Kwadrilaterals

Studio Visit: Gregory Santos

2012-02-08T19:09:00.000-05:00

Mr. Gregory Santos is all about The Big Apple

When I met the printmaker Gregory Santos we were both in graduate school at New York University in 2003, his studio was right across the hall from mine. He is a fantastic human being with a frighteningly vast amount of knowledge in printmaking, as well as the art of bookbinding. He lives in Manhattan, works at Columbia University I recently visited him at his newly obtained studio.

Gregory Santos's studio space in the heart of Spanish Harlem

These prints are a welcome cure my color addiction

In his current body of work titled Movements, he reduces the complexity of human interactions to minimal, vibrant forms creating a narrative account of the natural situations that occur between us in our relationships. His work is beginning to undergo a transition from paper mediums to wood panels.

This is one of my favorites

Gregory patiently explaining the many layers involved in his printmaking process

In the near future he plans on exploring substantially larger scale formats for this series. I cannot wait to see how he utilizes bigger spaces and I am excited to see how is work will continue to evolve. Click here to view more of his work.

The Billboard Art Project-Corona, CA

2011-12-20T19:04:00.000-05:00

XXIII on Interstate 15 South in Corona, California 12/2/2011

The Billboard Art Project is a non-profit 5013(c)(3) organization dedicated to allocating time on digital billboards in cities across the United States and utilizing them to showcase the work of visual artists. Each city where the Billboard Art Project occurs exhibits artwork that is mutually exclusive from other cities. This project is a rare and incredible opportunity for artists to reach the eyes of people that only major corporations and shady lawyers have access to on a regular basis. This project is made possible through donations. To make a tax exempt donation to the Billboard Art Project click here.

Studio Visit: Gerri Davis

2011-12-17T01:40:00.000-05:00

Gerri Davis is an artist that I met while we were both showcasing our paintings at a group exhibition at Lyons Weir Gallery in Chelsea back in 2009. She is an excellent person, a dangerous painter to watch out for, and she just got a new studio in Manhattan which I visited this past weekend.

Oh!!...There she is!

She lives and works in NYC. Her work is extremely intriguing and she paints with incredible skill in watercolors, oils, and inks, she exhibits all over New York City, has curated exhibitions, designs her own clothes, look at this piece!

This oil painting is absolutely enormous, 96 x 92 inches.

This is a work in progress of Ryan and Trevor Oakes. Two more mind-bogglingly incredible people that I met through Gerri who I will dedicate a post to hopefully sometime in the spring after they complete their flawlessly executed plans for art world domination.

Uh Oh! Wait! There she is AGAIN!

Gerri Davis's jaw dropping studio space!

Her next exhibition in January at Bridge Gallery on 98 Orchard Street between Broome and Delancey the first week of February through March 15th. I'll be at this show, come have some wine and cheese with me and I'll introduce you. It'll be fun. If you want to see more of Gerri's work visit her here and keep her on your radar.

The New Website

2011-12-17T01:31:00.000-05:00

I have acquired a new website specifically to showcase the non-objective paintings and sculptures of the Kwadrilaterals series. I bid you a warm welcome to KwadwoAdae.com

This Kwadrilaterals site will now be a blog where I can get the chance to showcase my work more in depth, including other artists via studio visits, art happenings, gallery openings, my personal fashion trends, and keep you informed and posted of events of the art world through my eyes.

You can also find me on facebook, twitter, and linkedin where you may take the opportunity to view different works that I create.

Cheers.

Number XXXVI

2011-05-19T16:35:00.000-04:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2011

The Vermont Studio Center Residency

2011-05-14T14:30:00.000-04:00

From May 8th to June 3rd I will be a resident at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont. I am one of approximately 60 artists here, painters, sculptors, ceramicists, photographers, and writers. I have already met some fantastic and amazing people from all over the world.

This is the Corner House, these are my living quarters. The two windows all the way left on the second floor are my bedroom windows. There's a kitchen, bathroom, and a living room. My floor mates, Justin and Dan, are from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Boise, Idaho respectively.

These are the front and side views of the Wolf Kahn Building. It is diagonally across the street from the Corner House and this is the building my painting studio is in. I already love this building.

This is my studio, it's spacious with high ceilings, and great natural lighting. I've been painting every day, for hours on end, breaking for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The black and yellow painting on the left is going to be Number XXXVI.

Turquoise hues of shapes in linear perspective. I am in love with these colors right now. I sit in the studio and the hours just fly by. What would take me weeks to accomplish at home takes half a day here, the Vermont Studio Center allows you to nurture your discipline with care and respect for you as an artist and a human being. For me this place is paradise.

We had a bonfire on the second chilly night. Warm and gorgeous. There were 15 to 20 of us around the fire. We're all still getting to know each other, remembering names, artistic disciplines and places of origin. It's been really great to meet poets and writers.

The cuisine here has been absolutely fantastic. I've been eating salads like these during lunch and dinner. The chef is amazing and you can taste love for his culinary arts in the food every day.

I've been taking the time to visit the other artists and writers at their studios. The other residents here are talented, beautiful, individuals doing truly incredible things. I realize how lucky I am to be here and I'm extremely grateful to be among them. It's great to meet writers, I've been inviting them to my studio in return for printed excerpts of their short stories or poetry.

This is the Johnson Elementary School which is a quick walk from my living quarters. I am volunteering there weekly as an assistant in the art classes for the second graders. I miss my Adae Fine Art Academy students a great deal, so being in the classroom is helping me fill the void a little bit.

I also volunteered for gardening and groundskeeping duty on the grounds of the Vermont Studio Center. I uprooted dandelions and weeds on one of the sunniest mornings here for three hours. Hands in the earth, finding earthworms, spiders, grubs of all kinds and simply enjoying the biodiversity. A short walk away from the studios reveals some rolling green landscapes, it's really beautiful here.

I finished XXXVI last night and all I need is a sunny day to shoot it, so check back soon.

Number XXXV

2011-02-20T19:45:00.003-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2011

Number XXXIV

2010-09-09T15:41:00.005-04:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2010

Vermont Studio Center Residency

2010-07-26T09:15:00.003-04:00

I have been awarded the Civil Society Institute Fellowship to participate in a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont. It is a four week long intensive program, which includes, room, board, and 24-hour access to a studio. The residency begins in May of 2011.

I am truly grateful for this award, and excited to document this experience on this blog.

Photos from the Art of the Times Gala

2010-05-25T23:07:00.006-04:00

The Art of the Times show in Queens in the Spring was an excellent experience. When you are, and have always been, a painter and what you create is a sculpture. You are naturally left asking yourself many different questions. When you work out the all the answers you quickly realize their irrelevance.

71 inches in three-dimensions has proven to me that the relevant issue at hand is space.

Art of the Times Gala

2010-03-29T22:07:00.003-04:00

I will be one of 14 artists exhibiting at the Art of the Times Gala at the Times Building in Ridgewood, Queens on Saturday evening, April 10th from 5:00 to 8:00. The exhibition will be up until April 24th, I will be exhibiting six paintings in the Cube Route.

Number XXXIII

2010-03-10T20:06:00.002-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2010

Paintings As Kinetic Sculptures

2010-01-07T08:01:00.000-05:00

An interview with Elizabeth Antle of Connecticut Creative

The Cube Route

2009-11-19T14:46:00.001-05:00

Six Non Objective Oil Paintings, Wood, Chains, 58 x 58 x 40 inches, 2009

Kwadrilaterals: The Cube Route

2009-11-16T23:21:00.000-05:00

The Cube Route is a kinetic sculpture created out of non-objective paintings. When complete, it will hold six paintings and be suspended from the ceiling by one of the vertices of the cube. The dimensions are 58 x 58 x 40 inches and the sculpture weighs approximately 120 lbs. Numerous conceptual blueprints were created; a tiny prototype looked encouraging; but it was my dear friend Mr. Jeffrey Chandler and his love of woodworking that vaulted this project off the pages and into my studio. More photos to come...

Dispersion

2009-09-30T23:58:00.000-04:00

I will be participating in the juried exhibition entitled Dispersion curated by Dina Deitsch, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, from the DeCordova Museum in Massachusetts. The exhibition begins September 17th and ends October 31st.

The opening reception is on October 2nd from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
Artspace is located at 50 Orange Street in New Haven.
www.artspacenh.org

Number XXXII

2009-09-20T12:11:00.000-04:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2009

The Players' Lounge

2009-08-18T04:10:00.001-04:00

I will be exhibiting in the Players' Lounge of the Pilot Pen International Tennis Tournament at Yale University. The exhibition is curated by Joy Pepe, Art Historian and Professor of Emeritus at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. The show begins August 19th and ends August 29th.

Number XXXI

2009-07-28T19:41:00.001-04:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2009

Lyons Wier Gallery

2009-06-14T21:44:00.001-04:00

I will be one of the artists participating in the Art Bazaar at Lyons Wier Gallery in Chelsea at West 20th and 7th Avenue in Manhattan. First and foremost as an exhibition and secondly as an opportunity to network with other artists and speak to potential collectors. The following is some video footage from the first weekend:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEGUv7ugMPs

I will be exhibiting paintings there on the following dates:

July 4th and 5th
July 11th and 12th
July 18th and 19th
August 1st and 2nd
August 15th and 16th

On these dates I will be present from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm on Saturday and Noon to 8:00 pm on Sunday.

Artspace New Haven Solo Exhibition

2009-03-19T15:47:00.000-04:00

Kwadrilaterals Iteration I, Oil on Canvas, 72 x 72 inches

Kwaterlaterals Iteration II, Oil on Canvas, 72 x 72 inches

"Kwadwo Adae's eye candy canvases—the four-panel "Kwadrilateral Iterations I" and "Kwadrilateral Iterations II"—approach oil paint not just as a painting medium but also as a sculptural medium. Adae covers the base of his canvas with brash color designs; these are really eye-popping works. With some—"XXIV," "XXIII," "XVII"—he uses broad brush strokes that circle, swerve and roll. The bristles create grooves like a vinyl record. Other panels are notable for more precise design attention. In "XXIX," pink forms evoke a kind of sci-fi architecture. Adae adorns this base with tufts and dots and worms of paint that add three-dimensional character. They suggest Hershey's kisses, paisleys, centipedes, dragons, microscopic life forms, or miniature mountainous landscapes. Adae takes an evident joy in both the color and the materiality of the paint and his pleasure is contagious."
-Hank Hoffman

Number XXX

2009-02-02T13:51:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2009

Solo Exhibition at Artspace New Haven

2009-01-25T11:56:00.000-05:00

I will be exhibiting 8 of these pieces in a painting installation at Artspace which is located at 50 Orange Street in New Haven, Connecticut. The opening reception is on Thursday, February 19th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The exhibition will be up for six weeks ending March 28th.

See the details at http://www.artspacenh.org

Number XXIX

2008-12-20T00:07:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2008

Number XXVIII

2008-10-15T11:30:00.000-04:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2008

Number XXVII

2008-09-08T23:06:00.000-04:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2008

Number XXVI

2008-06-30T14:58:00.000-04:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2008

Number XXV

2008-05-01T10:50:00.000-04:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2008

Number XXIV

2008-04-02T15:33:00.001-04:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2008

Number XXIII

2008-01-10T23:07:00.000-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2008

Number XXII

2008-01-10T22:58:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2008

Number XXI

2008-01-10T22:42:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2008

Number XX

2008-01-10T22:31:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2007

Number XVIII

2008-01-04T00:04:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2006

Number XVII

2008-01-03T23:59:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2006

Number XVI

2008-01-03T23:50:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2006

Number XV

2008-01-03T23:41:00.000-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2005

Number XIV

2008-01-03T20:16:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2005

Number XIII

2008-01-03T20:09:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2005

Number XII

2008-01-03T20:04:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2005

Number XI

2008-01-03T19:58:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2005

Number X

2008-01-03T19:46:00.000-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2005

Number IX

2008-01-03T19:36:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2005

Number VII

2008-01-03T18:58:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2005

Number V

2008-01-03T18:44:00.000-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2005

Number IV

2008-01-03T18:40:00.000-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2005

Number III

2008-01-03T15:18:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2004

Number II

2008-01-03T15:09:00.001-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2004

Number I

2008-01-03T15:03:00.000-05:00

oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2004.