Notes From The City: An Abundant Life

In my blog post two weeks ago, I wrote about the Artist and Chef Andre Kaulesar, and how I had met him through the Artist Anthony Boone, the Founder of Boone Art Life. As I write this now, I'm thinking about how I met Anthony Boone, and in a strange way, though I know I met him only a few months ago, it seems like I've known him forever. And though that may seem strange to some people, in a way it makes sense, because Anthony Boone, and his artwork, are at the same time both timeless and moving through time, visionary and revolutionary and cosmic while still being very much rooted in tradition and history.

There is a sensitivity to Anthony's work that runs through and around, beyond and throughout the textures and colors and layers of paint. Intensely powerful, his paintings and sculptures are not aggressive or heavy. Though he is using mixed media at times, adding earth and leaves and fallen bits of the natural world including animal paw prints and even the stray butterfly into his canvases, the work itself has a lightness in feeling that brings us to a higher realm. His sculptures have a similar quality that combines a kind of weight with weightlessness - though they are in fact made many times of fallen pieces of iron and steel from the industrial beds of railroad tracks and even the smaller pieces have a solid weight to them, they are at once seemingly airborn and of a kind of structure that could be found floating in the cosmos. In Anthony's hands and with his eye shaping their colors they become objets d'art that could almost be lighter than air or parts of a thought or breath; suspended on a wall or resting on a table they seem as if they could lift themselves off or be moved with a gust of wind or a breeze.

It is that lightness that moves throughout his work that also gives it depth. Like water in the deep of the ocean with ripples of color and light moving ever darker into swirling whirlpools and resurfacing and changing, his paintings seem effervescent and in constant motion, taking on different qualities in different light and in different spaces, creating enigmatic and calming images that are both meditative and energizing at the same time. The line of fashion and street wear he has created shares not only his circle motif and logo as a throughline, but also the colorful designs and energy of his creative vision. The flowing patterns and whirlpools and whirlwinds that grace his canvases have also been used by Fashion Designer Marco Hall to create fabric for his boutique couture clothing.

Anthony is himself very deep and methodical while still retaining the ability to move and change and recreate and inspire. He told me a story about a time when he had stopped painting because of some experiences that made him question how he wanted to move forward with his art. When the artist Mark Finne called him up one day after he had not painted in two years and asked him if he wanted to collaborate on a project, he said yes, and when Mark said he was on his way over and showed up at his door, Anthony went out shopping with Mark at the art store and started painting again. It's a testament to Mark and his sensitivity that he made that call, and a testament to the creative force within Anthony that answered it.

As I wrote about Andre Kaulesar in my blog post two weeks ago, the event that we all collaborated on together with the Partners at the Antique Loft would not have been possible without the driving force of the additional energy, expertise and professionalism that Anthony brought to the project. Taking painstaking time to hang the show, promote it and invite photographers and spoken word artists and musicians, navigating the tight schedule of loading in and loading out while juggling his every day responsibilities, because of his contributions to the evening and his care in hanging the pieces and thoughtful planning work before, during and after, with his additional efforts in combination with the collaborative efforts of everyone involved, the already gorgeous room took on an extra special and beautiful glow and the event was a success that is still being applauded and remembered as a highlight of the season.

There's an interesting quality about Anthony that makes him very special as an artist and something that enhances his own presence as a person. Although he is very particular about how and where his work is hung and what shows and spaces and artists he is involved with, once he has decided that he wants to do something, he is very open to suggestions and collaborations and is not rigid in the flow of changing ideas. His is a perfection of vision and craft that is open to collaboration and change, and though he will take the necessary time to consider how best to move forward, he will always be open to ideas that he feels will make a project stronger. He is also committed to not only excellence, but to following through on promises he has made, considering others in the mix of the projects he plans and works on. His is a mind that is open and caring, wanting the best and not settling for less for himself or for anyone he works with. His art is created from a very powerful emotional place, with a solid foundation in the beauty that can overcome darkness and chaos. Opening a space in his world to others, to artists he collaborates with and audiences he brings new work and experiences to, the Artist Anthony E. Boone makes the possibility of a new world come into focus, one where we are invited to feel a sense of connection and to walk on a higher ground in a place where warmth and love surround us with light.

The Artist Anthony E. Boone
At The Opening Of A Group Show
At Prime Gallery
351 Palisade Avenue
Jersey City Heights, New Jersey
www.PrimeRealEstateGroup.com
https://www.booneartlife.org/

At The Art Event At The Antique Loft
33-41 Newark Street
Hoboken, New Jersey
https://www.antiquebarbakery.com/the-loft-hoboken-top-event-spot/

With Friends
Including Actress And Writer Tiffany Barrett
And Rashad Wright, Poet Laureate Of Jersey City
Following Two Photos Courtesy of Anthony Boone
Photo Credit Jermaine D. Clarke