Helen Frankenthaler
Helene Frankenthaler is an artist that I was interested in because she used her whole body to make paintings, she was very fluid and expressive in her works. She would pour thinned paint on an unprimed canvas and move the paint around this different tools, including her hands. She invented this method in the 50s and it’s called the “soak-stain”.
photos from Thebohmerian.com http://www.thebohmerian.com/2011/12/jewish-american-abstract-expressionist-artist-helen-frankenthaler-dies-at-83/
I love how she soaks paint onto canvas, using her whole body to move paint around= I would love to try this out.
Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter is a German contemporary artist, I’m interested in his work because he uses the technique of sliding/moving/scraping paint across a canvas using different tools such as wood/metal poles or squeegee.
In the Youtube video (above), they describe Richeter as “The artist without a paintbrush” and details how he encapsulates movement and energy of the paint with minimals tools.
In the Nowness YouTube Video, we get to see Richter working. We uses his whole body to move paint across the surface, holding tools that are almost the same as him. A tall sheet of plastic is used to remove large surfaces of paint and a smaller hand held to remove smaller areas of paint. He moves in different directions my mainly keeping to methodically vertical and horizontal movements.
In an interview with Richter he said how he was “fascinated by coincidence,” as he believed “almost everything is a coincidence,” and to “,make something of it.” I found this to be very interesting as his work is all about coincidence and letting the paint and tool be in control. I would like to try scarping and gliding paint around, letting the paint be in control.
Jason Martin
Jason Martin is a contemporary artist based in London and Portugal. Martin use thick paint to create his works, layering and piling paint onto a canvas. In regard to his work and method, Martin has said, “The most interesting abstraction has a source of figuration…My approach is that there is a warmth of figuration that I try to affect into movements- gestures- that I make [on the canvas].” His movement are clearly evident in his works by use high viscosity paints, such as oils.
The method of layering thick paint on a canvas to create a texture/pattern is so interesting and is what I would like to try.
http://www.artnet.com/artists/jason-martin-2/ex-fialta-a-e81iH8FL8jjBWOUxK29vHA2
Bibliography
Artnet, “Jashon Martin”,( Accessed, August 18, 2021)
http://www.artnet.com/artists/jason-martin-2/ex-fialta-a-e81iH8FL8jjBWOUxK29vHA2
The Boherian, “Moments: Helen Frankenthaler- Rememberd” (December, 27, 2011)
Moments : Helen Frankenthaler – Remembered
Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, “Paintings-Artworks-Helen Frankenthaler Foundation.”, https://www.frankenthalerfoundation.org/artworks/paintings/1970and39s
Oklahoma City Museum of Arts, Soak-Stain Like Helen Frankenthaler, (May 3, 2020)