Sean Kelly: Butcher & Painter

Sean Kelley has an impressive body of work that continues to be inspired from his day job, as a full time butcher.  His work (as a butcher) seems to bring him great pleasure and it shows in his paintings.  You may consider the relationship between the two worlds as symbiotic.  In a great interview in an article from Dec 2013 in the New London Day, in Connecticut, he explained: "He sees the two skills as informing each other: His experience at Lyme Academy of Fine Arts has made him a better butcher, he said, while the slaughterhouse provides inspiration for his art." (Click here to read the article)

Interestingly, he finds beauty (in my opinion) in the least expected places, like a slaughter room.

His palette of softer pastel colors work well to depict the coolness of the environment and his use of red seems even more effective contrasting the cool air with the flesh and blood of the the subjects.

Surface textures in his paint application further push a tension of the meats decorative beauty in freshly butchered flesh.

Holstein Bulls oil on masonite 19 x 19 1/2 inches

 Taking the idea of being a "meat artist" further than anyone, Sean seems involved in every aspect of the cycle of farm and food that many are probably glad to no know.  The strength seems in his focus of beauty even in death.  It's understandable that not everyone might identify as a willing member of the audience for some of the work, but there's no doubt that beauty in death is captivating and his work makes adds to it a calm.

Still Life with Lamb Heads oil on canvas mounted on panel 16 x 24 inches

More about sean and his work can be found at : https://www.seankelleypaintings.com

*clicking on any images here will enlarge them for you.

Steaks, served in pastels

William Pettit is a painter and poet who also works as a sculptor, musician, photographer and video artist.  Yeah, that's renaissance man in my book. 

Bill sent me these photos of new pastel drawings of steaks recently.  His note: "Someone gave me a bunch of pastels and paper, a material I had used before as a student but never gave much consideration. They are fun to make. "

These still life drawings have a muscular representation of flesh, I admitted to him that they reminded me of the Bodyworlds exhibit I had seen.  The palette of pinks and browns and apparent ocher yellows on tan paper really offer a feel of dry-aged meat rather than lively flesh.  Cooked and ready to eat...

Bill's response: "they are all cooked and about to be consumed...many are drawn while still in the process of digestion. "

 for more Bill, check out his site: http://www.williampettit.com

I love the dramatic light on this one. How a cooked steak curls and and waves.

Dominic Episcopo's new BOOK: Meat America!

Dominic Episcopo has a great new book of his portfolio available for sale at

http://www.meatamerica.com

At a time when America is searching to define its values and trying to uncover the inspiration of what it means to be uniquely ‘American’, we need a manifesto! And it would make sense that it should be carved out of meat. I have spent almost three years attuned to America’s spirit, humor and verve. I conceptualized raw images capturing the same, shot them for posterity and incorporated them into a book for publishing. Meat America, the book, is ready for prime time.

~ Dominic Episcopo, artist and photographer

In MEAT AMERICA, artist and photographer Dominic Episcopo focuses on his lifelong passion and most surprising muse: Meat. Serving up inspired and often irreverent translations of the American spirit through a devout carnivore’s lens, each of Dominic’s photographs satisfies our appetite for both—art and wit—in one bite.

follow Dominic on twitter: 

@MeatAmerica

Voilà! NEW MEAT by John Wolfer

John Wolfer is an active member of Meatartists and afaculty at  the University of Cincinnati.  He's produced two fresh new luscious entrees for an upcoming show.  He has recently been invited to contribute to a food as art exhibition at Clermont College.

 He was asked to participate in a food/kitchen show and "in April,  I completed a classical painting workshop and wanted to try out what I learned on meat. Voilà! New meat."

Chopped 1

Chopped 2

Also, I John offered some sketches of recent work, including one of this new work:

Click here for more work by John Wolfer

bacon shower curtains

Mike Geno's designed a couple new meaty items for sale on etsy.

"Though I've been focused more on cheese lately and not so much painting or drawing meat, I've not lost my lust for bacon.  I found a great website where I could design my own shower curtain!  I didn't know where to start but since I had recently just taken a few very tasty snapshots with my iphone, of some great bacon, I figured at least my own meat-themed bathroom would make use of this.  They've actually sold pretty well on Etsy."

Mike Geno's etsy shop: mgenomgeno

"cooked bacon" shower curtain: $65 

also, the popular "bacon love" image has made a nice curtain!

available in Mike's Etsy Shop
more of mikes art at : mikegeno.com

"Meat America" a new Dominic Episcopo exhibition at Bambi Gallery

 I had the pleasure of attending Dominic's recent solo exhibition.  It's really great and a lot of fun.

I hope to return to get more photos before the show ends because the opening reception was absolutely crammed with his fans.  Speaking with him, Dominic admitted an abundance of attention from the press had led to numerous articles and interviews.  Long live the meat artists! 

Below are a couple snapshots I took with my phone.  

http://www.bambiproject.com/shows.html

Mike Geno - painter of meat.

I began painting meat in 2001.  Having previously explored various forms of objects and toy shapes that are designed to attract our interaction, like rubber duckies, I had a moment of clarity in my studio.  My epiphany was no doubt a result of hunger pains and a momentary case of low blood sugar.  I was on a grad school budget, after all.  I suddenly had the urge to paint a big juicy steak.  I wanted to create an image so vibrant, saturated and chunky that viewers would want to bite right into it.  I wanted to incite the same urges I had, not unlike my temptation to squeeze any rubber ducky that crosses my path.  

 

(porterhous & sirloin  each 12x12")

While in art college, I had worked in meat rooms of supermarkets, as an apprentice meat cutter, long enough to see the aesthetic values in a wide range of cuts of meat.  My role as an 'artist/meatcutter' allowed me to recognize the necessity for meat to be abstracted in order to be swallowed, therefore, it was natural for me to objectify meat and approach it with the same focus as my other still-life objects.   As I approached each cut of meat as iconic symbols of consumer product I focused on how enticing and sensuous raw meat can be.  

Having had the opportunity to elevate raw meat to the value of art (or is it the other way around?) and then often being able to eat my subject after each painting’s completion, the meat portrait series has been successful on many levels for me.  I found it most enjoyable to work with subject matter that attracts a diverse audience consisting of vegetarians and carnivores alike.
  (*click images to see larger)


More recently, I have focused on various food subjects and bacon began to stand out to me as something I could never tire of.   It lead towards a more abstract direction than I've ever previously explored in my studio.  I returned to using oil pastels and creating an ongoing series of bacon compositions.  After initially working small, I soon realized the need for a larger, more expressive scale  on 30x22" sheets of Stonehenge paper. 

 most recent drawings:

For more information about Mike Geno's art:

www.mikegeno.com

Eat Me Daily (interview)

Etsy (shop)

The Bacon Show!

The Bacon Show is up at Mew Gallery in South Philadelphia!

The Bacon show celebrates the glory of bacon.  It may be common knowledge that bacon, the candy of meats, is the new black.  That's no reason to miss this small but impressive exhibit of fun bacon art.  The Bacon Show is at Mew Gallery in Philadelphia and it includes ten artists, including 4 of the meatartists.com artists! 

The exhibit spans fine art painting, photography, and drawing as well as impressive kitschy crafts that will make you realized you've been missing out on the glory of bacon until now.   It will also make you realize your holiday gift-giving doldrums are over!  The show is fun, the show is affordable!  Anything else would be a disgrace to bacon, which should never be disrespected!

click to see images larger

Come to the exhibit (the opening reception is Nov. 7th) and see for yourself or shop online!  All of the exhibit is attainable through the site.  If you're interested in a purchase, just email!
Images of the exhibition will be on flickr  and here!

more images below will be added, scroll and scroll to see some images of the show.

(west wall art -left to right : Jacob Crose, Mike Geno, Ken B. Miller, John Wolfer, Jessica Lewis)

(east wall art - left to right: John Wolfer, Sappymoosetree, Mike Geno, Ellen Cagnossola aka: sweetsoaps.com , Cho)

 

"A Little Bacon" by John Wolfer - 2009, acrylic on board, SOLD

"Bacon" by John Wolfer - 2009, framed painting, acrylic on canvas, $600

(on top) "bacon friends", water color, $40

"breakfast" SOLD!, (yarn, glue, paint), $80

by sappymoosetree(.com)

 

"Bacon Strips" by Jessica Lewis: 16.25" x 22.5" Digital Print Mounted with archival board under museum glass,   $365  Prints also available from the artist.

 
"pancetta", 5.5x8" oil on wood, $300
"cooked bacon", 8.25x8.25" oil on wood, $500 by Mike Geno


Soap art handcrafted by Ellen Cagnossola of sweetsoaps.com
“This one ate at the market”
Maple scented bacon soap sculpture  $12.95
Bacaon Soap Bar, Snowman Poop Bar, $5 each
(Bars available @ sweetsoaps.com)

                     

“probably soy bacon” by Jacob Crose
mixed media on paper, SOLD

“Dennis the Pig” by Ken B. Miller
archival pigment print in mixed media hickory-smoked frame $250

"4470002328" by Cho
Digital Photographic Print, $175

"seven days of pancetta" by William Pettit
5x7 cm each, $30 each, $180 for the set.

“Mona Bacon” by Mike Geno
19x13" framed archival pigment print $75, unframed $65
14x11” framed archival pigment print $45, unframed $35

"bacon magnets" by sappymoosetree  8"x2", $6 each.
There's less than 30 in the shop for the show.  There's some in the Mew Gallery window display as well as on a table in the show.
You can get more online from sappymoosetree.com !

Customized Bacon Pillows, all SOLD!
I forgot to photograph the 4th, my favorite, which has 3 strips and "3 degrees of kevin B." hand embroidered onto it.

In the window at Mew Gallery:  "bacon bright" by Mike Geno, hand-painted bacon floor lamp,  $85.00

here's some other items by Mike Geno available at the show
and they're also available online here

"bacon pals" blank card/envelope, $4.50 each

"bacon love" archival 8x10" print, $20

"bacon tree" holiday postcards available in packs of 5! at the show and online.

more photos of the work and window display to come! stay tuned.
email for any questions regarding a purchase.