Artist Rithika Merchant draws on myriad references from the specific to the universal to create surreal, mythical works.
John and I had a fun day in the studio recently. We both wanted to do a bit of experimental mark-making, to explore new ideas. John is looking for inspiration for his printmaking and I thought it would be interesting to play with marks and compositions which could be the starting points of new drawings or which might possible translate into textiles. We gathered lots of tools and then made a few new ones, looking for anything which would make an unusual mark if dipped in paint: We decided to stick to black and white, so we could concentrate on marks and tone. I mixed up a tub of black acrylic and got out some Platignum Calligraphers Black Ink too (a good non-waterproof ink, as it separates into pretty colours when wet, rather than just going grey). I found an oil bar and some liquin too, which is great for smearing not just oil bars but also oil pastels. Plus a Derwent Inktense block and grater (tiny gratings can be scattered onto wet paper or sprayed with water for speckled effects). We both put on latex gloves and set-to on a big piece of cartridge paper each. It was such fun - no pressure to make something which 'works', just pure experimentation. This was my first sheet: I am particularly interested in randomness, so many of the new tools we made were designed to make the marks more hard to control. To add to the random element, we both cut up our sheets into equal pieces, using pre-decided measurements, not aesthetic judgement to create the sections: I like the way it changes things when you isolate a section. The emphasis on the various elements changes, because of the enforced edges, and you start to get interesting things happening with composition. On my 2nd sheet, I started with some large marks in a grey emulsion, to create a new element of contrast. I made a new tool too - a piece of corrugated card to print with. You can see the marks top right: I cut this one into squares. As the paper's dimensions didn't divide exactly into squares, this allowed me a slight element of judgement, as I could move the composition of any square a centimetre or two to the left or right. I then selected the best 6 squares from the 9 created. These are my favourites. It's surprising how well they work just as they are, but you can also see how they could be taken into print or textiles. It would be fun trying to find ways to reinterpret the marks and tones in the different medium. I can highly recommend this as a very enjoyable way of exploring new techniques and getting new inspiration. The randomness is important though, as a way of forcing you not to be too controlling and letting unexpected things happen. John did some experiments using blotting paper, which he tore into strips. Even the offcuts were interesting, which I saved as we were clearing up. The beautiful blue is the Platignum ink: Even my offcuts were quite interesting: Have a go. Even before we got drawing, it was good fun making the tools from odds and ends we found around the studio, taping them to bits of stick and then finding out what marks they made.
Raoul Hausmann’s photomontage Tatlin at Home is much pinned on Pinterest, but what has become of the original?
Here's a quick blog post about some of my favorite figurative expressionists in the contemporary art world. These artists explore the boundaries between realism and abstraction. Their works reference the masters of action painting (de Kooning, Pollock), mixed media (Rauschenberg, Bearden), pop (Warhol), color field (Frankenthaler), and painterly portraiture (Freud, Bacon), while synthesizing their own visual language. Electronic media also exerts a huge influence among many of these painters, some of whom employ glitched, pixelated imagery as a modern take on impressionism. I admire these artists' virtuosity and refusal to settle on a formulaic, marketable style. Rather, these artists continue to experiment with technique, materials, and content. Click on their links and explore their work. Njideka Akunyili Tim Benson Kim Byungkwan Winston Chmielinski Andy Denzler Nathan Ford Edwige Fouvry Ann Gale Hope Gangloff Benjamin Garcia Nick Gentry Adrian Ghenie Jane LaFarge Hamill Ryan Hewett Mark Horst Alex Kanevsky Catherine Kehoe Marefumi Komura Cian McLoughlin Antony Micallef Alyssa Monks Daniel Ochoa Jennifer Pochinski Jessica Rimondi Lou Ros Paul Ruiz Andrew Salgado Tully Meehan Satre Jenny Saville Tai Schierenberg Andre Schmucki KwangHo Shin Mickalene Thomas Ray Turner Louie Van Patten Amiel Weisfogel John Wentz Paul Wright UPDATE: Here are a few more artists worth following on Pinterest.
Take a sneak peek at this new online exhibition.
Michael Reeder on the formation of self.
Into the Beguiling Wild Into The Beguiling Wild is a special ceramic collaboration with Whinblossom. Dramatic work inspired by the intriguing landslip that surrounds her home, capturing the wildness of the Undercliff while maintaining purpose for daily use. Chloe embeds raw materials, minerals, flora and fauna and co
Austrian illustrator/artist Alice Wellinger produces personal art which is all at once surreal and ironic while addressing the eclectic issues and benchmarks of womanhood.
The series "Alone Together" delves into the intricate dynamics of relationships and intimacy, exploring the complexities that arise within human connections.
A mother, an artist and a leader, we explore the profound work of Yaritji Tingila Young, on the APY Lands in remote South Australia.
Austrian illustrator/artist Alice Wellinger produces personal art which is all at once surreal and ironic while addressing the eclectic issues and benchmarks of womanhood.
Spanish artist Àngela Maria Sierra, who works as Riso Chan, explores the human psyche through subtly layered foliage. “I always imagine that they are someone’s soul, what we don’t see, our nature,” Sierra says of the delicate botanical assemblages that she overlays onto her subjects’ faces and torsos. Each portrait begins with a focus on texture and pattern as the artist paints clusters of twigs and leaves with watercolor. She then scans those botanical elements and uses Procreate to superimpose the figure onto the original piece. More
Explore .me+2's 255 photos on Flickr!
A new book explores information design in the form of circles – from 18th-century musical scores to photographs of Jupiter
Intuitive art is a way of creating art that aims to explore and uncover aspects of the inner self. And just like my previous: 10 Usef...
Life is full of surprises, and some of the best come from the people we’ve known all our lives—the ones that we thought we had completely figured out. In
Explore gerard michel's 7000 photos on Flickr!
In this day and age of Photoshop, we were inspired to explore the lost art of altering photographs by hand with this Altered Photograph Art Project!
For some people, maintaining a positive body image can be a lifelong challenge. In a series of complex paintings called Skin, 19-year-old photographer
My ‘Inspired By’ posts began as a way to explore what makes me tick as an artist, what I’m drawn to, what makes my heart sing, what I might want to try out in terms of marks or colour combinations or compositions. They are also a way for me to share the work of artists […]
A curated exhibition at the Robert Mann Gallery in New York this summer explores the approaches of 11 artists who take a needle and thread to photographs.
Artist Rithika Merchant draws on myriad references from the specific to the universal to create surreal, mythical works.
Maia Flore is a Paris-based photographer whose thought-provoking images explore the “coincidences between reality and her imagination.” Featured here is a selection for her first series, titled “Sleep Elevations,” which was inspired by the artist’s childhood memories. Blending soft, feminine imagery with surrealism, the sleeping women are gently lifted across peaceful landscapes, their bodies light...
Tang Yau Hoong is a visual artist/ illustrator/graphic designer from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His main focus is to create graphics that spark the viewer. As an illustrator, he tries to convey messages visually. Tang’s love for simplicity, has encouraged him to…
Collage Artists to Explore Connections % %
Explore stories; read artist interviews and hear diverse voices from leaders in visual culture.
The wild oil paintings of Kit Mizeres return in a new show at Arch Enemy Arts. "Farewell Transmission" explores the concept of solitude, with new works packed with mythological symbols and inspiration from the artist’s travels. Mizeres was last mentioned on HiFructose.com here.
Erupting from floors, doorways, and furniture, artist Henrique Oliveira’s artworks (previously) are a remarkable comment on the relationship between the built environment and the power of nature. In installations that explore the relationship between reality and otherworldly spectacle, enormous wooden limbs and vine-like forms emerge from walls and ceilings that have been cracked, broken, and twisted around the emerging growth, unable to contain it. Oliveira uses various readymade and organic materials such as bricks, wood, PVC, tree branches, mud, and other found items. More
Artists like Warhol, Calder, Kandinsky, and O'Keeffe comment on humanity's intimate relationship with the cosmos, informed by modern technological advances of the late 19th and 20th centuries.
Ashley Mackenzie is an artist and illustrator based in Toronto, Canada. Though she loves the challenge of creating complex conceptual illustrations, she also enjoys making concept art and decorative drawings. They mainly show surreal sceneries often comprising very profound meaning. Regarding her works she explains: ‘Our brains may never be able to fully comprehend the […]
Midwestern artist Zoe Hawk explores the social constructions of femininity through her portrayals of adolescent girls on the verge of womanhood. Her narrative works resemble illustrations one might find in a children's book, with her subjects playing the parts of sweet-natured schoolgirls, candy stripers, and girl scouts. Yet, as we begin to look beneath the surface, it becomes clear that things are not always as they appear.
