Jacques-Louis David

Jacques-Louis David was a leading Neoclassical painter during the 18th century. His style was highly inspired by Greeks. He made the following statement in 1796:

I want to work in a pure Greek style. I feed my eyes on antique statues, I even have the intention of imitating some of them. The Greeks had no scruples about copying a composition, a gesture, a type that had already been accepted and used. They put all their attention and all their art on perfecting an idea that had been already conceived. They thought, and they were right, that in the arts the way in which an idea is rendered, and the manner in which it is expressed, is much more important than the idea itself. To give a body and a perfect form to one's thought, this--and only this--is to be an artist.

Many of his paintings depicted political events throughout history, such as Oath of the Horatii and Coronation of Napoleon. He believed it would instill patriotism in the public. His paintings portray a contrast between men and women, where men are strong, courageous, and athletic and women are weak and soft bodied and full of emotion. In my paintings, I think I'd like to take advantage of those soft, round characteristics of women and use it as a force of empowerment. Emotions are what drives us to be passionate about politics and patriotism, in my opinion.

Kehinde Wiley

Wiley has made a name for himself by painting young black men in the style of solemn, regal portraiture that was once the realm of dead white guys. He invites young men he meets around his hometown of New York to pose in the style of an Old Master portrait, then adds a colorful backdrop and a little flair. Recently, Wiley has taken his operation international, painting people from Brazil, India, Israel, and elsewhere in styles inspired by traditional forms from their respective locales.

Laurence Aëgerter

A conceptualist who utilizes a variety of mediums, Laurence Aëgerter cleverly employed photography to appropriate and revitalize iconic paintings on view at the Hermitage Amsterdam during the 2010 exhibition Matisse to Malevich: Pioneers of Modern Art from the Hermitage. The French-born, Amsterdam-based artist positioned people and objects in front of modernist masterpieces and then snapped pictures of the resulting tableaux. Coming full circle, her colorful images are now being shown in the exhibition The Modernists and More, which is on view at the Hermitage Amsterdam through February 20th. Whitehot contributor Paul Laster recently connected with the artist to discuss the ideas and process behind this engaging series of images.

Paul Laster: What was the idea for the making of your photographic series Hermitage, The Modernists, which is currently on view at the Hermitage Amsterdam?

Laurence Aëgerter: I wanted to investigate our individual relation to art and our perception of iconic artworks. The more the icon is alive in our mind—by means of reproductions and stories around it—the higher is the intensity of the expectation to be confronted with its reality. But what can we really experience of it? When our vision of a work of art is altered, it becomes a reversed mirror—anchored in our present time. By layering the images, I seek the in-between spaces and bits of time that occur in the process of looking.

Laster: Were the photographs staged or taken by chance?

Aëgerter: They were all staged. For privacy and security reasons, I wasn't allowed to photograph during opening hours. I had to get permission. I know the marketing director, who already knew about my work, and he gave me a carte blanche.

Heather Theurer

Heather’s paintings are the product of decades of observation of people, environments, animals and textiles. Although she was not able to obtain a formal education in art, all her studies of the natural world in addition to the works of great artists including the renaissance masters, the pre-raphaelites of the late 19th century and modern masters have influenced he work in a way she couldn’t imagine getting in a classroom.

Themes in her work include religious symbolism, fantasy realism, equine and wildlife, and bold reworking of Disney characters. Her process in painting is constantly morphing as she applies new techniques, but most often consist of a multitude layers of paint and glazes (as many as 20 or so in some cases) to reach the desired depth and detail that dominates her work.

Shared and collected around the world, Heather Theurer’s paintings are constructed in the midst of a bustling family with five children in Las Vegas, Nevada. Regardless of the challenges, her art has gone on to get the attention of USA Today and the LA Times, garnered contracts with Disney Fine Art and Fantasy Con, and received recognition and awards from respected organizations such as Art Renewal Center, Artist’s Magazine and Spectrum, among others.

Peppermint candies

Food art in ceramics class

A gummy bear bento box in progress

a hamburger vase ready for the kiln

After this piece I'll be going away from gummy bears for a while but I'll be back my squishy loves!