MARCH 2013
5959 Shellmound Street, Emeryville, CA 94608
Inside the Public Market hall by the Kid's Play Space
Open to view everyday, 8am to 8pm
Curated by Tom Franco and Julia Lazar
Featuring Firehouse artists
Luka Dziubyna and Phillip Ng
PHILIP NG - Artist Statement
Philip is a local Asian American artist, originally from Hong Kong and imigrated to the Bay Area. Although his life story may be unconventional, Philip believes in fundamentals when it comes to his art. Like the Chinese culture, Philip believes in tradition and incorporates it into his work. He says that it is important for an artist to build a strong discipline and foundation of basics to learn how artists before have progressed the arts so that you can continue to progress it further.
All the figure paintings in the show are done from live models. He prefers live references to paint from, which allows him the chance to capture the emotion of the subject and light of the environment. His favorite medium is oil but has begun exploring into acrylic.
His work has been shown in group shows in San Leandro Library, Senior Center, and the San Leandro Museum & Art Gallery. He has been a member of the San Leandro Art Association for 30 years. Recently, Philip has joined the East Bay Figure painting group and the East Bay Landscape Painters group couple of years ago.
Luka Dziubyna - Artist Statement
I don't set out to produce art about one subject or another. What I do set out to do is exhibit whatever subject I am painting in its very own light and atmosphere. My paintings are like a timeline of my life and very personal to me.
I must admit that there has never been a piece of my own art that I have liked, at least not for long, and if I ever produced one, I may stop painting entirely. There is a constant struggle and love/hate relationship with my paintings. I go through immense moments of pleasure on working on a piece and may become easily frustrated with it and hope to never see it again, here lies the balance in my creative process. But regardless of how much frustration each piece may bring me, I always return to work more.
My work tends to focus on either abstract forms that are composed in such a way that a realistic image can appear, or reactionary strokes that are directly related to the topic at the time it is being painted
I began painting since age 14 with my grandfather who was classically trained in Europe. Currently I am attending AAU in San Francisco, pursuing my Masters in Fine Art.
Some of my subject matter is about people that I come into contact with, my most recent pieces stem from my 6-week, 500 plus mile walk on the Camino De Santiago in Northern Spain. it was there that I would encounter everything from people who were terminally ill and dying of cancer but chose to make the pilgrimage, to random animals such as massive bulls and steer that would pass us on the journey each day.
I believe my style is a mixture of Expressionism and Impressionism, which I like to call "Reactionary". I am always asking myself, "Am I being true to a piece if I paint someone who is a terrible person in a good light? or vice versa, take a beautiful person and represent them on a canvas with heavy strokes and gloom?"
Posted by julia lazar, let us know what you think, your comment counts.