A striking portrait painting with clear expressionist & modernist influences. The figure, an elongated woman with exaggerated facial features, features prominent, wide-set eyes, arched eyebrows, a long nose & a small, pursed mouth painted in vibrant red. A muted, neutral background makes her face & expression stand out dramatically.
Given the modern, somewhat whimsical & textured style of this piece, Juan Carlos Cortés is likely the artist behind it.
Manolo Valdés, a Spanish artist known for his unique method of drawing from art history to create his paintings, prints & sculptures in a signature style of pared-down forms & unrefined mark-making.
His busts & portraits with delicate & soft features always allude to women, caught in a moment & does not refer to specific individuals but rather idealized portraits in the tradition way as of Antic Egyptian or Roman statues. He visualises women based on their strength, their ability to interact with their environment & be part of the public space.
Niki de Saint Phalle, French-American sculptor, painter, filmmaker & author of colorful hand-illustrated books. She was well known in Europe, but her work was little-seen in the US, until her final years in San Diego.
“The French-born, American-raised artist is one of the most significant female & feminist artists of the 20th century, and one of the few to receive recognition in the male-dominated art world during her lifetime”.
Zhang Hui i- a Chinese Asian modern & contemporary painter that’s been included in exhibitions throughout China & Europe & has established herself as an important figure in the contemporary Chinese art world. The characters in her works are all childlike & lovely, with dark skin & a round face, all glowing from her childhood memories.
Here’s a wonderful & inspiring Swedish painter, Johan Einar Jolin, one of my favourites, born in Stockholm (1890 – 1976) & studied at the Swedish Artists’ Association’s painting school with his friend Isaac Grünewald, to then continue his art studies for six years under Matisse in Paris.
Jolin’s motif consists mainly of portraits & still lifes, but also city views, all in naive style. The naive shapes convey wonderful colors with a clean, simple & elegant expression.
anordinarywoman 