Bruce Samuelson
 

During my ongoing and arduous search for a gallery that is sympathetic to my work and known to the art collecting world (impossible task, I think!), I came across this artist whose work I find very exciting.

Bruce Samuelson

More figurative artist than portraitist. Someone who I think, like Francis Bacon , is trying to get to the heart of drawing.

Thanks for the heads up Thomasin. I love it. I grew up with work like that and I really relate to it. I didn't think anybody was working in that tradition anymore. If you know him, please give him my compliments.

Bill

It is very interesting that you relate to this so well, William. I think that work like Samuelson's focuses on the possibilities of paint to create a visceral sense of flesh and solid form. One might initially think that he was eschewing traditional ideas of painting, but essentially he has the same goal in mind as da Vinci, Rembrandt, Degas and others throughout art history, and painters like you today - that is to to achieve that thrill of realism which is more than an illustration of visual reality, but to express those more abstract ideas of life and corporeality, and also the artist's own response to encountering physical objects in space i.e. touch, attraction, love, repulsion etc.

Traditional painting in its search for the expression of these things still has infinite possibilities and will continue to be the true mainstream of art whilst human-kind continues to exist.

Bruce Samuelson was one of my instructors at PAFA, and a considerable influence on so many there. Take Alex Kanevsky for example; he was just starting out when I graduated. I can see how you are drawn to his works, Thomasin. If you can get to the PSOA conference in April, perhaps I can introduce you to him.

Garth

Thanks Garth. It is so interesting that he was one of your instructors.

I have a number of things on my travel calendar this year and was going to go the the east coast (US) in June but perhaps can push it forward to April. However, the impetus for coming to Philadelphia would be more to meet you and the other great people I have met on the forum.

I am just looking at Alex Kanevsky's work (I had not known about him) and really like it. Look at this one: http://www.somepaintings.net/2007/FDKB.html

- how exciting - especially the man.

Thomasin,

That's a great Kanevsky example! I love the push and pull and subtle color vibration. I wish I could figure out how to do that (or how you accomplish your own magic, for that matter).

It would be neat if you do get the opportunity to come to Philadelphia in April during the weekend of PSOA, for you will get to meet a whole flurry of Forum members at once.

Garth

Thanks Garth.

Look at this one - isn't it cool! Like Degas if he might have continued to paint for another 70 or so years more (if he had two lifetimes to paint and the 20th century to paint in).

http://www.somepaintings.net/2007/weddress.html

I would like to post the image on this website but feel that might be violating copyright laws - what are the laws concerning copying and posting an image from one website to another?