The World of Pastels

From the National Gallery in London:

"Delve into the strange and magical world of pastels Liotard's pastel and oil versions of 'The Lavergne Family Breakfast' have been reunited for first time in 250 years. Book to visit our free exhibition: http://bit.ly/3gR1VIO"

Van Gogh Museum 4K Virtual Tour || Exhibition ‘Van Gogh along The Seine'

‘And when I painted landscape in Asnières this summer I saw more colour in it than before.’

Vincent van Gogh to his sister Willemien van Gogh, late October 1887

Walk through the Van Gogh Museum's exhibition 'Van Gogh along The Seine'.

The museum informs us that - "In the 19th century, bridges and trains made it easier to visit places outside of Paris. And yet smoking factory chimneys increasingly dominated the horizon. This exhibition reveals how artists captured these changes in their artworks."

 On view at the Van Gogh Museum from 13 October until 2023 14 January 2024.

Music: Composed and performed by Remko Kühne

Follow Remko Kühne on Spotify: https://orcd.co/followremkokuhne

More thoughts on Van Gogh at Speed of Life: Van Gogh's Cypresses at the Metropolitan Museum of Art 

https://greggchadwick.blogspot.com/2023/06/van-goghs-cypresses-at-metropolitan.html?spref=tw

Why did Frans Hals paint monsters in his friend's portrait?

From the National Gallery in London:

"Curator Bart Cornelis explains the meaning behind a hidden monster and skull in this 17th-century portrait by Frans Hals, and how they helped to identify the sitter as Isaac Massa.

He's accompanied by one of our restorers, Paul Ackroyd, and Larry Keith, Head of Conservation and Keeper, who help reveal this painting's secrets.

🎨  Find out more about the artist Frans Hals: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/frans-hals

🎨 Book tickets now for 'The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Frans Hals'

Open 30 September 2023 – 21 January 2024

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/the-credit-suisse-exhibition-frans-hals

Hals was one of the most sought-after painters of his generation. A gifted artist whose deft brushwork was unparalleled, he built his reputation on a new style of portrait – highly unusual in his time – that showed relaxed, lively sitters, often smiling, and even laughing.

This exhibition, the first major retrospective of Hals in more than thirty years, means a new generation can discover why he deserves his place as one of the greatest painters in Western art."

 

Happy Winter Solstice!

On the #WinterSolstice, we're dreaming of the first snow ❄️

🖼️: #ChildeHassam, "Charles River and Beacon Hill" (about 1892), oil on canvas pic.twitter.com/0gcHx9gnx1

— Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (@mfaboston) December 21, 2023

Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere & the first day of winter! What causes our planet’s shift in seasons? Its tilt. Today, Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is at its most-tilted away from the Sun. pic.twitter.com/cFJs2ZNGUo

— American Museum of Natural History (@AMNH) December 21, 2023

R.B. Kitaj | London to Los Angeles | Exhibition Film

In London, the Piano Nobile Gallery presents the exhibition -  R.B. Kitaj: London to Los Angeles. This short film features interviews with Marco Livingstone, a leading specialist on Kitaj’s work; Simon Martin, Director of Pallant House Gallery; and the artist’s daughter Dominie Kitaj.

R.B. Kitaj: London to Los Angeles is the first retrospective of the artist’s work in a decade. It provides a chronological overview of Kitaj's career, exploring the relationship between his art and the places he lived. 

The Piano Nobile Gallery explains that "Although he travelled widely, spending seasons and sometimes whole years in California, Catalonia, Paris and New York, Kitaj made London his home from 1959 – the year he entered the Royal College of Art – until 1997. For the last decade of his life, from 1997 to 2007, he lived in Los Angeles. The exhibition includes little-known early work of the fifties, the groundbreaking ‘collagist’ work of the sixties that established his reputation, and the life drawings and glowing paintings of the seventies, continuing through to Kitaj's rediscovery of painting in the eighties and his final period in Los Angeles. An accompanying publication includes original essays by Andrew Dempsey, Marco Livingstone and Colin Wiggins, in addition to extended excerpts from Kitaj’s letters to Livingstone, now held by the Tate Archive and published here for the first time."

Much more on Kitaj at: https://greggchadwick.blogspot.com/2007/10/rb-kitaj-exits.html

Gregg Chadwick
The Diasporist (Portrait of R.B. Kitaj)
30”x22” monotype on paper 2011

 

Betye Saar: Drifting Toward Twilight

This short documentary film explores artist Betye Saar’s process creating "Drifting Toward Twilight," a site-specific installation at The Huntington, and her recollections of her life and career. Learn more about the exhibition at Huntington.org Directed by Kyle Provencio Reingold Digital video, 16mm film, still photographs, archival video, animation, sound. Cover Art by YAYA Studio (@yaya_studio_)

David Hockney Interview: The World is Beautiful

Van Gogh Museum 4K Virtual Tour || Exhibition ‘Van Gogh In Auvers'

From the Van Gogh Museum:

"Vincent van Gogh lived in Auvers-sur-Oise from 20 May 1890 until his death on 29 July of the same year. He was tremendously productive in these months and made several of his most renowned masterpieces, including 'Wheatfield with Crows' and 'Tree Roots'. In the anniversary year of 2023, the Van Gogh Museum and Musée d’Orsay are organizing a major exhibition about the final months of Vincent van Gogh’s life, which he spent in the French village of Auvers-sur-Oise. The exhibition 'Van Gogh in Auvers. His Final Months' is on view from 12 May until 3 September 2023." Find out more: https://www.vangoghmuseum.com/vangogh...

 

✨ A "Starry Night" ending to our 50th-anniversary celebration on the Museumplein. @StudioDrift brought Vincent's works to life against the evening sky.
Watch the full drone performance here: https://t.co/EkHwol0P80 pic.twitter.com/SqQGJMUW0u

— Van Gogh Museum (@vangoghmuseum) June 3, 2023

Gregg Chadwick's "Elephant Song" at the Los Angeles Zoo's Beastly Ball 2023

Gregg Chadwick

Elephant Song

30"x24" oil on linen 2023

"Elephant Song" depicts an African Elephant in its natural environment.  The title refers to the low frequency method of elephant communication. Elephants sing using the same physical principles as humans - using their immense larynx to produce very low notes.

Pitched below the range of human hearing, these infrasounds can travel long distances and enable elephants to connect with other elephants in hearing range. 

"Elephant Song" will be featured in the upcoming Beastly Ball benefit for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. The event is held each Spring at the L.A. Zoo and this will be my third year participating. For 60 years, the nonprofit Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) has funded exhibits, capital projects, field conservation efforts, education and community outreach programs, and more at the Los Angeles Zoo, an international leader in the preservation of wildlife and care of animals.

 The “best party in town” returns on June 3, with favorite L.A. eateries, special animal experiences, dazzling entertainment, an incredible silent auction, and more. It’s the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association’s largest and most important fundraiser of the year, bringing in critical support for our work on behalf of the Los Angeles Zoo and its efforts in wildlife conservation, public education, and creating innovative experiences to connect people with nature. 

The Beastly Ball's online silent auction features a range of wild items and experiences. Browse the offerings starting on May 19 and make bids when the auction opens on May 26, all from your phone, wherever you are.                         Pre-register now to receive updates.

Beastly Ball 2023

Saturday, June 3, 2023, 6 p.m. 

Hosted by Joel McHale 

Beastly Ball Honoree: Diann H. Kim

Betty White Conservation Hero Honoree: Tom LaBonge, posthumously

An unforgettable evening of adventure and philanthropy, benefiting the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association

Link to more information on the Beastly Ball at https://lazoo.org/plan-your-visit/special-experiences/beastly-ball/#auction

Beastly Ball 2023 - Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens (LA Zoo)

An Invite to my Studio

 

I am excited to invite you to my studio at the Santa Monica Airport for an evening of art and camaraderie.

Art At The Airport Open Studios

Saturday, May 13, 2023 from 5–9 PM

Location:

Studio #15, 18th Street Arts Center, 3026 Airport Avenue

Santa Monica, CA 90405

Free to all. Feel free to invite friends and family. All ages are welcome!

Free Parking

Please register in advance:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/art-at-the-airport-evening-open-studios-tickets-607740065897

Art At The Airport is made possible by Art of Recovery, an initiative of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs.

Pictured: Collector Tiffany Montgomery @drtiffanymonique with her new addition to her growing collection of Gregg Chadwick paintings.

#LosAngeles #ArtOfRecovery #ArtAtTheAirport #CityOfSantaMonica

 #SantaMonicaArtsCommunity #SantaMonicaArtScene #BuyArtFromArtists #SupportLocalArtists #SantaMonicaArtCollective 

#SantaMonicaCulturalAffairs #artistssupportingartists #Art

Two Straws

Gregg Chadwick

Two Straws

24"x36" oil on linen 2023

The fresh fragrance of linseed oil and linen fills my studio as I just put some finishing touches on new work. My oil on linen painting "Two Straws" is a short story in paint.
A woman sits at a table in a diner with an empty seat across from her. On the table is a milkshake with two straws. Will her companion return? What do you think will happen in the next scene?

"Two Straws" is the latest cinematic painting in my L.A. Stories series that explores the wonderfully diverse and sprawling city of Los Angeles.

See this artwork and more at our upcoming evening Open Studio Art at the Airport event on May 13, 2023 from 5-9 PM.

 

#art #SantaMonica #SantaMonicaArt #contemporaryart #worksonpaper #artattheairport #oilonlinen #diner #milkshake

From a Passerby

Spotted one of my favorite local artists @greggchadwick displayed At LA Union Station pic.twitter.com/aZMV7gVSau

— Theo Marshall (@ImTheoMarshall) April 14, 2023

New York Comeback by Lucinda Williams

“New York Comeback” (Feat. Bruce Springsteen & Patti Scialfa)

Gregg Chadwick

New York Minute
74"x44" oil on linen 2013
Private Collection, Orinda, California

One Year In - Ukraine Holds Strong

 

Gregg Chadwick

Home Guard (112th Territorial Defense Brigade - Kyiv, Ukraine)
20"x16" oil on linen 2022

One year ago on Feb 24, 2022 - Russia launched its full scale genocide in Ukraine and 9 years ago this week Russia began its operation to illegally annex Crimea.

My painting "Home Guard (112th Territorial Defense Brigade - Kyiv, Ukraine)" is an homage to the brave Ukrainians fighting against an immoral and illegal invasion by Putin's Russia. I remember as a young boy when my father left for war as a US Marine. I can see in the faces of the kids and partners in Ukraine the same mix of fear and pride I felt as my dad told me that he was leaving home to fight for freedom. Ukrainians live in a democratic society that values diversity and opportunity for all. Many couples have decided to fight together against Putin's invasion. Putin wants to crush Ukraine. But he will never prevail against these brave heroes protecting their homeland.

In 2015 at the Venice Biennale, MarySue and I took part in an art performance called "On Vacation" protesting Russia's invasion of Crimea. See - Images 2 and 3.

Half of my proceeds for this painting will be donated to World Central Kitchen's efforts in Ukraine to provide food and sustenance to those fighting for their freedom. As Chef Jose Andres says,"Wherever there is a fight so that hungry people may eat, we will be there." 

#ChefsForTheWorld #Ukraine #SlavaUkraini #art #contemporaryart #NoSurrender @ukraine.ua #OnVacation @stevievanzandt

In 2015 at the Venice Biennale, MarySue and I took part in an art performance called "On Vacation" protesting Russia's invasion of Crimea. 

.@MalcolmNance: "Russian combat power--really offensive power--is finished." #TheReidOut pic.twitter.com/jQkmOhw542

— The ReidOut (@thereidout) February 25, 2023

Poolside

Gregg Chadwick

Poolside

20"x16"oil on linen 2022

    Private Collection, Oxford, Connecticut

Pleased that my painting "Poolside" has been sold by @saatchiart and successfully delivered to its new home near New Haven, Connecticut. It arrived in the midst of a record cold spell and hopefully brought warm memories of Spring and Summer along.
Legs dangling in an aquamarine pool, drink in hand, and a book open to the right page. What is she reading? Perhaps because he was born on this day in 1946, French Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard's book "Happiness: "A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill" which explores how to develop happiness as a skill that includes acceptance of pain and struggle through a process of understanding, meditation, and breath.

Or perhaps her book is a collection of Emily Dickinson's poetry?
"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me."

Note - if you are in town for the @friezeofficial Art Fair at the Santa Monica Airport, I will have my studio open @18thstreetarts at the Airport during fair hours. Please stop by and say Hello.

#art #SantaMonica #Frieze #Books #Hope #Beauty #ContemporaryArt #greggchadwick

Changes - David Bowie

Gregg Chadwick
Changes - David Bowie
41.5"x25.5"pastel on paper 2016

On January 8, 1935 Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi and in Brixton, London on January 8, 1947, David Bowie was born.

Bowie's decades of groundbreaking music and his shapeshifting persona inspired so many of us little aliens in suburbia to fight against conformity and become our true selves.
My artwork looks back on Bowie when he released his haunting song "Where Are We Now?", which is as much a painting in soft greys as it is a song. A quiet rhythm of drums and synth warp and weft with minor key piano chords and Bowie's plaintive, elegiac voice.
Set in a Berlin of memory and dream, Bowie's voice and lyrics question the themes of human bondage, release, freedom, doubt, ageing, and death. Bowie lived in West Berlin between 1976 and 1979 in the Schöneberg district in a house with Iggy Pop while Brian Eno and Tony Visconti were helping record Bowie's Berlin trilogy of albums Low, Heroes, and Lodger in the now legendary Hansa Studios. Years later, Bowie looks back in "Where Are We Now?" and echoes his words about Low, "Berlin has the strange ability to make you write only the important things. Anything else you don't mention."

The political and the personal merge in my pastel painting of Bowie. We are left with existential questions and are reminded that bodies age, marriages end, friendships dissolve and memories fade. But Bowie's quietly defiant voice does not give in to any dying of the light.

For a couple of moments in the immensity of time, we were one.#EternalLove #BowieForever pic.twitter.com/eUK4sjWFc2

— Iman Abdulmajid (@The_Real_IMAN) January 10, 2023

#Art #DavidBowie #HappyBirthday #InMemory #Portrait #ContemporaryArt #Music 

#Inspiration #RIP #Pastel @saatchiart @theotherartfair

Reaching for Light on Miyazaki's Birthday

by Gregg Chadwick

 

Gregg Chadwick
Tokyo (Shibuya Crossing)
30”x22” monotype on paper 2023

Since I was a kid, I have spent a number of holiday seasons in Japan. The time from just before Christmas to just after New Year's Day is a magical time in Japan. Families gather from around the country as students and workers take time off and return to their homes for celebrations of the season. The food is marvelous, the conversations are rich, and the moments are precious. My monotype on paper "Tokyo (Shibuya Crossing)" is an artistic nod to my memories of Japan. As we move into 2023, I wish you a Happy Year of the Rabbit! And I would like to wish a warm Happy Birthday to artist and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki who was born on this day in 1941.

Pixar animator Enrico Casarosa said, "Miyazaki has this uncanny ability to add a childish sense of wonder to his stories. He’s able to make us feel like little kids again." 

Gregg Chadwick
Spirited Away
60"x48"oil on linen 2019

My oil on linen painting "Spirited Away" is an artwork that bridges realms. Light pierces shadow. The past enters the future. A woman on a meditative walk in the hills of Miyajima, Japan seems lost in reverie. Echoes of Japanese film, especially the animated works of Hayao Miyazaki illuminate our vision.

About ten years ago, I woke up from a dream that seemed to have been pulled from a Miyazaki film. In my dream a tender sapling reached towards the light as it sprouted from my wrist. Above, russet clouds moved in a cerulean sky. I look to my dreams as openings rather than fortunes. Yet, since I had recently returned from Tokyo, I remembered that in Japan the first dreams of the New Year, hatsu-yume 初夢, traditionally provide markers for the dreamer's upcoming year. I wrote about first dreams in my New Year's Day post on January 1, 2023 and feel that since my sapling dream ten years ago, I have made a conscious effort to reach for the light even when the world around us seems to be caught in a storm of hateful speech and actions. 

Celluloid Dreams at the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan

In December 2010, I was fortunate to visit the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan where I learned much about Miyazaki and his art.  Filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata founded their animation studio in 1985 and named it after an Italian airplane first produced before World War II: the Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli. The word ghibli in Italian refers to the hot dry winds that blow across the Sahara desert.

Hayao Miyazaki

Sketch for My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro)

pencil and watercolor on paper 1988

(Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan)

Hayao Miyazaki was born on January 5, 1941 just months before Pearl Harbor and the brutal battles in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. As a small child growing up in greater Tokyo, Miyazaki drew scenes of aircraft and aviation most likely inspired by his father's family business which built airplane parts for Japanese Zero fighter planes and also in the later years of the war, by his remembrances of the waves of Allied bombers which firebombed much of Tokyo into smoldering ruins.

Much of Miyazaki's mature work reflects his distaste for heedless violence and warmongering. Miyazaki also deeply cares about the environment and the place of natural beauty in a heavily industrialized Japan. Thirdly, many of Miyazaki's films feature a strong, brave, and resourceful main female character. On his birthday, I would like to give thanks to Hayao Miyazaki for his talent, vision, and deep concern for humanity. 

Gregg Chadwick
December Eyes/ Tokyo
72"x24" oil on silk 2011
Private Collection, Venice, California

 #art #film #poetry  #japan #miyazaki #miyajima #spiritedaway