Category Archives: FEATURE

8 Famous Artists who Gained Appreciation After Death


Before you dive into ‘dead’ artists, this bunch of artists below is well and truly alive and is using their art to raise awareness for environmental issues such as deforestation, plastic pollution or global warming.

More about Drawing United >

When you buy art from them, they give away at least 2 pounds to their JUST ONE TREE fund so trees get planted across the world.

 


Who would you say are the most influential artists of all time? Vincent Van Gogh? Cézanne? Monet? It’s surprising to think that, despite these artists’ worldwide fame and appreciation, they weren’t really recognised as masters until after they had died.

Here are eight famous artists who gained appreciation after death:

Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogh is renowned the world over. There can’t be many people who haven’t, at some point, seen a representation of his sunflowers paintings or his own self portrait. Van Gogh was a prolific painter – he produced more than 900 paintings during his lifetime – but they were often criticised for being too dark and lacking in energy. It was Van Gogh’s sister-in-law who, after his suicide in 1890, preserved his works to be appreciated at a later date.

'Self portrait', Van Gogh | Art-Pie
‘Self portrait’, Van Gogh | Art-Pie

Paul Cézanne

Cézanne is widely touted as the essential bridge between the Impressionist art of the 19 th century and the Cubism of the 20 th century. Many young artists revered Cézanne during his lifetime – Picasso and Matisse referred to him as “the father of us all” – but his work was consistently rejected by the official Salon in Paris and made fun of by art critics. Just a year after his death in 1906, Cézanne’s artworks were given the exposure they deserved in a retrospective at the Salon d’Automne.

 

Pyramid of Skulls - Wikipedia
‘Pyramid of skulls’ from Paul Cezanne

Claude Monet

Monet’s waterlily paintings are surely amongst the most famous in the world. Yet during his lifetime, his unique form of painting – choosing nature and landscapes as subjects and using short brushstrokes to create a sense of movement – were rejected by the art world of the time.

By Claude Monet | Art-Pie
“Soleil levant” By Claude Monet | Art-Pie

Paul Gauguin

Another artist who pushed at the preconceived limits of his craft and went largely unappreciated during his lifetime was Paul Gauguin. His deeply colourful Post-Impressionist paintings influenced many famous 20 th century artists, including Picasso and Matisse, and now sell for millions of dollars.

Gauguin Autoportrait à l'idole

Henri Toulouse Lautrec

Maybe it was Toulouse Lautrec’s unusual painting style or his less than respectable subject matter that saw his work underappreciated in his lifetime. He painted the gaudy world of brothels, prostitutes and can-can dancers in 19 th century Paris. It was only after his death in 1901, that Toulouse Lautrec’s mother began to promote his art and it began to receive acclaim.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 059

‘Selfportrait’,Henri Toulouse Lautrec

Domenikos Theotokopoulos “El Greco”

El Greco was born in 1541 and spent much of his life in Spain. The painter, sculptor and architect only became properly appreciated four centuries later. During his own lifetime he was described as a “mad painter”, one who didn’t work within any of the recognised artistic schools and was criticised for his antinaturalistic style.

Georges-Pierre Seurat

Seurat, a French Post-Impressionist, is perhaps most famous for his painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte . The painter is also responsible for bringing pointillism to the world. The term pointillism was actually invented by art critics of the time who used it to mock Seurat’s work.

Johannes Vermeer

Dutch painter, Vermeer, painted domestic scenes and portraits. Paintings like Girl With a Pearl Earring demonstrate a masterful use of light. However, Vermeer painted few works during his ​lifetime and left his family in debt when he died. It’s only with the passage of time that Vermeer has been recognised as one of the most influential Dutch painters of all time.

It’s incredible to think that these artists were ridiculed for their artworks and didn’t sell much at all during their lifetimes. Experimenting with new techniques and unorthodox subjects, they were ahead of their times. They inspired generations of artists to come and rightly deserve the posthumous appreciation they have all now gained.

Snail life by Otto Schade at Sunscape Festival, Gozo, Malta

Otto Schade flu to Malta and attended Sunscape festival in Malta. He produced new artwork for the occasion, namely “Snail’s life” which depicts a snail having as its shell, a skull looking one.

Special paint was used so the artwork glows in the dark, pretty cool uh?!

Snail's life by Otto Schade Sunscape Festival Malta | Art-Pie
Click to enlarge

Snail's life by Otto Schade Sunscape Festival Malta | Art-Pie
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About Sunscape festival

Sunscape is a place to party; free our minds; learn and be inspired.A haven for us to enjoy the outdoors, make new friends and transform ourselves.

A musical happening infused with creativity, performance and lifestyle activities. A playful exercise in the art of living and being co-creators in our own experience.

About the artist

Otto was born in Chile on the 30th October 1971. He initially studied Architecture at the Bio Bio University and Construction and Design Architecture in Concepcion, Chile. As a successful architect, he has been awarded for public and private projects.

Otto has always felt an avid fascination for the Surrealists, as well as the freedom which surrounds abstract painting. This influence has made Otto turn his creative skills to painting, which has become his strongest passion and for which he has also been recognised with an honorable mention.

Snail's life by Otto Schade at Sunscape Festival Malta | Art-Pie
Click to enlarge

The Arrow Above: Portrait of a Street Art Icon

Born in California, Arrow is a world-renowned street artist who has kept his identity a secret. His name was created when he began painting the word ‘Above’ on freight trains as a teenager.

He later shifted to drawing arrows pointing above, which became his trademark.Much of his work is made with these abstract shapes, though he’s also known for art with a social conscience.

Perhaps most controversially, in October 2011 he created a city block-long text mural in Miami which read ‘give a wall street banker enough rope and he will hang himself‘. Above it he suspended an effigy of banker being hanged. He hoped the art would draw further attention to the Occupy Wall Street movement shaking US politics at the time.

Above street art wall street banker enough rope and he will hang himself miami | Art-Pie

In 2012 he visited Spain, a nation in the throes of the Eurozone crisis- when 24% of the population were unemployed. He created a stencil piece showing a queue of people waiting outside an unemployment office along with text announcing the figure, the highest unemployment rate in the world. At the time Spain’s unemployment rate for under-25s was 53%.

In South Africa he created a giant mural to raise awareness about the illegal blood diamond trade. In his very own ‘jewel heist’, he tricked one of the world’s largest jewel exporters into allowing him to paint on the side of one of their buildings. His mural read ‘Diamonds are a woman’s best friend and a man’s worst enemy’. He hadn’t informed the company about the second half of this sentence.

Above street art Diamonds are a woman’s best friend and a man’s worst enemy | Art-Pie

In 2014 he was commissioned by Redbull to design and decorate obstacles for their professional fixed gear BMX competition Ride+Style in San Francisco (pictured below).

Above street art Johannesburg | Art-Pie
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In October 2015 Above went to Johannesburg, South Africa to paint his biggest mural yet, a 33-meter tall piece of work called Incognito.

What’s great about this mural is the way the overlapping arrows create stunning colour combinations.

For Above, this was a crucial part of the work that he wanted to get right:

“My colour selections were predetermined by the relationship of how each colour transforms when laid on top of another.

This was easy, however, in the designing of the mural I had to constantly move colours and shapes to finally get the final colour arrangement you see.”

More pics below of the Incognito mural – click to enlarge

Above street art Incognito Johannesburg | Art-Pie Above street art Incognito Johannesburg | Art-Pie Above street art incognito johannesburg | Art-Pie

Above is still thriving worldwide, creating both pieces both abstract and political.

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Sally Kirschell
https://www.bluehorizonprints.com.au

10 mind blowing sculptures from all around the world

We came across these mind-blowing sculptures and could not resist sharing them with you. Defying gravity or just beautiful, you can decide for yourself. We hope you’ll enjoy them.

Why not telling us about them in the comments below?

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Click to enlarge

Name: “The Immigrant Sculpture” by Bruno Catalano
Location: Portugal
Meaning:  Symbolizing luggage full of dreams but an empty heart, because you are leaving everything behind.

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Click to enlarge

Name: “Popped Up” by Ervin Loránth Hervé
Location: Budapest (Hungary)
Meaning:  Promotional piece for Art market Budapest (2014). The temporary sculpture combines art with nature, surprising visitors while welcoming them to the Eastern capital.

Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge

Name: Jeju Loveland
Location: Jeju island in South Korea
Meaning:  Jeju Loveland is an outdoor sculpture park which opened in 2004 on Jeju Island in South Korea. The park is focused on a theme of sex, featuring 140 sculptures representing humans in various sexual positions.

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Click to enlarge

Name: “Hippo Squares”
Location: Taipei Zoo (Taiwan)
Meaning: The square is the brainchild of former zoo Director Chen Pao-chung, who came up with the concept while looking for ways to complement the African Animal Area. After consulting with employees and designers, Chen greenlighted the square and it went on to become one of the facility’s signature nonliving attractions.

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Click to enlarge

Name: Not known
Location: Tuen Mun Park (Hong Kong)
Meaning: Not known

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Click to enlarge

Name: “The Rundle Mall pigs”
Location: Rundle Mall, Adelaide (Australia)
Meaning: The four pigs won Adelaide City Council’s Rundle Mall National Sculpture Competition for the upgraded Rundle Mall in 1997. South African-born and Sydney-based sculptor Marguerite Derricourt was the winner. Her four bronze pigs were unveiled on July 3, 1999.

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Click to enlarge

Name: “River God Tyne” statue by sculptor David Wynne (1968)
Location: Newcastle Town hall (UK)
Meaning: It portrays the river God in human form, a fountain within his outstretched hand coursing a constant stream of water along the tortured and twisted torso of the aquatic diety.

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Click to enlarge

Name: “Octopus plays Chess” by Leigh Dyer
Location: Hasting Old Town (UK)
Meaning: These fantastic pieces that live in the Chess Square, George Street, Hastings Old Town.

Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge

Name: Yorkshire sculpture park (UK)
Location: Yorkshire sculpture park (UK)
Meaning: The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is an open-air gallery in West Bretton near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, showing work by British and international artists

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Name: Rock sculpture by Smaban Abbas
Location: Terminal 3, Cairo airport (Egypt)
Meaning: ?

Pancakes & Booze London, thank you for attending

Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie
Pierrick & Adriana from Art-Pie “Thank you all!”

What a blast the second edition of Pancakes & Booze was!

We (Art-Pie) were on our knees by the end of it but would like to thank all the artists as well as the 649 people who came through the doors of Studio Spaces

We’ve heard so much positive feedback from the artists as well as attendees and are very chuffed about that however we always want to improve things. Feel free to comment below with any suggestions you may have.

We are already preparing the next edition so express your interest today by filling out this form.

We want to hear from you if you are a visual artist, DJ, body painter, music band or an outstanding pancakes maker.

Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie

We included few pics below from the night – click any photos to enlarge and/or launch the slideshow

Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie

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Thank you to the artists who performed live art such as Mark Petty and Nathan Bowen – it’s always fun to watch and definitely a bonus for any show!

Mark Petty | Art-Pie

Mark Petty | Art-Pie Mark Petty | Art-Pie Mark Petty | Art-Pie Mark Petty | Art-Pie

We included more pics below from the night – click any photos to enlarge and/or launch the slideshow

Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie

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As always, we produced a ton of pancakes throughout the night and much to your delight we heard… We thank all our “Pancakes Girls” for their efforts and for managing the steady flow of hungry people.

Pancakes & Booze Apr 16 | Art-Pie
The Pancakes Girls