David Hauptschein | Self-Obsession: Self-Portraits

DAVID HAUPTSCHEIN, SELF-PORTRAIT 11-23-18, ARCHIVAL PIGMENT PRINT.

On view in the lobby of Riverside Town Hall through mid-December, 2019

“Over the past five years I have created an extensive series of photo-based digital paintings using Photoshop and other related programs. I view myself not as a photographer but as an artist who uses photography. The opportunity to explore uncharted territory is what attracts me to the digital realm. Photoshop is a new art medium, and throughout the history of art, whenever a new medium is invented, it stimulates artists’ imaginations, and they create works that have never been seen or heard before. What if, for example, Jimi Hendrix had come of age before the invention of the electric guitar? There would have been no Jimi Hendrix, at least not the one who revolutionized contemporary music. 

Besides visual art, I have worked for many years as a screenwriter and playwright, and have learned to seek and cherish the unexpected when it comes to my artistic endeavors. In art we trust.”

–David Hauptschein

The medium of all of these works is archival pigment print, and the dimensions are 26″ x 26″ and 15″ x 15″.  

Each of these works is a self-portrait.

For more information about the artist, visit his website at www.hauptschein.com or contact the Riverside Arts Center at 32 E. Quincy Street.

Laurie Redden: Up, Down and Across

Laurie Redden. “Riverside Glazed Garden.” Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 x 1.5 inches.

Laurie Redden began her “Weave Series” more than 15 years ago, as a playful exploration and a break from her traditional, impressionistic artwork. Intrigued by color and shape, she began experimenting with further manipulation of the two by the overlap of like objects. The intersected “bits” evolved into new opportunity for line, shape and color combinations and abstraction.  The “Weave Series” was born.

The weave painting process from initial idea to finished art is a very different cerebral experience from her traditional painting process. The interlacing of the objects becomes a highly compositional challenge, which she pushes even further by adding tension, depth and movement with her color choices. She often flips the canvas as she paints to orchestrate a multi-view orientation, thus engaging the viewer to the final choice of what they see.

Musical Instruments.  The artistic beauty and myriad of geometric parts of musical instruments is a natural choice and was the subject she first explored, years ago. Her life-long passion for music fueled the fascination to compose her 2-D colorful “songs”.

Stained and Leaded Glass.  A more recent weave series, focuses on piecing together the color, shapes and line of historical stained glass into a new painted vision. Many of the windows she references are located in Riverside. There may be 3 to more than 20 different windows represented in a weave painting.

Floral/Fauna. Laurie is an avid gardener and often gets her inspiration for plant compositions from her own yard or other gardens in the neighborhood. “We have no more room to add plants in our yard, so the weaves are an opportunity to create a new plant vignette, on canvas.”

Laurie Redden ( Risley) received her BFA (painting/drawing and graphic design) from Indiana University.  After years of designing in New York and Chicago, and juggling her time between design and painting, she re-dedicated herself to her true passion, painting. Her paintings are in private homes across the United States. Last year, Laurie became the RAW (Riverside Arts Weekend) Spectacle Concept Chair and has been hard at work again, for this year’s “surprise”.  She also gives private art/painting lessons in her studio.

Laurie Redden, “How Does the Glass Garden Grow.” Oil on canvas, 36 x 24 x 1.5 inches.

Laurie Redden, “Crescendo.” Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 x .75 inches.

View more work by Laurie Redden on her website: https://laurieredden.com/

Mark Boge | Landscapes: Different Perspectives

Indiana – On the Road to Williamsburg #12016. Acrylic on canvas. 30″ x 68″.

Mark Boge grew up in Spain and Germany. He then lived in New York and Connecticut prior to attending university in Boston where he studied history. He lived in Europe on several other occasions and now resides in Chicago. An artist for decades, he enjoys exploring and experimenting with various art forms. 

Some of his more recent works include subject matter from his extensive travels. Colorado farmland is seen from 39,000 feet in the air and is interpreted on canvas and in glass paintings. Digital photographs of tropical fish at the Sea Life London Aquarium are intentionally blurred to create a fresh take on “wildlife” photography. Glass sheets connected with stainless steel fasteners become three dimensional constructions that are both paintings and sculptures. 

Regardless of the media or subject matter, Mark displays a natural curiosity that fuels his desire to create an interesting, beautiful and occasionally humorous artwork that he hopes you will enjoy looking at as much as he enjoys creating.

When Mark is not painting or photographing, he enjoys playing his electric guitars, driving vintage German and Italian sports cars and cooking delicious dinners for his wife and daughter.