Frances Dennis 16 page

Chianciano Art Museum ChianCiano art MuseuM

CritiCal analysis Artist: Frances Dennis Art Critic: Christopher Rosewood

Artist: Dr. MartĂ­n Raskovsky Art Critic: Christopher Rosewood

ICAC

International Confederation of Art Critics

Critical Analysis Artist: Dr. Martín Raskovsky ARTIST: FRANCES DENNIS Art Critic: Christopher Rosewood

ART CRITIC: CHRISTOPHER ROSEWOOD

The Museum The Museum of Art of Chianciano hosts a series of collections ranging from Neolithic and Asiatic to Contemporary art.

There are approximately a thousand works on display.

Visitors are able to view paintings and sculptures by artists such as Tom Nash, Salvador Dali, Sir Henry Moore, Frances Turner, Mario Schifano, Damien Hirst, Brian Willsher and Albert Louden, drawings by the likes of Magritte, Guttuso and Munch; historical works from Royal Collections and original etchings by masters such as Dürer and Rembrandt.

The museum is known for organising annual international events, including the Chianciano International Art Award and the Biennale of Chianciano.

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) “Joachim and the Angel” Original woodcut, circa 1504

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Sir Henry Moore (1898-1986) “Head” Bronze Sculpture

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ICAC

International Confederation of Art Critics

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The Critic Christopher Rosewood was born in Hastings in 1952 and is a critical writer and curator based in London.

Rosewood is the creator of the book “Figures; from Realism to Abstraction” that elegantly describes the interiors of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the permanent collections and the artworks of great contemporary artists such as Tom Nash and Jin Cheng Liu. The exhibition was presented at the Victoria and Albert Museum and was well received by the public and the critics. This important publication is a testament to the difficult task of selecting the artists and hosting the exhibition.

Christopher also selected important works by Frances Turner presented at Museo del Chopo in Mexico. These works were published by the Museum in an important publication during this solo show.

A noteworthy quote by Rosewood is “Always with the artist.”

He has a huge admiration for artists who he believes are people that often work in solitude, who create and who send their message to the world, a message that is often related to their feelings - whether in a still life or a artwork depicting social issues or an abstract that allows the viewer to have a totally personal interpretation of the artwork.

Christopher is not only an art critic of contemporary art but is also well known his research on Renaissance artists.

Christopher contributed to important writings on Palma the Younger, the artist that finished Tiziano’s “Pietà” after his death, as well as his studies on Durer, Rembrandt and Rubens.

Rosewood was a great friend of Bill Hopkins of the International Association of Art critics with which he participated in research on the various aesthetic expressions linked to art and the philosophy of form.

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“Travelling North“

The Critique Frances Dennis is a complex and expressive artist from Perth, Western Australia, gifted with the innate ability to conceive evocative and stimulating paintings as well as fabulously unique ceramic sculptures. The artist experiments with a wide variety of mediums, however her primary affinity is with oil and therefore is the chosen technique addressed by this critical text.

The artist is definitely inspired by Turner, and his passionate landscapes, albeit her approach to painting is exceptionally diverse and eloquently conveys her distinctive imagination.

Her compositions are beautifully enriched with colour and movement that is, at times, soft while simultaneously inherently powerful. Dennis is much more than merely a landscape painter, she is an observer and part of her artistic gift is to be able to assimilate her surroundings, analyse visual input and translate her experiences onto canvas. Dennis interprets the landscape and translates it through her language of emotion.

The result of such a process is the direct opposite of a figurative approach to art and is an inquisitive journey through composition and subconscious inspiration. The viewer encounters artworks that do not intend to be narrative representations of nature but magical worlds uniquely conceived through the artist’s creative vision and imagination, thus inviting the viewer to ponder and reflect.

Dennis’s vibrant artworks are able to be wonderfully personal and, in parallel, also a stimulating homage to art history. She is an impressive and innovative artist with powerful variety and numerous facets to her creative process. Connections can be made between Dennis and Edvard Munch, primarily in her portraits and in relation to the depth to the work, as

“Water Reflections Star Swamp”

The Critique

Expressionism is undoubtedly an inspiration in her paintings with the delightful choice of intense colour, emotive application of oil and the innate ability to convey emotion. The artist explores the artistic style of not painting the objective reality but instead creates artwork that explores the responses and instincts that arise within the viewer.

Dennis utilises numerous aspects of her artistic innovation in the formation of her extraordinary abstract paintings, and quite certainly draws some inspiration from Pollock himself.

Ideas from Abstract expressionism seem to be a focal element to her paintings and the artist is wonderfully capable of connecting creative philosophies within her work confirming that she is as refined and talented as she is unique. In addition, although one cannot define Dennis as an impressionist, one cannot ignore an affinity with a late Monet. Light is an essential factor in Dennis’s work and the investigation of shade and shadow is, perhaps, as fundamental to her process as it was to Monet.

Frances Dennis is a very stimulating artist who has the ability to provoke thought whilst conveying emotion. She is an intriguing talent that is innately unique and creative albeit rich in culture and art history.

“Out There”

“Ancestors“

“Red Tide“

“Untitled“

International Confederation of Art Critics International Confederation of Art Critics www.international-confederation-art-critics.org

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