Mary Beth Tipton and Maria Ojascastro are in a 5 person exhibit at the St. Louis Artists Guild. Opening reception Jan 13, 6-8 pm. The Mandala Project: An Artist Collective . The exhibit runs January 13 - February 11, 2023 in the Curated Gallery
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Brian's painting "Landscape, October 10, 2022" was chosen for the Webster Arts Seasonal Rhythms Exhibition. The show runs till January 3. https://www.webster-arts.org/seasonal-rhythms |
Thanks for reading!
Listen in to learn a bit about her journey to becoming an artist and art gallery owner. In their conversation, they talk about the highlights and challenges Mary has faced in her artistic career, including keeping the gallery running through the midst of the pandemic.
I highly recommend listening! Listen here.
Congratulations to BE artists Lou Conroy, Kathy Corey, and Nancy Hinds Van Ness for being juried into the St. Louis Artists' Guild Members' Exhibition 2022. The exhibition opens on Friday, September 23, and runs through October 15. The reception is 9/23 from 5-7 pm. Thank you to the St. Louis Artists' Guild and juror Robert Ketchens! Hope you can make it! It will be amazing. |
“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune
B Extraordinaire Gallery is calling for artists to submit to the ORDER/DISORDER Online Art Exhibition to be held November 1 - November 30. Deadline to apply is September 23, 2022. This is a national juried exhibit. Serving as co-Jurors for this exhibition are Virginia Becker and Giselle Obermeier.
Virginia Becker earned her Masters’ degree in Art History from American University and has worked at Christie’s, Guarisco Gallery in Washington, DC, and the National Gallery of Art. She co-owns Terra Innovations which specializes in high-end home design.
Giselle Obermeier holds an MA in Art History from George Washington University and a BA from Princeton University in Comparative Literature. She works in the Development Office at the National Gallery of Art, where she collaborates with colleagues throughout the museum and generous donors who support art acquisition, special exhibitions, and other programming.
We are asking artists to explore order and disorder through their artwork. Order and disorder are an integral part of the natural world. There are many ways to interpret the meaning of order and disorder in art. The laws of physical world tell us that orderly states move toward randomness, disorder, and dissolution.
Humans use order to understand the environment around them. Art is called orderly when an observer sees the overall structure and can see what is alike and what is different and understand the relationships between the parts and the whole.
Disorder involves pushing the possibilities of order to the extreme, until the shape will simply succumb to disintegration.
Order and disorder are complementary, interconnected, and mutually dependent on each other. Without the potential of disorder, nothing in the world would ever change.
More information on the call at CaFE Art.
When did you begin making furniture, and what originally inspired you
to pursue that path?
I started on this path 24 years ago when I became an apprentice custom cabinet maker. As my skills progressed and I bought my first home, I realized I didn’t like any of the furniture I was finding in stores and that I didn’t want what everyone else has. I had the idea to try to make my own pieces. My first attempts were pretty basic, but I could make whatever I needed in whatever size I needed, and I could make it look how I wanted (which is addictive). Now I can really branch out and create some pretty cool pieces (in my opinion anyways lol). Over time I’ve also started creating wall hanging art pieces which I enjoy making very much and I think they allow for a colorful, warm and unique expression of art for any room.
What does being "a functional artist" mean to you?
To me it pertains to my furniture pieces and means creating pieces that serve a purpose as well as add a unique look to any space. I also tend to create pieces on a smaller scale as well, not everyone has room for or wants a 4’ x 4’ coffee table for example so I make pieces that can fit in anyone’s home.
What are some of the challenges of working with wood?
Humidity and extreme temperature changes! They wreak havoc on wood, causing shrinking or expansion and warping.
What’s your creative process?
First, I find something that will inspire me. Then I do a few rough sketches to see which I like best. Then I decide which species of wood(s) I want to use and based on that I decide what size to make it. From there it’s right into creating the piece.
What inspires your creativity?
Since I was young, I have been expressing myself creatively. I draw, paint, write poetry and photography and obviously the furniture and wood art. I am inspired by a wide range of things! For my furniture pieces, sometimes it’s the grain pattern in a particular board or a memory of a piece of furniture from my childhood or seeing a piece somewhere else and immediately see that if I made it and tweaked a few things it would look so much better. With my art pieces, I am mostly inspired by the way something made me feel or things that I find visually pleasing to me and again sometimes by a grain pattern.
What is your recommendation for beginners who are interested in working in wood?
Dive right on in! I’d love nothing more than to see more women crushing it in this field!
What is the greatest lesson you have learned as an artist?
Keep going, keep trying, keep expressing yourself
Abstract art is often about the process the artist may be using. In many of his paintings, you can easily see how he has reduced something tangible to its abstract essence. In other pieces, his paintings are more nebulous and when you take time to look closely, you realize there are more than patterns, colors, and contrasts to what you see on the surface of the canvas. His artmaking is a reflection of how he sees the world.
I was curious about his process for working on his large canvas pieces. He describes his process as, "Due to my somewhat aggressive paint application techniques, I prefer to work either on unstretched canvas on a large table or on wood panels, as stretcher cross bars tend to show through when painting on a stretched canvas. My acrylics are applied with rags, rollers, spatulas, palette knives, fingers, and whatever I can get my hands on. I will on occasion use a brush, but it's rare."
Visiting Brian's art studio was a wonderful chance to see first-hand his works in progress and where the magic happens.
Brian Kirchoff has plenty of good news to share. He recently completed and delivered a large commission of five works ranging from 7' x 4' to 22" x 22", for an absolutely amazing 5000 square foot penthouse suite in the Central West End.
Brian is one of 150 artists from around the world chosen to participate in the Saatchi Art "Other Art Fair" - Virtual Edition, May 23 through June 5, 2022.
He's signed with Yudian Gallery to be represented in Mainland China. They'll be displaying as many as 10 pieces at their primary gallery in Hangzhou, China's fourth largest city (approx 13 million).
He was also accepted and signed with Plogix Gallery last week.
In June and July, he will have some of his art on display at the Missouri Athletic Club. Be sure to stop by and see his work in person.
Welcome
Welcome to B Extraordinaire Gallery, A Place for Artists to Share and Sell Art.
We feature a collection of artworks from fine artists who want to inspire you with their art and help you find your inner creativity.
It is a space to share the joy of making art. We hope you join us on this adventure to find your creativity.
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