Bernie Taupin | Tes-ta-ment | Artist Reception at New Chicago Location
Tes-ta-ment; July 31 – September 16, 2014; Opening Reception with Artist in Attendance: Thursday, July 31, 7-10pm - KM Fine Arts is pleased to announce Tes-ta-ment, a solo exhibition of works by artist Bernie Taupin.
Chicago, IL, July 26, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Recognized for his long time songwriting partnership with Elton John, artist Bernie Taupin explains that his painting process is “simply the visual extension of what I have spent my life creating through words.” In 1990, Taupin began to expand his creative oeuvre beyond writing. Equipped with an acute visual sensibility and infatuation with painting, he set out to begin his career as a serious visual artist.
The title, Tes-ta-ment, carries particular meaning for this exhibition that will serve as a retrospective of sorts, and will include works created over the last 20 years of Taupin’s career as a visual artist. In this context, “testament,” as it is often used in biblical terms, is meant to serve as an expression of his conviction to his artistic endeavors.
Taupin’s work cannot be defined by one particular style, but rather tends to hover gracefully around the canons of abstract expressionism punctuated by elements of Pop Art. He has been known to use house paint, acrylic and oil paint, wood stains, spray paint and even collaged elements in his highly expressive works, and has found that certain shapes, colors, and even painted words convey different feelings and emotions. For example, he finds that blocks and oblongs of bright color can accurately express affection. In the same way, their dark counterparts, fragmented edges and torn middles spell disturbance and pain.
His paintings, while highly emotive and imbued with particular moods, paradoxically do not aim to convey any obvious narrative. Taupin paints in such a way to invite viewers to interpret the works according to their own thoughts and experiences, and encourages viewers to attach their own perceived narratives.
Although he now lives and works on a ranch house in central California, the influence of 1960s and 1970s modernist painting is apparent in the work of Bernie Taupin, a self-described “east coast painter.” He first began frequenting art galleries and museums in the early 1970s as a way to seek solace from the chaos of New York City, and during his visits he found unexpected crossovers between the art and his own songwriting, particularly in Modernist paintings and sculptures at the Museum of Modern Art. Early in his career he found a particular kinship with artists Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko and Clifford Still, evidence of which can still be seen in his paintings. Since he began his painting career, Taupin’s work has been exhibited nationally, including exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles, and his work can be found in significant private collections throughout the U.S.
About KM Fine Arts
Located in both Chicago and Los Angeles, KM Fine Arts museum quality settings have offered critically acclaimed exhibitions since 2006. In January 2013, KM Fine Arts celebrated the inaugural opening of our Los Angeles space, further expanding our contemporary art program. Within that same year KM Fine Arts was included in the TOP 500 GALLERIES in the world list by Modern Painters/Blouin Media. The Gallery specializes in the finest American and European artists of early modernism, postwar and contemporary art. Areas of expertise include postwar movements, including Abstract Expressionism, Color Field painting and contemporary art.
Our newly launched contemporary program focuses on the most innovative emerging and mid-career artists, fostering personal growth and nurturing a continuous stream of creative development through studio visits, special projects and exhibitions of their work in both of our gallery spaces.
The gallery program includes works by Georg Baselitz, Norman Bluhm, Fernando Botero, James Brooks, Alexander Calder, John Chamberlain, Michael Goldberg, Hans Hofmann, Robert Indiana, Wolf Kahn, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol along with contemporary artists Eric Fischl, Hal Buckner, Ramsey Dau, Desire Obtain Cherish, Carole Feuerman, Kim Gottlieb-Walker, Dana Louise Kirkpatrick, Victor Matthews, Brendan Murphy, John Rusnak, Cole Sternberg, Bernie Taupin and Federico Uribe.
For more information contact:
KM Fine Arts | Chicago - Los Angeles
Ana M. Hollinger | Director, Managing Partner
Phone: 312.255.1202
Email: director@kmfinearts.com
www.KMfinearts.com
Media Contact:
Jane Owen Public Relations | Jane Owen Publicist
Phone: 323-819-1122
Email: jane@janeowenpr.com
The title, Tes-ta-ment, carries particular meaning for this exhibition that will serve as a retrospective of sorts, and will include works created over the last 20 years of Taupin’s career as a visual artist. In this context, “testament,” as it is often used in biblical terms, is meant to serve as an expression of his conviction to his artistic endeavors.
Taupin’s work cannot be defined by one particular style, but rather tends to hover gracefully around the canons of abstract expressionism punctuated by elements of Pop Art. He has been known to use house paint, acrylic and oil paint, wood stains, spray paint and even collaged elements in his highly expressive works, and has found that certain shapes, colors, and even painted words convey different feelings and emotions. For example, he finds that blocks and oblongs of bright color can accurately express affection. In the same way, their dark counterparts, fragmented edges and torn middles spell disturbance and pain.
His paintings, while highly emotive and imbued with particular moods, paradoxically do not aim to convey any obvious narrative. Taupin paints in such a way to invite viewers to interpret the works according to their own thoughts and experiences, and encourages viewers to attach their own perceived narratives.
Although he now lives and works on a ranch house in central California, the influence of 1960s and 1970s modernist painting is apparent in the work of Bernie Taupin, a self-described “east coast painter.” He first began frequenting art galleries and museums in the early 1970s as a way to seek solace from the chaos of New York City, and during his visits he found unexpected crossovers between the art and his own songwriting, particularly in Modernist paintings and sculptures at the Museum of Modern Art. Early in his career he found a particular kinship with artists Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko and Clifford Still, evidence of which can still be seen in his paintings. Since he began his painting career, Taupin’s work has been exhibited nationally, including exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles, and his work can be found in significant private collections throughout the U.S.
About KM Fine Arts
Located in both Chicago and Los Angeles, KM Fine Arts museum quality settings have offered critically acclaimed exhibitions since 2006. In January 2013, KM Fine Arts celebrated the inaugural opening of our Los Angeles space, further expanding our contemporary art program. Within that same year KM Fine Arts was included in the TOP 500 GALLERIES in the world list by Modern Painters/Blouin Media. The Gallery specializes in the finest American and European artists of early modernism, postwar and contemporary art. Areas of expertise include postwar movements, including Abstract Expressionism, Color Field painting and contemporary art.
Our newly launched contemporary program focuses on the most innovative emerging and mid-career artists, fostering personal growth and nurturing a continuous stream of creative development through studio visits, special projects and exhibitions of their work in both of our gallery spaces.
The gallery program includes works by Georg Baselitz, Norman Bluhm, Fernando Botero, James Brooks, Alexander Calder, John Chamberlain, Michael Goldberg, Hans Hofmann, Robert Indiana, Wolf Kahn, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol along with contemporary artists Eric Fischl, Hal Buckner, Ramsey Dau, Desire Obtain Cherish, Carole Feuerman, Kim Gottlieb-Walker, Dana Louise Kirkpatrick, Victor Matthews, Brendan Murphy, John Rusnak, Cole Sternberg, Bernie Taupin and Federico Uribe.
For more information contact:
KM Fine Arts | Chicago - Los Angeles
Ana M. Hollinger | Director, Managing Partner
Phone: 312.255.1202
Email: director@kmfinearts.com
www.KMfinearts.com
Media Contact:
Jane Owen Public Relations | Jane Owen Publicist
Phone: 323-819-1122
Email: jane@janeowenpr.com
Contact
KM Fine Arts Los Angeles
Ana Hollinger, Director
312-255-1202
www.kmfinearts.com
Ana Hollinger, Director
312-255-1202
www.kmfinearts.com
Contact
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