Big Hug Studio

21.1.25

What's new at Saatchi Art?

These are some of my favourite picks from Saatchi Art. Enjoy!

1 Red Pepper, Dopamine Decor, Kazakhstan

2 Sundown over Water, Meredith Howse, Australia

3 The lost underwear, Tatiana Harizanova, Bulgaria

4 Dream garden 21, Anteo Gremi, Albania

5 The tigers watchman, Domenico Antonio Frassineti, Italy

6 Studio per un ritratto di donna, Paolo Damiani, Italy

7 The girl at home, Erekle Kiparoidze, Georgia

8 Human umbrellas try to open them, Mykola Dzhychka, Ukraine

9 The world seen through your eyes, Marie Jose Domenjoz, France

10 Peacock Compulsion, Yusuf Epcin, Turkey

17.1.25

Art Palm Beach is a lesser known fair but it is quickly becoming on the art market's radar. Located on the coast of Florida it features over 1,000 works of art. My first selection is that of Indian American artist Parvaze's art. The contrast in his Botanical I Vibrant is that of almost primary colours. It's a vibrant work and beautiful in its rendering. Suspended in space it sits outside of its natural habitat. Meanwhile Canadian artist, Martin Brouilette gives us a thoughtful abstract work to contemplate. The colours here have a pleasing palette and playful bursts of colour and doodles are a part of the composition. It is a layered work full of nuance and we wonder at the artist's intentions. On the other hand, Damien Hirst's Civilisation Exploding is an extraordinary rendering of a garden in full bloom. It is robust in in its colour scheme and almost chaotic in its busyness. Ayobola Kekere Ekun's Oya Confessional II, is a mixed media work that uses paper to achieve its success. The artist uses cutouts of paper giving her subjects large eyes to entice the viewer. She studies black identity and the way women are perceived in her culture. Enjoy these and other works as well.

1 Parvaze, Botanical I Vibrant, 2024, Indian American

Canadian Artist to Watch: Vicki Smith Dazzles with Her Swimmer Series

Vicki Smith is a Toronto-based artist who takes swimming in her painting to a whole new level. She skillfully plunges the viewer into a watery abyss as her hypnotic series of works elevate her female swimmers to a whole new realm. They defy the viewer's gaze and linger in their own hedonism. Their tale is mystical at best and we rarely see their faces. We can hardly ever tell who they are.

As the water waves through and the light illuminates the work we see memories of childhood. Never far from our thoughts, Ms. Smith, makes us contemplate our own fixation with the water. What does it hold for us? What meaning pervades through the swim? These are all questions we seek the answer to. Buoyed by the dark waters, the swimmers exalt in their freedom. They are one with nature and our collective memory. Always relaxed, they signal a desire for reflection.

We can recall times of celebration and heartfelt activity and we see the support that water gives them. But these seascapes are thoughtful renderings of something else too. They an essential part of Ms. Smith's surroundings and family and friends. Their images are forever fixed in the calm waters as they traverse the heavenly body. They are both serene and mesmerizing to look at. See for yourself and you'll know why Ms. Smith is a gifted artist who you'll no doubt hear more of in the future.

Vista

How did you know you wanted to be an artist?

Creating and making art was a completely natural part of my life. In school art class was where I excelled and felt most comfortable. I attended the Ontario College of Art (now OCADU) in the ‘70s/80s where I was able to practice what I loved for 4 years, but when I graduated I still didn’t understand that being an artist could be a career choice. Back then art schools offered no training on the practical business of art like, how to set up a studio, how to write a proposal or how to find gallery representation. Women in particular were given very little encouragement to carry on and become a full-time artist. I understood that I could continue to practice my art to feed my soul but that I needed to get a “real job” to feed my family. It wasn’t until my early 40’s that, with the support and encouragement of my husband, I quit the “real job” and started painting full time. I believe that Universities turn out more well-informed graduates today.

Osmosis

Tell us about your childhood and early influences?

Most of my childhood was spent lost in my own little world of making things. I would scrounge supplies from everywhere, and always kept a sketch pad of some kind. At Christmas I was usually gifted a craft kit which I loved. When I was about 12 I was given a picture book about Degas and a set of oil paints. I’d say that was my first major influence and insight into art history. To this day when I smell linseed oil I’m transported back to the joy and wonder of copying Degas’ Women Ironing.

Gaze

You paint swimmers but don't swim, that comes as a surprise, why did you choose this subject matter?

I have spent the last 40 years drawing and painting the female figure. In the past my figures were simply suspended in dark space with no reference to borders or boundaries. One day I watched my daughter swimming in a lake and realized that water was a recognizable place for my figures to exist. The feeling of being weightless and peaceful has always been my goal, and apparently (I am told) swimmers relate to that experience.

Pool

The figures in your paintings are often turned away from the viewer, tell us why?

My figures are not portraits they are portals. I want the viewer to be able to step in and become the figure and to create their own narrative.

Vast

Which artists have influenced you the most?

So many historic and contemporary painters, both figurative and abstract, have been an influence at some point in my journey, I’m just as inspired by a Rothko as a Rembrandt, a Joan Mitchell as a Jenny Saville, an Agnes Martin as a Lucian Freud.

Fauna

Do you have a certain creative process that you follow in creating your work?

I gather photo references, taken with my iPhone or a cheap underwater camera, of friends and family. I print 4x6” photos of the images I find most interesting and these photos are then haphazardly strewn around the studio floor where they get walked over and shuffled around and lived with until one catches my eye. I use the photo for my initial drawing and then put it aside and start to paint. It’s a conscious push and pull at first until I can finally get out of my own head and just let it happen. It’s not unusual for me to scrape everything off about halfway through the day and have a little meltdown, which then allows me to proceed on a higher level because the canvas has been activated and mentally I have nothing to lose. It’s important for the success of a painting that the preciousness and the egoic-ideal are gone. I can’t force a painting to life just because I have a mental image, I need to work from an inkling not a fixed idea of the outcome. I usually work on several paintings at once because one painting informs the next and oils take a while to dry.

Spring Green

What do you like about the Toronto art scene?

Over the past 40 years I’ve been lucky to see Toronto grow and into a world class city. The public and commercial gallery scene has expanded and become much more diverse and interesting. Art Toronto, Canada’s Art Fair, has been very important in putting Toronto on the international art map. Interactive and social medias have added more ways for people to explore the local art scene. I am delighted to say I have been represented by the awesome and influential Bau-Xi Gallery Toronto for almost 20 years. They have recently opened an expansive new gallery space at 1384 Dufferin Street with over 17,000 sq feet of exhibition space making them dedicated and important supporters of Toronto’s expanding art scene.

The Fullness of Summer

What would you like to still do as an artist, tell us what the next 10, 20 years will look like for you?

It’s an ongoing journey with no end.

Passage

What are your favourite books?

Art books! But my bookshelf has an equal number of health, wellness, philosophy, poetry and cookbooks. I am mostly a non-fiction reader. I am currently reading Agnes Martin Making Space for the Sacred by Joanna Weber, Decreation Poetry Essays Opera by Anne Carson, and The Elements of Baking by Katarina Cermelj. I always have a few books going. I rarely finish anything. I often start in the middle or the back. All of my books have dogears and post-it notes.

We'll take you there

Which painting would you most like to have in your home?

An Agnes Martin grid painting please. Or a Betty Goodwin swimmer. Or an Ad Reinhardt black painting. Or……

Sunset Swim

If you weren't an artist, who would you be?

A seeker. I know that sounds glib, but I am constantly searching, and I’d like to continue.

All of the above

Describe your day when you're not creating art?

It’s happily quite boring and domestic. I walk the dog, I tend to chores, I cook, I care for my family and friends. I meditate everyday regardless if I’m working or not.

Effervescence

All images courtesy of Bau-Xi Gallery and Artsy.

5.1.25

What's new at Saatchi Art?

This is the second installment of Saatchi Art picks for the New Year. I love supporting emerging artists and Saatchi Art does a great job of selecting up and comers. Please enjoy these works and visit me on Instagram at @bighugstudioblog.

1 Pink man, Jean Luc Almond, Guernsey