THE ARTIST

Abstract artist Van Renselar has travelled extensively. He grew up in South Wales and London, where he now lives and works. After committing himself fully to abstract painting 10 years ago he has rapidly become one of the most original of the emerging modern abstract artists in the UK. He has exhibited at many venues, including:

Innovative Art Fair, Brick Lane
On The Wall Art Fair, London Olympia
Brighton Art Fair
Arndean Gallery, Cork Street, W1
White Space Gallery, Greenwich
Gallery Kaleidoscope, NW3
The Railway, Tulse Hill (Solo)
Islington Art Fair
Brighton Artists Gallery (Solo)
Art Basel, Miami, USA
Broadway Gallery, Broadway, New York, USA
The Peacock Gallery
The Light Gallery, London W2
Globe Gallery, Weybridge

Van Renselar’s work has featured in:

Art&Prose - April 2007
NY Arts - September 2006
China Arts Magazine - September 2006
Art Fairs International - September 2006
Absolute magazine - November 2005
Picture Business - November 2005
Insight - Nov 04
Good Housekeeping - July 02

As an abstract artist, he produces colourful abstract art that is concerned more with form, composition and colour as an alternative to subject matter.

As he says, "I want to use my knowledge of colour, shape and line to make pictures which involve and intrigue the viewer. I take ideas from around and within me, using intuition and imagination to create a new context. Much of my work stems from my subconscious, where I see actions, events and ideas as particular shapes and colours. It took me a long time to fully realize that not everyone translated the world in this way."

Across his range of colourful abstract art, there’s no defining key of symbols. There is no ‘language’ for the viewer to learn. Each piece of work establishes itself on its own visual merits and the viewer’s interest.

ABSTRACT ART

In its purest form in Western art, abstract art is one without a recognisable subject, one which doesn't relate to anything external or try to 'look like' something. Instead the colour, composition and form are the subject of the abstract painting. It's completely non-objective or non-representational. Also generally classified with modern abstract art are figurative abstractions and paintings which represent things that aren't visual, such an emotion or sound. Figurative abstractions are abstractions or simplifications of reality, where detail is eliminated from recognisable objects leaving only the essence or some degree of recognisable form.

Some modern abstract artists use terms such as concrete art or non-objective art, but in practice the phrase abstract art is commonly used and the distinction between the two is not always obvious. There are some solid theoretical ideas that lie behind abstract art. The idea of art for art's sake - that art should be purely about the creation of engaging effects. The idea that abstract art can or should be like music - that just as music consists of patterns of sound, abstract art's effects are created by pure patterns of form, colour and line.

Likewise, abstract artists such as Van Renselar do not attempt to reproduce a likeness of nature - the subject is the painting itself. Very often, the finished painting bears little, if any, apparent relationship to the idea that inspired it. Nevertheless, some viewers try to discover a realistic image in the pictures. Not that seeing things in abstract paintings is a crime, even if the artist didn't put them there. But those viewers miss an opportunity to see more if they expend their energy trying to turn the painting into something they can name, such as a face or landscape.

Composition is one of the fundamental tools an abstract artist uses. The goal is to achieve a balance of visual elements without making the weight so perfectly balanced that the art becomes boring. If everything on the left is precisely equal to the right, top and the bottom, balance has been achieved but the interest is lost. The handling of space - or the illusion of space - is also another element in the artist's toolbox.

Energy is the life force that is present in all good modern art - in ANY art. This is not something that is easily defined, but it is the opposite state of static flatness. It is through energy that a painting speaks to you, and makes an artist's work original and identifiable as the work of that artist. Energy is created out of the abstract artist's materials and tools, but the end is more than the means in the same sense that a musical composition is substantially more than a collection of notes.

Modern art prints by contemporary abstract artist - Van Renselar

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