Elizabeth de Vaal / Jain

Jain

Lokapurusha

India 16th century

gouache on paper

26 x 11,5 cm

Jain religion

Statue of Bahubali Belgola

978-993 BA

monolith

18 m height 

The first image above, coming from Jain religion, inspires me so much, it refers to most important questions in life, it connects microcosms and macrocosms. It is abstract and figurative, it tries to express the whole knowledge of the universe. 

This image should be seen together with the statue of Bahubali, Shrvana Belgola, a monolith of 18 m height. Both are images of the Cosmic Man of Jain religion.
 

I am fascinated by histories and religions. I source my works in text, diagrams and images, often found in unfamiliar environments and try to connect them with daily life and own experiences.

Elizabeth de Vaal, 2014

Elizabeth de Vaal (NL)

Ruimte op links (Space on the left)

2013

oil on canvas

145 x 115 cm

www.elizabethdevaal.nl

Jai Llewellyn / William Turner

William Turner

Sky study

1845

watercolour on paper

29 x 43,7 cm

The first artwork I really 'experienced', face to face, was a Turner in The National Gallery, London. I was immediately struck by the paint. The expression and emotional content seemed to exceed any narrative and it was then I realised the potential power of painting. Many years later I found an affinity with Turner's watercolours and I often have to remind myself of their sensitivity and simplicity. 

Jai Llewellyn, 2014

Jai Llewellyn (UK)

Mackerel Skies

2014

oil on canvas

50 x 40 cm

www.jaillewellyn.com

Harry Haarsma / Carlo Carrà

Carlo Carrà

Il pino sul mare (A Pine by the Sea)

1921

oil on canvas

Moon and panorama of the insects, 'The Poet Prays to the Virgin for Help.'

I pray to the Divine Mother of God,

Heavenly Queen of all living things,

grant me the pure light of the little animals

who have a single letter in their vocabulary.

Animals without souls. Simple shapes.

Far from the despicable knowledge of the cat.

Far from the fictitious profundity of the owl.

Far from the sculptural wisdom of the horse.

Creatures love without eyes,

with a single sense of rippling infinity,

and who gather themselves together into great heaps

to be eaten up by the birds.

Grant me the single dimension

that little flat animals have

to tell of things covered with earth

beneath the shoe’s hard innocence.

Nobody weeps comprehending

the millions of tiny deaths at the market,

that Chinese multitude of beheaded onions,

that great yellow sun of old flattened fish.

You, Mother, ever terrible, whale of all the skies;

you, Mother, ever the joker, neighbor of the borrowed parsley:

you know I comprehend the world’s tiniest flesh

that I may give it voice.

Federico Garcia Lorca

Harry Haarsma (NL)

2014

newspaper and oil on linen

42 x 58 cm
 

Harry Haarsma (NL)

2013

newspaper and oil on linen

42 x 58 cm

Harry Haarsma (NL)

2013

newspaper and oil on linen

42 x 58 cm
www.harryhaarsma.nl

Jorge Vicen / Nicolas De Staël

Nicolas De Staël

Les Bouteilles Rouges

1955
oil on canvas
73 x 100 cm

Nicolas De Staël

Figures au Bord de la Mer

1952

oil on canvas

161,5 × 128,5 cm

Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf

 

Jorge Vicen (ES)

Muerto de Tres Cabezas

2013

oil on wood

21 X 29 cm

private collection

Jorge Vicen (ES)

Eco

2014

oil on wood

21 X 29 cm

www.jorgevicen.com