Known for her large-scale pattern paintings depicting constellations of everyday items that have been isolated from their original context, American artist Katherine Bernhardt has created a new ensemble of colorful and dynamic images that take inspiration from both Brussels and New York. Executed in acrylic and spray paint on canvas, in a spontaneous and fluid style, her latest work features objects typically associated with Belgian popular culture, such as Smurfs and chocolate, with those representative of America, such as Lisa Simpson and Nike trainers. Added to the mix are domestic objects like toilet rolls and Windex; toucans and tropical fruits (a reference to the artist’s frequent travels to Puerto Rico); iconic games from her teenage years during the early 1980s (Pac-Man and the Rubik’s cube); and food and drink (Nutella, cigarettes, wine). Because of the myriad objects in her work, it is sometimes interpreted as a wry comment on consumerism. Yet this is not a conscious concern of the artist, who is primarily motivated by a fascination with her everyday surroundings, and in giving it expression through color and composition. Katherine Bernhardt "Product Recall: New Pattern Paintings" will be on view until June 18, 2016 at Xavier Hufkens, 107 rue St-Georges, Brussels, Belgium
Love Is Something Heavy: Read Our Interview With Multimedia Artist Sara Rahbar Before Her Presentation of New Work During the NADA Art Fair →
Sara Rahbar is an artist who bravely transverses borders and permeates boundaries. Though often labeled an “Iranian American artist” (her family fled Iran in 1982 during the beginning of the Revolution), she prefers to relocate herself in a collective humanity. Transcending genre, her work ranges from photography and paint to textiles and sculpture. Rahbar’s work reflects this permeability, combining seemingly antithetical ideas – American flags sewn together with traditional Persian fabrics, hearts made out of military backpacks – in a beautiful and generative juxtaposition. Click here to read more.
A Visit to the Studio of James Georgopoulos
Upon first impression, the studio of James Georgopoulos – which is located in a nondescript and industrial section of El Segundo in Los Angeles – looks like a classic car garage. There are car doors, car hoods, a full size Mercury Comet, and a giant robotic arm that was used in 1980s American vehicle manufacturing – it in its raw form now, but it is being prepped for an upcoming show. Georgopoulos calls it ‘Zeus.' Georgopoulos – who is most well known for his ‘Guns of Cinema’ series – is branching out with more three-dimensional, sculptural work, like ‘Vacation,’ which includes the disembodied cab of a truck with a video projection of a road stretching out behind it; Benny Goodman crackles on the radio. That piece is on view now at MAMA gallery in Los Angeles. Just recently, we were lucky enough to take a tour of James Georgopoulos’ studio and he was kind enough to show us around. Text and photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper