Article by George Baxter

Jackson Pollock – nicknamed ‘Jack the Dripper’ – was a painter who revolutionized abstract art. He is well-known for his unique ‘drip and splash style’, and also for the initiation of the ‘all-over’ painting style. His talent as an artist gave him world recognition throughout his life – the major events and artworks of which are outlined in this biographical article.

Paul Jackson Pollock was born as the youngest child of LeRoy McCoy Pollock and Stella McClure Pollock, in 1912. Four elder brothers made up the rest of his family. Though born in Cody, Wyoming; Pollock was brought up in California and Arizona. After a period of study at the Manual Arts High School located in Los Angeles, Pollock joined his brother Charles to study at the Art Students League with him under American muralist and painter – Thomas Hart Benton. Benton had a lasting influence on the abstract art output of Pollock. The art techniques of David Alfaro Siquieros, José Clemente Orozco – a Mexican muralist and El Greco – a Spanish painter, also greatly influenced Pollock.

Between 1935 and 1942, Pollock was involved in the Federal Art Project. The late 1930′s saw him seeking help for alcoholic depression. Pollock’s companionship with a rich New York heiress by the name of Peggy Guggenheim helped him earn public recognition. In fact, it was Peggy who gave Pollock his first ever solo exhibition in 1943 at the Art of This Century Gallery in New York.

In the early 1940′s, Pollock contributed paintings for display at several abstract art and Surrealist exhibitions including ‘Abstract and Surrealist Art’, ‘Surrealist Art’, ‘Insane’ and ‘Natural’.

Halfway though the 1940′s, Pollock was painting in an absolutely abstract art style. In 1947 emerged the ‘drip and splash style’. The origin for the phrase ‘action painting’ is believed to have originated partly from this unique style of Pollock’s. Pollock didn’t go for the traditional easel and preferred instead to drip and pour paint from a can onto an un-stretched primed canvas fixed on the wall or floor. In Pollock’s own words, he preferred “sticks, trowels, knives and dripping fluid paint or a heavy impasto with sand, broken glass or other foreign matter added” to produce a work of art on the cotton duck canvas. The ‘All-over’ painting style was introduced by Pollock, which departs from the conventional concept of composition with respect to the relations amid the parts.

In 1945 Pollock married Lee Krasner, an influential painter of the Abstract Expressionism Movement. The month after their wedding the couple moved to the wood-frame house – known now as the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center – where they resided till their deaths. The down payment for this house was lent to Pollock by Guggenheim. Pollock’s ‘drip period’ (1947-1950) was followed by paintings of a darker colour. However, Pollock soon returned to colour and reintroduced figurative aspects in his absract art. The pressure caused by a great demand for his new paintings made Pollock start drinking again after some years of abstention.

Pollock started numbering his abstract art paintings instead of naming them with the intention of ending the viewer’s hunt for representational interpration of his works. In 1955 Pollock ceaseed to paint and his marriage was on the rocks. An alcohol connected car crash in 1956, very near to Pollock’s home, caused his death at the age of 44.

Jackson Pollock developed the ‘drip and splash’ method of painting with the use of un-stretched High Quality Artists Canvases laid flat on the floor resulted in the production of many modern-day abstract masterpieces. These Canvases were later mounted on stretcher bars resulting in excellent works of art ready to display.

Article by Innes Desborough

American Abstract expressionist painter Franz Kline was born on May 23rd 1910 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Kline was educated at Boston University and in 1936 he enrolled at Heatherley’s Art School in London. On his return to America in 1939 he married Elizabeth Vincent Parsons – a British ballet dancer – whom he had met in London.

Kline’s early art consisted of paintings of cityscapes and landscapes of New York, murals and portraits were also part of his early efforts and there was a tinge of Expressionism evident in his works. It was during this time in the late 1930s that he acquired two patrons from whom he received tremendous encouragement and support – Dr. Theodore J. Edlich, Jr. and David Orr. During this period Kline received awards in the National Academy of Design annuals, but his more mature and representative style developed in the late 1940s after his meeting with other abstract expressionists; Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. Kline’s style basically consists of bold strokes of black and white enamel. This black and white style would be revealed to the world in his first solo exhibition at New York’s Egan Gallery in 1950. Indeed, it was his black and white paintings he is known famously for, although he also worked on colour paintings since the mid 1950s and colour began appearing more consistently in his paintings after 1959. His first solo exhibition followed soon after and would associate Franz Kline with Abstract Expressionism forever.

Willem de Kooning was enormously influential in the development of Kline’s mature style, and the guiding force behind his transformation from a painter of landscapes and realistic themes to abstraction. The event that led to the transition is an interesting one, Kline took a drawing and gave it to de Kooning who projected it using a Bell Opticon projector, the projector enlarged the drawing so much that the image began to overlap at the edges. The impact of this projection almost instantly transformed Kline from figurative art to abstract representation. This incident had occurred at a time when Kline was intellectually exhausted, and provided impulse he needed to progress as an artist. The transformation was represented through the Nijinsky paintings, which possess elements of self-portraiture and depicting a series of heads based on the dancer Nijinsky in the role of Petroushka.

One can’t fail to experience a dynamic, spontaneous and dramatic impact on viewing Kline’s paintings. The general inspiration of Kline’s works range from symbols of the modern industrial civilization such as railroads, engines, tunnels, bridges, etc. Though spontaneity is the most recognized characteristic, Kline’s many complex renditions are a result of extensive studies. His paintings were created after referring to his own compositional drawings. He would draw sketches first on any paper he could find before he began his masterpieces. His paintings mask the conscious effort behind them, but the visible spontaneity and intensity of his paintings classified him along with Jackson Pollock and other Abstract Expressionists under the title ‘action painter’.

Some of Klein’s famous paintings after 1950 include New York, N.Y. (1953), Painting Number 2 (1954) and Untitled (1957). Kline died in New York in 1962 of a heart condition, after adding yet another dimension to the rich Abstract Expressionism Movement.

Franz Kline and many of the other artists of The Abstract Expressionism Movement – such as Marc Rothko – often created artwork with oil paints on stretched canvas while few preferred to paint on an un-stretched blank canvas. This type of Painting Equipment can be purchased from ArtistsBlankCanvas.co.uk which specialises in Online Art Supplies.

Article by Lee Eagle

For Immediate ReleaseNEW YORK, NY – Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature French artist, Tobreipt, in The French Perspective: Contemporary Art from France. The exhibition is scheduled to run from June 30, 2011 through July 21, 2011 (opening reception: Thursday, July 07, 2011).

About the ArtistInspired by the classical landscapes of the old masters, Tobreipt’s current work features abstracted, plump, anthropomorphic bouquets amidst channels of ripe, resplendent color. Tobreipt melds old world idealism with contemporary color and pop flair, achieving a striking and memorable effect. Brilliant reds and oranges, emerald, blue, turquoise and beige forms swing about the canvas in Tobreipt’s alternating hot and cold scheme. Rife with associations – sea vegetable, salt water taffy, human and plant anatomy all come to mind – these joyous and loose portraits leap into our innermost poetic registers. Fairly large in size, Tobreipt’s oil on canvas paintings give the constant illusion of swirling and spiraling. A distinct sensibility of motion pervades each composition exemplifying the flow, friction and currency or organic life.

Tobreipt is a French artist who was born 1949 in Epernay, in the Champagne region. A freelance designer and instructor of Fine Arts, Tobreipt studied at the Decorative Arts School and the Beaux Arts School in Paris.

Exhibition Dates: June 30, 2011 – July 21, 2011Reception: Thursday, July 07, 2011, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, New York CityGallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11a.m. – 6 p.m.Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Tobreipt.aspx

About the Exhibition:The French Perspective is an exhilarating survey of contemporary art from France. There are a remarkable variety of styles represented in this exhibition, truly profound works that delve into humanity’s deepest creative roots. Some of these talented artists are tremendous painters and sculptors while others explore experimental techniques and new media. Art lovers will undoubtedly be enamored by this selection of works from our neighbors across the Atlantic.

Featured Artists:The French Perspective: Contemporary Art from France: InDy (Didier Bovard), Corie Ambre, Francois Daubagne, Marion Descamps, Ketty Ferrandon, Catherine Gaillard Perez, Stephanie Mackenzie, Séverine Metraz, MT (My Trace), Lucie Page Ségula, Hélène Richard, Romain Schaller, Frank Seves, Tobreipt

About Agora GalleryAgora Gallery is a fine art gallery, established in 1984 and located in the heart of New York City’s Chelsea art galleries district. It is famous for showcasing a spectacular array of talented artists from around the world and around the corner, while providing quality and original art to collectors. Gallery II, an elegant adjacent gallery space, gives artists the ideal area for a solo or group exhibition of their own, organized and publicized by Agora Gallery. The gallery also publishes ARTisSpectrum Magazine, a bi-annual magazine that is distributed to museums, galleries, art institutions and art schools around the world. It provides artists, collectors, museums, galleries, art organizations and enthusiasts with access to the work of international talented artists as well as feature articles, reviews and interviews. Agora Gallery is also the sponsor of ARTmine, one of the most comprehensive resources available worldwide to view and purchase fine art. The gallery also runs Agora Art Blog, a blog designed to provide helpful information and advice for artists while providing a forum for artists to help one another by sharing their experiences and thoughts.