Category: Art

Sydney-based artist Sally West creates oil paintings with interesting textural surfaces, using a technique of thick impasto brushstrokes. Her recent ‘Beach Studies’ depict the seascapes of Sydney and rural Australian landscapes of central New South Wales where she grew up. Many of her works have been inspired by the Freshwater Beach, a popular location for surfers. In order to find suitable subjects for her series, West located a particular position high up on a rock platform, giving her the perfect aerial perspective to paint the beach while overlooking surfers and swimmers. Over the past few summers, West has been working on an entire series of art works based on this spectacular view. The artist finds joy in creating a direct response to a moment in time, and fully immerses herself into the landscape by painting in plein air.

All images © Sally West
This article was edited by Brit Seaton

The close-up portrait series, originally shot for Purple Fashion, features young women wearing a range of experimental makeup. Taking the form of bold geometric shapes, scattered dots, vibrant cubes of primary color and constellations, the collaboration displays an artistic, avant garde approach to make up and beauty. “Hamza enjoys working within the context of fashion and sees it in a cinematic approach inventing scenes for his subjects,” explains a statement on the photographer’s website. Hamza’s work has been published in the likes of Vogue, Interview and Dazed.

The works of Swiss/American painter Chrissy Angliker, subtle yet expressive, are a visual translation of the artist’s perception of herself in relationship to the world.

Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Chrissy Angliker experimented with stone, clay, and found objects from her early years to find the right means of expression. In 1996, she was lucky enough to study with the Russian artist Juri Borodachev, who then became her artistic mentor for several years. In 1999, at age of 16, Angliker moved to United States, where she lives and creates today, having her works exhibited regularly in both her native and adopted country. In her expressive, lively paintings she seeks for the balance between chaos and control. Although at first glance some of Angliker’s works look like abstract compositions, they are in fact deeply rooted in the real world. The painter teases the viewers with small hints to evoke a specific scene, yet without too much obviousness. That way, looking at Angliker’s paintings opens up the doors to her perception of the world, while inviting the viewers to see it through her own experience.

Artist Michael Beitz creates sculptures and large-scale installations inspired by various functions of furniture. In his art pieces he combines design and craftsmanship with conceptual issues of contemporary art.

Beitz received his MFA from the University of Buffalo and now teaches as an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Dealing with the cultural value of furniture, such as dining tables, couches and benches, Beitz undermines the object’s functionality. Among other things he created there are twisted and lengthened tables, a picnic area grouped to form a huge question mark and knotted sofas. With this approach the artist questions the object’s determination as a place of social interaction. Instead he transforms furniture items into spaces of intimacy and isolation. Even though the humorous element is obvious, Beitz’s works also spotlight the complexity of human relations. His work has been mostly exhibited all around the USA, finding its way to Banksy’s Dismaland in 2015.

Young British graphic designer Guy Catling creates collages that combined vintage black-and-white photographs, often depicting images of war, with bright patterned details.

Employing an experimental style that calls into question the aesthetics of conflict, Catling juxtaposes the triste scenes in the old photos he uses as backdrops with selected elements of contrasting color. The result is a series of textured, layered and eye-catching artworks. The Pyramids are depicted in floral wallpaper, soldiers’ helmets are patterned in pastel florals and helicopters become bright beacons in the sky. To keep up with Catling’s latest, follow him on Instagram.

New York City-based artist Titus Kaphar combines the mediums of painting, sculpture and collage to shed a new light on themes of race, power and injustice depicted in Classic and Renaissance paintings. 

Hailing from Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kaphar followed his fascination with history and art to rewrite history in his works, using a variety of techniques to distort the symbols and meanings originally connected to Renaissance paintings. Speaking of the intention behind his artistic practice, Kaphar states, “Open areas become active absences, walls enter into the portraits, stretcher bars are exposed, and structures that are typically invisible underneath, behind, or inside the canvas are laid bare, revealing the interiors of the work. In so doing, my aim is to perform what I critique, to reveal something of what has been lost, and to investigate the power of a rewritten history.”