Sam Weber's work lives in this soft-lensed world that makes you just long to crawl inside. Mixing his talented realism with surreal situations and landscapes, his work is in the same vein as the new blood in illustration (James Jean, et al.) that are turning illustration on it's head with graphic novel sensibility and a sense of the fantastic.
I am totally smitten with the stunning collages of Tony Fitzpatrick. A beautiful mixture of surreal illustration and vintage collage, the resulting work feels nostalgic, yet utterly new and strange all at once. The typographic pieces are ubiquitous in their messaging and delightful in their form. I would very much like one for my very own!
Feminine and sensual, Colette Calascione's artwork implements new interpretations on classical painting styles to depict her surreal tableaus. Her use of symbolic items in her compositions is masterfully creative: in this world, a cigar is never a cigar, and a mask, a bird, a gesture are laden with impactful meaning. Both lovely to gaze upon and fascinating to consider, Calascione's paintings are an invitation into her dreams, pure and simple.
Sanna Annukka is one of my favorite illustrators. Her iconographic imagery is beautiful and creative, with sky-high design sensibility. Tapping into elements of folklore and fairy tales, Sanna Annukka has really carved out a unique, patented style that is all her own, and each new piece as stunning and marvelous as the last.
I love to paint. Unfortunately, I really don't get much time to do it anymore. However, sometimes I see artwork that is so beautiful, and so completely in line with the things I try to achieve in my own artwork, that it takes a physical force of will not to drop everything and grab my paintbrush.
Carles Gomila's work is a stunning mixture of old and new: present day symbolism, mixes with Renaissance-esque painting styles and classic female forms.
To see more of Gomila's stunning work, click here.
If I had to (or could) pick one photographer to shoot me - you know, for when they write that magazine article about me - I think I would choose Lauren Dukoff.
Transient, colorful, reminiscent of a bygone era, and vibrating with a sense of magical realism, Dukoff has gained great renown for her portraiture of music's brightest: most notably, her close work with folk artist Devendra Banhart. But I think even more than the portrait itself, it is the documentary perspective she takes in all her photographs that is so inspiring. Even in the photography of individuals, there is motion, setting, a sense of drama; but a drama anchored in life's smaller simplicities: walking in grass, sitting on a bed, falling asleep in a tour bus.
Simply put: I could stare at her photography for hours. It is beautiful and exposed, yet carries absolutely no sense pretense. They are warm, tactile moments, that seem to hold within them that elegant simplicity that is so craved, yet so fickle.
Dukoff's first compilation of work, "Families" will be coming out shortly, through Chronicle Books. I know what will be on my coffee table this summer.
Brooklynite Erika Somogyi has completely captivated me with her work. Building organic patterns in a kaleidoscope of supernatural, vibrating neon colors, Erica's work explores the unreal in the natural, or to me, the surreal human heart in the midst of the great wilderness of the world.
Working primarily in watercolor and gouache, Erika's pieces have a soft, watery atmosphere about them, that translates into a mystic haze or aura in the work itself. The amount of careful detail in her pieces is delightful and impressive - often figures and shapes are hidden until close scrutiny or a few steps back. The result are pieces that are as evocative in their details as their mood. I would surely keep this on my list of artists to acquire after I make that mint I am so desperately waiting for, but in the meantime, I will be a constant visitor to her digital wonderland...
I will admit it: I love ponies. A few years ago, at my little cousin's cowboy themed birthday party, I had to physically restrain myself from getting in line for a pony ride (not only because the liklihood that I would crush the adorable little fellows back, but the pony-wrangler was quite the stud muffin ;). But yes, I love ponies, as well as things from my childhood. Which is why I could be no more delighted than I am about The My Little Pony Project.
The idea: famed artists and designers from across the globe project their own spin on pre-created fabricated large models of classic toy. Sound familiar? But here's the surprise: this is not the newest brainchild of Paul Budnitz, but sponsored by none other than the original creator of My Little Pony toys, that behemoth of the toy industry, Hasbro. That's awesome on so many levels, I can't even count that high.
I have to say, I am impressed. I would never have given Hasbro the street cred to put on such a great exhibition, particularly with the all-star underground artist lineup they have gathered to create the masterpieces of equestrian excellence. Toki Doki, Junko Mizune, and Jim Houser are just some of artists participating, as well as a celebrity lineup that includes John Stamos, Leanne Rimes and Kimora.
With the most creepiest of holidays nigh a week away, I feel it is my duty to get us all in the right proper mood. I've been saving this artist just for this season.
Sarah Wilmer is a New-York based photographer with the eye for the beautiful, strange spooky and surreal. Her work seems to exist in this separate reality, containing a somewhat gothic-meets-seventies vibe that I find all too appealing.
I find some her most interesting work is her band photography work. Wilmer chooses to shoot bands in unique environments, that border on disturbing and a rarefied environments such as underwater, floating in the air, or performing cabalistic passes in strange environs.
In all her work, there is a mystical, fantastic element that is both breathtaking and unsettling. They are works that move you far with simple gestures, that question that space between the real and strange, lingering somewhere in between that shows the viewer just how that place is but a heartbeat, a gesture, away.
Yeondoo Jung is a Korean artist with as sharply a honed sense of whimsy and surrealism as you can find. Her ability to play with landscapes and environments ranges from the delightful to awe-inspiring to behold. Whether making us consider alternative housing or mystical ice-skating, here work always carries with it a full dose of surprise and wonder.
One of her projects that I find utterly inspiring is "Wonderland," in which Jung realized the drawings of young children. The results are simply beyond this world.
There is something so tactile and wonderful about the art form of collage. It's equal parts creativity and scavenger hunt - about seeing the potential in the images around you. Yambushi's collages are a perfect example of how exciting the results can be. Utilizing clippings from vintage magazines, comic books and movie posters, Yambushi's pieces resemble cultural mandalas, pieces of cosmic importance that are rife with iconic imagery from our past.
Ann Carrington: Turning the Everyday into the Extraordinary
A spare button, a coconut husk, an old shoe. Everyday detritus, that moves around us like an invisible ocean: the neglected remainders of our lives.
Along comes Ann Carrington, an English sculptor with a sublime gift for discovering the potential among these common objects. Collecting them in massive amounts, she repurposes them into crowns, horses, crocodiles. And along the way, infuses the world with a bit of magic.
I am totally in love with the work of BLU right now. Blu is an Italian artist, who works mostly in murals and urban landscapes. His work is characterized by larger than life figures that tease the eye with perspective and size. The things he can do with white paint is amazing. All Photos Property of BLU
This short film by Blu is amazing. An animation painted on public walls in Buenos Aires and in Baden, BLU's work surpasses simple grafitti, and turns the cityscape itself into a giant morphing canvas. The entire effect is breathtaking.
BLU's most recent project has been a larger-than-life mural on the exterior of the Tate London, aptly entitled "Headquarters."
Zena Holloway is a UK director and master of underwater photography. Her clientele has run the gamut of industries: from fashion brands (Nike, Olay) to ecological organizations (National Geographic, Greenpeace). Throughout all, Holloway's style shines through: otherworldly beings, moving through a realm apart. Holloway's ability to blend the human form with fabric is simply irresistible, creating effects that long for you to reach out and touch them. There is a grace about her work that goes beyond simple liquid immersion - an eye for texture and movement that creates pieces that feel almost sacred.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of that guy with the license to kill, Penguin UK is updating their newest edition of James Bond novels with some sweet new cover art. The new covers, featuring the art of San Francisco-based artist, Michael Gillette, are decked out with beautifully-rendered, colorful femmes, possessing a "sensual in a way they might decide to kill you any minute" kind of appeal.
The entire collection must be stunning in the flesh. Now us stateside just need to figure out how to get them over the pond.
Grand Imaginers: James Jean & Prada Make Some Magic
By far, my favorite professional artist in the field today is James Jean. I have been a die-hard fan since I picked up the first edition of his art book, “Process Recess”, on a whim at the MOCCA comic art fest several years ago. I was immediately captivated by his style - an ability to make drawings that combine the immediacy of a chaotic sketch with some of the cleanest drawn lines I have ever seen. The man simply cannot put down a stray line. Add to that the fact that he is a pop-whiz at digital editing, and I was smitten.
That he also happens to make the covers of my favorite comic book, “Fables,” is simply the icing on the cake.
Recently, James Jean paired up with Prada in the creation of their Spring 2008 line. The results are nothing short of wonderous.
Along with apparel and illustrations, Jean created a wallpaper for Prada (I believe to be used as the background for the product line). It is currently hanging in Prada’s Beverly Hills and Soho Epicenter stores, and is a whopping 17 x 200 feet. NotCot has the entire incredible wallpaper in digital format on their site, here.
Excerpt of the wallpaper James Jean created for Prada. Click here to see the whole piece.
If all this wasn’t enough, Jean and Prada put together this short film promoting the line, featuring the music of the sister duo, CocoRosie. One of my favorite bands, backing my favorite artist, and collaborating with one of my favorite fashion houses. Someone please get behind me – I feel a swoon coming on…
I'm an art director for an interactive agency in Manhattan. I live with my boyfriend, a cat named Haiku, & a mess that threatens to engulf us. I'm perpetually obsessed with everything.
