Through his oil and acrylic landscapes, Dan VanLandingham captures the vastness of space and the delicate light that inhabits it. His most recent work serves as “common ground for distressed and sublime spaces at the mercy of human encroachment,” exploring the abusive effects humans have on natural spaces. “Creating images allows me to become, simultaneously, the architect, the landscaper and…
Lauren Coulson layers acrylics, inks and dyes on canvas, fusing the mediums to create eye-catching, active imagery. She “assists with the aftermath” of mixing these mediums, molding the paint to obtain “the desired balance of chance and control.” The cosmos and natural phenomena play prominent roles in her work. “I am fascinated with everything—from the macro to the micro—and love…
Illustrator and photographer Vimal Chandran frequently travels throughout India, gathering inspiration from the country’s vibrant pop culture and social politics. The self-taught artist has been painting since childhood and became a full-time visual artist after leaving his job as a software engineer. “I wanted to do more on my own, so I thought art was the right medium to express…
Israeli artist Guy Ben-Ari has used his interest in “psychoanalytic theory and semiotics” to lay the groundwork for his narrative and nonfigurative paintings. His recent collection explores the technology-driven contemporary culture of image consumption, a “reality through digital media: one that is removed, distant, dissociative, and at the same time very pleasurable and in high-def,” he says. Ben-Ari received his…
Hiroshi Sato’s vibrant portraits reflect his interest in geometric design, with graphic shapes reminiscent of a stainedglass window. He says he draws inspiration from the “accumulation of both learning and experiencing.” “The main area I am focusing on at the moment is the clear/unclear relationship between the individual perceived reality [microcosm] versus the world [macrocosm],” Sato says. The contemporary realist…
Nigerian-born, U.S.-based artist Njideka Akunyili explores the dynamics of her culture and community through mixed-media art, melding limitless combinations of acrylic, charcoal, pastel, marble dust, colored pencils, oil, fabric or Xerox transfers into figurative collages with distinct narratives. Both critics and collectors have responded positively to her work. At Art Basel in 2012, five of her large collage paintings sold…
Abigail Vancannon’s oil paintings capture the beauty in the everyday, suggesting the nostalgia of the 1950s. The inspirations for her Americana portraits and scenes are classic car shows and antique stores, and she creates art that “evokes emotions, challenges thinking and thoughts, contemplates beauty and has great power to reach people in a nontraditional way,” she says. Vancannon received her…
With marker and ink, Minjae Lee, a self-taught artist, layers bright, intricate patterns over female portraits. The images call to mind his South Korean heritage and push a contemporary aesthetic. Although a fresh face in the art world, Lee has already been commissioned internationally. Nature plays a dominant role in Lee’s images, and this focus stems from his early interest…
Marcus Payzant’s soft yet texturally rich images transform the mundane and the random into the complex. “I’m inspired by setting boundaries and then trying to figure out how I can break those boundaries to take a piece to a different level,” says Payzant. “The limitless possibilities associated with making art are enticing and inspiration enough to keep working.” Payzant received…
Karen Lederer saturates her paintings in colors and dynamic patterns, and they “revel in excess,” she says. “I create work that rejects the rigid aesthetic directive of formalism in favor of bold color and pattern,” says Lederer. “I am interested in how these elements change how one sees.” Lederer received her master’s degree in fine arts in printmaking from the Rhode…
