This gallery contains 8 photos.
I was working on two pieces simultaneously. Here is the second. http://benjaminfweaver.com/artwork/2628691_In_Out.html In the work above I used the same tones as it went around the piece. In the second I had the strongest tones set against each other. … Continue reading
I have been preparing my portfolio. I have been working on getting accurate photographs to put in the book. Now I am working to put together a concise presentation. I am looking into ipad apps while I am waiting for my copy of the book.
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Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions.
I have been developing a body of work over the last few years that is an academic exercise in color theory and optics. However, as I have been developing the work the simple objects that are hidden by the optical field have developed meaning and affect how I design and layout any given painting.
The squares represent the context in which we live, and the circles represent the individual. In my current painting the central figure is larger than the context in which it resides while the other circles are dwarfed by their context. When the color is added the relationships are harder to recognize. 
In this photo you can see that I moved the small circles from the center of its square towards the middle which suggests the stronger influence of the central relationship.
I will continue to develop these concepts within the coming months.
It has been a great year.
Thank you for your support.
Here is my last painting for 2011.
My plans for 2012 include the continuation of the elevated/negative panel series of paintings, and smaller works on paper in watercolor/gouache.
Thanks again,
Ben
Feel free to contact me @ Ben@benjaminfweaver.com with any questions or comments.
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The Abington Art Center Annual Juried Show was a well attended event with 260 people attending. The event photos can be seen on their Facebook page. The most unusual aspect about this show was the quick turnaround for this specific painting. I finished the painting, and then two weeks later it was hanging in the show. Images are usually chosen by sending in the files ahead of time, but with this show all of the work is physically brought in less than a week before the show.
The curator of the show Lee Stoetzel is a curator for the West Collection. His own personal work deserves a look. I apply to this show every year, but was particularly interested because of the connection to the West Collection. This year they have an online submission process to their acquisition process, and this year they have added a monetary iPhone popularity prize. If you are an artist I would suggest submitting your work to West Collects.
December 10, 2011 to January 29, 2012
I would suggest calling for holiday hours. 215-887-4882
|
515 Meetinghouse Rd.
Jenkintown, PA 19046
December 10, 2011 to January 29, 2012
Juror • Lee Stoetzel
For the last 14 years Stoetzel has worked as Co-Curator
and Director of the West Collection, a corporate collection
housed at SEI Investments Oaks, PA. The West Collection
includes 3,000 works from 675 contemporary artists. In
recent years, Stoetzel has worked closely on a new initiative,
The West Prize. Now in its third year, the West Prize
has received 8,500 applications from young artists in 79
countries, for the collection’s 30 acquisition awards.
In the mid-90s, Stoetzel worked for art dealers in Los
Angeles and New York installing exhibitions by artists
such as Jeff Koons, Robert Irwin, Sandro Chia, and Sal
Scarpitta and later as Director of Tricia Collins Grand Salon
in New York. He graduated from SMU in Dallas with a
Studio M.F.A. in 1993 and continues to pursue his own art
practice.
From the side the elevated squares can be seen easily.
Viewing the painting from the bottom the elevated panels is seen more clearly. The paint flattens the raised dimension as the view becomes more direct. Here is a full resolution photo of my work Elevated Squares. The color and intersecting shapes work against the raised element. This optical flattening is an exercise in the visual plane versus the visual object. The object of the form is intersected by the image of shape and color, and from the front the image wins. As the viewpoint changes to a more distinct angle the object emerges, but it is still surrounded by the image.
This is one of my favorite hand held pieces. If I were to ever have the opportunity to enlarge a piece this would be the one. It could be done in wood using similar laminated techniques, but I would want to make it over 8 feet x 8 feet x 8 inches wide. I would need a larger studio, dust collection setup, chain hoist, and some dedicated time. The wood grain wouldn’t be as subtle, but if you were to view the piece from the same distance the lamination would read as grain, and the grain within each piece would read as the faint grain in this piece. Kickstarter?
This would be my second choice for enlargement - http://benjaminfweaver.com/artwork/544820_Small_Study_3.html
This would be my third choice - http://benjaminfweaver.com/artwork/544820_Small_Study_3.html
Exhibition dates: October 10 – December 2nd.
A reception open to the general public has been scheduled for Wednesday, October 19th, from 5 – 7 pm.
City Hall, Broad St. & Market St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107,(215) 686-2840
The exhibit will consist of 38 works chosen out of more than 300 entries by 26 artists from the Philadelphia region. They will be presented in display cases along the first, second and fourth floors of City Hall, NE corner. The first floor is nearest to the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy and the Art Gallery at City Hall. The second floor displays are nearest to the Office of the Mayor and his special conference halls. The fourth floor displays are nearest to City Council Chambers where public hearings are regularly held. The best way to view the exhibition is to enter City Hall through the NE corner visitor’s entrance, which is across from the Masonic Temple and the Courtyard Marriott.
