Download PDF - ARTisSpectrum

Pict 01 (Comp. Flight)
Oil on Board 21.5” x 25.5”
36 ArtisSpectrum
JOHN NIEMAN
Since Sliced Bread Mixed Media on Paper 21” x 30”
VLADIMIR
TITOV
Vladimir Titov’s abstractions
are intensely
aware of their history.
They continually reassert
cubism’s relevance,
privileging the
fragmented, geometric
shapes that became
prominent in the era of
Georges Braque and
Pablo Picasso. Abstraction
acknowledges life’s inherent strangeness like nothing else
and Titov is keenly attuned to the painting’s metaphoric relationship
to lived experience. Titov works in oil, embracing the medium’s
textural, vibrant flexibility. His paintings are either pure
formal experiments or derived from still lifes. In either case,
his work emphasizes the sensorial sway of composition. His
paintings are structured precisely and decidedly; his colors are
evocative and carefully orchestrated; yet, ultimately, his paintings
create a freeform harmony that defies rational explanation.
Titov’s devotion to abstraction has driven his career since 1960.
He has prominently exhibited in Tallinn, Estonia and St. Petersburg,
Russia, and the UK where he participated in Untitled - The
UK’s Largest Artists Fair. His life in Ivangorod, Russia, where he
currently works, was the subject of Kersti Uibo’s 2006 film “Still
Life with Wife.”
Websites: www.titovgallery.com/en
www.Art-Mine.com/ArtistPage/Vladimir_Titov.aspx
John Nieman creates arresting works which possess both
the stopping power of commercial advertisements and
the witty humor of pop art. Nieman worked successfully
in the advertising business for many years. Perhaps this
has led to his focus on the juxtaposition of text and image;
how one can inextricably impact on the other. The images
and texts that Nieman creates are however, the visual end
of a conceptual process. Phrases and sayings generate
images and collections of free-associations which are then
placed together. Sometimes the images and text support
each other, but often there is a humorous tension, a hint
of irony. One gets the sense that Nieman enjoys and is
having fun in creating his works. The works are themselves
very appealing. Nieman’s style is representational and
unpretentious, giving the works a fresh, clean feel. His
colors are bright, yet the watercolor and pastels he uses
give them a tone and quality that has a curiously tranquil
feel. The flat watercolor has a beautiful translucent quality
and therefore, it is hard to tell if the text came before or after
the image. The test often melts subtly into the background,
so as the viewer comes in to read it, they are drawn into its
story.
John Nieman’s artwork has been exhibited in galleries
throughout the Northeast, and featured in national and
international juried competitions. He currently lives in New York.
Websites: www.johnnieman.com
www.Art-Mine.com/ArtistPage/John_Nieman.aspx
SUSAN MARX
Susan Marx approaches
painting
with the thoughtful
spontaneity of an impressionist.
She assiduously
observes
the natural world and
then freely responds
to it. This balance
Flowers, Van Vleck Garden, Montclair, NJ, between looking
August 2008 Acrylic on Masonite 16” x 20”
and feeling gives her
paintings their evocative immediacy. Her painting trips to
France have influenced her approach and strengthened her
appreciation for the impressionists. She paints en plein air,
immersed in the scenery that inspires her, and she especially
concerns herself with the effect of light upon perception.
Marx loves color. In her work, the interaction between
cool and warm colors enacts an essential, constant tension
between contrast and harmony. Equally essential for her
is composition and the two dimensionality of the picture
plane. Marx approaches each painting as an experiment in
spatial design, and her work encourages viewers to experience
the sensuousness of paint, color and light, a tactic that
makes familiar imagery newly compelling. Susan Marx has
exhibited internationally. Her works can be found in private
collections in the US, France, Switzerland and Israel. She
currently lives in Orange, New Jersey.
Websites: susanmarxartist.com
www.Art-Mine.com/ArtistPage/Susan_Marx.aspx