ihet – special issue
This Monday, September 17th, 5:30 – 8:00 pm – I’m showing paintings, drawings and objects . . . and I’d love to have you join me. Eric Fischl Gallery Phoenix College, 1220 West Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ 85013.
Thanks for reading.
Charles
ihet – july/august 2018 – issue 234
The Eric Fischl Gallery is a great environment for exhibiting and viewing art. For my exhibition, it’s all new work. Both paintings and objects, so it promises to be a good show. The opening reception is on Monday evening, September 17th from 5:30-8pm. I’d love to have you join me, so save the date and come see the new work.
Clyfford Still is one of my all-time favorite painters and visiting the Clyfford Still Museum, in Denver, has been on my list. I’d tie myself in knots trying to choose a favorite, but this painting, 1944-N No. 1 would certainly be in the mix. There’s a boundless volume of color in his paintings, but this black is just fearless. “Black was never a color of death or terror for me. I think of it as warm – and generative.” Clyfford Still. – To view more of Still’s work – The Clyfford Still Museum
“Abstraction allows [one] to see with his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes . . . [it] enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. . . . It is an exploration into unknown areas.” This quote by Arshile Gorkey was included with the exhibit and for me captures what all art attempts to achieve. Gorkey’s work bridged the gap between surrealism and abstract expressionism and is considered one of the seminal artists of his time. For more on Arshile Gorkey visit – The Arshile Gorkey Foundation.
The show at Fischl Gallery has provided the impetus to give my website some much-needed attention. So rather than just a bit of polish, I decided to do a complete overhaul. Take a look and let me know what you think . . . charleskurre.com
Besides the website revamps, I’ve been putting finishing touches on work for the exhibition. The most recent . . . A layered history of remembrance, a bridge between then an now. Tuning perception to desire’s needs. Deconstructed elementals assembling the kite.
And no, it wouldn’t be Summer without a bit of beach time . . .
Found on the street by my studio, drawn by one of the neighborhood kids.
Thanks for reading.
Charles
ihet – may/june 2018 – issue #233
In the pantheon of quotes by well know artists, Auguste Rodin’s “You must always work” is one of my favorites. It’s not a warning, promise or path to enlightenment, just a simple directive . . . do what you do and don’t stop. So while I’m not in the studio, I collect the ephemera that influences my work and at the moment, during an early summer road trip, it’s taking pictures of Utah Juniper and rock formations on the Shonto Plateau. Inkjet printed black and white, soaked with water, sun-dried, re-photographed and printed. They come out wrinkled and blurred, with the quality of graphite drawings. Taped above where I paint, they’re ideal studies for the canvasses. 
The studio is crowded with work in various stages of consideration, impatiently awaiting forward movement rather than sideways dithering. These two ended up next to each other and while I’m not ready to call them a pair, for now . . . an entertaining prospect.
Meanwhile, an apt metaphor for these recent studio efforts, a scene constructed from out-the-window snapshots. Upside down, around and around. Two views-Monument Valley, Arizona.
To wrap it up, A cinematic reminiscence of the valley taken from the porch of Golding’s Trading Post, framed within four Peabody Mine loading towers, Kayenta Arizona.
Thanks for reading.
Charles
