Cautious Progress, oil on canvas, 40”x64” 2010

Tumultuous Paradise, oil on canvas, 60”x72”, 2010

Bursting Motion, oil on canvas, 48”x70” 2010

Ardent Phenomenon, 90”x108”, oil on canvas, 2008

Budget, oil on wood 12”x18”, 2010

Artist Statement
My work investigates a world of visual intoxication, it captures moments of enchantment which are associated with urban nightlife. I am fascinated by the ambiance of the city at night and its seductive qualities. The breathtaking turbulence of speeding vehicles and hasty pedestrians evoke feelings of wonder and disorientation. The vibrant lights become a magical landscape with enticing opportunities and promises of fulfillment.

In our seemingly content society there is a struggle to achieve greater levels of enjoyment. We explore various environments and activities in search of pleasure. Extravagant lights of night environments seduce us to participate in curious events, enticing us to experience new forms of satisfaction.

In my oil paintings I aim to capture various atmospheres that occur in such environments. Through observation and documentation I assemble images which become visual tools for my paintings. I concentrate on how the mind perceives and evaluates surroundings while under the influence of a social climate.

I recreate the feeling of dizziness and confusion by letting the paint blur and allowing shapes to dissolve. I suggest motion in order to slow down the scene and capture the fleeting moments which tend to be forgotten. By interpreting lights in graphic or painterly ways, I create a sense of space, alluding to a hallucinogenic experience. I intensify the sense of motion with the use of quick vigorous lines and sharp perspectives. I want the viewer’s eye to travel within my composition and experience a familiar exhilarating event of an actual nightly excursion.

Website
http://www.alexandrapacula.com/

Exhibit
Currently showing at Mighty Tanaka gallery until March 12.

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Traffic Lights, Pastel on Paper, 20×26

Side by Side, Mixed Media on Paper, 14×17

Pencil and Pastel, 20×30 paperboard

Artist Statement

Through expressionism, my work intends to communicate energies and questions that are nestled within our everyday surroundings, yet uncovered only in glimpses and moments. My work begins with a questioning of a temporal communication or detection of a striving connection made with my surroundings in a certain moment. I am using pastels, pencil, oil paint, watercolor and mixed media to explore the reflection of these sensations; recreating the city in a language of line and color that speaks to that moment of mystery and clarity. I am questioning the city – how it relates to us as a human form, a collection of humanity, a source of inspiration and energy.

The city, as a collection of energy and humanity is a source from which we all draw or can draw, and its’ synergies and metaphysical phenomenon allow us to experience life in parallel to others and experience collective emotions. But as a consequence how does this reality affect our mentality and reflection, both individually and as a society/culture, and ultimately instill itself in our identities.

The city as the mental construct of a built, social and natural environment, changes and morphs in relation to our state of mind. When one closes their eyes, everything we associate with the city, in this case New York, can vanish; we can take ourselves anywhere. Yet in the moment we open our eyes we are flooded with the associations, emotions and self-identification that is our place and connection to the city. What is this connection and what does this tell us about ourselves, as both a social and imaginative people?

We must push these notions by examining our environment further to better understand ourselves as it is our imagination, systemization, fear, and humanity that we instill in our built environment, and it is under different lights, hours and mettles that the city changes, just like its creators. Creating a language that can stimulate and explore this dialogue is my challenge.

When people see my work, I’d like them to leave more imaginative, curious and sensitive to their surroundings, and more inquisitive of how we are and how we bend with the temperament and air of the city.

Website

http://alxwyt.blogspot.com/

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Artist Statement

I consider myself a street photographer; my camera is always on hand and I shoot at anything that strikes my interest in public places. I constantly pay attention to people, composition and lighting.

My love for New York City has always motivated me. The city offers a plethora of visual stimuli and my goal is to capture this visual bounty. I have had a strong commitment to street photography since 1988. I capture reality – by using a wide-angle lens and avoiding postcard compositions. I seek the raw, claustrophobic crowd and congestion of the city, not just with people, but also inanimate objects. I relish people or objects that get in the way of the otherwise “perfect” shot.

Over the years, I have developed a style that combines the finesse of fine art with the grit of street photography. Unusual captures, composition and angles burst through my city scenes.

Website

http://www.larawechsler.com

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Artist Website
http://www.valeryrizzo.com

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February Pharmacy, 8″x12″, gouache and acrylic

Donut Shop, 14″x11″, gouache and acrylic

Coffee Shop, 8″x10.5″, gouache and acrylic

Cafe Moutarde, 25″ x 9″, gouache and acrylic

Artist Statement
I believe there is a universal appeal in the specific and that a work depicting a small, personal scene will also resonate with viewers. My aim is to successfully convey the feelings that initially attract me to a scene through the choices I make – from the colors and composition to more subtle elements. While my pieces have often been described as realistic, I never try to hide the fact that the work is a painting not a photographic interpretation. A successful painting will always manipulate reality in order to convey the artist’s vision.

Contact

t.papoulas@gmail.com

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Resurrection, 2007
oil on canvas (34″ x 50″)

Ascension, 2007
oil on canvas (54″ x 70″)

Cruciferous, 2008
oil on canvas (54″ x 80″)

Artist Statement (Excerpt)

Resurrection is not only about the process of the mix between abstract and real but also concerned with the presence of human reaction to the emotion associated with enigmatic personal experiences. Those private moments when things seem above and beyond human understanding are the ones we either tell or keep a secret. This depends upon who experiences them, for some will tell immediately and believe wholeheartedly in the supernatural, while others will dismiss not only their experiences but the tales of even their most trusted confidants.

Recently, with Resurrection, Smith began toying with the concept of abstracted bitmaps and pixels. Throughout the series he sprinkles small color spaces of brushed on pigment through stencils. To the artist, these intrusions represent the concepts of transition of time and space. They also represent the idea of the manifestation of both good and evil. Much in the way that corrupted DVDs present bitmapped projections of scattered images, these tiny squares provide the transition between real and imagined—between abstract and realism. They are paintings on top of paintings but within paintings. The concept of which, can be observed in Smith’s earlier series, too. In Revelations in Red, he uses similar geometric forms and collage materials (particularly postage stamps) to represent rights of passage. In Sanctuary, he employs text, floating etched images and layers of various mixed media to create spiritual illusions and surreal thought processes.

Artist Website

http://www.stacystewartsmith.com/

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