L'Art Nouveau (Almond Blossoms)

I have long had a secret goal to pick up where Art Nouveau left off. I see Art Nouveau as the last Beautiful gasp of the Renaissance - before deconstructionist Modernism destroyed and reduced art to ugly nothingness in the 20th century.

My most recent work L'Art Nouveau (Almond Blossoms) is my first work in what I see as an Art Nouveau aesthetic -- which is very much in line with the tenets of my proprietary art movement Pulchrism. There exists an interesting contrast in the painting between the central figure of the almond blossom branch - which to me embodies a brand new aesthetic which I personally see as the first 21st century innovation taking the cue from Art Nouveau but in an entirely new - and I dare say Beautiful - direction. It contrasts with the blurry, simply-painted background which I interpret as a homage to original Art Nouveau style in that it is loose and soft and dissipated and perhaps flowing. This background is where I allowed the painting to lack structure - not necessarily for the sake of demonstrating intellectual prowess in the form of self-aware abstraction -- as was the goal of much Modern art -- but it was simply an attempt to create a beautiful background.

I realize that all this makes L'Art Nouveau (Apple Blossoms) something of a conceptual painting, but I'm okay with that. My strong roots in late 20th and early 21st century conceptualism have informed my entire oeuvre -- including my current foray into illusionist figurativism or realism -- and I believe that extricating conceptualism from my work may void it of some of its meaning. Rather, I seek to make Beauty my prime concept - Pulchrism.