About a year ago, my good friend and fellow artist Cora Waterhouse turned me onto to Robert Genn's twice weekly email letter. Mr. Genn is a brilliant painter and writer who consistently offers thought provoking insights on all topics art related...the craft of painting, sources of inspiration, the natural world, work habits, art book reviews, brain science, art world politics, etc., etc. I read the twice weekly letter religiously and it has ALWAYS been worth my time.
The second letter of this past week was fantastic and shed light on something that I've always felt to be true about my own work but couldn't explain why. This is the idea of 'equivocation' or intentional ambiguity. There is a magic balance in abstract/representational painting where you reach a point that something is 'just enough'. Stepping over that line for me can absolutely ruin a piece; connect too many dots and the picture disappears. Here's what Robert had to say:
"A few minutes ago I was watching a young couple staring at a huge abstract painting in a commercial art gallery. The painting was mysterious, dark, tentative--with perhaps, only perhaps, the whisper of a female figure. Previously, when I'd daringly checked out its very high price, a gallerista swept by and assured me, "We sell a lot of this man's work."
Now I'm sitting on a bench eating coconut ice cream while keeping abreast of brain science on my iPad. V.S. Ramachandran is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, San Diego. Looking into various brains, including the brains of people who look at art, he's come to the conclusion that things are better when they are less visible. He calls it "The Peekaboo Principle." In his research, it seems that girls in scanty clothing are more appealing to the average straight male than girls in the buff. To be fair, these findings have been challenged by every frat house west of the Pecos.
According to Ramachandran, concealment works because we are hardwired to solve puzzles. People get turned on by problem solving.
Further, curiosity is more arousing than the part where you get the message. This is how Ramachandran explains the popularity of abstract art. It seems our tiny perfect brains are forever on the lookout for wizardry. He thinks we are hardwired for what he calls "ultranormal stimuli." Yep, it's a bit like religion--many people crave the possibilities of the transcendent, the divine, the paranormal."
To subscribe to Robert Genn's free twice weekly letter, follow this link. It should get you to the current letter, then there's a 'subscribe' button towards the top. You won't be sorry!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
in the paper!
Hi all! Our gallery changes were featured on the front page of the LaGrange Daily News last week. They did such a lovely job with the article, I thought I'd post it here. With our move progressing quickly, things are constantly happening I'd like to tell everyone about but just don't have time! More soon.
Studio gains new faces as artists bid farewell
By Trey Wood Staff writer LaGrange News
Robyn MIles / Daily News
Artists in Residence founding members Signe and Genna Grushovenko are preparing to leave LaGrange for new artistic ventures in Greenville, S.C. To their right are some new faces and some familiar ones who will be leading the art studio. From left are new members Sandy Cox and Dawn Douglas, longtime members Terri Codlin and Guthrie Killebrew, and new members Connie Wilkerson and Cora Waterhouse. Not present is longtime member Melinda Clair.
Founding members Genna and Signe Grushovenko are preparing to move to Greenville, S.C., where they will work from home as painter and potter, and collaborate together.
It was a tough decision. LaGrange is their home. It’s where they met, fell in love and married.
She is a LaGrange College graduate who made the community her home, and he has been a mainstay in the local art scene since fellow Artists in Residence founders found him working janitorial services at LaGrange Mall after moving to Georgia from Kiev, Ukraine.
It’ll certainly be a change in landscape.
“Friends of ours went with the most recent Milliken move to the Greenville area, and we are godparents to their kids and we’ve been friends for a really long time,” Signe Grushovenko said.
The couple didn’t think they had the ability to pick up their lives and move, but, “Here we are, I think it’s only three months later, and we’re on our way,” she said.
The love between Signe and Genna Grushovenko has been a collaboration of both art and life. The two come from completely different backgrounds – she from Michigan and he from Ukraine, but together they’ve helped shape a thriving art community built from pots and paints, mixed media and oil.
Now, 12 years later, they’re leaving that community as a thriving and living organism. They’ll take their art on the road, continuing their practice of participating in festivals all over the country while having studio space in their house.
“The big shift is that Signe has been here. She’s been with (Artists in Residence) for 12 years, but she’s really been the driving force in many ways in this whole co-op,” said Cora Waterhouse, now managing partner and painter at Artists in Residence. “I’m taking Signe’s place.”
Waterhouse and the new additions to Artists in Residence have big shoes to fill. Besides being heralded artists among indie scene followers for their collaboration oil paintings, the Grushovenkos are LaGrange mainstays. They’re teachers and artists. And Signe Grushovenko is co-director for the Visual Artists Alliance of LaGrange, another group of local artists.
“We’re going to have to shift around a good bit in the Visual Artists Alliance as well,” Waterhouse said. “We have done a lot of work over the last four years, and a lot of that’s been Signe, so it’s going to be tough – tough working without her.”
Waterhouse will be joining Melinda Clair, Terri Codlin and Guthrie Killebrew, along with new additions in Sandy Cox, Dawn Douglas and Connie Wilkerson.
A few of the new artists, including Waterhouse, are teachers at LaGrange Art Museum and will bring those classes to Artists in Residence, ushering in a host of new faces, along with utilizing the studio space for other ventures.
“The biggest shift is in people, and that’s a huge shift,” Waterhouse said.
Overall, Signe and Genna Grushovenko are leaving Artists in Residence as a well-oiled and well-maintained machine. Its wheels and gears will continue to turn, even without some of the founding members working in its hallways.
“The thing I’m most thankful for about this move is Artists in Residence is going to continue on without us,” Signe Grushovenko said. “This has just been such a great growth experience for me and my husband. We’re just really thrilled that we have four new people coming, and this place is still going to be healthy and happy when we go.”
Artists in Residence will give the couple a send-off with a farewell party from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday in the studio at 300 S. Greenwood St. There also will be a reception for new members joining the AIR fold.
The occasion will be called Fresh AIR, signifying a breath of fresh air into the studio with a host of new artists calling the place home, and a breath of fresh air for two of the studio’s founding members.
“We’re leaving this place in good hands and ready to move forward and start something new, start something fresh,” Signe Grushovenko said.
Studio gains new faces as artists bid farewell
By Trey Wood Staff writer LaGrange News
Robyn MIles / Daily News
Artists in Residence founding members Signe and Genna Grushovenko are preparing to leave LaGrange for new artistic ventures in Greenville, S.C. To their right are some new faces and some familiar ones who will be leading the art studio. From left are new members Sandy Cox and Dawn Douglas, longtime members Terri Codlin and Guthrie Killebrew, and new members Connie Wilkerson and Cora Waterhouse. Not present is longtime member Melinda Clair.
Founding members Genna and Signe Grushovenko are preparing to move to Greenville, S.C., where they will work from home as painter and potter, and collaborate together.
It was a tough decision. LaGrange is their home. It’s where they met, fell in love and married.
She is a LaGrange College graduate who made the community her home, and he has been a mainstay in the local art scene since fellow Artists in Residence founders found him working janitorial services at LaGrange Mall after moving to Georgia from Kiev, Ukraine.
It’ll certainly be a change in landscape.
“Friends of ours went with the most recent Milliken move to the Greenville area, and we are godparents to their kids and we’ve been friends for a really long time,” Signe Grushovenko said.
The couple didn’t think they had the ability to pick up their lives and move, but, “Here we are, I think it’s only three months later, and we’re on our way,” she said.
The love between Signe and Genna Grushovenko has been a collaboration of both art and life. The two come from completely different backgrounds – she from Michigan and he from Ukraine, but together they’ve helped shape a thriving art community built from pots and paints, mixed media and oil.
Now, 12 years later, they’re leaving that community as a thriving and living organism. They’ll take their art on the road, continuing their practice of participating in festivals all over the country while having studio space in their house.
“The big shift is that Signe has been here. She’s been with (Artists in Residence) for 12 years, but she’s really been the driving force in many ways in this whole co-op,” said Cora Waterhouse, now managing partner and painter at Artists in Residence. “I’m taking Signe’s place.”
Waterhouse and the new additions to Artists in Residence have big shoes to fill. Besides being heralded artists among indie scene followers for their collaboration oil paintings, the Grushovenkos are LaGrange mainstays. They’re teachers and artists. And Signe Grushovenko is co-director for the Visual Artists Alliance of LaGrange, another group of local artists.
“We’re going to have to shift around a good bit in the Visual Artists Alliance as well,” Waterhouse said. “We have done a lot of work over the last four years, and a lot of that’s been Signe, so it’s going to be tough – tough working without her.”
Waterhouse will be joining Melinda Clair, Terri Codlin and Guthrie Killebrew, along with new additions in Sandy Cox, Dawn Douglas and Connie Wilkerson.
A few of the new artists, including Waterhouse, are teachers at LaGrange Art Museum and will bring those classes to Artists in Residence, ushering in a host of new faces, along with utilizing the studio space for other ventures.
“The biggest shift is in people, and that’s a huge shift,” Waterhouse said.
Overall, Signe and Genna Grushovenko are leaving Artists in Residence as a well-oiled and well-maintained machine. Its wheels and gears will continue to turn, even without some of the founding members working in its hallways.
“The thing I’m most thankful for about this move is Artists in Residence is going to continue on without us,” Signe Grushovenko said. “This has just been such a great growth experience for me and my husband. We’re just really thrilled that we have four new people coming, and this place is still going to be healthy and happy when we go.”
Artists in Residence will give the couple a send-off with a farewell party from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday in the studio at 300 S. Greenwood St. There also will be a reception for new members joining the AIR fold.
The occasion will be called Fresh AIR, signifying a breath of fresh air into the studio with a host of new artists calling the place home, and a breath of fresh air for two of the studio’s founding members.
“We’re leaving this place in good hands and ready to move forward and start something new, start something fresh,” Signe Grushovenko said.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
my most prized
I am in the process of packing up my studio, Genna's studio, and our house. We've been 12 years at our studio and 8 years in our home and it is SHOCKING what a person can accumulate in that amount of time. I've been particularly freaked out about the gallery...each time I think I've got a handle on it, I open a closet or cabinet door and SURPRISE!
I'm not here to complain, though. I love nearly all of my things and they are well worth the time and hassle it takes to properly pack them and carry them across state lines. What I want to tell you about today is how much great stuff I have!
We've been living in the middle of a construction site for most of the 8 years we've been in our house. Half of it is now lovely (restored hardwood floors, crown molding, high ceilings, period details) and the other half would still look at home in a cracky trailer park (cheap fake wood paneling, ancient oatmeal colored carpet, sway-backed dropped ceilings). Because we never finished this project, I've never properly displayed much of our art collection, accumulated through purchases, gifts, and trades since I started college in 1992. Packing it up I've been seeing it with fresh eyes and falling in love all over again.
I'm going to show you one thing today...my very most prized possession...and then maybe a few more things from our collection later on. Here she is:
She is an untitled original watercolor on paper made by our good friend Keith Rasmussen in 1975, just a year after I was born. This piece hangs in our bedroom on the wall to my right as I lay looking out. It's like a master class in painting laying and studying it each morning.
When I met Keith, he was the director of the Chattahoochee Vallery Art Museum here in LaGrange. I was honored to have many opportunities to see him work over the 10 years or so that I knew him, and each time it was like absolute magic. I've seen him draw and paint and work on lithographic plates and never once saw him make a stray mark. He could look at his subject and render it seemingly effortlessly.
This particular composition is made up of a girl, two intricately detailed baskets, and a black bird (amongst other things). You know I have a thing about black birds, right? The bird brings an unexpected, allegorical flavor to the otherwise everyday scene.
You can see many more examples of Keith's work and read his story at www.keithrasmussen.com. Keith died of pancreatic cancer in 2006 but his lovely wife, my good friend Mary Ann Rasmussen, continues to represent him and his work. Take the time to check it out, I promise it will be well worth your time.
ps...Here it is in it's place!
I'm not here to complain, though. I love nearly all of my things and they are well worth the time and hassle it takes to properly pack them and carry them across state lines. What I want to tell you about today is how much great stuff I have!
We've been living in the middle of a construction site for most of the 8 years we've been in our house. Half of it is now lovely (restored hardwood floors, crown molding, high ceilings, period details) and the other half would still look at home in a cracky trailer park (cheap fake wood paneling, ancient oatmeal colored carpet, sway-backed dropped ceilings). Because we never finished this project, I've never properly displayed much of our art collection, accumulated through purchases, gifts, and trades since I started college in 1992. Packing it up I've been seeing it with fresh eyes and falling in love all over again.
I'm going to show you one thing today...my very most prized possession...and then maybe a few more things from our collection later on. Here she is:
She is an untitled original watercolor on paper made by our good friend Keith Rasmussen in 1975, just a year after I was born. This piece hangs in our bedroom on the wall to my right as I lay looking out. It's like a master class in painting laying and studying it each morning.
When I met Keith, he was the director of the Chattahoochee Vallery Art Museum here in LaGrange. I was honored to have many opportunities to see him work over the 10 years or so that I knew him, and each time it was like absolute magic. I've seen him draw and paint and work on lithographic plates and never once saw him make a stray mark. He could look at his subject and render it seemingly effortlessly.
This particular composition is made up of a girl, two intricately detailed baskets, and a black bird (amongst other things). You know I have a thing about black birds, right? The bird brings an unexpected, allegorical flavor to the otherwise everyday scene.
You can see many more examples of Keith's work and read his story at www.keithrasmussen.com. Keith died of pancreatic cancer in 2006 but his lovely wife, my good friend Mary Ann Rasmussen, continues to represent him and his work. Take the time to check it out, I promise it will be well worth your time.
ps...Here it is in it's place!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
signe's holiday wish list!
Genna and I are not exchanging gifts this year since we're buying each other a house (although I secretly ordered myself a gift of new china today...shhh!). We're also scaling back on gift giving with family.
We've always been crazy Christmas gift givers with a full-on orgy of presents on Christmas Eve and Santa bringing gifts for ALL, young and old, on Christmas morning. This year we've gone to 'kids only' and I unfortunately don't qualify at 36 (our 20 year old Nastiya made it just under the wire, lucky girl).
So, my December spending bonanza has been brutally curtailed and I'm suffering from a little shopping withdrawal. Looking for relief from the retail d.t.'s today I decided I'd do some online searching of my favorite artists and share with you what I would be asking for if I was asking.
ENJOY!
This is the 'birthday suit candy dish' by one of my new art idols Jenny Mendes. I found Jenny at the Kentuck festival in Tuscaloosa and bought her quirky, sweet, subversive little bowls for all of my studio co-op partners. She has scads of new pieces in her etsy store that have all my chakras spinning.
"Wallflower" (24" square) is my most recent fave by Kathrine Allen-Coleman. I love every piece from this series, but this one also hearkens back to my 70's childhood wardrobe. One of you should snap this up to save me from myself...if I run across it in person at one more festival I'm going to have to bring it home. Kathrine wrote about this particular piece on her blog.
"Midnight Gathering" by Kent Ambler. I have a thing about black birds, bare branches, and smoky teal, so this is ticking all the boxes.
"Bottles" from Greg Turco's 'Ruins' series. I have 3 or 4 of Greg's beautiful photos that I've never had room to hang. Maybe they'll finally make it out of storage in our new place.
Mmmmmmm. My friend Scott Coleman posts a beautifully rendered little cupcake painting every day. This one is from back in October but there are also lots of great holiday ones to choose from.
"Knack" in Greenville specializes in re-contextualized furniture and 'found goodness', but they had me at 'moose head made out of old newspapers'. I discovered Knack through my new friend Theresa at Art & Light gallery in Greenville. Theresa is an excellent gallerist and curator who always has a fantastic collection of artists and mid century mod furniture on display.
OK, my eyes are tired now. Maybe more wish list later. Anyone else want to share their holiday handmade gift dreams?
We've always been crazy Christmas gift givers with a full-on orgy of presents on Christmas Eve and Santa bringing gifts for ALL, young and old, on Christmas morning. This year we've gone to 'kids only' and I unfortunately don't qualify at 36 (our 20 year old Nastiya made it just under the wire, lucky girl).
So, my December spending bonanza has been brutally curtailed and I'm suffering from a little shopping withdrawal. Looking for relief from the retail d.t.'s today I decided I'd do some online searching of my favorite artists and share with you what I would be asking for if I was asking.
ENJOY!
This is the 'birthday suit candy dish' by one of my new art idols Jenny Mendes. I found Jenny at the Kentuck festival in Tuscaloosa and bought her quirky, sweet, subversive little bowls for all of my studio co-op partners. She has scads of new pieces in her etsy store that have all my chakras spinning.
"Wallflower" (24" square) is my most recent fave by Kathrine Allen-Coleman. I love every piece from this series, but this one also hearkens back to my 70's childhood wardrobe. One of you should snap this up to save me from myself...if I run across it in person at one more festival I'm going to have to bring it home. Kathrine wrote about this particular piece on her blog.
"Midnight Gathering" by Kent Ambler. I have a thing about black birds, bare branches, and smoky teal, so this is ticking all the boxes.
"Bottles" from Greg Turco's 'Ruins' series. I have 3 or 4 of Greg's beautiful photos that I've never had room to hang. Maybe they'll finally make it out of storage in our new place.
Mmmmmmm. My friend Scott Coleman posts a beautifully rendered little cupcake painting every day. This one is from back in October but there are also lots of great holiday ones to choose from.
"Knack" in Greenville specializes in re-contextualized furniture and 'found goodness', but they had me at 'moose head made out of old newspapers'. I discovered Knack through my new friend Theresa at Art & Light gallery in Greenville. Theresa is an excellent gallerist and curator who always has a fantastic collection of artists and mid century mod furniture on display.
OK, my eyes are tired now. Maybe more wish list later. Anyone else want to share their holiday handmade gift dreams?
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Last. Mini. Ever.
I spent this weekend with my last ever batch of minis...a set of eight little couples, each six inches square and framed in black. Why no more minis? They're a pain in my ass. Each one takes easily as much time and effort as a piece nine times it's size, plus I have to hold my breath with each stroke to keep the brush steady enough for such tiny strokes.
All that said, these are some charming little buggers! Regularly priced at $150, these are $120 each through February with our 20% moving sale discount. Shipping is free as always. See the whole series plus a dozen new small pieces at www.grushovenko.com.
"Moving Sale" works are going fast with nearly a dozen pieces sold since we started it yesterday so check it out quick!
Monday, November 29, 2010
on the move!
Genna and I are just back from Gerton, NC where we spent a lovely week on the side of Bearwallow Mountain with my folks for Thanksgiving. On our way there, we stopped in Greenville, SC and BOUGHT A HOUSE! Here we are in front of our new place:
We're closing in mid-January and beginning our move in early February. We are both excited ane terrified. For those of you who don't know us well, Genna and I have been partners in a co-operative gallery and studio facility in downtown LaGrange GA for more than 12 years. Our artist partners have become like our second family and we've all grown together in our lives and careers. Upon our move to Greenville, we'll be working from home. Anyone out there who works from home and has advice for me on how to make this transition, my ears are open.
We'll be making an effort to whittle down our personal art collection through adopting out some of our babies and our art inventory by way of a big moving sale, so stay tuned!
We're closing in mid-January and beginning our move in early February. We are both excited ane terrified. For those of you who don't know us well, Genna and I have been partners in a co-operative gallery and studio facility in downtown LaGrange GA for more than 12 years. Our artist partners have become like our second family and we've all grown together in our lives and careers. Upon our move to Greenville, we'll be working from home. Anyone out there who works from home and has advice for me on how to make this transition, my ears are open.
We'll be making an effort to whittle down our personal art collection through adopting out some of our babies and our art inventory by way of a big moving sale, so stay tuned!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
an oldy...hopefully goody
I think I've mentioned before that sometimes as my 'artist skillset' evolves, I don't only gain things but often lose things, too. I look back at drawings from my highschool days and long for the laser focus I could hold for hours on end, rendering scenes with photographic precision. Nastiya still has this skill in spades, so maybe that has something to do with stage of life.
Before Genna and I began collaborating, I was creating texture and interest in my work with heavy 'impasto' style brushwork. As Genna brought me increasingly complex and nuanced 'start points', my painting style became increasingly flat and broad. This shift made images that used to be no brainers a huge challenge for me. I revisited one such image last week with "Logsled". Here is a 'pre-Genna' version, circa 2003:
(Logsled, oil on canvas, 85" x 65")
Each log end is a single, heavy brushstroke where the brush was loaded with multiple variations of the taupe color. The edges of some strokes are ragged and stuttering, a technique I have completed abandoned for now.
Here we are circa 2006. Simplification had begun but the underpainting process had not fully matured:
(Logsled, 40" x 30" oil on canvas)
And here's the current version, circa last week:
("Logsled", oil on linen with metallic acrylic underpainting, $2600)
Different, no? Check back in five years and I'll make it again!
Before Genna and I began collaborating, I was creating texture and interest in my work with heavy 'impasto' style brushwork. As Genna brought me increasingly complex and nuanced 'start points', my painting style became increasingly flat and broad. This shift made images that used to be no brainers a huge challenge for me. I revisited one such image last week with "Logsled". Here is a 'pre-Genna' version, circa 2003:
(Logsled, oil on canvas, 85" x 65")
Each log end is a single, heavy brushstroke where the brush was loaded with multiple variations of the taupe color. The edges of some strokes are ragged and stuttering, a technique I have completed abandoned for now.
Here we are circa 2006. Simplification had begun but the underpainting process had not fully matured:
(Logsled, 40" x 30" oil on canvas)
And here's the current version, circa last week:
("Logsled", oil on linen with metallic acrylic underpainting, $2600)
Different, no? Check back in five years and I'll make it again!
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