Friday, April 30, 2010

(Social) Realism: Bulgaria




Nenko Balkanski (1907-1977)

http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=59












Mario Zhekov (1898 – 1955)
http://auction-rakursi.com/en/autors/mzhekov.html



















Peter Dochev (1934 - 2005)
Peter Dochev was born in 1934 in the village of Lesidren, in the northern Bulgarian district of Lovech. In 1956 he finished the High School of Arts in Sofia in the class of artist Ivan Hristov. From 1957 to1959 he studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia with professors Iliya Petrov and Nenko Balkanski. Between 1960 and 1975 he was a chief artist at the Kremikovtsi Metallurgical Complex.

In 1963 he entered the Bulgarian art scene determined to leave his deep mark. That was the time when he started participating in group exhibitions. Back in the 60’s he was best known for his works On the Bus, Worker and Metallurgical Workers. They were big human figures that were occupying most of the canvas without containing excessive or insignificant details.

In 1967 he became a member of the Union of Bulgarian Artists and in 1975 he left Kremikovtsi and went back to his native Lesidren. In the late 1970’s and the early 1980’s he created a great number of urban landscapes. In mid-80’s, he moved towards abstraction and the pure geometric forms. Later on, his landscapes seem to be leaving the bounds of nature. Colourful spots and reliefs stand out from the dark background in works like Black Earth, Charred Earth, Terrain, Old Vineyards, etc. Peter Dochev’s work during the 90’s is characterized by the absence of specific imagery. During the 1990’s he started embracing purely geometrical shapes like the circle and the square. By 2000 Dochev began concentrating on black colours to later pass on to gold as a sign of eternity. In his last artworks the artist creates compositions, based on the geometry of circles and squares.

Through his career, he presented his work in numerous solo shows and group exhibitions in Bulgaria and one in Vienna. He died in Sofia in 2005.
http://www.onculture.eu/story.aspx?s_id=1100&z_id=3













Nikola Tanev (1890-1962)
http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=59



















World (Social) Realist Art (Index of Countries)
This blog page is part of an ongoing project by artist and part-time lecturer Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin (http://gaelart.net/) to explore Realist / Social Realist art from around the world. The term Realism is used in its broadest sense to include 19th century Realism and Naturalism as well as 20th century Impressionism (which after all was following in the path of Courbet and Millet). Social Realism covers art that seeks to examine the living and working conditions of ordinary people (examples include German Expressionism, American Ashcan School and the Mexican Muralists).

Click here for (Social) Realist Art Definitions, World (Social) Realism and Global Solidarity, Art and Politics, Social Realism in history and Country Index.

Suggestions for appropriate artists from around the world welcome to caoimhghin@yahoo.com.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

(Social) Realism: Syria




Louay Kayyali
(1934-1978)
Louay Kayyali, (1934-1978) was a Syrian modern artist. Kayyali was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1934 and studied art in the Accademia di Belle Arti after having studied at the Al-Tajhiz School where his work was first exhibited in 1952. He met Syrian artist Wahbi Al-Hariri there and the two would share a friendship for the rest of Kayyali's life. Al-Hariri would become his mentor as he was for artist Fateh Moudarres that Hariri introduced to Kayyali in 1955. Moudarress and Kayyali would together represent Syrian modern art at the Venice Biennial Fair. He suffered from depression and died in 1978 from burns incurred from his bed catching fire, reportedly from a cigarette.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Baronsamedi88/Louay_Kayyali
http://www.louay-kayali.com/home.htm

































Abdel mannan Shamma (1937)
1937 Born in Hims city – Syria. 1950 - 1958 Studied on the hands of his first pioneering drawing teacher Mr. Subhi Shuaib. 1958 Won the first position of the Art Contest after which was sent under scholarship to Moscow for art study. 1965 Merited MA Degree of Mural Painting with Honors from Sorikov Academy of Plastic Arts – Moscow. 1965 – 1966 Taught at the Teachers’ Institute in Hims city. 1966 Won the Sole Seat Contest towards the post-graduate study in favor of the Faculty of Fine Arts – Damascus University. For the second time, he was sent under scholarship to Moscow for this purpose. 1971 Obtained Ph.D. in Fine Arts from the Academy of Soviet Arts in Moscow. It was the first academic qualification ever in the field of fine arts obtained by a Syrian artist and researcher. After that, he was appointed at the teaching staff of the Faculty of Fine Arts – Damascus University and ever since he is a member of the Syndicate of Fine Arts in S.A.R.
http://www.sp-arts.com/artis/abdelmannanshamma/work-art-e.htm
http://www.sp-arts.com/artis/abdelmannanshamma/abdelmannanshamma-e.htm




































World (Social) Realist Art (Index of Countries)
This blog page is part of an ongoing project by artist and part-time lecturer Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin (http://gaelart.net/) to explore Realist / Social Realist art from around the world. The term Realism is used in its broadest sense to include 19th century Realism and Naturalism as well as 20th century Impressionism (which after all was following in the path of Courbet and Millet). Social Realism covers art that seeks to examine the living and working conditions of ordinary people (examples include German Expressionism, American Ashcan School and the Mexican Muralists).

Click here for (Social) Realist Art Definitions, World (Social) Realism and Global Solidarity, Art and Politics, Social Realism in history and Country Index.

Suggestions for appropriate artists from around the world welcome to caoimhghin@yahoo.com.

(Social) Realism: Sweden




Anders Leonard Zorn (1860 – 1920)

Anders Leonard Zorn (February 18, 1860 – August 22, 1920) was one of Sweden’s foremost artists who obtained international success as a painter, sculptor and printmaker in etching. He studied at Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm, Sweden, from 1875-1880. He traveled extensively to London, Paris, the Balkans, Spain, Italy and the United States, becoming an international success as one of the most acclaimed painters of his era. While his early works were often brilliant, luminous watercolors, by 1887 he had switched firmly to oils. Zorn painted portraits, scenes depicting rustic life and customs. Zorn is also famous for his nude paintings and realistic depictions of water.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Zorn




















World (Social) Realist Art (Index of Countries)
This blog page is part of an ongoing project by artist and part-time lecturer Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin (http://gaelart.net/) to explore Realist / Social Realist art from around the world. The term Realism is used in its broadest sense to include 19th century Realism and Naturalism as well as 20th century Impressionism (which after all was following in the path of Courbet and Millet). Social Realism covers art that seeks to examine the living and working conditions of ordinary people (examples include German Expressionism, American Ashcan School and the Mexican Muralists).

Click here for (Social) Realist Art Definitions, World (Social) Realism and Global Solidarity, Art and Politics, Social Realism in history and Country Index.

Suggestions for appropriate artists from around the world welcome to caoimhghin@yahoo.com.

(Social) Realism: Finland




Pekka Halonen (1865 - 1933)

Pekka Halonen (September 23, 1865, Lapinlahti - December 1, 1933) was a Finnish painter.
His father was a peasant from Lapinlahti. Halonen studied at the Art Society's drawing school in Helsinki. In 1890 he moved to Paris where he studied at the Académie Julian and later under Paul Gauguin. There is a painting by Pekka Hallonen in the Post Impressionist section of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest,Hungary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pekka_Halonen


































World (Social) Realist Art (Index of Countries)
This blog page is part of an ongoing project by artist and part-time lecturer Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin (http://gaelart.net/) to explore Realist / Social Realist art from around the world. The term Realism is used in its broadest sense to include 19th century Realism and Naturalism as well as 20th century Impressionism (which after all was following in the path of Courbet and Millet). Social Realism covers art that seeks to examine the living and working conditions of ordinary people (examples include German Expressionism, American Ashcan School and the Mexican Muralists).

Click here for (Social) Realist Art Definitions, World (Social) Realism and Global Solidarity, Art and Politics, Social Realism in history and Country Index.

Suggestions for appropriate artists from around the world welcome to caoimhghin@yahoo.com.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

(Social) Realism: Thailand




Therdkiat Wangwacharakul

Thertkiat Wangwacharakul's art has won him many prizes including first prize in the prestigious ASEAN Philip Morris Art Competition (2000) and the silver medal for the 2002 48th National Exhibition of Art, to name but a few. His chosen surface material distinguishes him from his contemporaries, for he uses sheets of aluminium which are treated and scratched to give an aged, corroded effect that emphasizes the mood he is trying to convey; that of poverty and living hand to mouth in the big, dirty city.
http://akkoartgallery.tripod.com/Bangkok/id76.html




















Vasan Sitthiket
Vasan Sitthiket (Thai: วสันต์ สิทธิเขตต์), born on October 7, 1957 in Nakhon Sawan Province, Thailand is a Thai contemporary visual artist. A graduate of the College of Fine Art in Bangkok, he has works in many fields, including painting and poetry. He has staged three plays, written more than 10 books of poetry, children’s books and political writings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasan_Sitthiket

Blue October
“If we were to look at history, it would begin to look upside down, especially because history is so complicated. We must think in completely new terms when looking at history because it was made to be forgotten.” Vasan Sitthiket.
In October 1996, coinciding with the 20th commemoration of the October 6, 1976 massacre, artist activist Vasan Sitthiket produced and exhibited his Blue October series at the Sunday Gallery in Bangkok.
Blue October does the cultural work of making visible and visceral the extent of the massacre. He uses gold leaf on all the victims in the series, an act of respect for the dead. After the massacre, very few of those killed received proper burial rites. Many were turned away from temples during those days of political turmoil. The Blue October series exists as multi-layered memories that document, indict, and pay homage through black humor and satire.
http://www.inter-asia.org/journal/correlative_photo/vol7/no4/no4.htm

Iraq War: 5 Years Later
Thai artist Vasan Sitthiket is showing a series of new paintings about the Iraq War 5 years on at the National Art Museum in Jakarta, Indonesia. The show opens March 20th, and looks pretty interesting. Sitthiket has been injecting politics and information about the current Iraq War in his dense, layered paintings for awhile now, and has been successful in a way that seems impossible for a US-based artist working so seriously with the same themes.
http://www.justseeds.org/blog/2008/02/iraq_war_5_years_later.html






























World (Social) Realist Art (Index of Countries)
This blog page is part of an ongoing project by artist and part-time lecturer Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin (http://gaelart.net/) to explore Realist / Social Realist art from around the world. The term Realism is used in its broadest sense to include 19th century Realism and Naturalism as well as 20th century Impressionism (which after all was following in the path of Courbet and Millet). Social Realism covers art that seeks to examine the living and working conditions of ordinary people (examples include German Expressionism, American Ashcan School and the Mexican Muralists).

Click here for (Social) Realist Art Definitions, World (Social) Realism and Global Solidarity, Art and Politics, Social Realism in history and Country Index.

Suggestions for appropriate artists from around the world welcome to caoimhghin@yahoo.com.

(Social) Realism: Brazil




José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (1850 – 1899)

José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (8 May 1850 – 13 November 1899) was a Brazilian painter of the 19th century. He is widely regarded as the most important Brazilian realist painter of the 19th century, and a major inspiration for the modernist painters. While most Brazilian academic artists made their fame painting mythological or historical subjects, Almeida Junior would become popular for painting rural figures, especially farmers and the caipira, the countrymen that are a kind of a symbol of the rural areas of the São Paulo state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Ferraz_de_Almeida_J%C3%BAnior
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Almeida_J%C3%BAnior





















Modesto Brocos y Gómez (1852 — 1936)
Modesto Brocos y Gómez (Santiago de Compostela, 1852 — Rio de Janeiro, 1936) foi um pintor, desenhista e gravador espanhol radicado no Brasil definitivamente a partir de 1890.
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modesto_Brocos
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Modesto_Brocos



















Mário Navarro da Costa (1883 — 1931)
Mário Navarro da Costa (Rio de Janeiro, 1883 — Florença, 1931) foi um pintor e diplomata brasileiro. Faleceu servindo como cônsul. Pintor de marinhas, o Salão Nacional de Belas Artes premiou-o com uma medalha de prata em 1912 e com uma de ouro, em 1920.
Esteve em Portugal, que lhe inspirou algumas das suas obras. O Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea, em Lisboa conserva da sua autoria A vela vermelha. Tendo residido na Itália, por algum tempo, valeu-se dessa estadia para inspirar parte significativa de sua obra na paisagem marinha daquele país.
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A1rio_Navarro_da_Costa
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:M%C3%A1rio_Navarro_da_Costa




















Candido Portinari (1903 - 1962)
Candido Portinari (Brodowski, December 29, 1903 - Rio de Janeiro, February 6, 1962) was one of the most important Brazilian painters and also a prominent and influential practitioner of the neo-realism style in painting. Born of Italian immigrants in a coffee plantation near Brodowski, in São Paulo, Portinari studied at the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes (ENBA) in Rio de Janeiro. In 1928 he won a gold medal at the ENBA and a trip to Paris where he stayed until 1930, when he returned to Brazil. He joined the Brazilian Communist Party and stood for senator in 1947 but had to flee Brazil for Uruguay due to the persecution of Communists. He returned to Brazil in 1951 but suffered ill health during the last decade of his life and died in 1962 due to lead poisoning from his paints.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candido_Portinari
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Candido_Portinari
http://www.vidaslusofonas.pt/candido_portinari2.htm
http://artinconnu.blogspot.com/2009/07/portraits-by-candido-portinari-1903.html























World (Social) Realist Art (Index of Countries)
This blog page is part of an ongoing project by artist and part-time lecturer Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin (http://gaelart.net/) to explore Realist / Social Realist art from around the world. The term Realism is used in its broadest sense to include 19th century Realism and Naturalism as well as 20th century Impressionism (which after all was following in the path of Courbet and Millet). Social Realism covers art that seeks to examine the living and working conditions of ordinary people (examples include German Expressionism, American Ashcan School and the Mexican Muralists).

Click here for (Social) Realist Art Definitions, World (Social) Realism and Global Solidarity, Art and Politics, Social Realism in history and Country Index.

Suggestions for appropriate artists from around the world welcome to caoimhghin@yahoo.com.