Damian Ortegá is a contemporary artist renown for his large installations, photography, and video art. Damian Ortegá was born in Mexico City, Mexico in the year 1967.
Ortegá spent time as a political cartoonist. This shows up in his skill for finding unique patterns and shapes in his designs.
The artist studied in the atelier of famed Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco.
In this clip we view a work by Damian Ortega with the title ,” Controller of the Universe” The show began in late 2014:
Ortegá is based out of Mexico City, Mexico and also Berlin, Germany.
Price range information: Photographs can be found between $10,000 and $25,000. No pricing available for sculpture works.
Below we visit a show featuring Damian Ortegá that took place in 2009:
His large works that show items that are dissected take me back to the days of my childhood. Before “You tube” and the Do It Yourself network a person was to assemble something complex from a drawing/ painting that looked exactly like one of these installations. Very creative!
Curiot is a street artist from Mexico renown for his work with imaginary creatures. Curiot’s government name is Favio Martinez. Curiot blends his creatures with symbols from his culture including the Day of the Dead.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
The artist is based out of Mexico City, Mexico.
In this clip we view the artist at work on many pieces:
I really enjoy the many subjects the artist puts into his work. A flower, a beast or creature, and the human figure are represented in many images. His work reminds of the Italian master Guiseppe Arcimboldo. Its amazing the diverse strokes the artist is able to paint with spray paint.
We close by taking a view the artist at work on a wonderful mural:
Jet Martinez is a popular illustrator and muralist who often works with floral and animal imagery. His work is similar to the Amate style of Mexican folk art painting. Animals and birds are painted with bright colors and mix of floral and botanical imagery.
Jet Martinez was born in Mexico. He often paints scenes that represent areas where he grew up. Martinez attended the San Francisco Academy of Art. Martinez is based out of San Francisco.
Below a look at a mural by Jet Martinez featuring flowers:
In this clip a great interview with Jet Martinez. He talks about what inspired him to become an artist:
Watch out for this question on Jeopardy! Who was the first artist in residence at Facebook? Jet Martinez is the answer. He talks about this experience in the second clip.
The first street artist who painted the Facebook headquarters was David Choe. Choe became a multi millionaire since he chose to be paid for his work in stock. Facebook has proven to be very lucrative for some artists!
The story of how Martinez came to be an artist is one that is repeated over and over. People have self doubt and often aren’t exposed to enough art at an early age. Its funny that his “a-ha” or epiphany moment came when he had a teacher whose work wasn’t very good. Martinez then thought if he can teach anyone can be an artist.
Ricardo Mazal is an contemporary abstract artist. Ricardo Mazal was born in Mexico in the year 1950.
The artist didn’t pursue art as a career until he was 36 years of age. For his first career Mazal ran a successful design company.
Mazal taught himself the world of art by visiting many museums and reading many books. His process of painting includes using photography and also digital technology.
Mazal explores various themes including death and burial ceremonies in his art. An example might be to compare what happens to a body after death in the cultures of the United States, Mexico, and Latin America.
Price range information: Prints can be found for $1,000 to $5,000. No price information available on originals.
The artist is based out of Sante Fe, New Mexico and New York City.
In this clip Mazal talks about preparing for a show in late 2014:
Fernanda Brunet was born in Mexico City, Mexico in the year 1964. Brunet works in a very unique style, painting realism but with a contemporary Pop twist.
The artist paints mainly in acrylics. Brunet is also a sculptor.
I enjoy the artist’s sense of design. The image of the zebra crossing water that looks like a tribute to Japanese Print Master Hirohige.
Pablo Vargas Lugo is a contemporary artist based out of Lima, Peru. Lugo makes paintings and also creates wonderful installations.
Pablo Vargas was born in Mexico City, Mexico in the year 1968. The artist attended the National School for the Fine Arts also located in Mexico City where he earned a B.F.A.
In this clip we watch as Pablo Vargas Lugo creates an installation:
Price range information: Sorry none available.
I enjoy the collages of this artist. These works have a great movement across the surface and also use patterns and shapes that repeat, two great themes in artwork of any kind.
The artist is also similar to Andy Warhol, both spent some time depicting disasters. Vargas Lugo did some works based on the extinction, or disaster of the disappearance of dinosaurs. Very creative and always looking to explore a new medium, a great contemporary artist.
Alice Rahon was the wife of the aforementioned painter, Wolfgang Paalen. Rahon was both a professional painter and also published author. Her painting style was abstract and minimalist.
Alice Rahon was born in Chenecey, Buillon, Quingney, France in the year 1904. As a child she was injured and spent much of time in casts and lying down. Most of her life she walked with a limp and had leg pain.
Rahon sometimes used sand in her art and also enjoyed carving and drawing into wet paint.
In this clip we view some wonderful paintings of Alice Rahon:
Wolfgang Paalen was born in Vienna, Austria in 1905. Paalen was associated with both the abstract expressionist and Surrealist movements.
His father was an inventor and his mother a leading actress. The family always lived in a beautiful living space including a castle whilst the family lived in Germany.
Paalen studied with painter Fernand Leger.
Paalen married an artist and author named Alice Rahon. She will be the next entry! Rahon was a minimalist and modernist painter.
The artist was inspired to move to Mexico by the famous artist Frida Kahlo. At this stage of his life the artist was working in the Surrealist style. The artist also painted in San Francisco, California. He would later lose his friendship with Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera over their political beliefs.
The artist worked with ink and oils as his favorite mediums.
In this clip we view an abstract work by Paalen. The close ups are wonderful to see how much color the artist uses:
Wolfgang Paalen committed suicide in 1959 at the age of 54 years old.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
I enjoy his type of Surrealism. Paalen created very unique shapes and gives the viewer a feeling of being in outer space, or at least a world far different from earth.
Robert Brady was an American painter who worked in a Cubist style mainly with the figure. Robert Brady was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa in the year 1928. Brady was born to an wealthy family and encouraged to learn about the arts from a very young age.
Brady attended some of the most renown art schools including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Tyler School of Art located in Philadelphia, and the Barnes Foundation located in Merion, Pennsylvania.
Robert Brady spent the latter part of his life in Cuernavaca, Mexico. After he passed away Brady donated his house to the government in order that he be kept as a Museum. Brady was a painter, but also loved to collect art. At the time of his passing his collection held more than 1,300 works.
The artist loved to travel the world and this led him to buy his huge estate in Mexico. The house that serves as a museum was created in the 1600s.
Over his career he also bought a wonderful house in Venice where a neighbor was from the Guggenheim family. This relationship led Robert Brady to begin collecting art himself.
Robert Brady passed away whilst living in Cuernavaca, Mexico in 1986.
This artist was seen as a bon vivant! It seems he lived a wonderful life that included travelling the world over, entertaining the social elite at his massive estates, and painting and collecting art. If only we all could be so lucky!
Carlos Merida was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala in the year 1891. Merida is associated with the abstract and cubist movements. Merida was a costume and theater set designer, dance choreographer, teacher, painter, and muralist painter.
Growing the artist took music and art lessons, Merida loved to play the piano. After having some difficulties with hearing loss Merida gave up the piano and took his father’s advice and switched to painting.
Growing up in Guatemala Merida had little exposure to art so and after having his first solo exhibition in 1910 he left for Paris, France and remained there for four years. Merida became associated with the leading artists of the day in Paris including Picasso.
Merida had his first solo show in 1920.
Merida had a daughter that was a dancer. Merida felt dance could express what painting could not and used helped to fund and start a dancing school that his daughter helped to run.
Carlos Merida passed away in 1984 at the age of 94 years old.
Price range information: Merida worked in many mediums including crayon, lithography, watercolor, pastel and gouache with prices ranging from $3,000 to $70,000.
What a talented artist who just enjoyed creating be it choreography for dancers, theater set and costume design, a small oil painting, or a very large mural. Merida excelled at painting just about anything.
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