Entries in abstract (14)
Art for AIDS 2014, Saturday, May 31 at Artspace, Hartford, CT.
On Saturday, May 31, 2014 AIDS Connecticut (ACT) will host its annual Art for AIDS fundraiser. Proceeds will benefit ACT and The Richard B. Fried Fund for AIDS Connecticut, a permanent endowment administered by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. Ticket prices range from $50 - $500 and include complimentary food, beverages, an art show and each ticket holder will take home an original piece of art designed by a local artist!
Detailed ticket information will be available soon on our website - Tickets will go on sale starting on April 25. Stay tuned for a preview of some of the fabulous art - It's an amazing event!
Sponsors include: Metayer Bonding Associates, Peel Liquor, GStream, The Uncommon Cupcake, Bear's BBQ, Barefoot Bubbly and La Petite France Bakery Cafe.
Matthew Best and Chris Rusak: New Paintings at the Emery Community Arts Center, Farmington, ME.
Moose Disco, 2013. Acrylic on panel. 24 by 24 inches.
Chris Rusak's Spectra, acrylic on fiberglass, 2013
“Chris Rusak and Matthew Best: New Paintings”
Emery Community Arts Center
University of Maine, Farmington
July 25 to September 14, 2013
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 25th, 4 to 6pm
Summer 2011
It has been a nice, quiet summer, giving me plenty of studio time. Enough time to really experiment and follow the work in unexpected directions. I like to find that balance between control and chaos in the studio, enough control that they work is consistent, but enough chaos that it directs itself to some degree.
The first change I noticed was a shift in space. The normally very flat space I use began to be more sculptural.
Untitled, 2011. 12 by 12 inches, acrylic on panel.
Untitled, 2011. 36 by 36 inches. Acrylic on panel.
These paintings led to the next logical step, a maquette: I visited an artist friend, our conversations seldom fail to inspire me, I think she has the best “eye” of anyone I know. Truly insightful, kind but always willing to constructively criticize. She noticed something in my art that I had also noticed slowly creeping in (but had been avoiding), a sense of space that is different from my older work, a more sculptural space. She verbalized what I had already kind of been thinking, why not turn this into a sculpture?
The images above are my first attempts at sculpture since 1993. I’ve avoided it that long I just don’t think in three dimensions. A maquette or a sketch might be a better way to describe it, or just playing. It might go somewhere, it might not. This one is made out of ripped up drawings. If this works I’ll move to other materials.
Seen above: on the left, the maquette alone. On the right, the maquette seen with two paintings.
Maquette III, three views. torn paper and ink
Untitled, 2011. 30 by 30 inches. acrylic on canvas
A painting influenced by sculptures that were created in reaction to paintings that in turn influenced a sculpture.
Untitled, 2011. 36 by 36 inches. acrylic on canvas.
New work, painting and sketches
A collection of images; some finished paintings, a few sketches, the images that are floating around in my head.
Houseplant, Paris, March 2011.
Half Moon I. 18 by 18 inches. Acrylic on panel
1st entry in Suburban Foraging Project for 2011. March 2011. Skunk Cabbage, Manchester, CT.
Drawing after Soutine, Paris. March 2011
Half Moon II. 18 by 18 inches. Acrylic on panel
Le Lapin, after Soutine. March 2011
Pictures from the Monkey Mind opening, 11/5/10 @ Artworks Studio Gallery, Norwich, CT
A whirl around the room of the main gallery space at Artworks Studio Gallery during last night's opening.