About the Artist Cheat-Sheet Series:
In this series I match major artists of the 19th or 20th century with current independent artists who share the artist’s style, subject, tone, etc. By introducing you to artists similar to your favorites, you’ll no longer have the excuse of not knowing any modern day artists you like!
Rene Magritte
As soon as I was introduced to Rene Magritte back in high school, I was drawn to the Belgian Surrealist’s work. Here were world-famous paintings that, unlike all others I’d studied, had a modern visual language and were loaded with wit and irony. It was a classic teenage reaction of excitement seeing an adult (Magritte) thumbing their nose at other grown-ups. This was good stuff! I thought.
I still love Magritte for the same reasons- how he flagrantly subverted cultural norms and perverted people’s sense of propriety. The brilliance of his work lies in the Freudian, surreal mise-en-scenes which riff off of familiar, ordinary contexts. The following are six artists who are, in one fashion or another, following in Magritte’s path…
. Ben Kehoe
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Ben Kehoe
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Langdon Graves
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Langdon Graves
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Robin F. Williams
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Robin F. Williams
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Zachary Rossman
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Zachary Rossman
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Emma Tryti
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Emma Tryti
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Florencia Temperley
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Florencia Temperley
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Other Artist Cheat-Sheets: Frida Kahlo – Keith Haring – Wassily Kandinsky – Roy Lichtenstein – Gustav Klimt - Georgia O’Keeffe
About the Artist Cheat-Sheet Series: Perhaps you’ve lamented the fact that your love of Picasso won’t help you in the pursuit of living with art, but with a bit of guidance you can start to develop your taste on current art based on your preferences of “famous” art.
In this series I match major artists of the 19th or 20th century with current independent artists who share the artist’s style, subject, tone, etc. You’ll no longer have the excuse of not knowing any current, affordable artists you like!
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter from the first half of the 20th century who I consider a feminist artist. Her work is highly personal, exploring the often female subjects of pain and immobility (from a devastating streetcar accident at age 16), love, loss, infertility and heartbreak. Frida was a communist and was highly involved in politics during her lifetime (she even notoriously had an affair with political refuge, Leon Trotsky). Her life was full of drama, passion and physical and psychological pain, and these themes underscore much of her work as an artist.
Current artists whose work is reminiscent of Kahlo’s…
Common themes: nature, primitivism, love, ceremony.
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Common themes: women, symbolism (heart, snakes), body parts as living entities.
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Common themes: traditional women’s work, gender roles.
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.Jennifer Parks
Common themes: vulnerability, adornment, masks, death.
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Common themes: vulnerability, our relationship with personal possessions.
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Common themes: nature, the exotic, primitivism, sadness.
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Common themes: motherhood, life, the human body.
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Common themes: Women’s complicated relationships with each other, adornment (patterns).
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Common themes: love, heartbreak, femininity, memories.
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Common themes: dreams, the ornamental/symbolic (flowers, cake).
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Common themes: traditional women’s work, gender roles, female suffering.
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Common themes: the female body, everyday life.
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Explore previous Artist Cheat-Sheets:
Keith Haring
Wassily Kandinsky
Roy Lichtenstein
Gustav Klimt
Georgia O’Keeffe
Here are the results from the Artist Cheat-Sheet poll. Thanks to all who voted!
Explore previous Artist Cheat-Sheets:
Keith Haring
Wassily Kandinsky
Roy Lichtenstein
Gustav Klimt
Georgia O’Keeffe
Perhaps you’ve lamented the fact that your love of Picasso won’t help you in the pursuit of living with art, but with a bit of guidance you can start to develop your taste on current art based on your preferences of “famous” art.
In this series I match major artists of the 19th or 20th century with current independent artists who share the artist’s style, subject, tone, etc. You’ll no longer have the excuse of not knowing any current, affordable artists you like!
Keith Haring is a major artist of the second half of the twentieth century who died of AIDs in 1990 at the age of 31. Haring was an iconoclast throughout his career, from the onset when he took to New York City subway walls as his “laboratory” to his unapologetic depiction of homosexuality in his art to his decision to open a retail shop in Soho selling his t-shirts and ephemera.
There are too many facets of Keith’s work to write about here so I’ve chosen a few key themes shared by Haring and what I’m referring to as the “Haring-esque” artists of today. More than any specific theme, these young artists’ fearlessness and dark humor all remind me of the late artist.
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Big themes in Haring’s work…
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1. Chaotic, overstimulating graphics
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2. Drug-addled, cartoon-like style
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3. Political, religious and pop-cultural satire
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4. Violence and oppression
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5. Explicit male sexuality
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6. Grotesque creatures and vignettes
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Current artists whose work shares these themes…
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Previous cheat-sheets: Wassily Kandinsky, Georgia O’Keeffe, Gustav Klimt, Roy Lichtenstein
Perhaps you’ve lamented the fact that your love of Picasso won’t help you in the pursuit of living with art, but with a bit of guidance you can start to develop your taste on current art based on your preferences of “famous” art.
In this series I match major artists of the 19th or 20th century with current independent artists who share the artist’s style, subject, tone, etc. You’ll no longer have the excuse of not knowing any current, affordable artists you like!
Wassily Kandinsky is a Russian painter of the early 20th century who is considered a major pioneer of abstract art. He briefly taught at the Bauhaus School in Germany before permanently moving to France. From the 1920′s on, Kandinsky painted and wrote theory about abstract, geometric art while the formal art world revolved around the then popular genres of Impressionism and Cubism.
If you like Kandinsky’s early semi-abstract work…
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…then you should check out the work of artist, Brandi Strickland, of Charlotte, NC.
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If you like Kandinsky’s highly-geometric work…
…then check out Bay Area artist, Lena Wolff‘s, serene, geometric work.
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If you like Kandinsky’s more abstract work with organic forms…
…then take a look at the work of the Cleveland-based Dana Oldfather…
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…and the San Francisco-based abstract painter, Jessica Snow.
If Kandinsky’s late-stage, more chaotic work appeals to you…
…then, again, check out Jessica Snow…
…and the unusual mixed media pieces of Valerie Anne Molnar.
And lastly, if you like Kandinsky’s hyper-bright, hyper-graphic work…
…then take a look at the work of Brooklyn painter, Beau Chamberlain…
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…and fellow Brooklynite, Mike Perry.
Previous cheat-sheets: Georgia O’Keeffe, Gustav Klimt, Roy Lichtenstein
Perhaps you’ve lamented the fact that your love of Picasso won’t help you in the pursuit of living with art, but with a bit of guidance you can start to develop your taste on current art based on your preferences of “famous” art.
In this series I match major artists of the 19th or 20th c. with current independent artists who share the artist’s style, subject, tone, etc. You’ll no longer have the excuse of not knowing any current, affordable artists you like!
Roy Lichtenstein was an iconic American artist of the 20th century who was part of the Pop Art movement with Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Jasper Johns and others. Lichtenstein is known for his large-scale paintings that resemble popular comics, down to the individually-painted dots depicting the then-popular half-tone printing technique. His work is filled with irony, both of the art world and ’50s and ’60s popular culture.
If you like Lichtenstein’s work on beauty and femininity…
… then you should check out Amanda Wachob’s work exploring ideals of beauty and self-image…
… and Jason Bryant‘s exquisitely-detailed paintings of old-school Hollywood starlets.
If you like his work on mid-century domesticity…
… then you might like the ironic and technically-adept work of Kelly Reemtsen.
If you like Lichtenstein for the stereotypes he mocks…
… then check out the fabulously tongue-in-cheek portraits of Martha Rich…
the heavily pop art-influenced, Scot Lefavor…
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And if you like Lichtenstein’s work exploring gender dynamics…
… you should check out the mythological work of collage-r, Lillianna Pereira…
…and print-maker and mixed-media artist, Scot Lefavor.
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Previous cheat-sheets: Georgia O’Keeffe, Gustav Klimt
Say you’re not super knowledgeable about art, but you do know you love _______ (enter famous artist here). Perhaps you’ve lamented the fact that your love of Picasso won’t help you in the pursuit of living with art, but I would disagree! With a bit of guidance you can start to develop your taste on current (and affordable) art based on your preferences of “famous” art.
Here’s how this series works: each time I match a major artist of the 19th or 20th c. (e.g. Henri Matisse, Mark Rothko, Keith Haring) with current independent artists who share the artist’s style, subject, etc. Although there’s nothing wrong with museum prints, you’ll no longer have the excuse of not knowing any current, affordable artists you like!
If you love Klimt for his feminine, detailed portraits such as Mada Primavesi…
…then you should definitely check out Amanda Blake (top row), Elizabeth Bauman (middle row) and Vivienne Strauss (bottom row).
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If you like Klimt’s indulgent, sensuous work like Water Snakes II…
…then you might also like Audrey Kawasaki‘s paintings (below) which are also female-centric and erotic, but with a modern, manga comic twist.
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If you like Klimt’s romantic work like his world-famous painting, The Kiss…
…then you might like Australian artist, Eveline Tarunadjaja‘s girly, romantic work.
If you like Klimt’s darker, more abstract work like Jurisprudence…
…then you might also like the work of Stella im Hultberg with its similar stylistic elements and beautiful but edgy feel.
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And, if you like many people you love Klimt’s landscapes like Birch Forest…
…then you should check out Lisa Congdon‘s graphic landscapes.
Please feel free to leave suggestions for future artists.
Previous cheat-sheet: Georgia O’Keeffe
