'The Harbinger'
Matthew Couper
2012
oil on loose canvas
62" x 30"
MIERCOLES, EL OCHO DE AGOSTO, VEINTE DOCE
JUEVES, EL DOS DE AGOSTO DE VENTE DOCE
Just before disassembling my props today, I thought I'd get a photo of my 'Polemical Alchemy' set-up in reference to an 1895 photograph of James Ensor in his studio:
"...The polemical assertion of the act of painting as a subject of aesthetics is more interesting than formalities of visual representation manifested by painting. We live in a digital age, where we could easily create graphics and visual aids through computer software and hardware yet the persistence of painting is still a mystery or perhaps an alchemy. Like James Ensor's paintings of death skulls/bones come to life or Matthew Couper's paintings about turning shit into gold, the alchemical power of the very act of painting is undeniable - transforming material entity into a metaphysical state..." - Jevijoe Vitug
"...The polemical assertion of the act of painting as a subject of aesthetics is more interesting than formalities of visual representation manifested by painting. We live in a digital age, where we could easily create graphics and visual aids through computer software and hardware yet the persistence of painting is still a mystery or perhaps an alchemy. Like James Ensor's paintings of death skulls/bones come to life or Matthew Couper's paintings about turning shit into gold, the alchemical power of the very act of painting is undeniable - transforming material entity into a metaphysical state..." - Jevijoe Vitug
MIERCOLES, EL VEINTICINCO DE JULIO, VEINTE DOCE
Two photographs of 'Polemical Alchemy' at the 2012 London Biennale in Nevada performances at Pop Up Art House, 21st of July 2012. Photographs by Frankie Henriquez.
SABATO, EL CATORCE DE JULIO, VEINTE-DOCE
2012 LONDON BIENNALE IN NEVADA
It's now only a week before the performances for the 2012 London Biennale in Nevada take place at Pop Up Art House in Henderson/Las Vegas. Please visit the website here and check out all the details: http://www.londonbiennale.tk
or you can download the press release here:
http://londonbiennale.mattcouper.com/press/OFFICIAL_London_Biennale_Nevada_2012_Press_Release.pdf
It's now only a week before the performances for the 2012 London Biennale in Nevada take place at Pop Up Art House in Henderson/Las Vegas. Please visit the website here and check out all the details: http://www.londonbiennale.tk
or you can download the press release here:
http://londonbiennale.mattcouper.com/press/OFFICIAL_London_Biennale_Nevada_2012_Press_Release.pdf
JUEVES, EL DOCE DE JULIO, VEINTE-DOCE
Thirty-Three at Te Manawa, Palmerston North:
My touring exhibition 'Thirty-Three' opens this Saturday at Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science & History in Palmerston North, New Zealand. This is the second venue of a three-year tour of the exhibition around New Zealand. The publication for the exhibition will be available by the end of the month and I will be back in New Zealand for an artist floor talk in October.
Thirty-Three, (touring exhibition)
Te Manawa, 326 Main Street, Palmerston North, NZ,
14 July - 21 October 2012
My touring exhibition 'Thirty-Three' opens this Saturday at Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science & History in Palmerston North, New Zealand. This is the second venue of a three-year tour of the exhibition around New Zealand. The publication for the exhibition will be available by the end of the month and I will be back in New Zealand for an artist floor talk in October.
Thirty-Three, (touring exhibition)
Te Manawa, 326 Main Street, Palmerston North, NZ,
14 July - 21 October 2012
VIERNES, EL VIENTI DOS DE JUNIO, VEINTI DOCE
The London Biennale Satellite Project in conjunction with Pop Up Art House and the Contemporary Arts Center presents
Rainbow: 7 Colors 7 Artists
Performance: Saturday, July 21, 7:00PM
Pop Up Art House, 730 W. Sunset, Henderson
http://www.thepopuparthouse.com
Exhibition: September 6-29
Contemporary Arts Center, 107 E. Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas
Seven Las Vegas and Henderson-based artists will take part in the second London Biennale in Nevada satellite event presenting performances inspired by the colors of the rainbow at the Pop Up Art House in Henderson on Saturday, July 21 at 7:00PM. This year’s participation in the London Biennale will extend beyond the one-night-only performance event, Rainbow: 7 Colors 7 Artists, with an exhibition of the documentation behind and of the performances at the Contemporary Arts Center in Las Vegas September 6 through 29. The artists are: Noelle Garcia (red), Eri King (orange), Jevijoe Vitug (yellow), Matthew Couper (green), J K Russ with MzMina Khan (blue), Darren Johnson (indigo) and Brent Holmes (violet).
SABATO, EL NUEVE DE JUNIO, VEINTE-DOCE
Three new works in 'ATM' at Creative Space, 1421 S. Commerce St, Las Vegas, NV, USA. 1 June - 31 July, 2012.
left to right: 'Sevil', 'Federal Indulgences' and 'Thompson & Thompson and Thomson', all 2012,
ink, acrylic, graphite, wax and ribbon on Bristol paper, 12" x 9" (frame: 15" x 12"), USD360.00 each:
left to right: 'Sevil', 'Federal Indulgences' and 'Thompson & Thompson and Thomson', all 2012,
ink, acrylic, graphite, wax and ribbon on Bristol paper, 12" x 9" (frame: 15" x 12"), USD360.00 each:
LUNES, EL VEINTIUNO DE MAYO, VEINTE-DOCE
CHARLES KRAFFT & MATTHEW COUPER: GUNS & SKULLS
May 26-June 23
Opening reception: 6:30-9 p.m. Saturday, May 26
PG Contemporary is pleased to announce Guns & Skulls, a pairing of artists whose 21st-century takes on two traditional mediums - ex-votos and Delft ceramic painting - offer sly new perspectives on the timeless themes of violence and death.
Dubbed "the dark angel of Seattle art" by critic Regina Hackett, Charles Krafft makes his second appearance at PG Contemporary, having shown human bone china reliquaries in the 2011 three-person exhibition Memento Mori.
For Guns & Skulls, Krafft returns to the gallery with porcelain firearms wittily embellished using traditional Delft ceramic painting techniques. The results are what Krafft has described as "a purely decorative dialogue on defense and disaster."
Krafft rebooted a struggling career as "the oldest promising young artist in the Pacific Northwest" in 1991, joining a women's china-painting guild and launching his internationally exhibited and acclaimed Disasterware series.
He has had more than three dozen solo exhibitions in Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Los Angeles; London; and Ljubljana, Slovenia, among other cities, and participated in the Venice Biennale in 2003. His work is included in the renowned Garth Clark & Mark Del Vecchio Collection, which the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston acquired in 2007.
New-Zealand born, Las Vegas-based painter Matthew Couper has been described by art historian John Seed as an "artist with a Kafkaesque view of the world" whose imagery suggests "a pagan Catholic Cirque du Soleil."
Known for putting a contemporary twist on a style associated with Spanish Baroque colonial art, Couper brings the symbols and narrative vocabulary of ex-votos - small devotional paintings on tin - into dialogue with sources as diverse as African power figures and Russian Suprematism. His work in Guns & Skulls will also include two large-scale paintings.
"Like any good Johnny Cash, Nick Cave or Pixies song, you've got to have sex, death and religion fueling the fire," Couper has said. He has exhibited extensively throughout New Zealand as well as in Los Angeles; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Barcelona; and Hong Kong.
Both artists will attend the opening reception from 6:30-9 p.m. Saturday, May 26.
Houston, TX 77006
713-523-7424
Contact: Zoya Tommy, director
Gallery hours: Thursday to Saturday 11am to 6pm or by appointment.
JUEVES, EL DIECISIETE DE MAYO, VEINTE-DOCE
Kazimir Malevich as Joseph Beuys with a little help from Albrecht Durer:
MARTES, EL OCHO DE MAYO, VEINTE-DOCE
Almost-finished scrimshaw. Final patina is on and I think that they've come out better than I thought. Two of these scrimshaw are heading to Houston for my two-person exhibition with Charles Krafft at PG Contemporary.
VIERNES, EL QUATRO DE MAYO, VENINTE-DOCE
 |
Matthew Couper
'Contemporary Burdens' (with important figureheads in roundels) 2012 oil on canvas, pressed-metal frame 21" x 16" (frame size) ©2012 Couper Russ Studios LLC |
JUEVES, EL VEINTISEIS DE ABRIL, VEINTE-DOCE
Anti-War=Anti-Orgasm at Light & Space Contemporary, Manila, Philippines, 14 April - 5 May, 2012
MIERCOLES, EL VIENTIUNO DE MARZO, VENINTE-DOCE
Yesterday at my talk, I mentioned Bosch's painting in the Prado, 'Lubbert Das/Extracting the Stone of Madness' and how it related to my retablo '1994' (see below). Click on the link above to see the alternative translation of Lubbert Das that influenced my painting.
Yesterday at my talk, I mentioned Bosch's painting in the Prado, 'Lubbert Das/Extracting the Stone of Madness' and how it related to my retablo '1994' (see below). Click on the link above to see the alternative translation of Lubbert Das that influenced my painting.
MARTES, EL VEINTE DE MARZO, VEINTE-DOCE
I was interviewed yesterday about my work and exhibition 'Thirty-Three' at the Hastings City Art Gallery by Roy Dunningham. Here's a photo from Kath Purchas of the set-up, as we conducted the interview over Skype. A thank you to Roy for his great questions, the audience and the staff at Hastings City Art Gallery who helped in creating a gremlin-free technology link-up:
I was interviewed yesterday about my work and exhibition 'Thirty-Three' at the Hastings City Art Gallery by Roy Dunningham. Here's a photo from Kath Purchas of the set-up, as we conducted the interview over Skype. A thank you to Roy for his great questions, the audience and the staff at Hastings City Art Gallery who helped in creating a gremlin-free technology link-up:
MARTES, EL TRECE DE MARZO, VEINTE-DOCE
My selection of paintings at La Luz de Jesus Gallery's annual exhibition in Hollywood, California (photo by JK Russ):
My selection of paintings at La Luz de Jesus Gallery's annual exhibition in Hollywood, California (photo by JK Russ):
JUEVES, EL UNO DE MARZO, VEINTE-DOCE
JK Russ's solo exhibition 'Garden of Earthly Delights' opens tonight at 6pm, (artist talk at 7pm) at Sin City Gallery in Las Vegas, NV:
JK Russ's solo exhibition 'Garden of Earthly Delights' opens tonight at 6pm, (artist talk at 7pm) at Sin City Gallery in Las Vegas, NV:
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