Artists of the Month
Marek Zyga
When I was in Santa Fe in February, I had as good a time as I could. A few days before I left for New Mexico, I developed a cold. It wasn't terrible, but my sinuses were giving me fits. When I made it to Santa Fe, its elevation became somewhat of an issue since I was having trouble breathing anyway. A cold, 7,000 foot elevation, and me being out of shape made for a long stay. I did manage to see a lot of cool things thanks to my friends Brenda and Carson. I had great food, went to a stellar farmer's market, met new friends Octavio and LeeAnn, toured some movie sets at Santa Fe Studios, and wandered into a wonderful exhibit of Picasso's works at the LewAllen Modern Galleries. I had a chat with the curator and had a look at the other works they had on display. While most were quite inspiring, one artist had me wanting to see more. His name was Marek Zyga. While his work reminds me of previous Talking Simian Artists of the Month, Sukhi Barber and Woodrow Nash, he brings a different element to his work that hits close to home. I love including text in my own artwork and Marek integrates them masterfully into his sculptures.
Marek is a self-taught artist, which is cool. Sometimes having formal training can help you master certain media. But I feel some trial and error can expose you to new ways to use clay, paint, wax, or whatever you have on hand, "Happy Accidents" as our friend Bob Ross used to say. This guy has done some great work through experimentation. One thing that he explains is that he doesn't start out with a drawing of the sculpture that he's planning. He just starts in with some clay and lets it evolve toward the thing that he has in his head. When the main form is done, he adds angobas (light or thin layers of clay or porcelain), pigments, and glazes. The end result is what you see below. And what's below is simply fantastic. Nice work, M.Z. If you would like to see more of Marek's work, visit his online gallery at www.marekzyga.com/en. You can also see his work at various galleries all over the world. Enjoy.
Marek is a self-taught artist, which is cool. Sometimes having formal training can help you master certain media. But I feel some trial and error can expose you to new ways to use clay, paint, wax, or whatever you have on hand, "Happy Accidents" as our friend Bob Ross used to say. This guy has done some great work through experimentation. One thing that he explains is that he doesn't start out with a drawing of the sculpture that he's planning. He just starts in with some clay and lets it evolve toward the thing that he has in his head. When the main form is done, he adds angobas (light or thin layers of clay or porcelain), pigments, and glazes. The end result is what you see below. And what's below is simply fantastic. Nice work, M.Z. If you would like to see more of Marek's work, visit his online gallery at www.marekzyga.com/en. You can also see his work at various galleries all over the world. Enjoy.
Previous Artists of the Month
The list below is either linked to the artist's webpage or to my review which has a link to their webpage. Either way, it would be awesome if you went to check out more of these artist's works. It's worth a look.
The list below is either linked to the artist's webpage or to my review which has a link to their webpage. Either way, it would be awesome if you went to check out more of these artist's works. It's worth a look.