MODERN ART? Ugh!

Isn't art supposed to be beautiful?? Well, it would be lovely if it all were. But as you know, art...all forms of it...music, dancing, painting, sculpture, writing, etc., comes in all styles, shapes, sizes and evokes all sorts of emotions. Maybe that's all it's supposed to do....bring forth a response of any kind...a burst of life from the viewer/listener. The artist, after all, is only expressing what's in his mind/heart/soul at the moment, hoping it will find an understanding home somewhere out there. Quite legitimate.




Much as I love paintings and photographs of places I love, and have them on my walls, if we're talking about decoration, I have always been struck by the simple, completely abstract 20th century painting and sculpture seen almost entirely in galleries and museums only. These designs also often look quite stunning in a large and very contemporary home.

Whether it's the soft blending of shapes in these Eric Balint paintings or the stark, and famous, lines and rectangles of Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian (who died in NYC in '44 after decades of his work creating quite a stir)...my fascination is the way these shapes and colors relate to one another to form pure design. Design with no other agenda than to be.

Here's part of a window design at a beautiful church in my town of Beach Haven, NJ. Doesn't it evoke joy?


And here are some of the jewelry pieces I'm been creating to add to my Web site, Art on an Island. The polymer clay inspires wonderful textures and the shapes fit together with peace and simplicity.



See them soon on artonanisland.com.