First weekend June 2023 – Open Studios Gaucín

A wonderful art and village walk

We had planned to be up in Gaucín to visit all 22 artists in one day – but life jumped into the way. So time was short. The decision is taken: next weekend we will be in Gaucín again. From 2nd to 4th of June the beautiful Open Studios of Gaucín will receive art lovers between 11 am and 6 pm. Stay tuned.

The Open Studios can look back on a tradition of more than 20 years. Gaucín, an artist village, attracts a lot of visitors and true art lovers from near and far. It’s about 10 years that I came the first time. Since then the Open Studios Gaucín are one of my greatest art delights in Andalucía. I am always looking forward to these set weekends – end of May and beginning of June – and can’t wait to drive up through the wonderful landscape and into the enchanting village.

On our visit on Friday we followed the artist map and started in the Huerta – A rugged, industrial-style building houses a collective of diverse artists. This place and its artists hold great significance to me, as I had the privilege of being an invited artist and exhibiting my work here several years ago.

The walk

Nr.1 of the map leads you to the artist Sian Faber and her husband Guy – an Australian/ New Zeeland couple – who regularly spend some time in Gaucín. Sian has specialist on “Short Cuts” , as she calls her works, three dimensional permanent installations/paintings that reflect the light and her experiences. This year she bedded some of her creations into sand from the Andalusian cost and presents the first time her three dimensional objects.

In studio No. 2 we meet Christine Spencer-Green in her freshly painted spacious studio. A great number of women portraits decorate her walls. Many of them in her – as I feel – typically style, which leaves a lot of hints and invites you to dream a little further. Luckily, I also discover two of her cat portraits that immediately appeal to me as a self-confessed cat lover. Maybe one of them will come to my house? Obviously now a dog plays a greater role in her life.

Her neighbour, Chris Klees in No. 3 is mainly focused on ceramics. You find a large kiln in his studio and a collection of mysterious ingredients for the creations. We got some interesting explanation – sorry, not able to repeat here – for some delicious pieces of his collection. I very much liked a flat porcelain work with beautifully shimmering colours hanging on the wall, pressed flat in a kind of big pasta machine. Another figure done in a Japanese technique caught my special attention. My husband was more fascinated by a practical object – a vase that allows at the same time to put in a real bouquet of flowers and various individual flowers on their stem.

Opposite we find Silvia Franco in Studio No. 4. I remember her assembly of “magic sticks”, carved wood sticks with an ethnic appeal. This years she presents a new surprise: many Japanese influenced collages. These collages seamlessly merge vintage Japanese pattern paper with a medley of materials discovered from various sources. They evoke a sense of nostalgia akin to the works of Braque and Picasso during the era of Synthetic Cubism, while also transporting me to the enchanting realm of the Far East. However, the photographs fail to capture the full essence of these cherished objects, as they are encased behind glass.

The walk down to the village centre brings us to the completely renovated Centro Cultural el Convento. This enormous very impressive building hosts 8 artists. We don’t manage to visits all of them. The gigantic entrance hall is overly impressive through its space and incredible heights. Four artists are exhibiting in this enormous hall. The hall is incredible huge, the artists an their work get a bit lost or at least look a bit lost.

We visit Ira Goldberg (No. 5), who presents a series of sea landscape and views from Gaucín to the sea, painted in a classical landscape style. Right at the entrance we find the colourful and very realistic fruity still life by Lesley Riddihough (No 5) . Of course my eye was especially attracted by 4 cats (and the dog outside).

Ira Goldberg….I call it : Journey to the sea (30 seconds)

Lesley Riddihought No.5

Up the stairs that overcome the enormous height of the hall (there is a lift as well) you find 4 invited guest artists. I particularly attracted by the works of two female artists, Eva – Lotta Axelsson (No 6) and Fernanda Carregado ( also No 6).

Eva Lotta’s works wins me easily by the vivid colours they present. Eva Lotta, a Swedish artist, has developed a series of the fisher boats she finds near her holiday home in Manilva. She managed beautifully a mixture of figurative details which dissolve in the abstract and or also appear. Thus she captures the atmospheric vibes of the coast and the sent of the fishing boats leaving room for the phantasies and memories of the viewer.

On the opposite side of the building we find Saint Pedro de Alcantara based Fernanda Carregado
( also No 6) an enthralling surprise awaits visitors. Fernanda has transformed the space into a captivating and poetic installation that engrosses our senses. The entire room is ingeniously utilized to capture our undivided attention. A series of striking black and white photos crafted by Bianca de Vilar Mikoljczak are flanking the impressive installation at the walls. All of Fernanda’s works are made of natural materials and accompanied in the installation by some found objects and materials from nature.

After departing from the awe-inspiring heights of the Convento, we find ourselves drawn to a mysteriously enchanting hidden abode—the studio of Jenny Collins (No 7), opening her studio doors the second time in Gaucín. I love the path that leads to her little treasure art island. We share the love for colourful abstracts. I was specially attracted in her studio by a rather realistic and “clean” sea landscape.

Just beyond the narrow passageway leading to Jennifer’s house, lies Jim Rattenbury’s (No 8)captivating studio. Initially concealed behind a curtain, the visitor has to dare to open the secret place. Behind the curtain unveils itself as a gateway to his enchanting realm of peculiar sculptures crafted from discarded items. I take immense pleasure in constantly stumbling upon novel artworks or rediscovering familiar pieces, all meticulously arranged in a stunning display. It feels akin to delving into a treasure trove, brimming with delightful surprises.

We are pretty tired by now and our energy and feet only allow a short visit at Catherine Hunters Studio (No 9) Again a contrast in theme and atmosphere: We are welcomed by a collection of friendly, rural and mostly cheerful ceramic figures for which the villagers may have stood, mentally or in reality? Not only interesting ceramic figures populate the studio, colourful guests also contribute to the overall impression.

We are happy that we made it this far and grateful for a wonderful afternoon, the drink and a seat to rest. Can`t wait to see more next week! Keep your fingers crossed for beautiful weather and stay tuned!

Find information on www.artgaucin.com!

Read more about former events of the Open Studios Gaucín!

Get information about Gerrit Oppelland-Hampel Art here.

The Studios are open in Gaucín! Part 2

Don’t miss it this weekend!
Walk with me on the second part!


Finally, after three years, doors of Gaucín’s studios are open again!

It’s a long tradition – on the last weekend in May and the first weekend in June 21 artists of Gaucín open the studio doors. This event attracts always a loyal and also a new audience coming as far as Málaga and Tarifa. I was very much missing it in the two years of the pandemic.

I visited the first weekend for a day – a beautiful and fulfilling day full of interesting art, lovely chats and laughter and a restful break at a small bar. There are 18 stations to visit and 21 artists exhibiting – I saw a lot, but not all though. So this is a description of my personal walk, not a full feature of all you can see. The first part of the walk I published at the 32st of May. So here you read about part two of the walk from studio to studio in Gaucín.
And not to forget:

Gaucín is not only a great place for art, a beautiful white village with views as far as Morocco on clears days but also a place of fantastic restaurants! Reserve your table!

Only this coming weekend left for visiting!

See here, what you can see the coming weekend!

The „Open Studio map“ numbers the exhibition places from 1 to 18. My description goes the other way round – at the end of my information (9 to1) you‘ll find many artists in the same building or rather near together. So if your feet are getting a bit tired, it helps to take advantage of this by changing direction. I missed some studios – as I spend a lot of time talking with the artist. So here a description of those, that I managed to visit.

Catherine Hunter

You find Catherine in the beautiful hotel “La Fructuosa by Jose”. On this walk you have the chance to get to know this hotel gem and the endearing characters which are decorating every room. This walk will lead you up to a roof terrace witch opens up to a tremendous view.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!


Jim Rattenbury

Like in the last walks, Jim installed his exhibition in the garage of a friend. That doesn’t sound exciting – but just in the contrary, it’s a fascinating and very atmospheric installation for his fantastic art works. Sculptures created from found and collected materials that develop into partly mystical or somehow ethnic figures, some like finds from a bygone world. I very much liked his painting too, that in another way leads us into a world of imaginative beings.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

Jenny Collins

Jenny is a newbie to the Open Studios Gaucín but not a newbie to the village of Gaucín, where she lives since more than 6 years. This is her first appearance in the Open Studios. I really enjoy to see some new artist and their works. Jenny has a history of being a Goldsmith and a photographer. After following a small, a bit hidden and somewhat enchanted path we find her small studio, where she presents her paintings which are characterised by kind of geometric structures.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

La Huerta

La Huerta is a building that now gives your feet a little rest. Five artist are showing their works in this somehow industrial building which gives an interesting back ground to the art works.

Lesley Riddihough

From early visits to Open Studious, I remember Lesley’s bright vibrant fruit paintings. This year, as a self-confessed cat lover, I especially enjoyed the feline portraits of two particularly beautiful feline personalities, painted in Lesley’s realistic, expressive style.

#Click onto the images to enlarge! (Photos by Art Gaucín)

Marta Bernad

Invited guest artist this year is Spanish painter Marta Bernard, Master’s in Advertising Creativity, Design and Communication and more, is actually living in Estepona. She shares her pleasure of this area through her paintings with us. Marta’s paintings show bright colours and the momentum in the works. She also demonstrated her swing to us with a little dance in front of her paintings.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

Chris Klees

Dutch artist Chris Klees was known to me as a photographer. This year he presents a rich work of ceramics, a new love (?), in any case an important one, as his precious works and the huge oven in his studio demonstrate.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

Christine Spencer-Green

British artist Christine fills her large studio with lovely portraits of women and cats. These painting very much speak to me as her style is something between realistic and blurred. I like these inaccuracies which do not tell the story to the last point. They give the viewer a lot of room for their own additions.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

Sian Faber

New Zealand artist Sian fills her studio, which has a smashing view as far as Africa, with many colourful wall sculptors. When I first got to know her in Gaucín she and her husband had shortly settled in Spain, coming from Australia. Then her exhibition room was filled with paintings on paper inspired by the floating movement of the sea. Since in Spain she is incorporating the mountainous landscape into wall sculptures of stone and glass, that reflect the hardness and eternity of the mountains. Her love for the floating forms you find in this sculptures, that appear different with changing light and as well in her Flamenco paintings, which she exhibits as well.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

Casa de la Juventud

Just opposite the Huerta, crossing the street, you find the Casa de la Juventud, a large, newly renewed hall of the administration of Gaucín. Three artists are exhibiting here in three different disciplines: Photography by Vivienne Whiffen, Landscape paintings by Ira Goldberg and Sculptures by Silvia Franco.

Links

Find information about all artists here:

Art Gaucín – organizer of the Open Studios

More about Gaucín

Read about former visits of the Open Studios Gaucín here.

Preparing for Gaucín


If you are interested to get information about art events in the Málaga/Marbella region, subscribe to this blog! You are very welcome!

See my art here:
Art G.Oppelland-Hampel

The Studios are open in Gaucín!

Don’t miss it this weekend!
Walk with me on the first part…..more to follow!


Finally, after three years, doors of Gaucín’s studios are open again!

It’s a long tradition – on the last weekend in May and the first weekend in June 21 artists of Gaucín open the studio doors. This event attracts always a loyal and also a new audience coming as far as Málaga and Tarifa. I was very much missing it in the two years of the pandemic.

The drive up to Gaucín, which leads through an extremely beautiful landscape is one of my yearly highlights concerning art events. Many years ago, being the first time in Andalucía , this event was a great discovery for me. Over the following years it became kind of my artistic homeland. As I love this place so much, I love to share this pleasure with you.

Gaucín

A great pleasure for me was the possibility to exhibit in Gaucín in 2018, being the invited guest artist. Driving up the hill feels somehow like getting in a kind of homeland.

Gaucín is not only a great place for art, a beautiful white village with views as far as Morocco on clears days but also a place of fantastic restaurants! Reserve your table!

Only one more weekend left for visiting!

See here, what you can see the coming weekend!

The „Open Studio map“ numbers the exhibition places from 1 to 18. My description goes the other way round – at the end of my information (1 to 11) you‘ll find many artists in the same building or rather near together. So if your feet are getting a bit tired, it helps to take advantage of this by changing direction. I missed some studios – as I spend a lot of time talking with the artist. So here a description of those, that I managed to visit.

Anna McGrane

A bit hidden in the landscape, before you cross the river, you find the beautiful ground of Anna. Walk down with her to her studio and enjoy the view to Gaucín and explore her studio and work that consists of very different disciplines like wood prints, ceramics and paintings.


Raffaela Zenoni

A newbie in Gaucín but not in the artworld. Entering the house is like entering a world of wonder. Behind the small entrance door of a house in Calle Larga is hidden a gem of a house and far views. All of this a great setting for the very strong and gigantic works by Swiss artist Raffaela. I was impressed by intensive colours, a very free style and also by the huge format of the paintings – can’t even imagine how to paint those!

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

Ana Pellón and Juan Antonio Sangil

The years before Juan Sangil and Ana Pellón exhibited in a smaller house in Calle Larga. I have never seen the workshop of Juan, but if you see his art which consists of burning together different materials and you see the very solid artworks that come out of it, you reckon that the workshop has to be something. This year the couple exhibits in it’s own home, nestled away a bit under the castle, containing the huge studio of Juan and the studio of Ana. I was impressed.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

I always assumed that Ana Pellón was a studied architect, as she has a love in her works for houses that in their straight and reduced lines and austerity, seem to be reminiscent of architectural drawings. But I learned it was my fantasy. I very much like this reduced style and was most attracted this time by a white monolith towering over flat land – probably because I was just back from my visit to Ayers Rock and it reminded me of it.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

J.Sánchez Zabaleta

This studio is also a little way to go, but really worth while. Sánchez is a painter who can look back at an impressive list of exhibitions in renown galleries. His very muted colour palette underlines the atmosphere for one of his preferred subjects, used utilitarian objects that show the traces of time. Some of my favourite images are the dogs that belong or belonged to the family. After a warm welcome from Maria, you can watch Sánchez at his meticulous work and ask him questions, how he is performing these wonders.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

Paddy Robinson

Always an adventure in different respect is the visit to Paddy`s studio, which occupies the 3rd floor of the narrow house and leads the visitor past many wonderful decorations and colours. Equally diverse are the artworks of Paddy, who, in addition to her very precise, fantastic works, also exhibits abstract paintings, to which I am more attracted. What to say, I am an abstract painter.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

Jenny Waterhouse

When you enter this small, somewhat hidden house, you step into meadows full of flowers and almost feel their scent. Jennifer is a classic landscape painter whose paintings are mostly created open air directly in nature in the surroundings of Gaucín. The paintings breathe a lightness and freshness that captivates me every time.

#Click onto the images to enlarge!

Now you need a break, time to have a lunch in one of the beautiful and very tasty restaurants of Gaucín!
Watch this place and read more tomorrow about part two of the walk!

Links

Find information about all artists here:

Art Gaucín – organizer of the Open Studios

More about Gaucín

Read about former visits of the Open Studios Gaucín here.

Preparing for Gaucín

See my art here:
Art G.Oppelland-Hampel

What to do in Marbella this weekend?

Landscape with mountain in a yellowish light from the Sahara sands colouring the air.
Not only grey skies, but yellow sky that was sent to us by Sahara sands. Nearly hiding the Concha and covering many parts of the Costa del Sol.

I need some entertainment and something to lift my spirit.

It feels like we are having at least the 6th week of grey skies and rain warnings – some of them are happening, not as frequent (and necessary) as announced. And now a yellow dusty Sahara heaven like I imagine Shanghai. What to do?

I need some entertainment and something to lift my spirit. What can it be? At least nothing to do outside.
I am an artist. If you feel like me – or much better – here I share 3 art events that you can visit this weekend or the coming week.

1) Friday 25th of March: ELARTSenal Inoxis (Alhaurin el Grande)

This will be the opening of a group exhibition in this most interesting culture centre in which you find art, vintage articles and Inoxis – Stainless steel sculptures, classic cars and much more. ElARTSENAL INOXIS also offers a broad music program. The “maker” of this art event, are a gallerist and a stainless steal professional. Be sure, it all will be a great surprise! You find some interesting information and photos here: Artsenal Inoxis – a very lively culture centre in Alhaurin el Grande.

2) Saturday, 26th of March: Nueva Andalucía

As I have never seen the artist workshop and gallery of the artist couple Enar Cruz and Lothar Cames. It is in Nueva Andalucía. This Saturday there is an opportunity to visit it! I am very curious to find out, what can be expected. I love studio visits, open doors. A great opportunity to get to know the artists and their work in a their own creative atmosphere. Always a very special atmosphere.

Enar Cruz Open Studio Poster

Sunday, 27.03.2022 “Mar poética” at
12 noon, Cortijo Miraflores de Marbella

This is a very local event. Normally I wouldn’t know about it. But an Spanish artist friend invited me. So I tried to find out what it is all about. As far as I deciphered we can expect:
27 artist de “Artistas mujeres de Marbella” will exhibit their paintings inspired by 27 poems that were made by the Generatción de 27. All this will be accompanied with music and singing of a local singer, Sito Morales. For me a great opportunity to get to know 27 local artists!
By the way, what I looked up in Wikipedia: The Generation 27 is a group of Spanish poets and writers, very famous in the 20th of last century till the beginning of the civil war 1936. The name is honouring the baroque poet Luis de Góngora, who’s whose 300th death anniversary was celebrated in 1927. Find the website here.

More to lift your spirit!

I am about to publish my series of giclée prints called (and showing) “My Rose Garden” and going to publish it in my Art News. If you leave your email, you’ll get a dose of inspiring art and art talk once a month into your mailbox. Have a cup of tea or coffee. Relax. Nourish your creative soul!
Watch the artist – me 🙂 – working in my studio, get a glimpse into the painting process. Have first excess to available new work and the occasional readers treat! Let me take you to interesting exhibitions – like now – and be up to date about what’s up.

The next edition of ART NEWS will have details about the “My Rose Garden” series, another free wallpaper download for desktop and a special readers treat.

A daily portion of beauty!

As I am about to publish my “Rose garden”, a giclée print edition, I want to share with you my admiration for these wonderful flowers.
I love this sentence by Rumi:
WE ARE SURROUNDED BY BEAUTY.
So true. And so important for us to be aware of it in order to keep up our good spirits.

Enjoy the “Dark roses in white vase” each time you look on your phone! To add to your nice moments in the day I want to share these roses as a FREE DOWNLOAD for your telephone screen!

Yes, send me the Art News!

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Find more of my art here:
Art G.Oppelland-Hampel

A very special and unique museum in Málaga

The planned visit gave us a bit of a logistic headache as we are late people and the museum would be closed between 14:00 and 16:00 hours. I didn’t trust unknown parking spaces so we decided to park in the wonderful garage of Calle Alemania, and headed along the river to a very special and unique museum , the Museum Jorge Rando. (Find the link at the end of this article )

We originally planned to visit the exhibition of a Chinese artist, but we were two days late. Not a disappointment though, as we had the chance to get a rather complex view on the life‘s work of Jorge Rando, the neo-expressive painter of Málaga, who has gained such a fame that he was awarded with his own museum by the city of Málaga.

Jorge Rando: A very special and unique museum in Málaga

I love this museum. It‘s in itself a beautiful place and a centre of cultural life. It surrounds you with this wonderful stillness that you find in churches and museums – when you are lucky. At our arrival a chorus was just practicing in the beautiful yard. What an inspiring add on while we were exploring an impressive new extension of the museum building.

Mariposas everywhere…..

The main exhibition was around the butterflies. “Mariposas” are a theme that Rando tackled over many years again and again. The whole basement was dedicated to them.

A stair upwards: The human life

Jorge Rando (Spain – 1941) is one of the greatest international exponents of Neo-expressionism.

„For more than fifty years, his works have been exploring dignity as a testimony of being; the necessary construction of individual identity; the denouncement of injustice and the call to individual action and responsibility as the only path to hope; the exploration of the essence of human condition through feelings such as love and suffering; the defence and visibility of the role of women as protagonists in
the fate of humanity or the call to restore a harmonious relationship between humanity and animals and nature.“ (Quote Jorge Rando Museum)

Motherhood, Africa, Spirituality and more…

The themes that Rando covered and are exhibited here are centre exactly around his love of the human being, like Motherhood, Spirituality, Human life and more. As an abstract expressionist painter myself, I am always especially attracted by his abstracts. (Click onto the paintings to enlarge.)

In another part of the museum I got some goose bumps. There is a gallery of faces, some from people living in the street, some from soldiers. With the Ukrainian drama in the back of the head, I was not comfortable being faced with the theme of soldiers. I have seen these exponents already before, but never it worried me so much.

Not only the entrance is free for you, also the pleasure of art books

An incredible great and rich room is the library. The entrance to the museum and the use of the library are free. You find a collection of art books that you can only dream of. Sit down and have a look. Come earlier than we did. Reserve an hour of leisure to sit down and enjoy. And then…..maybe a lunch at Plaza de la Mercedes ? Its only 10 walking minutes away.