And the New Year begins!
Winter, such as it is here in northern California, brings cooler days and perfect weather for painting in the studio. I trust those of you with dramatic winters are creating art, writing, marketing, and as always exploring new territories as your work expands.
Joanne Mattera has generously contributed her report on wax - encaustic and otherwise - seen at the Miami art fairs last month. That report deserves the bulk of this newsletter, but be sure to see the other tidbits: new products, info on the June conference, and my short note on "encaustic artists." Enjoy!
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Wax in Miami Joanne Mattera
photos by the author
The December art fairs in Miami were a great opportunity to immerse yourself in art. With some 1200 galleries in 24 fairs - many within walking distance- showing a range of styles, esthetics, sizes, prices and materials, it was impossible to be disappointed with the offerings. If you didn't like what you were seeing, you kept just moving until you did. I liked a good deal of what I saw, which I documented in my multi-post "Fair Factor: Report from Miami" on the Joanne Mattera Art Blog.
For this issue of The Buzz I'm focusing, as you would expect, on wax. Encaustic was very much in evidence in paintings by Richard Purdy, Sheila Berger and Martin Assig, whose work is included in this article, as well as by Matt Duffin (Julie Baker Fine Art, Nevada City, CA), Betsy Eby (Winston Wachter Gallery, Seattle and New York), Miranda Lake and Kathleen Waterloo (Melanee Cooper Gallery, Chicago), Tim McDowell (Elins-Eagles Smith, San Francisco), Robin Rose (Hemphill Fine Art, Washington DC) and Jeff Schaller (Kidder Smith Gallery, Boston). There was also wax used as a translucent scrim, such as in Hiro Yokose's landscapes; as a ground for other processes, such as Irene Pressner's inked "tattoos" and Donna Sharratt's pinned and beaded mandalas (Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York); and in a variety of sculptures in which wax functioned as surface as well as object, such as Ray Beldner's embedded shirt and Petah Coyne's enormous baroque bouquet. What I particularly liked is that wax was integrated with work in other mediums, the focus being not on the medium but on the art. Of course the discerning viewer identified the wax immediately, but other viewers simply responded to the image, to the idea, expressed by way of the medium.
Unlike at a gallery or museum, the art at fairs is viewed in a rather more casual fashion: in booths, where the open fourth wall both creates drama and breaks down the barriers associated with the theater; and in hotel rooms where even the closets and bathrooms are used to display small works or hold installations. The result for me is a greater intimacy with the work, and the opportunity to talk with the dealers about it - and sometimes, with the artists themselves.
Here's some of what I liked:
Color on color: an intensely hued geometric painting in encaustic by Richard Purdy (installed above a grouping of porcelain sculptures by Jesse William Arthur Small). Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, at Red Dot Fair
A visit to Kashmir: Sheila Berger's easel-size encaustic painting with iconography reminiscent of Indian block-print patterning. Winston Wachter Gallery, Seattle and New York, at Flow Fair
Turneresque refulgence: landscapes by Hiro Yokose, which feature a veil of wax over an oil-painted image. Elins-Eagles Smith Gallery, San Francisco, at Red Dot Fair
Shadow figures: Martin Assig's eerie figuration with throbbing brushwork and a hint of luminosity. Galerie Volker Diehl, Berlin, at Pulse
Below is a detail.
 
Hey, sailor: WWII tattoo images inked onto an encaustic ground by Irene Pressner. ArtSpace Virginia Miller Galleries, Coral Gables, at the Art Now Fair
On right is Tiger,Tiger 2006, ink into encaustic on board.
 
Waxed paper: Drawings by Sandra Vasquez de la Horra, in pencil on paper dipped in wax. Galerie Rupert Pfab, Dusseldorf, at Scope
On right is a drawing from the installation.
Full immersion: Ray Beldner's oddly poetic relief of a shirt almost completely enveloped in beeswax. Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco, at Pulse
Mummy dearest: Some viewers saw a statement about subjugation, others as death to Barbie, and still others as larvae about to transform. In any case, these three little string-and-wax-wrapped figures, "Mummified Barbie", 2007, by E.V. Day, provoked conversation. Carolina Nitsch Contemporary Art, New York, at Art Basel/Miami
 
Floral tour de force: Petah Coyne's "Untitled #1243 (The Secret Life of Words)", 2007, is as transcendent a sculpture as its materials are down to earth: "steel cable, chicken wire, cable bolts, specially formulated wax, white pigment, artificial silk flowers and curly willow branches, silk and rayon duchesse satin fabric." Galerie Lelong, New York/Paris/Zurich, at Basel/Miami. A detail is to the right.
Your intrepid reporter: I'm standing in front of my "Vicolo 29", 2007, carved encaustic on panel, 24 x 24 inches. Arden Gallery, Boston, at the Red Dot Fair (Photo of the author by Zola Solamente, Arden Gallery)
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CRACK FOR SALE!
Yes! Evans Encaustics now has a natural wax topcoat that will impart gentle fissures or serious cracks to your painted surface. Simply melt the CRACK, paint it on and fuse, adding color to it if you like. As it cools, cracks will appear. To reduce the size and depth of the cracking, dilute CRACK with normal medium. Extra care should be taken when shipping CRACKed works in cold weather.
Evans Encaustics
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Travel Light! Planes, trains and automobiles for the working artist
Commercially available encaustic paints can travel safely anywhere the temperature stays below 120F. If you are packing paints for a car trip in warmer months, separate the colors and plan to take them with you when you leave the car parked. Brushes, wax in its own bag, tools, medium in its own bag, and supports can stay in the parked car. Take a propane torch fitting and buy a tank of propane when you arrive at your destination. Butane and propane should not be left in a car and should never be taken on an airplane.
For air travel, pack all your supplies in checked baggage except your paint colors. Put those in a clear ziplock bag and if asked, explain they are wax. The word "paint" scares airline people since they assume solvents are involved. What you are using is akin to a candle without a wick. That they understand.
Finished art is best shipped on its own and we like Fed Ex overnight. If your work is small and not fragile, wrap it well and carry it on board. It won't be insured in your luggage.
As always - carry NO solvents or oils. Though oil paints are harmless, some airlines have rules against them. Oil sticks, pastels, pigment sticks and the like can be considered crayons so are acceptable in packed luggage.
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Questions?
Email me at Hylla@comcast.net with any questions or concerns about the technical aspects of working with wax. If I don't know the answer, I'll find an expert who does. You can also send me your phone number and the best time to reach you.
Have a fabulous, creative and healthy 2008!
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Sincerely,
Hylla Evans
Evans Encaustics
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A.W.E. That's me!
I am an Artist Working in Encaustic. So are some of my dearest friends. Don't call me an encaustic artist and I won't call you one, for the simple reasons:
* Art is about content, image, and sometimes materiality, sometimes method. So I am a painter whose work is often abstract, always political;
* I am not defined by the tools I use. They are tools in service to an end - the art itself;
*Understanding that wax is surging strongly now, that surge may ebb and none of us wants to become out of fashion if a 'new' medium comes along;
* Lastly, 'encaustic' is an adjective so encaustic paintings are fine, but encaustic artists are artists who are made of wax. 'Nuff said.
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NATIONAL ENCAUSTIC CONFERENCE
Montserrat College of Art, on the lovely shore north of Boston, will host the second conference devoted to the concerns and interests of artists working in encaustic (AWE!).
As last year's conference was informative, fun, and intense, this year's promises expanded programs and post-conference workshops. The line-up is fabulous and registration has already topped last year's enrollment, so register as soon as you can. Montserrat has an intimate setting and only 300 artists can be accomodated. For full updated info, visit Montserrat Encaustic Conference
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