Author / sylviajg

by sylviajg

The Fragmented Portrait

The Fragmented Portrait is a digital exhibition composed of large scale oil paintings that capture and express the ever-changing fragments that accumulate and compose an individual’s identity and personality. The term fragmented has been selected to express the symbolic pieces we carry and accumulate as we age. From birth, we are subjected to influential factors that shape and define who we are today, with works from Kai Samuels-Davis, Ann Gale, and Andrew Salgado, this theme is portrayed through their unique artistic perspectives and concepts. They depict the common man, woman, and minority groups through styles reminiscent of Abstraction, Impressionism, and Expressionism. Each artist contributes two works of art, creating a six-piece collection that uncovers and visualizes how one can be shaped by time, emotion and events. By documenting the accumulations of fragments one gathers throughout their lives, rather than recording one’s solid appearance, The Fragmented Portrait exhibits the multitudes of perceptions, psychology, and emotions of the human race. Continue reading →

by sylviajg

Ordinary Moments Represent Extraordinary Change

Henry Ossawa Tanner’s The Banjo Lesson and The Thankful Poor combat the dominant narratives of Western art history by depicting an African-American grandfather and grandson in humane, ordinary moments. The warm depiction of the grandfather reflects the hardships suffered by older generation: slavery, the Civil War, oppression, and racism. While the young grandchild reflects the new America, full of opportunities and advancements, education and a new beginning for all African Americans. Continue reading →

by sylviajg

Sunday Morning’s Success

Charles Schulz is the cartoonist behind the iconic Charlie Brown and Snoopy from the comic strip Peanuts. From his childhood spent reading the funnies with this father every Sunday morning, Schulz’s love for comics remained steady throughout every hardship in his life, including death and war. From the miserable critter we know as Charlie Brown, who echoes a little bit of what we all have in us, and characters who were inspired from his own life; Schulz’s accomplished his childhood dream while leaving an unforgettable mark as a cartoonist on the world of illustration. Continue reading →

by sylviajg

Purification

De Stijl remerges almost half a century later in the Minimalist art movement, stripped from its fundamental depths and classic red, blue and yellow palate. Instead, Minimalism takes on the classic shapes and lines to redefine the purest abstraction. The attempt to remove all recognizable aspects in our life is displayed through Minimalism’s clarity, much like De Stijl’s harmony: “I wish to approach truth as closely as is possible, and therefore I abstract everything until I arrive at the fundamental quality of objects,” Piet Mondrian once said. Continue reading →