Teasing the Bathers by Dianne Blell

DIANNE BLELL

Desire for the Intimate Deity

These mixed media works are strong expressions of intimacy and desire which Blell
creates by combining painting and photography which allow her to poignantly juxtapose reality with fantasy. The themes of desire and the pursuit of love have driven Blell’s work since the early 1970’s through the vehicles of fashion advertising, Greco-Roman mythology and Art History. This current series explores the archetypal stages of courtship and the pursuit of love utilizing the iconic elements of Hindu Folklore and the love story of Rada & Krishna.

In Blell's words:
As an aspect of the divine is universally and subconsciously embodied in every individual's personal concept of the ideal, I have ... conveyed the profound nature of intimacy as it would be if love were an act of divinity and a result of our innate quest and yearning for the ideal union.

Donald Kuspit writes in an essay in reference to this newest work:

“Art History, Desire, Beauty: Dianne Blell's Photo-Tableaus,”
The structure of the composition establishes an ideal space in which perfect love is possible. It is a love between beings perfect in their own way, yet needing each other to consummate their perfection and confirm their ideality. In Blell's ... art the male and female figures, however ostensibly different, are always in harmonious balance, and thus enduringly in union.

Dianne Blell lives and works in New York City. Her work has been featured in many solo exhibitions at such venues as the Krannert Art Museum at he University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana; the Los Angeles Institute for Contemporary Art, California; the Houston Center for Photography, Texas; Leo Castelli Gallery, New York; Robert Stefanotti Gallery, New York; John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco. She received her BFA and MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Contact Dianne Blell

JOHN CHAMBERLAIN'S HEAVY METAL

By DANIEL KUNITZ for The NY Sun February 21, 2008

The five large pieces in his new show at PaceWildenstein Gallery suggest that the sculptor John Chamberlain (b. 1927) of Shelter Island, now in his 81st year, has lost none of the playfulness and verve that have long characterized his efforts. And yet his methods continue to change. Best-known for polychrome sculptures constructed from crushed automobile parts, he has, in fact, worked in many media, from steel pipes to foam, foil, paper bags, and Plexiglas. The stainless steel from which the five new pieces have been made marks a relatively new material direction. For Complete go to the NY Sun Link in the ART CRITIC section in the right column and click on "Daniel Kunitz". Click to see Mark Borghi Fine Art inventory: John Chamberlain at MBFA