Our twelfth post of the series, Artists in the Time of Coronavirus includes Alexia Koudigkeli, Yikui (Coy) Gu, Laurence de Valmy, Phyllis Anderson, Bronwen Gale, and Elana Mallov! Thank you for all who submitted! And if you want to participate, send your statement (250 words max) and 2 photos to support@theartblog.org. More details here. Stay safe and stay positive, and come back in the days to come for more “Artists in the Time of Coronavirus.” We have a wonderful community and are so proud of being able to share everyone’s art. (We have gotten ~200 submissions, so if you haven’t seen yours yet, don’t worry- it is coming, and we can’t wait to post it!)
Alexia Koudigkeli
Hello! I am Alexia, a visual artist based in Athens, Greece.
As a creative individual my projects and interests vary from time to time. My aim is self-expression and exposition of the contradictions within my own identity.
In my work, I am exploring both personal and social boundaries, and through the prism of personal storytelling I try to redefine them. Concepts like identity, space and anatomy are present in my work. I like to create images that inspire people and bring creative visions in life.
This painting is meant to reflect upon this difficult time as we find ourselves divided but also united. The seven canvases symbolise the seven continents of Earth.
Yikui (Coy) Gu
Classic Yellow is a series of autobiographical work using my wife and I as subject matter. In probing the specificity, both lived and imagined, of our immigrant Chinese-German marriage, universal truths and absurdities are revealed. The spaces between order and chaos, sincerity and irony, or design and chance are explored using visual elements from the internet, hip hop culture, and art history. The combination of painting, drawing, and collage, alongside materials ranging from chopsticks to bodily fluids juxtapose against each other, echoing our relationship and serving as a metaphor for it. Through this combination of political, cultural, and domestic imagery, I hope to affirm and subvert the contemporary human condition through a Yellow lens.
My routine hasn’t changed a lot. I teach full time at a college in Maryland, and as everything has migrated online I now have more studio time. My wife, who has started to work from home, can’t believe being a hermit in my studio is my normal routine. She misses the social interactions, while I’m used to working in isolation and being by myself.
My website is https://yikuigu.com/home.html
My Instagram handle is @yikuiguThank you, and stay safe and healthy!
Laurence de Valmy
My work revisit art history through fictional anachronistic Instagram of the past to share about the stories behind the artworks, the connections between the artists and to make my viewers consider these iconic artworks with a renewed interest by replacing them in the context of their creation. By appropriating the artworks, I pay a tribute to their authors and play with the concept of originality.
Art is a continuum and artists are all connected either through times or during their lifetime. They do what they do, because of who they are of course but also because of the artists who came before them and the artists they are inspired by.
I started this series of paintings in 2016 to highlight the importance of social media for artists nowadays and the fact that art is often seen through a screen. I didn’t know at the time we would go through a period when online is the only way to share artworks.
Cancelled exhibition turned online
My interest for women’s place in the arts, led me to create an event about women artists in collaboration with Art Girl Rising and Kahn Gallery with a series of work and a special edition tee-shirt paying tribute to six artists of the Abstract Expressionist movement.
The exhibition was supposed to take place at the Affordable Art Fair New York Spring. We had to adapt to the context, and now this series is available through an online catalogue.
People can help by sharing this 🙂 thanks!!
Laurence de Valmy
Artist
laurencedevalmy.com | FB | Instagram | Linkedin
Phyllis Anderson
Hello, I’m Phyllis Anderson. My current work is influenced by the wilderness experience. I’m fortunate to spend time up in the mountains, an escape from the world, similar to the seclusion of the artist in the studio, and for me, a haven carried deep in my soul as we hunker down during the Covid-19 crisis. My approach explores an abstracted, hyper-kinetic landscape, reflecting the unpredictable energy of the wilderness and its future. Would love to hear from you, comments are welcome on any of my social media outlets. Many thanks to the Art Blog for this fun way to share with a wider community.
Website: www.phyllisandersonart.com
IG: @phyllisandersonart
FB: www.facebook.com/Phyllisandersonart
Bronwen Gale
Everything feels different.
Everything feels the same.
Nothing is certain.
Elana Mallov
I have always created paintings/painted objects that emphasize the tactile world and the handmade. My reliefs come from a place of blindly feeling through a space, the corners of furniture or people in a room. I have also recently had a baby over a year ago and since then, I suppose I have been training myself to work where ever, when ever, which has been beneficial especially during a time like this. Since the beginning of the Coronavirus uproar, my body is in a sense of trepidation because we artists are creatures already very sensitive to our environments. I miss touching everything, I miss experiencing a surface without the lurking danger of disease. I miss hugging a friend, I miss casually handling groceries, or a door or a tree in a park. In my work, the hands are becoming the central figure, the portraits. They are constantly active and engaged. I have also been using air dry clay, pushing and pulling it around. It’s not enough to just paint on a panel any more.
Feel free to follow my Instagram @elanamallovdavid for more artwork posts!
Thank you for this opportunity Artblog!
