Robyn Hosking ceramic artist

Robyn Hosking is an Australian based artist whose work in ceramics is a bit whimsical and a bit joyous without falling into the trap of being a bit crap and kitsch. Kitsch of course is a term that gets overused and misunderstood; it is a term that describes cultural parapheanlia, rather than something that is cheap and nasty. Today's kitsch will eventually be in museums. However, Hoskings stuff will be in museums because it it is very good and not because it is kitsch.

The above sculpture is clearly an aeroplane and uses the former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard's face equipped with goggles. A two time former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, Hangs from the bottom, obviously refusing to let go. With the other aeroplanes buzzing around, it doesn't look as much like a dogfight as much as it looks like a flying circus, which is basically what became of the Australian Labor Party in recent years. In fact one of the only problems with Hosking's work is hidden right there; it is very current. There is a different Prime Minister now and the relevancy of Hosking's work is already somewhat faded. Despite being such a beautiful work, Australians have very short memories when it comes to politics. Perhaps I was worng in my previous assertation that this was not kitsch. Perhaps it is kitsch because it is paraphenalia of the political-cultural institution. You can view Hosking's own blog here, which I hope you will do.

Matthew Ritchie: Chance and Skill

Matthew Ritchie is a very interesting polymath who came to the actual creation of art relatively late in life. This video is of a presentation he made at the University of Michigan and shows what drives, intrigues and informs Ritchie's work. I think anybody looking to see what the new black is or how to create a better ratrap should look at Ritchie, not for the easy answer but rather for how to look to what is being challenged, imagined and theorised right now in the world of high science and how that could inform high art.

Matthew Ritchie: Chance and Skill from UM Stamps School of Art & Design on Vimeo.

The role of art fairs in building a contemporary collection

"An artist at an art fair is like walking in on your parents having sex."


To have you work turned into a commodity is a difficult concept for many artists, but it is essential to the artist who wishes to make their living as a professional artist for their work to be valued and have a monetary value ascribed to it.
This is a grouping of a gallerist, a curator and a collector meeting in Washington, DC in the States and discussing the role of art fairs in building contemporary collections. After you have watched the video, please feel free to comment on whether or not you agree with them...

Thomas Doyle Sculpture Artist

Thomas Doyle's house sculptures are an intricate mix of hobby store modelling and bespoke cavernous pits and careful attention to detail that would shame a model train enthusiast. The figures in the works are modified, or 'converted' from store bought diorama fillers and have been subtly altered to change the feel of the piece. Doyle's own website is here and he has been Proteus Magazine's artist of the day here. What Doyle has created has been done before by sculptors such as William Christenberry, David Cole, and the amazing works of Takanori Aiba but what sets Doyle's apart, in my opinion, is his reserved approach. Details are subtle but well executed; flocked grass covers a face, almost as if by accident. These houses are not Aiba's colossi, or Christenberry's wooden mythologies, they are held back from that and to excellent effect. In Courier, the change of the ground angle by a small degree and the claustrophia of the trees pressing in on the house exagerates the lonlieness and unease of the solitary figure standing before the house. The figure may be approaching, or may be trying to get his balance. His one arm slightly outstretched looks almost as if he is reaching for a weapon; the human psyche playing tricks on him as it does on us and Doyle as a puppet master. If one were to be shrunk down and dropped inside one of these subtle hells, then one would be wishing for the end, unlike the seemingly oblivious occupants themselves. Doyle has taken a material, usually seen as something that modelling or wargaming enthusiasts would enjoy and made of them high art. There is something gratifying in that and I can recognise the dyed lichen and polystyrene and that makes it seem more approachable. This, however, is a trap of the mind. There is no way I could replicate this. I am too heavy handed, too beloved of colour and mythos. This belongs to a different sentimentality, one where less is more and then hung over the edge of a cliff. These works are beautiful and as far removed from toy trains as from a science lab. They are delicate, unworldly, timeless and stand on the backs of giants while heralding in another way of looking at art materials, inspiration and devastation. I would not want to live in Doyle's created world, but I do love these sculptures.