BEAUTY: Art--Dmitry Ligay

I almost did not post about Dmitry Ligay, a young artist from Uzbekistan. But I could not stop looking at his compelling montages that could be book covers or film posters. They seem to represent scenes, characters, and moments from some kind of intriguing story... teasers from a war film, a science fiction novel, an adventure film. They look like they are mostly watercolor with some pencil and ink: marvelous technique.

"Patrick Procktor: Art and Life"

Friend of "Oh, By The Way" Ian Massey has written to tell us of a marvelous art show in York featuring the underrated work of artist Patrick Procktor (1936-2003). Mr. Massey wrote a biography of Procktor, profusely illustrated with examples of the artist's work and with documentary photographs, called PATRICK PROCKTOR: ART AND LIFE, published by Unicorn Press. And now Mr. Massey has curated an exhibition of Procktor's oils and watercolors at Huddersfield Art Gallery. Take a look at the video below, shot during the installation of the show, and listen to Massey and Robert Selby, Co-Director of the Redfern Gallery in London (watch for the Procktor watercolor portrait of Selby from 1991) talk about the life and work of this great artist. Some stunning pieces are shown as well, such as "Figures In A Corridor" (1963), "6AM At Heaton Hall" (1966), and "The Beach: Figures In Red And Black" (1962-63).

The exhibition's original closing date of November 10 has been extended through December 1, 2012. If you are in Yorkshire, do enjoy this rare opportunity to see such a large collection of Procktor's work.

http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/leisure/arts/art.shtml

BEAUTY: Art--Saul Steinberg

I feel like I should have put this post under "Illustration" since Saul Steinberg (1914-1999) created 90 covers and 1,200 drawings for The New Yorker magazine. There is often a blurry line between "art" and "illustration," but his work is so compellingly odd and his vision was so fascinating, that I feel it really exists outside of what is traditionally thought of as "illustration." His doodly style betrays the seriousness of his oeuvre.

I love how wriggling, pulsing geometric shapes live in traditional rooms, or people created from different schools of art coalesce into a family portrait. And his interpretations of various cities or places, although sketchy and surreal, manage to capture the essence by eerily pinpointing certain elements that symbolize those places. But of course his most famous piece is a view of the rest of the world, looking west, as seen from 9th Avenue in New York City.

Top to bottom: Paris; Techniques At A Party; Wyoming; untitled; untitled; Georgetown Cuisine; View Of The World From 9th Avenue

http://www.saulsteinbergfoundation.org/index.html