Georgia Russell

Georgia Russell

The first contemporary artist I chose to examine is Georgia Russell.  I LOVED the piece “The Story of Art” that we saw in class, and made the decision to look more in depth at her work.  I found a collection of her work at englandgallary.com, along with her biography explaining the method behind her madness, her education, and listing her exhibitions to date.        

Georgia Russell was born in 1974 in Elgin, Scotland, and studied Fine Art at Aberdeen University and the Royal College of Arts (1).  In the course of her career, Russell has received several awards for her work along with holding many solo and select group exhibitions in not only the United States, but also abroad.  She also shares her knowledge and works on educational projects as a visiting lecturer at universities and art schools, and her work has been featured in many publications over the years. 

To create her work, Russell “slashes, cuts, and dissects”(1) printed material such as books, photographs, maps, music scores, etc., which she then transforms into works of art.  Her pieces are displayed either in acrylic cases or bell jar’s, giving the spectator the ability to see the work from all angles.  Examples of her work is included below; I included 2 pieces that I really enjoyed, and 1 that I am not very fond of.  

After Carot 2011 

Cut photographs in acrylic case 

25.75 x 30 x 7 inches

This first piece is titled “After Corot”, and is comprised of cut photographs arranged in an acrylic case.  This piece showcases Russell's talent of taking something like cut up photo’s and presenting an organic representation of a mountain lake.  In fact, this piece reminds me of Payette Lake in McCall in the early morning.  I can honestly see the trees surrounding and mirrored in the lake, along with the softness of an early sunrise just peeking through the brush.  I can also imagine touching this piece, which I envision would feel as soft as feathers based upon the swirls that run throughout the piece but are most evident on the left side.  I love this piece, it’s absolutely beautiful and takes me back to mornings during my childhood years of heading down to the lake at sunrise to catch some fish.

L’Erotisme 2008

Cut and painted book in bell jar

29.5 x 12 inches

Next we'll look at a piece that is placed in a bell jar instead of an acrylic case.  This piece is titled "L'Erotisme", and to me it subtly screams erotica between the black paintings of the book pages, to the overlapped page representing a butterfly.  This piece gives me the impression of breaking free from the cocoon, which I see as breaking free from whatever is tying a person down.  Gaining freedom to be who you are and live your life the way you desire can be quite an erotic experience in and of itself.  

Lust for Life 2011

Cut book in a bell jar 

21.5 x 12 x 8.25 inches

Since I chose 2 pieces that I thoroughly enjoyed, I felt the need to experience something I didn't like.  This below piece is titled “Lust for Life”.  To me this is piece holds the same qualities as “L-Erotisme” but it feels very plain.  The book binding is flat instead of circular, and without any color this piece just doesn't seem to pop the way “L-Erotisme” does, and a few other pieces of Russell’s do.  I also feel that the paper seems to hang in a haphazard way making the piece feel somewhat sloppy. 

All in all, I really enjoyed diving into Georgia Russell’s work, and seeing what all she has accomplished during her career.  I hope you enjoyed my assessment ~ take a look at her work at englandgallary.com and let me know what you think!!!

Resources:  

1.       1. New England Gallery. Georgia Russell. http://www.englandgallery.com/artist_bio.php?mainId=32