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April on Art and Design In South Florida and Beyond
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Abstract Expressionism Is Back!In the Art of Charlotte Maloney Artist Charlotte Maloney Abstract expressionism is back. But for painter Charlotte Maloney, this truly American art movement has never faded. Maloney, who also teaches studio art and art appreciation at Palm Beach State College, Florida, has continued to work in this style, along with other mediums, from the time she studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York City in the 1960s. She has used abstract expressionism, so famous for its ability to convey inner feelings, to produce a variety of emotions through vivid color and powerful design.  Impressionism, acrylic on canvas, 2014 Maloney's canvas Impressionism is a case in point. The background of the canvas, which is composed of dark green color mixed with turquoise, teal and yellow, creates a forest-like feeling of mystery and suspense. But the viewer's eye is distracted from this forest by the hypnotic white and brown lines which swirl around the painting as if searching for resolution over this dark and threatening landscape. Maloney has created a mood that suggests a struggle for answers over chaos and conflict, a mood that would be hard to convey so quickly any other way. . " The strength of my work lies in color which reflects the different mood states in my life." Charlotte Maloney "I paint mostly brushless," explains Maloney. "I pour on the paint and experience the accident. The strength of my work lies in color which reflects the different mood states in my life." Maloney's technique is reflective of Jackson Pollack's "action painting.". During a certain period of his life Pollack preferred to place his canvasses on the floor and drip paint on them. "Richard Pousette-Dart...taught me how to paint from the inside out on a blank canvas." Charlotte Maloney But Maloney demurs from such a label. She says she was most inspired by Richard Pousette-Dart, one of her New York teachers, who is considered the founder of the New York school of art. "He taught me how to paint from the inside out on a blank canvas, and how to get in touch with what you feel from the inner depth." she says. She also points out that part of his technique, unlike that of Pollack, was to use piles of thick paint.  Pink and Blue, acrylic on wood board, 2014 Pousette-Dart's influence comes through clearly in Maloney's powerful painting PInk and Blue. Here she combines heavy layers of paint with the use of mixed media collage. The colors, contours and shapes she selects produce a joyous explosion of pinks and blues. Happiness permeates the painting almost like a flash of lightening and immediately elicits viewer smiles. But at the same time, the very spontaneity of the painting plants a seed of doubt, that makes the viewer wonder if this joy is fleeting rather than lasting. More of Maloney's abstract expressionist art, as well as her work in other mediums such as watercolor landscapes, may be found on her website at charlottemaloneyartist.com. Abstract expressionism,
which flourished in New York City after World War II, was the first American art movement to achieve international recognition.
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For the Love of Art -- Rob Faulds--Artist and FAU Galleries Director  Artist and FAU Galleries Director Rod Faulds Rob Faulds wears two hats. An abstract artist of growing renown, for 20 years Faulds has also been the visionary director of "The Galleries" at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). This is the man who catapulted the Schmidt and Ritter galleries onto the Palm Beach cultural landscape with timely programming and exhibitions. At the same time, Faulds was forging ahead with his own artwork in a style reminiscent of the early 20th century Russian Constructivists. Read more about him in my December profile in the Boca Raton Observer.
bocaratonobserver.com/community/la-vida-boca/for-the-love-of-art/  The Roman original of the Dying Gaul, a copy of the Hellenistic original, is in the Capitoline Museum, Rome. It started with an argument. My friend of mine insisted that Hellenic art was far superior to Hellenistic art. A teacher in the humanities, she was talking about classical Greek art produced when city states like Athens flourished. Of course, I had to admit the Acropolis is beautifully proportioned...But overall, I had to say, "No," to her infatuation with classical Greek sculpture. "Maybe the drawings on Greek vases are lovely," I added. "But nothing can compare to certain Hellenistic statues. At least not until the Renaissance produced Bernini. Just take a look at the Dying Gaul created in Hellenistic Greece, Alexander the Great's time."
Audiences are transfixed by her singing. When Jones sang Lucia in "Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor," the Houston Review called her voice "full of dazzling radiance." Last year her career took a big step forward when she won a Grammy in the Best Opera Recording category for her soloist role as Christine Brennan in "The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs" with the Santa Fe Opera. Check out my article in the June/July issue of the Boca Observer to read more about this fascinating young opera singer. bocaratonobserver.com/observed/la-vida-boca/on-a-high-note/
.Triumphal trumpets surprised us; kettle drums stirred us. It was the Te Deum by 17th c. French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier--a glorious piece of music. I heard it Saturday March 29th at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach. It was the centerpiece of an Early Music Concert beautifully conducted by John Weatherspoon (conductor/artistic director of the expressivosingers.com).  Early Music Concert in the DeSantis Family Chapel featuring Chapentier's Te Deum (March 29, 2019) There were echoes of Handel in this glorious piece of music. But rather than religious overtones, Charpentier's famous polyphonic motet sounded secular, at least to my ears. That may have reflected the fact that many believe it was composed to celebrate a French military victory--the Battle of Steenkirk in August, 1692. Three hundred years later this composition still stirs minds and souls!
Palm Beach Atlantic University These grants can provide YOU as an artist with |
"Art washes away
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