JaZzArt en València

Omnia Caelum Studios started in Miami, Florida, June of 2003. That year I exhibited professionally for the first time in a gallery in Istanbul, Turkey. I did not think my paintings would go too far and I knew nothing about Turkey or about their culture. Much less did I know about their likes and dislikes when it came to choosing or collecting paintings. All I knew was that I would be a foreign artist, a European artist coming from the United States who painted bright, colourful scenes of jazz, dancers, movement and bodies, many bodies… But the show went very, very good for me. I sold three paintings out of the five I exhibited and it helped me to establish my presence overseas.

I came back to Miami (my home base at the time) and I started working on a new project. I chose Manhattan. Of course, New York, exhibiting in the Big Apple is obviously the dream of many artists and I was a dreamer. So I headed off north on the Interstate 95 in my Jeep Cherokee with ten paintings, the largest ones I had painted at the time. I had negotiated a contract with a gallery in Brooklyn which was also owned by a Turk, and I had been given a one moth show. The show went well but I did not sell…

So I stayed in New York. I moved my show to SoHo to a gallery called Amsterdam-Whitney and I exhibited there for 15 days. The vernissage was an authentic blast. One of the artists, it was a mixed show, was the wife of actor Christopher Walken and he was at the opening. One of the other guests was the «Prince of Darkness» a rather intriguing character who dressed like an English Lord but with a kilt. I kept looking at him wondering if it was true, that he really was a vampire. I sold one large and very expensive painting during that show, but it helped me establish my presence and I met many people.

I had a third New York exhibition in that year at the New World Gallery, also in SoHo. I only exhibited four large paintings but I did sell one of them…

In any event my experiences abroad gave me many ideas and when I returned to Miami I set my eyes on the developing local scene. This landed me a spot at the coveted «Cultural Fridays» events sponsored by the city of Miami. I presented my work and was selected artist of the month (October) in 2005. That year I searched and found new ways to express my painting and digital work…

Little by little, at times and with giant steps other times, the perfect combination of fast and slow, I started to develop my talent, (through hard work) and my abilities to create. I started to make something of my university education. I recall one of my professors who said that now that we were graduating we should forget all the academic learning and just go out there and create. I took that to heart…

I have to say that life as a working artist for me has been (and certainly still is) a rewarding endeavour and a lot of fun. And one of the best perks is travelling and sailing…

CHEERS

She died a few days ago… She was born on November 11, 1929, in the Bronx, (New York). Her name is Ida Applebroog, daughter of Orthodox Jewish parents, she studied graphic design in Manhattan, stating that she did it because she needed to earn money… She was a feminist, a painter, designer, illustrator of children’s books, and a prolific writer… After moving, with her husband and four children, to Chicago, she enrolled in The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and devoted herself to making jewellery and costume jewellery for the family to sell at art fairs in the city… In 1968, the family moved to California and she began attending art classes at the California Institute of the Arts, which is when her painting style began to develop. Her first exhibition (mixed) was in 1972 at the Long Beach Museum of Art (California)…

It was in 1974, and after relocating back to New York, when she changed her name and became «Ida Applebroog,» (her paternal last name was Applebaum). There she fully developed her style, which consisted of creating figurative artwork resembling comic strips to convey her ideas about feminism, social justice, and domestic violence. In 1977, she wrote a series of books that she self-published and distributed by mail. She also joined «Heresies,» a feminist magazine that addressed topics of art and politics.

Then in 1981, she presented «Applebroog: Silent Stagings«, her first exhibition at the Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in New York, where she continued to exhibit for over twenty years. The theme of this artist has always been to demonstrate the dynamics of «power,» let’s say, of men over women, parents over children, healthcare professionals over patients, and the government over the people…

In 2020, Applebroog’s work was included in a group exhibition at the Perez Art Museum in Miami, Florida, in a presentation titled «My Body, My Rules.» The exhibition showcased the works of women artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Carolee Schneemann, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Ana Mendieta, Wanguechi Mutu, Mickalene Thomas, and Francesca Woodman. We will feature all of these artists on this blog.

Ida Applebroog passed away at the age of 93 in Manhattan.

CHEERS

GRACIAS

Todos hablan del calor que estamos sufriendo, y nadie parece acordarse del calor del verano pasado, que fue igual de insufrible…

No cesan de hablar…y alucinar…del cambio climático, pero es que a través de la historia siempre han habido cambios climáticos…

Ahora les ha dado…a no se quien…por manifestarse en las calles, o en las universidades, a favor de las supuestas causas perdidas, pero a nadie se le ocurre profundizar un poquitín para determinar si la causa merece la pena o es una farsa total…

Tambien a la gente…mare meua…le gusta pedir derechos para aquellos que ellos suponen que no los tienen, pero ¿Acaso no estamos todos amparados por la misma ley? ¿No tenemos todos los mismos derechos? A mi me parece que si…

Parece que ahora estamos rodeados de ateos. Pero, tío, ¿Si niegas que hay un Dios, eso no implica que sabes que hay un Dios al cual negar? Hipócrita, el ateísmo no existe como doctrina o creencia. Es una postura, como ser anti-capitalista, o anti-democrático. Una tontearía más…

Hoy en dia estamos siendo guiados por supuestos «expertos»…ah, los expertos…que nos revelan los misterios, nos explican los orígenes de la vida, nos enseñan, nos protegen, nos aconsejan sobre lo que debemos comer, beber o no. ¿Serán la nueva casta sacerdotal?…

Los telediarios todos dicen la misma cosa, dan la misma noticia, y lo que no dicen, o sea, la noticia que no dan, es porque no existe. Todo lo demás lo censuran. Y ya la falta de información veraz nos lleva a ser cada vez más esclavos de estos supuestos controladores ¿Quiens son? Ni puta idea…

¿Conclusión? Les contesto a todos estos con solo tres palabritas: «Que os den». Si a vosotros, los expertos, los sabios, los asesores, payasos y bufones de palacios, consejeros, etcétera, etcétera. Iros a guiar, enseñar, engañar, criticar o pensar a la gran p…

Y os mando, como decía el gran genio de la comedia, José Candelario Tres Patines, «¡A la reja!» y para que bailéis un poco y se os quite la mala leche:

GRACIAS

«Los Los» es una obra que mide 35 x 50 cm, acuarela en el fondo abstracto y tinta india en el primer plano creando la figuración. Sin dudas es expresionismo-surreal y JaZzArT. Forma parte de la Serie VII de acuarelas.

Me han preguntado si pinto lo mismo durante el verano que en invierno y siempre contesto que para la pintura, aunque muchas cosas influyen lo que uno pinta, las estaciones del año no son una de ellas. Ahora, quizá durante estos días cuando hace un calor, o «una caló», como dicen mis compatriotas andaluces, uno se dedique mas bien a refrescarse con una cervecita debajo de una palmera… A pintar? Si tío, ya pintaré, pero ahora no me jodas que este paisaje vale más que mil telas en blanco… 🌴 🍺🌞

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«Los Los» measures 14″ x 20″. The background is abstract done with watercolour. The figures are painted with India ink in the foreground. This creates a figurative painting. Undoubtedly, it’s surreal-expressionism and JaZzArT. It’s part of the Series VII of watercolours.

I’ve been asked if I paint the same during summer as in winter. And I always answer that for painting, although many things influence what one paints, the seasons are not one of them. Now, perhaps during these days when it’s hot, or «una caló,» as my brothers from Andalucía say, one might rather dedicate oneself to cooling off with a beer under a palm tree… To paint? Yeah dude, I’ll paint later, but right now, don’t bother me, this landscape is worth more than a thousand blank canvases… 🌴 🍺🌞

GRACIAS – CHEERS

En Miami me empapé de la cultura de Cuba, de la verdadera Cuba, la española, la libre, la prospera, la que construyó un país que en la década de los años 50 tenía una economía igual a la de Italia y muy superior a la española. Un país que tenía una capital, La Habana, que fue considerada entre las cinco ciudades más bellas del mundo…

En Miami los cubanos hicieron todo lo que en Cuba el régimen le negaba a sus súbditos. Progresaron, crecieron, hicieron de un pueblo de campo una megalópolis internacional que hoy es una de las ciudades más grandes de EEUU y un hub internacional para deportes, cultura, política y economía. Eso es Miami…

Pero mi Miami fueron los recuerdos del Colegio Belén de los Jesuitas (claro, todos españoles) y de la buena gente que me hicieron sentir como en casa, o mejor. De criarme en Coral Gables y en Miami Beach, de estudiar, de hacer arte, de casarme, tener hijos, de vivir con aquellos iguales a mí que querían lo mismo, que amaban a su patria pero que sabían que la patria que anhelaban ya no existía…

Por esto, y por mucho mas, digo, junto a Willy Chirino (ese gran orgullo de Miami): “Yo Soy Cubano.”

Neo-expressionist, sculptor and painter… He studied in Düsseldorf, no less than with Joseph Beuys, a German artist from the Fluxus group. Following in Beuys’ footsteps, he began making installations, performances, and happenings, and in the 1970s, he began painting… This German, who has exhibited at the Venice Biennale (1980) and the Paris Biennale (1985), has a good series of paintings in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao since 1990… He was born in Donaueschingen, Germany on March 8, 1945… His works are gigantic, full of elements and thick layers of paint that he applies and removes several times to suggest the passage of time. He initially focused on Germanic themes, but in the 1990s, he began to travel the world and was inspired by more universal themes, although with references to religion, symbolism, mythology, and history. He paints the shadow of spirituality that falls upon the human mind… In 1993, he moved to Barjac (France) near Avignon, where he lives and works, creating new artistic experiences.

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Neo-expresionista, escultor y pintor… Estudio en Düsseldorf nada menos que con Joseph Beuys, artista alemán del grupo Fluxus. Siguiéndole los pasos a Beuys, comenzó haciendo instalaciones, performance y happenings y en la década de los años 70 comenzó a pintar… Este alemán que ha expuesto en las Bienales de Venecia (1980) y de París (1985), tiene una buena serie de cuadros en las colecciones del Museo Guggenheim de Bilbao desde 1990… Nació en Donaueschingen, Alemania el 8 de marzo de 1945… Sus obras son gigantescas y repletas de elementos y gruesas capas de pintura que hace y deshace para insinuar el paso del tiempo. Primero se basó en temas germánicos, pero en los años 90, comenzó a viajar el mundo y se inspiro en temas más universales, aunque con referencias a la religion, a la simbología, la mitología y la historia. Pinta la sombra de la espiritualidad que cae sobre la mente humana… En 1993 se traslada a Barjac (Francia) cerca de Aviñón, donde vive y trabaja creando nuevas experiencias artísticas.

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GRACIAS – CHEERS

La naturaleza confunde, perturba, llama la atención y nos enseña que las cosas no son como nos las imaginamos, no son como las vemos,

sino que son colores que van cambiando según los hace brillar el sol, y el sol no se apura ni cambia su rumbo,

gira alrededor nuestro y nos deja ver la realidad, nos da la luz que rebota con las cosas y así, fuera de nosotros, su luz nos es útil…

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Nature confuses us, perturbs us, attracts us and teaches us that things are not how we imagine them; things are not how we see them,

instead they are colours that change constantly according to the brilliance of the sun, and the sun does not change its course nor does it hurry,

it revolves around us and lets us see reality, it gives us light, light that bounces off the myriad of things, shining outside of us, becoming useful to us…

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El Euro-Ku es un invento mío de 2022, el año cuando me propuse a estudiar el Haiku para intentar componerlos. Pero como no soy japonés, no me salían con la misma soltura, con la misma espiritualidad. Entonces me di cuenta porque no era posible y la razón es muy simple. Uno tiene que ser fiel a su tiempo, a su historia, a su lugar en el mundo, a su cultura y a sus experiencias. Para escribir un Haiku hay que ser japonés y como no lo soy, pero como si soy amante del estilo, desarrollé el Euro-Ku, una forma europea para expresar, mas o menos la misma cosa, pero siéndole fiel a mi historia. Como habéis visto el Euro-Ku tiene tres versículos, pero sin contar silabas, uso las silabas que me hagan falta para expresar la idea y además los tres versículos tienen que seguir, lógicamente, uno al otro sin que el pensamiento se pierda entre las nubes. Y lo mas importante es que el Euro-Ku tiene que ser acompañado por una ilustración propia de su autor.

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The Euro-Ku is my invention from 2022, the year when I set out to study Haiku in an attempt to compose them. But as I am not Japanese, they did not flow as easily, with the same spirituality. Then I realized why it wasn’t possible, and the reason is very simple. The artist/poet/writer has to be true to their time, their history, their place in the world, their culture, and their experiences. To write a Haiku, one has to be Japanese, and as I am not. But as a lover of the style, I developed the Euro-Ku, a European form to express more or less the same thing, but maintaining true to my history. As you have seen, the Euro-Ku has three verses, but without counting syllables; I use as many syllables as necessary to express the idea. Additionally, the three verses must logically follow one another without the thought, or the words getting lost in the clouds. And most importantly, the Euro-Ku must be accompanied by an illustration created by its author.

1) Frida Kahlo. Mediocre, did not know how to draw or paint. At best a naïve artist, but hardly even there. It is hard for me to even call her a bad artist, because I tremble to use the word «artist» when referring to her. However, since her death they have converted her into the «queen of merchandising».

Need I say more about this supposed artist that never added anything to art history? (Sorry if you are a fan. I am hot here to discourage you. This is simply my opinion).

2) Joan Miró. Boring to the extreme. He never experimented, he never searched. He did not even mix colours. What for? Buy the tubes, they already come mixed and then «create» a series of paintings using simply the colours (primary ones) as they come out of the tube. Finish series in ten minutes. If his family had not opened the Joan Miró foundation where would all those canvases be? I suspect collecting dust in some attic or basement. However, I do believe he was a smashing good sort of chap.

3 A + B) (A)Yoko Ono. If she had not married John Lennon (who she did her best to seduce back in the late 1960’s), nobody would have ever heard of her. And that would have been hunky dory. The only thing she does worse than art is singing, composing and performing. Cannot say anything else about this woman, except that she may actually also be Yayoi Kusama, there is a likeness, no? That allows me to segway to #3 (B), Yayoi Kusama. Great curtain designs for the home of a blind man…

Let me be clear on this very important point. I am judging only the art that these artists have brought to the world. I do not know these people personally therefore I make no judgements on their personality, lifestyle or anything like that. It is nothing personal. If you are a fan of any of these or of any of the ones in the forthcoming part 2, I am so sorry, but this is my opinion based upon a lifetime of study in art and art history. And I also base these opinions on common sense and good taste.

CHEERS

7) Marina Abramović. The «grandmother» of performance «art». Frankly speaking I didn’t always feel the same way about this grandmother, but once her complete life of «art» played out I saw that she was no artist that I could call valuable or useful to art history. The way she uses people is akin to abuse and the way she manipulates the observers (or admirers) is a total farce. Her supposed «chance» meeting with Ulay, her one time partner, was contrived. And contriving art is okay by me, but don’t pass it off as real. Therefore she makes my list. Perhaps I am not as disgusted with her as I am with many of the others that populate this top ten, but…

8) Tracy Emin. Let’s start by saying that her claim to fame came when her «Bed» became a work of art. Frankly it is a disgusting piece and it may just show how untidy and unclean she could be or could have been. I don’t know, I’ve never met her. At least if she did sleep on such a bed. The bed is surrounded with vodka bottles, used condoms and all manner of rubbish. Whatever it is, if art it is, it is bad, useless art. She cannot draw or paint, as you can plainly see in the photograph below. Yet, she is held as one of the great artists of the UK.

9) Fernando Botero. The painter of volume, as he calls himself. But those silly little fat figures that he paints are not representative of volume. If you want volume look at the figures of Rubens or the portraits by Jenny Saville. Botero’s do not even represent cartoons. Everything he paints is the same. All the figures have the same blank or withdrawn expression. There is no magic, no power, no charm in his work, therefore he is most definitely in my list.

10) Keith Haring. This artist and social activist made it to the top of the art world by making doodles. Yes, similar to the ones we all made in our high school notebooks when we were bored in class. There is no aesthetics in his work, and absolutely no rhyme or reason. They could have easily been made by a seven year old. And for a seven year old they might have seemed like art, but really, it is not good art at all for someone that considers himself an artist. He started out making these doodle on or close to galleries. Why didn’t he make them on truck stops on an interstate highway?

Well here it is my top 10 most useless artists. I can re-arrange them as they are all really number one. And please understand that my words (passionate as they might be) are not meant to cast any aspersions on the artists themselves. I dislike their work. I do not know them, never met any of them and do not know anything about their lives or personalities. This is for sure not an attack ad hominem. It is an attack on their supposed «art».

CHEERS