Welcome to Visual Language...

Through interviews and studio visits, this platform will exhibit discussions, commentary, and imagery of contemporary artists who are making contributions to expand the language and cultural significance of painting and other forms of visual art.

We will attempt to explore the diverse narratives of contemporary painting and object creation by showcasing the compelling voices adding to the genre. Whether you are an art enthusiast, a collector, or simply seeking inspiration, our site serves as a window into the diverse and significant visual languages of contemporary culture.

Artist Interviews and Essays

The Small and Very Large Paintings of Chris Nau

NOTE: To view more details of the works displayed above please visit https://www.chrisnau.com/ The Brooklyn, NY-based painter, Chris Nau creates monolithic imagery while using mid-scale canvases. With consistent clarity, Nau can render structural forms while implementing non-structural and almost accidental […]

David James Strain – Contemporary Houston Artist

NOTE: To view more details of the works displayed above please visit https://studiostrain.com/index.html David Strain’s canvases are executed through a well-honed sense of pictorial composition and subtle color palettes.  The viewer’s eye is kept moving around the canvas through a […]

Ruby R. Scott – Contemporary Houston Artist

Ruby R. Scott, specializes in large acrylic paintings that seem to fluctuate between a suggestive narrative and a nuanced visual atmosphere. Scott’s compositions can retain one’s attention because of the suggestive qualities that are slowly provided to the viewer. A […]

Decorations are not Paintings

Why do I see so many visual artists creating decorations and illustrations and calling them paintings? It seems that the majority of contemporary painters are ignoring, or have no knowledge of, the last 50 years of contemporary picture-making. This guy […]

The Emperor Has No Clothes!

I don’t get Stanley Whitney’s painting. Does the emperor have no clothes? I see nothing in this work….not even a good bed sheet or table placemat for your summer cottage in the Hamptons. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/03/shapes-and-colors So if you reference your painting […]

Ted Kurland – Contemporary Houston Artist

The recent works from Ted Kurland are a good example of why painting is unlike any other medium.   Mr. Kuralnds’s pictorial compositions not only provide vivid and mysterious abstract shapes but continually allow a viewer to discover a multitude […]

John Guzman

The Blaffer Art Museum is presenting the first solo museum exhibition of work by artist John Guzman (b. 1984). Flesh and Bone focuses on works produced in the artist’s hometown of San Antonio and the Texas debut of paintings completed […]

Queen Amina

 A self-taught artist, Queen Amina creates visceral works that maintain a compositional buoyancy and an innate control of pictorial space. Many of her compositions are in black and white on various surfaces but overall Queen Amaina exhibits an acute mastery […]

Toby Rosser

Toby Rosser at “Visual Language & Catharsis” EXCERPT FROM THE CATALOG ESSAY WRITTEN BY PHOEBE HOBAN Visit Toby Rosser’s web site: tobyrosserstudio.com Toby Rosser’s work emanates sheer velocity. The shapes and forms he conjures up on canvas spin on their own […]

Stephen Paul Connor

Visit Steve Paul Connor’s web site: stephenpaulconnor.com Catalog Essay by Phoebe Hoban Stephen Paul Connor teaches game design at a community college in Austin, Texas, instructing his classes in the creation of art for computer games. Connor’s practice in his studio […]

All artists are agents of culture. No matter how insignificant any artist’s effort and contribution may seem.

The artist’s will to invoke an object, a picture, a song, or a poem, into existence is what will convince future civilizations of our desire to breathe amidst the unrelenting chaos of our lives.

---Toby Rosser