7 Kite Artists You Should Take a Look At
Continuing on with the new year and new listing posts I am presenting to you this list of Kite Artists you should take a look at.
If you have spent some time lurking around the kite field or pouring over magazines and shared photos on social media, you probably have come across a breed of kites that is completely above the rest when it comes to art. Pieces by famed kite artists such as Robert Trepanier, Kisa, Jose Sainz, Scott Skinner, Ron Gibian, George Peters, and Scott Hampton (to name a few). Most of these individuals can be found on a kite field somewhere, and perhaps one or two of their creations has found its way into your kite bag.
What follows is a list of artists that use kites in their artwork in various ways. Chances are you would not see them on the kite field as most of their artwork is displayed in a different 'realm' than the typical kite field. Over the years I have stumbled across these artists and loved the pieces they have put out. I feel rather thankful that I have been able to see a few of them in person and encourage other kite enthusiasts to do the same.
Jacob Hashimoto
" Using sculpture, painting, and installation, Jacob Hashimoto creates complex worlds from a range of modular components: bamboo-and-paper kites, model boats, even astroturf-covered blocks. His accretive, layered compositions reference video games, virtual environments, and cosmology, while also remaining deeply rooted in art-historical traditions notably, landscape-based abstraction, modernism, and handcraft. "
To read more: https://jacobhashimoto.com/bio
Several years ago I stumbled across images referencing work by Jacob Hashimoto and was blown away. In short order I added seeing one of his installations in person to my personal bucket list. Luck would have it that when I attended the New York Maker Faire in 2018 I was able to see one of his temporary installations.
Stuart Allen
"Stuart Allen is a visual artist whose work deals with fundamental elements of perception such as light, time, gravity and space. His photographs, sculpture and installation have been shown throughout the U.S. and abroad and his work is found in many private and public collections." (read more at: https://stuartallen.info/work/)
His public installation in 2010 at the San Antonio Airport, then the Racksoace in San Antonio Texas named 'Aloft' captures the sky on playful long kites. When displayed indoors it makes one question if a kite is an image or a window. "Allen has been working with kites since the early 1990’s. He has constructed hundreds of them, from tiny objects flown on a thread, to aluminum sails designed to fly underwater, to huge paper and bamboo kites that require several adults to manage. The installation at Rackspace, entitled ALOFT, incorporates five kite forms that are based on traditional Japanese kite designs. Extremely low-resolution images of the sky are printed on the aluminum surface of the kites." ( http://stuartallen.info/portfolio_page/san-antonio-airport-installation/ )
Alice Thompson
Instagram: @alicethompsonnart - https://www.instagram.com/alicethompsonart/
" Alice is a Philadelphia-based maker and designer. She holds a B.F.A. from Binghamton University (2004) and an M.F.A. from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (2006) with concentrations in drawing and printmaking. Her creative process is grounded in refined observational drawing skills and an extensive knowledge of historical and contemporary printmaking practices. Her work takes many forms, including kites and layered cut paper installations which incorporate natural and electric light. She seeks opportunities to create commissioned cut paper works for interior design, special events, and theatrical performances. " (read moreat: http://www.alicethompsonart.com/ )
Michael Thompson
" My work involves fake postage stamps, mono-prints, kinetic sculptures, kites, chine-colle prints, etching, assemblage, drawing, lighting, video, sound and faux objects cobbled together from discarded, appropriated, manufactured, objects, images, both in and out of the public domain, legal or il, good, bad and indifferent, carved, enlarged, stapled, pressed, copied, tied, transferred, welded, glued, perforated, hung, floated, sold, destroyed, confiscated, recycled, mailed, traded, kept as art or decoration or evidence, as junk, treasure or legal tender by art collectors, postal inspectors, State Security agents, prosecutors, family, friends, enemies and foes, for laughs, love, investment, color-coordination, evidence, re-use or just because.. " (read more: https://michaelthompsonart.com/section/42075-Kites.html)
For fans of the TV series Philip K Dicks Electric Dreams, you can see some of his work adorning the walls of in Season 1 Episode 1.
Mo Kelman
While Mo Kelmans works might not be considered kites outright, the techniques used to create them come from traditional kitebuilding. Hand spliced bamboo is bent and tied into 3d structures and draped in a beautifully simplistic Silk. These structures are then 'tethered' to the wall.
To read more about go to: https://mokelman.com/about
Richard Smith
"Balanced at angles, the paintings were determined by their own centre of gravity. The strings hanging from the canvases present a painterly language of brush strokes and drips, accentuating also the pull of gravity and the relationship between the canvas and its place among the forces of nature in the world around us. As Barbara Rose has said: “Inevitably they echo the verticality of man’s own gravity-determined stance… These consistent allusions to the human condition prove that abstract art is not necessarily divorced from man’s experience.”
Smith’s Kite Paintings worked to redefine notions of the ‘edge’ of painting, as the artist rejected the limitations of the traditional rectangular canvas support. Drawn edge and physical edge are combined and allocated equal weight in Smith’s examination of the surface, revealing a new visual language of representation."
Greg Kono
A member of the Drachen Foundation, Greg Kono has been building exceptional handcrafted kites from paper and bamboo.
" As he began to experiment with kites of paper and bamboo, he was fortunate to come across a Japanese kite building workshop in 2002, taught by master kite builders, Nobuhiko Yoshizumi and Scott Skinner, at the Drachen Foundation in Seattle. Six month later he began working with the foundation, where he develops traveling exhibits, updates the website, and teaches kite building workshops, while continuing to develop his own kites and artwork."
I would love to hear if there is an artist that works with kites that you know of that may not be seen on the kite field. Drop it in the comments below or shoot me an email and let me know!