April! Contemporary Artist....Michael Borremans

I first say Borremans work in London, a few years ago, and I was immediately impressed. Not only are these paintings technically and visually breathtaking, but there is something very interesting and captivating about them conceptually too. They speak of nostalgia, memory and there is something familiar about them, yet also somewhat unsettling. They are fantastic examples of how the figure is continually being successfully used in Contemporary Art. I also realized when I was trying to figure out which artist to blog about that I have not featured any painters, at least not for a while, and I LOVE painters, so here is a great one.

March Contemporary Artist- Rachael Whiteread

Rachael Whiteread is a British sculptor that I have been really interested in lately. She makes casts of negitive spaces and interior spaces out of concrete, plaster and resin among other materials I'm sure. I have my drawing class do presentations on contemporary artists and both quarters my students have really not liked Whitereads work. It is pretty conceptual, so often it is hard for people to break from the tradition of what their expectations of art are to understand work like this. I think it is really poignant as well as visually engaging. By presenting the negative space of the inside of boxes, book shelves, and even houses she presents the viewer with work that is about the presence of absence. It is very much rooted in memory and loss as well. I think its worth looking at, my students may tell you otherwise.