Forces of Nature in Valbonne

From 9 April - 19 April, the Artotheque of Valbonne presents the exhibition ‘Forces of Nature’! My friend Sally Ducrow and myself, we worked very hard to create a spectacular and colourful exhibition, and we both think it worked out really well!! It has all kinds of representations from the natural world and the forces behind it, imagined and for real - from tiny animals and plants, to outer space and DNA-ribbons, in watercolours  and acrylics, it's all there. Lots of original sculptures by Sally, made in wood and other unusual materials, full of creativity and imagination - made with love by the both of us... Note that the "Forces of Nature" are also great for children - who are of course most welcome!

The exhibition can be checked out in the ‘Salle St Esprit’ next to the Church in Valbonne. One of us is always present, every day from 10.30am to 6pm.

"Two artists invite you to discover unusual and poetic art, inspired by natural phenomena – and human interpretations of them. In this exhibition you will find black holes, nebulae, coloured DNA ribbons, plant life, animal life, humans... and even a river god - as well as an ever evolving artwork. To express her visions, Marina Kulik creates meandering and enticing shapes, bursting with beautiful colour harmonies, in watercolour and acrylics. The sculptures and 3-D collages of Sally Ducrow are mostly in wood, painted or partially charred, often combined with stone inclusions, metal, shell, glass ... This exhibition truly is a feast for the eyes!”

Big Rose in print

Remember the aquarelle 'Big Rose' that was chosen as design for the 'Stop Aids Now' Artbag of 2012? The bag will hit the shops in October, and it will only cost 5 €. I will regularly update you  from this space, for instance about the prototype that I now have in my possession ☺ But first a spin off of this project: high quality silk screen prints, numbered and signed by yours truly will soon be available! My new number one favourite printer Cristian de Bruijne from Cristian de Bruijne Zeefdruk  has worked very hard to create a colourful, strong reproduction of the image. And that has worked out! As he says himself: "The reason of my enthusiasm is that Marina gave me free reign. This resulted in a reproduction that is as beautiful as it can possibly be. With this way of working I am at my best - it was a super job in all respects!" The prints will be presented on the 'Wonder and Make a Wish' expo (see previous post)...

Exhibition ‘Wonder and Make a Wish’

 FOR IMEDIATE RELEASE “Wonder and Make a wish” From 14 – 16 September 2012 the exhibition ‘Wonder and Make a wish’ will take place in Golfe Juan, featuring new work by five Dutch artists based in the Côte d’Azur. The artists will donate 10% of every sold work to the charity ‘Make-A-Wish’, which will be introduced in the Côte d’Azur during the exhibition. Galerie Oscar is very pleased to announce a group exhibition of Dutch artists, living and working in the Côte d’Azur; Marina Kulik, Ineke Velsink,  Thérèse Steinmetz, Rosalind Suurland and Elmer de Haas.  Through paintings, photography, sculptures and jewelry, the ‘Wonder and Make a Wish’ exhibition expresses the crucial ingredient in creativity and growth, the ever wondering approach to the existence. The artists will be donating 10% of their proceeds to the new charity, “Make a wish”, which will be hereby introduced in Côte d’Azur. The five featuring artists are still wondering and facilitating the same possibility to the visitors. Their artworks make us look around with wondering eyes, asking questions and observing without judgment. Their works convey the often lost sensation of believing that everything and anything is possible. Children can easily imagine what adults disregard as impossible. Children wonder and wish for miracles until we convince them to become realistic and stop dreaming. “Wonder and make a wish” exhibition connects us with the lost innocence and invites us to start looking around with wonder-eyes. About the artists: Marina Kulik combines creativity and ‘the artist life’ with intelligence and science. Her work shows a continuous, poetic wonder about the mystery of life. This is expressed in her subjects: expressive yet delicate portraits on one side and on the other hand lyric abstracts, originating from nature in her 'MCRose' series and emerging towards a microscopic viewpoint in 'MyDNA'. Marina is constantly developing and researching ideas, always seeking to truly understand the subject, looking for mastery and originality. Ineke Velsink works miracles with bronze and hard stones such as various kinds of marble. Her statues have a wondering and spiritual undertone and her women balance between the figurative and the abstract. Ineke’s “everything is possible” approach makes it possible to observe that what at first appears as abstract, reveals itself as being a well-measured composition. The statues are therefore surprising the viewer by enhancing a different impression than he/she got at first sight. Rosalind Suurland, former ice show skater, always designed and manufactured the show apparel.  With her special creations of necklaces, in gold, silver, silk and pearls, Rosalind has found her new passion and stage and opportunity to translate her playfulness and creativity from performing on ice to creating dream alike jewelry. Her designs are charming and artistic, and she has made her name in the world of jewelry by creating only one unique copy of each piece, executed in a different style. Thérèse Steinmetz takes the viewer  to another world, a world of peace, serenity and beauty with her dream alike 'creatures feminines' (fairytale female creatures). During the first exposition in the Hague in 1989 Lambert Monet (a direct descendant of the French painter) discovered Thérèse’s work and introduced her to several foreign galleries. A highlight was the great solo exhibition in New York at the famous Benedetti-Gallery (1993). Thérèse’s work was awarded many times, among them the ‘Medaille d'or’ of the biennale of Lyon 2002 and the great prize of Italy 2002 with expositions in Rome, Venice and Florence. Elmer R. de Haas, Dutch photographer/film director, lives and works in Amsterdam. His work is often characterized as:  “Work that embodies great emotional depth, with a sensitive eye for composition and storytelling”. His uncommissioned work is collected by a fast growing international clientele in Zurich, Berlin and London. At present he exhibits in his own studio/gallery in Amsterdam and  the ‘Wonder and Make a Wish’ exhibition shows his ‘look beyond the reality’ works. About the charity: ‘Make-A-Wish’ is a worldwide charity organization which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. The organization Make-A-Wish has a representation in Paris since 2003 and is now in the process of setting up an organization for the South of France and Lille. Guests: Highly interesting international speakers and guests, among others, Peter van Santen, Honorary Consul of the Netherlands in Nice and an official representation of ‘Make-A-Wish’ France. Setting: Exquisite private villa, overlooking the the riviera coast, a purposefully designed scenario for wondering and dreaming. Music: Live lounge music by jazz singer Anna Feichenfeldt and pianist Ruby Lemm. Dates: September 14-16, 2012,  15.00-19.00 Opening reception: September 14, 15.00 - 19.00 For more information Emilie Janda at +33669396881 or ej@galerieoscar.com

Now represented by Galerie Oscar!

From August 1st 2012 onwards artist Marina Kulik will be represented by Galerie Oscar in Nice

Galerie Oscar is a gallery for contemporary art, with an inventive approach and a great eye for original art from emerging international artists.  For Marina it means that her artwork will be promoted on a broader international basis:

“I am very happy with this development! After my successful exhibition in Galerie Oscar in Nice, I kept in touch with them because especially curator Emilie Janda is a great sparring partner and an inspiring person! Now that they actually represent me I can always count on their input and feedback - and of course they take a lot of administrative work,  but also marketing and publicity, from my hands. Time that I can now spend on painting! And on developing new ideas and projects...”

Emilie Janda from Galerie Oscar will focus on further development of Marina's abstract projects and on international marketing of the full length 'informal portraits'.

“From the moment I saw Marina Kulik’s paintings during 'Franchement Art' in Villefranche, I was attracted to her colourful and original  'MyDNA' series, the fingerprints and serpentines. When Marina exhibited with Galerie Oscar, I was introduced to her 'McRoses' and I immediately recognized the potential in her work. This was proven right after the exhibition when 'Big Rose' was chosen by the Dutch AIDS fund to be printed on their famous Artbag. Marina's full length (and other) portraits are already well known in French and Dutch circles and we are going to make sure they get the attention they deserve in other countries too, starting with the Scandinavian art market. We are delighted to welcome Marina Kulik in our midst."

For new and existing collectors of Marina's work this is good news! There will be a higher level of publicity and Marina’s work will become an even better investment.  Galerie Oscar can be contacted for additional information and services. info@galerieoscar.com www.galerieoscar.com

Galerie Oscar 51 Avenue de Mont Alban 06300 Nice

Emilie Janda +33669396881

From the Aquarellista Headquarters 2

Although there is not as much time as I hoped for (because my artist bro Pim had to go to hospital and I'm taking over his classes for the rest of the month and April, lots of planning and general distraction)  - I am slowly working on the portrait commission, and 'the thing' is already happening: I fall in love with my subject. I am thinking about him and his features all the time. By the way, this always happens to me! Boys, girls, old, young- as long as it has a heartbeat, I love it deeply during the making of the painting! It is probably what the term 'muse' is all about... Anyway - a remark on my work is sometimes that I show a much too 'loving' image - and the above is probably why! Can't help it! Maybe I should someday paint somebody that I don't like - as a test... OK - here's a picture of the basic sketch: very thin , with a HB pencil on the Arches torchon, so that the drawing will hardly be visible on the painting when it is finished.     And then the first wash  of his face, without much detail and contrast - but definitely with a likeness to, euh... my muse!