vermeer in bosnia

vermeer in bosnia
Originally uploaded by gregg chadwick.

while at the metropolitan museum in new york recently i sought out the vermeers and found myself viewing them through the scrim of lawrence weschler's recent collection of essays, "vermeer in bosnia." i hope all of us can take some time before tuesday's election to stop and find stillness and clarity. as weschler so aptly recounts, vermeer had to invent the still and timeless world in his paintings. the europe that vermeer spent his youth in was as scarred as bosnia during the balkan wars or as iraq is today. keeping this in mind we must create our own stillpoint from which to approach the speed of contemporary existence. i suggest a quiet visit and a moment of humility before a timeless work of art. vermeer creates that space for me. take care - gregg

Freedom of Expression

freedom of expression slide and video presentation

as part of their 30th anniversary celebration on october 30,california lawyers for the arts presents a curated digital slide and video presentation of visual art addressing the concept of freedom of expression. this includes the broadest possible range of viewpoints on the topic.

the slide presentation will be shown during the creative freedom party reception at the cowell theater, fort mason, san francisco 6:30-9pm

arlington as well as a few other pieces of mine will be included. the paintings should spark some dialogue.

Kenro Izu: Sacred Places

photo by kenro izu

Kenro Izu's pallidium prints are taken with a massive camera that seems to wrestle the sacred onto film. a selection of Kenro's work and his gargantuan camera were recently on view at the Rubin Museum in New York. In an interview conducted on July 31, 2001, with Peabody Essex Museum director of photographic services, Marc Teatum, Kenro Izu described his artistic process," I try to use my basic instincts, like an animal sensing danger. I want to be as pure, as empty as possible and just try to document the spirituality of the place. If I can’t, then I don’t want to make another picture postcard that someone else has already taken under perfect conditions."

Kenro Izu is actively creating important contemporary sacred art that defies boundaries and borders. His image (seen above) of a Buddha in a tree at Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya, Thailand is both mysterious and inviting. There is a profound silence in this image and an uncanny presence of breath.

The Art of Tibet

holland cotter in his october 20th piece in the new york times on the rubin museum makes a good point when he calls tibetan art an art of fusion," we're learning how [cultures] intersect, interact, serendipitously echo one another." it is this intersection, interaction and echoing that fuels much of my work and the work of writers, musicians, painters, photographers and sculptors who are interested in inclusion rather than exclusion.

Rubin Museum of Art

the brand new rubin museum of art in manhattan is a glorious addition to the museums of new york.
set in chelsea - the museum provides a needed place of beauty and contemplation.

described as the first museum in the world dedicated solely to the art of the himalayas- the rubin museum fills a gap in our understanding of the art and faith of this region.

Birthday in Bar Harbor

MSue in Bar Harbor 

Spent a wonderful birthday in Bar Harbor, Maine with MS wandering the windy coast and town with numerous sightings of John Malkovich who is currently filming a new bio of the Viennese artist Gustav Klimt.

Opening at Santa Monica Art Studios, Santa Monica Airport

Opening at Santa Monica Art Studios, Santa Monica Airport - photo by Cassiel Chadwick, originally uploaded by greggchadwick.

Opening at Santa Monica Art Studios, Santa Monica Airport

Opening at Santa Monica Art Studios, Santa Monica Airport- photo by Gerardo Horischnik, originally uploaded by greggchadwick.

thank you to all who braved the huge crowd at saturday's grand opening. i was touched by the enthusiasm for and interest in my work. if you have questions about a particular painting or monotype please e-mail me or leave a comment on this entry.

if you would like to view the work again in a calmer fashion please stop by on thursday, october 14th. i will be in the studio from 12pm to 6pm and of course the los angeles art fair will be opening that evening across the street in the barker hangar. if those times do not work please feel free to set up an appointment .

i hope you had a chance to view the other artist's work at the santa monica art studios facility. i just call it the hangar. it really brings back my childhood to paint with the roar of jet engines reverberating from the nearby runway. that roar sounds like possibility to me- as artists, musicians, writers, viewers and thinkers we have the ability and the call to create in a culture of destruction. thanks again for supporting my efforts.

what i'm listening to

i drive from santa monica to san francisco and back almost weekly. don't know how i would do it without michael mcdermott growling and whispering in my ear. his music is pure passion and the lyrics are the poetry of life's small battles. a rich chord of spirituality runs throughout michael's music. this is neither irony nor dogma but instead the understanding of faith and its importance in modern life. you can sense michael mcdermott's appreciation for joseph campbell in these songs. and in those spare piano graced moments i can almost hear raymond carver. this is music for the soul. give it a listen- take care
gregg

une passante ( for czeslaw milosz)

une passante ( for czeslaw milosz) , originally uploaded by greggchadwick.

every artwork has its audience - sometimes large and sometimes singular. small paintings such as "une passante" seem to be noticed first by other artists or those with a heightened awareness of the world.

i recently sent the following description of "une passante" off to an early discoverer of the work-

czeslaw milosz' poetry has been a deep inspiration for me. his ability to search for meaning or metaphysics even after the horrors in Poland during the 20th century has always been a source of strength for me artistically and spiritually.

when i found out about his recent death i wanted to paint an image pulled from life like a sort of painted poem- a moment that if one is not truly aware will go unseen

title: une passante (in french a female passerby)

this poem by milosz feels to me like the painting:

AN HONEST DESCRIPTION OF
MYSELF WITH A GLASS OF WHISKEY
AT AN AIRPORT, LET US SAY,
IN MINNEAPOLIS
- Czeslaw Milosz

My ears catch less and less of conversations, and my eyes have weakened, though they are still insatiable.

I see their legs in miniskirts, slacks, wavy fabrics.

Peep at each one separately, at their buttocks and thighs, lulled by the imaginings of porn.

Old lecher, it's time for you to the grave, not to the games and amusements of youth.

But I do what I have always done: compose scenes of this earth under orders from the erotic imagination.

It's not that I desire these creatures precisely; I desire everything, and they are like a sign of ecstatic union.

It's not my fault that we are made so, half from disinterested contemplation, half from appetite.

If I should accede one day to Heaven, it must be there as it is here, except that I will be rid of my dull senses and my heavy bones.

Changed into pure seeing, I will absorb, as before, the proportions of human bodies, the color of irises, a Paris street in June at dawn, all of it incomprehensible, incomprehensible the multitude of visible things.

Studio View Of Fire Sermon

Studio View Of Fire Sermon, originally uploaded by greggchadwick.

Hope all of you in los angeles come down to my studio this weekend for the grand opening:

When: 6-9 pm on saturday, october 9th and 2-5 pm on sunday, october 10th

Where: studio #15 @ the hangar studios
santa monica airport
3026 airport avenue, santa monica, ca 90405

View some of the work at:
https://www.greggchadwick.com/Gregg_Chadwick/Paintings__2000-2010.html

Hope to see you there
make sure you come up and say "hi"
take care-
Gregg