Primavera

We were thrilled to meet Laurence Gartel, the ‘Father of Digital Art’, at our recent Sensational Saturday event. He came to hear his friend Lloyd Goradesky talk about his latest work Let Love Guide Your Way. Now Laurence has fallen in love with all the Fired Arts at WMODA. He has created two limited-edition prints Primavera and Arion, inspired by our exhibits.

Laurence Gartel was born and raised in New York City and majored in graphics at the School of Visual Arts. At the beginning of his electronic career he taught Andy Warhol how to use the Amiga computer and a joint exhibition entitled Warhol vs Gartel. Hyp Pop was presented in Italy. Gartel has created artwork for such pop culture stars as Debby Harry, the Sex Pistols and more recently Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. He was the official artist of the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, the Newport Jazz Festival and Monaco International Film Festival. Gartel's most memorable digital art campaigns include ads for Absolute Vodka in 1990, Coca Cola, Forbes magazine and the Walt Disney Corporation. He has spent the last 8 years creating ‘art cars’, the first for Tesla during Art Basel in 2010.

Primavera

Gartel was inspired by the figure of Primavera by Harry Parr on display in our Art Deco gallery. Parr was a notable ceramic sculptor and art teacher in London during the 1920s and 30s. Primavera is Italian for spring and Parr has clearly been inspired by the fragile beauty of Venus, the virgin goddess, as portrayed by Botticelli in the famous Renaissance paintings Primavera and the Birth of Venus. Gartel is also a Botticelli fan and has sat mesmerized in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence contemplating these masterpieces. Now he is spellbound at WMODA.

The Sunshine Girl

Gartel is also captivated by the work of Clarice Cliff, who became known as the ‘Sunshine Girl’ for bringing colorful ceramic art into war-weary Britain during the roaring twenties and thirties. The vivid colors and amusing designs of her Bizarre ware enlivened millions of suburban homes and she is considered the doyenne of Art Deco ceramics. Novelty and variety were the keynotes of Clarice’s success. She took inspiration from contemporary art as well as nature. Sunrays shine through stylized trees and fashionable Egyptian motifs from Tutankhamen’s tomb mingle with Cubist style abstracts.

The Primavera Print

The Gartel print of Primavera measures 12 inches by 16 inches. Gartel will sign each print and it will be limited to an edition of 50. The price is $395 and profits from the sales will benefit the educational programs at WMODA. Gartel’s retro glass designs for Ritzenhoff and his wearable art scarves and ties are currently offered for sale through the WMODA museum shop.