Assignment 2 - Artist Study & Material Exploration

 Amy Sillman

Psychology Today - c. 2006

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/108955

Amy Sillman's works explore non-figurative painting and drawing in a gestural and abstract style. Her works use gesture and colour to create more of a "thinking process" than a specific work of "art." This piece uses vibrant colour to pull the viewers attention into the gesture instead of the idea of the work being clear from the start. I love the bright and thick colour choices in these pieces as the combinations are very pleasing to my eye. The boldness and understanding in her strokes is very apparent and every line or gesture seems intentional even if it doesn't seem exactly "precise."

Her work challenges my perception of drawing as at focuses more on broad and bold gestures than the idea of art being precise and meticulous.

Julie Mehretu

Excerpt (citadel) - c. 1970

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6038312

Julie Mehretu's works also use very gestural images but are focused more in landscape than figures. She layers her media multiple times and uses her pieces to create narratives based in physicality (such as buildings, history and conflict.) I found whilst looking through her works that no matter what part of the image you view, theres always a specific detail or story to find. I really enjoy the geometric abstract she brings to such fluid art while steal making the work flow together seamlessly. No matter what part of the image you view, theres always a specific detail or story to find.

These pieces challenges the definition of drawing as she uses her large, abstracted pieces to tell a story no matter where you are focused within her pieces. 

Material Exploration