New Chicago Series by Matt Puchalski

Chicago is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city in which so many of us are proud to live, work, and do business. For this reason we are excited to offer Matt Puchalski’s latest series of giclees. The giclee above depicts the landmark bronze lions that flank the entrance to the Art Institute of Chicago on a moonlit night. Is there a better and more romantic way to show your civic pride and appreciation for art and culture than by displaying “Guardians” as shown above?  We just love this piece!

In addition to being beautiful residential art works, “Guardians” and the other Chicago designs from this series (seen by clicking the album below) are perfect for decorating commercial/office spaces. Each image or suite of images can be ordered in custom colors and sizes.

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“Willis Tower”  is an imposing image that measures 6’ tall. It is an excellent choice for an area requiring a large vertical art work.

Click here to see more about Matt Puchalski's art work.

Luzanquis' Wine Paintings

The still life paintings of Luzanquis are highly regarded for their old-world charm and celebration of the joy of wine and wine connoisseurship.

We like to suggest Luzanquis wine paintings for dining rooms, butler pantries, foyers, halls, libraries, kitchens, and wine cellars.

They are a natural choice for restaurants.

 

The timeless elegance of the subject of wine and winemaking make Luzanquis paintings a perennial traditional favorite.

By the way, the aged-looking, cracked texture that Luzanquis achieves on these contemporary pieces is known as "craqueleur."

Click here for biographical information about Bartolomeo Luzanquis and images of some of his other paintings.

"Surging Skyline II" by Matt Puchalski

Dynamic Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan scape originally rendered in pastels by Chicago artist, Matt Puchalski. Available as a limited edition giclee on canvas or photo paper in custom sizes.

Private Residence: Contemporary Urban Loft

Above: Abstract paintings by Anton Weiss.

This kind of vertical installation of two or more pieces is known as a "stack." This home features very high ceilings with second-storey views, so two stacks of similar abstracts by the same artist were installed to great effect.

ArtFinders were very excited to have the opportunity to help this homeowner select art and framing for this home. This is the swankest urban loft we have ever seen and includes multiple levels of a once-commercial property. We love the way the designer has selected neutral colors throughout the rest of the home and used the art to add exciting color.

These abstract oil paintings are by Andre Padilla. Padilla's abstract baroque style has the dramatic feel needed to add some color and energy to the expanse of wall with 18' ceilings. Bold Larson Juhl frames help to group the paintings in with the console.

Below: A custom 8' wide limited edition giclee of "Surging Skyline" by Matt Puchalski in pride of place. The artist was present to supervise and assist with the installation of this piece.

Below: This is a contemporary landscape by Tienhaara. Have you noticed what a great job the homeowner and designer have done in selecting pieces of art that are different, but have a similar boldness of style and color palette? That thread of similarity has given all the pieces in the expanse of the loft a sense of continuity and design.

Below: An original mixed media abstract on canvas by Jim England.

Below: An abstract oil painting on canvas by Collins.

There is more to see (like sculpture!), but we will revisit this loft in a future post.

Portfolio: Private Residence

"English Garden" by Pena

"Mediterranean Bayside Garden" by Andre Jouan

"Vineyard" by Covian

Room view of "Hillside Village" by Harvey

"Hillside Village" by Harvey

Julie Marton: Beaded Mosaic Vessels

"Mucha's Halo" custom large decorative bowl 18x18"

Julie Marton creates one-of-a-kind decorative beaded glassware for ArtFinders. Several of her pieces shown here were custom items created to complement specific interiors.

Biography

Julie Marton’s glass art works are handcrafted in her studio in suburban Chicago. She is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After college, she began her career as an art consultant and went on to art gallery management. In 2000, after the birth of her first daughter, she began working for a Chicago area art, design, and architecture museum. As the museum’s program director, she had the opportunity to curate many exhibitions of regional, national, and international artists and artisans, as well as administer the museum’s annual national architecture awards and international design competition.

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Throughout her career she has been creating and refining the method and design of her personal body of work, a unique line of embellished glassware.

Her mission is to create inspirational, hand-embellished glass vessels that delight the viewer and are functional works of art. She perceives her work as "sculptural paintings" employing the varieties of colors, translucencies, and lusters intrinsic in glass beads to enhance the shape and volume of the glass vessel.
It is important to the artist that she reuse existing materials whenever possible. She has made it a point to give new life to secondhand glass vessels and vintage or salvaged beads. Only a percentage of each art work includes vintage beads, but Marton especially prizes the mellowed patinas of vintage beads and is constantly on the hunt for them.

New Arrival: "Do You Remember Me" #279 by Roy Fairchild-Woodward

We unwrapped this lustrous serigraph by Roy Fairchild-Woodward this evening. It's a large vertical serigraph on paper 39"x29". The serigraph is number 279 of a limited edition of 465 plus proofs. "Do You Remember Me" uses a warm, mostly neutral palette accented with sage green, coral, ivory, vellum, terra cotta, burnt sienna and some gold, bronze and copper metallics.

The serigraph features one of Fairchild's signatures, contemplative young women, surrounded by layer upon layer of symbolic, lush, and poetic imagery.

Let us know if we can custom frame "Do You Remember Me" for your home.

Portfolio: Private Residence

This is a series of photographs featuring art work that ArtFinders suggested, framed and placed for a private residence. This first painting by Luzanquis was perfect for over the Arts and Crafts buffet in their dining room.

This next painting is a crisp and colorful Mediterranean scene by the artist Hajto. The painting is so inviting and your eye travels up those steps to the cafe or strolls along the waterfront.

These two gems are detailed paintings of charming European village windows by Dvornik. In addition to being beautiful works of art, they look so wonderful in this room. Sometimes the right art work completes a room like the missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. That was certainly the case with these.

These are another set of two small but majestic autumn landscapes by Munoz. We were pleased that the homeowners chose to stack intriguing sets of two in these tall vertical spaces as seen above and below instead of going with the expected long vertical painting in each spot.
Above the set of two landscapes is another larger landscape by Munoz hung across from the staircase above the second storey entryway. The homeowners will enjoy a lovely continuity of view afforded by having three landscapes by the same artist in the entryway. The atmosphere created by these majestic, warm landscapes is a great way to welcome visitors and set a comfortable mood for the rest of the home.

What a comfortable and beautiful home!

Dvornik a.k.a. Iouri Khamitov

Biography: Iouri Khamitov, nom de plume Yuri Dvornik, was born in 1947 in Vladikavkaz City, Russia. He attended the Moscow School of Art to study painting and art restoration. He worked as a restorer for a time "giving new life to old paintings." He also trained as an architectural designer. Dvornik's paintings are realistic in style and yet idealist in subject matter. There is no political struggle or turmoil illustrated in these paintings, only the serene streets themselves.

In 1976, he became a member of the Union of Russian Artists, the famed Soviet sponsorship that was highly sought after during the Soviet rule. Because of his opposition to the political system of the Soviet Union at the time, the KGB cancelled his membership and he was forced into artistic seclusion for 16 years. He was unable to show his paintings in any of the sponsored exhibitions.

To help support himself through this hardship he became a street cleaner in the streets of Moscow. He continued to paint using the new found pen name Dvornik, which in Russia means street cleaner. He used his experience as a street worker to create his new style and subject matter. The sunwashed streets themselves. Through the cleansing of his canvases and his identity, Dvornik's career began anew. He started selling his paintings and organizing shows in Izmalov Park. As perestroyka set in Dvornik became more involved with promoting shows to benefit the victims of Chernobyl and handicapped children throughout Russia. He has since had exhibitions of his work throughout Europe and in Greece.

Since his arrival in the United States, several galleries have sponsored this outstanding artist. This exposure has fostered the creation of an international private collector base. Dvornik has had solo shows in New York, the first in 1996. His shows have been well received by his ever growing audience.

Iannicelli, Antonio

Above: "Positano" by Antonio Iannicelli, 39" V x 78" H, oil on canvas.

Biography--Born in Naples in 1952, Iannicelli lives and works in Castelvoltumo. As a boy, he showed a great inclination for painting and he cultivated it with love, taking the heaven, the sea and the people of Naples, as his teachers. He has staged about twenty personal showings in Italy and abroad and has participated almost uninterruptedly in the highest national art expositions. Winning numerous awards and prizes, Iannicelli's work is gaining admiration in Italy and beyond its national bounds into the United States and France. He excels, above all, in coastal Venetian views and landscapes, where he manages to render unusual aspects with expressive immediateness. Stylistically, his works reveal influence of the old Italian masters, but also portray his instinctive likeness to post-impressionists such as Cezanne. As a result, his works yield both classical subjects covered by the bold color schemes and lighting of a more modern era.

Trunk Shows at Toms-Price

We are having two trunk shows with Toms-Price Home Furnishings in October. We are showcasing art that complements a line of traditional French-style furniture. This weekend, Oct. 10, 11, 12 we are at the Lincolnshire showroom, 725 Milwaukee Ave. in Lincolnshire. Next weekend we will be at their Skokie/Old Orchard location on Oct. 17 & 18.

Andres Padilla

Andres Palacios Padilla was born in Peru in 1958. He studied at School of Arts of Lima 1979-1984 and Seminario Biblico Andino 1991-1993. Padilla, an accomplished abstract artist, was discovered at a young age by an instructor from the Seminario Biblico Andino in Peru. Recognized for having a unique talent and style, Padilla has always been willing to push his way through traditional means of brush stroke, and has, without fail, continued to amaze professors and collectors alike with his soft, unique, style of painting. By intricately mixing tones and layers of colour Padilla manages to create tranquil works that constantly attract and sooth the human eye. Texturally, Padilla uses a slightly hardened brush to intertwine his colours, a method that creates a sense of gentleness to his pieces, a gentleness that people continue to universally enjoy throughout Europe and North America. Padilla clearly delights in the emotion he manages to make audiences pull out of his pieces, emotion that his style deliberately evokes through its liberal use of colour and texture. Never afraid to try something new, Padilla continues to explore new methods of painting in his studio, constantly challenging traditional boundaries.

Exhibitions and Shows
1.-2000 “Salon de Actos E.N.B.A”
2.-2001 “Salon de Exposiciones Museo de Art Lima”
3.-2002 “Salon Andino Artes Plasticas” Ancash
4.-2003 “Salon de Exposiciones Peiro Peru”
5.-2003 “Salon de Exposiciones Banco Industrial”
6 -2004 “New York Art Expo”
7 -2004 “Atlanta Art Expo”
8 -2005 “Atlanta Art Expo”
9 -2005 “New York Art Expo”
10-2005 “West Coast Art & Frame Show, Las Vegas”
11-2006 “New York Art Expo”
12-2006 “West Coast Art & Frame Show, Las Vegas”

Victor del Castillo

Victor del Castillo was born in Lima, Peru, in 1968. At the age of three, a trip to El Callejon de Huaylas became his first source of inspiration. The rich and deep colors of the sky and landscape moved him to draw and paint a sketch. Despite his young age, the quality of the drawing was such that his parents were convinced he would become another Da Vinci.

At the age of 17, del Castillo joined the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Lima. After reviewing the different painting schools, Victor experiments and tries Impressionism, Fauvism, Abstraction and Informalism to end up at his graduation with realism.

His main subject, the still life, is given a special sense and sentiment by which the trivial elements become alive. It is as if every fruit he paints represents a state of the human soul.

Victor has participated in a long list of exhibitions and is being collected by serious and well-known art collectors.

Bartolome Luzanquis

Born in Cajamarca, Peru in 1963, Luzanquis emigrated to Piura, in northern Peru, where he apprenticed with the well-known master, Augusto de los Rios. After three years of very demanding work with De los Rios, he moved to Lima and worked in the atelier of Jorge Arriblasplata, a superb still life painter. He then rounded his education by joining the atelier of Ladislao Plasencki for two more years. Luzanquis has particpated in several exhibitions since 1990 and most of his paintings are collected in England and the United States.

William Benecke

Above: "Manarola on the Via Dell 'Amore" by William Benecke oil on canvas, 30x40"

Biography: William Benecke was born in November 1934 in Chicago, Illinois and passed away in 2001. He had his formal art training at the Art Institute of Chicago and went to work at first as an illustrator for several of the major studios in Chicago and also worked as a staff illustrator for the Chicago Tribune and the Sun Times.

At the age of 24, he went to Mexico and lived there for ten years during which time he painted and also had a gallery. Studying and sketching trips in the 70's and 80's brought him in touch with Paris, Strasbourg, Venice, Cote d'Azur, and the chateau region of the Loire Valley.

Whenever he returned home to the Midwest, Benecke found time to paint the vistas of Chicago and nearby picturesque locales. He has painted the bustling skyline on the Chicago River and lakefront as well as the laid back shores of Lake Geneva.

East Meets West: Tyler Museum of Art's Kimono Exhibit

Woman’s formal, long-sleeved kimono (uchikake); early Showa period, 1930s. Silk, figured satin weave (rinzu), opposing lines and floral roundels pattern; hand-painted, rice-paste resist outlining; gold leaf, silk thread embroidery; 70 x 49 1/4 inches (detail). The Jeffrey Montgomery Collection.

TYLER, TX.- The Tyler Museum of Art casts an eye to the Far East as the venue prepares for its major summer exhibition, Fashioning Kimono: Art Deco and Modernism in Japan.

The exhibition, opening to the public Sunday, June 7, and continuing through Aug. 16 in the Museum’s North Gallery, spotlights an array of kimono drawn from the celebrated collection of Jeffrey Montgomery, an American residing in Lugano, Switzerland, who is recognized throughout the globe as a peerless collector of Japanese arts and crafts.

Montgomery’s collection is composed of more than 1,200 items, approximately 300 of which are textiles. This exhibition is drawn from that group, focusing on different varieties of kimono created in the late 19th- to mid-20th centuries.

Montgomery himself will be on hand to celebrate the exhibition’s opening during a members’ reception and preview scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, June 6. For more information or to inquire about TMA membership in order to attend, call (903) 595-1001.

“The Museum has been trying for years now to book this extraordinary exhibition, selected from one of the most stunning and dynamic collections of its kind in the world,” said TMA Director Kimberley Bush Tomio. “Summer seemed the ideal time for such a rich and vibrant celebration of the elegance and timeless beauty that the Montgomery Collection represents, and we’re particularly honored to have Jeffrey here to help us launch what I’m sure will be an extremely popular exhibition that appeals to visitors of all ages.”

The kimono featured in the exhibition represent one of the most dynamic periods in the history of Japan’s national costume, and also depict the last historical era of the “living kimono” – characterized as the time when kimono was being worn by the majority of the country’s populace. Yet the kimono never lost its appeal, remaining the traditional dress form from the early 20th century until the 1940s, as the garment took on, little by little, a more ceremonial meaning. Featured among the more than 60 pieces in the exhibition are formal, semi-formal and casual kimono, as well as haori jackets.

A collection of period photographs, on loan from the International Hokusai Research Center in Milan, Italy, accompanies the exhibition.

Article from: http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=31194

Silvia Tejada

Silvia Tejada was born in Pucallpa, Peru, in 1958. Despite her early artistic inclination, Tejada was forced to select a "more productive" field because painting was economically and socially risky. A victim of the circumstances, Tejada had to study conservation and restoration, a field related to the arts, but not her choice. Fortunately, she is married to a painter and, after more than 20 years, she has evolved into one of the best floral painters in South America.

To the critics, Tejada has that magical touch that painters like Fatin-Latour and Redon had. Her paintings show a nice, soft brushstroke that commands strength. Her colors are soft and angelical, but with character. These attributes did not come easy, however. It has been a hard and long struggle that more than once made her almost abandon her dream. Fortunately, her husband, the well-known impressionist painter Jose Lopesalcedo, convinced her to persist, and it has paid off.

Her exhibitons include important Salons like Museo de Arte de Lima and the Alianza Francesa.

Raffandre

Raffandre was born in the Venetian hinterland in 1945. His father, who was French, had a great influence on Raffandre in the arts. Consequently, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice with his father's encouragement. In this renowned city of art, where artists flock from all over the world, Raffandre came into contact with famous masters, under whose direction he embarked upon a severe artistic apprenticeship.

His particular aptitude for painting allowed him to learn over a fairly brief period of time, the techniques of drawing and of painting in watercolor before progressing definitively to oil painting. He later moved to Paris, where he was able to study the works of the Impressionists. He greatly admired this genre because he felt in touch with his volatile character, which was defined by his love of sun inspired colors. Raffandre was able to stay in Paris for several years, which had a significant influence on his painting and technique.

Raffandre's paintings received wonderful acclaim and were critiqued "…the foregrounds stand out softly from the backgrounds when observing one of Raffandre's paintings. The importance of color, studied and used in all its vast chromatic range, is clearly his main priority." Upon return to his native Italy, the combination of French and Italian styles made his paintings a unique and valuable contribution to the art world.