Wait for it … quaranteens! So good. Clearly, my first thought when I saw the ‘Quaranteen Creeps Class Reunion 3020 Senior Class’, was to save this post for Halloween… but there is no way I could wait that long! These creepy weirdos are the latest work by Austin based artist Combs. As a mother of a boy who just started high school yesterday, in the middle of a global pandemic, yeah, these spoke to me. Wash your hands and wear your masks, kids!

It’s rare for me to begin a post by saying: this artist has a BS in Biochemistry, and an MS in Environmental Science… but in the case of Denver based artist Noelle Phares, that is exactly right. Suddenly her gorgeous architecture-meets-landscape paintings make even more sense, each of them exploring “the ever-encroaching presence of humanity into previously pristine open spaces.” Here is Noelle’s full artist statement:

“People often remark at seemingly unique marriage of abstract structure and landscape in my work. But in reality, that is what the world looks like these days: the stark break of a distant mountain view by the foreground shapes of the built environments we live in. I choose to paint places that have been altered, for better or for worse, either directly or indirectly by human development. I hope to both raise awareness of the fragile beauty of these places while also highlighting how beautiful and functional manmade design + nature can be if done with symbiosis, instead of nemesis, in mind.”

Well said. Happy Monday.

Gasp! All of it… I love all of it. This colorful, thoughtful, beautiful world is the work of Claudia Martínez Garay, a Peruvian artist who lives and works in both Amsterdam and Lima. This gorgeous show was exhibited earlier this year at GRIMM Gallery {Amsterdam}. It was titled, “A las revoluciones, como a los árboles, se les reconoce por sus frutos”, which translates to, “Revolutions, like trees, are recognized by their fruits”. Here is the description from the gallery’s site:

“Claudia Martínez Garay’s work dwells on Peruvian history through the life of cultural artifacts and visual archives, and the multiple voices and meanings which are ascribed to these. She combines graphic iconography and abstraction in her paintings and ceramic sculptures to reflect on the idea of memory, life and after-life, invoking a strong identification with native American cultures of South America.

With a focus on re-reading, remaking and interpreting the visual traditions, the artist presents installations that exists in a specific imaginary’s time and space. Underlying the arrangements, there is a drive to reanimate the existing fragments of lost and forgotten stories. Persistent and bittersweet, Martínez Garay’s work analyzes modernity as an inseparable component of colonialism.”

“Reanimating the existing fragments of lost and forgotten stories”… yes, I love that too.

The scale!!! This is the striking and powerful work of Ghana born, Detroit based artist Conrad Egyir. All of these pieces are paintings… and then some! Oil, acrylic, and mixed media on canvas and wood. In some cases that means glitter, synthetic flowers, crystals buttons, mounted plexiglass, and… is that “bookmark” a really big ribbon?! Most of this work is from his 2019 show, “Ameliorations”, at Jessica Silverman Gallery in San Francisco. Here is part of the description of this exhibition from the gallery’s site:

“Addressing contemporary American culture, biblical parables and Ashanti iconography from his native Ghana, Egyir’s work explores questions of ethics, honesty, identity and the social-psychology of community. Monumental, uncanny and often satirically grandiose, the paintings combine the graphic sensuality of Pop Art with the far-reaching narratives of history painting.”

Love.

These paintings are the work of Seattle based artist Ko Kirk Yamahira. ‘Paintings’, you ask? Well, yes, that’s how they start out:

“… the finished painting is a beginning rather than an end. Painstakingly removing individual threads from the weave of the canvas, Yamahira deconstructs his paintings, turning surface into form.”

What? Yep! If you happen to be in Seattle, you can see his work as part of a two-person show {with Emily Counts} at Studio e until September 12th, 2020. Threads. WHAT.

So, you know how the world feels like a crazy, scary, overwhelming place lately? Just me? Well, I am taking today off from the never-ending news loop to look at these gorgeous paintings by Australian artist Zoe Young. I wrote about her three years ago, but I desperately need the calm of her zen-like still-life works again in 2020. Cantaloupe (or rock melon if you’re from Australia), checkered napkins, and a freshly sliced apple. Annnnnnnnnd, exhale.

Yes, all of these gorgeous portraits are speaking directly to me… from ugh to girls supporting girls, I feel like I’m living every day in all of these Tshirts! These large-scale oil paintings are the work of Brooklyn based artist Helen Robinson. Here is part of her artist statement explaining how she arrived at this work:

“Helen’s work focuses on conceptual portraiture that explores the nature of representation and the limitless potential of the human figure as a subject. She uses non-traditional portraiture to consider modes of representation and self-expression. Her paintings are all derived from photographs and studies and are mostly documentary in style. Overall, Helen’s work expresses human connection and social interactions based on our relationship to our surroundings and one another.”

{Found via Create Magazine}

Quiet Listening. Serenity. Pause. These are a few of the titles from above… just imagine what a different world we’d live in if everyone embraced that state of mind. This is the beautiful and striking work of Nigerian born, Germany based artist Peter Uka. His latest show, titled “Inner Frame”, opens TODAY, August 28th (till Oct 24) at Galerie Voss in Dusseldorf.

These gorgeous mixed media paintings are the work of Atlanta based artist, illustrator and educator Charly Palmer. His painted and collaged flowers are what grabbed me, apparently an element he started incorporating into his work after his mother passed away in 2008 {which makes me love them even more}. Speaking of love… most of us have been cursing 2020, but Charly is having a VERY good summer. In June, the album cover he painted for John Legend was released, in July his work was on the cover of TIME Magazine, and in August… he got married! Yep, he’s making 2020 look pretty damn good:

Congratulations, Charly!