Oh, where do I even begin? I saw the work of Cuban-born, Puerto Rico based artist Zilia Sánchez at the Venice Biennale in 2017 and was drawn in immediately. If you’re wondering what you’re looking at, Zilia stretches her canvases (using hand-molded wooden pieces) into these very – I’m going to say ‘sensual’ – shapes. For the past 65 years she’s been exploring “juxtapositions between the feminine and the masculine, the painterly and the sculptural, the personal and the universal, the exterior body and the interior self.” And yes, I said 65 years. Zilia is now 92 and, as far as I know, still working. Inspired? Me too.

{quote via Galerie Lelong’s website}

Oh my word, I love everything about these circular, swirly, nature-filled beauties! This is the work of Mexican artist Vero Glezqui, and I’m going to let her explain what this series, titled “Nature Swirls Studies”, is all about:

“Nature Swirls Studies is a series that plays between notions of origins of life, the circle of life between mankind and its relation with nature, the natural movements of the Earth as well as the current events of climatization and its acceleration. It plays with imagery found in nature magazines re-contextualized creating different sorts of landscapes evoking the Earth’s natural course of movements and the rapidly changing of scenery due to climate change.”

Beautiful. Happy Monday.

Oh, the dreamy dreaminess. This is the work {acrylic, ink and spray paint on paper!} of Geneva based artist/scientist Eliana Marinari. Yes. I said scientist. Here’s her very inspiring story:

“Eliana began her training in Florence as a scientist, earning a degree in Biotechnology, while studying Art under the mentoring of Greta Villa and Donatella Sfogli, from Accademia of Florence. She continued her studies in London, where she obtained a PhD at University College London.

In 2013, she moved to Switzerland, where she continued her quest in bridging the gap between Art and Science. Her experimental work is the result of this research and combines new technologies with the more traditional oil painting techniques. In 2015, she received the prestigious Swiss National Fund Award for the development of an interdisciplinary project. She set up her studio at Foound, and created a community of artists with the aim of supporting and promoting female artists from French-speaking Switzerland.”

YES!!!

Weird, floaty, soft, crisp… all at the same glorious time! This is the work of American painter Ridley Howard. If you want to find out what inspires him, how he works, and whether or not he likes sports, there’s a great interview with him on Hyperallergic from 2016… here’s one of my favorite quotes:

“For me, the paintings become stranger when they crystallize. There is something about the combination of distance and touch that happens. The immediate payoff of a more painterly painting is seductive. I often quickly block in a painting and think, “That looks pretty good.” Then I wrestle with it for a month. In the end I like it much better, because it has become weirder in sneaky ways.”

Weird in sneaky ways. YES! 

{found via Create Magazine’s Instagram feed}

Whoa. I’m confused and dizzy … exactly how one feels when falling madly in love! These glitchy oil paintings are the gorgeous work of Toronto based painter Alex Garant, and this is part of her bio:

“Internationally renown as the Queen of Double Eyes, Alex Garant studied visual arts at Notre-Dame–De-Foy College just outside Quebec City. After graduating in 2001, she ultimately settled in Toronto, Canada. She decided to truly commit to her passion for Arts after suffering from a heart attack in 2012, changing forever how she would see the world.”

Can you tell I was hungry when I wrote this post? YUM… not only about the sandwiches and chips, but also a great big YUM when it comes to those paint strokes, color choices, and the absolutely gorgeous celebration of everyday life. Yep, I think I might have to call American painter Zoey Frank to see if she’s free for lunch. Happy weekend.

Spoke NYC is pleased to present The Moleskine Project VII, a group exhibition curated by Ken Hashimoto and Rodrigo Luff featuring over 60 international contemporary artists. SIXTY! Here’s a quote from Rodrigo:

“The show is a tribute to how artists have developed and grown by using sketchbooks to dive deeper into the personal realms that fuel their artwork, exploring new ideas, concepts and even experimenting with different media and styles. An energetic visual dialogue of imagery flows from frame to frame, forming a collective sketchbook that allows us to appreciate the radically individual approach taken by each artist.”

The opening reception is this weekend – Saturday, August 4th from 6 – 8pm {210 Rivington St, NYC}. For more info, you can email them at nyc@spoke-art.com.

{Artists shown above: Travis Louie  /  Michael Reeder  /  Matt Ritchie  /  Alex Garant  /  Alessandra Maria  /  Daniel Bilodeau}

One of my favorite artists, especially when it comes to murals, is American artist Mando Marie… and starting TODAY, I’ll be spending the next ten days painting five murals around Vancouver for the Vancouver Mural Festival {and freaking out just the tiniest of bits}. Clearly I had to zip by Mando’s site for a little inspiration… but then I found these new paper pieces and suddenly I had an entirely new plan for today’s post! How gorgeous are these? They were hung in a show, titled “One Trick”, at First Amendment Gallery in San Francisco earlier this year. I have a sneaking suspicion that they’re made up of discarded “mistakes” from other works {but don’t quote me on that}. Either way, LOVE.

ps. While my podcast is on summer hiatus, you should go listen to Mando and I chatting in episode no.100 … it’s a good one!

“Non-traditional portraits painted in traditional ways are my greatest passion … Each piece seeks to go beyond realism and capture the essence of the subject.”  

Ok, well now I want to know whose essence is wearing this lovely, delicate, perfect lace dress! This is the exquisite work of New Mexico based painter Shana Levenson. I am, and always have been, in complete awe of people who can paint like this … not only because of the skill involved, but the fact someone would challenge themselves to paint LACE. And HANDS. I am not that person, but Shana certainly is. Happy Friday.

This is the beautiful, and symbol-filled, work of Dominican Republic born, New York based artist Firelei Báez. I recently heard a talk about Firelei, and my goodness, there is power in every square inch of her work. Take a closer look at the headdress in the first piece, titled ‘Sans Souci’ … black panthers and chains. She also regularly features the black fist symbol, and even the headdresses, known as tignons, are not just decoration… they represent the 18th century headdress – imposed by law – for women of color in New Orleans. It was meant to oppress them, but these women used patterns and designs from their home countries, and instead turned this racist law into a symbol of power and beauty. Brilliant. Here is a little bit about why Firelei does what she does:

“Through a convergence of interest in anthropology, science fiction, black female subjectivity and women’s work; her art explores the humor and fantasy involved in self-making within diasporic societies, which have an ability to live with cultural ambiguities and use them to build psychological and even metaphysical defenses against cultural invasions.”

Just in case you don’t know what a diasporic society is, it’s defined as “a scattered population whose origin lies in a separate geographic locale. In particular, diaspora has come to refer to involuntary mass dispersions of a population from its indigenous territories” … the African Trans-Atlantic slave trade, for example.