The life as an artist always has it’s ups and downs.  Luckily I have been very blessed and mostly experience the former but had my fair share of downs too during the twenty something years I have been painting.

This painting which was featured in ARTension magazine is called The Two Bridges of Port Adelaide, South Australia and is in the private art collection of Rosalie and Kevin Zerk.

INCLUSION IN FRENCH ART MAGAZINE

When I found out I had been chosen together with 11 other naive artists from around the world to be featured in a French Art Magazine called ARTension I was thrilled of course.  What had led up to this was my inclusion in the Art Naif Festival in Katowice, Poland 2011 where some 190 naive artists from all over the world had been invited to exhibit.  This in turn led on to another invitation to take part in the Henri Rousseau exhibition which was held in the Abbey of Montivilliers in Normandy, France in January and February 2012.  These exhibitions as well as this year’s Naive Art Festival in Katowice, Poland 2012, has all been made possible by the wonderful Jacques Dubois, who eats, sleeps and breathes Naive Art!

The special edition of ARTension is called L’Art naïf aujourd’hui. Which is available on back order from that link and is absolutely full of articles on Naive art and they quote;

“The air and the fragrant art of time a little too much stress.  In lack of light, we wanted to look at the most modern solar adventures: that of naive art.  Revelation of the early twentieth century, for decades it has enthused poets, historians and enthusiasts arts.  Now, almost thirty years, calm… Where are the masterpieces, why are they out of fashion, and who now renews this style of painting?  In the company of experts-curators museums, exhibition organizers, auctioneers, gallery owners, collectors and artists, now more than ever passionate about this art– dive with us in the wings, wheels and glare.  Brazil to Slovakia, find and discover treasures imagined by the most popular and most serene creators.  Naive Art? An excellent antidote to all forms of gloom! “

12 NAIVE ARTISTS

So here is the article about the 12 naive artists and keep in mind that the pages have been translated from French to English so there are a few problems with the grammar, but that adds a little French charm, no?

Around the World

Jacques Dubois

For six years, Jacques Dubois has abandoned his original trade of business to devote himself to painting he loves, and his wife practice. Creator of the World Festival of Naive Art in Verneuil-sur-Avre in 2005, he moved to Katowice, Poland, five years later.He presents the naive current world, convinced that this art still has a bright future ahead of him. We asked him to introduce his recent twelve strokes of heart.

Germany

Olaf Ubricht

Born in 1951

Olaf is currently the most talented of the few German naive. Its uniqueness, its trademark, it is twilight, in a German village on the Rhine. It uses a marine varnish to enhance its color.

Australia

Marie Jonsson-Harrison

Born in Sweden

A sculptor father, a circus family, she is top model in the 1980s and devoted himself to painting. Sense of humor, acute observation of life, Mary painted cheerful and positive experiences, accompanied by a social commentary of the human condition. His paintings and sculptures are presented in Australia, Japan and the United States. This is the painter’s most exhilarating and most creative.

Brazil

Edilvado

Born in 1956. Jacques is Ardies who exhibited in 1995, for the first time in his gallery in Sao Paulo and who became his agent. Its deserved success he owes only to the development of Brazilian landscapes with lush vegetation and bucolic nature and enchanting. This is what distinguishes it from all other painters Naïve.

Côte d’Ivoire

Roger Hamado Djiguemdé

Born in 1966 in Burkina Faso

Installed in Ivory Coast for many years, he developed an “African naïve art” in his own words. His descriptions of daily life are as much of a dream than reality. Surrealism is not far. One of the best contemporary painters in Africa. Currently in their forties, he still has a bright future ahead of him ^ and full of ideas of tables in the head.

Cuba

Armando Torres

Born in 1956 in Havana.

He lives with his mother in the suburbs of Havana. In his neighborhood, he was immured to escape the noise and Salsa. He paints his dreamlike paintings while listening to baroque music of the eighteenth century. Obviously, his neighbors are crazy. Amahoro gallery of St Martin in the Caribbean defends his work very creative.

Spain

Crucita Gutiérrez Segovia

Born in 1951 in Madrid

Born into an artistic family, she has been painting since 1977 and many European museums possess his works. Based in Barcelona, ​​she made prints in the studio Artcontraprova and teaches visual arts at the Foundation for the Arts Hervás Amezcua. This is goodness personified, and his paintings emit an enormous amount of things certainly because of the flat technique perfectly mastered.

Israel

Rafi Perez

Born in 1965 in Jerusalem

A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in Jerusalem in 1992, he lives in Tel Aviv where he painted landscapes and couples.Despite its “youth” Rafi is one of the most talented of his country and handles very large formats with ease that commands respect.

Serbia

Drago Terzic

Born in 1956. It is one of the most representative of the third generation of self-taught artists of “on glass”. Known but also acknowledged it now opens on Europe. His style PureColour and impeccable style gives this notoriety,

Tanzania

Stephen Lewis

Born in 1964

It is the best representative of the current Art Tingatinga, invented by Edward Tinga Tinga, who is becoming known throughout the world and gives local artists the opportunity to live their art. Audience Award at the 2011 World Festival in Katowice, he will appear this year. Just reward for this humble artist, who paints for sixteen years. The French association Tinga is African-charge of its promotion.

Turkey

Sema Culam

Born in 1951 in Izmir

Former pupil of the sculptor Turgut Pura at the State Museum of Painting and Sculpture in Izmir, then Cavit Seref Bigali Atmaca and the Department of Painting Education Institution, she has since won numerous Awards of naive painting and often exhibited in different countries. His landscapes are particularly noteworthy.

Netherlands

Joop PLASMEJEIR

in 1942, the grandpa of Naive Art is still the most inventive today. But looking at his paintings and retailer, it must be quite a prankster. His favorite themes are the urban landscapes such as Amsterdam, where he is particularly fond of representing ports and major facades of Dutch houses. He also painted the interiors of these houses with precisely these landscapes through windows. It’s great art.

Veronica LABAT

Born in 1960 she still lives in his country Argentina. This is one of the few painters have Naives to study drawing, sculpture and also engraving. Since 1990 she exhibited nationally since 2004 but that its course becomes truly professional with the gallery GINA Gallery Tel Aviv. At each table, but it is renewed crunches always living in Argentina. The most successful in his country and most interesting, for me, naturally.

I urge you all to Google these artists and have a look at their fabulous work!

Here is the quote again from ARTension who said;

“Naive Art? An excellent antidote to all forms of gloom!”

Till Next time happy painting and sculpting and collecting art to you all,

Love Marie xxx

If you enjoyed this art blog you may also like this one; 14. Adam & Steve 2 Sculpture

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Even during this economic downturn in Europe the members of Fivan, Szyb Gallery and Jacques Dubois particularly, has manage to pull off the impossible – another successful Naive Art Festival in Katowice, Poland.   As this exhibition is continuing into August I sincerely hope that you will try to some and see it.

This painting “Playing hide and seek” was in last year’s festival in Poland and crisscrossed the world as it ended up selling to a Japanese client.

This exhibition whereby artists from 32 countries around the world are chosen to take part is only the 5^th Art Naif Festival held in Poland and the host gallery is again the amazing Szyb Wilson Gallery.  It is the privately owned gallery in Poland and I would think one of the largest if not the largest private gallery in the world at 2500 square meters on two big halls and a balcony.  It is situated 10 minutes away from the city center in the Nikiszowiec district which is a historical settlement of Katowice.

The area where Szyb Wilson Gallery stands was in fact an old coal mine construction, a virtual wasteland.  As Jacques says it is very fitting that the naive festival is held in this place: “to change the image of a dirty and black city into a place where happiness and colors are together to warm the heart.  There’s nothing like naive artists to believe in things like that.  Improve the world, little by little and all together.”

ARTnBED

Last year Cuba was the guest country and this year we celebrate Israel and their wonderful Naive artists, they have a great history of Naive art with a terrific gallery that supports them in Tel Aviv called Gina Gallery of International Naive Art.  It is also from Israel that my latest venture with ARTnBED comes from with art works on duvet and shams (quilt covers and pillowcases) that were recently released both in Israel and USA.

NAIVE ART IN ISRAEL

The philosophy of Dan Chill the owner of Gina Gallery is as follows “GINA Gallery seeks to support the naïve artists‘ quest for “Paradise Lost;” to encourage them to share their timeless vision of everyday life; and to provide them with a forum to bare the child-like ruminations of their hearts and souls. In parallel, GINA Gallery hopes to facilitate the entry into this field of talented, mostly self-taught artists (young and old) who strive to relate – by means of brush, paint and canvas — the fairy tale figments of their fertile imaginations.

ART WORLD

GINA Gallery also seeks — by gathering and displaying worldwide naïve art — to expand the existing art lovers‘ awareness and appreciation of this multifaceted art form, and to introduce the wondrous beauty of this unique, easily-accessible genre to those who have been reluctant (for whatever the reason) to visit art galleries, thereby allowing naïve art, and those who paint it, to assume their proper place in the pantheon of the art world.”

ART WINNER

Last year’s winner of the Grand Prize of the Public 2011 was Stefen Lewis from Tanzania which means he has the honor of designing this year’s poster for the Festival.  This year Museum PASZIN, located in south eastern Poland was invited to submit 100 sculptures dating back from the early 60s.  Also the Museum of Lodz followed suit and presents 50 pieces on the theme of Mary, mother of Jesus.

This year even the best major Taxi companies have gotten behind the festival and are acting as “Ambassadors” handing out cards to the tourists with naive paintings on the back.  This is another ingenious idea by Jacques Dubois and his wonderful team from Fivan, Szyb Wilson Gallery and helpers from Poland and France.  We salute you!

Here is a great quote from Danny Kaye that I love;

“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx

If you enjoyed this art blog you may also like this one: 117 Henri Rousseau Naive Artist

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.