Lukas Samaras was born in Kastoria, Greece in the year 1936. The artist is renowned for his disdain of people and his narcissism. If you have seen the work of Chuck Close, you may recognize this famous image made by Close of artist Lukas Samaras.
One of Samaras most acclaimed series is one of the artist posing for himself using a Polaroid camera. These images remind me of the modern day selfies.
Samaras attended Rugers, University located in New Brunswick, New Jersey.Some of his classmates include the great Claes Oldenburg, already profiled here.
The artist works in many mediums including painting, performance art, sculpture, and photographer. Its not fair to classify him to one medium, the artist works in many mediums and uses a great deal of creativity in his art.
Here we visit a show featuring the work of Lukas Samaras with the great James Kalm:
Price range information: Works range from $12,000 to $400,000.
A documentary was made on the life of Lukas Samaras, below a trailer for this movie:
I enjoy the many subjects explored by the artist. I would enjoy a series of his done on birds, but using all mediums from photography to performance art.
Samaras is part of prestigious collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Museum, and the Getty Museum.
George Segal is an American artist who works with the figure often with cast paper. George Segal was born in New York City in the year 1924. For his artistic education Segal received great instruction attending the Pratt Institute, Cooper Union College, and graduating from New York University.
Segal also went on to post graduate studies earning a M.F.A. from Rutgers University.
A major breakthrough for the artist was a work titled “Man Sitting at a Table.” This work was significant because it gave a more complete look as before the artist was working with a certain body part such as the hands or torso. The artist would later do such works as a woman looking in a mirror or lying naked on a bed. Much more complete and interesting than a painting.
If you enjoy this artist and style be sure and check out my post on Duane Hanson. Hanson did a wonderful job of capturing people in sculpture, complete with time period dress and hairstyle. He is my favorite when it comes to this genre.
Price range information: Segal worked in many mediums including printmaking, painting, and sculpting with plaster, bronze, and wood. Prices range from $3,000 to $600,000.
George Segal passed away in 2000.
In this clip a brief bio on George Segal:
I enjoy the process the artist uses to capture the human figure!
Andrew Masullo is an American abstract artist born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in the year 1957. For his artistic education Masullo attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The artist originally started out as a language major, but then switched his focus of study to the visual arts.
Started off making collages and assemblages with found objects. His work from this time period is compared to Joseph Cornell, who has been profiled here previously.
In the 1990s he moved to his version of lost abstraction. He might work years on a canvas before finishing it.
Winner of a Pollack- Krosner grant to further his study of abstract art.
Winner of a Guggenheim fellowship.
Included in the collection of the New York public library.
Started exhibiting in 1983.
price range information: Works range from $4,000 to $30,000.
Doesn’t enjoy being called an artist as everyone is an artist these days.
And here we go to a show featuring Masullo with our beloved James Kalm! This show is from 2013.
A great interview with the artist at the Whitney Biennale. He was included in the 2012 Biennale and talks about the difference between abstract and non-objective art.
And here we visit a show featuring Andrew Masullo with James Kalm. The show took place in 2010.
In the gallery all pictures by Jessica Rankin except the first one which was painted by her father who is a successful abstract artist collected thru out the world named David Rankin.
Only one more artist to study that works with embroidery in the fine art realm.
Jessica Rankin was born in Sydney, Australia in the year 1971. The artist is reknown for her type of letterform art. She uses embroidery done on a very very thin sheet of fabric called organdy. It is known for its very sheer and traslucent qualities.
Art 21 is a great series done with the Public Broadcast System. I have rented many from my local library. This clip is from a segment done on Rankin on PBS. It is during her time in Germany with her parnter Julie Mehretu. At the end of the clip is a great scene showing both artists at work. In the clip Rankin talks about how she incorporate the use of language in her embroidery work.
Price range info: I was uanble to find pricing for her embroidery works, but watercolors and pencil drawings can be found for less than one thousand dollars.
Rankin lived overseas for one year and a half in Berlin, Germany.
Rankin reads a lot. Her mother died from breast cancer when the artist was only nine years old. Reading has been a way for the artist to relax for quite some time. Her father is a well known abstract artist known in Australia and New York named David Rankin. Below is an example of David Rankin’s abstract style.
Her partner is also an artist whom I wrote about within the past week, Julie Mehretu. The two share a studio and an apartment in New York, New York. The couple has a son named Cade. Mehretu is mainly an abstract artist but she sometimes uses large buildings in the beginning layers of her work giving it a more realistic finish.
For her collegiate art education Rankin attended Rutgers University.
Rankin also has an extensive knowledge of poetry which led her to use words as a means of expression in her artwork.
Jessica Rankin has been part of group shows in Australia, Europe, and the United States.
For her first show in London the artist showed a collection of 88 drawings and watercolors.
This artist considers her work to be a mental map of her thoughts at a given time. I found it similar to the Italian artist Boetti who on many occasions had maps embroidered by other artists that he would use in his artwork. Artists working with embroidery have all found ways to incorporate their daily lives and who they are as people into their work. I hope with the increased use of machinery the art of quilt making and embroidery can still flourish. I have never been to show celebrating fiber artists or embroidery art and am looking forward to seeing some works in person.
Get out there and try some embroidery for your next art project!
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