The High End of Tradition article in The Dominion Magazine by Gabriel Diego Delgado
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*** As seen in the Jan. 2015 edition of The Dominion Magazine
The High End of Tradition
Academic Art demands large prices in a small town.
By: Gabriel Diego Delgado
Although San
Antonio’s art community is incongruously non-comparable to the worldly attracts
of the Austin, Houston, and Dallas art markets, there still is a competitive
level of skill, expertise, and know-how exhibited in and around the surrounding
San Antonio / Hill Country galleries.
Sure, the
McNay Museum, the San Antonio Museum of Art and the Witte are known to show
priceless artistic treasures, but now is the time to recognize some of the acclaimed
artists who can be seen in our local galleries. And yes, the various guilds,
clubs, art associations, memberships, schools, and the like have and are
producing a nice eloquent and eclectic array of artistic talent for this
region, but it is necessary to draw a spotlight on several artists who stand
out from the crowd. Believe it or not,
there are living artists who have passed through the gates of the surrounding
San Antonio metros; including Boerne who have extraordinary success stories making
their art sought after and sometimes pricing their work into the hundreds of
thousands.
Five artists
whose artwork have been consistently collected; laying claim to coveted national
and international art market recognitions are: Atlanta based and national
Photo-Realist painter, Thomas Arvid; Chinese born Canadian artist, Xiao Song
Jiang; local Boerne Western artist, Jay Hester; San Antonio 2014 Artist of the
Year, Seth Camm; and Boerne resident, Internationally recognized Master
Engraver and Printmaker, Weldon E. Lister Jr.
All their artworks resonate a dedicated craftsmanship that reflects in
their individual genres, and can be found and purchased locally.
Each artist
revels in a very traditional genre that is grounded in form, technique, and
historical importance; illustrating that the double blinder buzz of the
Contemporary art market is only unidirectional. The skewed and record breaking art auctions sales of
contemporary work is a bubble ready to burst, directing us to appreciate the
non-inflated sustainability of traditional artwork of living artists who can be
seen locally and demand escalated monetary affections.
Atlanta
based and internationally recognized artist, Thomas Arvid paints in a
photo-realist aesthetic. Larger than life wine bottles, corks, and other bar accoutrements
can be seen in his signature downward still-life perspectives. Self-taught, Arvid has mastered the classic
prose of realistic still life approaches, giving the audience a grander view of
his bottles, labels and corks via an artistic Sommelier. Now designing
signature wine labels with his own images, and working with vineyards in Sonoma
and Napa valleys, Arvid has found a way to incorporate two distinct worlds into
one. Confirmed are rumors that there is a four to five year waiting list on
original oil commissions. Prices on originals range can reach $120,000 to $150,000.
Limited edition giclee prints of his work can be seen at Fleming’s Prime
Steakhouse and Wine Bar, in addition to Boerne Wine Company and J.R. Mooney
Galleries.
Boerne’s own
Jay Hester closed his own gallery, Highland House in 2013, leaving behind the
administrative duties of day to day business and giving him the freedom to
continue to explore creative outlets for his own work. Considered one of the “Godfathers” of the
Boerne art community, Hester has helped usher in many arts organizations that
make up the backbone of the sleepy town’s artistic flair. A Western painter of
traditional imagery ranging from lawmen, horses, cattle, Native American, and
other attributes of Cowboy nostalgia, Hester revives the stoic personalities of
a time long ago. The mystic ways of the Native shaman; the rolling thunderstorm
of the Texas plains; the dusty, dirty and dog eat dog world of western
gun-slinging can all be seen in his work.
With an exhibition history that documents a wide variety of national art
conventions and fairs from Santa Fe to San Antonio; Hester’s legacy can also be
seen in his resume as represented by Texas Treasures Fine Art Gallery and
Sculpture Garden. The gallery’s website proudly states that, “Jay has produced
commissioned paintings for Texas Tech University and Methodist Hospital in
Lubbock, the Zaragosa Theater at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, USAA as well as many
other public collections. His monumental bronze sculptures grace The Woodlands,
near Houston, Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, and Boerne’s
Veteran’s Park. ‘Lasting Friendship’, in Fredericksburg’s Marktplatz, is
represented by three heroic size figures depicting the treaty signing between
the Comanche Indians and the German settlers and was unveiled on the 150th
anniversary of the city.” These regional accomplishments mixed with national
inclusion have amassed to raise his stature, giving reason for price points
higher than most artists residing in Boerne, Texas. Hester’s paintings have
reached in the $20,000 to $25,000 price range.
Canadian
based but Chinese born, Xiao Song Jiang paints miniature masterpieces of
impressionistic expressiveness. He
specializes in imagery ranging from the urban cityscapes of many European
metropolitans to water and boats to impressionistic landscapes. As winner of the 2013 Oil Painters of America
Gold Ribbon award for his seascape titled “Tide”, Jiang saw a sudden increase
in international artistic academic circles as well as the U.S. Art Market. Jiang’s started his formal education with a
Bachelors of Fine Art from the Chinese Academy of Art, (formerly the Zhejiang
Art Academy). He also lectured at the
Wuhan Construction College, and then continued in his own academics at the
provincial Hubei Art Academy. Jiang has
received numerous awards with artworks displayed at international art
exhibitions in the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Turkey, and Singapore. He also had the honor of having artworks
acquisitioned into the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) and three artworks
at the Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum. Other
recognitions include articles about his work in Southwest Art Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur, Art of the West Magazine, and others.
With
inclusion in such esteemed collections and decorated with numerous artistic
accolades, Jiang’s small scale paintings demand attention, investigation, and
appreciation; and are priced upwards of $3,000 to $4,000 for his miniatures
under 8” x 10”, and his market for his small 18” x 24” can still reach into
the $15,000 price range.
Seth Camm,
winner of the coveted San Antonio Artist of the Year Award for 2014 draws from
the traditional masters like Caravaggio and Rembrandt. Trained at the Pennsylvania Academy (PAFA)
and mentored by international sensation Odd Nerdrum in Norway, Camm paints impressionistic
portraits of society’s downtrodden and melancholy still lifes; mixing in edible
assortments in an otherwise curiously mundane gestalt. Having had gallery representation for several
years in San Antonio, Camm has pushed the limits of portraiture by including
the personal stories of his subjects; bring to light the social taboos of
depression, drug addiction, homelessness, domestic violence and other
unflattering social faux pas. He is a painter that evokes the artistic
attributes of artists and artisans from long ago to help him forge his way
through contemporary issues using century’s old techniques. With chiaroscuro, (Italian for the play of light and dark)
Seth works through illusionistic shading; defining the illusion of volume. His soft shadows, deep contrasts, and vibrant hues add a signature
timeless aesthetic in the world of contemporary art. Seth’s artistic genre,
craft, technique and dedication elevates him to a status reserved for master
painters. Often seen as a resident artist at the Bijou Theater in San Antonio
and the Haven for Hope Homeless Center,
Camm’s perseverance to tell a story is anchored by due diligence; getting to
know his subjects, hearing their stories, and is unashamed and unhesitant to walk a mile in their shoes.
Also a portrait
painter of houses, Camm strives to capture the personality of the homeowner by
painting an impressionistic architectural landscape of custom homes. In a
Monet-esque fashion Camm delves into atmospheric light and relies on
traditional impressionistic aesthetics to create modern masterpieces with
contemporary concerns. The Noyes Museum of Art in Oceanville, New Jersey has exhibited
a large collection of the homeless series. Seth Camm’s awards include: The Jimmy C. Lueders Painting Prize, The
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Fellowship Best of Show Award,
Thomas Eakins Memorial Prize, The Robert Carlen Memorial Endowment Prize, Louis
and Estelle Pearson Memorial Prize, The J. Henry Schiedt Memorial Travel
Scholarship, and many others. With the
recent San Antonio Art League recognition and museum exhibitions, Camm’s
artwork is currently holding a strong market value, with house commissions
ranging into the $10,000 to $20,000 range.
Internationally
renowned artisan Weldon E. Lister Jr. of Boerne, Texas straddles two
distinctively different genres of art; the time honed art of firearm/ knife and
jewelry engraving and the fine art realm of printmaking. Lister is recognized as one of the top 44
living engravers by C. Roger Bleile in American Engravers – The 21st
Century. A third generation
engraver, Weldon has been spotlighted in publications ranging from Texas Monthly to Gun Digest. His engravings on timeless firearms have gained him an
expected notoriety. Using techniques
ranging from hand and chisel to Lost Wax castings, Lister’s signature aesthetic
borders on ultra-baroque; mixing in concise art deco embellishments. Lister is a member of the Firearms Engravers
Guild of America and the American Pistolsmiths Guild.
Esteemed
notables include a beginning apprenticeship at the age of 17, having studied in
the Grand Masters engraving program in Kansas, having been awarded the prestigious
Howard Dove Award, and designed work for President George W. Bush. Archived catalog auction results reveal some
of Lister’s guns have auctioned around $35,000.
Select engraved bracelets and jewelry available through the artist’s
studio in Boerne are valued at $4,500. However, now Lister is creating limited
edition intaglio prints of metal engraved printer’s plates. Images of hand
engraved firearms are available in sets of 50. Each plate showcases the talent
that would be reserved for real firearms, but as the artist expands his horizons,
client bases and techniques, new mediums are explored to reach a new visual
aesthetic. The intaglio plates are
engraved with the same precision as the guns, knives, and jewelry but have the
ability to be cherished by several collectors- not just one.
In essence,
with the talent pool of local and regional artists and artisans there are underappreciated
and hidden gems in the Boerne area. Although this survey is only five artists
whose artwork garners higher prices, many more artists are out there for the
aficionado to discover. Sometimes that is half the fun – learning about artists
that have international and national acclaim and acquiring their work for your
own collection; a treasure that will be valued for years to come. However, keep in mind other San Antonio/
Boerne, Texas living artists whose artwork falls within the double and triple
digit pricing and who can also be seen in
and around the Boerne area at market include: Tim Cox, Bill Zaner, G.
Harvey; Steven DaLuz and others.
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