collection: commandax

[commandax]

your newest painting is a print now

I think that's great! When I first contacted project: about it, they said they had just dropped it off to get scanned for making a print, so I was pretty sure they would be putting one out soon. I'm glad other people will be able to appreciate its beauty now, too!

[commandax]

I'm thrilled to report that I acquired a couple of Kelly Vivanco's paintings from the Thinkspace show "Uncommon Gardens," which opens tomorrow, 5/9/08. I added them to the top post, as well.

"Predawn"


"Salamander"

[commandax]

As has been said, i adore the Belcastro piece - i'd love to see a shot of it up on your wall for context!

I finally was home at an hour when there was enough daylight to so justice to this request... so here you go. I also took a picture of Kelly Vivanco's "Undercurrent" on the facing wall... this is sort of my "blue room."

[sleepboy]

wow! undercurrent is awesome. love the image/colors. and it's pretty big too.

[highbrow]

great looking piece and pick that drink up before someone spills it.

[masao626]

positively gorgeous! those two pieces in the same room are fantastic and that belcastro is to die for. congratulations man!

[commandax]

I went to the project: Insider Trading show today with a firm conviction that I wasn't going to buy anything... or at least not anything big. Oh, let's face it, I was hoping to see something I couldn't live without... and I found it.

I've been looking at Tessar Lo's work here and enjoying it, but it wasn't until I saw "In Between" in person that I was really hooked. It's soft and subtle and emotional – it feels like a lucid dream about a summer night in which every one of your senses is fully tuned in to the cosmos... where the beauty and gravity of the universe become so overwhelming that they kind of start to pull you apart.

[commandax]

Just got these two little beauties back from the framer, so I thought I'd show them off again. I had them framed flush with the upper surface of the stepped frame. It makes them feel quite important and substantial. It's a beautiful framing job... the seams in the corners are just about invisible. More photos of these frames up in the framing section.




Nicole Wong – "The City" and "The City at Sunset"

And as long as I'm showing off frames, I thought that these two ladies should be presented as intended, in their matching frames. They're very heavy wood frames with vines winding around little animals which I think are lambs. Either that, or dogs. Not quite sure. Kelly says she finds her frames at yard sales and thrift stores, then cuts the board to fit the frame.


Kelly Vivanco "Red Crown" and "Silver Crown"

[sleepboy]

wow, generally i'm adverse to gold but those turned out nicely. those vivanco pieces are beautiful and the frames match so nicely.

great job on these. i need to get my butt in gear and frame some of my stuff too.

[commandax]

I agree, Hung. I usually find gold frames really trite, but these were so streamlined and unique that they transcended my usual aversion. I'm a sucker for Art Deco.

Part of my reason for choosing a frame in the gold section is that these are going on an art wall with a couple of other pieces which were framed by the artists in gold. I've considered reframing those pieces, since I dislike the gold frames, but I sort of feel that the choice of a frame by the artist is part of the work. If the pieces had been framed by the gallery, I wouldn't hesitate to change them.

Also, these gold frames seemed to highlight the warm tones of the pieces. I could have framed them in brown, but the gold seemed to elevate them somehow, while brown was a little too close to the colors in the paintings to emphasize them properly.

I love the way the paintings were mounted flush with the top surface of the frame. It sort of cradles the pieces, lifting them about an inch off the wall. I hesitated to frame these for a long time because the artist painted delicious little details all the way to the edge, and I didn't want to put them in a frame that would obscure or shadow the edges.

I couldn't be happier with the way they came out.

[commandax]

I'm excited to report that I've acquired yet another Kelly Vivanco piece, from the upcoming Suite 100 Gallery show in Seattle, which is opening on Friday. I'm having it shipped to my place in Maine, where I think its quiet, enigmatic presence will add some mystique to the view of the frequently fogbound bay.

"Harbor"

[commandax]

It's true, I can't be stopped... This piece has been calling to me ever since I saw it over a month ago, and I finally had to give in. I just love its wild energy, and the raw emotion pouring out of it is fascinating.

"A Look Inside" – Nimit Malavia


I hear that Nimit will be part of a four-person show at project:gallery in September.
nimit-malavia.blogspot.com/

[marcusslo]

i like that Nimit painting too... i wonder how hard it was to hang those paintings on the brick walls...

[commandax]

Okay, I swear that this is my last piece until at least the beginning of August. No, really – it's got to stop.

I've been wanting a Mike Brown piece ever since I saw Charity's pissed-off and exceptionally well-lit rabbit. I got very lucky and scored this one at Nucleus today. Like his bunnies, this piece has strong chiaroscuro effects, delicious textures, and a remarkably ill-tempered subject. I love it.

"Octopusspuss"

[sleepboy]

Jul 12, 2008 0:49:05 GMT -8 commandax said:

Okay, I swear that this is my last piece until at least the beginning of August. No, really – it's got to stop.

LOL. You've been on a roll recently.

Love the Mike Brown piece, I was really tempted by these prices as well. Nice pickup...I'm gonna try to stop by the show tonight.

[masao626]

Jul 12, 2008 0:49:05 GMT -8 commandax said:

I've been wanting a Mike Brown piece ever since I saw Charity's pissed-off and exceptionally well-lit rabbit.

LOL!!!!!
i've already said it once - but congrats dude, this is a great add to your wonderful collection!

[themicawber]

I believe I commented on your Joncas piece over at KR...I must say, you have an amazing collection, incredible colours! Thank you for opening my eyes to Kelly Vivanco's work, it's marvelous!

[commandax]

Thank you, everyone! It's great to have feedback, especially from people who have such great taste.

Thank you for opening my eyes to Kelly Vivanco's work, it's marvelous!

Kelly's work is endlessly inventive and mysterious, not to mention beautiful. She's also a really cool person, very funny and down-to-earth. She's in a bunch of group shows this summer and fall, so keep an eye out.

[themicawber]

She's in a bunch of group shows this summer and fall, so keep an eye out.

Most definitely, I find her work to be very inspiring, I'm in love with her use of colour.

[commandax]

Thought I'd start a little section here to share some selections from my collection of drawings, sketches and studies.

Acorn "Tolkingwat"


Acorn "forr_d"


Acorn "Breadmaker"


Guy McKinley "Ro-Battle Royale"


Guy McKinley "Bird No. 9"


Nicole Wong "Falling in Moonlight"

[sleepboy]

Love the Nimit - looking forward to seeing him progress. And, absolutely love the guy mckinleys...his ninja girls are to die for.

[commandax]

I just picked up this great piece by Dennis Hayes IV at Thinkspace last night, which I'm also adding to the top post. Dennis tells me that each of his birds is a portrait of a type of person, which is why they have human eyes. This one is a self-portrait of Dennis meditating, with the radial lines representing the energies of the universe influencing him in that state.

"Radial Spectrum of Influences"



These paintings are made completely with reclaimed materials (basically someone else's trash), except for a set of watercolors Dennis bought recently. All the distressed, patchwork wood and latex house paints and whatnot were scavenged. The textures of his paintings are definitely distressed, but it's actually a very cool effect, a very deliberate choice. While the wood exhibits signs of burning, staining, old nail holes, etc., the painted surfaces are smooth, immaculate and intensely detailed. The result is something like Audubon painting graffiti on a 100-year-old barn... after having taken mind-expanding drugs while contemplating some very edgy mathematical theories. There's a lot of thought behind the geometry of some of these pieces – he says the geometry in his work is edging into representing the mathematical theory of God.

Dennis creates artifacts that are the perfect confluence of traditional rural sensibilities with urban street-style characters and graphics, which is appropriate since he's known on the streets of Detroit as 7teen: www.7teen.us/index2.html

There are still a few great paintings available at Thinkspace... I might have to go back and buy another one. Check them out here: www.sourharvest.com/thinkspace/2008/project/against/works.php

Paintings: www.7teen.us/index1.html
Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/7teen/

Update: Dennis and I did an interesting interview about his work for my blog:
commandax.blogspot.com/2008/09/dennis-hayes-ivs-reclaimed-nature.html

[commandax]

This was the piece that really sold me on Nimit when I first encountered it online, so when it became available at Jerome Jenner Gallery, I had to get it.

Nimit Malavia "Dark Polar"


Nimit said that its theme is "the idea of the "Dark Passenger" – the burden of one's desires vs. one's sense of self, and the exploration of the shadow self, as well my own personal archetypes. It's a concept that was semi-inspired by the show Dexter. The concept behind 'Bi-Polar' deals with the idea of the separation of the conscious and subconscious self, and delving into the shadow self with both feet... Bless you Mr. Jung!"

Since I'm going to try to stop buying art until December so I can save up for a Chris Berens piece, this may be my last purchase for a while. I hope I can be good, because Berens is really worth it:
commandax.blogspot.com/2008/08/chris-berens-luminous-visions.html

[commandax]

Well, I tried to resist, but I was weak. It's really just a very small painting, so I'll pretend it doesn't count.

Kelly Vivanco "Flight"

[kittenagogo]

Absolutely love this! I wouldn't have been able to resist either.