Matthew the Horse is an illustrator represented by Unseen Agency. He has a quirky doodley style that at first seems childlike but closer examination reveals a very deliberate adult approach resulting in some interesting contemporary imagery.
Botine wants you to trip on this little clip.
Track / Robot tribe
Artist / Matthys
Director / Botine and Smab
Label / Cinematique
François Wunschel and Fernando Favier produce audio-visual installations, micro-architecture, urban intervention, performances, exhibitions and other strange new forms of art colliding with tech. They labor under the name 1024architecture and focus their efforts on the interaction between body, space, sound, visual, low-tech and hi-tech, art and architecture. Way awesome.
Ben Javens grew up in Yorkshire and has wondered in the wilderness coming out the other side with a simple, human and accessible style or retro-influenced illustration heavy on the hand with plenty of heart.
Artist and illustrator Colin Johnson’s work has been published and awarded by Print’s Regional Design Annual, The Society of Publication Design, Communication Arts Illustration Annual, American Illustration, and Society of Illustrators Los Angeles from which he received the Gold Award in the Editorial category for the Illustration West 43 contest. Some of his Freelance Illustration clients include: American Airlines, The American Medical Association, Audubon, Better Homes and Gardens, The Chicago Tribune, Converse, Epoch Films, Fast Company, The Harvard Business Review, National Geographic, The New York Times, Newsweek, Raygun, Time Inc., and U.S. News and World Report. He has recently been a part of gallery shows in Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Portland, Hamburg (Germany), and Melbourne (Australia).
He has a strange, unusual and somewhat surreal style.
Victor Rodriguez is a painter who was born in Mexico City but currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He paints some fantabulous paintings that use hyper-realism to a rather awe-inspiring degree. His website is nuts and bolts but that’s no matter considering his inspiring talent. I can only imagine the impact of his work in person.
The David B. Smith Gallery is currently hosting AJ Fosik’s exhibition ‘Count Back From Now’. To the unfamiliar, Fosik’s sculptural monsters are crafted out of hand carved and painted pieces of wood and the end result is a kind of contemporary take on the African mask. The neon ‘monster’ like masks and creatures are even more striking and imposing in person and you really have to stand in front of one and move around it to appreciate the craftsmanship Fosik employs when building them.
I took over a studio at the now closed Andenken Gallery a few years back that Fosik had been using before me here in Denver. He left a big collection of boob boxes and a little eye or two from some of his sculptures. Consequently, I have about 6 boom boxes in my garage and the eye now sits on my desk in my studio. I’ve always like his work.
The exhibition is on until August 14th in Denver.
David B. Smith Gallery
1543 Wazee Street
Denver, CO 80202, United States
303-893-4234
Photographer Tim Simmons lives and works in London and Norfolk. His landscapes can only be described as ‘haunting’. It’s a descriptor that is probably to often used when it comes to something like photographer but it genuinely is the proper word to use when attempting to describe Simmons beautiful imagery.
Whoah, Gluko and Lennon might bring on an acid flashback for the delicate-minded but it is beautifully animated and just kind of super strange awesome. I’d imagine the kids would love it.
Australian illustrator Ben Brown shreds the gnar with his pen producing old school 80’s skate punk style illustrations that often incorporate kick ass skulls and zombies. How can you not love him for keeping it genuinely old school?
Artist and illustrator Raul Urias hails from Chihuahua, Mexico. He experiments with a wide range of styles and is adept at all of them. His work is colorful, bright and fun. You can check it out in his Behance-Folio.
I think you could just say that St. Louis born artist Jason Hackenwerth makes gigantic aquatic balloon animals and that would be enough to entice a lot of people just to at least take a look at his work. But after saying that, you also have to at least follow up with the fact that they really are beautiful pieces of art that invoke a real sense of wonder and inhabit a space in a surreal way that must be very engaging in person. It’s a fascinating little niche he has carved out for himself and I would love to see some of his work in person.
The Clayton Brothers have thrown some new and as always colorful and inspiring work up at their blog. I am becoming a very big fan of their work and I think they are really transcending that lowbrow scene into genuinely influential contemporary artists. It will be interesting to see how their exhibition schedule evolves in the coming years and if that notion is reflected in where they are asked to show.
The Illiterate Gallery here in Denver has been curating some great exhibitions lately and the current show for July looks amazing. It is the first solo show of local Denver artist and director Ravi Zupa. You can see Zupa’s work at some of the trendier destinations around the city and it always stands out.
Here is a description of the show from the gallery:
“The exhibition at Illiterate running throughout the month of July is Ravi Zupa’s first solo gallery show, however this seems to have less to do with the artist being overlooked by contemporary art circles as it has been a product of his DIY mentality and rejection of the elitist status quo within the art world. A self identifying anarchist, Zupa believes that art is for everybody. When Ravi approached us about making Illiterate the site for his gallery debut, we were both honored and excited to work with this talented and driven individual. The exhibit titled “The Pyre”, coincides with a book project by the same name between the artist and hip hop musician Sole, founder of Anticon records and leader of Sole and the Skyrider band, for which Zupa has directed a number of music videos. This collaborative publishing effort involves an epic poem written by Sole and illustrated by Zupa and will be released at Illiterate during the closing reception for the exhibition on July 30.”
You can see images from the exhibition here and find out more about Illiterate at their website. Be sure to drop by if you are close to the Denver metro area.
Photographer and designer Elise has some gorgeous work in her portfolio for some very large brands. Her photography work is stunning and it’s amazing that she can keep her design at the same level. A true talent.
Illustrator artist Messy Msxi was born in Singapore but studied at Central Saint Martins, London. She has recently completed a series of illustrations for an exhibition titled ‘Ten Years Of Work For Every Minute On Stage’ which you can see at her site.
Here is a brief excerpt from Msxi on her impetus for the imagery in the show:
“This series is an outright documentation of: failure, process, training, preparing, suffering, bruising, not giving up and a toast to “the beginner’s spirit”. It serves as a reminder that success never comes easy and its the journey that builds character. It is a series seeking to encourage all who are in difficulty, to remind everyone who trudge the tough road that it will be worth it in the end.”
German graffiti artist, illustrator and graphic designer Dxxxtr has some mad skills under his belt. You can see some of this work that seamlessly moves from street walls to computer screens in his Flickr-folio.
Matt McMullen is the original creator of the Real Doll. If you haven’t heard of them, they are high-priced sex dolls that are disturbingly (well depended on where your tastes lean) realistic. It’s easy to look at the dolls and think, wow that is pretty weird, but it another thing all together to realize just how much time and attention to detail goes into their creation. It’s really an amazing sculpture that is the output of genuine craftsmanship. This is an insightful short little documentary, expertly put together and super entertaining to watch.
