When I view artwork in a Gallery or through a social media connection, I comment on something that I believe is good, but when I find an artist that breaks out of the mediocre to create a masterpiece, and receives few comments; then I see people falling all over themselves to congratulate an artist on a piece of bad art, I want to shout:  “People, don’t you know the difference?   Get your priorities straight!”

In today’s art world, anything goes.  I respect that. What I do not appreciate is the number of artists who are gaining recognition on the basis of art that is unpleasant to look at, can be copied by other artists, or shows no artistic talent at all!  When such an artist explains his or her work, the words can end up as meaningless as their art.  A case in point …

“My paintings are the result of a ritualistic process. This process includes a series of combative encounters between the artist, the subject and the canvas; where the mood of the artist, degree of vagueness of the subject, and chance of the materials, can create an infinite number of outcomes. […]
 
The movements of direction and perspective, in my paintings, act in a distortion of harmonious interactions and playful moments. The work presents a oneness of almost congested thickness, hints of depths, and constant shifting of weight. There is a musical aspect in the way things repeat, move forward, move in reverse, mutating and pushing matter as the flow pleases. The matter is usually suggested towards the natural world in the form of weathering landscapes, atmospheric energies or systems. Some present time and change within a geological melody.”       ----Jordan Cantwell’s artist statement

What did he say?

Jordan Cantwell can’t well define his art!  I’m not sure that he can even paint!  He is a Pollock who has only slightly become organized.  Contrary to traditional rules of landscape painting, here he paints the sun into his sky, red and furry.  It shines down on vague city structures that seem to be coming and going in various stages of “tipsy.” They hover over flowing pieces of blue emanating from the city like over-crowded freeways, eventually intermingling haphazardly and spreading out into a vast blue “ocean” on which sails a tiny red boat like the home-made one my kids used to play with in the bathtub. In the final observation, the sun and the boat are the only parts of this work that say anything – to each other!  Within his [quote] “combative encounters between the subject, the artist, and the canvas” the artist appears to have lost the fight.        ----My critique

Even if you don’t agree, indulge me here. It’s what I believe.  In the world of modernism the process of creating art often seems to be synonymous with “it doesn’t really matter.”  Yet, I think “it matters.”  One earns the name “artist”  through exceptional skill and creativity, and by managing and improving on these over time – not by letting the paintbrush “go where it will,” almost as if it, alone, were in control of the outcome. Paintbrushes are stupid. They can’t paint without a higher intelligence.  That begs a question …

On the other hand:  Among the better contemporary artists today, there are two who have earned my respect because their work epitomizes the word “fine” in fine art: 


Lorena Kloosterboer paints trompe l'oeil and photorealistic art with a skill and aestheticism that is equaled by few others!  Click on the image to go to the artist's website.

"Clarity No. 2" Acrylic on Canvas, 5 ¾ x 12 inches

Artist's statement: "This trompe l'oeil depicts a small niche holding an array of translucent glass bottles and jars. The niche symbolizes a safe haven which  holds the spirit of divinity. Glass objects, due to their transparency, represent an inner plane. They reflect purity, spiritual perfection, and knowledge.  The niche and the jars embrace all the essential traits we seek in life."


 

Keiko Tanabe is a master watercolorist who gives new meaning to mastering watercolor.  Her work is magnificent, and I wish for all the world that I could render a watercolor painting with as much beauty and sensitivity as she does. Click on the image to go to the artist's website.

“Star of India, San Diego I” Watercolor on Paper, 11 1/2 x 8.25 inches


These are only a couple of artists who give me hope that great art is not dead.  Go find a few of your own and when you do, tell them “thank you.”  They are putting life back into the arts!


Please note: This is an art critique, not a personal criticism.