Artist Talk Magazine - issue 10

ARTIST TALK
MAGAZINE
October 2019
www.artisttalkmagazine.com

DISCOVER MORE
Instagram: @elizabethlanafinearts

FEATURED ARTISTS
ELKE JUNGBLUTH
4-9
THE PAINTED HALL
THE OLD ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE
10-17
THOR RAFNSSON
18-23
NÉ BARROS
24-29
THE TIMES SQUARE EDITION
30-35
MILNE
FRANCIS AKPATA
36-41
Milne Publishing is proud to
present Artist Talk Magazine
issue 10.
Once again, I am pleased to
showcase more incredible artists
from around the globe.
All of the artists featured within
this issue have given interesting, indepth
and honest accounts about
themselves, their work, views and
ideas. In addition to the amazing
images of the work they produce,
which I know you the reader
will enjoy and be inspired by.
We have lots of incredible talent
within this issue, with a wide
range of subject matter for you to
explore and enjoy.
This issue’s cover is The Painted
Hall at The Old Royal Naval
College. After a two year
conservation project, The Painted
Hall reopened March 2019.
Issue 10 is dedicated to the
memory and work of Anne Karin
Selvik Kristensen, who sadly passed
away recently. Anne’s family and
Artist Talk have chosen to print this
issue in her memory.
Thanks for reading.
Grant Milne,
Founder of Artist Talk Magazine
artisttalkmagazine
ArtistTalkMag
artisttalkmagazine
LUCIAN FREUD
42-47
JESSICA M. HANCOCK
48-53
MAURICIO VEGA
54-59
MATTHEW TAYLOR
60-65
ANNE KARIN SELVIK
KRISTENSEN
66-71
DISCOVER MORE
www.artisttalkmagazine.com
3

ELKE JUNGBLUTH

Elke Jungbluth paints ever since
she could hold a brush… as a
child, as a teenager and also
after studying mathematics
and architecture, which have
influenced her first works. She
followed her heart and decided
to pursue the path of an artist,
instead of that of an architect.
She has remained faithful to her
decision of doing so.
Through painting, she wants to
experience new luck and new
delight. Thus, she is consistently
forced into her atelier in Cologne
Altstadt-Nord.
RED HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE
In her first works, she was
fascinated by the manifestation
of mathematical shapes and forms
and architectural structures. Her
works, however, slowly developed
from Realism to the abstract.
river, but its flow - everything is
constantly in motion.
The energy, with which she
portrays patterns, form and lines
artistically, ensure a unique and
repeatedly fresh ambiance.
Through the combination of colour,
independent shapes and dynamic
curves, she lends her works a
characteristic tone.
Through the traces of her personal
artistic handwriting, her artworks
demonstrate motion. Thereby, the
artists’s character and vivacity are
expressed.
Elke Jungbluth’s experimental
experiences, following the shift of
style from architectural themes
and structure, to the present
abstraction through colour and
intuitive shapes, have accompanied
the influence of time.
She wants to excite the beholder’s
curiosity, awaken the pleasure
felt through the feeling of nature,
yearning for levity.
Art responds to time, in which it is
created and reacts to challenges.
It may, however, also offer a
conscious distraction from one’s
surroundings.
For Elke Jungbluth, the time to
express joy and delight through
painting had matured. Through
her works, she consciously sets a
counterpoint, a kind of liberation
from the trauma of catastrophes,
war, hunger and suffering. Her art
seems playful, conveys a sense of
joy, lends an optimism to life and
directly expresses the beauty of
colour and shapes.
Her works intend to serve the
development of the soul and
emanate optimism.
They do not ask questions. Her
colourful artworks portray the
answer and the paths toward
that, which is worthwhile living
for- delightful moments -
conveying an unacquainted
positive aura.
Effortlessly, colour and shape
combinations are spread over the
canvas and set in a, from my point
of view, distinctive balance and
harmony.
SPANISH VILLAGE BY THE SEA
Today, she does not simply portray
the being, but to be, not the flower,
but its flourishing nature, not the
THE FRAUD
5

SCREAMS IN ME
Her works remind the beholder of
one of the first abstract Aquarelles
from Kandinsky from 1910, which
was seen as the cradle of abstract
painting for a prolonged period
of time. Elke Jungbluth’s pieces
are, however, more densely filled,
enabling a sensation of depth,
guided by a sense of sentimentality.
Following the theme of abstract
expressionism and mirroring
shapes, the artist leaves the choice
of style open.
Her pieces are the result of artistic
spontaneity.
The process of painting is the
subject. The tension between
colour and movement, abstraction,
space and area can be clearly felt.
Her works captivate the beholder
to the extent of prohibiting his
sight to rest. We move between
lines and paths and rails, as well as
figures, plants and buildings. She
transforms cities and landscapes
into rhythmical structures.
Thereby, fantastical, dreamlike
landscapes arise. Crowded,
overlapping and consequent,
colours demonstrating and
portraying their limitless paths
- exceeding the edge of the
canvas - merge.
using powerful and lively colours,
make her artwork particularly
distinguishable. In my opinion,
the evolution into abstractedness,
portrays a resolute step Elke
Jungbluth has made.
Her paintings have a characteristic
rhythm. We are unable to detect a
hierarchy in her works - everything
seems equal. Emotion, inspiration
and construction blend into each
other through form-moulding,
explosive painting techniques into
admirable merriment.
In her studio, Elke Jungbluth
creates mood and motion by
unintentional means of music
playing in the background, lending
the art of painting a rhythm, tone
and beat. This is then accompanied
by colour, shape and form, pattern
and composition to give birth to a
new abstract piece.
Elke Jungbluth seizes painting as
an unbound system by pursuing her
ideas and inspiration coherently.
Limits are vanquished, while she
allows colours to run freely and
idly, enabling their independence
to bloom.
Her works reach into space. They
search for contact with their
surroundings and move between
the abstract and composition
(figuration).
The vivacious, feisty impetus,
explosiveness and the reflection
of the expressionistic style,
CREATION
8

Her last works show a radical
reduction in form. From my point
of view, they live from dynamics
and colour.
As well in nature as in painting,
colour takes the role of a powerful
medium, that can convey aesthetic
emotions.
The artist has developed a unique
and unmistakeable talent for this
purpose. With her pronounced
sense for and knowledge of colour,
she creates paintings for an
optimistic future. She downright
drives her colours to an always
brighter radiancy. “It is delightful
to live by giving and obtaining
the joy of the beholder.”, is what
orange, yellow, blue and green on
her canvas mean to say.
The unconventionally inspired
explosions of colour in her most
recent pieces take up multiple
phases to form.
An essential element is colour itself,
that Elke Jungbluth uses, to even
out with a scraper, stroke with a
brush, or to simply let it drip and
flow on the canvas; guided by the
central motif and theme, walking
into intersecting paths.
Remember how the artist Willem
de Kooning once said: “Painting is
that voiceless chapter, of which we
may talk about endlessly.”
OH HAPPY DAY
February 2019
Dr. Edelbert Dold
DISCOVER MORE
www.ekses.de
THE SUMMER
CANDY PARK
9

THE PAINTED HALL
THE OLD ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE
VESTIBULE DOME © NIKHILESH HAVAL

England has ever produced but, as
I am sure he would have been the
first to admit, he was not on a par
with Michelangelo.
Why was the Painted Hall at
the Old Royal Naval College
commissioned?
It was commissioned to showcase
the cultural and artistic brilliance
of a nation, emerging from a
period of instability and to provide
a ceremonial centre piece for this
grand new charitable project - the
Royal Hospital for Seamen.
Who was Sir James Thornhill?
Thornhill was an emerging artist,
born in Dorset in 1675. He was an
apprentice to Thomas Highmore
(appointed Sergeant Painter to
William III in 1703) of the Painter
Stainers Company and began
his career undertaking private
commissions for prominent
(predominantly Whig) landowners.
In 1707 he won the Greenwich
commission which he finally
completed in 1726. In 1715 he was
also awarded the commission to
decorate the dome of St Paul’s
Cathedral in 1715. He was knighted
in 1720 and died in 1734.
VIEW FROM THE VESTIBULE © NIKHILESH HAVAL
Please can you introduce yourself
to our readers?
My name is William Palin, the
Conservation Director at
the Greenwich Foundation.
I am responsible for the
conservation, care and
maintenance of the buildings
and grounds in the demise of the
Greenwich Foundation for the Old
Royal Naval College, including
the four great Grade I-listed
courtyard buildings designed by
Sir Christopher Wren and built as
the Royal Hospital for Seamen
between 1696 and 1750. The
site (about 8 acres) comprises
two Scheduled Monuments - the
buildings above ground and the
remains of the earlier, Tudor,
Greenwich Palace below ground.
The Painted Hall has been
referred to as the ‘Sistine Chapel
of the UK’ what is your views on
this statement?
I think this is helpful to explain
to be people who haven’t visited
the site, just how spectacular and
important the Painted Hall interior
is, but the two buildings are very
different in terms of how and why
they were painted. Thornhill was
the most brilliant ‘history painter’
What was the techniques Sir
James Thornhill used?
Thornhill produced a large amount
of preparatory sketches, before
executing his scheme direct on the
dry plaster surfaces in the Painted
Hall. He painted the architectural
framework first and then added
the figures and other elements.
To give some context to when the
hall was painted, could you briefly
explain what was happening in
the world at this time?
During the 17th century, England
emerged as a major European
power with a powerful navy and
land army. It was now trading
across the globe and was a
determinate power in Europe.
11

PAINTED HALL CEILING © NIKHILESH HAVAL

Could you explain the meaning
behind the paintings?
The main painting ‘The Triumph of
Peace and Liberty over Tyranny’
celebrates the founders of the
Royal Hospital, William III and
Mary II. They are shown under
a canopy of state, with the king
passing an olive branch and cap
of liberty to a kneeling figure
representing Europe. The king is
trampling on a figure representing
‘arbitrary power and tyranny’ Louis
XIV of France.
Elsewhere in the ceiling England’s
Naval power and scientific
understanding, is shown to
underpin mercantile prosperity.
VIEW FROM THE UPPER HALL © JAMES BRITTAIN
Do you know any hidden
meanings or myths around the
paintings?
The meanings of the paintings are
explained in the guide book which
Thornhill himself published in 1724.
Not all the figures are identified in
this pamphlet however, some may
be portraits of familiar historical or
contemporary figures.
What would you recommend
visitors to do or know before they
see the paintings, in order to
enhance their experience?
Explore our new interpretation
gallery and use the wonderful new
multi-media guide, available with
the ticket price.
SPANDREL FROM THE VESTIBULE DOME WITH ROYAL INSIGNIA
© NIKHILESH HAVAL
You have the Lower Hall ceiling,
the Upper Hall ceiling and the
west wall. What is the differences
between them. Do you have a
favourite section?
The Lower Hall ceiling is
free-er and more ‘baroque’ in its
composition. The later Upper Hall
ceiling is stiffer and more formal,
reflecting the changing styles of
the time.
VIEW OF THE WEST WALL © JAMES BRITTAIN
13

PAINTED HALL CEILING © JAMES BRITTAIN

PROSCENIUM ARCH © NIKHILESH HAVAL
In March 2019 the Painted Hall
was restored and reopened after
two years. What stimulated the
restoration project?
The need to clean and conserve the
paintings and ensure their longterm
preservation, by improving
the environmental conditions in
the Hall.
What was the process of the
restoration?
The process involved three
different methods - 1. A surface
clean with deionised water 2. The
gentle softening or ‘mobilisation’ of
the existing varnished layer, using
solvents in order to remove the
whitening of the surface 3. In a
few places some flake fixing and
consolidation.
What challenges did you face with
the restoration?
The scale of the project was
very challenging involving the
conservation of 40,000 sq ft
of painted surface. Conditions
were not easy, the small group of
conservators (no more than 7 at
one time) worked standing up and
sometimes in severe heat and cold.
Was traditional or modern
techniques used?
All techniques were based on
traditional approaches but using
modern conservation material.
Did you learn anything new from
the process of restoring these fine
paintings?
We learnt a lot about why the
whitening (blanching) occurs and
how this is affected by fluctuating
relative humidity in the Hall.
How have you used new
environmental interventions to
drastically slow down any future
deterioration of the paintings?
We have stabilised the relative
humidity (RH) using a range of
strategies, including a new visitor
route with environmental buffers
such as the glazed screen in the
undercroft; a new heating system
to circulate air more gently and
effectively and solar shading on the
windows.
After completing the restoration
of the Painted Hall, if you could
go back, would you do anything
different?
No!
What is the future for the Painted
Hall?
We hope it will be another 100
years before we have to treat the
paintings again. In the meantime, it
is there for everyone to enjoy and
to inspire and delight visitors.
16

DISCOVER MORE
Website: ornc.org
Email: info@ornc.org
Phone: 02082694747
Ticket information:
Pay for a day and come back free
for a year
Pay As You Wish Wednesday (first
Wednesday of every month)
Adults: £12
Kids 16 and under go free*
Concessions available
*Up to 4 children per paying adult
Ticket includes:
• Entry to the Painted Hall
• Multimedia Guide to the
Painted Hall
• Expert talks throughout the
day
• Free activities for children
• Guided tour of our grounds
and buildings – Sir Christopher
Wren’s masterpiece
• Entry to the Victorian Skittle
Alley
Transport
SOUTH WALL IN THE UPPER HALL, DEPICTING THE ARRIVAL OF
WILLIAM III IN TORBAY © NIKHILESH HAVAL
Greenwich Pier (1 min walk)
DLR Cutty Sark (3 mins)
Greenwich Station (10 mins)
Opening Times:
Painted Hall (ticketed)
10:00 – 17:00
Visitor Centre & Chapel (free to
visit) 10:00 – 17:00
Old Royal Naval College grounds
(free to visit) 08:00 – 23:00
The London Pass is accepted.
WEST WALL DETAIL © NIKHILESH HAVAL
WINDOW AND NAVAL BENCH
© JAMES BRITTAIN
17

THOR RAFNSSON

Please introduce yourself to our
readers?
My name is Thor Rafnsson born
in Reykjavik, I live and work in
Denmark. Art and above all else,
visual arts, have always been my
big interest.
Tell us about your education?
I received my education at The
Icelandic College of Arts and
Crafts.
Along with my education I worked
in the evenings as an assistant
to known Icelandic artists. My
personal theme in my images
have been woven by my own
development in life. In 1995 when I
began work within Anthroposophy,
I got a new inspiration for my work
and developed an entirely new
artistic impulse.
The Waldorf education and the
work there has given me a lot of
influence while developing my
personal style. It was during those
years of study, that I found my
internal expression in my pictures.
Describe your work?
The colours are most often light
and I endeavour to capture after
concord and balance.
Through the pictures I also want to
try and express mankind’s internal
spiritual room, where the creation
of the images occur.
How to pick a subject to paint?
Most often I find my subject
through the people I meet in my
everyday life. Some encounters
spur my imagination and I get the
urge to put what I feel on canvas.
THE LAID BACK WOMEN
19

I usually enjoy listening to
audiobooks or listening to music,
things like David Bowie or Pink
Floyd.
How does nature effect your
work?
Nature is a big part of what I do
and I endeavour to emulate her in
my art. Her colours, shapes and
mood speaks of that concord and
balance that I want to find when I
create my work.
Who is your favorite artist and
why?
I have many, but the one that
sticks out the most right now is
David Bowie and his ingenious
way of having to always been able
to renew his artistry, finding new
ways to express his music. This is
something I try to emulate myself
as to not get stuck in a groove
and get bored with the creation
process.
Which artists inspire your own
art?
Do you ever see yourself in one of
your portraits you have painted?
It happens, most often in a
symbolic way. I think every
painting an artist puts out has
some of him or her in it always.
It can be the way one felt at that
moment, a feeling you would like
to capture or a space to explore.
How long does a piece take and
do you have a process you go
through?
It depends on my personal
motivation, or when I feel ready
to put what I am processing on
canvas. Sometimes it can be a
matter of days, other times a
matter of weeks.
THE MAN FROM THE PAST
After you have completed a
piece do you feel you have learnt
anything?
Every painting is often something
new, both technically and
spiritually.
I can change my style of painting
often to suit what I want to express
and sometimes it is even a struggle,
which forces me to explore new
avenues, so that I can reach the
visual language I want to express.
Do you work from a photograph or
a real sitter?
I work with both and sometimes
from imagination.
What do you like to do when not
creating art?
Erro, an Icelandic artist with vivid
and energetic artwork that really
boggles the mind and of course
Salvador Dalí.
If you was not an artist what
would you be?
I can’t say, all the persons or roles
I think of has some kind of artistry
involved in it. I don’t think I would
be anything else at all really.
Has social media affected the way
you view your work?
To say that it hasn’t would be lying.
The abundance of access to both
inspiration, other people’s works
affects me every day.
As well as the ease with which
people can criticize or praise your
work, it can be both good and bad.
20

I HEAR YOU
UNBOUND
What has been your favourite
piece?
I Hear You
Do you learn from criticism of
your work?
Like with everyone, yes, if it is
constructive. Really it is hard to
take criticisms on your pieces
when so much of yourself is
reflected in them. It is needed
though, for ones continued growth
as an artist.
What are your future plans?
I want to continue my painting and
hopefully get to put it on exhibit in
2020.
DISCOVER MORE
www.thorrafnsson.dk
Instagram: @thor.rafnsson
Facebook: @thor.rafnsson
22

NÉ BARROS

Layer by layer, Né Barros builds
abstract shapes, highlighting the
beauty found in the process itself.
The central theme of his work
is colour, texture, roughness
and all its plasticity, strongly
influenced by the beauty of
nature. His work seeks in nature
forms in the relationship between
natural elements and those man
made. Nature has its own way of
reinventing itself and over the
years regenerates as well. Né
Barros strives for perfection in
imperfections, insignificant marks
and neglect that nature creates in
the chaos of the human footprint,
searching for grandeur and a
myriad of colours that coexist
within nature.
The artist instinctively works
with textures and colours. The
materials used are deconstructed
using methodically plastic
materials - spreading, burning
and tinting. Time is invested in
its realisation: the artwork can
take days, weeks or even years
to create. Starting and starting
over, sometimes letting the
work breathe, allowing to evolve
organically. Each piece is built
with layers of paint, glue, resin,
beeswax, in three-dimensional
abstract forms that hover between
object and image. Together they
create a unique, visual and tactile
landscape, forming depth and
texture challenges for the viewer
to reflect upon.
Born in Almada, Portugal in
1964, Né currently has his studio
based in Portugal. He started as
a self-taught artist however, his
curiosity and the constant thirst
for learning and keeping abreast
of new trends have made him
complete his artistic training in
painting, at the school of Arts
of the National Society of Fine
Arts, Lisbon. Subsequently having
a complementary year of Atelier
with the master Jaime Silva, where
he acquired new concepts and new
techniques.
COLOR MOVEMENT N° 2
25

In 1998 he began to exhibit
his work, starting to perform
exhibitions regularly both
individually and collectively.
Participating in prestigious group
exhibitions, personal highlights
of exhibiting in New York City
and London. Né Barros has had
works sold around the world in
private collections and in public
collections. Furthermore, being a
member of several artistic orders,
having been awarded in Spain and
in Italy.
His artwork is spontaneous and
inventive, the painting that he
SUSHI
performs utilises a strong linear
drawing of schematized shapes.
Style of slightly contrasted charged
colours that, by their strength, are
able to transfigure the surrounding
world into an inner universe.
The artwork is a prime vehicle for
conveying sensations and emotions.
The painting is your stage leaving
you an infinite palette of colour,
this colour with an expressive
trait, which gives plastic force
and results in it various readings.
Brushstrokes are important with
in the work building the piece
together, creating your imaginary
world, this world with a colourful
richness, developing an aesthetic in
the approach to canvas. The pieces
translate a pictorial narrative rich
in colour and movement, allowing
the spectator to be carried away
by their organised chaos. With
his works he seeks to interact
with today’s complex world of
free form, spontaneity and above
all instinctive. Né Barros work,
allows instinct and inspiration to
come in explosions, chromatic,
accompanied by changeability
and shifting energy with rich and
abundant textures.
26

He says the following “I seek
above all, that my work reflects
light, colour, freedom and daring,
conveying to the recipient pleasure,
joy and contemplation. Allowing
the art lover to have several
readings of the work, which can
be observed from various angles,
directions and that after come back
again, starting from the beginning
but now discovering new ways. In
painting I like the amazing universe
of recipients who with she relates.
Diverse, unexpected and as rich as
human life itself. Around my works
coexist with the most disparate
looks, experiences, personalities
and know. Everyone looks at her,
but only each one feels and lives. ”
In painting, the artist hopes that
the work will neatly translate what
he thought and felt disorganised.
So more than images, seeks to
convey the emotions without
which his work would not have
certainly existed. But more
important than the emotion you
seek to convey, is that painting
causes emotions in people. The
free creation must be rediscovered
in the freedom of emotions that
their recipients lets you manifest.
As an artist, Né Barros considers
himself a marker of time, his works
reflect a wave of contemporaneity.
They are expressive and rhythmic
to the sound of the new life we
lead, always at a rapid pace and no
time to contemplate all the beauty
around us.
The artist was inspired by The
New York School, which was an
informal group of abstract painters
and other artists in NYC though
it has become associated most
with the abstract expressionist
movement. He references Willem
de Kooning and Arshile Gorky
and Jackson Pollock. In 2019 Né
began working in new mediums and
trying new painting techniques, by
mixing and remixing both oil and
acrylic and begins the exploration
of Encaustic painting. This being
is a mixed media technique that
involves using heated beeswax, to
which coloured pigments have
been added. The liquid/paste is
then applied to a surface, usually
prepared wood, although canvas
and other materials are often used.
COLOR MOVEMENT N°15
The term is derived from Greek,
meaning a burning in. An ancient
art begun by the Egyptians 5000
years old A.C.
Having already thirty years of an
artistic career, he continues as if
it had begun yesterday. Curiously,
constantly seeking new approaches
and new abstract languages, often
letting ink flow into their chaos,
trying to control and guide this
chaos to its intended effect.
DISCOVER MORE
www.nebarros.net
@artist_nebarros
COLOR MOVEMENT N°16 COLOR MOVEMENT N°6
27

THE TIMES SQUARE
EDITION
NEW YORK

EDITION USHERS IN A NEW
ERA FOR TIMES SQUARE
Ian Schrager recreates and
reinvents the golden age of this
world-famous icon for the present
The Times Square EDITION may
just be the long overdue and best
thing to hit Times Square in over
a century. There simply has never
been anything like it before in
New York City’s famed cultural
and entertainment mecca. Ian
Schrager, in partnership with
Marriott International, introduces
a new order with the first chic and
sophisticated luxury hotel and
the first Michelin-starred chef
ever to grace the neighbourhood,
along with the creation of a new
form of Cabaret theatre and a
complete reinvention of billboard
art. But what could be the most
important part is a revitalization of
Times Square that will attract not
just visitors and tourists, but New
Yorkers as well, punctuating the
area as the City’s epicentre and
crossroads of the world...again.
Throughout the decades, Times
Square has seen myriad changes
and has taken on many iterations.
By World War I, it was the
centre of culture, nightlife and
entertainment. By the 40’s and
50’s, the Latin Quarter Nightclub
presented festive floor shows
that featured chorus girls and
can-can dancers, Frank Sinatra,
Frankie Laine and the Andrew
Sisters. There was Tin Pan Alley,
the Copacabana and the Theatre
District. There was Roseland,
Birdland, Ella Fitzgerald, marathon
dancing, hot jazz, Doo-Wop and
the pop rock of the Brill building
as well as the invention of the
now gossip columns. It was a
democratic “meeting place” and
nothing exemplified the disorder
of the city or the dichotomy
of high and low art than Times
Square. Sadly, however, the Great
Depression and World War II
took its toll on the area and Times
Square began its decline. From
the 60’s onward, the area was
riddled with adult entertainment,
prostitution, drugs, and crime. It
wasn’t until the mid-80’s when the
Marriott Marquis opened its doors
and Disney debuted The Lion King
at The New Amsterdam Theatre
that the clean-up began with the
redevelopment of new theatres,
retail, hotels and eateries.
Despite Times Square’s notorious
reputation, it has managed to
maintain itself as a symbolic global,
geographic and cultural icon. It had
long been home to media giants
as well as the centre for theatre,
music, culture and entertainment.
This adventurous mold-breaking,
however, has disappeared. Today,
Times Square and its overindulgent
commercialization lacks the
substance and sex-appeal that
once distinguished its streets. It is
hungry for a Renaissance and The
Times Square EDITION will usher
in a new era. The hotel and all of its
unique offerings seek to preserve
the essence of the area during
its Golden Age when it was the
microcosm of the best New York
City had to offer.
From the moment you enter the
hotel’s doors on 20 Times Square
at West 47th Street, you are
transported to another world-a
ENTRANCE
decompression zone. A long ivory
hall with venetian plastered walls
and ceiling and a floating custom
green mirrored stainless sphere
inspired by Anish Kapoor and the
colours of Jeff Koons await you.
Once you arrive at the Lobby and
Lobby Bar, a series of black and
white spaces, you are convinced
that you are no longer in colourful
Times Square anymore. The refined
and pristine spaces of The Times
Square EDITION are juxtaposed
against the energy, vibrancy and
chaos of Times Square. Each
of these two extremes serves
the other yet each stands on its
own. But together, something
new, original, and even stronger
is created. Indeed, with this
alchemic symbiosis, a new reality
and a virtual fourth dimension is
created. As you move in and out
continuously, the space becomes
boundaryless. This clash of worlds,
this surreal sense of space and time
is best experienced on the outdoor
terraces, appropriately named the
Bladerunner Terraces, that frame
the various public space floors.
On the terrace off the Lobby Bar,
you can choose to be in your own
private oasis escaping in a cocoonlike
area or face the brilliance of
flashing light and colour of Times
Square for the best light show in
the world.
31

Off the Terrace Restaurant, a
similar feeling awaits on expansive
terraces that were inspired by
the L’Orangerie at Jardin des
Tuileries in Paris. The outdoor
space in totality with thousands
of plants, trees and ivy is perhaps
the biggest indoor landscaping
effort in the country was designed
by Madison Cox and is literally,
multi-level gardens in the sky. The
public space interiors with their
rich woods, lush velvets, waxed
leathers, polished marbles and
smooth metals are combined to
create a chic, simple, hip, serene
and luxurious setting, an antidote
to the hectic life just outside the
hotel’s doors.
“The Times Square EDITION is
an entirely new lens on Times
Square. From an aerie above the
hubbub below, you can engage,
observe or withdraw. The hotel is
an oasis of sophistication brought
to you through the insight of the
THE TERRACE RESTAURANT
incomparable Ian Schrager, my
friend and partner. There is simply
nothing like it.” Arne Sorenson,
President and CEO, Marriott
International
TERRACE RESTAURANT ENTRANCE
The entrance to the Terrace
restaurant will host the debut
exhibit of specially curated candid
portrayals of “the real New York
City”, the one not seen by visitors,
capturing energetic, gritty and
poetic street and neighborhood
scenes by renowned photographers
Helen Levitt, Elliott Erwitt, Bruce
Davidson, Ruth Orkin, Arthur
Leipzig and Cornell Capa to
name a few. The following exhibit
will shift to more current street
scenes illustrating the culture and
diversity that pervades the city
today. The space will continue to
house rotating photography and
art exhibits by various well-known
photographers and artists.
“Why theatre? It’s live. It’s real. It’s
the closest thing to dreams. Having
theatre born out of order negates
the whole point. What we make
comes from utter chaos. Chaos is
where we learned to do this even
before we knew what we were
doing.” Anya Sapozhnikova
The shows will be part theatre,
part performance art with talent
34

across many disciplines including
dance, voice, aerial acrobatics,
choreography, costume design
and magic. There will be a regular
ongoing performance based on
William Blake’s The Marriage
of Heaven and Hell. With no
formulas, rules or any specific
structure, but not for shock value,
each performance at Paradise
Club will be different from the
previous one and different from
the next. For a new twist on dining
and entertainment, the menu will
be original and creative from hot
dogs to caviar and everything in
between.
“Paradise Club is a place of
aspiration...Invention and
reinvention...A refuge to enjoy
life and forget life and the perfect
place to escape into fantasy.” Ian
Schrager
This one-of-a-kind cultural
entertainment space also features
the most sensational, immersive,
colourful and kinetic lighting
effects designed by Tony and
Academy Award-winning Fisher
Marantz of Studio 54 fame and
inspired by a Lenny Kravitz video,
as well as bespoke hand painted
murals inspired by Bosch and
Dali--a modern successor to the
world famous Maxfield Parrish’s
King Cole mural on Fifth Avenue.
Perhaps the most spectacular
element of the space is the
full-blown production studio and
control centre that allows for live
simulcasts and broadcasts around
the world, as well as locally to
a “Best in Class” 17,000 sf-8K-
8mm Jumbotron outside of the
building and a high definition
digital screen on the stage. The
exterior Jumbotron will also display
rotating art by current video artists,
cinematographers and animators.
THE TIMES SQUARE EDITION EXTERIOR
DISCOVER MORE
www.editionhotels.com/times-square
All images taken in The Times Square
EDITION feature have been taken
by Nikolas Koenig.
LOFT SUITE
35

FRANCIS AKPATA

My initial foray in art was as a
young boy that liked to draw
comics and depict superheroes
like Spiderman, the Incredible
Hulk and then started painting the
characters in Star wars like Darth
Vader. With Star wars I decided
to place the characters in settings
like the desert and in mountains. I
always retreated to this world, to
depict any subject I was interested
in.
Once while painting the seaside
as a teenager, I painted the river
and sky green. My fellow students
looked at it as awkward, while my
tutor said it is like an impressionist
painting. This led me to also study
history of art movements like
impressionism, expressionism,
cubism.
I studied philosophy at Kings
College London and focused on
aesthetics. I studied the aesthetics
of Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Hegel
and Schiller. After graduation
I took life drawing and painting
courses at the City Literary
institute.
In art I am primarily concerned
with the concept of the sublime.
The sublime normally refers to
something unusual , it surprises
us and takes us to a new direction.
This being physical or conceptual.
We describe something as sublime
when it stretches our imagination
and understanding in that we
are going beyond obviates of our
usual expectation or calculation
and so we tend to ponder a bit
before we comprehend what the
artist has painted. The German
Philosopher Kant, put the sublime
into 3 categories the noble, the
splendid, and the terrifying. Kant
also described the sublime as taken
forms which are the “mathematical
and dynamical”. A painting
becomes sublime when it compels
us to reflect while comprehending
the painting as the impressionist,
surrealist or fauvist have done in
the past with any new genre.
BEETHOVEN AFTER EROICA
This is what I attempt to depict
with my paintings, I am particularly
interested in altering or affecting
the audience’s perception of a
person, an object or concept.
I also like to place a painting in
different settings or context. I have
exhibited with a group called Art
Below where we exhibit a painting
in a gallery and then placed a
poster of the painting in an open
space, like the train station or a bill
board poster. I like the reaction
of the audience when they see a
painting or sculpture in a setting
where they would not normally
expect it.
THE LABYRINTH
I am particularly influenced by
three art movements, German
expressionism in relation to my
use of colour, Cubism/African
sculpture when it comes to drawing
or use of space. Perspective and
abstract expressionism, in relation
to depicting subconscious ideas.
37

I have an initial idea and then
slowly decide which style would
be most apt to depict the idea.
Following Kant’s idea, I aim
not just to depict the beautiful
which “relates to the form of
the object” and has “boundaries”
which reduces the ability to depict
anything that will challenge the
audience’s expectations. Kant
said the sublime “is to be found
in a formless object” which is
represented by “boundlessness”.
That “boundlessness” quality is
what I want the subject to have
in my painting. I paint in the
representational and abstract form.
With representational I choose
my subjects when I am interested
in something that relates to the
subject or have met someone
that has an interesting face or
unique personality. I have done
a series of portraits of Jazz and
classical composers. The style here
is a mixture of expressionism in
the use of colour and cubism in
terms of space and perspective.
JOHN COLTRANE “BEFORE ASCENSION”
With representational painting, I
am more focused on using my
conscious mind and imagination
but would like the perceiver to
have a variety of interpretations.
I have less control with abstract
painting, In that while meditating
or carrying out an unrelated
activity, a theme or idea comes
to me. This could be listening to
music or watching a film. That
Idea becomes the subject of the
painting. . I usually stand in front
of a canvas and paint until some
patterns and shapes form a rhythm
and format of their own. Abstract
painting teaches me to trust my
subconscious mind, to create
patterns with colour and take
me for a journey to reach its own
destination. I like abstract painters
like Kandinsky, Hans Hoffman and
Mark Rothko. They enable us to
see how colour and form, without
representing anything in particular,
give us the feeling of perceiving the
sublime. The same occurs with the
paintings of Van Gogh, Basquiat
and Lucien Freud.
I like to play classical or ambient
music when painting. With a
representational painting, the
music makes me focus and
concentrate on detail. While
painting abstract, the music
enables me to tap into the
subconscious meditative mood.
In the future I aim to make
installation videos with
performance artists.
DISCOVER MORE
www.francisakpata.com
MILES DAVIS “MUSIC FROM THE STILL POINT”
40

MEANDERING SEAMLESSLY
41

LUCIAN FREUD

Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits
will be the first exhibition to
focus on the celebrated artist’s
visceral and unflinching selfportraits.
Executed over almost
seven decades on canvas and
paper, the exhibition will bring
together around 50 works that
chart Freud’s (1922-2011) artistic
development: from his early,
more linear and graphic works to
the fleshier painterly style that
became the hallmark of his later
work. The majority of the works
are from private collections and
a number have not been seen
publicly for several decades.
The exhibition will be organised
following a loose chronology in
six sections, revealing Freud’s
unexpected and wide-ranging
exploration of the self-portrait.
Freud was once asked if he was a
good model for himself, to which
he replied “No, I don’t accept the
information that I get when I look
at myself and that’s where the
trouble starts”. This ‘trouble’ led to
a continuous confrontation with
his self-image that went in tandem
with his interrogation of paint. This
will be highlighted within the first
section that places his first major
self-portrait, Man with a Feather,
1943 (Private Collection)
alongside his late work Selfportrait,
Reflection, 2002 (Private
Collection). While the first reveals
the tight brushwork that would
define his early period, the latter
exemplifies the use of impasto
and the technical virtuosity of his
mature work.
SELF-PORTRAIT, REFLECTION, 2002
MAN WITH A FEATHER, 1943
The second section will focus on
Freud’s early works, including
his drawings and sketchbooks.
They reveal a playfulness in his
presentation of his own self-image
that was especially evident into
the 1960s. He depicts himself in
the mythological guise of Actaeon
(Self-portrait with Antlers), 1949
(Private Collection), and as a
character in illustrations for plays
and stories such as Flyda and
Arvid, 1947 (Private Collection).
STARTLED MAN: SELF-PORTRAIT, 1948
Freud also began to put himself
in and out of the frame, his eyes
peering from the bottom of a page,
or his side profile from the edge
of the canvas such as in Still-life
with Green Lemon, 1947 (Private
Collection).
43

44
HOTEL BEDROOM, 1954

Freud’s work from the 1950s
traces a gradual transition towards
his mature style, prompted in part
by changes to his working method,
which will be the focus of the third
section of the exhibition.
Hotel Bedroom, 1954, (The
Beaverbrook Foundation,
Beaverbrook Art Gallery,
Fredericton) is the last work Freud
painted sitting down at the easel.
He said, “I felt I wanted to free
myself from this way of working.
When I stood up I never sat down
again”.
Freud’s intense friendship with
Francis Bacon contributed to
another development, seen in
works such as Self-portrait, c.1956
(Private Collection). Adopting
the use of more coarse hog’s hair
brushes helped further open up his
brushwork towards the sweeping
impasto that would become
characteristic of his later work.
SELF-PORTRAIT, C. 1956
MAN’S HEAD (SELF-PORTRAIT III), 1963
Further sections of Lucian Freud:
The Self-portraits will reveal his
working process, where a number
of sketchbooks and unfinished
portraits will be on display. At
times Freud gave his brushwork
a sharper edge, to suggest a door
lintel or trace a separation between
wall and floor, locating the artist in
his own studio.
At others he drew attention to the
reflected source of his self-image
by depicting mirrors, which can
be seen in Hand Mirror on Chair,
1966 (Private Collection). Freud
stated that he used mirrors to
remain true to visual experience,
as well as to try and see himself
from unconventional angles and
capturing aspects of his face visible
to others but that he remained less
familiar with.
The final sections will examine
Freud’s later self-portraits, in
which his mastery of paint is
matched by the imposing and
uncompromising image of himself.
Works such as, Reflection (Selfportrait),
1985 (Private Collection,
on loan to the Irish Museum
of Modern Art) possesses the
intensity and penetrating stare
for which Freud was renowned
throughout his career.
In 1993, shortly after he turned
70, Freud completed Painter
Working, Reflection, 1993 (Private
Collection): “Now the very least
I can do is paint myself naked.”
Having given new expression to
the nude in his portraits of others,
Freud turned his unflinching
gaze back onto himself, depicting
himself naked but for a pair of
unlaced boots.
Between 2002 and 2003 Freud
painted two further self-portraits.
Sombre in mood, they show him
now in his 80s, clutching his
scarf and resting his chin on his
hand, his face gaunt and built up
with thick layers of paint. Freud’s
portraits chart a life’s journey, from
young boy to old man, in what
was effectively an ongoing study
into the process of ageing and the
changes it inflicted on his own
physical form.
Few other artists in the 20th
century have portrayed themselves
with such consistency.
45

REFLECTION WITH TWO CHILDREN (SELF-PORTRAIT), 1965
Lucian Freud biography
Lucian Freud, OM (8 December
1922 – 20 July 2011) is celebrated
as one of the foremost 20thcentury
painters. Born in Berlin
in 1922 to Ernst L. Freud and
the grandson of Sigmund Freud,
Freud’s family moved to Britain in
1933 to escape the rise of Nazism.
In 1939 he attended the East
Anglian School of Painting, after
enrolling for only a short time at
the Central School of Arts and
Crafts in London the previous
year. Freud moved to London in
1943 and over the next few years
he became closely involved with
the London arts scene, forming a
particularly close friendship with
Francis Bacon. In 1944 Freud was
given his first solo show at the
Lefevre Gallery in London.
Freud’s early career as a painter
was influenced by surrealism, but
by the early 1950s his
paintings tended towards realism
and drawing became less prevalent.
From 1954 Freud no longer sat
down to paint, finding standing to
be less restrictive, and by 1956,
having chosen to work with coarser
hog’s hair brushes there was a
dramatic stylistic shift in his work.
By 1966 Freud moved away from
painting only the heads of sitters to
full-length portraits, although his
self-portraits remained focused on
his head and torso. In 1977 Freud
moved to a top-floor apartment
in Holland Park, which continued
to be his studio for the rest of his
career. In 1990 Freud met the
artist David Dawson, who became
Freud’s studio assistant and
remained his close friend, assistant
and model until Freud’s death. In
46

1993 Freud was made a member of
the Order of Merit, limited to only
24 living recipients at any one time.
Freud was an intensely private man,
and his paintings, completed over
a 60-year career, are mostly of
friends and family. He died in 2011
at the age of 88, having worked
until two weeks before his death.
Organisation
The exhibition is organised by the
Royal Academy of Arts, London
in collaboration with the Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston. It is curated
by Jasper Sharp, Adjunct Curator
for Modern and Contemporary Art
at the Kunsthistorisches Museum,
Vienna, and David Dawson, painter
and photographer, and Freud’s
former studio assistant with
Andrea Tarsia, Curator at the Royal
Academy of Arts.
The exhibition will travel to the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from
1 March – 25 May 2020.
Dates and Opening Hours
Sunday 27 October 2019 –
Sunday 26 January 2020
10am – 6pm daily
(last admission 5.30pm)
Fridays until 10pm
(last admission 9.30pm)
Admission
Full price £18.00 (£16.00
excluding Gift Aid donation);
concessions available; under 16s go
free; Friends of the RA go free.
Tickets
Tickets are available daily
at the RA or by visiting
www.royalacademy.org.uk.
About the Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts was
founded by King George III in 1768.
It has a unique position in being
an independent, privately funded
institution led by eminent artists
and architects whose purpose is
to be a clear, strong voice for art
and artists. Its public programme
promotes the creation, enjoyment
and appreciation of the visual arts
through exhibitions, education and
debate.
The Royal Academy launched
a new campus as part of the
celebrations of its 250th
anniversary year in 2018. Following
a transformative redevelopment,
designed by the internationallyacclaimed
architect Sir David
Chipperfield RA and supported
by the National Lottery, the new
Royal Academy of Arts reveals
more of the elements that make
the RA unique – sharing with
the public historic treasures
from its Collection, the work of
its Royal Academicians and the
Royal Academy Schools, and its
role as a centre for learning and
debate about art and architecture –
alongside its world-class exhibitions
programme.
DISCOVER MORE
www.royalacademy.org.uk
All works by Lucian Freud and
© The Lucian Freud Archive /
Bridgeman Images
Group bookings: Groups of 10+
are asked to book in advance.
Telephone 020 7300 8027 or
email adultgroups@royalacademy.
org.uk.
BURLINGTON HOUSE COURTYARD ©FRASER MARR
47

JESSICA M. HANCOCK

Jessica Marie Hancock (formerly
Springman) is a visual artist
producing highly detailed drawings
with strong geometric elements.
She received her Bachelor’s
degrees in Communication and
Art from Westminster College of
Salt Lake City in 1998. Interested
in the concepts of design and
spatial relationships, her work
explores the idea of abstraction, as
it relates to aesthetic uniformity
and universal balance.
Her artistic style is very clean and
has been described in many ways,
but the favourite is “Vennism” -
breaking apart multivariate reality
into constituent and relational
elements, as separated and nested
2D representations.
Everything Jessica draws is done
entirely by hand using only a
compass and ruler as guides.
Early in the artists life, Jessica
noticed that she was able to draw
better than most of her classmates.
Even before realising (or really
caring) how art was used privately
or commercially, people would
complement her on the ability of
the work she produced, labelling
it a “gift,” and emphatically
encouraging her not to waste
it. Later on understanding and
appreciating the “art world” and
as more and more people started
asking if the work was available for
sale, realising the potential to make
a life with the “gift.”
Contemporary art is typically
distinguished by the lack of a
uniform organising principle,
ideology, or -ism. This freedom of
expression gives voice to the varied
and changing cultural landscape
of identities, values, and beliefs
that are rapidly emerging and
converging worldwide today.
The art produced is highly
sophisticated, very detailed and
clearly ordered. It is not created to
be interpreted as “sacred” or based
in any way on the principals of
mandala. There are similarities that
people often point out, but that’s
the abstract nature of her work,
doing exactly what contemporary
art is supposed to do - leave the
viewer free to interpret the art
from their own unique perspective
- spatially, spiritually and
emotionally. If they “see” answers
to the mysteries of Life in her work,
good for them.
PRISTINA
49

Audiences also play an active role
in the process of constructing
meaning about works of art,
especially in the contemporary
sense. The viewer contributes to
(and sometimes even completes)
the artwork by offering his or her
personal reflections, experiences,
opinions, and interpretations. They
can revel in the detail or focus on
the overall composition. It doesn’t
matter and THAT is what makes it
art - It was made , but the second
it is shared by Jessica, it becomes
irrelevant and the viewer’s “self”
take control.
DARKNESS
is figuring out how to faithfully
render it on paper.
Jessica has been the focus of many
solo exhibitions and included in
over 65 art shows since 2013. She
is the recipient of various honours
and awards, including membership
with the National Association
of Women Artists (2017), a
Distinguished Artist Award from
ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal
(2016) and the 2015-2016 Stutz
Artist Association Studio Resident
Award (Indianapolis, IN). She was
also awarded one of 12 seats at
the Butler [Indiana] University
Religion, Spirituality, and the Arts
Symposium in 2016.
Nothing in the universe is truly
random and everything, however
small, has a purpose. Jessica
strives to express these personal
truths in all of her art. Everything
is created entirely by hand using
only a ruler and compass as guides,
rarely sketching and with no maths.
The finished image is completely
in Jessica’s mind. The challenge
WELCOME RACE FANS INSTALLATION
52

Jessica’s work was recently used
by Pearl Drums, the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway and the Boy
Scouts of America.
She has been published twice by
Westminster John Knox Press and
can be found in print circulations
including ArtAscent, StudioVisit
Magazine and Artblend Gallery’s
“The Art Book 2019”.
She is represented by the
Directory of Illustration, the Art
Works Gallery (Cedar City, UT),
the Evan Lurie Gallery (Carmel,
IN) and the Artblend Gallery
(Pompano Beach, FL).
Jessica is most proud of being
accepted to the National
Association of Women Artists,
as a regular juried member, in
November 2017. The NAWA
is the oldest women’s fine art
organisation in the country,
founded in 1889 and is considered
a pioneering organisation for
the advancement of women in
the arts. Notable past members
she personally admires include
Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot
and Cecilia Beaux. Through the
NAWA her work is archived at
the Zimmerli Art Museum at
Rutgers University and with the
Smithsonian Institution.
DISCOVER MORE
www.jhancockart.com
OMAR HAKIM WITH THE OFFERING PEARL DRUMS
WELCOME RACE FANS
53

MAURICIO VEGA

selected and awarded in different
competitions and biennials such as:
Rufino Tamayo, Diego Rivera,
Alfredo Zalce, Julio Castillo,
National Painting Salons,
INBA, among others. In 2017
he participated in the First
International Biennial of Painting
of Mexico in the Museum of
Contemporary Art of San Luis
Potosí and in 2018 he made
“Umbralia” individual exhibition at
the Cultural Centre of the Hellenic
Community, Embassy of Greece.
Mauricio García Vega
(MAURICIO VEGA) is a painter,
illustrator and graphic designer,
with painting studies at the
AFHA Institute of Plastic Arts in
Barcelona, ​Spain. He is a graduate
of the Free School of Art and
Advertising, Mexico City.
With more than 400 individual
and collective exhibitions in
Mexico, the United States, Cuba,
Argentina, Spain, France, Sweden
and Italy. His work has been
REVELACIONES
JUEGOS DE ARTIFICIO
55

56
GOTIKA

PESADILLA
57

NEZAHUALCÓYTL...UNA VISIÓN
The direct and vigorous impact of a
work that seeks to create multiple
and infinite spaces through new
forms, with a strong expressive load
is implied in the plastic language of
Mauricio Vega.
It is a maze of mirrors where we
find megalithic architectures,
telluric skies, apocalyptic
symphonies of an artist who, like
Orpheus, descends into the abyss;
to that hell that only through
art could be accessed and thus
resurface with new life, which in
him is feeling, is passion.
In his painting we find Piranesi,
Goya, Bacon who support his vision
of the classic, the modern and the
avant-garde.
Mauricio Vega’s work has as a
fundamental premise, that the
value of painting prevails beyond
what it may represent.
He currently explores with
other materials such as clays,
metals and plastics in search of a
three-dimensional language.
museums and private collections
both nationally and internationally.
DISCOVER MORE
www.pintoresmexicanos.com/
mauriciovega
Instagram: @mauriciogarciavega
His work is part of institutions,
ROJO (PRESENCIA)
59

MATTHEW TAYLOR

It was 1997 when Matthew Taylor
cracked open the sizable biography
on Marcel Duchamp his father had
given him to read. Matthew had
grown up in an artistic family, his
mother was a fashion photographer
and his father a painter and
photographer. As Matthew was
about to enter art school the
next year, his father thought an
understanding of Marcel Duchamp
would be the perfect preparation.
Little did Matthew or his father
know what would come next.
The biography, written by Calvin
Tomkins, quickly became not only
Matthew’s Bible, but his “anarchist
cookbook” that completely
rearranged his perspective of the
world. Suddenly there were no
universal truths, no absolutes,
nothing but a drive to adopt every
material, meeting and experience
as something to be molded and
adopted as a creative act. Matthew
entered every assignment with
Duchamp whispering in his ear to
subvert, change, and sometimes -
make something interesting.
While in art school, the turn of
the millennium occurred. There
was optimism, excitement and
a whole new world opening up.
Massive technological and cultural
shifts happened with the rise of
Google and the democratization
of creative tools. For Matthew,
these new technologies opened
up infinite possibilities in the
trajectory of creative thought. He
discovered the art of filmmaking,
but more on his own terms by
taking the camera and adopting it,
similar to how a sculptor shapes his
material. And thanks to Duchamp,
there was no shortage of material
to manipulate.
DIRECTOR DESCENDING THE
STAIRCASE
JEFF KOONS, A VOICE IN MARCEL DUCHAMP: THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE
But Matthew identified something
more interesting. Since he also
had a deep interest in art history
as well as art theory, Matthew
noticed the parallels between
Marcel Duchamp’s formative years
at the turn of his own century and
the turn of the millennium that
Matthew was living through.
Duchamp also witnessed massive
technological changes - including
the discovery of the X- Ray,
photography, cinematography,
non-Euclidean geometry, the 4th
dimension, the deconstruction
of science by Henri Poincare and
the breakthroughs coming out of
Madame Curie’s lab.
These scientific shifts shaped and
influenced the artists of the day,
leading to Cubism, Futurism,
and DADA. Few artists were
more influenced by these radical
changes than Marcel Duchamp,
who appropriated these scientific
changes in his work. Marcel
Duchamp was a quintessential
20th century man who embraced
technology and its impact on the
future.
As a young artist at the beginning
of the 21st century, Matthew felt
a connection to his idol. With
the new century laid out before
him, Matthew saw Duchamp as
an artist of the future, a guide
on interpreting the unknown and
thinking of black swan events
creatively. Matthew decided that
he wanted to make a film about
these ideas.
Years later, after Matthew had
traveled the world, made over
100 shorts films, and worked on
dozens of film projects, he finally
pulled the trigger on creating a film
about Duchamp. In February 2013,
Matthew shot his first interview
with Dalia Judovitz in Atlanta and
a month later moved to New York
City to start the movie.
This effort took five years with
production spanning five countries
and 33 interviews. Matthew talked
with great artists including Jeff
Koons, Marina Abromovic, Ed
Ruscha and Joseph Kosuth as
well as scholars including Michael
Taylor and Francis Naumann and
individuals who knew Duchamp
personally including his step-son
Paul Matisse and Arturo Schwartz,
who made the 1964 edition of
the Readymades. Matthew filmed
Duchamp collections at the Yale
Art Gallery, Philadelphia Museum
of Art, Moderna Museet in
Stockholm, Eskenazi Museum of
Art in Indiana in addition to private
collections.
BEHIND THE SCENES OF MARCEL DUCHAMP:
THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE WITH ARTIST
GERARD MALANGA
61

technology, the film’s third act
opens with David Bowie discussing
the Internet in 1999. In this
interview, Bowie outlines how the
era of the Internet is the ultimate
embodiment of Duchamp’s own
Creative Act Essay. Duchamp
gave viewers the freedom to have
an opinion on art, thus bringing
them directly in to the art making
process.
In early 2019, Matthew’s vision
of a film about Duchamp came
to fruition as Marcel Duchamp:
Art of the Possible was released.
Art of the Possible is a 90-minute
journey through Duchamp’s
thought process, ideas and art.
The film takes the audience on an
odyssey to examine the idea of
an idea and how to liberate and
empower one’s own self as a maker
and creator.
A critical aspect of the film is to
show that Marcel Duchamp is
not an ivory tower philosopher
or an irreverent artist making
A DOCUMENTARY, A MOVEMENT
fun of everything. Rather, he is
a liberator of the individual. The
freedom to think and be was not
only in Duchamp’s work, rather,
his work was the catalyst of his
ideas. Duchamp’s gestures, artwork
and writing make one think and
force viewers to address serious
philosophical questions about the
state of humanity and how and why
we assign value.
Matthew believes Marcel Duchamp
is a 21st century artist that can act
as a guide in our rapidly changing
technological world. Drawing
on his own interest in art and
It is for these reasons that
Matthew set out to make the
film - to re-contextualize
Duchamp for a new generation of
art lovers, Silicon Valley start-ups,
gallery goers as well as everyday
citizens who use Instagram and
YouTube to broadcast themselves.
As we become digital avatars of
ourselves, there is an opportunity
to look back at what Marcel
Duchamp was doing in order to see
the clear horizon going forward.
What appeals to Matthew most
about Duchamp is that his ideas
reach far beyond the borders
of art. Duchamp empowers
any person who chooses to use
their mind and “do” something.
Duchamp eliminates the artificial
hierarchy set by man, and allows
FOUNTAIN, A MOST NOTORIOUS READYMADE
62

anybody “to do” to the best of their
ability, no matter what industry
they work in. Under Duchamp,
everything is available to be used
and adopted and changed. This is a
strong theme that runs through the
Art of the Possible film.
Marcel Duchamp: Art of the
Possible released an abridged
version on ARTE in Germany
and France in June and recently
was screened in Mexico City to
coincide with the Duchamp/Koons
exhibit, bringing this new fresh
perspective on Duchamp to a
global audience. In November the
film will make its North American
premiere at the Hirshhorn
Museum and Sculpture Garden to
accompany the opening of a new
year-long exhibit on Duchamp.
Over 20 years ago, Matthew set
out on a journey into the mind of
the father of conceptualism and
came out the other side a true
believer in the unlimited ability of
freedom in creativity. As Art of
the Possible enters distribution,
Matthew hasn’t stopped working,
already shooting multiple
documentaries, short films, as
well as several fine art and music
projects.
MATTHEW TAYLOR AND JOSE AT THE DUCHAMP/KOONS EXHIBIT AT
MUSEO JUMEX IN MEXICO CITY
“METAMORPHOT”, SHORT FILM BY
MATTHEW TAYLOR
Matthew says of his film “I just
hope people feel as liberated as
I did when I first read that book.
Marcel Duchamp is a guiding
light, if you can think, that’s good
enough.”
DISCOVER MORE
www.matthewtaylorcreative.com
“DROIDICA”, SHORT FILM BY MATTHEW TAYLOR
63

ANNE KARIN SELVIK
KRISTENSEN

My name is Anne Karin Selvik
Kristensen. I live with my husband
in Egersund, we have 3 grown up
children and 10 grandchildren.
After finishing my degree in
physiotherapy I specialised
in paediatrics treatment and
worked full time for 20 years. As
far back as I can remember my
main interest was drawing and I
attended art courses and did self
learning studies as often as time
allowed.
Passing 40 years old I eventually
became a full time student at art
school and the years following I
became a student at a graphic
workshop for 3 years. Eventually I
could afford to have my own studio
with a press to do graphic artworks.
During this time I had several
exhibitions with my art friends in
the district, all with graphic art.
With my close proximity to
children both at work and to my
10 grandchildren, all born within
a period within 12 years, it was
natural that this gradually became
my subject matter. Taking the
little babies to work 3 days a week,
I worked in my studio for the
following days, often having my
grandchildren asking to be a model
or just being around. These years
I have mainly been working with
charcoal and graphic art in all sizes.
I have completed commissions of
children and also many portraits
of my own family. Recently I have
painted all my grandchildren in oil
on panels size 30/40 cm.
FREDRIK, PASTEL
SARA, GRAPHITE
67

What inspires me?
Of course my family and my
young patients. I love their
openness, innocence, spontaneity
and trust and of course their
funny facial expressions. They hide
nothing behind a mask and are
totally themselves all the time.
I also get inspired by all kinds of
portrait artwork, both by visiting
major galleries in Europe and and
by studying art books. I love both
classic figurative art and part of
our modern art. I live in a small
fishing town by the sea with nature
close by and summertime we move
out to live in a cottage only 10
minutes drive from our house. I
get inspired when I’m out at sea
and when I hike along the shore
or in the mountains. During the
summertime I try to spend time
outdoors painting landscapes. I
have attended several plain air
workshops in Europe during the
last 5 years.
I doodle in my sketch book as
often I get a chance, mostly in the
evenings half watching something
on TV. Drawing with a fine liner or
a ball pen. Never knowing what the
result will look like, it is a relaxing
and lovely way to draw.
DOODLES, PILOT PEN
MY DAILY DOODLES, PILOTPEN
68

MY CHILDREN GETTING READY
FOR BED, OIL PAINTING
What is my favourite artwork?
It must be a painting I did years ago
of my three children getting ready
for bed. It is a typical situation
motif and as they now have moved
out and got their own children, it
brings back lovely memories of a
hectic but lovely time.
When I have completed a piece
of art I am mostly done with it.
When it is sold by a gallery I forget
all about it. Apart from that I see
things to correct all the time, if
I have drawings and paintings in
the studio. Having a blank canvas
is a dream, everything is possible!
But quite soon I’m dictated too by
forms, lines and values to make a
composition work.
LOTTA, GRAPHITE
I do learn from criticism of my
work. Of course I received a lot
of criticism at art school, all the
students did. Our teachers mostly
encouraged us to make modern
non figurative art, something that
was of little interest for me at that
time.
My children and my husband love
to make comments about my
artwork, both in a positive and in
a negative way. And thats ok. We
all need an honest response from
others.
This feature is dedicated to the
memory and work of Anne Karin
Selvik Kristensen, who sadly
passed away after writing this.
Anne’s family and Artist Talk have
chosen to print this issue in her
memory.
RUBEN, CHARCOAL
69

70
MOTHER, GRAPHITE

SARA, CHARCOAL
71

VI HOUR
PORTRAIT
CHALLENGE
Famous Portraits A - Z
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