Student Awards Show: Robert Else Gallery

Robert Else Gallery

Jeff Carter, Extension, oil on canvas

Hello everyone, I recently toured the Robert Else Gallery here at Sacramento State which is showcasing  students works for the Annual Student Awards Show.  A little background first, the Robert Else Gallery was named for well known Professor of Art Emeritus Robert Else and is used almost exclusively for student art.  Currently there are works by 27 students at both the undergrad and grad level in a variety of mediums from painting to animated short film.  The students who submitted works were competing for scholarship awards in different categories which also included an art history award which was located in a separate category.  I will update who the winners were in a later blog when I get further details.  The Else Gallery offers a great opportunity for students to showcase their work and get a feeling of how their education can be applied in the field so to speak.  Receiving support and praise from both students and professors alike can also make a young artist more confident in their craft. 
When looking at the art itself I was really impressed by some of the work I looked at.  I have to say as an artist myself I have a slight bias to the painters of the group, but there
were other mediums well represented as well.

Sean Hong, Let Me Through, acrylic on canvas

The first work to really catch my eye was Extension by Jeff Carter.  The palette choice works well in this painting because of the cool blues mixed with reds and the very warm orange.  Although the composition looks like it was done from a photograph the use of colors portraying shadows give it a less "Polaroid Effect"than most paintings that can fall victim to it.  The brush strokes and portrait placement also make it somewhat reminiscent of a Lucian Freud painting.
The next work that stuck out both literally and figuratively was that of Brian D. Burns II in is work titled The Red Door.  The immediate thing that sticks out besides the pieces of the work itself are the obvious similarities to works by Robert Rauschenberg, the famous Neo-Dadaist.

Brian D. Burns II, The Red Door, mixed media

Another painting that I spend quite a bit of time looking at was by Sean Hong titled Let me Through.  What appears to be an urban landscape takes the viewers perspective and warps it with his displacement of objects both in and outside themselves.  It is as if you are looking through a prism of sorts or maybe some sort of special window.  There is some tension created due to the eye wanting to correct what you are seeing and could allude to what the title is referring to in some aspect.  Overall I was very impressed by the talent represented and I hope Sac State and other institutions don't underestimate the importance of art education as it is an integral aspect of student expression.

http://www.csus.edu/galleries/else.html

Contemporary Korean Art

"The Land/The People" Exhibit

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Sacramento State University Library exhibit of contemporary Korean Art.  The show began Feb. 6th and will continue until May, 17th. It is titled  "The Land/The People" and primarily consists of various woodcuts, linocuts, and digital configurations.  Immediately upon entering the gallery the tone is set by the large works accompanied by subtle hums and the steady beat of the music playing throughout the gallery.

You can sense a real foundation of style and technique with each work that was taken by each individual artist and given its own unique flavor.  Ten artists were chosen overall, many of whom are relatively unknown outside Asia and Europe.  Like its name suggests the works in the show either take on a human or geographic theme to them.  Sometimes they are both combined.

Ryu Yeun Bok, Gumgang Mountain, 2007

Ryu Yeun Bok chose Gumgang Mountain as his subject in a series of prints that each take on a personality of their own.  As the only place South Koreans can visit in North Korea, they also have a very serious political tone to them.  Moving from print to print you can sense an almost seasonal change in each one.  Almost as if  to say that the mountain has been there forever and will continue to whether or not the disputes are settled. 

JungWon Chul "Comfort Women" linocut, 2001

In a series of linocuts, Jung Won Chul elegantly displays the faces of older women who manage to display a mood of both sadness and stoicism. In fact these are the faces of "comfort women" who were Korean women forced into servitude of Japanese soldiers during Japan's invasion of Asia. 

Yoon Yeo Geul, Shinchon, 2009, woodcut

Both people and land are represented  in the woodcuts of Yoon Yeo Geul.  His use of line work is superb and is reminiscent of an Albrecht Durer work.  In a lot of the works the aggressive cuts of each one signify the importance of each strike and their place in the work.  Geul is no different but his portrayal  of Seoul and the people that live there gives each one of his works a story that one can make their own. It also shows the transformation of nature into a new landscape filled with architecture and people.
Overall I suggest anyone in the Sacramento region go and see this exhibit.  Most Americans are familiar with Korea through the turmoil that befalls that region of the world and would benefit from seeing another side that is very much worth getting to know. 

To learn more and see information on how to see the show, see my link below.

http://www.csus.edu/sacstatenews/Articles/2013/12/KoreanArt12-05-13.html

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup Cans, 1962

 

Hello my name is Kevin and this is my blog about everything art.  I will be posting many cool art- related articles over the course of the next few weeks.  Most of my posts will primarily focus on contemporary art in the San Francisco and Sacramento regions including art galleries, museum exhibitions, and lectures from notable area artists.  To start things off I would like to include some pictures of my trip to MoMA, New York from last summer.  If you ever get to New York City I highly recommend  visiting MoMA.  As it happens I was there during a heat wave so it was nice to get out of the sun for a day and look at some of my favorite artists' work. www.moma.org

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d' Avignon, 1907

Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889