Nicolass Warb

Nicolass Warb - Cadence Unite No. 88, 1945

You see a target(the dark blue patch on the left). It is on the side of your main road (the black triangle in the lower left corner). But you still proceed to pursue it. You work hard (the brown figure at the bottom). The hope (the green triangle) takes you to the ice-cold pinnacle(the white triangle on the top of the brown figure). Then the pain kicks in (the red figure). You have to divert your plans to overcome it(the black ribbon around the red figure). The hope (the small green ribbon), pride (the yellowish figure) what you have accomplished so far, blue skies and attractiveness of the unknown(the white triangle) take you to the next level. There you have a road(the black ribbon) full of pain and hard work.

Barbara Gilhooly

at Barbara Gilhooly

Logjam, 2007

You jump from a log to a log(lower part of the painting). You are desperately trying to get to the shore. But the current is too strong. So while you are running with all your power, at best you are keeping your position.  Most those things that you postpone for later, for "when I grew up", for "when I get rich" and to the bucket list stay there unfulfilled. The only thing that keeps you running is hope (the light blue background) that the day to get items from the bucket list will come earlier than the bucket.

Andree Carter

at Ann Connelly Fine Art

Slightly Silver

Everything that was important in your life became small irrelevant. It is torn into small pieces and seems to you as a collage of your former life. Everything is still. The big black grief is blocking any movements in your life. The grief is feeding on your memories (the white structure). The only thing that is fighting the standstill is the desire to live/hope (the blue structures). The hope is creating new life(the thicker red nets) and trying to bond thouse pockets of resistance together.

Lisa Ruyter

at Alan Cristea Gallery (Art 43 Basel 2012)

Count the Hours, 2012

Waiting. It is a process, a journey from one point in time to another. You make that journey in a sail boat. The sails are made from a huge number of small things: Hope, Anticipation of something new/exotic, Dependence on others, Patience, Jealousy that someone bit you to the finish line. Sometimes your sails erode, and you need to move to plan B (motor boat?). 

André Derain

at Landau Fine Art (TEFAF Maastricht 2012)

André Derain Bateaux sur la plage à la Collioure, 1905

People are dreaming of big things and far away lands(green, violet and orange stains in the background). They want to journey to exotic places, they want to do grand things. Everyone has a dream about something that would / should be a purpose of his/her life.With big hopes they even build boats(the blue boats in the lower part). But most of them prefer to sail without leaving the port. Where the competition is fierce, but everything is familiar, without threatening mystery and you know how to maneuver for a better spot. Only a single one who didn't build his boat on hopes, but on practicality and common sense, sailed away to explore new lands. 

Eva Hesse

at Kukje Gallery (TEFAF Maastricht 2012)

No Title, 1960

Fear. It is full of jealousy, intolerance (yellow), steel(gray). The threat looks like a bomb coming your way(The big black figure slightly off center to the right). It is inevitable. You are frozen, can't move. You feel trapped in a steel cage(gray frame around the picture). But there is hope(white figures). There is always hope. That's why people do anything when they are really afraid. And the bomb looks a lot like an amphora, so this is not new.

David Urban

David Urban at Corkin Gallery (The Armory Show)

Untitled 5, 2011

You(the blue rectangle) are on the paved road(beige rectangles on the left side). The millions used this road before you, and more will use it after you are gone. You are full of dreams, hopes and energy. You are thinking about going off the road, into the uncharted territory. And what the heck, you could break beyond the red border. But you are smart and experienced enough  to not do it on the impulse. The best spontaneity is prepared well beforehand. You are measuring when to do the plunge. You don't want to repeat the fate of those that left only the white splashes after crashing into the fence.

Jason Fox

Jason Fox at Peter Blum Gallery

Untitled, 2011

 People are afraid of the Unknown. They can't stand it. They have instincts of hunters-gatherers, so they need to explore. They are always in the search for new things. This is the only way people can survive. They have to color all the white spots on the map.You use the common sense and logic to pave the way(the brown rectangles). The next layer is hope, energy and imagination (the green rectangles).

Nabil Nahas

Nabil Nahas at Sperone Westwater

Untitled, 2007

The darker oval in the lower part is an eye of the artist.The artist is different from other people, because s/he sees differently. S/he notices things that other don't see. Even in earthy, brown, dark place s/he always looks for hope(blue) and purity(white). And even when the artist's creation(the tree-like structure in the lower middle) includes pain (burgundy lines), it is used to cure the disease.

Mary Weatherford

Mary Weatherford at Brennan & Griffin

black cave, 2011

The Cave is black, scary and unknown(the black overlapping figure). When you enter the cave, you feel fear(black). But under the fear there is hope and curiosity (blue smudges at the bottom). Those two takes you deeper and deeper inside.You think you will find something interesting, if not valuable(yellow background in the upper right). And when you return from your adventure, you are hoping you will sit with your friends, drink wine(burgundy on the left side) and tell stories about the cave. The overall figure looks like a slice of bread. Black bread. It's just a reminder that it is dangerous and you can get "burned" any minute.  But it's like food for you, you cannot live without adventures.

Alexis Marguerite Teplin

Alexis Marguerite Teplin at Gavlak (Art Basel Miami Beach 2011)

Boy Untitled 1 (Mallorca)

The boy is very innocent(lots of pink). He is very passionate(reds). He is full of dreams and hopes(blues). He imagines wild adventures.He dreams about boats flying under a strong wind with full sail. He is absolutely sure that there are no problems or difficulties  that he can't overcome with his extraordinary abilities.But sometimes his ship of dreams crashes against the concrete of reality(the lower right corner) and the fog of imagination opens up(the white stain).

Otavio Schipper

Otavio Schipper at Anita Schwarz Galeria De Arte (Art Basel Miami Beach 2011)

Serie Diapasões / Diapason Series

This is Love.The blue fiddle bow is playing music on an amorphous body of pink innocence, red desire and blue hope. The music is feeding the main body. The bow itself is part of this body. And the bow is not exactly a bow, it is a tuning fork.It lets you to correct yourself  according to your love and hopes.The separate small figure in the right bottom corner is two circles interconnected symbolizing two persons in love.

Frederick Hammersley

Frederick Hammersley at Ameringer McEnery Yohe (Art Basel Miami Beach 2011)

And so on

You have some problem to solve, some riddle to crack It sits in your brain like that black stain. No matter what you are thinking about, you always return to the problem.And only wisdom(purple), common sense(brown) and hope(green) will help you get around that mental block.

Lyonel Feininger

Lyonel Feininger at Moeller Fine Art (Art Basel Miami Beach 2011)

Kleine Hafenstadt [Small Harbour Town]

Small Town. Everything is nearby, everything is on the view. The town is clean, boring and washed out. The harbor is the base of town and a thorn in its side(the dark brown boat in the lower middle). The town has a well-hidden secret. It has a source of energy and dreams(a dark green structure in the middle left). This source prepares the Town for something big, it pushes the Town to move on. The Town is ready. It is to sail to high seas any minute now (the ship-like structure in the upper middle and the sea-like skies in the upper half).

Arthur Dove

Arthur Dove at Valerie Carberry Gallery (Art Basel Miami Beach)

Canandaigua Outlet, Oaks Corners

You are the woods. It's dark night. It's scary. The dark brown spots at the bottom could be bears or just bushes. But you got a flame, a small flame (a brown spot with white border in left bottom ). It leads you to the big warm fire. It is behind those oak trees. The tree tops are lightened up with blue hope.

David Antonio Cruz

David Antonio Cruz at Praxis International Art

andtheyfade,strawberryfieldsof 52

In blue water there is debris floating from a shipwreck(left part of the painting). But it is not a physical debris, it is emotional. And you can see another pile of wreckage is building in the future(the pile on the upper right). But you already have experience, so the next "shipwrecking" event will be less painful, less complicated(the pile has simpler forms). You will learn more based on the accumulated experience(the violet spots). The water is light blue, so you are hoping for the best.