Steven Assael: Paintings & Drawings at Forum Gallery

[VenusPain1]

I love your work steven you are like a father to me your work is so amazing keep.the great work up

[midsummerunicorn]

Extremely talented artist who knows how to speak through realistic compositions. Some artists get the drawing part accurate, but fail to "say anything."

[mconesa52]

I have seen his works at the Forum Gallery… Steven Assael´s works are memories and metaphors of his surroundings and upbringing…They are nicely done and convey far more than what meet the eyes…

[iENJOYpaintingSTUFF]

This video shall continue to inspire me for all eternity!!!!

[DirtyHotdogWater]

Steve is absolutely amazing.

[loafpork]

@konzwambii

Go write a paper for your art school professor you blowhard.

[twangel46]

the paintings are very like Robert Lenkiewicz of Plymouth ( now deceased) who created massive works in exactly the same technique and who attained notority via his eccentric habits. He -like you deserves to be held up as a potential legacy for the future but his works were sold hither and thither despite his giving them to Plymouth as a gift. I hope your wishes will be respected whatever they are.

[maryellenmark]

I posed for a painting by Steven Assael, he was so patient with me as I'm sure I was not one of his most steady models. Walking into the Manhattan studio was always a treat as there was always something new to look at or listen to. The whole studio experience was always very comforting and welcoming.

[Jaceline222]

I was a student of Mr. Assael's years ago at the School of Visual Arts. Not only is Assael my favorite painter to date, but he has also remained an inspiration to me as a great teacher.

I remember him saying, "when we develop a knowing eye we can introduce new visual words into our visual vocabulary that can be chosen selectively to give meaning and expression to an idea." [ cont'd ]

[Jaceline222]

By selecting from the dictionary of the mind in conjunction with a selective process of observation the painter can provide visual poetry as opposed to a meaningless copy. [ cont'd ]

[Jaceline222]

So many art students and realist painters just copy what they see, taking for granted the experience as simply observable facts, sort of like just copying the words from a dictionary. Unlike so many of the others, Assael's work and inspiration as a teacher makes painting feel alive.

[dominique8893]

I saw this artists work for the first time a number of years ago at the Yale University art gallery. The exhibition was from the Richard Brown Baker collection that contained American art from the 50's to the present. I have since been following this artist work. I am so thankful to have found this talented artist.

[MrVorheese]

I was a student of Mr. Assael's a number of years ago. He is a New York born artist that is commited to the figure and it's history. His carefully observed, non-photo-based paintings and drawings complicate the contested territory of contemporary representational painting. [cont'd]

[MrVorheese]

Assael paints exclusively from life, his painting practice deeply informed by impeccable draftsmanship. Central to Assael's art is a concern with visually processing the procession of observed evanescent moments. Assael has said to me that it was his belief that the art of the last century was largely defined by doubt, rather than by belief, in the visible world.

[MrVorheese]

In 1906, art historian Wilhelm Worringer said that abstraction will be the visual cultural fate of an anxiety-riddled culture and representation that of one more peace with itself (Abstraction and Empathy). Worringer's feeling is relevant to the critical analyis of contemporary figurative paing, as what has been sometimes seen as an anachronism might instead be viewed as an omen of peace.

[sartrexpress77]

Art is dead in a dead art world. This painter demonstrates that painting is alive.

[sartrexpress77]

These paintings pull you right in, not because of their "realism" or representation, but because they are remarkable images first. Second, close up, the painted surfaces are filled with depth and project toward the eye in a multitude of layers of scumbling and glazes. Painting on the most sublime.

[iENJOYpaintingSTUFF]

A feast for the eyes!!!

[conewells]

A retired Superman.....Amazing.

[sartrexpress77]

No need to be sorry for Mr. Kuspit, he is our Clement Greenburg, a fearless voice for figuration and naritive painting. Curators have jobs, critics are freelance, most of them are academics, poets and sometimes even artists themselves.

[konzwambii]

I feel sorry for Donald Kuspit and other such critics. If they don't fall all over themselves with rave reviews, they will soon be out of work.

[midnightpooper]

i think konzwambii was being sarcastic. or it was opposite day when posted.

[TheCreature138]

I'm a sculptor but this is my favorite painter. In person Assael's paintings have no equal. His observation and use of light and form are both Glowing and sculptural. His paintings are a must see in person, the vids and reproductions do not capture the depth and luminosity.

[midnightpooper]

agreed on the glowing.

saw a painting and 2 drawings. they pull you across the floor to them.

[loafpork]

Nerdrum is better.

[MrVorheese]

Sorry konzwambii but I think you have an axe to grind. I was a student of Mr. Assael's and know that he is not only a remarkable talent but a most thoughtful and insightful artist. All you have to do is listen to the video.

[LetArtsLive]

this is amazing.I love it.Its real art.

[zoas41]

Art aspires to a full integration of form and content, the idea is in the medium, it is not about the assimilation of art issues, it is the assimilation of art issues and more. Assael is one of the few artist's who's paintings integrate a formal and conceptual response to the " Death of Art" predicament of our time. While so much of todays figurative works are ironic illustrations, Assael has revitalized painting with serious and meaningful content.

[sartrexpress77]

Kuspit cont...Perhaps Assaels most convincing marriage of modernist abstraction and traditionalist imagery are in his extraordinary drawings -- pure perceptual, esthetic and psychodramatic epiphanies. The pencil and paper drawing of the Big Dress (2008) is a tour de force of technical brilliance, from the intricate ornamental line -- a lightning stroke of pure modernist gesture -- that rims the dress to its complication of folds.

[sartrexpress77]

Kuspit cont. There is also great attention to esthetic detail, esthetic intensifying of sensuous detail, quite visible in the clothing and skin of the sleeping passengers, and above all the subtle relationship of light and shadow, suggestive of muted tenebrism. Then there is the "human condition" of the sleeping passengers, that is, the unconsciousness which unites them even as it suggests they are tragically dead -

[sartrexpress77]

Realists whose works successfully integrate esthetics, existentialism and humanism, with no loss of observational acumen -- respect for the material facts -- are "ultimate realists. Painting titled ,Passengers (2008).

Note the picture window behind the principal figures, ambiguously an Old Master painting of an Italianate landscape, indicating Assaels awareness of historical precedent, that is, the implicit presence of tradition or historical constants. Donald Kuspit writes.

[konzwambii]

Painting involves not only the physical act of painting, but also the full range of content brought by the artist: his background, status, influences, relation to prior art, assimilation of art issues, and hopefully personality and probative depth, insight,and analysis. So, yes, it IS about ideas. Without ideas, a painter churns out schlock $5 tourist "art". These paintings are repetitive frontal formula works, without larger purpose, compositional interest, or content. He needs ideas.

[KPattonArt123]

konzwambii: if you believe art is primarily about ideas, and not skill, perhaps you should go back to the 1960's when such ideas were at their peak?

You set up a false dichotomy when supposing a certain type of realist painting doesn't involve ideas-- as if realist painters are thoughtless robots. All artists who have a brain think. All artists think as they create. The question is whether or not the artist has the ability to bring their ideas to fruition,or if they're held back by incompetence

[konzwambii]

I do believe that art is about skill (as well), and in general these days most artist have far too little skill, and far too much ego. So, your assessment that I have set up a false dichotomy is itself false.

I never said art is primarily about ideas and NOT skill. In fact, I reject "art" supposedly based only on "idea" (ie, conceptual "art"), firstly because there is no real skill. Painting is the gold mine, so if an artist wants to work in the salt mine of "conceptual art", they [cont'd]

[konzwambii]

are free to set their sights as low as they want. I used the word "ideas" in a much broader and deeper sense. "Skill" in painting can be defined as manual dexterity in handling art materials, or apparent facility at depicting certain effects (such as photo-realistically painting hair or reflections in the eye, etc). These are superficial abilities. Many critics over the centuries have criticized Rembrandt for being unskilled at painting hands, saying his hands are often blocky [cont'd]

[konzwambii]

and awkward. But would anyone seriously argue that, therefore, Rembrandt was not one of the greatest artists? A more knowledgable viewer can see the creative vision in his painted hands, no matter how blocky. Similarly, an artist much more apparently skillful at painting hands may well be an extremely minor artist unworthy of being remembered in art history. He had great skills in paint handling, but the real importance of Rembrandt comes from more than that. He succeeded on many levels: [contd]

[konzwambii]

composition, draftsmanship, spatial awareness, plasticity, psychological depth, figural interaction, originality with light and space, pathos, a sense of history, Christian passion, and on and on and on. All this I sum up with the word "vision", or his "ideas".

And to your point about realist painters, yes, they often do paint like "thoughtless robots". That is, they are often concerned with superficial effects and an unimportant desire to satisfy the greatest number of viewers, [cont'd]

[konzwambii]

meaning viewers not educated in art. Tens of thousands of realist painters today plod along with no awareness of the best art that has gone before them, and without having made intense study of what makes art great as opposed to merely appealing. The average viewer is much enamored of banal paintings of lighthouses, or the works of a John Ross or a Thomas Kinkade. Yet no educated viewer would take such things seriously. If this sounds elitist, well then it is. But everyone is welcomed [cont'd]

[konzwambii]

to the "elite", through serious study of art. And this is not to unduly belittle realist painters; one should take an equally discerning look at all other styles.

You state that "all artists think as they create". This seems to say that all minds are equal, and all thoughts are of equal depth and importance, since you say the only real question is do they have the technical ability (skill) to succeed in conveying those thoughts. But surely the difference in meaningfulness of artists' [cont'd]

[konzwambii]

thoughts must vary by countless orders of magnitude. Part of this discussion is just semantic, as to how we define skill, etc. But when I use "ideas", I not only mean conscious ideas, but unconscious as well. A deep thinker might make a wonderful existentialist, but if he took up a paintbrush he might be worse than a 3 year-old. A great artist draws from a deep wellspring of creativity, and a lesser artist draws from a shallow puddle. Their thoughts are not "equal". So, yes, painting is [cont'd]

[konzwambii]

about many things, including ideas AND skill. But I would never agree that since all artists think, their thoughts are all of equal depth, and that therefore the only question is technical skill.

Painting is a traditional skill-based art, and the best artists have always had high skills, but the converse is not true. Meaning, appreciable skills in one aspect of painting, such as the ability to depict "realistic" faces, does not result in being one of the best artists. Painting is [cont'd]

[konzwambii]

ultimately multi-faceted, and one must view the work on many levels to assess the whole. My point was that these paintings, while appearing quite competent on certain levels, fail on so many others that they do not rise very high on the scale of figurative art. I do not know the artist and have no "axe to grind" (as has been suggested here), but am just assessing the work objectively.

[bzimmie]

@konzwambii Well i will start of by commending your grammar and amazing vocabulary. Now I will be so bold as to say that you are an ignorant, stubborn, disgruntled fool. Art is about creation. Your close minded views about what is art and what isn't take me straight to the idiocy behind musical debate. The opinion exists within the listener. That's all that matters. You think any of the great painters would frown upon any artist? I would assume any SUCCESSFUL master would be humble of any art.

[konzwambii]

@bzimmie If opinions about art "exist within" the individual, then why am I not entitled to mine? I presented my ideas on art. Instead of addressing any of that, you engage only in personal insults, one after the other. You are free to admire any art you wish. Like I said, many people say they like paintings of lighthouses. Hey, that's their opinion, right? I guess that makes palette knife paintings of lighthouses on black velvet great.

[dominique8893]

My favorite figurative painter. His images are as complex as we are human. Just listen to him, a great American artist. I love the theatrical devises that allows us a way in. We never tire looking , total absorbtion, images that recoil to the eye. So many of his contemporaries use photos to paint from and we are left with pictorial one liners, but these images make us come back over and over. Thank You

[konzwambii]

Despite the facility, I find the works rather empty and vacuous. One asks: why does it exist, why was it made? There is no context, no relationship between adjacent figures, no real purpose other than to display the painter's ability to depict a face, or hair. The empty backgrounds are a sign of pictorial weakness. I would suggest going back to the Met, to think about what makes a painting worth doing. Painting is about ideas, not just an excuse to illustrate. Sorry, but I did not like them.

[MrVorheese]

Painting is the idea, this artist is emersed in the act of painting.

Once painting is "about" anything it becomes illustrative.

Here is great ICONIC image making.

[MADAZALI]

What a great "answer" to the Lucian Freud's video, I'm so glad I clicked the link!

Uplifting...

[MrChubbington]

Brilliant figuratif , colourfull , composition , everything spot on... Makes me feel like I better up grade my painting, as I am an artist but I'll be honest he is technically superior then me ! Then again maybe that is what's great about art is every artist has his potential , his or her style. However , this guy aint handicapped to put it mildly !

[SnezicSun]

... all I can say is WOW!

[NeolightAnon]

Fantastic

[BSproductions45]

I went to Assael's 1999 one-person show at Seattle's Frye Art Musem many times during its 3-month run. This artist, whose work is not even included in recent "coffe-table books" surveying art history up to the Post-Modern era and beyond, is so much better than the artists who are included. Assael is my favorite living artist.

Thanks for uploading this recent video!

[LetArtsLive]

i sure wish i could see them in person.He is a great artist..like photography its all to do with light...dan ny

[FatherOfThings]

Steven, thank you - it is a privilege to be your friend. Beautiful work.

[dashpoet]

Beautiful work, exceptional artist. Thank you.

[MarasVeil]

Beautifully crafted video and incredible artist you have presented here. What hope this artist projects. We need many such souls to remind us of our potential and keep us anchored in our depths. Thank you for bring him to my eye and thoughts.