Monica Cook

Yang Na

"Nana’s incredible face is a prominent feature of Yang Na’s artwork. She uses the nose of her pet dog, a pair of wandering, intoxicating and enchanting eyes, an enticing amorous mouth and the trendiest makeup, to demonstrate the beauty of youth that is rife with contradiction... and morbidity. Often surrounded by wriggling objects in the shape of sperm, Nana appears to be childish and helpless. In the company of glittering jewels, Nana is no stranger to vanity. This young, innocent and pretentious face attracts many viewers to fall in love with the virtual iconic youth..and to yearn for the delight of her presence or even to take her home.

In the contemporary art circle, Yang Na is doubtless a new artist. However, her works are ardently and strenuously sought after by collectors both in China and abroad. The fairy tale of Nana has in a short time led to Yang Na’s own saga. Inherently as beautiful as her works, the quiet Yang Na has a fervent desire to produce works of art, which ordinary beauties can by no means match. Her flamboyant works are brimful with complicated metaphors and designs, her pictorial language..poignant, cunningly sarcastic and teasing." (From “Supple Tension” catalogue essay by Victoria Lu, Curator, MOCA Shanghai).

You can find some of her works here, here or here.

Alexis Rockman

Stephan Balleux

Stephan Balleux: "In my work, I go through multiple stages before the final object, usually involving photography, virtual images, compositing and virtual collage. And what results appears as painting, drawing, watercolor, video, sculpture. It’s a practice that has its foundations in my desire to go beyond a pictorial practice, with a sole interest in painting. It’s also perfectly normal for me to use everything that passes within reach to produce images."

Kazuki Takamatsu

Michael Steele

Michael Steele explored various mediums and styles such as, illustration, oil painting and digital media: " With this new series of artworks that I have created as part of the "Cluster" series, I have been able to explore various styles, techniques and mediums by portraying what I see around me and then present these influences artistically. These influences that I have portrayed come from various avenues, such as the media, memories, people, textures, technology and so on. A Cluster to me resembles images or objects grouped together to form something larger. I feel this gives images or objects a stronger presence, rather than being displayed by themselves, creating a much more dynamic experience for the viewer." (via TGM)

Jim Gaylord

Ricky Allman

Christopher Charlie Isoe

Asgar/Gabriel

Since 2005, the young Vienna-based artists Daryoush Asgar and Elisabeth Gabriel of Asgar/Gabriel, have been collaborating on a radically contemporary form of figurative painting. Drawing upon historical movements such as baroque, pop art, and abstract expressionism, while referencing contemporary developments in graffiti and photo-realism, the duo create intricately layered canvases in which linear narrative falls prey to the chaos of our image saturated times. (via)

Alan Macdonald

Ryoko Kato

Daniel Arsham

'Daniel Arsham’s art is an enigma that is resolved through contact with an exterior on which he draws for inspiration. By incorporating various aesthetic fields like landscape and architecture into the domain of art, he demonstrates how art wields power over other fields.'

Jeremy Geddes

Jeremy Geddes: Site / Blog

Angelou Guingon

Angelou Guingon: 'Through stylized use of perspective, color, form, pattern, repetition, light and shadow, icons from personal experiences and fragments of imagination emerge in a pseudo-realistic environment. I am interested in intuitively arranging pictorial/mental images of people, animals, transportation, and other everyday objects. These paintings are about formulating, scribbling and preserving stories where anything we can visualize is able to be included in an open-ended script that welcomes the unexpected.'

artbyshu | The Art Of Valentin Fischer

Valentin Fischer - Website / Blog (via monici)

M. Mararian's Inky Dreadfuls

Michael Mararian possesses a poetic propensity for taking traditionally cheerful images and concepts and turning them into frightening, yet humorous, tableaus. Focusing on children as the last bastion of innocence, Mararian draws on a diverse range of influences to deliver the world of the fondest visions of childhood’s naiveté darkly rearranged to uncover lost innocence and the fear of our modern times. Though often shroud in the macabre, Michaels' ink paintings are also suffused with a sense of mischievous, almost self-deprecating humor. What can on one level be construed as melancholy and cruel, can alternately be viewed as amusing, even charming. He enjoys letting his viewers decide.

Carl Hammoud

Kareena Zerefos

'Conceptually based around memories, dreams and nostalgia; Kareena creates a bittersweet, slightly unsettling feeling in her work by exploring themes of isolation and escapism. She works using a variety of media, including pencil, gouache and ink, and often combines traditional drawing with digital graphics.'

Jaz Harold