Author: artistvenu

Mariko kusumoto’s dream-like textile sculptures echo a luminous coral reef

July 15, 2021 (updated June 24, 2022) Published by

Image courtesy of mariko kusumoto | @marikokusumoto

In a meticulous display of craft, artist mariko kusumoto details an ethereal and otherworldly series of textile sculptures. made from translucent polyester and nylon fiber, the work recalls a delicately floating bed of underwater flowers or a coral reef. the massachusetts-based artist notes that her work reflects the observable phenomena that stimulates her mind and senses, reorganized into a new presentation that is surreal, graceful, and unexpected.

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Paulina Peavy, the Spiritualist Artist Who Channeled a UFO

July 15, 2021 (updated July 15, 2021) Published by

Paulina Peavy, “Untitled” (circa 1930s to 1980s), oil paint on board, 16 x 16 inches (all images courtesy the Paulina Peavy Estate and Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York)

LOS ANGELES — In 1932 Paulina Peavy attended a séance at the home of spiritualist Ida L. Ewing in Santa Ana, California. There, she channeled Lacamo, an extraterrestrial spirit, or UFO in her words, who revealed to her the secrets of the universe. The encounter was a defining moment for Peavy; then 31, she continued to channel Lacamo, whom she claimed as her artistic collaborator, until her death in 1999.

Paulina Peavy: An Etherian Channeler at Beyond Baroque reintroduces Peavy to Southern California, where she lived from 1923 to ’43, first studying art at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles (now part of the California Institute of the Arts) and then teaching art and exhibiting her own work and that of others in her Peavy Art Gallery. The show at Beyond Baroque, curated by Laura Whitcomb, is the artist’s first on the West Coast in 75 years. Rare esoteric and hermetic literature presented in vitrines, and Peavy’s own writings, reflect her life and beliefs, which merged spiritualist and theosophical concepts and astroculture.

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How Mondrian Went Abstract

July 15, 2021 (updated July 15, 2021) Published by

Piet MondrianNo. VI / Composition No. II, 1920Tate Liverpool

During the early 20th century, many of these artists acknowledged the influence of Pablo Picasso and cubism—and if they didn’t, odds are they were lying. Artists also characteristically connected their work to a religion or philosophy that promoted simplification, though this connection has probably been made less and less significant due to the dominance of formalist readings of art history.One of the most well-known abstract artists of the 20th century is Piet Mondrian, and his path to abstraction had all of the aforementioned attributes. However, while his abstract, gridded paintings grace the walls of museums around the world and have become icons of modern art in a way few others have, it’s unclear to most people how he arrived at his well-known style.

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