By Lucy Lazarony
The art of Bling: Art That Shines, does just that: It shines, sparkles, glitters and glows. And some pieces even light up.
It’s art that gives you a lift.
Pop artist Camomile Hixon proclaims “YES” in one painting and the word “DREAM” is repeated 17 times in another. There are wildly colorful works such as Ashley Longshore’s paintings of Kate Moss and Audrey Hepburn, and wildly funny pieces such as the globe covered with googly eyes created by Bruce Helander.
This vibrant, lighthearted collection of art is on display at the Cornell Museum of Art at the Delray Center for the Arts through July 5.
“I’ve always had an affinity with Andy Warhol and his diamond-dusted shoes and especially things that sparkle,” says curator Melanie Johanson.
In addition to the bright and shiny art of Hixon and Longshore, there is a diamond-dusted portrait of Marilyn Monroe by Russell Young, a Starbucks cup covered in Swarovski crystals by Jonathan Stein and elegant portraits of Chanel bottles by Alberto Murillo.
“Pop art can be joyous. There is a cerebral and intellectual part of it, but at the end of the day it is about making people feel fantastic,” Hixon says from her home in New York.
Hixon painted her first YES painting for a fundraiser at her home. At the center is the word “YES” in sparkling white glitter; in the background, purple meets pink.
“I’m incredibly interested in the soft gradation of color where one fades into the other,” Hixon says. “Art has got to be beautiful and also I like it to make me smirk a little. I’m not following any rules.”
New Orleans-based Longshore returns to model Kate Moss and actress Audrey Hepburn time and time again in her work.
For her, painting Hepburn’s profile allows her to explore her femininity. She calls Moss “gorgeous” and “a sex goddess.”
“I love strong women. I love female role models,” Longshore says from New Orleans.
In Kate Under Covers, Moss peers out from underneath a bedazzled blanket, her mouth somewhere between a scowl and a pout. And in Audrey in Slipper Orchard Headdress, Hepburn wears a gorgeous, towering headdress with hummingbirds flying by.
“I love color so much,” says Longshore, who works in acrylic paint and glitter. “It lifts your mood and changes your spirit.”
Longshore also has a very rebellious side that is reflected in the furniture pieces and paintings found on her website.
“Nobody can define what is art and what isn’t art. Everything is art,” she says. “So much of what I paint is about American greed. When I painted Audrey, I was up at the top of a mountain roughing it, thinking about spring and hummingbirds.”
In the same room as Longshore’s wildly colorful paintings are sculptures by Los Angeles-based Allie Pohl.
Pohl used layers and layers and layers of glitter and automotive paint in white, teal, purple and red for her “Designer Ideal Woman” sculptures because of the “notion of never losing your sparkle.”
The sculptures are in the shape of the bottom half of a Barbie doll, blown up to meet Western societal ideals. Each sculpture is installed on a mirrored pedestal so the viewer’s own legs complete the silhouette.
“It’s a commentary of what we’re asking and what we’re expecting of women,” says Pohl, who also creates stickers and jewelry in her Designer Ideal Woman shape.
“That shape has kind of become her trademark,” Johanson says.
Rob Wynne has a gorgeous poured and mirrored glass piece that proclaims Believing Is Seeing.
“His work is breathtaking and I would say that’s the most gorgeous in the show,” Johanson says.
In the exhibit, Wynne also has a much more delicate piece featuring a small climbing lizard with his tongue sticking out made of tiny glass beads.
“You can see the huge range of Rob Wynne’s work. You see that huge piece and then you see a tiny, little beaded animal. It’s small, delicate and interesting to look at. I love it,” Johanson says.
Johanson called the bright and lighthearted Bling exhibition the perfect summer art exhibit.
“Go in, cool down and enjoy yourself and then walk the Avenue.”
Bling: Art That Shines is on display at The Cornell Museum, Delray Center for the Arts, 51 Swinton Ave., Delray Beach, through July 5. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5. Call 243-7922 or visit delraycenterforthearts.org for more information.