Posts tagged illustration
Tim Biskup (b. Santa Monica, CA. 1967- ) was born and raised in Southern California where he lives and works to this day. From his early years going to punk rock shows and Disneyland in equal parts he was more concerned with his own aesthetic vision than with fitting in. His rejection of a traditional art education (He left Otis in 1988 after two tumultuous years) is further evidence of his commitment to his unique path. He pursued his technical training through years of work in the illustration, animation and graphic design industries. When he finally reached out into the fine art world, it was not through any gallery, but by creating his own series of live art auctions (The Burning Brush Art Auctions, 1999-2002), a novel move that launched not only his own career as a fine artist, but the careers of several other previously unknown painters. What has followed are a string of sold-out (and nearly sold-out) gallery exhibitions and inclusion in several high-profile museum shows throughout the world. Long recognized for his complex color and design theories and a decidedly populist aesthetic, Biskup has amassed a cadre of loyal fans and collectors, propelled further by his steady output of limited edition prints, vinyl figures, books, records and other objects. With recent forays into the writing of theoretical text, and performance art he seems determined to remind his audience that he has a lot on his mind. His theories and actions are at times light-hearted and even funny, but can tend toward nihilism, anarchy and revolutionary idealism, matching the visual intensity of his paintings, sculptures and prints.
Los Angeles-born artist Elizabeth McGrath has always had an eye for the strange beauty in the grotesqueries of life; this appreciation is nowhere more evident than in her work. Inspired by the relationship between the natural world and the detritus of consumer culture, she brings forth a new cavalcade of creatures from the darker corners of the streets, the city, the imagination. It is this melancholy interaction between man-made status symbols and suffering specimens of nature that make up her intricate body of work
The themes in Audrey Kawasaki’s work are contradictions within themselves. Her work is both innocent and erotic. Each subject is attractive yet disturbing. Audrey’s precise technical style is at once influenced by both manga comics and Art Nouveau. Her sharp graphic imagery is combined with the natural grain of the wood panels she paints on, bringing an unexpected warmth to enigmatic subject matter.
The figures she paints are seductive and contain an air of melancholy. They exist in their own sensually esoteric realm, yet at the same time present a sense of accessibility that draws the observer to them. These mysterious young women captivate with the direct stare of their bedroom eyes.
2 years Pratt Institute, Brooklyn - Fine Arts Painting
Audrey updates her online journal frequently with new work, pieces in progress, information about shows and more. Click here to visit Aud’s Journal.
