There are any number of ways and reasons to make art. It can be prim and decorative. It can soar with dramatic flourish. Some art is emotionally confrontational. Some painters excite with color that surprises and delights. Then there is art that is fiercely personal. Powerful. Explosive. It comes from the inside.
Mary, thank you for the comment. Paul Gauguin is famous because of his paintings from his first voyage to Tahiti known for jarring color harmonies, primitive depictions of the native people, mostly women, and unconventional compositions. They are full of symbolism. Most if not all of these are in Museums. Like Van Gogh, he was looking for a Post-Impressionist style. Most of his early work was very traditional landscapes and still lifes. Few people would recognize these as a "Gauguin." So, many of these may be in private hands.
Frida Kahlo didn't produce as much work. She was discovered gradually but has become a Feminist idol and is now more famous, it is fair to say, than her husband, Diego Rivera, the Mexican muralist painter. Ask five critics about Frida and you will get five opinions. Like the others in this post, her work is full of symbolism, mostly for the loneliness of pain. People would pay millions to have one on their wall, regardless of how graphic or grotesque it might appear.
The work of Matt Sesow is usually called primitive or "Outsider." It is collected throughout the world, and most ends up on walls, but you can find it on beer cans and t-shirts...and on the walls of the Visionary Art Museum of Baltimore.
When I interviewed Rick Bach for my column ten years ago, he was painting murals on the walls and ceiling in the Honeysuckle Restaurant in DC. He is also widely collected.
What all four of these artists have in common is their work is visually volatile and damn well done. It is not demure—not pretty. You can't shrug it off. It wrestles you to the ground and stomps on you. It's explosive.
When I first saw the Freda Khalo painting depicted here, it reminded me of some famous paintings I’ve seen of Saint Sebastian pierced with arrows. I had never seen the Gaugin painting shown here. Very interesting. “Explosive” art makes an impact, but I wonder where such paintings are typically displayed, if purchased privately. Museums and art shows make sense, but what business or home would hang up some of these paintings? They are not exactly soothing or comforting! They would need to be displayed in a place where people could and would stop and think about them, and discuss them with others even.
Mary, thank you for the comment. Paul Gauguin is famous because of his paintings from his first voyage to Tahiti known for jarring color harmonies, primitive depictions of the native people, mostly women, and unconventional compositions. They are full of symbolism. Most if not all of these are in Museums. Like Van Gogh, he was looking for a Post-Impressionist style. Most of his early work was very traditional landscapes and still lifes. Few people would recognize these as a "Gauguin." So, many of these may be in private hands.
Frida Kahlo didn't produce as much work. She was discovered gradually but has become a Feminist idol and is now more famous, it is fair to say, than her husband, Diego Rivera, the Mexican muralist painter. Ask five critics about Frida and you will get five opinions. Like the others in this post, her work is full of symbolism, mostly for the loneliness of pain. People would pay millions to have one on their wall, regardless of how graphic or grotesque it might appear.
The work of Matt Sesow is usually called primitive or "Outsider." It is collected throughout the world, and most ends up on walls, but you can find it on beer cans and t-shirts...and on the walls of the Visionary Art Museum of Baltimore.
When I interviewed Rick Bach for my column ten years ago, he was painting murals on the walls and ceiling in the Honeysuckle Restaurant in DC. He is also widely collected.
What all four of these artists have in common is their work is visually volatile and damn well done. It is not demure—not pretty. You can't shrug it off. It wrestles you to the ground and stomps on you. It's explosive.
When I first saw the Freda Khalo painting depicted here, it reminded me of some famous paintings I’ve seen of Saint Sebastian pierced with arrows. I had never seen the Gaugin painting shown here. Very interesting. “Explosive” art makes an impact, but I wonder where such paintings are typically displayed, if purchased privately. Museums and art shows make sense, but what business or home would hang up some of these paintings? They are not exactly soothing or comforting! They would need to be displayed in a place where people could and would stop and think about them, and discuss them with others even.