The Burial of Count Orgaz by El Greco

The Burial of Count Orgaz by El Greco

The Burial of Count Orgaz by El Greco from 1586 is considered El Grecos finest work. Its appeal to pious fervor of the Spanish Reformation efforts should be very evident. The legend has it Saint Stephen and Saint Augustine miraculously descended down from heaven to bury the Count, about 3 centuries prior to the painting, in the church where it was commissioned to reside: Church of Santo Tomé in Toledo.

El Greco is an interesting painter because he draws from so many stylistic sources. The Venetian school is represented in the rich clothing, but the abstractness shift the style towards Mannerism, his usual classification. The elongated limbs, undefined space, and cool light can only be explained by his connection with Titian’s workshop, and Titian’s student, Tintoretto.

The Burial of Count Orgaz by El Greco

José Parlá

José Parlá is an artist. He’s a painter with a vision, deep history of roots art, a new age sculptor, and most definitely an abstractionist.

His work has appeared around the world in exhibitions in London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris.

José works with lines that stretch out from the edge of space, swirling around amidst chaos and frequency.

He studied painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, and The New World School of the Arts in Miami, and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Photo source: José Parlá | www.joseparla.com

Continue Reading →

Artist Review: Jaybo Monk

 

You get pieces of art that are pretty close replications of real life, evoke a sense of 3D, and really give a feeling of something that you can see happening. Well, Jaybo Monk touches briefly, in little corners of his paintings on these elements, fits together pieces that really make sense on their own, but what I find are his strongest suits are that he pushes the freak into what one would feel is quite natural and ordinary; freakishly and radically awesome.

It really is works of art like this that inspire me. Where does it come from? Where has it spilled forth from? What was on your mind? How did you get those strokes? How did you blend there? Did you create this from space? Those are just the first few that come from looking at the above photograph. Lord only knows how many more would come if I could actually behold one of them in front of me.

From what I’ve read, Jaybo is from a strong graffiti background, he grew up in France, but ran away from home to settle in Germany, Berlin to be exact. His biography on Circle Culture will take you into more detail, but its very interesting to hear how he has shaped the scene of that area from the ground, grass roots up.

A friend just told me, because I was lamenting about how far away my art is from this, that to get to the point where my art speaks like this, it takes many many hours, days, years of work. I optimistically put the fear of never getting to this point out of my mind and push on. Another friend once told me that if I spend to much time looking at all the other works out there, I’ll become overwhelmed with how much there is and start getting dizzy. I think that’s how I’m feeling right now. This is just such an amazing body of work Jaybo has.

Just wow. You know? wow. Shading, contortion, vivid body parts mixed with spaces of plain white. Ease and confusion. Words just keep flowing. Comprehension doesn’t follow suit. I found a great interview done by Remi Rough at Graffuturism, where I got the final picture of Jaybo from. But the interview does reach some interestingly quirky points, but mainly showcases some of Jaybo’s brilliant works. Maybe you’ve seen some of them before? Maybe it’s just in your dreams…

Also, the mixture of materials that he uses. To me, it looks like theres oils, water colors, pens, and spray paint? It is just confusing to me. Amazingly confusing. So much does it speak that its confusing.

I hope this opens up new doors for you as it has me, finding or learning of such style, such works just inspires me to the point of utter madness, a circling spiraling into madness that I can’t stop smiling about until I’m upside down and…

What do you think about Jaybo?

 

Here are a few videos to watch Jaybo’s process from Urban Art Core

This one is from Urban Art Core as well

Artist Review: David Choe

Sometimes you come across things that just make you think to yourself: “I need to step on the gas, shift into a gear higher, let my mind free from all constraints, and become more totally awesome than I already am.”

Looking at art by David Choe does this for me.

His interest in not only in abstracting the normal, but in blending that with colors and angles that make you feel like your in a weirdly distorted mirror room simply amaze me.

I’ve just recently read an issue of Juxtapoz magazine, where he was featured, and guest edited the entire issue. It is chalked full of art, thoughts, reminiscences, history, and antics of David that inspire me in their own right, let alone the art that graces the pages.

Who really knows where an artist starts, I guess it would be some time between your parents deciding to not use a condom, the sounds you hear in the womb, and the influences you have at the time of puberty, but for David, it seems he’s grown up on a steady diet of graffiti, porno’s, and mixed media. Looking at his website, you’ll find he uses every type of medium possible: oils, mixed, walls, sculptures, fotos, and drawings… which I guess is what an artist should and does create with.

Gambling problems, sticky fingers, women, kindness, and amazing dedication to living a life for the sole purpose of exploring your mind seem to be David‘s characteristics; which inspire me a lot.

I don’t think its that he just uses a lot of different mediums, or that he has exceptional talent, or that he’s not trying to fit into a type of style, but its that he tries with the vigor of a porno star with everything that he tries; he lives, breathes, fucks, drools, and smells of art… and I love it.

Check out his stuff, be influenced, and tell me how much you adore him just like I do!

Oh, and by the way, he’s a world wide traveler, but in LA from all that I can gather at the moment.