Alicia Puig
I am the curator & co-founder of the online art gallery PxP Contemporary, Director of Business Operations for Create! Magazine, an arts writer, and a regular guest host of The Create! Podcast. In addition, I'm the co-author of The Complete Smartist Guide, a bestselling business book for emerging artists. I have worked in the arts for over a decade in the US and abroad. My writing has been featured in publications and on blogs including Create! Magazine, All She Makes, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Art She Says, and Artspiel, among others. I have also served as a guest curator for Hastings College, All She Makes, Create! Magazine, Rise Art, SHOWFIELDS, and Visionary Art Collective, and am a founding critic with Altamira. I specialize in content creation, online sales, and digital marketing for the arts and enjoy connecting with artists to help them find ways to advance their careers.
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Onomatopoeia
Bam, Pow, Woosh, Splat, Buzz! I chose the eleven works presented in this curated collection for their especially lively use of color. Visualizing these pieces hung together in a physical space conjures up feelings of delight and one can almost feel how the walls would hum from the collective artworks’ chromatic energy. Aside from the saturated, and often primary, tones, another connecting thread tying these paintings, mixed media pieces, and digital works together is the dynamic effect of the forms and brushwork.
Alan M. Richards and Jessus Hernandez capture the viewer's attention through the use of graphic linework drawing the eye towards the center of both compositions. As you soak in the details of Hernandez' 'DTLA', one notices the sharp diagonals in each of the four corners and how the pumped-up palette further enhances the contrast between complementary colors. There is certainly no shortage of elements in this multifaceted work to discover. Richards' image, "A matter of Laps", deftly experiments with the notion of visual balance. Each component has its match from how the figure's outstretched arms mimic the two pool lane dividers to the striking red of the swimmer's bathing suit is echoed in the planter seen in the background. The zoomed-in view of the central figure evokes a quiet determination, underscoring the artist's commentary about the piece: "You can't accomplish anything worthwhile without putting in the work."
'The song of rain' by M. Mystery Artist, 'Happy Talks' by Kyungsoo Lee, and 'ART IN BLOOM' by Margaret Juul work together visually for their mark-making, surface texture, and expressive explorations of abstraction. Furthermore, the three artists' works pay homage to elements found in the environment, using vibrant colors and gestures to convey the beauty of the natural world from flora to rainfall.
With current minimalist trends glorifying the subtle, classic feel of neutral tones, opting for shades of electric sunshine yellow feels bold and slightly rebellious. It is an intentional and striking choice that is not overwhelming in any of the three compositions for the hue's strategic placement in each piece. In Daisy Bolger's "Golden Wanderer", the yellow in the bottom half serves to anchor the image and in Emma Carr's "I am Creative" and Jodi Fuchs' "Sea Monster" the lemony tone gives the compositions a distinctive pop.
The final three works feel cohesive from the artists' shared use of flowing linework and marks as well as organic forms. "The Tree Born in the Water" by Bela Balong, "Abundance" by Jeremy Rabus, and "Market" by Gina Werfel also command attention, enticing the viewer by pairing warm bursts of orange with swatches of shocking pink. In the two abstract paintings, the compositions are counterbalanced by a deep ultramarine, while Balong's digital artwork features a rich aqua. Although a number of works in this collection have sold, any of the remaining pieces would make a bright and cheerful addition to an art lover's collection.
