ARTograma's Best of 2014

ARTISTs TO WATCH Pressa Hall Aggy Sioud Ariel Basso Peter Passuntino

THE BEST OF 2014

The New Generation of Art

Ariel Basso

Inspired is to be IN-SPIRIT Posted by GiGi Campos 01/25/2013

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riel Basso is a contemporary CubanAmerican artist. He was born and raised in Miami, Florida, where he built a profession as a working artist prior his move to New York. His career has evolved around private commissions and participation in events that support his community and beliefs.

Basso’s paintings have raised thousands of dollars for the Eating Alliance Disorder, Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League and the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Since moving to New York City in 2008, he has focused on researching and organizing his new series. Based on his interest in cosmology and immersing himself in the spiritual practice of relating with unknown

space—“the in-betweens of life”–Basso developed this body of work, defined as “a space of information,” which some people may call inspiration. “…but where is that inspiration coming from?

Inspiration means INSPIRIT and that spirit, that particle, is actually a vast field of infinite knowledge.”

“I believe that after they’ve transcended, the energy of an ancient– for example, Einstein or William Blake or whomever–still lives in this atmosphere… and the more I paint it is always a reminder that this energy never leaves, it’s vibrating, full of information. That’s why I paint what I paint.”

Standing before a Basso, In his latest work, one is immediately “Cygnus,” (next page), immersed in the close Basso pictures the swan- detail he so carefully like constellation in our applies to create a Milky Way, which was vibrating illusion–an used by the ancients to impression of the painting communicate with the coming to life. The artist divine. Combining diverse works with vibrant colors elements of ancient and bold lines, which, he practices and beliefs with claims, is in relation to his creative originality, the child-like experience this new series explores that is within all of us. the profound wisdom and teachings of the ancients “The vibrancy of the colors is my reminder and their powerful, everto remain in this childpresent existence.

like state, not childish but child-like; to be able to see the world through eyes of endless possibilities and retain a vivid imagination.“

Interview with Ariel Basso ​ e sat down with the W artist for a brief Q&A: AoA: There are not many artists out there who work with such a powerful subject matter.

Tell us what inspires you?

label it as “art.”

5pm.

AoA: What is your favorite color?

AB: Gray.

AoA: What would it take to consider yourself successful in your career?

AB: Not working the 9-5 (laughs)…but also I’m not sure I would define it as success, but rather as improvement.

AoA: What is your least favorite color?

AB: Gray. ​ AoA: What does being an artist bring to your life?

AB: Connection to the source…and exercising my first amendment right (laughs).

AoA: How do you define art?

AB: It’s our first given language; it’s the universal language.

AoA: Is there something you hope your artwork brings to the audience?

AB: I hope the viewer is able to understand that simplicity has the ability to say a lot more than complexity. To me, complexity, whether in art or in writing, has the potential of taking us too far into seeking the right answer versus being in the present moment and in peace.

Being able to allow the visual experience to flow through us without any analytic attempts to resolve or understand the subject.

AoA: When did you start creating?

AB: Before I could even

AoA: What is the hardest part in this profession?

AB: Working the 9am-

AB: It’s simple.

I’m inspired by the opportunities which allow me to continue discovering the endless possibilities of being a human, living as an artist and existing as a spirit. I’m inspired by the energy to create!

For more information on the artist please visit his website: www.arielbasso.com Or contact us at: info@artograma.com

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culpture [found her] in undergraduate school, although she later continued to earn her Master’s Degree in landscape architecture. In her work, Poland native, Agy Sioud, integrates her love for the natural with her skills in sculpting to create series of indigenous heads.

Giant, human heads.

Sioud’s work explores the contrasting cultural differences of African tribes and those of the modern world.

She’s drawn to the face “because it says the most about a person”, and her favorite thing is getting her subjects all dressed up and bejeweled. “The devil lies is in the details” she says.

What is it about heads that attracted you?

Aggy Sioud

Head Sculpture POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 06/29/2014

I was one of those kids that just stares at you and observes everything you do. The face expresses the most about a person, and one thing I love about New York is riding the subway. There is such diversity of culture and upbringings, so sometimes for just one

stop I get a million ideas from looking into people’s eyes and what they’re wearing. Sometimes I can even tell what kind of music they’re listening too. The face is very expressive and it represents the real us. We can wear many different masks, and I enjoy digging into my characters’ masks.

What inspired your interest in indigenous cultures?

I love people from Himba.

Happy, colorful, and very peaceful people, who know nothing else except for the way they are. They have nothing to question because they continue to remain uninfluenced by fashion magazines and technology trends.

They make their own jewelry, clothes, tools and equipment and I just love the idea that this kind of purity still exists.

How important is the facial expression to your work?

It’s very, very important!

The position of the head, hair, and jewelry; I take all of that into consideration, and I love

dressing them up.

Do you make sketches or research before you begin a piece?

No. I usually start with an idea, but the whole process is very organic.

Zola, for example (image left), started off as a ballerina, but through the process, she changed cultures and personalities about twelve times. After I got her nose, eyes, and mouth, I said to myself – ‘Okay, she knows something, and she’s going somewhere.’

In other cases when I have a commission, I usually work off a picture and I study every little detail that I’m presented with. Sometimes I feel like an FBI agent (laughs), but the customer usually appreciates that.

How is it different to work for yourself versus producing work for a client?

Commissions are challenging, and that’s why I do them. It’s a challenge to meet the client’s expectations and deliver exactly what they want you to. And

when I work, I don’t go come from the place in school where they teach us: “this is where the eyes have to go”. I do everything from intuition.

When I work for myself, on the other hand, everything is a mystery.

Sometimes it might be a long time before the piece is developed, but I enjoy the freedom of that, and this is the time for me to have fun.

What’s the most challenging part about working in threedimensional art?

most organic form of expressing my art.

Have you experimented with various materials?

Yes, all the time! Last year, I was commissioned to make a piece in chalk, and that was the most challenging and interesting one so far.

I had to create three identical duplicates of carved-out pieces of chalk. I had to go very slow and work smoothly because chalk chips very easy. One wrong move I especially like to sink and it’s all gone! I used my fingers through the needles and little pins wet clay in the beginning. to carve out my client’s Visually-impaired people company name, and it are completely dependent was challenging… but on their hands, and I I managed. They were see it as a gift that we very happy with the final are able to do that. To product. me, sculpture is the Three-dimensional art gives you the opportunity to be inside the canvas, behind the canvas, threequarters of the canvas… you have control from everywhere. For me, it’s a joy to have my hands all over it and having the ability to feel every inch of the piece.

I love working under pressure. When I have a deadline, I’ll work until the last minute, using lots of coffee and no sleep; the shorter the deadline, the better.

How do you know when a piece is done?

I know it when I reach that point of satisfaction and complete exhaustion.

Everything has to be polished to the need of the client because at the end of the day, the work belongs to them. I’m usually very tired by the end because I take my feelings and energy and put it all into my work.

So when I can’t give it anything else, it’s done.

That’s it. Mama made a baby (laughs).

Professionally, what is your ultimate goal?

I’m always looking for new things and bigger challenges, but I’d really love to have my sculptures in an outdoor setting one day. Something like the park where everyone can enjoy them.

For more information about Agy Sioud – Head Sculpture, please visit: www.agyart.com

M Molly McIntyre

Paper Thin POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 09/24/2013

olly McIntyre is a

Distant Correspondent (featured in

contemporary artist

our interview) but she’s worked with

working with cut paper.

lots of cool stuff like, book trailers and

She used to be in a band but now she

cut-paper art through which she likes

works in both animation and illustration

to express herself and her personal

because she likes storytelling and

relationships. Sometimes she even

highlighting the humble moments of our

narrates her own videos.

everyday lives.

With a slight hint of melancholy in Originally from Philadelphia, in

everything she does, Molly’s use of

2011 McIntyre received her MFA

imagery speaks with joy and her stories

in Interdisciplinary Studio Art from

will make you smile with reminiscence.

Maine College of Art. After college she moved to California and then to Brooklyn where she now lives and works as a freelance artist. Her latest job was an animated music video for

“I wanted to show that anything could be your canvas, even if it’s your body. I also liked that it’s a moment in time, and it will get washed off as soon as the work is done. “

Art By Presa POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 12/18/2013

W

e met in 2012 at an

big sister, who is also an artist.

art show where Presa

“I must’ve been two years old when

Hall was exhibiting

my sister would come home from

one of her works on canvas, and had

college and bring work with her.

one body to paint on. She calls it

She’d always pass me the paints and

“skin illustration”, but body painting is

her brushes to keep me occupied

not alien to her.

until I fell in love with it and started working with her.”

“I wanted to show that anything could be your canvas, even if it’s your

At age six, Hall began to study

body. I also liked that it’s a moment

works by VanGogh and O’Keefe for

in time, and it will get washed off as

their use of colors. She remembers

soon as the work is done. ”

being fascinated with their ability to manipulate an image into whatever

She got into painting thanks to her

idea they wanted.

Later, she began taking classes at University of Utah, where she was mentored by highly acclaimed individuals.

About three years ago, the young artist moved to New York City “To focus on [her] artwork and to get inspired.” Since then, she’s participated in numerous group shows, a solo exhibition, and a number of street art projects. Last December for Art Basel, Hall was commissioned to create a mural on a 20-foot wall at Wynwood, Miami’s art and design district.

This year at Art Basel, Hall and some fellow artist shared a booth where she exhibiting new works from the series, “Eye Constellations”.

Modern Day Mythology: Paintings by Misha Tyutyunik POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 02/05/2014

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orn in Ukrain in the early 80’s, Misha Tyutyunik is at the forefront of his career as an

artist. His work integrates political figures with comic book superheroes, which he calls “modern day mythology.”

Peter Passuntino

POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 04/28/2014

B

orn 1936 in Chicago, IL,

During the 1970s, Peter Passuntino

Passuntino now lives and

co-founded the figurative expressionist

works in New York City. He

group Rhino Horn, contesting the New

attended the School of the Art Institute

York School rhetoric and promoting

of Chicago from 1954 to 1958, later

political and social discourse. In 1971,

studying in Paris at Institut des Arts

he was granted the Guggenheim

et Acheologie and Sir William Hayter

Fellowship, following which he received

Atelier during 1963 through 1965. At

the National Endowment for the Arts in

18, Peter exhibited in a group show at

1983 and in 1999 a solo show at the

the Carnegie Institute and, at nineteen,

National Arts Club. Schedule a studio

had a solo show at the Artists Guild in

visit with Passuntino.

Chicago.

POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 05/21/2014

JACK OF ALL TRADES BUT ALWAYS AN ARTIST.

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ustin Carty is a native New Yorker portrait

artist. He works primarily in oils with the frequent use of spray paint, creating intersecting and overlapping lines to explore the face as a landscape. His unique style derives from his background in architecture, and he seeks to capture the “most genuine human expressions�. to see the interview and documentation in the making of the art of Justin Carty.

Visit Artograma.com

POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 07/14/2014

Illustration By Darby Krow Designs

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he illustration of Los Angeles based, Darby

Krow has caught some fire on Instagram for its “cute/ macabre” celebrity portraits with a deeply set sense of humor. Darby Krow says living in L.A. is not much of an influence but he enjoys making portraits of his “heroes” amongst which are Marilyn Monroe, David Bowie and the ultimate, Captain Jack Sparrow.

All work is for sale.

Inquiries for Darby Krow Designs: Darby_krow@yahoo.com Instagram:@darbykrow

As seen in this signature Darby Krow ensemblethe portrait is a skewed image of Darby Krow’s vivid imagination– brought together by his keen eye for vibrant color and flashy imagery. With a fusion of modern cues and vintage flare, Darby Krow is setting the art world ablaze.

“Symbiotic Promise” The Work of artist Ernesto POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 08/29/2014

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rowing up in a small town in Brazil, Kunde’s early exposure to nature inspired his obsession for painting mangroves and the nearby scenery. He has created an exceptional body

of work that captures the tropical surroundings of Miami and its iconic

landscapes such as the palm trees, sunsets, and the many wild birds.

“Despite my parents disapproval, I was able to quit my job and move to America to devote myself to my love for making art. I’ve been working as an artist for five years now. I love to use bright, exaggerated colors; I think they bring joy to the people and to me.�

Aneta Ivanova Photography Q&A

POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 09/10/2014

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neta Ivanova is an artist

Ivanova’s work is a natural product of

whose “brush” happens to

her love for travel, a way to show the

be a camera. At first that

world what she has experienced.

might seem almost like a contradiction in terms, but in her case it is not. In

1. What kind of tools do you use for

fact, to hear her describe the way she

processing?

works, it is the perfect way to merge the things she sees and the artwork

I use my DSLR camera and

she creates, between the camera and

photoshop. Most of the time, I first

Photoshop.

capture the landscape (or urban, or nature) elements, then the silhouette.

“My work is both sensual and emotional, a juxtaposition of the

Afterwards I just blend them in Photoshop.

individual and the surrounding, between the surface and what’s

2. You seem to equally enjoy

happening inside.”

working in both color as well as

black white. Do you shoot in both or

I would love to travel more and

does color come with the process of

photograph every new place I visit.

editing?

Mostly mountains and seas, then big cities and foreign people.

I always shoot in color and then turn the photographs in black and white. I

Visit Aneta Ivanova Photography at:

definitely prefer black and white but

www.anetaivanova.com

I decided to get out of my comfort zone and explore color too. There are projects that just can’t be done in color and other ones that can’t go without it, so my decision depends on the situation.

3. How important is Photoshop in your final image? What is your most used Photoshop tool, plug-in, action set etc.?

I use Photoshop to blend the two photographs together and then apply some contrast and color adjustments.

I don’t use plugins or actions. I just put the two photographs one over another and change the blending mode to “screen” which is the closest to the real double exposure technique.

4. Is there anyone or anything you would love to photograph?

Popularity as Statement: The Anti-Elitism of Mark T. Smith POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 09/12/2014

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rtist Mark T. Smith (Marktsmith.com), who’s based in Miami, has leveraged his dazzlingly colorful palette and fascination with quasi-mythic/archetypal imagery into a solid career. Two

of his signal accomplishments are the Absolut Vodka ad he created in 1996 (“Absolut Smith”) and the poster he did for United States Olympic Team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Some of his many other corporate patrons over the years include: MTV, Pepsi, AT&T, Budweiser, and Disney.

Popularity and accessibility are worthy goals for Smith, who believes that art’s “primary function is to ennoble the public,” and should thus play a larger role in everyday life.

An Acrobat of Genres: The Art and Attitude of Nicholas Chistiakov POSTED BY Adam Eisenstat 10/02/2014

N

icholas Chistiakov

at the Belarusian State Academy of

(Nicholaschistiakov.com)

Arts in Minsk, and then immigrated

is a Belarusian-American

to New York with his family (in 2004).

Artist whose oeuvre includes portraits,

His first mature work was a series of

animal paintings, abstraction, still lifes,

paintings depicting museum scenes—a

nudes, and more. Atypically, he does

conceptual/pictorial means of

many different kinds of work and he

incorporating art history and the idea of

does them all well. He studied painting

the museum as a metaphor for human

existence - where life, death and creativity itself are on display, engaging in a complex dialogue with each other, and with the audience.

POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 10/20/2014

Flour by Eva Depoorter

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chunk of pink meat exits her delicate pout. She presses it against the oven

door and licks it hard. Like the lumps of butter she stirs, her scorn for people melts away- flour blankets her body. She contemplates the gaunt silhouette staring back at her- black drips of grease on a white canvas.

Red lush lips and eyes too big. She licks the dirty girl away and flinches as she touches herself. Good Catholic girls shouldn’t paint, they shall clean.

Fei Li: At War With The Obvious Posted by Eva Depoorter 10/25/2014

it. I’m destined to suffer.

(Fei was introduced to calligraphy at the age of two. She has been drawing and painting ever since.)

-Fei’s insecurity-

her. “It could be -It serves as a still life for my painting.”

“Is it for sale?”

“No, I will destroy it after the painting is finished.” (the installation consists of wooden frames, sheets of paper, a mirror, pictures, newspaper snippets,

H

colorful sticks ) ow anything is so meaningful-

-She paints-

Vibrant strokes of subtle adorn the

Fei munches her cookie and I stare at

canvas: a harmonious mayhem of

her top.

anything.

“It’s a struggle. Sometimes I get so The installation near the window is

desperate and frustrated. But painting

equally intriguing. “Is it a forest?” I ask

took over everything. I just have to do

I munch my cookie and she pours me some coffee.

“I’m hopeful. Cézanne’s early paintings were not that good either. He became better as he got older. I consider art as a lifetime process, a constant evolution.”

-Objects of inspirationThe mirror: “I place it in the still life so I can see myself in what I create.”

The psyche: ”What I paint comes from the inside.”

Space: “In my art, I constantly interpret space.”

-Fei’s job“I sleep with my husband. From 9 to 5, I paint.”

The Sick Bunnies Road Show proudly presents: How to Deal with Randomness POSTED BY Eva depoorter 10/28/2014

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otionless bunnies moan

the concept of ultimate freedom. She

to the beat. Holes in

cranes towards him and whispers :

bags reveal anonymous

snouts. Emma licks the pole and

-Do not worry about me, Funny Little

clasps her hips. Just like the ocean,

Man. An array of soul-sucking events

her lips are obscenely present. Wet

has resulted in my almost soulless

paws press to the damp sand. She

body. I can deal with the random ivory

twirls in circles and reaches for the

white in your dead eyes-

head on the plate. Blood stains on his white fur. Or maybe it’s Maybelline.

Emma smears off the red and smiles at

Lyle Carbajal’s “Artless” Paintings POSTED BY ADAM EISENSTAT 11/05/2014

L

yle Carbajal

inadvertently) concerned with the

(RomancingBanality.

status of beauty in contemporary

com) has a relatively

art. Indeed, his type of art—visually

major show—

raw, polymorphous, drenched in

“Romancing Banality”–coming up

ideas and information, especially

in October in New Orleans, where

autobiographical minutiae—seems

he currently lives. The installation

to question the need for beauty,

that will be on exhibit—25 paintings even its validity as an element of and the recreated structure/exterior of a butcher shop in Mexico City– embodies many of the essential ideas about his work. He cites outsider art and primitive art as influences, though he’s not really a “primitive.”

The jagged textures and apparent artlessness of Carbajal’s paintings are manifestations of his work’s underlying origins, and the considerably more refined textures of his larger artistic aims and ongoing explorations. The artlessness is part of his strategy to strip away any superfluous aspect of the image, to focus on the line, which he believes is the essential element or default of visual grammar. Carbajal’s work may be fundamentally (if

art.

MAHO KINO: IN A NUTSHELL Posted by Eva Depoorter 12/01/2014

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ompared to the mug, her

and tosses down what appears to be a

hands look tiny.

woman sitting in a canoe.

She smiles soothingly and

I take a pic of the drawing and send it

sips the lukewarm tea.

to my friend.

“Peanut in vagina!” she replies.

Everything about Maho oozes elegance and her je ne sais quoi reminds me of

I smile and feel like nuts.

what she’s famous for: cute, frivolous peanuts.

They dance and think, laugh and celebrate.

They’re born entertainers and try to make the most of ‘the moment’.

“But why peanuts?” I ask her.

“While I was drawing the shape of a female body, somebody told me: ‘Hey, that looks like a peanut.’

The remark made her further explore the concept and she concluded something even more astonishing, something bitter sweet rather than salty.

“Just like humans, peanuts consist of 2 parts. They represent the conflict inherent to our souls.”

Maho eagerly pulls out her sketchbook

www.mahokino.com

Artist Michael Alan On the Watch

POSTED BY GIGI CAMPOS 12/29/2014

J

ust a quick visit to Michael

world.

Alan’s art studio, or his social-media presence, is

Do you work from an idea, or do you

guaranteed to prove that

go into it boundless?

abstract painting is still alive amongst contemporary artists. The city never

I make art. To me that is never putting

ceases to amaze with its art culture,

limitations on yourself, this is a form of

and if we could have a top ten list of

freedom. I would not make art if there

artists to invest in, artist Michael Alan

were limitations.

– “an alien who wants well and to exist with a twist of chaos and a big splash

What is your very first childhood

of toxic paint!” - would be somewhere

memory?

at the top. As a young kid, Alan had an interesting start to his artist career but

MA – They are more like dreams

at mid-career has now produced over

or questionable realities. I have

two thousand works and sold more

several questionable potential

than half of that. Needless to say, this

childhood memories. I would rather

artist is on a well-lit path and already

not get into each of them because I

Michael Alan has left his print in the art

question whether they are even real.

I do remember drawing dicks all over

Raymond Pettison came to see it and

everyone’s desks in kindergarten or

then bought the work to put in his son’s

first grade and then hiding in the closet.

room. It really left a deep impression

In addition, while I was in the closet I

on me for more than one reason.

figured I am pretty much caught so why not paint up the closet with more dicks

With a new book in the market, a

and then I was caught and expelled.

collection of his works, Alan is sure to

The whole room was filled with dicks as

continue growing and we are on the

most rooms are.

watch.

What is the most memorable

For more, visit:

response to your work that truly

www.michaelalanart.com

inspired you?

MA- I painted a picture called Little Boy Blue in remembrance of Mike Kelley.