3rd Wave of Inspiration
Since 2003
Cape-Town-rooted artist Kirsten Beets works predominantly with oil paint on paper. Her main subject is the interaction between humans and nature.
"The artist infuses observations of people and places, fleeting moments, into physical objects. She lifts their significance to touchstones of remembrance. Beets’ artworks represent the fragmentary illustrations of a shifting memory. They oscillate between the feeling of dry, heat shimmering Cape Town, geometric-shaped swimming pools and the preserved green nature of the suburban and gardens. In her paintings the artist expresses the illusionary spaces that remind of nature but are in fact fully constructed by humans. This play with illusion is substantial for Beet’s works where she comments on the interaction between humans and their environment in a bigger picture. Beets has exhibited both nationally and internationally, including the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the Scuola Internationale di Grafi in Venice, Italy. She also took part in the Cape Town and the Johannesburg Art Fairs."
"Gutless Wonder creates eye-popping CG illustrations and 3D sculptures. With intricate patterns and vivid colours, her work brings to mind psychedelia, religious iconography and tribal art." Read full interview on Creative Review
"Simon Christoph Krenn’s 3D animation, Parasitic Endeavours, initially started out as the creative wanting to explore distorted perspectives on human evolution."
The result is a compilation of body parts, mainly heads and torsos, that wobble along a white backdrop and bump together like rubber mannequins. The hyperreal detail is unnerving and to see recognisable human parts being manipulated making the viewer feel both uncomfortable and mesmerised.
Words by Rebecca Fulleylove, It's Nice That
Memory Lapses are temporary installations photographed by François Ollivier when he revisited places linked to strong memories, past or recent. By overexposing reflective material in the process, data becomes absent from the digital file, creating an empty zone in the image that alters reality and distorts our perception: like time and distance do.
For his ongoing series of ceramic donuts, sculptor Jae Yong Kim chooses patterns and images that evoke a sense of pop culture both past and present
“Without my intention, references to Pop Art have been a consistent occurrence throughout the entirety of the donut artworks. Questioning myself regarding the donuts falling in line with a specific genre has brought questions and need for understanding. Each individual donut has invariably read to me as a small painting; color, pattern and physicality have been the ultimate procedure for my personal expression.”
It began few years ago when Russian Design magazine AD asked 5 leading designers to come up with pilot projects to save significant local industries from dying out of ideas. We wrote about Yar Misonzhnikov reinventing Vologda lace traditions. But today we put on review the only one project went in production
That was a redesign of classic Gzhel Porcelain Ceramics by then a designer and now art-director of Strelka Institute - Anna Kulachek. In 2015 together with HALF&HALF production firm, Anna released a small bunch of desert plates HALF&KULACHEK - the modern designs that use classical Gzhel colour motifs and geometrical patterns.
This autumn, the company decided to produce a limited supply of table version plates (27.5 cm) in two colours. Next year, the brand owners intend to continue the series with the same print, as well as produce cups, sugar bowls and other objects.
Designer Helena Bajaj Larsen left Paris to move to New York and attended Parsons School of Design. Her focus from the start has been on textile design and the exploration of a surface through print, knit and various other techniques. Outside of school, she tried to develop textile related skills as much as she could through internships (Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna, Mary Katrantzou for Embroidery, Thakoon) and workshops in India.
For her final terms in Parson she chose the topic of "khadi". Khadi constitutes an Indian homespun cotton cloth often referred to as “the fabric of social change” due to its crucial role in the Indian Independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Her thesis by this very name is a contemporary take on an old story which is both close to her heart as it reflects her family history but also embodies her passionate relationship to textiles.
“I travelled to many factories and collectives studying how Khadi was made from start to finish (plucking the cotton, to weaving it and then dying it) which helped me better understand the potential of collaboration between craftsmen and designers and when the opportunity presented itself in April, I applied for a design fellowship in Haiti led by Donna Karan and in partnership with Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation. Thankfully I was one of the three students they chose to go to down to Haiti for the summer to develop a range of products with the local artisans at a design training center called D.O.T located in the capital city. It was an incredible experience and ever since I have been trying to think of ways I could keep working on projects of this sort.”
Recently, Helena was shortlisted as one of the top 20 finalists for the WGSN X ARTS THREAD Future Creator Award as well as one of the five selected brands (out of 600 applicants) of the Lakmé Gen Next Mumbai Fashion Week competition. Each year they select five young designers to showcase their work among established Indian designers at the country’s largest fashion event.
Photographer: Helena Bajaj Larsen
Model: Neloufar Taheri
Styling Assistant: Mary Raggazino
OFFF Festival residents BROSMIND is a creative duo of brothers Juan and Alejandro Mingarro. During his childhood, Juan and Alejandro already formed a prolific creative pair that could be considered as the germ of what is now its visual and conceptual universe. This fact personifies the essence of Brosmind, and is of great importance both in the contents that generate and in the mechanics of work.
To make a retrospective of their work BROSMIND ran the exhibition "Working with a brother" this year. The retrospective reflected on the importance of the fraternal bond that exists between the brothers and described how the present work can be considered an extrapolation of the childhood creations.
In the creative industry, we are overwhelmed by abstract CGI animation, most of the times made using presets, most of the times without a concept.
FROM COLORS TO NONE is a research about 3 human steps through colours. Each step is represented by a basic geometric form: A circle, a square and a triangle. The circle is humanity, Square is coherence, Triangle is relationships. Nowadays, these 3 aspects are, day by day, chocked by our digital routine. Sometimes we feel like swimming in the sand, blinded by powder. But when it seems all black, we try to survive and research for a new balance. So we build our Color Machine from none. Cause, maybe, from none we come… and our life is 100% colourful :)
"A series of 3D illustrations inspired by traditional tattoo patterns. Tattoo culture has always been a fascinating environment to be part of. The skills and talents of the great traditional artists have always been a huge inspiration in my work." - Billelis
Dmitri Aske, a multidisciplinary Russian artist, has had a large solo show in Moscow RuArts Gallery. The exhibition entitled Through The Mist, which lasted from November, 2 till December, 2, included 24 plywood relieves created in the artist’s unique technique and 4 middle-sized plywood sculptures. Dmitri had worked on the series for nine months.
According to the artist, the title of the show describes the life of modern people who try to find their own way wandering through the informational mist. The characters of all the artworks exist in the state of uncertainty, doubts, second thoughts, anxiety concerning past and future, which lies behind the white noise of our digital age.
Dmitri Aske is a versatile Moscow artist and one of the main figures behind the Russian urban contemporary art movement. He started his career in 2000 from writing graffiti, later moving to graphic design and illustration. In mid-2000s, Dmitri had collaborated with Nike, Reebok, PlayStation, and the like making different art objects and graphics. He also used to be an Edior-in-Chief of one of the first Russian graffiti magazines and a co-founder of a street wear brand. Since 2015, Aske has dedicated himself full-time to art, creating plywood tile relieves, sculptures, and painting murals. In 2016, according to the InArt research, he was named 4th by the sum of auction sales among the young Russian artists. Apart from working in the studio, Dmitri runs an online magazine vltramarine.ru, as well as gives lectures on graffiti and street art.
Natalia has created more than 150 paintings throughout the course of her artistic career and is known for her powerful utilization of vibrant colors, unique visual schemes and patterns in creating original masterpieces that are hailed by art enthusiasts of every generation. Notably, Natalia holds a patent for her unique style of painting, which she has aptly named “TwiddleART.”
In the modern world, women’s beauty is associated with slim figures. If a woman falls far behind the standard and accepts the rules of this game, she starts torturing herself with sports, diets, and other restrictions. If the body of a woman is much bigger than the standard, it is considered abnormal. Such a pressure makes full-bodied women feel unhappy and inferior.
Belly, 2017
A full body can be beautiful, but people might have difficulties in seeing it. This is where art can assist. My works in TwiddleArt style (a technique of painting with swirls and twiddles) expand the feminine beauty ideal. The artwork catches the eye and makes one want to explore it. Through the paintings, people can see the beauty of curvy women and overcome the associated stereotypes.
Woman in a Chair, 2017
Back, 2017
Woman on a Sofa
Photographer ZAKI Abdelmounim shares his neon view on the capital of the Risin Sun - Tokyo. During his 8-months journey, he was experimenting with various colour grading techniques that shifted from cyberpunk to vaporwave. We let author speak for himself below
"Tokyo's overwhelming visual presence is an all-out assault on your senses offering a strong immersive cyberpunk experience. A lot to process and too much to take in from the flashing neon lights, the sounds of the busy streets and train stations, and the commercial signs of every building It's downright surreal and truly catches the spirit of what a cyberpunk city would look like. Easily getting lost offers an unmatched thrill and sense of discovery, but a certain follower emerges at night will keep your company during your stroll in the rain."
"It's the "Talking Lights" in the labyrinth of alleys. The dimly-lit neon signs of hiragana and katakana trying to communicate with the fast-paced walkers bring a nostalgic air, and it's a beautiful sight to behold."
"In his recent series ‘The Circle and the Line’, Stockholm-based photographer Erik Östensson presents his viewer with subtle complexities in the setting of every day life. His poetic, performative images capture emotive interactions between people, objects and the landscape. In each image, all elements are somewhat intertwined and exist in harmony with one another, forming new relationships in materiality and form."
“When looking at our surroundings, we fill it with our own notions. Without these simplifications, we would not be able to operate within the world’s complexity. I want to create images where the viewer can see it all again. I do this by depicting objects from a new angle and by putting them in a new context. Past notions are replaced and the meanings of familiar objects expand”
Painted bronze, marble
"Matelli's work is known for the juxtaposition of antique looking marble or concrete garden-like statuary, against abrupt hyperrealism embellishments. By contrasting these aged forms against unexpected decorations, such as cast bronze vegetables, fruit, meats and bread, the artist questions the value and purpose of classical figure. Turning them into a setting or a merely a pedestal for presenting common everyday objects, he shows his remarkable technical facility and a cautious romanticism. Both the aged feel of the statues and the freshness of the ornaments are created using elaborate fabrication process and peculiar materials. From meticulously cast and painted bronze that flawlessly depicts the bread texture or gradients of an apple peel, to use of cast glass to evoke the translucence of citrus flesh, Matelli continues to play with viewer's perception while presenting his iconoclastic temperament" —Sasha Bogojev
Denis Bychkovskiy / @denbych
Leading calligraphy artist Pokras Lampas spent 30 hours to customise Shortcut Racing car in collaboration with DK Racing Team Russia. By applying his personal "Calligrafuturism" style Arseny (Pokras Lampas) brings dynamics of streets to typography patterns applied across the buggy car body.
Denis Bychkovskiy / @denbych
Photography: Denis Bychkovskiy / @denbych
"Above Below Beyond" is an ongoing solo exhibition at The Fergusson Gallery of Scottish photographer Janeanne Gilchrist (Staunch Industries). Her work explores the world under the waves and man's relationship with the sea. With strong themes of folklore, fantasy created from man-made waste, dive with Janeanne into my subconscious mind to find a deeper meaning of life. Freediving in various locations in the Scottish seas for the last 10 years, she has discovered a beautiful new world where gravity doesn’t apply and everything is in constant flux.
Song Kang is an artist based in Portland, Oregon. She combines her interests in organic forms and textural details to create dreamlike images. Her latest project "Vernacular" features sculptures of imaginary architecture growing from animal bodies.
The term ‘vernacular’ tends to correlate with all things commonplace; however, in the architectural sense, the ‘vernacular’ exemplifies man’s abilities to adapt to his surroundings and build with his environment. This series explores the symbiotic relationship between the vernacular home and the environmental context in which it exists.
