Whether a piece of art is a product of the artist’s imagination or a portrayal of an existing location on this earth, one thing is certain: it can take you anywhere you allow it to.
Art can be powerful; it can move you, it can lift you from your feet and place you on a cloud. Art has the power to take you through all kinds of emotions, but it can also travel you through time, to places where you can feel one’s pain or joy. Clear blue skies and the darkest of nights can equally awaken inspiration depending on where you are, either physically or in a state of mind. And ultimately, one can’t help but wonder: What is it that moves you and how did you get here? Whether a piece of art is a product of the artist’s imagination or a portrayal of an existing location on this earth, one thing is certain: it can take you anywhere you allow it to. At Agora Gallery, we have put together a special selection of artworks that travel us to emotional and timeless places and we invite you to join us on this artistic journey.
Margret Carde’s work explores the experience of color as it appears in those rare, fleeting moments that impress themselves upon us. Though initially drawn from a glimpse of reality, through the process of creation the paintings slowly begin to take on an ephemeral, surreal quality of light that serves to evoke an outward affirmation of internal reality or feeling rather than a mere snapshot of the world.
Bolivian artist Janina Leigue paints luminous scenes of everyday life. Leigue states that her mission as an artist is to inspire delight in her audience. The enjoyment that Leigue takes in painting is evident in the way that she lovingly handles her subjects. The rounded quality of Leigue’s forms gives them a voluptuous and soft appearance. The light in Leigue’s pieces has a diffused quality that appears to hover over and embrace her subjects. With a characteristic warmth and richness, Leigue’s paintings are infused with ebullient spirit.
French artist Rody is known for her playful portraits of early Parisian life. Inspired by the white and sepia-toned postcards from her childhood, her paintings recall a simpler time when men and women roamed the city streets looking for love and adventure.
The landscapes of Julia Rowlands paints are densely compressed. Using the expressive qualities of her chosen medium (oil-on-canvas), she allows the twilight hues of her palette to offset what might otherwise glibly come across as traditional photographic realism. Her absorption in color provides her most distinguishing trait. Color becomes a sort of strategic tool, lending her compositions an emotional weight that augments her figurative disposition.
Capturing his scenes with only naturally available light as well as directly shot monochrome, Mark’s images hold a power in their underlying preservation of photography in its most natural and raw form. His work explores symmetry and perspective in mostly urban architecture. It captures the beauty of the order present in oft-overlooked architecture, which is then further emphasized by the monochromatism of the images, which renders all the lines of the symmetry all that much more visible.
Photographer Andrea Braunfeld has spent the last 50 years capturing stunning photographs; her subject matter ranging from animals and plants to landscapes that she has encountered in her travels. Her compositions are exceptionally striking, tending to favor direct shots of a subject in the foreground with a black or heavily blurred background, causing the subject to pop with almost surreal detail and presence. Many of her works capturing single subjects feel at once documentary and erotic, creating a very interesting duality in brilliantly simple compositions.
Using photography and text as her gateway, Ora Cohen’s black and white archival pigment prints challenge and confront gender identity. Born in Akko, and now living in Pardes Hanna-Karkur, Israel, Cohen began her career 20 years ago, and now works with both digital and film. In one of her most accomplished series, Cohen traveled to Berlin to photograph 20 women who look like men and has also photographed herself. Her process begins by finding her subjects through social media outlets, making contact and forging connections, all steps that inspire what happens before the camera.
Sandra is an Australian artist who was born in Pittsburgh. She grew up traveling with her Australian parents and from an early age she was immersed in art. Her interest grew from her travels, her frequent trips to art galleries, and the many art books that decorated their home. After graduating from college with a Bachelor of Art, Sandra moved to the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales where she became intently interested in landscapes.
In Danny Johananoff’s work, blurred images are an invitation to dream. The scenes presented seem rendered from a historic context and became timeless. Loving challenges, the soul of an explorer has always possessed him. In his own words, “When embarking on a photo expedition, I don’t know exactly what I am going to shoot.” He allows the lens to open towards the world, capturing moments that are both operatic and documentarian.
Emanuele Biagioni paints the vistas of a solitary traveler as he moves through Western metropolises. Inspired by crowds, pedestrians, traffic, cars, lights, crosswalks, what initially stands out in Biagioni’s works is the painterly finesse he applies to his works, Every detail is accounted for, and is rendered with neither more or less care than it requires. Coming from a realist tradition, viewers seem to inhabit the cities Biagioni paints alongside him, like a friend on an otherwise lonely journey.
Whether you are looking for the perfect gift for a loved one, need to impress a colleague, or want to give a friend something they will always remember you by, you will find just the right piece on ARTmine. Need help? Contact us at [email protected]
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