Contemporary Figure Paintings

Every decade or so an article appears in the press proclaiming the return of the figure in art, implying that it somehow “went away.” In fact, the figure as a subject for painting never went away, and never will until the human race itself disappears. In a symposium on drawing several years ago at Randolph-Macon Womans College (now Randolph College) in Lynchburg, Virginia, I heard Janet Fish say, “Isms come and isms go, and the realists just keep painting.” (Or something to that effect.) Her statement could, I think, be applied accurately to the state of figure painting.  Whatever the current obsession of the so-called art world, artists just keep painting the figure. Below is an album of some of the most compelling figure artists working today.

Phil Geiger, figure study, oil on panel, 14″ x 10.” Collection of Frank Hobbs

Before There Was Facebook…

Inventing Abstraction, 1910–1925

December 23, 2012–April 15, 2013

MOMA

It’s often said it’s not what you know, but who you know. An exhibition now on at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC traces the network of influences among the salient figures of early Modern Art.  The link above takes you to a 3-D interactive map that allows you to click on individual artists and see their connections to other artists. The show is up until April 15th.

Diarmuid Kelley

Bio: Born in Stirling in 1972, Diarmuid Kelley grew up in the north of England. He studied Fine Art at Newcastle University, graduating in 1995. He was the youngest artist ever to win the prestigious Nat West Art Prize at the age of 23, in the same year, he graduated from Newcastle. He went on to study for a Masters degree at Chelsea College of Art and Design. (Courtesy of Offer Waterman Gallery, London, UK)

Dignity in Work: Cleveland’s Matthew Dibble

A Visual Conversation: The Paintings of Matthew Dibble

By Katherine Aimone   www.artswrite.com

“Too much thinking can be an obstacle for me when painting; the ‘judge’ always seems to get in the way. My connection can only be found in the moment, and I often come back to a sense of my feet on the floor while painting. During these moments some real work is possible…. As artists, we do much better trying to keep things simple. We do better to compare ourselves solely to ourselves. Self-inventory is useful, while self-condemnation is not. Without calling our whole identity into question, there are inquiries that we can fruitfully ask. How am I developing as an artist? Am I doing the work necessary for me to mature? Did I work today? Yes? Well, that’s good. Working today is what gives us currency and self-respect. There is dignity in work.”  —Matthew Dibble

Lois Dodd at Portland Museum of Art

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Slide Show (courtesy NY Times)

New From Alex Kanevsky

The Angel

“I go to the studio everyday because one day I may go and the Angel will be there. What if I don’t go and the Angel comes?”                                                                                                                      

-Philip Guston