CHELSEA ART: The New Thirty-Something Block ... - ARTisSpectrum

JohnNiemanOlaRoslingOutstanding KissesMixed Media on Paper15”x23”Great artists offer theiraudience more than justa visual image. The thrillof discovering those“Aha!” moments is akinto receiving unexpectedgifts.John Nieman provides these surprises with his realistic watercolorand pastel works, which incorporate an emotional penchantfor sweets with an intellectual desire for word play. A viewerrealizes that frequently used terms have more in sync than everthought possible, and the connections are definitely memorable.In fact, since both the terms and the candies are readily available,the potential exists for long-term associations, and hence, longtermrecollections and smiles.With a background as an international advertising creative director,Nieman widens his capabilities from simple scene displayto imaginative comparison with universal appeal. John Nieman’spaintings have been as artfully composed as the creations in hisrole as music director, and his experiences as chef and authorhave allowed him to successfully blend, on canvas, his love offood with a passion for words.Website: http://www.johnnieman.com/There’s a bewitchingmelancholy inRosling’s visions. Hisworks are more thanpaintings; they arenarrative and music,Coast Oil on Canvas 23”x 32”an opera of light anddark, a fugue of figure and landscape. Rosling grew up sailing theScandinavian coasts and began painting at the age of twelve. Influencedby his youth amidst the beauty of Sweden, the forests andsea have moved his work in a dramatic direction; the pieces seem tolive in a liminal space between memory and the present, his figureslonely, forlorn.Rosling infuses his seascapes with light giving them a violent,almost tactile presence on the canvas. His figures are haunted bytime, yet timeless; Ola Rosling’s paintings have a spiritual, nostalgicambiance. Rosling studied in Stockholm and Sweden. Hebegan showing his work in 1996 and since then has had solo andgroup shows extensively throughout Sweden and Denmark.Website: http://www.olarosling.comThe WishPastel on Canvas 34”x 25”VyacheslavShevchukVyacheslav Shevchuk’s atmosphericwatercolors of trees and mountainsare deeply situated in the styleof the Far East.The Ukranian artist studied architectureand classical drawing atthe Academy of Architecture in hisbirthplace of Kiev, Ukraine, beforestudying traditional Chinese paintingand calligraphy at Beijing Academyof Art. He creates his works onsilk and rice paper. Further, he uses free-brush and fine-brushtechniques to apply watercolors and adds black ink to the mix.This lends his paintings a naturalistic quality with sporadicsplurges of intensity.Shevchuk’s watercolors are imbued with a reverence for thenatural world. Although his color palette is mainly restrained toblack and white, save for feather-light touches of red and yellow,his paintings are extremely dynamic. Scratchy brushstrokes suggestnature’s unrelenting force. Dangerous cliffs command attention,while pines struggle to stand against whipping winds. Eachwork features calligraphy and his signature red stamp.Website: http://www.artmine.com/ArtistPage/Vyacheslav_Shevchuk.aspxUntitled 16 (#57)Ceramic, Steel, &Wood 48”x36”x18”MichaelJosephHibbardThe beauty of the sharp edgedforms that were predominate inthe industrial architecture thatfascinated Michael Joseph Hibbardas a child has been a majorinfluence on his work. The impressionsthat the upstate NewYork architectural environmentleft on Hibbard are reflectedin the contemporary pieces hecreates from steel and ceramics.His fusion of natural andindustrial shapes, along with his use of color and texture, draws theviewer to his pieces created from these two mediums. This youngartist creates a balance between the two, and the pieces are at onceboth a study in the separate mediums and integrated works of art.Hibbard’s unique sculptures are gaining attention in the artworld. His public works, outdoor sculptures, have people takingnotice. He has recently acquired professional representation inNew York City and is in the process of scheduling gallery showingsof his works. Hibbard still lives and works in the environmentthat inspired him in his youth and continues to inspire him,Buffalo, New York.Website: http://www.michaeljhibbard.com/gallery.php28 ArtisSpectrum