laura west Archives - Artiholics

Chroma – /Krōma/ Intensity Of Color

Cojo Art Juggernaut — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 19:16:31 +0000

Our own Artiholics Writer Laura West is having a solo show which opens tonight.

CHROMA
/krōma/ intensity of color (Event Page on Facebook)
Exhibit: January 6 – February 3rd, 2014

Le Salon d’Art – 90 Stanton Street, Lower East Side, NYC
Opening Party: Friday, January 10th – 7pm-10pm

Laura West, a NYC based artist/writer, explores bright colors, dark images and uses this emotional release to dictate the route of her work. The high-energy and physicality of throwing string gel paint over a meticulous base is a rush that is visible in all of her bold colors, expressive drips and often off-kilter subject matter. Laura earned her BFA as a full scholarship recipient in Screenwriting and Studio Art at New York University. She has exhibited her work in various shows across NY, was published in a collection of national/international magazines as well as featured in an interview on RTN (Russian Television Network).

www.lgwest.com

With a special performance by singer/songwriter Gillian Grogan at 9pm.

www.facebook.com/bluegrassnbees

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Steven Assael: New Drawings

Laura West — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 19:01:18 +0000

New York City – Monday, November 25, 2013

If you’re traveling into New York City or are lucky enough to abide in the area this holiday season, I highly recommend stopping by Forum Gallery to catch a glimpse of leading figurative artist, Steven Assael.

Channeling the grace, technique and voices of Old Masters, their souls are left whispering in the air as they’re brought to life in the drawings created by the delicate hands of Steven Assael.

Artist Steven Assael

Steven Assael is known in America as one of the top representational figurative artists who marvelously captures intimate psychological portraits in fine detail. Every piece has its own story to tell as a human image is captured in moments of stillness and muted scenes.

A realist, Assael works from life and is selective in the way he represents a human figure.

Allowing the pencil to drift into essential lines, this organic detail gives a spaciousness and a haunting tonality to his pieces.

It was astounding to witness the individuality he managed to capture in each of his portraits. The eyes possess a distinct personality, even in the most complex expression.

Assael has fine-tuned an incredible technique that really warrants one to look up close at the technicality. Using graphite and crayon, he is able to capture exceptionally intricate detail, tasteful space, unique personalities and a mastery in his craft.

This exhibition will not disappoint. It will leave you breathing in the elegance of Steven Assael’s new drawings and wanting to see more.

Steven Assael: New Drawings will be on exhibit at Forum Gallery from November 21, 2013 to February 1, 2014. Be sure to stop by!

Artists Steven Assael, Laura West, Miguel Hernandez

Leonardo Feroleto (owner at Six Summit Gallery)

Written by Laura West

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Losing Our Figures: Abstract Opening In The Lower East Side

Cojo Art Juggernaut — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 17:51:44 +0000

New York City – Tuesday, November 19, 2013

On the heels of my showing last month in Bushwick I was invited to have a solo show at Le Salon d’Art in the Lower East Side for a show I titled Losing Our Figures A line artist’s journey into abstraction. After a few weeks of intensive painting and drawing I pulled together a solid body of abstract works on paper and a few new works on canvas which were to be the start of a series I am currently working on of the visualization of synapses firing (the visualization of what it looks like to have ideas pop to life).

With very little time to promote the opening I managed to design postcards, send out facebook and email invites, and round up my creative friends for wine, socializing, and small talk surrounded by some of my new abstract work, as well as some pieces representing my more cartoonish figurative work.

Half of the gallery was more cartoonish and the other half abstract. I tried to make an interesting mix of fully rendered, fully colored pieces, and minimalistic black & white and monochromatic. The following photos were taken by Reginald Thomas from Cryfoto. (I also took pictures of the reception myself and am simultaneously posting them in a separate article on ArtSucks.com- READ.)

Artists Mark DeMaio and Cojo.

Artists Laura West, Raquel Echanique, and Worm Carnevale.

Cojo & Mark DeMaio. Cojo and Anaisabel Garcia.

Cojo and Kristin Jackson. Kit aka kitctrlaltdelyou and Cojo.

Tobias Batz, Raquel Echanique, and Julian Rapp.

Painters Mikki Nylund, Mark DeMaio and Antoinette Johnson.

Michelle Witchipoo, Ben Herman, Michael Kronenberg, Deb Jorgensen, Mikki Nylund, Antoinette Johnson, Mark DeMaio, Worm Carnevale, and Kristin Jackson.

Artist Ashli Sisk, Molly Roberson, Deb Jorgensen & Bruce “Jorgy” Jorgensen of Mystic Timber, and Mark DeMaio

Artists Raquel Echanique, Cojo, and Laura West.

Losing Our Figures runs from November 12 – December 9, 2013

Le Salon d’Art

90 Stanton Street

New York, NY 10002

Photos by Reginald Thomas from Cryfoto

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

For more pictures check out the article on ArtSucks.com photographed by Cojo.

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Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary

Laura West — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 06:07:38 +0000

New York City, NY – Monday, November 11, 2013

“Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see.” Rene Magritte

So, words of gossip trickled into my ear and I decided to check out The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on a deliciously cold Friday evening (for those of you who don’t know: MoMA is free on Fridays from 4-8pm). The queue was enormous, but, in true theme for the night… “things aren’t always what they seem”. The line moved very quickly and the moment I stepped in, I raced up the escalators to see the exhibition of one of my artistic idols, Rene Magritte…

…Only to be greeted by another line, the anticipation kept building. When I was finally able to step in, I milked every second I could get. Known for his thought-provoking surrealist works, Rene Magritte, a legendary Belgian artist who indulges in mystery and illusion, took the floor.

I was a fan since high school, so, seeing a collection of nearly a hundred works was particularly illuminating. Magritte got his start as a commercial artist in the advertising industry. It was here, that he developed a flair for utilizing “text” in his work, among other stylistic skill-sets.

As I walked through the room from painting to painting, I was able to visibly experience Magritte evolve as an artist. From his earlier days and explorations, to his fully matured state as a master of unconventional reality, the build-up to seeing those final pieces was much more gratifying in this set-up.

Using his favorite techniques such as giving objects different names, mirroring, concealing and duplicating, Magritte had found a way to merge the themes of his life with techniques that impact viewers in the strongest way possible.

Focusing on showcasing familiar settings, Magritte removes a layer of the surface and makes the familiar, unfamiliar.

Everyday objects were displayed in a new way, challenging what we understand into mysterious associations, new perspectives and unusual takes of the usual. I must have spent a solid twenty minutes on several pieces debating with a friend on the meaning behind the works. This made the visit much more fulfilling.

The Rene Magritte exhibition at the MoMA wasn’t a fly-by situation, you really had to look and absorb the pieces, connect the dots, relate the titles, attach prior work thematics in order to understand the abstraction and appreciate Magritte. Rene Magritte is filled with witty, distinguished artistry and something that I have always gravitated to: mystery.

“We must not fear daylight just because it almost always illuminates a miserable world.” – Rene Magritte

The exhibit will be on display until January 12, 2014 on the 6th floor of The Museum of Modern Art.

Written by Laura West

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