Thursday, August 18, 2011

Studio visit with Fran Shalom


Savoire Faire
2010
Oil on Wood
12" x 12'


 " I am a modernist abstract painter with a pop sensibility. My works balance the formal with the playful, paring down shapes and ideas into their most basic forms. It is a search for clarity and humor, as is evidenced by the shapes and colors in my paintings: cartoony, bright, blobby. But, like life itself, there is an undercurrent of conflict beneath the whimsy, as reflected in the tension and interaction between the shapes. Ultimately, it is important that the viewer becomes involved with the paintings, tempting them to stay long enough with the images to connect to a narrative that is at once ambiguous yet taps into the specifics and subtleties of their own lives."



 I was in Chelsea a few months ago at the Nancy Margolis Gallery seeing the Abstraction show. I particularity liked the color, quirkiness and ambiguity of Fran Shalom's work. I looked her up online and found out she lives 15 minutes from my studio so I arranged a visit. What a treat to have someone who speaks my language so close!




Her studio is up in the attic with plenty of light and room for her to work.
She is a collector so notice in many of the photos the shelves of "stuff".
I love this one above her painting wall. 

All of the work shown in this post is work in progress so don't get attached.
 

Here are her rolling tables with everything ready and close at hand. You can see her inspiraton wall to the left. Here is an upclose view:


 

 

Work in progress, oil on board



Works in progress, oil on board




This is a finished painting untitled at the moment (I love the relationship between the painting and the wire with the pink tags. )


We had some laughs


Everywhere I  looked I found echoing shapes and colors. Look at those funny creatures in the windows.

Work in progress, oil on board
 




Work in progress, oil on board




 More cards and images 


The bookshelves


She is a practicing Buddhist.


 
This is Jazzy's viewing chair. Notice the painting hanging up over the radiator. That is a painting by Brenda Goodman.

Troubled Waters #3 20 x 24 2009 Brenda Goodman


Untitled, 2010, Oil on Wood 12" x 12"

Fran has two shows coming up. 
A two person show, April 24th at The Painting Center, NYC
and a solo show, October 2012,
at the John Davis Gallery in Hudson, NY.









13 comments:

Geralyn Robinson of Geralyn's Art Studio Maplewood NJ said...

Thanks Lisa for showing us Fran's work, it is beautiful. I love it.

Brenda Goodman said...

a wonderful post of fran's wonderful work

Nancy Hilgert said...

I love seeing other artists' studios. This is an extensive presentation and a lovely space, not to mention all the beautiful work.

Rita Maria Gallery said...

its wonderful how you can celebrate and share other artists in your own space of your blog. thank you! studio spaces are most inspiring.

Eric Harley Schweitzer said...

Fran very nice work!

You use the word "pop" in describing your work- could you please share how you come to use this description?

ehschweitzer@yahoo.com
www.schweitzersart.com

M.A.H. said...

Nice post!

Nancy Natale said...

Great post, Lisa, and great work, Fran! I enjoyed this so much. So nice to have a virtual studio visit.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Lisa for this peak into Fran's studio. Love this work!

julia schwartz said...

what a great post, I love all the shots of the studio space and the work.

Tamar said...

Thanks for a wonderful studio visit, Lisa and Fran. I've been enjoying the sense of play and humor in Fran's work for some time, and look forward to seeing her upcoming exhibits.

Stephanie Sachs said...

inspiring work, thanks for showing me this artist.

Paul Behnke said...

Love Fran's work!

annell4 said...

Thanks so much for the interview, for allowing me to learn more about Fran's work. annell livingston