Creating an art collection – especially one that will endure
and be recognized by one’s peers in the future – isn’t as much a matter of
being able to afford names like Picasso or Matisse as it is identifying up and
coming artists who are onto something new and interesting and whose works will endure. After all, when Peggy Guggenheim was collecting art from the likes of
Matisse, Calder and others, few people knew who those artists were.
Below we introduce you to three artists we are adding to our
collection and whose works you may want to consider for yourself.
Warrior King #1
Marjorie Guyon
Guyon combines ancient imagery with contemporary
sensibilities in a way we have never seen before. In her Tattoo series, Guyon’s most iconic pieces utilize imagery of Greek
and Roman idols – Aphrodite, Alexander the Great, and others – combined with
contemporary tattooing through a process of collaging that often involves
marble dust and pigment. Her works are once visually stunning but intellectually
stimulating as well. They are not typically merely meant to be enjoyed, but to
be thought about as well.
In Warrior King #1, we are forced to reconcile with ancient
and contemporary ideals of virtue, leadership and manliness. On the one hand we
find ourselves considering the lost ideals of leaders such as Alexander the
Great and wondering where we might find those today, while on the other hand
being grateful that it is modern, not ancient ideals, that protect and help
foster the artist’s graffiti-ing of such an ancient and noble figure.
Embrace
Andre Lanoux
Lanoux’s work is probably best described as retro-pop. It
quickly brings to mind for any viewer the master of pop himself, Andy Warhol,
and it is all at once fun but fascinating too. Warhol’s imagery of Chairman
Mao, Marilyn Monroe and similar motifs are all very familiar to us, but whereas
Warhol’s work forced us to reconcile with individuals and specific things,
typically, Lanoux’s work makes us consider the times at large.
For example, in his work Waiting
we see two women with dour expressions receiving perms. What is typically
considered a fun activity for women to do together – going to the salon –
becomes something more sinister. Are they sacrificing happiness for beauty? Is
their reliance on technology for beauty akin to a reliance on the men in their
lives?
Lanoux’s works can be appreciated and enjoyed simply for
their color, form and beauty, but their real substance is in the ideas they
convey, or at least raise.
Namaste 2
Heidi Lewis Coleman
Coleman’s work is very much inspired by Asian themes, from
images of Buddha to Sanskrit and Arabic-like writing that at once contributes
to great beauty and often, great symmetry.
Coleman is incredibly prolific and her works range from ones
on paper, to rugs and cut wood too. Her cut wood pieces are arguably her most
accomplished works. Not only are their intricacies fascinating but they are
oddly interactive. You can appreciate their beauty by looking straight on, and
appreciate them in an incredibly different way by looking at the shadows and
images they cast with light from different angles.
All of these artists
have wonderful works for acquisition. If there is anything we can do to help
you, please e-mail Art@ChiltonAndChadwick.com.
