Hugo Crosthwaite

Artists

• Wim Botha
• Bob Cnoops

• Hugo Crosthwaite (Mexico)

• James de Villiers
• Sasha Fabris
• Gordon Froud
• Rookeya Gardee
• David Hlynsky (Canada)
• Ashley Johnson
• Nkosinathi Khanyile
• Ania Krajewski
• Michael Matthews
• Nhlanhla Mbatha
• Rankadi Mosako
• Margi Scharff (USA)
• Diane Victor

DASART shows

An Introduction to Dasart

Transmigrations - the show

Transmigrations Synopsis

Fokofo

Dasart Archives

My work presents an aesthetic and technique which relates to the stressed drama and turbulent emotions of the Romanticism of the mid nineteenth century, but also attempts to explore the complexities of expression, as well as the multifaceted possibilities of seeing, which modern abstraction permits. It is an attempt at creating a personal vision, where the spontaneity and beauty of draftsmanship, which traces a naturalistic vision, mixes with historical, mythological and abstract concepts that give rise to contrast, and in doing so, challenge the subjectivity of an art which is purely conceptual.

My personal objective is that of creating a work that is beautiful. Not necessarily a beauty that adheres to the strict Aristotelian parameters of aesthetics, but as an authentic personal attempt at expressing that which a mind considers beautiful after being victimized by the constant barrage of imagery in advertising and mass produced media entertainment.

My art is influenced by the moralizing, narrative attempt of historical art movements such as the Pre-Rafaelites and Neoclassicism. I dedicate myself to executing a technique which is minute in detail. The truth in the depiction of the everyday and the ordinary, maintains a delicate balance with the abstract of the subconscious and the romantic and often heroic aspects of that which is libidinous.

There is an absence of color in my work, which serves the purpose of keeping a distance between the spectator and the struggle that takes place in a particular art piece. My artwork has the distinct purpose of providing an objective documentation of events where the spectator's participation or involvement is strictly forbidden. It presents lessons we don't take to heart completely for the sole reason that they seem so far away from us, similar to a fairy tale which shapes our behavior by teaching us through fear. The art viewer is confronted with themes of conflict and violence, of religious fervor and ethereal visions, but there is no active participation in them. The flat two-dimensional format of a painting, the trompe-l'oeil illusionism of a classical draftsmanship. These elements no longer convince the modern viewer of the events that the artwork presents, and thus contributes to a culture that caters to the needs of the "great spectator" whose real interests lie only in watching without real involvement, in judging without comprehending.

Hugo Crosthwaite
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