I am a fan of Picasso. So, a Cubist Cat. And this is the first of its kind. I think that a lot of my work, especially also the Frogs, have Cubist elements, especially the way I wrinkle the copper. But this Cat definitely has Cubist colors, the colors Picasso worked with often, deep ochre browns and blues, during his Cubist period. Not that I intended at first to do that. In fact, on many of these Cats, I just began applying color, layer over layer, until I found something that worked. Of course, through the course of this painting, I "found" the Cubist colors, and I worked with them, knowing they contributed to the already Cubist elements of the work.
In my Cat series, I have applied (expensive) oil paint, in one way or another. Sometimes I would try to create an overall patina. Other times I would just paint the Cat, as if it's body were a canvas, and then you would have a Cat and also a painting, or more than one painting. Strangely, that coincides in a way with Cubist ideas. For example, the Cubist would portray more than one view of the subject in a single painting, as it were, killing two birds with one stone. (Not my favorite analogy. But then, cats do kill birds.) In fact, a Cubist will try to kill more than two birds with one stone, as many things are going on in a Cubist painting, and, by skewing the image, many views of a single object are offered. (Cubism was, by the way, Picasso's main accomplishment, one he shared with lesser known artists such as George Braque and Juan Gris.)
So, now, instead of having a Cubist painting that offers the multi-dimensionality of a sculpture or physical form, you have a sculpture that offers the single dimensionality of a painting (the single, flat but textured surface of the painted sculpture). Unfortunately, this is probably not going to make me famous. But it is interesting, nonetheless.
All the more interesting if you know that my sculptures are primarily made of sheet copper. That is, I take a sheet of flat copper which I bend and shape into a sculpture. The painting becomes a sculpture. The sculpture becomes a painting.
I name this Cubist Cat #1 because I like the idea a lot and I probably will make more of these - regardless of whether they initially sell or not. So, this is the absolute 1st Cubist Cat. I have a lot of 1sts. That's innovation. You know?
Height: 15" Width: 11" Depth: 24"
Oil paint on shaped and brazed copper. Made by hand, by me, Beau Smith, January 2024.
Signed and dated.
Shipping is included in the price.
