Monday, July 27, 2009

Justine Ashbee


Justine Ashbee - Amorphous lines and the new Zen Calligraphy!

Recently, I saw the work of Justine Ashbee and I thought she has taken the dying practice of 'Line Art'; completely revived it and pushed it to next Level. For somebody who doesn't know what is "line art" we can broadly describe it has any image that consists of distinct straight and curved lines placed against a (usually plain) background, without gradations in shade. It is basically objects created entirely from the use of text, dots, and straight or curved lines.

Personally, I have always loved intrusion of graphics into interior spaces. Like paintings, framed photographs and decor items; 'line art' can spark a dialog between the viewer and the Artist. It is like a strategically placed Tattoo which is very personal yet speaks volumes. I believe minimalistic and classy work of Line Art is going to be one of the HOTTEST trends in Interior Design 2010.


image courtesy Justine Ashbee ©

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Golden Transmutations

image courtesy Justine Ashbee ©

The amorphous entities and reaching tentacles emerge and take form much like the navigation of a surfer within a wave.

These drawings are executed purely by hand, using paint pens. She explains "I begin with a curve, from which lines and forms begin to emerge, evolve, morph, and grow organically, in an intuitive flow, while maintaining delicate, elegant precision. The methodology is rhythmic, spontaneous, and direct, reducing interference with mark-making. Much like zen calligraphy, they are improvisational, and intuitively composed, where the physicality and the mark making become one."

Justine Ashbee has utilized stark, amorphous lines to trace the movement and human experience of the non-linear and imaginational realms. Through this intuitive visual language, a negotiation of the visceral and everyday human experiences of beauty and pleasure, and feeling are given voice.

Line art emphasizes form and outline, over color, shading, and texture. However, areas of solid pigment and dots can also be used in addition to lines. The lines in a piece of line art may be all of a constant width (as in some pencil drawings), of several (few) constant widths (as in technical illustrations), or of freely varying widths (as in brush work or engraving).

Before the development of photography and of halftones, line art was the standard format for illustrations to be used in print publications, using black ink on white paper. Using either stippling or hatching, shades of gray could also be simulated.

Copyright ©2006. All rights reserved. Any duplication or use of objects is not permitted without Justine Ashbee's written agreement.

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