at a time and that he was wondering what it would be like when hung together! Above is a detail of the piece plus a view to show the entire piece with some people for scale. It was impossible for me to get back far enough in the space to get a shot of the whole thing... it may be about 30 feet long.

Apparently he has done lots of experimenting to find papers that retain their strength when wet (many are printmaking papers that he prints or paints on in advance). To get the larger color areas, he works wet, laying down whole sheets of pre-painted paper, like tiles, onto canvas (stiffened by rabbit skin sizing + 5-6 coats of white primer), sponging and spraying the paper areas with water so they stay damp as he works. Then he goes in with a sharp xacto blade and cuts away the areas he doesn't want. Much of it is cut free-form, with various punches used to get the small dots/rings.

It's a very impressive piece with elegant craftsmanship. In addition to this piece, I'm especially impressed with his paper collages although I've only seen those in a book to date. I am always intrigued to see someone moving from the design field, and using those compositional skills, as they approach fine art... since that is where I'm coming from too. 

Pierre Bonnard Sketch Studies

I was totally enchanted by an exhibit of Pierre Bonnard's later paintings, mostly of interiors, that are currently on view at the Met in New York. My particular fascination was with the thumbnail sketches that accompanied the paintings. Some were on scraps of paper, some in sketchbooks or journals mixed in with lists and notes. Most were pencil sketches but some had watercolor or goache as well. Apparently he did not paint his interiors as still lifes but often scribbled down scenes and returned to paint from his sketched notes later. The interiors and household items were familiar to him, many show up in multiple paintings, but the compositions were captured as he noticed them and stored away for future paintings. His somewhat unusual cropping of figures shows up in the sketches too. In some cases the paintings that resulted from the sketches were on view and it was great to see his process more fully... almost made me want to pick up a paintbrush instead of my usual paper and glue! On the wall of the exhibition, the following quote from Bonnard seemed most appropriate to the show and most profound... "I'm trying to do what I've never done, give the impression one has on entering a room: one sees everything and at the same time nothing." So glad I got to see this show... sometimes it's the story behind the work that really adds meaning -- his sketches were quickly captured and really wonderful to see in combination with the finished paintings. As usual, I wish I'd had time to linger longer!

Glowing Color

On my birthday I went to see "In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein" show at the Denver Art Museum. What a great way to spend the afternoon! Blumenschein started out as an illustrator. He discovered the southwest when doing artwork for railroad promotions and the area and its inhabitants became his main subject as he evolved into a fine artist. He was a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists. The glowing colors in his paintings are captivating. The simplification of shapes/patterns are very modern and bold. I had not expected to be so taken with Blumenschein's work or story, but ended up buying the catalog so I could revisit the images and learn more about him. The show is at the museum until February 8th. My images don't do his work justice, so go see it if you can!

National Collage Society Show

The 24th annual juried exhibit of the National Collage Society is on display in Colorado at the Longmont Museum. I finally got a chance to go see it yesterday. I had submitted work for the show but was not juried in this year. (I was fortunate to have my work exhibited in the NCS show in 2001, 2003-2005, and 2007 so I'm now a "signature member" of the organization.) After all the years I've been in the show, this is the first time I've been able to see it in person, and it was a treat. Seeing work in catalogues are great, but it is often really hard to do layered collage work justice in a photograph.

Congratulations to the 58 artists included in the show. The selected pieces are extremely varied, a few assemblages, but mostly 2-D work. I felt that the awards were well chosen. It was as much fun to study the techniques of how the work was constructed, up close, as it was to consider all the different subjects and stylistic ranges represented. Here are details from a few of my favorite pieces. My apologies to the artists for not noting the names that go along with these images. (Next time I will photograph the accompanying label!) Please let me know if you see yours here and I will include credit line.