West Austin Studio Highlight: Stella Alesi

Ben and I spent the weekend in Austin. We wandered about, saw some art and drank cider. It was a lot of driving and walking which is typical of our trips.

After visiting UT’s MFA thesis show the night before, we attempted to take part in Big Medium’s West Austin Studio Tour on Saturday. We were frustratingly unprepared and did not realize that West meant 50% of Austin geographic area rather than 25%. We drove 20 minutes from place to place and wound up visiting only five studios.

Thankfully, one of those studios happened to be Stella Alesi’s. Her studio, Blackbox, is inside an airy 2-story house in south Austin.

In her most recent series Journeying, Alesi uses oil, cold wax and bookbinding tape to create abstract compositions that bring to mind balanced stones, horizons and masses of water.

Each medium, whether its oil, cold wax, tape or paper, offers a rich, unique texture. While I’ve worked with hot wax (encaustic), I have never tried playing with cold wax. The cold wax plays two roles in Alesi’s paintings–aesthetic and protective. As previously mentioned, the wax offers a unique texture that creates a flat sheen. The wax also protects the artwork so that glass is not necessary. In her studio, Alesi explained that she could easily clean off smudges and dirt thanks to the wax.

The tape was an interesting choice as well. Previously, Alesi used regular blue masking tape. Of course, that wasn’t archival, so she began using bookbinding tape. In addition to creating clean edges and a unique texture, the tape suggests adhesion and fixing things together.

I found Alesi’s use of paper to be the biggest surprise and greatest solution. She adhered white oil paper onto panel. By doing so, Alesi got the benefits of working on paper and the durability of stretched canvas.

Stella Alesi, #270 from the journeying series, 48x48 inches, oil, cold wax and bookbinding tape on oil paper mounted to panel, 2019

Stella Alesi, #263 from the "simplicity series", 48x48 inches, oil, wax and masking tape on oil paper mounted to panel, 2018

I love how Alesi speaks about her work. She is both enthusiastic and objective. In her interview with Scott David Gordon on Austin Art Talk, she explains how her work started and the changes it underwent – without any hint of insecurity. I admire that immensely.

Alesi knew that she wanted to be an artist at age 11, and she faithfully became one. She didn’t starve, and she didn’t sell out. She earned a BFA and a MFA without going into debt. Afterwards, she took part time work and did wedding photography until the age of 50 to help finance her art practice and living expenses. She did things so matter of fact that it seems like she had no doubt in her mind. She was focused.

Stella Alesi, "december 7th, 2016", from the "digging for emptiness"" series, pencil, oil and tape on Arches oil paper, 22.5x30 inches, 2016

You can see more of Stella Alesi’s artwork on her website or visit her studio next weekend during the second week of Big Medium’s West Austin Studio Tour.

Thank you Austin Art Talk for sharing her work on your podcast and Instagram account! It is thanks to your podcast, that I ended up visiting her studio this past week.

Currently reading:

90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality, Allison Yarrow

“Art is Not Entrepreneurship”, Rainey Knudson, Glasstire

“Leon and Stella Alesi: Love Conjures All”, Wayne Alan Brenner, The Austin Chronicle

Currently listening to:

Addressing the Threat of White Nationalism Online, The Takeaway

#41 What It Looks Like, Reply All

Episode 58: Stella Alesi - Journeying, Austin Art Talk

ARKA Art's Inaugural Art Show

This past weekend, I exhibited three of my works at ARKA Art’s Inaugural Art Show. It felt momentous, and it was fun. I met 11 emerging artists based in Houston and shared my artwork with a large audience in my hometown.

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White Oak’s End

2018

Acrylic

30” x 20”

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Loan Tree

2019

Acrylic

36” x 24”

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Museum Groceries

2018

36” x 24”

Acrylic

The most common question I received was how I got to be included in the show. I’ll share. I stumbled upon ARKA’s open call for artists for their inaugural show in late February of this year. I stumbled upon it by searching for it… I spend at least 2-3 hours per week looking for opportunities to show or develop my work. That doesn’t include the time I spend working on the actual applications.

While the idea of artists painting, drawing, sculpting and creating all of the time is romantic, it is impossible. In reality, artists spend 50% of their time funding their work with a day job or applying for grants, 10% researching/playing around with ideas, 20% administration & cataloguing, 10% making actual work. I’ve made this conclusion based on personal experience, talking with other artists, and listening to interviews of successful artists.

Back to ARKA Art. I loved showing my work alongside 11 other emerging Houston artists. I enjoyed meeting the artists and connecting with a group of individuals who were taking on similar endeavor while juggling jobs, etc.

After hanging my artwork, I met with fellow exhibitors at Axelrad.

Thank you Estefania, the Director of ARKA Art, for showing my work and organizing the show. Thank you Oluwah Akinyemi, Nala Alan, KaDavien Baylor, Kirby Gladstein, Macy Partain, Hugo Perez, Amanda Powers, Jamie Robertson, Pia Roque, Troi Speaks and Alex Zapata for showing your work alongside mine. Finally, thank you to all who came to the show!

Currently reading:

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, Dominic Smith

90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality, Allison Yarrow

Currently listening to:

Tapping into the Art World’s Potential to Make Us Feel Empowered, Hyperallergic

How to Zine It Yourself, Unladylike

The Remote Control Brain, Invisibilia

Strong and Feminine in the 17th Century

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was the most renowned woman painter in Europe during the first half of the 17th century. She is recognized as a significant feminist figure because of her skill, resilience and empowering depictions of women. In her paintings, women are powerful Biblical heroines rather than temptresses.

Gentileschi had the opportunity to become a painter thanks to her father Orazio, a reputable painter in Rome. At the time of her career, women were not allowed to have apprenticeships with men, so she would not have had access to painting if not for her father. Orazio began training her at an early age.

Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, ca. 1615-17

Artemisia Gentileschi

Oil on canvas

The National Gallery, London

Both father and daughter was heavily influenced by Caravaggio. Artemisia used chiaroscuro (bold contrasts of light and dark) and tenebrism (extremes of dominating darkness pierced by bright, insistent spotlights) in the majority of her work. These stylistic choices emphasized drama and created an element of theater.

Artemisia’s career and life was greatly influenced by a series of events that took place as she was just launching her career. At age 17, she was raped by artist Agostino Tassi. Her family and Tassi went to court for a seven-month trial. During the trial, she was publicly humiliated and forced to undergo sibille, a torturous lie detector test. While the Gentilesschis won the case, the events left a dark cloud over Artemisia’s career.

Susanna and the Elders, 1610

Artemisia Gentileschi

Oil on canvas

Susanna and the Elders (1610), an early work of Artemisia’s, depicts a biblical scene where two older men spy on Susanna while she is bathing and attempt to blackmail her into having sexual relations with them with false accusations of adultery. In other artists’ depictions of this scene, Susanna is either unaware or flirtatious. Artemisia, on the other hand, emphasizes Susanna’s distress and active response to the intruders.

Artemisia Gentileschi’s assertive and strong-feminine voice is most apparent in Judith and Holofernes (1620). The story of Judith is biblical and is similar to David and Goliath. Judith, a Jewish widow, kills the Assyrian general Holofernes to help save her village. In Artemisia’s depiction of the decapitation, Judith and her maidservant are muscular and strong. They work hand-in-hand to courageously and powerfully complete the task. They are remarkable to say the least. Blood is spurting everywhere, and the job is dirty. Holofernes looks vulnerable, weak and humiliated. The decapitation by Judith feels very much like a victory.

Judith and Holofernes, ca. 1620

Artemisia Gentileschi

Oil on canvas

78 3/10 × 64 in

Galleria degli Uffizi

Both Caravaggio and Artemisia’s father made similar paintings, yet their depictions of the scene contrast drastically with Artemisia’s. In Caravaggio’s work, Judith is uncertain and much less powerful. The maidservant is nearby but not in union with Judith. It doesn’t feel like a victory. Rather, it feels almost shameful. I feel sorry for everyone in this Caravaggio painting.

Judith Beheading Holofernes, ca. 1598-1599

Caravaggio

Oil on canvas

57 x 77 in

In Orazio’s depiction of the same narrative, the act of decapitation is taken out completely. The women look away from Holofernes’s head and present it as if they just happened to have come upon a decapitated head. They appear completely powerless and at the service to whomever they are presenting the head to. The painting also feel much less dramatic and soft thanks to the color choices and emphasis on linens.

Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes

Orazio

Oil on canvas

In addition to admiring her artwork, I admire Artemisia’s character! She had the confidence and will to stand up for her work. In letters written to Don Antonio Ruffo, Gentileschi condemns his bigotry, and asserts her skill and right to good pay:

I fear that before you saw the painting you must have thought me arrogant and presumptuous…. [I]f it were not for Your Most Illustrious Lordship… I would not have been induced to give it for one hundred and sixty, because everywhere else I have been I was paid one hundred scudi [Italian coins] per figure…. You think me pitiful, because a woman’s name raises doubts until her work is seen.

I was mortified to hear that you want to deduct one third from the already low price that I had asked… It must be that in your heart Your Most Illustrious Lordship finds little merit in me.

I am most inspired by Artemisia’s dare to be great. She painted women powerfully at time when that wasn’t done. She was a professional woman artist when that wasn’t done. She defended her work and herself when that wasn’t done. She did believed in herself, her artwork and her womanhood.

While the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston does not have any works by Artemisia Gentileschi, it does have a painting by her father which depicts Artemisia as a sibyl (a woman in ancient times supposed to utter the oracles and prophecies of a god).

Learn more

Artemisia: Her Passion Was Painting Above All Else, The New York Times

Artemisia’s Moment, Smithsonian Magazine

National Gallery buys Artemisia Gentileschi masterpiece for £3.6m , The Guardian

Artemisia Gentileschi, Art History Babes (podcast)

Peter Doig, a Contemporary Romantic

I found Peter Doig’s work oddly lovely and intoxicating, so I began researching his work and incorporating some his style into my own. Doig is a contemporary painter based in Trinidad. He was born in 1959 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Peter Doig

Young Bean Farmer 1991

Oil on canvas

His work is figurative. Since he first started showing his work in the 1980’s, he has painted pictorial scenes. It wasn’t trendy at the turn of the century. Art critics and collectors had declared painting “dead” since the 1970’s. Beginning in 1962 when Clement Greenberg wrote in his essay “After Abstract Expressionism”, “good” art would now be predicated on conception alone. Subject matter and skill were no longer meaningful. Donald Judd, the artist who put Marfa on the map for the artworld, strengthened this belief when he asserted the irrelevance of painting in his essay “Specific Objects” in 1965. By the 1990’s, the works of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin were popular, while the work of Peter Doig…. not so much. Painting, particularly figurative painting, had been “exhausted”.

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living

Damien Hirst

1991

2170 x 5420 x 1800 mm | 85.5 x 213.4 x 70.9 in

Glass, painted steel, silicone, monofilament, shark and formaldehyde solution

Peter Doig paid no mind to this. As Catherine Grenier writes in her essay “Melancholy Resistance”, “his painting wastes no time with denials or references to a conceptual background”. I love it. I find that to be incredibly liberating. He didn’t get distracted by the art market or whatever was fashionable at the time.

Peter Doig

Concrete Cabin 1991-2

Oil on canvas

What I most enjoy is the sense of in-betweeness, pause and reflection created by his work. He places you somewhere between the real and the imaginary. He seems to step back from what is happening here & now and look back to try and make sense how we/he got to where we are now. But Doig’s paintings also look forward. It causes me to feel as if I am standing at the edge of what Grenier identifies as a “scheduled disappearance” of the world “undermined by the corrosion of the virtual”. It’s that feeling you get when you first look down the Grand Canyon in person. Everything is quiet and larger than. You feel so little, yet you feel embraced by a great sense of overwhelming opportunity.

Peter Doig

Milky Way 1990

Read more about the so called “death of painting” in Back When Painting Was Dead by John Yau.

To learn more about Peter Doig’s life and artwork, read The Mythical Stories in Peter Doig’s Paintings by Calvin Tomkins.

One of my works in progress. Influenced by the work of Peter Doig.

Barnett Newman: Seeking The Sublime

"I hope that my painting has the impact of giving someone, as it did me, the feeling of his own totality, of his own separateness, of his own individuality." - Barnett Newman

Barnett Newman was a member of the New York School, which included Abstract Expressionists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

Newman found his “voice” when he completed Onement, I in 1948. The “zip”, first appearing in Onement, I, was a visual device that both separated and united the figure-ground relationship without referencing a single object. Newman used “zips” in the majority, if not all, of his work following Onement, I.

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Barnett Newman

Onement, I

1948

27 1/4 x 16 1/4"

Museum of Modern Art

The art world didn’t like it at first. Not even by his fellow New York School friends. At his first one-man show, Newman did not sell a single piece of work. To add insult to injury, Robert Motherwell told Newman: “We thought you were one of us. Instead your show is a critique against all of us.” After his first show, many of his fellow artists distanced themselves from him. Only Jackson Pollock is said to have stood by Newman. I find this both remarkable and terrifying. Newman continued to make his “zips” despite the poor press and a lack of support from his colleagues. He must have been incredibly confident to be so faithful to his work.

Alexander Liberman

Portrait of Barnett Newman

ca. 1961

The Menil Collection

By 1951, Newman turned his attention to scale. Vir heroicus sublimis (“Man, heroic and sublime.") is nearly 8 feet tall and 18 feet wide. It is a large red painting disrupted by zips of various colors at irregular intervals. While I have not experienced Vir heroicus sublimis in person, I can image (to some extent) that is very much an experience to be had. It is enormous. Standing 3 feet away, your whole field of vision would be filled with an expanse of red yet the zips would infiltrate and cut your peripherals as you attempted to take the whole composition in.

This expansiveness and emphasis on the experience relates back to Newman’s concept of the “Sublime” which he defined as “something that gives one the feeling of being where one is, of hic et nunc—of the here and now—courageously confronting the human fate, standing without the props of ‘memory, association, nostalgia, legend myth,’” according to Hal Foster in Art Since 1900.

Interestingly, Newman destroyed all of his early work. He controlled his legacy and very intelligently developed an image of both himself and his work to be used later on in art history. Another noteworthy tidbit, Newman considered Piet Mondrian his nemesis! Foster argues that Newman considered Mondrian’s work to be simply “good design” and nothing more.

Yes, Newman’s work was not immediately accepted by the art community–in fact, his work has been attacked multiple times. However, Newman was very articulate and a good writer. I believe he managed to remain confident and continue creating his work because of his ability to discuss and defend it well. He was bibliophile and a theorist. The Barnett Newman Foundation lists all of the titles in Newman’s private library.

Photo: J. Griffis Smith

If you are in Houston, you can view Newman’s work at The Menil Collection. They have several of his paintings in their collection. Broken Obelisk, one of Newman’s few sculptures, is located in front of The Rothko Chapel.

Inspired by Newman’s work and his will to create an experience of totality and hic et nunc, I created my own “zip” painting. I wanted to show that the future, particularly my own, is undefined. Whatever happened in the past does not define the future. Rather the past is just a backdrop. The background, while it cannot be erased, can be added to and developed. The now and the future are always different. Time passing is the only constant.

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01.14.1994

Acrylic

30 x 15

2019

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Currently reading:

How Emotions Are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett

Walk Through Walls: A Memoir by Marina Abramovic

Severance by Ling Ma

Happy Yoga by Steve Ross