Sasja Wagenaar

"Japanese porcelain stacking of orange in the light" Dutch Still-Life Painting

2020

When you look at this painting "Turquoise Vase" by Dutch artist Sasja Wagenaar (1959) from a distance you see a perfectly painted image, but up close a generous paint streak is visib...

When you look at this painting "Sprats" by Dutch artist Sasja Wagenaar (1959) from a distance you see a perfectly painted image, but up close a flowing movement of the paint streaks is visible. Sasja Wagenaar has a unique way of applying shadow and light effects in her paintings. The strong reflection on the dark background is a reference to the camera obscura. This dark room was used since the 16th century by Old Masters (such as Vermeer, as is presumed) to create a detailed reflection of an object. Sasja Wagenaar is inspired by our classic masters from the seventeenth century, a flourishing period in Dutch painting. The century in which new continents, markets and arts were discovered. At that time in the Netherlands it was a real fad to collect chinoiserie. Originally porcelain, but also Dutch pottery, also known as Delft blue, inspired by Chinese and especially by Japanese bowls and vases. To quote Sasja Wagenaar: ‘Every platter, every bowl is already so much in itself. They were made with great care through hundreds of hands before they ended up here. Their character must be respected in composing the story that forms a still life. They are as alive as the blossom branches and I try to let them speak together. Slowly the image is created’. Although rooted in the 17th century Dutch tradition, her work shows her very own signature and is contemporary. As a true Modern Dutch Master...

When you look at this painting ''Bouquet of Roses'' by Dutch artist Sasja Wagenaar (1959) from a distance you see a perfectly painted image, but up close a generous paint streak is visible. She has a unique way of applying shadow and light effects in her paintings. Sasja Wagenaar is inspired by our classic masters from the seventeenth century, a flourishing period in Dutch painting. The century in which new continents, markets and arts were discovered. At that time in the Netherlands it was a real fad to collect chinoiserie. Originally porcelain, but also Dutch pottery, also known as Delft blue, inspired by Chinese and especially by Japanese bowls and vases. To quote Sasja Wagenaar: ‘Every platter, every bowl is already so much in itself. They were made with great care through hundreds of hands before they ended up here. Their character must be respected in composing the story that forms a still life. They are as alive as the blossom branches and I try to let them speak together. Slowly the image is created’. Although rooted in the 17th century Dutch tradition, her work shows her very own signature and is contemporary. As a true Modern Dutch Master...

Dutch artist Nico Heilijgers (1964) works in the tradition of the great seventeenth-century painters. Heilijgers' paintings are characterized by aest...

Josh Talbott's (US based) "Entropy" is an acrylic painting that depicts an overturned blue glass jar with clock hands spilling out onto a white background. Bio: Josh Talbott grew up in suburban/rural Georgia in the southern US. His first work as a professional artist was in scenic painting and murals for various production companies. An attempt to deepen his well of possibilities led to New Orleans where as a street artist he sold works to people from all over the world before loosing everything in hurricane Katrina. With short stints in Santa Fe and then Los Angeles Josh arrived in the small coastal city of Los Osos, California where he lives and works today. His curiosity is voracious and interests are many, including scuba/ free diving, sailing, surfing, gardening, geology, rock hounding, rationality, AI, history, and philosophy. In his studio there is always an audiobook on, and outside of the studio there are all manner of activities making there way into his work. He has many private collectors scattered across the globe and murals in San Francisco. ARTIST STATEMENT We live in a time of extreme and accelerated change, growing complexity, and specialization. At every stage in our human trajectory from primitive beginnings crawling out of the sea to the present gauntlet of challenges, our thinking tools and their uses are central to the story of what it means to be human. My work is informed by a fascination with thinking tools and the effects of programming and environment through the different phases of life and our capacity for storytelling. My practice consists of constructing small-scale still life scenarios of toys and other artifacts of human development, then creating photorealistic acrylic paintings of these scenes. The work juxtaposes the familiar and playful with a contemporary, complex, adult world. While I am interested in the science of the mind, and what it means to be a human, my work seldom features the human form, focusing instead on the objects and items that are frequently left behind. As such, the subject of the painting becomes the viewer him or herself because their own humanity is ultimately what is revealed. My work honors toys as thinking tools for small people and the scenes depicted explore the ways in which the culture of our formative years leaves a lasting mark and continues to shape our storytelling. The plastic artifacts of my formative years carry memories of simultaneous confusion and wonder at the world around me. These are sensations and emotions still very much present in my life. What were your imaginings and dramas when you played with toys? Are you living them today? The multileveled still life paintings of familiar toys are bright and accessible and connect to the viewer's nostalgia and playfulness while provoking deeper insights into our current evolutionary, cultural, and technological moment. I place each little curio with care into meaningful relationship to their interlocutors and environment. The plastic dinosaurs often depicted are emblematic of childhood curiosities, of great wonder and speculation at past worlds and the depth of evolutionary time, and yet they are made of a material that illustrates our shortsightedness, a quintessential human quality that makes it quite possible that these plastic creations will outlast us all. I do my best to draw inspiration and resources from everywhere to build a visual language. In my divergent path I find the musical compositions and the story of composer, Philip Glass inspiring. The story of his devotion to his craft and his subsequent successes have encouraged and inspired me. I'm influenced by writers such as Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Sapolsky, and Yuval Noah Harari, the many books by Simon Winchester, Daniel Dennet, Robert Wright...

Josh Talbott's (US based) "Half Spent" is an acrylic painting that depicts a empty honey bear jar reused as a piggy bank, half full of coins with a light blue background. Bio: Josh Talbott grew up in suburban/rural Georgia in the southern US. His first work as a professional artist was in scenic painting and murals for various production companies. An attempt to deepen his well of possibilities led to New Orleans where as a street artist he sold works to people from all over the world before loosing everything in hurricane Katrina. With short stints in Santa Fe and then Los Angeles Josh arrived in the small coastal city of Los Osos, California where he lives and works today. His curiosity is voracious and interests are many, including scuba/ free diving, sailing, surfing, gardening, geology, rock hounding, rationality, AI, history, and philosophy. In his studio there is always an audiobook on, and outside of the studio there are all manner of activities making there way into his work. He has many private collectors scattered across the globe and murals in San Francisco. ARTIST STATEMENT We live in a time of extreme and accelerated change, growing complexity, and specialization. At every stage in our human trajectory from primitive beginnings crawling out of the sea to the present gauntlet of challenges, our thinking tools and their uses are central to the story of what it means to be human. My work is informed by a fascination with thinking tools and the effects of programming and environment through the different phases of life and our capacity for storytelling. My practice consists of constructing small-scale still life scenarios of toys and other artifacts of human development, then creating photorealistic acrylic paintings of these scenes. The work juxtaposes the familiar and playful with a contemporary, complex, adult world. While I am interested in the science of the mind, and what it means to be a human, my work seldom features the human form, focusing instead on the objects and items that are frequently left behind. As such, the subject of the painting becomes the viewer him or herself because their own humanity is ultimately what is revealed. My work honors toys as thinking tools for small people and the scenes depicted explore the ways in which the culture of our formative years leaves a lasting mark and continues to shape our storytelling. The plastic artifacts of my formative years carry memories of simultaneous confusion and wonder at the world around me. These are sensations and emotions still very much present in my life. What were your imaginings and dramas when you played with toys? Are you living them today? The multileveled still life paintings of familiar toys are bright and accessible and connect to the viewer's nostalgia and playfulness while provoking deeper insights into our current evolutionary, cultural, and technological moment. I place each little curio with care into meaningful relationship to their interlocutors and environment. The plastic dinosaurs often depicted are emblematic of childhood curiosities, of great wonder and speculation at past worlds and the depth of evolutionary time, and yet they are made of a material that illustrates our shortsightedness, a quintessential human quality that makes it quite possible that these plastic creations will outlast us all. I do my best to draw inspiration and resources from everywhere to build a visual language. In my divergent path I find the musical compositions and the story of composer, Philip Glass inspiring. The story of his devotion to his craft and his subsequent successes have encouraged and inspired me. I'm influenced by writers such as Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Sapolsky, and Yuval Noah Harari, the many books by Simon Winchester, Daniel Dennet, Robert Wright...

Josh Talbott's (US based) "The Knower" is an acrylic painting that depicts a human brain encased in a tank of purple pink liquid reminiscent of medical specimen...

Josh Talbott's (US based) "Maneuvers" is an acrylic painting that depicts a green army man toy with a bright red hungry hippo and blue marble with random ...