Jeffrey Milstein, Newark 8 Terminal B, Newark, NJ
We are thrilled to announce that CIVILIZATION: The Way We Live Now opens October 18 at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Seoul, South Korea. Curated by William Ewing, Bartomeu Marí and Holly Roussell Perret-Gentil, this incredible exhibition features Bau-Xi artists Jeffrey Milstein and Michael Wolf.
Michael Wolf, Architecture of Density 91
1. How do you go about photographing your street scenes?
I rarely go out specifically to look for photographs, they usually land in my lap while I’m getting around town doing things. The locations I shoot are mostly in and around East LA and Palm Springs. Once I find a cool looking situation, I’ll park the car and take a look. Sometimes I get to the location and decide the light isn’t right or there is nothing really there, and sometimes I take 5 rolls of film. It’s a very inexact science.
2. What is your day like? What do you like to look out for?
My day-to-day life is pretty varied and depends mainly on what commissions are due and whether I have an exhibition I’m working towards. During the week I like to get out of the house by 830/9am. I recently got myself a studio at Werkartz, which is a multi-purpose art studio / gallery space in Chinatown. This has changed my life considerably as I’m now able to split my professional life from my home life and possibly made me more productive. During the day I’m either there working or running errands in the truck. The roads in LA become asphyxiated by traffic after around 3pm so the challenge is to get everything done by then. So I’m basically either working towards a series for a show or printing work for private sales.
3. How do you think Instagram has changed your eye as a photographer?
The key thing about Instagram / iPhone photography, for all its short-falls; its free, easy and quick. It’s an incredibly good way to practice seeing and taking photos. This benefited me (as an artist 5 years ago with absolutely no money), as I was suddenly able take thousands of photos and practice what I was doing + get real time feedback and validation at the same time, for free. I then applied these refines skills to my film photography practice.
In terms of how its changed the way I take photos, I think it more just helped me refine and explore a type of minimal urban aesthetic I’d been practicing since the very first time I started using cameras – but this time in color.
4. How has Los Angeles changed since you first started photographing it?
Aesthetically not a great deal but culturally yes very much. I arrived in 2010, when the city was still recovering from a terrible recession. In the 10 years I have been here LA has bounced back with a vengeance, it's booming on all fronts and has gone through a sort of cultural renaissance.
5. Why LA?
I really love LA as a city & I’ve have always found the landscape particularly beautiful. Its raw aesthetics are all washed out pastel planes, run down low-rise 80’s architecture. It’s kind of playful and post-apocalyptic all at once. I think it’s primarily the light, the air and the buildings and the fact that there are so few pedestrians that you get to see things really clearly and unimpeded. It’s a strangely captivating place.
6. Who are some other artists whose work actively informs your practice? What is it about these artists that interest you?
I am always inspired by all the great masters but of late I’m really loving the work of my contemporaries: Patricia Treib (for her color and form), Lilah Lute (for her concept and process) and Brian Lotty (for his story telling). Please look them up!
7. What sort of skills do you think is important for an artist to have?
Durability, focus and the odd good idea.
As a continuation of his ongoing series, SALT, David Burdeny has released two stunning new photographs of Great Salt Lake, Utah. These surreal aerial images were captured from fixed wing and rotor aircraft, and feature the vibrant hues and abstract qualities of the Chlorine plants.
These works are available at 21x26, 32x40, 44x55, or 59x73.5 inches, and are now available for acquisition. Contact Bau-Xi Gallery at 416-977-0400 or photo@bau-xi.com for more information, or visit our bau-xi.com.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DAVID BURDENY'S WORK ONLINE.
CHLORINE PLANT 2, GREAT SALT LAKE, UTAH, 2017
CHLORINE PLANT 2, GREAT SALT LAKE, UTAH, 2017
Bau-Xi Vancouver is proud to host the launch of Tom Burrow's Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery retrospective catalogue on Thursday, September 27, 2018 from 6 to 8pm. The reception is open to the public and the artist and curator, Scott Watson, will be in attendance.
The retrospective on one of the most influential artists in the West Coast art scene over the past forty years, Tom Burrows, and the exhibition that preceded the book, presents work by the artist from his early career to the present. The book is a timely refocusing of attention on an artist who has made an immense contribution to the development of art in Vancouver, not only as an artist but as an educator and activist as well. Burrows’s work, which demonstrates an interest in process and new materials, has encompassed a number of disciplines including sculpture, early performance art, video, painting and iconic hand-built houses on the Maplewood Mudflats and Hornby Island. Currently most well known for his innovative monochromatic cast polymer resin “paintings/sculptures” produced during the last forty-five years, the book examines the full breadth of his career with works from the Belkin’s permanent collection as the basis with other works from the artist, collectors and public institutions.
Bratsa Bonifacho's paintings will be on view at the Belgrade City Museum in Serbia for a special exhibition titled 'Hidden Messages'. The Museum houses 24 works in their permanent collection spanning several decades (1979-2015) by the Serbian-Canadian painter. The exhibition celebrates Bonifacho's artistic contributions to the cultural landscape of his place of birth.
The Opening Reception of 'Hidden Messages' takes place on Friday, September 7th at 7 pm, presented by the Ambassador of Canada to the Republic of Serbia, Her Excellency Kati Csaba.
In anticipation of his latest series DISTILLED, we sat down with West Coast artist Anthony Redpath to learn more about his practice.
Bau-Xi Gallery: Can you tell us about how your initial ideas for a piece or a series are sparked?
Anthony Redpath: Ideas are sparked all the time, both in my mind and from visual reference. I could travel past an industrial site and see surfaces or shapes that interest me. If the subject allows a political, environmental, social, or societal comment to be made at the same time as meeting my aesthetic concerns, then it will be in contention for an artwork.
BX: Your images are so beautifully complex, and you have an incredibly technical process. Where do you start? What is your planning process?
AR: I’ll start on an idea without delay if I feel it is a strong one. I’ll just as quickly stop working on that idea, and move on to the next if I feel it isn’t translating well into execution.
The first step is always to obtain permission to shoot in locations where the general public is not allowed. This often requires negotiations and can take many months or longer.
Next, I’ll look at visual research of similar subjects and do a lot of online research. I'll create sketches, take test shots, and roughly composite the images together, to make sure that I can get the composition that I am imagining.
For the final shoot, I have to put together all the photographic equipment I need and book assistants.
BX: Your process is so meticulously planned out. Which aspects are the most methodical? The most exploratory?
AR: The beginning stages of my process are the most exploratory; realizing the potential in an idea by visualizing it in my mind, deciding on which concepts to execute, making the first compositions, then making the first broad strokes in regards to post-production.
This is the most fun part of the process of image making - deciding on a composition, and figuring out how to make it work.
Most of my process is highly methodical, but especially the shooting process. I am very meticulous when if comes to capturing all the visual information; I make sure I have everything needed to make the highest resolution image possible.
BX: How much do you feel your process and methodology should contribute to the meaning and interpretation of your work?
AR: The extraordinary amount of detail tells stories within the overall composition. The surfaces would not exist if it were not for the century-old technology industrial sites where the images are taken, and the effect of the coastal environment over time on the surfaces. The textural breakdown of the surface is a visual metaphor for the effects of the industry on the surrounding landscape.
At the same time, the surfaces are beautiful, seducing the viewer on a strictly aesthetic level.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE COLLECTION
Michelle Nguyen has been invited to join the Centre Pompadour for a two-week residency this August.
Centre Pompadour is established as a laboratory of neo-feminism, welcoming like-minded creative professionals from all over the world to work on projects that place gender equality and feminist empowerment at the heart of the creative process and outreach. It offers accommodation and private workspace for a determined period of time.
Nguyen's time at the residency will be spent exchanging ideas with other creatives and furthering her painting practice.
Click to read more about the Centre Pompadour online
VIEW MORE WORK BY MICHELLE NGUYEN
1. The title of this exhibition, ‘Open the World’ takes its name from a piece you completed earlier this year. What is the significance of the title and the particular moment that inspired it?
The title is a bit multifaceted. Externally it relates to concerns I have regarding the state of current North American and world politics, global warming, and the overall wellness of the planet. Internally as far as humanity goes, it relates to concerns I have about the wellness of humanity.
Sometimes titles come from seemingly unrelated places. This title came as I was looking out my kitchen window at a non-functioning septic tank that sat lifted half way out of the ground. The tank had nothing to do with the content of the painting but 'Open the World' was what I heard when I looked at it and the light fell through the foliage beside that area.
When something isn't working, I sit with it until it opens and the issue resolves itself inside its own answer. I'm not sure what the answer is for the planet, but I guess I'm at the stage of being open and sitting with it. Listening to the things that aren't functioning and the reality of the direction we are heading in on every level.
'Open the World,' for me anyway, keeps my mind open and gives my heart hope. I think this is something we (or maybe I) really need.
2. Do you see these new paintings as unique, or a part of a series?
Conceptually, all of my work stems back to my first show which was based on Rewach (Spirit, breath or wind). The focus on this specific quality has been consistent. My interest for each show is in constantly working to improve my craft and ability to paint. The hope is to bring something new to each show. To keep paring down what it is that needs saying at that particular time. Inside the physicality of painting, maybe a few new colours I might be working with, or variations in brushstrokes. But the basis of the work, always, is spirit, breath or wind.
3. You are well-known for your treatment of light. Can you share some observations on the light quality in Vancouver Island versus Vancouver/Lower Mainland?
As I sit here typing, the air quality in my area has been rated 10+ due to the smoke from wildfires. It seems to be the same everywhere in BC at the time this was written and while a lot of the work was being made. I do think the heat, smoke and wildfires have greatly impacted my work and ability to work for this show. I believe this has impacted some change in the work as well in terms of colour mixing choices and some choices made in application.
5. You described media theorist Marshall McLuhan’s thoughts on art “as a distant early warning system”. Could you tell us a little bit about what this means to you and your thoughts on the potential of art for personal or social change?
I really like a lot of Etienne Zack's work in terms of how it addresses instability and imminent collapse of a structure onto itself. How the networks within the paintings function as a complex maze that draw you in and make it difficult to get out before the whole thing collapses in on you. For me Etienne is a great example of an artist whose work is an early warning system. Collapse of salmon stocks. Collapse of our resident orcas (J-Pod), collapse of the glaciers, bees, all the water that Nestle is taking and selling back to us for massive profit...
I feel gravely concerned about many of the current issues our world is facing. I also have to create a light-thread of hope through that concern. To illuminate the positive things inside those very real threats.
Somehow I have to make paintings as a physical practice of gratitude. To somehow stand for, insist upon and honour the wellness of the planet.
Open the World opens on September 8 at Bau-Xi Vancouver
Joshua Jensen-Nagle on shooting in Algarve, Portugal : "Sometimes I have to hike in 35ºC with 100lbs of gear on my back just to get the vantage point I want"
Joshua Jensen-Nagle recently released new beach scenes shot in Anguilla, Martha's Vineyard and Algarve, Portugal. These spectacular new works are a continuation of his ongoing Endless Summer series and are now available for acquisition at Bau-Xi Gallery.
Everywhere We Go
Never Ending Summer
Dreaming Of Days Like This
Here With You
Take Me There
This Is What We Came For
Dreaming Of Days With You
Nguyen’s paintings are often scattered with figures of nude women, animals, plants, and domestic scenes. While they evoke a sense of traditional oil-painting practice, Nguyen approaches the female form in a more feminist and modern way.
25-year old emerging-Xi artist, Michelle Nguyen, is featured on the August cover of the Georgia Straight as part of the Vancouver Mural Festival, the city's third annual celebration of public art.
Speaking to Laura Sciarpelletti of the Georgia Straight, Nguyen elucidates upon her painting practice, artistic process, and her theoretical and historical influences. Click here to read the full article.
Michelle Nguyen's mural can be found off Main Street between 7th and 8th Avenue in Vancouver's bustling Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.
Before I get to the question, I’d like to set the stage first.
This show is about water and it's capacity to transform both itself as well as ourselves. “Light Play” captures the mesmerizing qualities of water and light. Fluid and moving, glistening and refracting, water nourishes our spirit. It represents all the characteristics we love; to be pure, deep, transparent, intuitive, nurturing, reflective and receptive. Water embodies the idea of transformation, it shapes and can be shaped, and can express both the light and the heavy of personal journeys.
I wanted this emotional quality to be at the forefront and chose the thick application of paint for it’s unfiltered directness. Resin and acrylic sheets are great for playing with light, depth and colour, and would have been a great choice to explore the qualities of water. However, in this show I embraced the textural and visceral qualities of paint because I think they have greater emotional traction. By exposing every brushstroke and decision to the viewer, the hand of the artist is more apparent. A tension is built between the soothing water scene and the rough, scraped, splattered application of paint. The disconnect between human expression and beauty of nature creates an interesting dialogue.
2. What experimental methods or techniques might we see in this new body of work? How has your approach to the painting and photography elements of your mixed media practice evolved over time.
There is less and less photography coming through on my pieces in this show. In some cases, there is no photo at all. I use the photo to depict “reality” while the paint serves to enhance or reveal some kind of magic within the landscape. That is still happening but now I’m using paint to also be in opposition to the realism of the photo. The result is a more personalized landscape, one that captures more of the human relationship and struggle.
3.You often flatten illusory depths with surface intervention and disrupt photographic realism with textural paint application and hyper-saturation, what is the conceptual motive behind these compositional choices.
These are all ways to interrupt the viewer from seeing the landscape from a passive stance. We all take landscapes around us for granted and I don’t want to represent more of that so I focus on details and find the magic within it. Even with my panoramic scenes, it is full of painted un-natural details that give the image an overall sense of something that transcends nature. They either invite the sublime or reveal some kind of struggle. Ideally, both.
4. To what extent are your compositions situated at the photographic site? Do the finished pieces relate to real places or become imagined realms and how does this process occur?
I’m generally focused on the emotional response and idea in the work, but having said that, Vancouver and the Gulf Islands are always “alive” in my work. It’s the place where many of my favourite childhood sailing memories come from. It’s also where I experienced the greatest connection to nature. All this feeds directly into my artistic practice.
5. What is the significance of the title Light Play? How does this body of work relate to the physical energy and natural agent of light, its symbolic meaning as well as its place in optics, painting and photography?
I play with light as “spirit” or as a sublime element that shines through the material world in strange and unnatural ways. It’s intended to help the viewer imagine their own spirit in the scene, to imagine that they are part of the wave, as part of something in movement, expansive and full of light. In “The Merging of Water and Sky”, the refraction of light through the water droplets creates a kind of glowing stardust - imagine that’s you - that blurs the boundary between water and sky, combining the vastness of both.
6. How has your subject matter and approach to subject matter changed over the course of your career? What about the natural environment continues to inspire you and what drew you to this specific site?
I’ve tried a lot of different subjects in my career and I’m always dancing around this fairly abstract idea of the sublime within nature. I’ve shifted my focus slightly from trying to depict it’s existence, or an experience of it, to the struggle of finding it. In the past, I used my experiences from meditation and time spent in nature to inform my visual exploration of the subject, but my meditation practice and nature excursions have long since faded away and my efforts to rekindle the practice have been frustrating at best. The struggle has become the new subject, and in painting water I’ve discovered more flexibility to express the human element.
Sylvia Tait is featured in A Generous Spirit: Highlights from the Permanent Collection, a group exhibition honoring the West Vancouver Art Museum's new designation. Curated by Darrin Morrison and Jackie Wong, the exhibition brings together select works from celebrated Canadian artists held within the museum's permanent collection.
A Generous Spirit runs from July 25–September 1, 2018 with a talk and tour hosted on Saturday, August 18 at 2pm.
