Tema Celeste-Issue for July/August 06
Sep 11, 2006 by
 I walked into Pearl Paint, turned my head a little to the left and was immediately taken with the most current issue of the Italian/English art mag Tema Celeste. The cover boasts a beautiful painting by Belgian artist Michael Borremans who in NYC shows at David Zwirner. The painting, “Horse Hunting”, 2005 oil on canvas, is beautifully rendered. I felt overwhelmed by both admiration and slight envy as the image has such a seriousness to it, and yet is also tongue in cheek. Something I strive for in my own work but haven’t taken the bold move of portraiture with sticks up nostrils yet. Lovely. I enjoy reading Tema Celeste. While sometimes long-winded and sprinkled with translation oriented typos, the articles are very informative and I particularly enjoy reading the one-on-one interviews with artists. It gives personality and even further definition to works currently being produced. This issue re-connected me to the works of Michael Borremans and also introduced me to the work of Korean artist Kimsooja. The later is a name that I recognized but wasn’t familiar with and I fully enjoyed the interview between artist and Francesca Pasini. Kimsooja […]</p>
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Last week (yes my post is a tad delayed) I walked into Pearl Paint, turned my head a little to the left and was immediately taken with the most current issue of the Italian/English art mag Tema Celeste. The cover boasts a beautiful painting by Belgian artist Michael Borremans who in NYC shows at David Zwirner. The painting, “Horse Hunting”, 2005 oil on canvas, is beautifully rendered. I felt overwhelmed by both admiration and slight envy as the image has such a seriousness to it, and yet is also tongue in cheek. Something I strive for in my own work but haven’t taken the bold move of portraiture with sticks up nostrils yet. Lovely.
I enjoy reading Tema Celeste. While sometimes long-winded and sprinkled with translation oriented typos, the articles are very informative and I particularly enjoy reading the one-on-one interviews with artists. It gives personality and even further definition to works currently being produced. This issue re-connected me to the works of Michael Borremans and also introduced me to the work of Korean artist Kimsooja. The later is a name that I recognized but wasn’t familiar with and I fully enjoyed the interview between artist and Francesca Pasini. Kimsooja has been working on an ongoing project that she calls “Bottari”. Bottari means “bundle” in Korean and is the fabric used to carry personal belongings usually when moving. According to Kimsooja, when Koreans say “Wrap the bundle” and Westerners say “Wrap it up”, it refers to finishing a relationship or moving on. But when the word is used by women, specifically in Korea, it means “She is leaving her own husband and family to pursue her own life.”
Bottari has taken the shape of video, performance-in which the artist sits, stoically on-location, and installation.
Movement.
relevant.
So important for going forward.
Refocusing.
Bottari.
Truck. 2005, Kimsooja
(photo courtesy of Artnet)