Adam Handler

category: Visual,

Contact & Info


Artist Statement

Mid-twentieth century America, Vietnam, the British Invasion, Andy Warhol's simplistic commercial Campbell\'s soup cans have long enticed me.  To me, this era always depicted character and artistic freedom, a liberation from "the man."  Though  I was born in the 1980's, I have often speculated how the feelings and emotions that conflicted the youth then continue to remain relevant today. That era in particular spurred my interests to create paintings that captured the rebellious energy of the time, while transforming the imagery into contemporary works that relate to my generation. Contemporary politics and economics, social interactions,  views on love, life, and death are all compressed into my mixed media works.  My intention is to use timeless and iconic imagery and reintroduce it to my generation in a contemporary fashion.  In many of the pieces, you will notice small sayings or sexual innuendos, mostly taken from advertisements from the 1950\'s. This direct and liberating form of expression was inspired by the Dada poets and artists that would meet at Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich Switzerland. For me, using written words alongside commercial imagery, and contrasting it with rapid brushstrokes and intense color, create a modern scene that allows for the viewer to create their own personal interpretive narrative. So many people ask me what kind of painter are you. What is your style? Typically, this will inspire me to give a 15minute spiel on what I create. In America and throughout the rest of world, people love to categorize artists and seemingly everything else. Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism; together as one?  In order to combine these two monumental modern art movements, I personally felt that their must be two defining factors; the representation or usage of commercial products and imagery, combined with thick, expressive and violent brushstrokes of color. The canvas\'s must bare the raw freedom and uninhibited mind set of Abstract Expressionism yet contain the commercial imagery that shaped  the Pop art movement. As I have a great deal of respect for many of the past artists, you will often find traces of past movements incorporated into my works. Some paintings utilize violently splattered  and dripping paint, which , in many ways, is inspired by the rhythmic abstractions of Jackson Pollock. In most of my works, you will notice bold black brushstrokes which are influenced by Franz Kline\'s giant abstractions and Robert Motherwell\'s prolific series, Elegies to the Spanish Republic. For me, the most influential inspiration is undoubtedly the late Robert Rauschenberg.  His use of bold color, expressive brushstrokes, experimentation with collage, silk screening, and inventiveness with mixed medias make him an artistic hero to me. With my work I strive for originality, but will never forget the influences that played part in creating these paintings. I hope to entice various generations with the subject matter, while exposing it in a way that has never been done before.

Educational Background

Summer 2005: Intensive Life Drawing in Italy alongside Professor Len Stokes 2003-2005: Intensive studies at Arts Students League 2005-2006: Apprenticeship in Craft design and paint design, Frame design and Wood-carving, alongside master wood-carver, Jorge Nieves, LIC, NY 2007- Studies in Printing Color Photography, with Deborah Mesa- Pelly BA in Art History/ with minor in Fine Arts from State University at Purchase, NY, 2008