Sandra Lee and Artist Gregg Chadwick at artMRKT San Francisco

Sandra Lee and Artist Gregg Chadwick at artMRKT San Francisco, a photo by GreggChadwick on Flickr.

I Canti at #artMRKT SF

I Canti at #artMRKT SF, a photo by GreggChadwick on Flickr.

Thanks to everyone at artMRKT San Francisco for making the event such a big success. I hope to see all of you that I met in San Francisco again real soon. Maybe next time in Santa Monica?

A Painted Journey Down the Grand Canal

Canaletto's The Grand Canal in Venice from Palazzo Flangini to Campo San Marcuola, painted around 1738, provides the viewer a gondola ride down Venice's Grand Canal. Compare the 18-century city to the way it looks today in this video produced by the Getty Museum in honor of the painting's recent acquisition.

Music: Antonio Vivaldi: Oboe Concerto in C major (RV 447), Advent Chamber Orchestra. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

What’s New This Month: May, 2013

Gregg Chadwick
l'Horloge de Baudelaire
40"x30" oil on linen 2013

My paintings will be showcased in the Sandra Lee Gallery booth 

at artMRKT San Francisco - an international art fair held May 16-19, 2013 

Festival Pavilion - Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, California. 

I will be speaking at the upcoming “Categorically Not” event on Sunday May 19, 2013 at the Santa Monica Art Studios about my painting process and “what lies beneath” the layers of paint and the layers of ideas that go into each of my works. 

The event will be held in the Arena One Gallery. 

You can see more on this event at the Categorically Not website. 

Gregg Chadwick
Study for the City Dreams
12"x12" oil on linen 2012

My painting Study for the City Dreams will be in the Silent Art Auction at The 34th anniversary of the Venice Art Walk & Auctions which will take place on Sunday, 

May 19th, 2013 at Google Los Angeles in the Frank Gehry designed Binoculars Building

Review by Jeffrey Carlson in Fine Art Connoisseur:

Gregg Chadwick and Painting Time    

Astronaut Performs David Bowie's Space Oddity While Orbiting the Earth

by Gregg Chadwick

Tonight, a stunning cover of David Bowie's Haunting song Space Oddity was released from space by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station. The imagery is stunning, reminiscent of the film Moon directed by David Bowie's son Duncan Jones. Sometimes life really does imitate art, even while orbiting earth in a tin capsule in space.

UPDATE: Since I posted this last night, Chris Hadfield's video has gone viral with over a million views and counting!

 David Bowie's Facebook editors loves the clip stating,"It’s possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created." Their Facebook posts continues:

you may recognise the name of one of those involved in its creation.
We’re talking about Chris's fellow Canadian, the lovely Emm Gryner, who was a part of the Bowie live band in 1999/2000. Here’s what she said on her blog (http://smarturl.it/EmmBlog) regarding her involvement:
“The task was in front of me. I came up with a piano part. i then enlisted my friend, producer and fellow Canadian Joe Corcoran to take my piano idea and Chris' vocal and blow it up into a fully produced song. Drums! mellotrons! fuzz bass! We also incorporated into the track ambient space station noises which Chris had put on his Soundcloud. I was mostly blown away by how pure and earnest Chris' singing is on this track. Like weightlessness and his voice agreed to agree.And voila! And astronaut sings Space Oddity in space! I was so honoured to be asked to be a part of this. You wouldn't get too many chances to make a recording like this and not only that, to make music with someone who - through his vibrant communications with kids in schools to his breathtaking photos to his always patient and good-humoured demeanour - has done more for science and space than anyone else this generation. Planet earth IS blue, and there's nothing left for Chris Hadfield to do. Right. Safe travels home Commander! ”

And the New York Times has a nice piece on Chris, the video, and his time in space.

 

Find out more: Twitter Facebook Google+

 With thanks to Emm Gryner, Joe Corcoran, Andrew Tidby and Evan Hadfield

Empire State

 GreggChadwick 
Empire State
72"x36" oil on linen 2013

On View at artMRKT San Francisco
May 16-19, 2013
Sandra Lee Gallery, San Francisco
Booth #221

Memory Making: The First Emperor's Legacy at the Asian Art Museum

by Gregg Chadwick

China's Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy

at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco 

photo by Gregg Chadwick

 "I, Sovereign, am the First Emperor; my descendants will call themselves the Second Generation, the Third Generation, and will go on forever after." 
- The First Emperor, Qin Shihuang (259-210 BCE) 
   quoted by the historian Sima Qian (145-90 BCE)


China's Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy currently on view at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco until May 27, 2013 provides tantalizing glimpses of an ancient culture and its rulers' attempts to influence cultural and political memory. Over two thousand years ago, Qin Shihuang - the first emperor of China, began constructing a massive mausoleum to ensure, what Li He, the Asian Museum's associate curator of Chinese art, describes as the personal and political "continuation of the family's ruling position and the long-lasting reign of the dynasty" as well as individual hopes for an afterlife. 

The First Emperor began to plan his eternal place of rest from the moment he ascended the throne. The mausoleum took almost 38 years of hard labor and exquisite craftsmanship to construct. Ongoing archaeological excavations continue to reveal new secrets and hidden cultural treasures created to ensure Qin Shihuang's memory and lineage. Eight human-sized terracotta warriors made the journey to San Francisco. Each figure seems imbued with the ability to speak. Buried in a vast tomb with more than 7,000 comrades, some with horses and chariots, surrounded perhaps by flowing liquid mercury rivers graced by bronze waterbirds and bells, these sculpted warriors were meant to ensure Qin Shihuang's trip through the cosmos and eventual crossing to another realm. According to historian Sima Qian (145-90 BCE) the emperor feared that the creators "might disclose all the treasure that was in the tomb...(that) after the burial and sealing up of  the treasures, the middle gate was shut and the outer gate closed to imprison all the artisans and laborers, so that no one came out." The mausoleum was forgotten over the centuries. The tomb was not revealed until the 20th century, when Chinese farmers found fragments of terracotta sculptures as they attempted to assuage the effects of a drought with a new well. 

Armored General

221-206 BCE China

Terracotta

Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, Shaanxi, China

 Installation at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco 

photo by Gregg Chadwick

Rulers and politicians of all stripes are often in the business of memory-making. The recent unveiling of the George W. Bush Presidential Library comes to mind. Since President Calvin Coolidge, all American presidents have a stand-alone presidential library that holds their papers and memorabilia. But the G.W. Bush library is unique in that it is a museum that Rachel Maddow convincingly describes as a ridiculous attempt to make the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq seem like a good idea. Watch the Rachel Maddow video linked here and see if you agree that, as she puts it,"The case to invade Iraq was cooked up, a hoax put upon the nation." With this ridiculous attempt at memory-making by the Bush team in mind, I looked at Qin Shihuang's memory-mausoleum differently than I might have otherwise. What message was the First Emperor attempting to send on to future generations with his vast buried army of exquisitely crafted clay warriors?

Emperor Qin Shihuang used force to break up and subsume noble lands as well as compelling the noble families themselves to move to, his new capital, Xianyang. The emperor freed peasants from their feudal bonds, but then forced them into servitude for the state. Arthur Cotterell in his informative work, The Imperial Capitals of China, describes that the emperor's extensive construction and engineering program imposed a tremendous burden and that "this continued use of conscript labor strained the allegiance of the peasantry, especially when it was maintained by the naked force of cruel punishments." Due to this shift in labor allocations, agriculture suffered and famine ensued. Subsequently in 209 (BCE), starving, impoverished peasants staged the first large-scale rebellion in Chinese history. 

Was this sculpted army intended as a symbol to the living as well as the dead? With the rebellions that signaled the coming end of Qin Shihuang's short lived dynasty, it is unlikely that the emperor's memory-making had an initial effect on the Chinese populace. Gish Jen in her marvelous new book, Tiger Writing, quotes Chinese author Lin Yutang from his 1935 work My Country and My People, "that the Chinese are given to a farcical view of life, and that 'Chinese humor... consist[s] in compliance with outward form ... and the total disregard of the substance in actuality.'" 

 China's Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy is an exhibition that provokes cultural and historical critique as well as artistic engagement. Political art is rarely this exquisite. Don't miss it!

China's Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy includes objects from the Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, and the Shaanxi History Museum.

On Site View of Unrestored Warriors
at the Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, Shaanxi, China
Courtesy: Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, Shaanxi, China

More at:

The Imperial Capitals of China by Arthur Cotterell
Terracotta Warriors at the Asian Art Museum  SF Chronicle

Jackie Robinson Day 2013

by Gregg Chadwick

Jackie Robinson 

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."
-Jackie Robinson

Today marks the 66th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American baseball player to compete in the major leagues when he joined the Dodgers in 1947. Robinson broke baseball's color line and ended a sixty year era of segregation in professional baseball. Robinson's career with the Dodgers lasted only ten years. But in that time, he won six pennants and a World Series title. Robinson retired in 1957 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

I was heartened to see that the new film "42", based on Robinson's momentous debut, has exceeded box office expectations. Today in honor of Robinson, every player in Major League Baseball  will wear Jackie Robinson’s No. 42. 

Rachel Robinson at the stadium. (From Spike Lee's documentary on Baseball and Jackie Robinson)

Rachel Robinson, Jackie's wife, had vivid memories of April 15, 1947:

"It was an exciting, exhilarating time — but it also was a stressful time," Rachel Robinson said.
Rachel and Jackie met while they both were students at UCLA. Rachel Robinson earned a degree in nursing from the UCSF School of Nursing in 1945 before marrying Jackie in 1946. A few years after Jackie Robinson's retirement from baseball, Rachel returned to school and earned a masters degree from New York University. In 1965 Rachel became an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Yale University.

Jackie Robinson during his collegiate years at UCLA played football,
ran track, was the leading scorer on the basketball team, and played baseball.

More on Jackie Robinson and Rachel Robinson at:

Baseball pays tribute to pioneer Robinson

Los Angeles Dodgers Site on Jackie Robinson

New York Times on Jackie Robinson

Incident at Hanging Rock

by Gregg Chadwick

At the Hanging Rock  by William Ford (1820–1886)

1875, oil on canvas, 79.2 x 117.5 cm

Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria

As March drew to a close, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band played a concert that Australian music writers have lauded. I wish I could have been there to see Springsteen and the band rip it up at Hanging Rock. 

Incident on 57th Street in Australia 
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 

Live at Hanging Rock - Second Night - 31-03-2013

 Major international musicians often perform outdoor concerts at the Hanging Rock reserve. Leonard Cohen graced the venue in 2010 and last month Springsteen performed two shows at the conclusion of the Australian leg of his 'Wrecking Ball' tour. The musical venue at Hanging Rock is temporary and currently used about once a year for large concerts. 

Though I have spent quite a bit of time travelling through Australia over the years, I have not been to Hanging Rock in person. But, I have been there in the visions of painting and film, especially Peter Weir's remarkable Picnic at Hanging Rock. Weir's film, based on the novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay, focuses on a group of girls at a fictional Australian women's college  who vanish during a Valentine's Day picnic at Hanging Rock in 1900.



Roger Ebert described Picnic at Hanging Rock as "a film of haunting mystery and buried sexual hysteria" and remarked that it "employs two of the hallmarks of modern Australian films: beautiful cinematography and stories about the chasm between settlers from Europe and the mysteries of their ancient new home." That chasm between European culture and indigenous Australia especially revolves around the conception of time. Joan Lindsay in her autobiography, Time Without Clocks, describes how these mysteries felt to her:

"There were certain days when I sat at my typewriter in the empty green-aired room feeling like a deep-sea fish suspended in its natural element. Not only in my fish tank but outside in the sheltered valley all natural objects seemed in a state of suspension as they do immediately before an earthquake. It was a characteristic of the Marsh and perhaps had something to do with the old volcanoes seething and boiling so far below the earth’s crust that even the geologists hadn’t discovered them." 
- Joan Lindsay,  p124 (Time Without Clocks)

Art in all its guises evokes the mysteries of time and the most compelling creations leave the questions unanswered.

The Darkness - Leonard Cohen

Live at Hanging Rock - 21-11-2010

Thoughts On Vermeer's "Woman In Blue Reading A Letter" on Loan at the Getty Museum

by Gregg Chadwick

Johannes Vermeer
Woman In Blue Reading A Letter 
(Brieflezende vrouw)
18 5/16" x 15 3/8" oil on canvas 1663-64 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
On loan from the City of Amsterdam (A. van der Hoop Bequest) 

 "It seems appropriate that a gesture so paradigmatic of Vermeer's art, should appear concerned with the weighing and balancing of light itself."

- Edward Snow

Currently on view at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, is Vermeer's haunting painting Woman In Blue Reading A Letter. On loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Getty is the artwork's last stop on a world tour before returning to the Netherlands for the reopening of the Rijksmuseum on April 13, 2013. The painting is on view at the Getty through Sunday, March 31, 2013.

The Getty has thoughtfully installed Woman in Blue Reading a Letter amidst paintings by Vermeer's Dutch contemporaries. On a recent visit to see the work at the Getty with my friend, art conservator René Boitelle, we both were struck by how modern Vermeer's painting looks in a room full of other 17th century paintings. Both the cinematic quality of Vermeer's art and the painting's rich harmonies in blue seem to carry the work forward into our time. Also, the mystery of the image gives space for the viewer to enter into the scene and to create a sort of pictorial meaning out of the clues presented. 

This is what we appear to see:

It is morning. A woman fresh from bed, she still wears her nightcoat, stands before a window quietly reading a letter. It is a cool, wintery Northern light. The light from the window provides only a hint of warmth in a scene limned by blues. The woman's flesh is grayed with transparent glazes of lapis lazuli, as is the wall behind her. Reds seem to have been banished from the composition. Did Vermeer plan to add layers of color to this scene or did he intend to leave an image in blues?

On the wall in this blue room is a map quite similar to one printed by the Dutch artist and mapmaker Claes Jansz. Visscher in 1652. The map depicts Holland in the 17th century and brings to mind thoughts of seafaring and trade - major Dutch commercial activities then and now.  

Claes Jansz. Visscher
Map of Holland
Third State published by his grand-son Nicolaas II

Just as twitter, text messaging, and e-mail now dominate written communication, in the 17th century the personal letter became the preferred means of transmitting thoughts and ideas to close acquaintances, friends, family, and lovers. Of course official and legal correspondence had long been in use, but the discussion of private thoughts, feelings, and desires in epistolary form came into fashion during the 1600's along with a rise in middle class wealth and literacy in the Netherlands. I can't help but wonder who the letter is from. Is the map a clue? Is the letter from an absent husband? Lover? Did she receive it recently? Or did she pull it like a treasure from the open box on the abstracted table in the foreground? She reads with rapt attention. Perhaps this is her morning ritual - to each day reread the words her love left for her to cherish until his homecoming. Vermeer, amazingly allows us to witness her private moment of strength and serenity.

Johannes Vermeer
Woman In Blue Reading A Letter (detail)
(Brieflezende vrouw)
18 5/16" x 15 3/8" oil on canvas 1663-64 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
On loan from the City of Amsterdam (A. van der Hoop Bequest) 

More At:

Vermeer's 'Woman In Blue' Brings Her Mystery, Allure To L.A.

Vermeer's 'Woman in Blue" at the Getty Museum

Artist Talk at Sandra Lee Gallery on March 23, 2013

The Sandra Lee Gallery is pleased to invite you to an artist talk by Gregg Chadwick on Saturday, March 23rd, 2013 from 4 to 6 pm at the gallery.

Chadwick will discuss the inspiration behind and the themes explored in his compelling artworks. 

The exhibition is garnering great praise and has been reviewed by Fine Art Connoisseur 

see full review at link - http://www.fineartconnoisseur.com/Gregg-Chadwick-and-Painting-Time/15732772 ) 

and mentioned as a show not to miss by 7x7 Magazine 

(link at http://www.7x7.com/arts-culture/four-sf-gallery-shows-see-week )

And Where San Francisco writes:

Sandra Lee Gallery has a new exhibit this month: Gregg Chadwick "The Time Between"--the paintings are simply majestic! #SFArt

Please RSVP to art@sandraleegallery.com to reserve your spot.

The event is Free and open to all interested in the arts.

Sandra Lee Gallery
251 Post Street, Suite 310
San Francisco, CA 94108

tel: 415.291.8000

Today: Santa Monica Airport ArtWalk - March 16, 2013

Explore open studios, watch artful demonstrations, enjoy live music, food trucks and family friendly activities. Painting, sculpture, ceramics, and mixed media will be represented and many artists will be selling work from their studios and offering refreshments.  More than 60 local artists and performers will have their private studios and works on view. The airport has developed over time into an arts incubator, and is home to a number of creative venues housed in converted airplane hangars. click here to view the full ARTWALK PROGRAM ARENA 1 presents: Decade of Dissent: Democracy in Action, 1965-1975, an exhibition featuring protest posters that reveal the persuasive power of art to inspire ideals of democracy. www.arena1gallery.com 12:30pm GUIDED TOUR  with Carol Wells, founder of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, the largest repository of post–World War II historical posters in the nation.

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New York Minute

Gregg Chadwick
New York Minute
74"x44" oil on linen 2013

Ashland and Main

Gregg Chadwick
Ashland and Main
24"x18" oil on linen 2013

Specific Fiction (sonoba shōsetsu)

Gregg Chadwick
Specific Fiction (sonoba shōsetsu)
18" x 12" oil on linen 2013

Currently on exhibit in my solo show, The Time Between, at the Sandra Lee Gallery in San Francisco, California.

Una Poesia di Rosso (A Poem of Red)

Gregg Chadwick
Una Poesia di Rosso (A Poem of Red)
24"x20" oil on panel 2013

Currently on exhibit in my solo show, The Time Between, at the Sandra Lee Gallery in San Francisco, California.