Michael Byron Abstract Paintings

Victor Wang's highly textured paintings involve thick layers of paint over collaged images from the Tang Dynasty. In "Let Her Go", the foreground shows a modern female figure sitting upon the side of a boat which gives the impression she is wearing wings and about to take flight. Upon closer look, there are various scenes taking place around her in the water - warriors with knives drawn, a jeep in pursuit of some unseen enemy, a cauldron boiling over. Influence by the Renaissance Masters, Titian and Rembrandt for their glazing and layering techniques respectively, the artist builds the surface using heavy paint, swirling and mixing the color on the canvas. The end result is a poetic and emotionally powerful representation of the human form. Victor Wang Let Her Go oil on canvas 48h x 60w in 121.92h x 152.40w cm VWG011 My path through life has been adventurous, exciting, and dream-like. My experience of settling into America in search of better opportunities has been both challenging and inspiring. I use the human face as a vehicle to paint human experiences - worry and wonder, sadness and pleasure - which reflect the emotional stage directly tied to my immigration experiences. I grew up amongst the sunflower fields in northern China. In my childhood years, I played under the bright, yellow sunflowers with my brothers everyday. China’s Cultural Revolution played an important part in my life. During that time, sunflowers were used as political allegories to depict how citizens of China should follow Mao who represented the sun, since sunflowers follow the sun’s movements. People eventually inferred the deception that this symbol masked. After graduating from high school, I was sent to a labor camp in the country for ‘reeducation’ during China’s Cultural Revolution. There, I was subject to grueling farm work. Often, I worked in corn and sunflower fields from sunrise to sunset. Thus, for me, sunflowers evoke both personal joy and sadness. Therefore, to deliver my complex feelings, I use sunflowers as a metaphor to connote my background and emotional stage. My incorporation of collages of figures from China’s Tang Dynasty represents my Chinese heritage and is a constant reminder of where I came from. The texture and earthiness on the canvas’s surface are inspired by the texture of the soil on the farm where I worked in China. Although I often gain great pleasure from the process of painting, it is most important to unfold expressively those feelings within myself. Wang belongs to a generation of immigrant painters from China, whose artistic background was defined by socialist realism but took advantage of their skills and broke away from that tradition to create new subjects in the U.S. “When I was a student during Cultural Revolution, Soviet realism art was among the dominant source of influence and it grabbed us like lightening...

This work comes from the artist's series "The Consequences of Small Decision Making". Statement: Each day we are faced with countless small decisions, many of which become second...

The Consequence of Small Decisions Solo Exhibit by Cassandra Ott This dynamic mixed media work was created as part of the artist's series "The Consequence of Small Decisions". ...

Italian painter Andrea Gallotti’s practice is rooted in the quiet rigor of repetition, a deliberate return to a gesture so simple it borders on the childlike, yet so subtle that its ...

This abstract equine painting, "In White II" by artist Gabrielle Benot is a 24x18 original mixed media painting on canvas of a horse portrait in white, golden beige, and light pastel colors. The artists use of mixed media mediums and thick, textured applications bring a sculptural and three-dimensional quality to each piece. About the artist: Born in Latvia, Ms. Gabrielle Benot had a natural gift for artistic creativity. From a young age she had a keen interest in sketching, drawing, and sculpting. She matured as an artist over time, often under the guidance of her grandfather, who was a self-taught painter. Eventually she would study fashion design at the Royal Fashion Academy (Margrethe Skolen) in Copenhagen. Several of her teachers include Andrea Rushing, known for his Steampunk aesthetic, and Jeffrey Watts. Aside from her teachers, Gabrielle has also been influenced and inspired by Jackson Pollock, Gerhard Richter, Pino Daeni, Nikolai Fechin, Gustav Klimt, Joan Mitchell, Joan Brown , Jean Paul Riopelle to name a few. Her style reflects an interest in partial figurative representation and a reduction of subject matter into minimalistic elements. Additionally, many of Ms. Benot’s paintings materialize from, and are inspired by a variety of sources; some of these include literature, magazines, and alluring private snapshots based on luxury fashion branding and the equestrian lifestyle. She has used many of these sources to develop a technique of her own that include the use of wet brushes, dry brushes, palette knives, oil pastels, charcoal and whatever else can come to mind as a medium, tool or a collage detail. Concentrating on form, color, and a sense of stylistic freedom, Gabrielle uses light and shadow in her images to approach a semi-abstract impressionistic graphic design that has been described as “unsettling,” “accusatory,” “exotic,” and “tastefully erotic.” Gabrielle uses her technique to experiment with abstract forms and non figurative art...

Using the canvas as a base for his three dimensional exploration of colour Hamilton Aguiar focuses on a single shade to highlight the way texture and light play with the eye. His col...

This abstract equine painting, "Decorato" by artist Gabrielle Benot is a 48x36 original mixed media painting on canvas. Depicted is an abstract horse portrait, from a side view, in ...

This painting features hues of orange, yellow and brown with highlights of pink and purple. It is a work on paper mounted to three cradled wood panels that lock together when installed. The materials used are watercolors made with clay, ochre, and weathering rind found in Georgia, manganese brown pigment, and watercolor on paper mounted on panel, protected with beeswax, This piece is part of a recent show titled "love as large as grief demands." Heather ‘Bird’ Harris...

This contemporary equine painting, "Forte" by artist Gabrielle Benot is a 48x36 original mixed media painting on canvas. Depicted is a monochromatic abstract horses from a front on ...

This abstract equine painting, "In White I" by artist Gabrielle Benot is a 24x18 original mixed media painting on canvas of a horse portrait in white, golden beige, and light pastel colors. The artists use of mixed media mediums and thick, textured applications bring a sculptural and three-dimensional quality to each piece. About the artist: Born in Latvia, Ms. Gabrielle Benot had a natural gift for artistic creativity. From a young age she had a keen interest in sketching, drawing, and sculpting. She matured as an artist over time, often under the guidance of her grandfather, who was a self-taught painter. Eventually she would study fashion design at the Royal Fashion Academy (Margrethe Skolen) in Copenhagen. Several of her teachers include Andrea Rushing, known for his Steampunk aesthetic, and Jeffrey Watts. Aside from her teachers, Gabrielle has also been influenced and inspired by Jackson Pollock, Gerhard Richter, Pino Daeni, Nikolai Fechin, Gustav Klimt, Joan Mitchell, Joan Brown , Jean Paul Riopelle to name a few. Her style reflects an interest in partial figurative representation and a reduction of subject matter into minimalistic elements. Additionally, many of Ms. Benot’s paintings materialize from, and are inspired by a variety of sources; some of these include literature, magazines, and alluring private snapshots based on luxury fashion branding and the equestrian lifestyle. She has used many of these sources to develop a technique of her own that include the use of wet brushes, dry brushes, palette knives, oil pastels, charcoal and whatever else can come to mind as a medium, tool or a collage detail. Concentrating on form, color, and a sense of stylistic freedom, Gabrielle uses light and shadow in her images to approach a semi-abstract impressionistic graphic design that has been described as “unsettling,” “accusatory,” “exotic,” and “tastefully erotic.” Gabrielle uses her technique to experiment with abstract forms and non figurative art...

This abstract equine painting, "In White III" by artist Gabrielle Benot is a 24x18 original mixed media painting on canvas of a horse portrait in white, golden beige, and light pastel colors. The artists use of mixed media mediums and thick, textured applications bring a sculptural and three-dimensional quality to each piece. About the artist: Born in Latvia, Ms. Gabrielle Benot had a natural gift for artistic creativity. From a young age she had a keen interest in sketching, drawing, and sculpting. She matured as an artist over time, often under the guidance of her grandfather, who was a self-taught painter. Eventually she would study fashion design at the Royal Fashion Academy (Margrethe Skolen) in Copenhagen. Several of her teachers include Andrea Rushing, known for his Steampunk aesthetic, and Jeffrey Watts. Aside from her teachers, Gabrielle has also been influenced and inspired by Jackson Pollock, Gerhard Richter, Pino Daeni, Nikolai Fechin, Gustav Klimt, Joan Mitchell, Joan Brown , Jean Paul Riopelle to name a few. Her style reflects an interest in partial figurative representation and a reduction of subject matter into minimalistic elements. Additionally, many of Ms. Benot’s paintings materialize from, and are inspired by a variety of sources; some of these include literature, magazines, and alluring private snapshots based on luxury fashion branding and the equestrian lifestyle. She has used many of these sources to develop a technique of her own that include the use of wet brushes, dry brushes, palette knives, oil pastels, charcoal and whatever else can come to mind as a medium, tool or a collage detail. Concentrating on form, color, and a sense of stylistic freedom, Gabrielle uses light and shadow in her images to approach a semi-abstract impressionistic graphic design that has been described as “unsettling,” “accusatory,” “exotic,” and “tastefully erotic.” Gabrielle uses her technique to experiment with abstract forms and non figurative art...

This unique perspective cityscape piece titled, "Brooklyn Bridge" is a 36x28" mixed media painting on canvas by artist Abraham Pinto. Featuring a bird's eye view of the Brooklyn Brid...