Alloy Curatorial

I work for and towards these ‘Special Days’. They usually come when least expected so in the meantime, stay focused and productive.

On the evening of September 23, 2022, visitors to UCLA’s Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden will experience an unusual shift in atmosphere. International renowned cellist, will perform J.S. Bach’s six suites for solo cello inside a monolithic steel sculpture by , the T.E.U.C.L.A. (Torqued Ellipse).

Read more about this creative intersection in an article I wrote for UCLA.
Link in Bio

Artist: Miriam Vlaming
‘Rendezvous’ 2018
Egg Tempera on Canvas
Egg tempera was the weapon of choice in many of the medieval and renaissance paintings we revere today. More durable than oil paint and providing watercolour like qualities, the concoction is what it sounds like: egg yolk, pigment and water.
Though I have never used this medium myself, it already has the appeal of living in a methodological time capsule world. There is a thrill in using the same tools that belonged to ancient artists alive once more through modern hands. I love this kind of time travel, nostalgia for memories so far back they could never be yours. Like playing a piece by Bach on a harpsichord, communing with ghosts past as of if they could hear you.
Formally though, why use tempera other than to romanticize?
It is known to maintain a glowing quality that does not darken with age, resistant to light unlike oil paint. Additionally this glowing effect is supported by the fact that it paints with more transparency by holding less pigment. Notorious for drying very quickly, this creates a requirement for a series of layers or glazing in order to build up any depth of saturation which, if painted on a white background, becomes easily reflected by the sheen of the medium and bounces back with illuminating effect.
Historically, egg tempera has been used as far back as in Ancient Egypt in 1st century BC and everywhere in between until now.
Fascinated and intrigued… 🤓🤔🤩