AUGUST
2010
Divas, Divos & Deities
features recent paintings of iconic subject matter
by artists Kim Luttrell and Jacques Chuilon. This
two-person exhibition is comprised of Luttrell’s
paintings of
rock music icons and Hollywood celebrities of the
past generation—Jim Morrison, Jimi
Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe and others—and Chuilon’s
paintings of ancient deities, mythological
and historical characters, such as Bacchus, David
and Goliath, Venus and Paris and Mary and
Child.
Both artists look to the past for subject matter and
inspiration. Luttrell in record albums,
film and memories of her childhood growing up in the
deep south, and Chuilon in the history
books and museums of his native France. Yet, their
canvases are painted with a freshness
that only the techniques and acrylic materials of
the 20th century could enable, as evident in
the flatness of the subjects against the stylized
backgrounds, rendered in comic book style
with large blocks of contour free color.
Once called by a critic “a fusion of Henri Matisse
and Andy Warhol,” Chuilon takes as his
subject matter classic figures studied throughout
travels in Europe, and specifically Naples,
Italy, for this recent series. His paintings emphasize
simplified, two-dimensional form,
rendered in brilliant color. Similarly, Luttrell utilizes
a comic book aesthetic, indebted to Warhol
and Lichtenstein. She enlarges the faces of her celebrity
subjects and renders them in flat,
cartoon style, drawing our focus to the unique persona
of each megastar. Both artists explore
our relationships with those we worship or at least
admire—whether they be myth or real, from
an ancient or near past or the stuff of classical
paintings or Reality TV.
ARTIST BIOS
Raised in Henderson, Kentucky, Kim Luttrell
attended the Ringling School of Fine Art
and Design in Sarasota, FL, majoring in Graphic Design.
She moved to NYC in 1991 and
currently works in Brooklyn. Luttrell has participated
in solo and group shows in New York and
her work is in corporate and private collections throughout
the US, Holland, Israel, Australia,
Argentina, England, Brazil, China, Japan and the Republic
of Guinea. She is a recipient of the
Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation Grant &
Artist Fellowship Grant, was a featured artist at
the House and Garden Showhouse in New Jersey's Havemeyer
Mansion and is also the topic
of an independent documentary produced by an Australian
filmmaker. Her work has been
added to the permanent archives of the Library and
Research Center of the National Museum
of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC.
French artist Jacques Chuilon was
born in Versailles and currently resides in
Paris. His recent series of vivid acrylic paintings
in a neo-classical style are inspired by
legends, Greek mythology and pop culture. Chuilon
studied Art History and Architecture at the
School of Beaux Arts, Paris, and considers himself
a self-taught painter. His models include
Vermeer, Veronese and Vouet. Chuilon is also a professional
photographer and trained
classical musician and the author of several books
on music, with one now released in the US.
He has had numerous one-person exhibitions in recent
years in Paris, notably at the Bertin-
Toublanc Gallery and the Art Partner Gallery. Chuilon
will be featured in a one-person show
with the Shine Art Space in Shanghai, China. His paintings
are in private collections in New
York, Washington, DC, Paris, Dubai, Hong Kong, Canton
and Taiwan.
|
