Stephen Longstreet

Jazz Artist

1975

David Hayes (1931 - 2013) Jazz, 2011 Acrylic on Canvas 36 x 36 x 2 in

Composition #8 lets its materials argue with each other. Above, oil stick and acrylic move with total fluidity, translucent washes of coral and turquoise pooling against a single wir...

Roland Ayers (1932-2017). Untitled, 1983. Ink on paper, measures 17 x 23 inches. Unframed and unmounted. Signed and dated lower left. Ayers holds the distinction of having participated in the first important survey of African-Americans, Contemporary Black Artists in America, a 1971 show at The Whitney. Biography: Artist and art educator, Roland Ayers was born on July 2, 1932, the only child of Alice and Lorenzo Ayers, and grew up in the Germantown district of Philadelphia. Ayers served in the US Army (stationed in Germany) before studying at the Philadelphia College of Art (currently University of the Arts). He graduated with a BFA in Art Education, 1954. He traveled Europe 1966-67, spending time in Amsterdam and Greece in particular. During this period, he drifted away from painting to focus on linear figurative drawings of a surreal nature. His return home inaugurated the artist’s most prolific and inspired period (1968-1975). Shorty before his second major trip abroad in 1971-72 to West Africa, Ayers began to focus on African themes, and African American figures populated his work almost exclusively. In spite of Ayers’ travel and exploration of the world, he gravitated back to his beloved Germantown, a place he endowed with mythological qualities in his work and literature. His auto-biographical writing focuses on the importance of place during his childhood. Ayers’ journals meticulously document the ethnic and cultural make-up of Germantown, and tell a compelling story of class marginalization that brought together poor families despite racial differences. The distinctive look and design of Germantown inform Ayers’ visual vocabulary. It is a setting with distinctive Gothic Revival architecture and haunting natural beauty. These characteristics are translated and recur in the artist’s imagery. During his childhood, one of the only books in the Ayers household was an illustrated Bible. The images within had a profound effect on the themes and subjects that would appear in his adult work. Figures in an Ayers’ drawing often seem trapped in a narrative of loss and redemption. Powerful women loom large in the drawings: they suggest the female role models his journals record in early life. The drawings can sometimes convey a strong sense of conflict, and at other times, harmony. Nature and architecture seem to have an antagonistic relationship that is, ironically, symbiotic. A critical turning point in the artist’s career came in 1971 when he was included in the extremely controversial Whitney Museum show, Contemporary Black Artists in America. The exhibition gave Ayers an international audience and served as a calling card for introductions he would soon make in Europe. Ayers is a particularly compelling figure in a period when black artists struggled with the idea of authenticity. A questioned often asked was “Is your work too black, or not black enough?” Abstractionists were considered by some peers to be sell-outs, frauds or worse. Figurative* work was accused of being either sentimental or politically radical depending on the critical source. Ayers made the choice early on to be a figurative artist, but considered his work devoid of political content. Organizations such as Chicago’ s Afri-Cobra in the late 1960‘s asserted that the only true black art of any relevance must depict the black man and woman...

Andre Costa, PR 06, Abstract Acrylic on Vinyl, 19.75 x 19.75, 2014 Colors: Green, Blue, Purple, Yellow, Orange, Red, White, Black, Gray Andre Costa is Brazilian visual artist and au...

David Hayes (1931 - 2013) Study for Monumental Sculpture, 1987 Gouache on Paper 26 x 22 in

Abstract painting. No frame needed. About the Artist: Michael has been working as a painter and designer for over 20 years. His work has been exhibited in various galleries and museums throughout the country including The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Austin Museum of Digital Art, The Westmoreland Museum of Art, UICA/Michigan, and The Mattress Factory. His paintings have been featured in Atlantic Homes and Lifestyles, Beaux Arts, Table Magazine, Perlora Contemporary Home Magazine, The Wall Street International Magazine and the cover of Housetrends. His work will also be featured in Design Within Reach’s 2019 Catalog. His clients have included The Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, Nintendo, IBM, Sony Pictures and Panasonic. His work has been published widely in various publications including TIME, The Wall Street Journal, How Magazine, Graphis, London’s Computer Arts, BIg Magazine, The Book of Probes by Marshall Mcluhan (designed by David Carson), Big Magazine and Speak. His collaboration with José Muniain on the short film installation “Navarro”, which documented his painting process, was a finalist in the D.C. Independent Film Festival. Some recent projects include the main lobby...

Artist Comments
"I've always been fascinated by what people see in my paintings," says artist Patrick O'Boyle. He displays an implication of a man traveling the deep void of brilliant hues. Part of his series of colorful abstracts with hints of recognizable subject matter that leaves the viewer room to explore. He combines techniques of collage and painting to unfold a dreamy and entertaining narrative.

About the Artist
Patrick O'Boyle primarily paints in a studio, rarely using reference material other than his own thoughts and dreams. He always paints in a series of five - at the end of the fifth painting he revisits and reworks all of them until he feels they're complete. Using extra-long handles on his brushes, Patrick paints at a distance from the canvas so he can see the works evolve as a whole from the one color he starts with to the vibrant array at the end.

Words that describe this painting: abstract, colorful, bright, texture, mixed media, mark-making, collage, people, abstract, people, mixed media artwork, purple

The Traveler...

[New Orleans, LA ::: b. 1952 - Queens, NY] BIO : TONY DAGRADI is an internationally recognized jazz performer, artist, composer, author and educator. For over three decades he has...

Abstract Composition - a large colourful acrylic on canvas from the studio of David Harper. This piece pays homage to both Picasso & Matisse in style but is pure Harper in execution....

Abstraction 30x21, ink/collage