8 Architectural Artists

Neo Rauch

Neo Rauch's surreal paintings feature this quality of historic values and seem to borrow from the Renaissance theme of romanticising and glorifying people or places, a possible callback or appreciation for this style of painting. The scenes depicted seem rather misplaced and peculiar, with multiple and varied people and actions present, it almost feels deliberately cluttered and "busy" on the canvas, perhaps signifying different feelings or to impose visual narration.

I have an appreciation of the choices of colour, how it is implemented seems to be of similar importance and variety, and the architecture is playing a key role in bringing these scenarios together and setting the mood and tone so everything is synchronised. The use of rustic, rural buildings in the background hint towards a past event, every piece feeling as if it portrays a scenario that happened a long time ago, the landscape painting (i.e sky, flora/fauna) is incredibly detailed and uses a realistic colour palette in order to make the foreground stand out even more.

Carol Rhodes

Rhodes' birdseye view paintings of transport hubs (freeways/highways, airports, construction/industrial sites) seem to impose a sense of connection and fascination of the designs used by these industries. The work seems to incorporate both realistic and expressive uses of colour, and the subject chosen seems to be out of genuine appreciation of design and functionality, but could also tie into an interest in how we, as a species, travel and commute, along with the methods and labour involved in this process.

I particulary appreciate Rhodes' true and realistic depictions and her dedication to the subject, I would like to depict buildings and landscapes realistically myself and feel I could learn a lot from further research of her, and incorporating some of her methods or themes into my own work for study, especially the use of different viewpoints and locations, which make the pieces seem so much brighter and interesting.

Frank Auerbach

Frank Auerbach's depictions of building sites and industrial areas incorporate many varied practices and methods that impose a strong narrative, the use of both layered impasto painting and flat rough brush strokes in these pieces evoke different responses to me. The colours tend to be dark and brooding, possibly mirroring the industry it represents, an industrial, labour-intensive industry that renovates old into new.

I have used impasto painting to represent architecture also, as well as carving into the layered paint to create depth and shading, but Auerbach's use of a monotone palette and layered shades of colour evoke a strong response from me. The practice of smoothing and agitating the surface makes the work stand out fuller and with more purpose, I prefer having a painting you can touch rather than a piece you can only gawk at. Having a piece you can feel, adding that extra sense of feel and texture, can do so much more to a piece and really aid the audience in understanding the work further.

Matthias Weischer

Weischer's work is rather seperated from both Rhodes' and Auerbach's paintings due to the perspective and materials used, and he seems to be guided and driven by texture, feeling and design. Weischer seems to incorporate the use of obstructed depth, such as having an opening in the building that reveals a different scene, possibly to evoke others to be curious of what is past the foreground, what is being hidden from our view and why it is obstructed, a desire to find out.

The last piece in this collection is what I consider to be my preffered approach to painting, showing a room cluttered with a stack of televisions, the use of varied textures and patterns within this piece give me a feeling of claustrophobia, the view of the outside world so tantalisingly close, showing more natural and comfortable colours to emphasise this sense of entrapment. I love the use of negative space to cancel out any sense of space and would like to experiment with it in my own studies.

Brendan Neiland

Brandon Neiland is an unique breed of artist, one that focuses on a subject with such passion and integrity in order to bring in a different vision of reality, detail and the world we have created. His reflection paintings of cityscapes and skyscrapers incorporate the importance of light and pictorial structure in cityscape painting. The realistic depiction of architecture acts as an important aspect of my studies, and Neiland's work is incredibly detailed and seems to have a glisten ans sheen to it.

Neiland's paintings seem to glorify architecture and design, representing their purpose as well as the rugged, carefully planned method in which they are designed, able to hold a large amount of people. Cityscapes are iconic because they seem to represent our power as a species, they are huge and leering over us, we feel almost powerless against them, they are governed by people we feel are more intellectual and professional than us.

David Hepher

David Hepher seems to be more interested in the historic value of architecture, rather than focus on it's design, these buildings are an iconic sight to someone who lives in England, these are council flats, cheap affordable housing for a large amount of working and middle class people, built in the 60s and 70s. Due to their age and the areas where they are most common, these homes can be very run down and are generally being demolished in order to make way for more modern housing.

Hepher seems to notice the true value of these buildings, their design and appearance being of noticeable historical significance, it represents the working class, people who can only afford to live close to others, in the inner city. This represents a large amount of the community, and people living in these estates tend to stick together as their own community.

Charles Sheeler

Sheeler's depictions of factories and industrial areas are similar to my own depiction of architecture, which is why I have chosen him for my research. I also represent structures very precisely and without much fault in some of my work, I am fascinated by the colours used and the practices he has used in his pieces.

I particularly like the second image, due to the use of bold colours to distinguish shading, adding depth to the piece, this piece is the pinnacle of perfectionist architecture to me and I am inspired to try these methods myself to see their true potential. The use of different colours to signify different parts of the image is a great technique, it enables the viewer to peer into a piece and distinguish why the colours are there, leading them to see the true detail in the piece and the entire piece becomes much easier to comprehend and appreciate.

Deanna Petherbridge

Deanna Petherbridge seems to take inspiration from the work of M.C Esher in her work, only using black and white to create a piece without distraction, enabling the viewer to focus on the detail and structure in the work. The optical illusions and disorientation is incredibly interesting to me, warping the image and changing how we view it.

Petherbridge also uses negative space in her work to add to the piece, almost impeccable strokes of pure, hygenic white lead our eyes around the work, the dark shades between each block evoking realism and purposeful design, similar to the key themes of the Bauhaus movement. She also seems to to be interested in the dripping and movement of colour, how it affects the feeling of a piece, this image of the bridge trailing off into the unknown space occupied by dark clouds and dripping black ink is incredibly powerful, it is clear she knows how to intice people into viewing her work.