Sunday 27 May 2012

Yankel Ginzburg- Life of an Artist


Yankel Ginzburg
Yankel Ginzburg is a world renowned and sought after artist due to both his skill and versatility. His skill in a wide range of mediums including paintings, sculptures, and tapestries has gained him respect from critics, peers, and collectors alike.  Born in Kazakhstan in 1945, he moved to Israel at age 9 where he later developed his passion for painting.  Beginning at a young age, he pursued an education in art and sold his first painting at nineteen. After that time, Yankel Ginzburg traveled back and forth between the United States and Israel to sell his art.  From that point in his career, his popularity continued to grow steadily.  Soon, he began setting up one man shows all over the world.  He has been commissioned by a number of world governments and organizations to produce special works of art in a variety of styles and mediums.  His work is now showcased in museums all over the world and he has grown to become one of the most iconic and respected artists of the twentieth century.

The most collectible of all Yankel Ginzburg art are his paintings.  Since the artist considered himself a painter first who moved into other mediums his paintings have remained some of his most collectible works.  Yankel Ginzburg paintings are famous for their innovation, excellent craftsmanship, and vivid and realistic use of color.  While Yankel Ginzburg paintings and sculptures demonstrate a mastery of classic technique, he also pushes the envelope through his innovative and at times surreal designs, showing three dimensional, intentionally distorted, or partially abstracted images.  This has created a unique signature that all Yankel Ginzburg art shares.  At the same time that Yankel Ginzburg demonstrates immense range through his mastery of varied mediums, he also show great range through his mastery or varied styles.  He can create more lift like works of art along with very abstracted work.  Despite this vast range and variances throughout all of his work, Yankel Ginzburg paintings, sculptures, and tapestries all showcase his unique style and have a signature that is unique to the artist.  Any art collector or critic can easily identify his work through his stylistic hallmarks despite his immense range in style, medium, and technique. 

Yankel Ginzburg art consistently demonstrates a great cultural awareness.  While religious themes played a major role in his early work, he has expanded the social consciousness of his work through his development as an artist. He now emphasizes religion, cultural development, and peace through his art.  Yankel Ginzburg’s famous“Freedom Road” Tapestry which is displayed in the United States Holocaust Museum is a prime example of the artist’s ability to inject social awareness into his art.  He also was the first Israeli artist to have an exhibit in Cairo, Egypt.   Yankel Ginzburg’s social and political passion have influenced his works of art and added to his unique artist’s signature.

Yankel Ginzburg has shown himself to be a unique and multi-talented artist.  Yankel Ginzburg art is extremely popular and collectible due to his great skill and extreme diversity in mediums and techniques. 

Erte- An Iconic Artist


Erte
Erte is one of the most iconic artists of the twentieth century.  Born of French heritage in Russia in 1907 under the name Romain de Tirtoff, he later became known by Erte, based off of the French pronunciation of his initials- R.T.  It is believed he went by this pseudonym to avoid disgracing his family.  His family came from a long line of nobility and pursuing a career in art was not considering in line with the family’s reputation at the time.  Despite beginning in a career he one thought would bring shame on his family’s name, eventually Erte’s would go to have a long and successful career, becoming one of the most famous painters, designers, and sculptors of the twentieth century.  Erte bronze sculpture and painting would become among the world’s most collected works of art and he would go on to create a revolutionary and unique style that would forever be tired to his work and represent the artistic preferences of his entire era. 

Today, Erte is most famous for his beautiful fashion designs which launched his artistic career.  Erte began working with Harper’s Bazaar magazine in 1913.  This work would ultimately propel him into one of the most notable fashion designers of his time.  Throughout his carrier, Erte went on to create more than 240 covers for the magazine.  He also designed for other popular fashion magazines including Cosmopolitan and Vogue during the same period.  Erte also created notable fashion designs for famous dancers and Broadway actresses. Erte art is considered a quintessential example of art deco style which he is credited for creating during this time.  This style would go on to define the aesthetic of the entire era.  It would go on to influence the world of art, architecture, and fashion.  His paintings remain popular today for their iconic representation of the era.  Erte paintings of the 1920s and 1930s were famous for his innovative ideas and his flamboyant artistic style.  



Later in his carrier, Erte diversified greatly and became known for a wider range of art that would propel him to greater and more widespread recognition.  In the 1960s, Erte created a series of lithographs and sculptures.  This art was reminiscent of his earlier fashion design work and completed in very much the same style.  Because his new recalled the artistic leanings of the 1920s and 30s, it would later become known as art deco revival since these new Erte paintings and sculptures harkened back to the art deco movement which Erte is crediting for creating.  

Because they are so collectible and unique, Erte bronze sculptures have become extremely collectible.  Their art deco style which they were created in remains iconic and popular today.  Erte bronze sculptures and paintings can be found in some of the world’s most famous museum- including the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. and Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  

Erte had a long and illustrious career, continuing to produce art into his 90s.  His artistic style was so revolutionary that he experienced multiple periods of widespread critical acclaim both during the invention of the art deco style in the 1920s and 1930 and later during the art deco resurgence he created in the 1960s. Erte paintings and bronze sculptures remain extremely popular and collectible today due to their pioneering style.