Customer Reviews

Russell Chatham: One Hundred Paintings

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I know taste in art is an individual thing, but these are absolutely wonderful paintings! No knowledge of fancy theories is necessary to understand these landscapes, they just ARE. Using muted (some would say murky) colors, Chatham's work is filled with mystery and wonder, love of the earth, and a luminous atmosphere. You can see the stillness in these paintings... They are full of spirituality and tragic beauty. Chatham's essay on his life is insightful and inspiring. I only wish some examples of artwork by his grandfather, Gottatdo Piazzoni, had been included, since that was the inspiration for Chatham's work. I have a lot of art books, this is the most inspirational. And it has become better over the years! It is not a "how to" book, but a retrospective of this artist's work over the last 30 years.

I discovered Chatham's work through this book. Although the work starts out pretty weak it picks up momentum about half way through and finishes strong. Apart from the Grandpa worship and the "spirit of place" stuff the work is fairly direct and unpretentious. Which is why I was so shocked and disappointed to see his actual work recently at his personal gallery in Livingston, Wyoming. This is work that seems better in reproduction than it does in real life. So I give it 4 stars for getting me to make the journey, and less than 5 for the eventual disappointment.