Naked Gallery Vol 1, Pressies, January 2021.
Our Pressies this month features art from Georgia O'Keeffe, Mark Rothko, Alexander Calder, Ellsworth Kelly, Isamu Noguchi, and Jonas Wood, curated by @valeriavelardo.
Pressies by Naked Beauty Bar.
A note from our curator:
Like Naked, these artists drew inspiration from the natural world and paid no attention to trends. From paintings to sculptures, I wanted to challenge Naked to translate these iconic pieces from profound artists of the modern and contemporary era, into designs accessible at your fingertips.
Mark Rothko:
Famed abstract expressionist, Mark Rothko (1903-1970) believed art was a powerful form of communicating basic human emotions. Through his Colour Field paintings of soft, brushy borders, and glowing, suspended rectangles, Rothko sought to bring people to tears. His work not only expressed human emotion, but also stimulated psychological and emotional experiences. “Painting is not about an experience. It is an experience" – Rothko.
Georgia O'Keeffe:
Recognized as one of the most significant artists of the 20th century, Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) created innovative impressionist images that reflected her deep personal connection to nature, landscapes, and architecture.
Infused with energy and emotion, her work didn't imitate the visual appearance of the world. Instead, she painted nature in a way that showed how it made her feel – magnifying the beauty in small, natural details.
Isamu Noguchi:
Integrating Japanese aesthetics with Western modernism, Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was recognized for his artistic experimentation that transcended the boundaries of sculpture, design and architecture.
From architectural landscapes to furniture designs, Noguchi defied categorization and believed "everything was sculpture.” He brought this belief to his iconic Akari Light Sculptures, both delicate and bold, traditional and modern – Noguchi was truly an artist more for our times, than he was his own.
Alexander Calder:
Recognized as the master of perpetual motion, Alexander Calder (1898-1976) changed the course of modern art —reinventing sculpture by making it dance.
Calder’s iconic “mobiles" (dubbed by Marcel Duchamp) consist of abstract shapes made of industrial materials that gracefully hang in an uncanny yet perfect balance. Exploring the nature of volumes, voids and movements through space, his sculptures are a true deep dive into the nature of nature.
Jonas Wood:
Known for his playful, graphic aesthetic that merges modernist abstraction with pop-inflicted figuration, Jonas Wood (b. 1977) creates works that reflect his everyday world in both form and content.
Wood explores the boundary between the new and the familiar, integrating nostalgic objects from his everyday life. His Still Life paintings become a way to freshen the artist’s—and the viewer’s—perception of the world.
Ellsworth Kelly:
Often described as a minimalist, Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) is one of the most important artists of the twentieth century who strongly influenced hard-edge and colour field painting.
Drawing on the connection between abstraction and nature, Kelly extrapolates forms and colours to create geometric abstractions of how he sees world. "The most pleasurable thing in the world, for me, is to see something and then translate how I see it" – Kelly.
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