DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
EXPLORE ART www.DESTIG.com
PETER
BREMERS
Tell us about yourself and
into a glassblowing workshop
background.
with Andries Copier and
I was born in 1957 in the old
Willem and Bernard Heesen
town of Maastricht, in the
at the Jan van Eyck Academy
Netherlands, I developed an
in 1986. Mesmerized by the
interest in fashion, interior
glowing light of hot glass at
decoration, architecture and
the end of a blowpipe, I did
design at an early age.
not only decide to start
It was not until going to the
investigating the possibilities
Art Academy in my home-
of blown glass for my objects
town that I developed a
but also did a post-graduate
profound interest in three-
at the Jan van Eyck Academy.
dimensional art. While studying sculpture, I
Tell us about your work.
found a love for light and its
The following year I started
influence on form resulting in
working in blown glass.
creating light-sculptures. In
Instead of trying to become a
1980 after four years of study
master glassblower myself I
- I kept making light
tried to learn as much as
sculptures and started
possible about the material
exhibiting all over Europe.
by assisting and working with
My work got published in
masters like Lino Tagliapietra
several design books and I
from Murano and Neil Wilkin
would probably still make
in England. Neil and I worked
these light objects and
together
installations if I didn’t walk
with a highly skilled team for many years, producing many blown objects. The use of graal technique (glass made with a colour overlay that is cooled, engraved, reheated, and encased in a layer of clear glass and blown again to expand the decorative engravings) and later the development of double graal, resulted in many successful exhibits and my first book Metamorphosis. Although never being trained beyond an assistant, I love blown glass and learned a great deal about it over the years, studying the way the material behaves, how it flows, what it means to go with the material or against it. In my opinion I am still working with light, colour and form. Another significant change in my work and my approach to glass as a medium came after a very influential and inspiring voyage to the Antarctic in 2001. Translating my impressions of the land-scapes, the glaciers and the square rigged three-master I travelled on into vessels, I found we could not blow an iceberg! It frustrated me as I was so enthralled with the many icebergs I saw as “nature`s floating sculpture garden”. Being trained as a sculptor, I quite easily changed over to kiln-casting, a technique used specifically successful by Czech artists and makers like Zdenek Lhotsky. In short this compels of making a full-size model in wax, clay or in my case an industrial hard foam. I create my model by chipping away from a block, no different to working in wood or stone. From this model a plaster mould will be formed. Once the mould is dry, it will be filled with glass or crystal parts. It is then placed inside a kiln and fired till the glass melts and takes over the form of the model. After extensive cooling, weeks and sometimes even months, the mould is taken out of the kiln and through carefully removing the plaster, the glass shape will be revealed. Grinding away the ‘skin’ that results from the
casting process, the final sculpture will then be ground and polished to equal my model. The series of sculptures known as Icebergs and Paraphernalia became an international success, documented by a book by the same name. My fascination with ice and the way it is transferring light made me undertake more travels to the Polar Regions, resulting in a vast body of ever-expanding work showing nature`s endless source of inspiration. A visit to Arizona and the canyons and deserts of The Four Corners inspired a new body of work by the same title. To me it was a logical step to go from the cold transparent ice to the hot density of the desert`s rocks and mountains. Once again, this earth and it's awesome beauty intrigued, leading to a collection of glass sculptures. The town of Sedona became a refuge. A perfect place for long hikes through nature and quiet time for reflection and the development of new ideas that are then executed in my studio in the Netherlands. Traveling has always been a necessary part of feeling alive for me. My curiosity as a human being and an artist for our planet`s cultural and natural diversity took me to all the continents. When we travel to other countries and cultures, not only does our outer world change but so also does our inner world and the way we perceive our planet and fellow beings. The sculptures of a new series called Inward Journey are often quiet and introspective.
"When we travel to other countries and cultures, not only does our outer world change but so also does our inner world and the way we perceive our planet and fellow beings."
see the front and the back of a sculpture at the same time, as well as the matter and space in between. Glass with its transparency and translucency, transforms and shifts light and has an influence on the intensity of color. It can therefore mold emotion and spirituality, the profane and the celestial. This is always
With titles like Perception, Imprint or
embedded in my work and makes it therefore
Transformation, I share my inner process and life
very personal.
philosophy, meanwhile presenting a mirror, sometimes thought provoking or meditative but
Why is your work a good investment?
always reflecting a need for understanding and
Buying art is an investment in wellbeing.
appreciating the individual as well as the universal.
All the arts, music, literature, dance or film for example can inspire, uplift, challenge or
What makes your work and approach unique?
provoke.
As I was not trained as a glassblower, I approach
Art is a direct form of communication, whether
material as a sculptor. The idea dictates the
emotional, mental, spiritual or even physical.
technique and the material to use. Even though I
The level of art in a society defines the height of
occasionally work with other materials, I have a
civilisation. Investing in art is also investing in
deep love for glass as it is the only material that
the development of your cultural footprint and
allows you to experience 4 dimensions as you can
legacy.
Tell us about some of your achievements. A particularly interesting development is the use of glass outdoors. With the Czech glass alchemist Ruda Banas and Zdenek Lhotsky and his team of kiln cast experts, we have found a very fruitful collaboration that enabled me to create large glass sculptures that can withstand the changes in temperature in different climates. We have placed these sculptures in gardens, ponds and architectural sites. Influenced by the change in light, whether sun, moon, clouds or artificial, the sculpture seems to change in translucency, colour and expression. To have objects outside like this, opened a whole new range of possibilities of using glass interacting with the surroundings.
"I have a deep love for glass as it is the only material that allows you to experience 4 dimensions as you can see the front and the back of a sculpture at the same time, as well as the matter and space in between."
"In a world with so much manmade ugliness I strive to create things of beauty that touch people`s hearts and give them pleasure as well as food for thought."
What are your sources of inspiration? The actual creative process can be the result of observation, contemplation and concept. Much of that is intuitively translated into form, though sometimes that process can take years. I find making art a spiritual journey, a search for what really moves me deeply and helps me understand who I am and what I need to express. The interaction with the public is part of that. That is probably also the reason I love doing commissions, because they challenge me to think out of the box of what I usually want to make. When I get a commission, I look at all aspects, the people, location subject, all the circumstances that help me come up with an idea are completely different from what I normally work with. I find this different dynamic highly interesting and rewarding. What are you passionate about? Traveling! It has always been a big part of my personal growth as a human being and an artist. My interest in cultures and religions, the differences between cultures and how we express our religious, spiritual identity intrigue and inspire me. Nature became more and more important over time, the natural world in relationship to the man-made and my own understanding of it. How do you want your art to affect the viewer/ world? In a world with so much man-made ugliness I strive to create things of beauty that touch people's hearts and give them pleasure as well as food for thought. Art is the quintessential desire to express oneself; it is my joy and passion!
Tell us the back-story of some of your projects. Ten years ago, I was asked to make a large outdoor sculpture, to be placed in a commune for people that were disabled by respiratory illnesses and often only partial mobile or even paralyzed. I created “AURA”, the outline or energy field of a 6-foot-tall man. The color is blue like the symbol for healing, oxygen and water. What I wanted to express is that the people living there may be disabled physically, but they still have the capacity to think, fantasize, dream, travel in their mind, create and communicate as complete as any ‘healthy’ fellow human being. Over time I have made sculptures for institutes, homes, ships and offices. Every commission is uniquely created to interact with the people present and its surroundings, it is some of my most precious work. I recently did two installations for an exhibition at the Fort Wayne museum of Art. The first: “7 BODIES”, represents the human existence as seven individual elements, each containing specific potential: physical, mental, emotional, vibrational, spiritual, creative and ethereal. The outer shape of these seven sculptures is an identical abstracted form. By deliberately denying gender, race or physical appearance, the viewer is
"I find a lot of contemporary art to lean more on concept than visual experience. The mental aspect often diminishes the emotional experience."
invited to look beyond the political, fashionable,
Share with us your upcoming projects.
aesthetic or social connotations that so much
Now I am working on six larger sculptures
influence our perception of our fellow beings and
representing the original art forms: music,
ourselves. Separating the elements that define our
literature, drama, dance, architecture and
human existence and visualizing them as individual
combined the 2 and 3-dimensional fine arts.
entities, the observer is challenged to reconsider
I got the idea for doing this installation when I
each element, its valuation and importance as part
realized that there are many exciting things
of the whole.
happening in cross-over disciplines and art-forms. This is not new and has been going on for many
The second installation is called “Perception�.
centuries, foremost in opera and any similar
This installation consists of 13 sculptures that are
performance prior; opera involves stage design,
identical in form but made from different materials
which would include painting and sculpture,
and/or in different colours. Materials and colours
existing and/or created architectural elements,
represent and associate with different emotions.
dance, drama and of course text (libretto) and
They can be cold or warm, gentle our harsh,
music. I love opera! Even though the Greeks
revealing or obscuring. The intricate shape of each
already developed combinations of the arts, the
sculpture has an opening that allows us to see what
Italians lifted it to great heights, therefore all titles
is behind the sculpture. The way the form tilts
are in Italian.
reminds the viewer of the different angles of perception. The lines lead the eye in and out but
How do you feel about art and its role today?
always back to the hole, while the levels of
Art is more politicized than ever, relating to the
reflectiveness of the surfaces, from transparent to
hear-and-now. It expresses issues that are no
mirroring, change the periphery of our vision.
different than what gets broadcasted on CNN.
Looking through the hole in any object, we can
I find a lot of contemporary art to lean more on
never see the whole installation. We all look
concept than visual experience. The mental aspect
through a peeping hole; we only see a part of the
often diminishes the emotional experience.
whole. It`s our human condition.
As a contrast, much art seems cartoonesque and
decorative. Damien Hirst`s Venice show “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable� was the perfect commentary on this phenomenon and maybe therefore not approved of by the fine art world and its critics but well appreciated by the many visitors, myself included! Tell us about where you are based. Living between my studio in the Netherlands and my refuge in Sedona, Arizona, I travel as much as my work requires and my heart desires. The world is my oyster!
www.bremers.com
SUSIE
HAMILTON
INTERVIEW
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"I paint figures in a ‘wilderness’ which can be a natural or an urban one, a desert or a shopping mall."
Tell us about yourself and your background. I studied painting in London at St Martin’s School of Art and Byam Shaw School of Art and I read English Literature at London University, going on to do a Ph.D on the theme of the transformation of identity in Shakespeare’s plays. I am represented by the Paul Stolper Gallery in Museum Street, London and I am married to playwright and poet Peter Hamilton.
Tell us about your work I paint figures in a ‘wilderness’ which can be a natural or an urban one, a desert or a shopping mall for instance. The figures in my paintings are often solitary and may seem overwhelmed or challenged by their environments and also by my method of painting which defaces or abstracts them into mysterious, metamorphic shapes.
SUSIE HAMILTON | TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"My drawings and paintings are executed quickly and spontaneously with a combination of speed and precision and an economy of line or mark. "
SUSIE HAMILTON
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"My paintings have been shown internationally with solo shows in Oslo and Moscow and they have been featured in books on contemporary art." What makes your work and approach unique?
tourists - and the paintings were then exhibited
My drawings and paintings are executed quickly
in the south transept. Then I had a big solo show
and spontaneously with a combination of speed
at the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, based on the
and precision and an economy of line or mark.
work of seventeenth-century Hull poet, Andrew
They represent singular yet vulnerable creatures in
Marvell. My paintings have been shown
a dynamic world which, with its flashing light, its
internationally with solo shows in Oslo and
contrast of dazzle and darkness, its free-floating
Moscow and they have been featured in books
cells and reeling particles, is one of excitement and
on contemporary art, for example Picturing
danger.
People by critic and broadcaster Charlotte Mullins.
Why is your work a good investment? Well, maybe it would be best to ask one of my
What are your sources of inspiration?
buyers but it seems to have become more and
Life. I draw in the street, in supermarkets, in
more widely noticed and collected over recent
malls and on beaches. I have also recently taken
years, for example by some well known gallerists,
my sketchbooks to the ballet in London because I
by Deutsche Bank or St Paul’s Cathedral or The
enjoy the challenge of drawing fast-moving
Murderme Collection of Damien Hirst.
figures and am inspired by the rapid succession of unusual and dramatic poses. I am also
Tell us about some of your achievements.
continually inspired by poetry, especially poetry
I have had some interesting artist residencies
in which nature is made strange (the poems of
including ‘Here Comes Everybody’ at St Paul’s
Marvell, Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Ovid’s
Cathedral. I wanted to paint people in the
Metamorphoses) or in which people, also made
cathedral - cleaners, clergy and processions of
strange, change their identity or appearance.
SUSIE HAMILTON
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"I believe that art can communicate complex or profound or valuable thoughts through visual delight." What are you passionate about? Predictably, painting and literature: the work of Cy Twombly, de Chirico, Poussin, Bosch, Chaucer, Ovid, Marlowe, Baudelaire, TS Eliot. I also love wild places and the vitality of creatures such as ones I have painted: lorises, lemurs, baboons, honeycreepers, doves. I love to depict things that ‘fly’ or leap: monkeys, insects, birds and recently the gods and demigods in Ovid’s mythology. How do you feel about Art and its role in the world? I feel that some art has become too drily theoretical or message-driven and despises the idea of beauty. I do not believe that beauty and truth, or ideas, are opposed and I believe that art can communicate complex or profound or valuable thoughts through visual delight.
THE INTERVIEW
"The combination of the hotel’s decay and Eliot's scenes of poetic grime led to my sequence of atmospheric pictures of sordid bedsits, rats in tunnels and commuters descending into an underworld."
Tell us the back-story of some of your projects. My recently published book ‘On Margate Sands: Paintings and Drawings based on TS Eliot’s The Waste Land’ grew out of my exhibition at a decaying hotel in Margate, next to the bus shelter where Eliot wrote part of his great poem. The combination of the hotel’s decay and Eliot's scenes of poetic grime led to my sequence of atmospheric pictures of sordid bedsits, rats in tunnels and commuters descending into an underworld. Rereading 'The Waste Land' with its many classical references also led me back to Ovid’s 'Metamorphoses' which, with its descriptions of a swarming, energetic universe and its tales of human vulnerability in beautiful, luminous landscapes, is the source of my current work. Share with us your upcoming projects. I am working towards a large exhibition of my Metamorphoses paintings. I shall be participating in a prestigious show of drawings, the Drawing Biennial, at Drawing Room gallery, London and I am working for Hospital Rooms, the UK charity that invites artists to make art in rooms in mental hospitals. The idea is to make the environments less soulless and arid and maybe to make patients feel less alone in their experiences. I shall be doing workshops and then painting a room in a secure psychiatric hospital in Exeter.
S U S I E H A M I L T O N
www.susiehamilton.co.uk
"I want it to energise the viewer, to communicate pleasure even when engaging with dark or difficult issues."
Tell us about where you are based. I live and work in the East End of London with a studio ten minutes walk from my home. How do you want your Art to affect the viewer? I want it to energise the viewer, to communicate pleasure even when engaging with dark or difficult issues and to make the viewer feel his or her horizons expanded through looking at my work. I’d like my pictures to communicate something of the painful, comic, unfinished, gorgeous, untidy spectacle of life. Eliot said he wanted to write about ‘the boredom, the horror and the glory’ and I suppose that I would like to do that, to express opposite or dissimilar things simultaneously in my work.
DONALD
RUSSEL
NATURE'S ART DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"I create sculptures in stone and wood, ranging from small pieces suitable for a residential coffee table, to large works more appropriate for the entrance to a corporate office building or foyer of a hotel."
Tell us about yourself and background.
In my early working years I was always
A native Californian, I grew up in the 1940’s
employed in positions which involved creative
and 50’s in the small rural country town of
work with my hands.
San Anselmo. Even as a child I was drawn to the wonders of nature surrounding me; the
Then approximately 20 years ago, I began
beauty found in rock formations and tree
sculpting in the natural wood and rock
roots intertwined with river rocks.
resources which remain the base for my
Nature’s art was all around and so inspiring.
artistic creativity.
Tell us about your work. I create sculptures in stone and wood, ranging from small pieces suitable for a residential coffee table, to large works more appropriate for the entrance to a corporate office building or foyer of a hotel. I really enjoy working with natural rock shapes and wood formations such as manzanita root burl. The burl being a really hard wood with incredible grain patterns cuts and polishes superbly. The Arizona petrified wood log sections that I sculpt and polish have the most beautiful color and also polish excellently. Whilst I am drawn to fluid flowing lines with seemingly endless continuity, my works look to capture both the symmetry and asymmetry of all that occurs in the natural world around us. What makes your work and approach unique? Working with very hard stones such as granite or agate, a quartz mineral found in petrified wood, is an extremely difficult process. On the Mohs scale, petrified wood has a 7.5 hardness value, while Jade being a semi-precious stone, is 8 to 8.5. As a result of this there are very few stone carvers willing to invest the time to achieve what I undertake. Sculpting my petrified wood and granite creations is an extremely labor intensive procedure as it is much easier to polish a flat surface than a contoured one. Why is your work a good investment? I am a carver/artist, and have been working with my hands for over 50 years. Because of the style of my work and the limitations of the materials I am working with, few senior artists do what I do and even fewer younger artists are moving into this niche of sculpting. Therefore, my work has great potential for growth in value and I consider any of them to be a sound investment.Â
What are your sources of inspiration? Although I was inspired in my early years by the abstract works of Henry Moore, I am a selftaught sculptor. This allows me total freedom of expression without reflecting the influence of formal teachers. My true inspiration comes directly from nature in the natural rock shapes and wood formations with which I work. Elements such as a teak bench, fashioned from a tree stump originating in Java. The Huangyang Décor Tree Root sculptures, with their roots intertwined in natural granite rock, which do indeed come from China, and the Manzanita burls, found in Baja, California. All of these elements, from various land developments, evoke nature, whilst also speaking to “modern progress” as they were salvaged from areas cleared for development, where their beauty would otherwise be lost. I truly feel a part of nature when I am working with such beautiful and evocative rescued materials. What are you passionate about. I love to hike and explore in areas both close to home and further afield. I am passionate about all the beautiful and unique places that are available to us to visit. I am a strong believer in environmental protection and the preservation of our National Parks and open spaces. Tell us about some of your achievements. I have presented my sculptures at many group and Individual shows including the Gem and Mineral Show in Tucson Arizona, an event that draws visitors and art collectors from around the world. The Tucson show features a talented group of world class artists and at this venue I have sold my sculptures to natural art museums in China and Japan, as well as to private and corporate art collectors around the world.
Tell us the back story of one of your projects. Thoughts of materials and inspirations for future art works are never far from my mind, and while hiking and exploring with my son in the vicinity of the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Guerneville, California, we came across a property which was being prepared for modern development. As part of the development, the stump of a huge “old growth” giant redwood tree was being removed. I realized immediately that here
INTERVIEW | TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
was the potential to find raw material for a future sculpting project. Through discussions and negotiation with the contractor performing the stump removal work, I was able to choose a large slab of redwood from the stump of this giant redwood tree which was estimated to be approximately 2,000 years old. Share with us your upcoming projects. In complete contrast to my typical abstract works, I am currently sculpting a lifelike figure of a standing bison from a marble block measuring 48”x44”x22” and weighing 3,600 lbs. Other future plans involve a return to my abstract background with a large marble sculpture that will incorporate a 20” obsidian sphere. As part of my Autumn Leaf series, another future work will include a leaf sculpture derived from a redwood slab measuring 9’ long x 3’ wide and tapering from 12’’ to 6” deep. The slab is cut from the stump of an “old growth” California giant redwood tree as mentioned earlier. The live tree was over 12 feet in diameter and was believed to have been originally felled in the late 1800’s. Tell us about where you are based. Having been raised in a small rural country town, my love of the countryside has endured and I now live with my artist wife Mary and our dog Daisy on a four acre country property in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in beautiful Nevada County, California. The pond on the property and the unspoiled surrounding countryside are home to many species of wild creatures. Deer, foxes, coyotes and even the occasional cougar roam across the property. It is in this pristine country environment that I draw the stimulation for my continued artistic creations.
DONALD RUSSEL
How do you feel about art and its role in the world today? Art is one of the few entities in our world that knows no borders, no skin colors and no spoken language. Artistic expression can be appreciated by all nationalities, people of all creeds, skin color, or any other restriction placed on our lives by “modern” man. How do you want your Art to affect the viewer? As I create each of my wood carvings or rock sculptures, it is my hope that viewers will appreciate, the inner splendor and magnificence of the beautiful wood grain or exquisite rock composition which my sculpting and carving has revealed, and enhanced.
DONALD RUSSEL
www.naturesart2000.com
JONATHAN
SWANZ
"I use glass as a medium to investigate, interpret and express my relationship to life. My work is driven by process and material, and navigated by ideas."
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
Tell us about yourself and background.
I devoted myself to the studio, to seek
I committed to craft as a way of life 20
great teachers, and exhaust the learning
years ago. My creative impulse was
curve. All the while I was engaged in
sparked by the material problem solving I
conversations with great artists, past and
encountered during high school ceramics.
present. During my twenties I apprenticed
The subjective nature of art was much
with two master glassblowers in Europe
more nuanced and elusive than the
and became a voice in the dialogue of
objective concrete logic of algebra and
glass. Now I’m part of history!
calculus, and I was inspired to bypass scholarships in engineering to double
Tell us about your work.
major in studio art and philosophy.
I use glass as a medium to investigate,
After visiting a professor’s house where
interpret and express my relationship to
nearly everything was handmade, I knew
life. My work is driven by process and
that was how I would live the rest of my
material, and navigated by ideas. I have
life- immersed in a handmade world.
developed two main bodies of work:
Tropical Abstract and Vibrant Matter.
What makes your work and approach
The blown glass sculptures of TA are
unique?
inspired by Hawaii’s ocean, flora and fauna
Two things stand out- one is that I strongly
crafted using traditional Italian and
identify as both a glass blower and as an
Scandinavian glass techniques filtered
artist, and two is my personal relationship
through my personal aesthetic lens.
to embodiment.
The conceptual work of VM explores
It’s an honor to be a torchbearer of a
parallels in the energetic and social nature
historical glass blowing tradition that is
of materials and humans by investigating
over 2000 years old, and a contemporary
state change and energy transfer through
artist working with glass to create abstract
the manipulation of molten glass, digital
sculpture, installations and experiences.
media, performance, and architectural
I studied with masters to learn technique
installations. I want my sculpture to have an
so that I can more easily become absorbed
anthropomorphic quality, a reference to
in the material and process.
being embodied that hooks the viewer to experiencing the materiality of their
I experience my body as a tool, as an
body more deeply.
instrument, as material.
"I often wonder how human’s relationships to Nature, self and other might be altered if there was a greater awareness about our individual and social materiality." I explore my body thoroughly, through intense physical practices and focused reflective stillness. I do not want to experience my skin as the limit to limitlessness. What is integral to your work as an artist? Spectrum and depth. discipline and spontaneitythese qualities are integral to my work. Spectrum is the curiosity, the complexity, the simultaneity, the wonder. Depth is the focus, the refinement, the absorption, the will. Discipline is the craft, the tradition, the form, the technique. Spontaneity is the art, the inspiration, the formless, the poetry. What themes do you pursue? Embodiment, Alchemy, Paradox, and Ecstasy I experience my body as a tool, as an instrument, as material. I also witness society through a material lens. I often wonder how human’s relationships to Nature, self and other might be altered if there was a greater awareness about our individual and social materiality. I like to ask questions about how and why things comingle, what energies brings two things together, pushes them apart, facilitates the transformation of one thing or more into another. These alchemical questions lead to studio experiments exploring the socio-material qualities and potentialities in glass that result in abstract sculptures. I believe that abstract art has the potential for insight transmissions than can be imprinted onto an individual that transcends words.
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019 Why is your work a good investment?
What has been a seminal experience?
My work is a good investment because it has a
I turned 25 working in Paris, France for the
unique potential to make you a better you.
iconic glass duo Philip Baldwin and Monica
I believe art’s purpose it to alter one’s
Guggisberg, It was year of total devotion to
experience of reality, to support individuals
them as their apprentice. I was able to steep in
becoming their best, and to engage
their momentum and magic that had been
conversations from a unique perspective.
cultivated over 20 plus years of working
Art is not something to be purchased for
together, constantly pushing the their edge and
financial gain. That is superficial and boring.
the boundaries of contemporary glass.
The reality is we are here on Earth for a very
It was during this season of my life that I was
short time, and one should surround their self
ingrained with the highest of standards, a
with things that have an impact upon them to
tireless work ethic, and an insatiable desire to
inform, influence and connect one with a greater
make spectacular objects.
sense of self to humanity and creation. My work is a good investment because it has a unique potential to make you a better you. My sculpture is a manifestation of my commitment to glass, craft, creativity, consciousness, ecstasy, and community. I am here to make things that make a difference.
“My work is a good investment because it has a unique potential to make you a better you.”
Tell us about some of your
What are your sources of
achievements.
inspiration?
Last Summer I had work in my
Nothing is out of bounds as
first major museum exhibition
inspiration.
Raw Design at the San
Again, I want spectrum and
Name three artists you’d like
Francisco Museum of Craft and
depth.
to be compared to.
Design, curated by Glenn
If I had to distill it into parts I
Only three?!
Adamson the former director
would say my inspiration is
Constatine Brancusi,
of MAD in NYC. The exhibition
sourced roughly in equal parts
Lydia Bengalis, Eve Hesse...
was “an exploration of
from observation of Nature
My second three would be
contemporary design as a
(including society and self),
Olafur Eliason, Livio Seguso
material intervention,
reflection on relationships, the
and Anish Kapoor..
demonstrating that palpable
act of making, and a desire for
physicality is a creative force.”
refined beauty.
What are you passionate
The institution chose an image
It’s a cyclical relationship in
about?
of one of my sculptures for
which curiosity inspired
The embodied experience.
their advertisement, resulting
observation translates into
I am a hedonist! I want to taste
in building size posters of my
material explorations that are
every flavor of life.
sculpture in the streets of SF.
perpetuated by more curiosity
I want to feel the subtle and
I recently completed my first
and the challenge of
the sublime.
international commission
refinement. Apparently it is
I’m willing to work harder or
north of Barcelona. For the
endless. I have never found my
surrender, which ever is
past two years I’ve had the
self without inspiration, simply
necessary to feel the most
most work accepted in the
without the time, energy and
alive, to touch ecstasy in that
largest state wide juried
materials to constantly make.
fleeting moment.
exhibition in Hawaii, and both
"Nothing is out of bounds as inspiration."
Making art is a constant and
years the State Foundation of
What art do you most
dynamic reference point in my
HI has acquired a sculpture of
identify with?
life that allows me to track my
mine. This year I also received
Modern sculpture, specifically
ideas of experience as they
the Best of Show award.
abstract art and process art.
evolve, or dissolve.
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
Tell us the back-story of some of your projects.
European Cultural Centre along with other
The Constrictions are part of my Vibrant Matter
institutions to organize a ‘tour’ of Europe for
series, a body of abstract glass sculptures
2020. I'm also working on two commercial
utilizing molten glass as an investigate entry into
projects in Hawaii, one with the Four Seasons on
the reciprocal overlap between society and the
Maui and another with the Sheraton Waikiki on
material world. Social observation of ‘socio-
Oahu.
material’ behaviors assists me in framing studio experiments to create unusual and unexpected
Professionally, what is your goal?
abstract sculptures in glass.
I am an artist. I do not think of it as a profession,
Some ideas find expression in both sculpture and
rather a path. My life goal is to continue making
performance, as with the Constrictions.
art from a place of authentic inspiration as a
I was interested in exploring the relationship
means to evolve the connection to self and to all
between the experiences of movement/expansion
things. I want to be a contributing voice to historic
simultaneously with that of restriction/
dialogue of both glass and contemporary art.
constriction. This resulted in both glass studio
I want to enjoy being alive.
experiments to make sculpture as well as a performance involving my body and an 80’ piece
Tell about where you are based.
of square rubber. My personal exploration of the
I’ve lived in Hawaii for the past 8 years. It is truly
material dynamic deepened my connection to
one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
and understanding the sculptural process.
Hawaii is equally influential on my series Tropical Abstract as it is Vibrant Matter, whether I’m
Share with us your upcoming projects.
swimming with the fish, hiking in the jungle, or
There is a lot on deck! I am participating in the
exploring the lava flow. It is a radical environment
iBiennale in Honolulu this March with both a
that is ceaselessly inspiring.
performance and an installation. I’m in a group
Last week I was playing/ practicing between the
show at a major craft gallery in the Southeast in
ocean and a mountain, with a rainbow in front of
May, making arrangements for two residencies at
me, the sun behind me, and wind surrounding
the end of 2019, and I’m in a dialogue with the
me. It’s magical.
www.jonathanswanz.com How do you feel about art
How do you want your art
and its role in the world
to affect the viewer/world?
today.
I want my art to elicit
I believe art is crucial for the
ecstasy, a momentary lapse
wellness of individuals and
of absorption in the pleasure
humanity.
of being alive here and now.
At a minimum art serves as a
I want my art to provoke new
tool to foster connection.
perspectives about
A greater function of art is
materiality, relationships,
transformation. I believe art
and embodiment.
can be an antidote for the
I want my art to be a positive
experience of disconnection
influence on individuals
people experience from self,
becoming the best they can
from society, from history,
be.
from possibility, from
I want my art to have an
purpose. The subjective
anthropomorphic hook, a
nature of art undermines all
reference to being embodied
ideas of hierarchy. Everything
that gives the viewer an
truly becomes relative and
opportunity to experience
each individual’s experience
the materiality of their body
and expression is valued.
more deeply.
"I believe art is crucial for the wellness of individuals and humanity."
JUDY
AIZUSS
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
Tell us about yourself and background. As a child, I was always drawing. Wherever there was blank paper I filled it with my drawings. Recognizing me as “artistic,” my
"I like to think that my artwork speaks of realities and truths that lie beyond our physical senses."
parents enrolled me in art classes. However, they discouraged me from pursuing art in college, persuading me that I couldn’t make a
Tell us about your work.
living that way. So I dutifully left art behind,
My paintings are about discovering Light, both
eventually becoming a psychotherapist,
literally and spiritually. I like to think that my
alternative healer and spiritual teacher.
artwork speaks of realities and truths that lie
My passion for painting was reawakened in
beyond our physical senses. As a landscape
the mid 1990’s, but by that time, the chronic
artist, I use physical tools such as brilliantly
physical symptoms I’d had since I was 21
colored pastels organized into carefully
worsened and I couldn’t attend many art
designed images, in an attempt to
classes.
communicate those truths as I understand
So I learned mostly by reading many art books
them. In addition, I use landscapes and
and magazines, and of course, experimenting
cloudscapes to reawaken our reverence for
on my own.
nature. Nature has a restorative, life-giving
energy which I seek to infuse into my work.
heart and soul. In addition, experiences with
My originals are done mostly in pastels
recurring illnesses have compelled me to dive
applied in many layers with frequent blending
below surface values and into life’s meaning
of colors. I work from a combination of photos
and purpose. I believe that my art reflects this
and my imagination. The colors I use are not
through the basic themes I paint, and may
necessarily realistic, but are chosen for how
well be what draws people to my paintings.
they complement each other and for how well they express my feelings about the scene and
Why is your work a good investment?
the message I want to communicate.
I believe that my paintings are an excellent investment… in yourself. My paintings are
What makes your work unique?
meant to lift your spirit, to inspire you to
My work is unique because while I admire and
move with greater ease through the
learn from other artists, I don’t try to emulate
challenging times in your life, and to be
anyone. Instead, I work intuitively from my
all that you can be. I can think of no better
investment than that. When placed in a
are in it. We learn that Love works. Kindness
corporate setting, these paintings are bound
works. Hope, faith, and joy all work, while
to lift the spirits of employees, thereby helping
hatred and fear do not. And no matter how
to increase productivity. These images may
dark things get in our lives, and no matter for
also communicate to your customers that your
how long, there is always Light awaiting us.
company adheres to higher human values, which may in turn engender trust in your
What public recognition have you achieved
company.
for your artwork? Sunset Fantasy was recently chosen to be part
Tell us about some of your achievements.
of a major new corporate building installation
I’m proud of how I continue to grow as an
in Silicon Valley, California.
artist. Each time I sit down to work my way
Beauty in Darkness was selected for display in
through a new piece I can see and feel how I
the office of the CEO of the Marin County
am composing differently, using my colors in a
Water District.
new way, and overall incorporating
Three paintings: Misty Morning, Toward the
approaches and techniques that I’ve learned
Morning, and Morning Mist were chosen by
about. But I think that by far my greatest
the President of Marin Conservation League to
achievement is the extent to which I have
be displayed in her office.
grown spiritually and emotionally in my life,
Hailstorm won an award and sold at the
through many losses and health challenges.
Motherlode Art Exhibition in Placerville,
We can learn a lot from the darkness while we
California.
"We can learn a lot from the darkness while we are in it."
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
What are you passionate about? I’m passionate about creating art. The process feeds my soul. I experience many moments of exhilaration as imagined images in my mind flow through my hand to paper. Each piece I do is an adventure. In addition, I’m a passionate lover of animals and the natural world. I view every living creature and plant as sacred and worthy of love. I’m also a spiritual explorer, always striving to live a life of compassion, kindness, and unconditional love toward others. Tell us the backstory of some of your projects. “Sunset Fantasy” began with a sweeping gesture of my arms, representing a feeling of bold expansive energy. I wanted strong colors and lots of movement in the painting to express this. I consulted a number of photos, which I combined in the design, employing many layers of soft pastels until the colors were just right. “Beauty in Darkness” is of a scene I encountered at a Lake Bon Tempe, just before a rainstorm. The weather was dark, cold, and windy. I was only out there because my dog needed exercise, and I didn’t expect to see anything worth painting. But suddenly, light came through the clouds and reflected a brilliant silver onto the water, with pink highlights from the sunset. I took it as yet another reminder that even through dark times in life, gifts of beauty are always to be had if we just look for them. Share with us your upcoming projects. I have more cloudscapes planned, and I would also like to experiment more with mixed media and perhaps more simplified, semi-abstract designs. There’s no shortage of ideas I want to try. However, my artwork is a day-to-day, moment to moment thing based on feelings and intuition. I do plan my paintings, but I’m also capable of changing my plan midway, or re-doing a painting that isn’t working as I thought it would.
Tell us about where you are based. I live in a semi-rural town in Marin County, California, surrounded by forests, hills, and lakes, and anchored by Mt. Tamalpais. How do you feel about art and its role in the world today? I think that art at its best aims not to shock, nor even to necessarily be innovative. Rather, the best art - and the art our world most hungers for, is art that communicates meaning, emotions, and connects viewers with their highest and deepest truths, with what they already know and need to be reminded of in their hearts. How do you want your work to affect the viewer/world? Each time someone views a painting of mine, I want them to experience a boost of energy and inspiration, and to be imbued with a renewed sense of possibilities for their life. I also want them to be reminded that no matter how difficult their circumstances might be, no matter how long it has gone on, solutions will come if they just keep going.
What are your sources of inspiration? There is always something I’m wanting to say about my internal feelings at a particular time, perceptions I’m currently experiencing about the world and life. And externally, I am forever inspired by the conversations taking place between Light and Nature: the plants, trees, water, and mountains. And within the ever-shifting cloud panoramas, I receive emotional and spiritual messages that implore me to paint them.
"I want viewers of my work to experience a boost of energy and inspiration, and to be imbued with a renewed sense of possibilities for their life."
www.judyspaintings.net
SYLWIA
KRAMARZ
"By using unconnected images and having different ideas at the same time, it is essential for me to be alert to what is happening and then to reveal what I am feeling." Tell us about yourself and background. I was born in Poland, now I live in United Kingdom-Colchester and work as a teacher at The Sixth Form College in Art and Design Department. I studied in Poland at the University of Zielona Gora and finished my education with a Master's Degree in Social and Cultural Animation with additional specialisation in Art/Photography. Tell us about your work. To create my collages mostly I use found images, but occasionally I mix them with my own pictures and drawings too. Modifying existing images by cutting them out, folding and rearranging them, gives me a real sense of exploration in which I can experience how the past is mixing with the intuition of the present, to form ‘reshaped reality‘. By using unconnected images and having different ideas at the same time, it is essential for me to be alert to what is happening and then to reveal what I am feeling. What makes your work and approach unique? I cannot stop experimenting with new materials and techniques, with hope that the next time it might be perfect- it keeps me going.
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"By exploring the layers of meaning in an art work, you could encounter the really strong emotions as well as aesthetic value that would not be possible without it." Why is your work a good investment? I do not even know how to answer this question… In my opinion, investing in art is always a good investment if you think about it in the big picture. For instance, when you are going to see an exhibition, play, movie etc. or when you are going to buy a piece of art, then it means that you are not only investing in art but also in yourself.
Tell us about some of your achievements. I have had some small achievements so far. It has being giving me the real satisfaction of knowing that someone else likes my work, that there is some interaction and/or reaction between me and the viewers… My work has been published in various art magazines and zines such as: A5 Magazine- 2017 and 2018, Contemporary Visual Art Zine - 2017, Average Art Magazine- 2017 and 2018, WOTISART Magazine-2017 and 2018, RAPSODIA Magazine of Arts and Literature-Spring-Summer 2018 N*19 and Oltre Paper Collage Fanzine N*2 2018-/Future Landscape.
I believe it is happening, because by exploring the layers of meaning in an art work, you could
What are your sources of inspiration?
encounter the really strong emotions as well as
I am inspired by many different aspects of
aesthetic value that would not be possible
present reality, but mainly it often relates to
without it.
certain experiences in my life. When I started
making collages, I was hugely inspired by Hannah Hoch, John Stezaker and Sergei Sviatchenko. These days, when I make my collages, the phrases that I can think of as inspirational ones, which move my imagination, are: ‘ lack of permanence of the subject’ and/or ‘the lack of permanence of the experienced reality.
"When I make my collages, the phrases that I can think of as inspirational ones, which move my imagination, are: ‘lack of permanence of the subject’ and/or ‘the lack of permanence of the experienced reality." What are you passionate about? I am passionate about art, art galleries and about making art. I really like being a teacher in an Art and Design Department as it gives me very real pleasure to talk to students about art, sources of inspirations and development of their ideas. Tell us the back-story of some of your projects. The back-story that relates to one of my projects, that I can think of right now, is when I came back to drawing. I assumed that it would not have happened without discovering that something unusual had occurred to my hands due to an illness. I believe, that it was the major trigger which allows me to came back to drawing without any hesitation. I have started to document my condition by making quick drawings of my hands and then feet. Currently, I am expanding my drawings skills and I am very interested in continuing with this experimental process to see where will it lead me. Share with us your upcoming projects. As I have mentioned in the previous question, I recently came back to drawing which is very pleasing as I had not done it for about fifteen years. At the moment, it is in an experimental process as I try to use it as a source of additional materials when making my work. It is hard to say where it will lead me, but most importantly I am having a great deal of enjoyment.
SYLWIA KRAMARZ | INTERVIEW
Tell us about where you are based. Nowadays I live in Colchester. It is the oldest recorded town in Britain. This is a very interesting place with beautiful architecture and surroundings, situated on the River Colne. One of my favourite places is the town’s art gallery - Firstsite, which presents modern art as well as serving as a social hub for many different initiatives such as a hand-made market or film festivals. What is more, the town is located 50 miles of London, which is extremely convenient.
"These days, we can observe that art helps neutralize social differences by creating a community of humankind."
How do you feel about art and its role today? Art as a principal component of culture that exist among members of society with a strong need for participation and interaction between people, plays a very important role in the world today. Art provides enlightenment as well as an unconventional way of thinking, which is more personal, intuitive - which enriches people. These days, we can observe that art helps neutralize social differences by creating a community of humankind.
I believe, that the privilege of living in XXI century is that artists can take inspirations from diverse areas of cultures, which also provides new challenges and opportunities, brings more space to construct and communicate social meanings and values.
www.katephotography.eu
JORDAN
WADE
Tell us about yourself and background. I'm a classic case of someone who discovered a passion for art, writing and music-making later in my life. When it comes to these art forms, I love getting my hands dirty and diving into new territory right away. Even if I fail and the final product isn't what I wanted, it's the learning process that has bettered me as the current man that I am. As a kid and a younger adult though, I was super focused on competitive sports and school. I played collegiate soccer and I have a bachelor's degree in accounting. But now I've progressed into the artful side of my twenties, always learning by doing. Self-taught and self-motivated. Tell us about your work. My work is mostly collage-based with vintage photographs, and digitally made. As I begin a new artwork, generally I have no clear cut intention of how I want it to turn out, which can lead me to more interesting and unexpected outcomes. But at some stage during the process, I will follow a theme (whether it's surreal, humorous or nostalgic) that naturally takes shape as I create. What makes collage so great is that you get to flip an everyday situation or event into something unique.
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
JORDAN WADE
What makes your work and approach unique?
I've also created different album covers for
I try and keep a sense of reality among the pieces
personal friends of mine. Since I've only started
I make. Many collage artists will cut and paste an
sharing my art in the past two years, I haven't
array of inclusions that don't really relate to the
had much exposure yet. But every feature helps!
source image of the collage, or to what the main theme of it is. I like to keep a sense of possibility
What are your sources of inspiration?
in my work. Having the viewer asking themselves
Other collage artists without a doubt.
maybe, just maybe, could this be happening in
Movies and books to an extent. I don't try and
some other ethereal plane?
emulate other artists necessarily, but I defintely use them as influence for my own stuff.
Why is your work a good investment?
For digital artists, unintentional collusion is
I wouldn't feel comfortable in my honored,
inevitable. But my inspiration can blossom out of
humble nature to convince others of the quality
the simple fact of creating something out of
of my art. But what I would say is that collage is a
something else, visuals that I and other people
very exciting two-way medium. It can be light and
love to look at and admire, which makes us view
fun, or the same subject matter can get a slight
the world in other shades.
twist and turn real bizarre, real quick. And I believe that what I create is unique in the
What are you passionate about?
medium of collage, and it would bring a range of
When I was in high school, my favorite band was
intrigue and emotions to those who'd be
Rage Against the Machine. They had this level of
interested.
raw fury and honesty that I'd never known before.
Tell us about some of your achievements.
I feel like we all have that artisitic fury and grit
My work "I Love You Like Sea Water" has been
that drives us as humans, but in the modern
featured on EatSleepDraw's website amd Tumblr
world we cut ourselves off from that primal,
page. I was featured on the front page of Ello:
creative nature in us. That's why I love art so
The Creator's Community for my submission
much, and why I'm passionate about it.
to Unvael Journal's Issue Four.
It's our last bastian of honesty.
CONTENTS • GRILLED
Share with us your upcoming projects. Soon I'll be creating more cover art for the band Fyoog's second EP. Where I live, there's a wealth of art fesitvals and events that take place monthly and annually, so I am in the slow but fun process of getting prints of my digital works and selling them as a vendor at these events. And I always attempt to make at least one new work a week. Tell us about where you are based. The Grand Canyon State! I live in Phoenix, Arizona and absolutely love it. The greater metropolitan area is so expanded and vast that you can honestly get lost trying to find things to do. Downtown Phoenix, Tempe and definitely Mesa are standout locations for the art scene. And yes, of course yes, it is hot here. But I'm a fan of our heat. Especially since I work inside on the computer, and not outside with the sweating muralists.
"I like to keep a sense of possibility in my work. Having the viewer asking themselves maybe, just maybe, could this be happening in some other ethereal plane?" How do you feel about art and its role in the world? Art gets a massive amount of pressure heaped onto it. On one hand, like I've said, I do think art is one of the few things left in life to be completely honest and forthcoming. But art doesn't need to be a lord and savior for the world. It can be beneficial and spark social change, or be a call for justice, or have a message to tell. But it's ability to connect our collective unconscious not for a purpose, but just for an entertaining moment, is what I consider its role to be. What other pursuits would you say you have? I am also a writer. An aspiring one I'll add, with the perfect pinch of optimism. It varies depending on the day, but truth be told I spend as much time writing as I do making art. I've finished my first novel which I'm hoping to get published, and I'm currently working on a second book.
www.jordanleewadeartwork.tumblr.com
DON
SLOCUM
Tell us about yourself and background. I grew up in Ann Arbor, MI., a midwest college town and was exposed to all the cultural and educational benefits afforded by a major university. I later lived in the mountains west of Boulder Colorado. I attended a Community College photography program in Ann Arbor, but most of my skills are self-taught through experimentation and research. I have been involved in photography whether shooting, teaching, or retail camera sales most of my life. Tell us about your work. What makes your approach unique? While recording real events, which all of my images are, no composites here, I'm always on the lookout for a tiny hook to draw the viewer in. Something that will catch the eye, but not so obvious to be noticed, many times on the sub-conscious level. I'm a natural at composition, I hardly have to think about, it just comes naturally and is a strong point of many of my images.
What are you passionate about? Protecting the environment, especially Hawaii. We only have one planet and it worries me how we've been treating our spaceship. Tell us the back-story of some of your projects. There is really one for each of my images, many crystal clear in my mind. My image 'Milky Way Rising over Green Sand's, involved, four wheeling on a very rough road at 3 am to shoot just before dawn. Here on the Big Island, there are night owls with a three-foot wingspan that will fly in front of your vehicle while hunting for rodents. Seeing one is Aumakua or a good luck animal for me. While driving in I recorded eleven sightings and yes that image is pure magic. Share with us your upcoming projects. I have some international locations that I have interest to visit and shoot, but are all in the early planning stages.  I also have plans to add to my Hawaii images this year by creating images on other islands, including Molokai.
How do you feel about art and its role in the world today? I often wonder that if I'm lucky enough for people to view my work in 100 years, will they be able to say the planet is healthier than the time frame I'm recording, or will it be a sad reminder of what we have lost. Â I'm praying it's the first scenario, we have a lot of work to do!
What are your sources of inspiration? I consider my work a spiritual partnership. As a trained intuitive I focus on what comes up for me internally. There have been numerous times that I've been internally directed to a local or event. When this happens it always magical and I know, at times I'm assisted.
"My time spent in Hawaii has been a spiritual journey and this has greatly influenced my photographic images. As a trained intuitive many times I receive internal information about where to go and when. This nearly always results in spectacular images. I really can no longer doubt it when I get the calling, day or night."
CONTENTS • GRILLED
Tell us about where you are based. I'm based on Hawaii Island, the Big Island, in the middle of the Pacific where I've resided for just
"I want to move your eyes around my images, not just a hit and run."
over thirty years in this lifetime. Â I'm sure I've been here during past lives. How do you want your art to affect the viewer/ world? For me, it's all about sparking a feeling or emotion in people viewing my work. To take someone to calm, introspection is wonderful and if I can hook you into a deeper long-lasting interaction, I'm in heaven. I want to move your eyes around my images, not just a hit and run.
www.donslocum.com
LILLIAN
TURNER-GRACIE
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019 Tell us about your work. I don’t intellectualize my paintings. It’s more of an intuitive process, but I do aim for the feeling of an alternate world or existence. Sometimes when a painting is finished I wonder how I did it, or where it came from. The approach to making this series, called Mountains and Mazes, has been different. In spite of being complex, I have no idea what they will look like even though they may look planned in detail. The subject seems to dictate how they should be done. I might decide to use certain colors, but it mysteriously wants to go its own way. These are some of the most complex I have done in a different way than previously. This is partly because I begin at the bottom now, as the pieces are weaving together and growing upward with a destination unbeknownst to me. What makes your approach unique? So far, I haven’t wanted to include people. This is a private world for wandering, an alternate world, a sometimes enigmatic experience for myself and the viewer. The mazes also seem to be about dilemmas, waiting patiently for a clue or an answer to emerge with time.
Top Artists for 2019 LILLIAN TURNER-GRACIE What are your sources of inspiration? Photography is very important in the process by collecting all kinds of images as symbols to be incorporated to evoke these feelings. The dreamlike worlds of Metaphysical and Surrealistic art and the artists DiChirico and Max Ernst are inspirations. To quote the poet Novartis on the Power of the Dream in Freuds Interpretation of Dreams- “ The dream would seem to be a bulwark against the regularity and commonness of life…”
"This is a private world for wandering, an alternate world, a sometimes enigmatic experience for myself and the viewer."
Ideas come from endless sources; dreams and nightmares, observation and fantasy, science and nature or‌ the unexpected.
for working in other materials. Sometimes the media alone is reason enough to create. Ideas come from endless sources; dreams and nightmares, observation and fantasy, science and nature or… the unexpected. Tell us about where you are based. I sensed the magic when I first came here to New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment” in 1986 It almost buzzes with a strange energy. Visiting the Greek island of Santorini was also important, feeling a similar energy overlooking the harbor at the edges of the ancient volcanic caldera. The sunsets reflected rainbow colors on all of the white buildings along the cliffs. Steps and stairways going up and down were everywhere. It all seemed symbolic of something I couldn’t explain.
Tell us about yourself and background. I was born in the northeastern US and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1968 with a degree in Ceramics. I have worked with clay and painted for many years exploring many ideas from realism to abstraction and now to a kind of surrealism. Living in West Palm Beach, Florida for many years provided much exposure to European influences in art and interior design as well as traveling in Italy. My former husband was a restorer of fine paintings, so there was the opportunity and time to study the work of many artists in detail. We also had a business specializing in painted finishes, unusual decorative objects and antiques. This included restoration of 18th and 19th century Italian painted furniture and custom work for designers. The knowledge gained in one media creates ideas
"I sensed the magic when I first came here to New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment” in 1986. It almost buzzes with a strange energy."
"Sometimes when a
of colors and exotic formations. I didn’t connect
painting is finished I
the space made it feel like I was visiting another
wonder how I did it, or where it came from."
with a way to relate to them yet. The hugeness of planet. After a while I began to see them as mazelike, staggered and layered one in front of the other while moving back into vast landscapes. This also became the basis for ceramic sculpture of mountains and boulders, as well as paintings.
Tell us the back-story of some of your projects.
Share with us your upcoming projects.
Returning to live in New Mexico in 1998, I first
My next project will be to larger work so it seems
thought I shouldn’t paint the mountains here
as if you could enter the scenes. Most of the maze
because they weren’t the Adirondacks of New York
paintings have pathways which can be followed.
State or the Green Mountains of Vermont that I
A way out can be seen or there might be a
grew up with. They were so different with layers
dilemma about which direction to take.
www.lillianturnergracie.artspan.com
LYN ORONA
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019 Tell us about yourself and background My name is Lyn Orona. I was born and grew up in the farmlands of Ohio. I began oil painting and working with clay in the Seventies. I am a self taught artist and have taken a few college art classes, workshops and read many books. I did not seriously take on competitive art until recently.
Painting the Native Americans, old legendary cowboys, and the Mexican culture.
19
"I enjoy vivid and rich colors that are true to the Southwest."
much technique or formula. I then can stretch my imagination to follow where the painting wants me to go. Buildings don’t have that rigid look and sometimes have a look of fantasy.
Tell us about your work.
I strive to create scenes that interpret their
I am an intuitive oil and pastel painter leaning
history of what life must have been.
toward Impressionism. Photos are used as reference only. I enjoy vivid and rich colors that
Why is your work a good investment?
are true to the Southwest. I use my imagination
I feel art is always a good investment.
more when painting the Native Americans, old
As time passes, we can forget our history on
legendary cowboys, and the Mexican culture.
how people lived in everyday life.
When I was finally able to move to the
I want my paintings to be a statement to reflect
Southwest, my paint brushes were put to work.
the old cultures of this land and people.
It is my way of painting the history of who they were and how they lived.
Tell us about your achievements. I have been in many International and Fine Art
What makes your work and approach unique?
Shows with awards. I have produced two Fine
Since I am self taught, it allows me the freedom
Art Shows in my area with over 50 Artists.
of being more intuitive in my work. My work can
Both were a success with a percentage of the
then come from my soul and not blocked by too
proceeds to charity.
"In today’s world, we need to look with understanding of the different cultures and ways of life. I want my paintings to convey the beauty of the people and the world around us." I started a jewelry business in 1989 which developed into fabricating Silver with gem stones along with my husband, Richard. We won awards in many Fine Art Shows. We finally retired from making our jewelry a few years ago. What is the source of your inspiration? I feel refreshed when out in the open landscape. Clouds change shape and bathe the mountains in different colors of light. You can see magic in the trees that are bright green in spring to a vibrant autumn. It is good to visit other galleries and artists to keep up with new ideas. What are you passionate about? I like to promote the arts and artists no matter what their medium might be. We can hope to spur on the ability to create. Tell us the back story of some projects Many years back, I was working in a real-estate office. A co-worker was a silk scarf artist doing art shows on the weekends. She asked me to make up some jewelry broaches to show with her scarves. I didn’t know anything about making jewelry. She said, “You are an artist, I am sure you will figure it out.” So I did make up a few of the broaches with found objects and finished gem stones. She took a few for the upcoming show she was doing. I had a few left and decided to take them to a boutique. Much to my surprise, the boutique bought them.
As a single parent at the time, I saw a way to make money and my jewelry business was born in 1989. I am now retired from jewelry and focusing on painting. But it proved to me that you never know what you are capable of until you try.
How do you want your art to affect viewers?
Tell us where you are based
I would like viewers to feel the warmth and peace
I live in and love New Mexico. I live in the
of the scene. In today’s world, we need to look
pocket of the old west. The history of the
with understanding of the different cultures and
Southwest with outlaw cowboys, ancient
ways of life. I want my paintings to convey the
peoples, and colorful, vibrant cultures, it is the
beauty of the people and the world around us.
perfect place for my paintings.
Share with us your upcoming projects.
How do you feel about Art and its role in the
Currently, I want to learn more about the Plein
world today?
Air events around the country. It is a different
Art is a healing force in the world.
way of seeing light out in the open. I have been a
Especially today when there is so much turmoil
studio artist for a long time. This will be a
happening.
challenge to work on for a while with much to
Art is used to rehabilitate people with
learn. Plein Air artists are warriors that take the
disabilities. In Hospitals, art helps lift the spirits
freezing cold, the scorching heat, equipment and
and alleviate stress and anxiety. Art is used in
stand in ants to paint. I have to decide if I could
many different programs for education and
be that warrior.
healing.
LYN ORONA
www.lynorona.com
LINDA
ATKINSON
"There was never any real question of my becoming an artist."
Tell us about yourself. I began drawing at three and never slowed down. At six I conducted art classes in the attic, my three younger sisters my students. At eleven, Dad built me a studio in the basement, no sisters allowed. At fourteen I pleaded to leave home to attend a school of the arts high school, located in North Carolina. No go, but as a consolation prize, I was given a room in my grandmother’s house for a studio and a Famous Artist Correspondence course. There was never any real question of my becoming an artist.
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019 | INTERVIEW
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019 | LINDA ATKINSON
"The challenge in painting sculpture is to paint each side differently and uniquely, and by the time you are back at the beginning the painting must come together as a whole." What makes your work
Tell us about some of
and approach unique?
your achievements.
As a sculptor in graduate
My proudest achievement
school, I worked
was winning the
primarily with professors
commission to carve the
in the painting
Ark doors for Temple
department, particularly
Emanuel in Roanoke.
the photo realist painter
The center piece of the
Robert Bechtle.
sanctuary, the 4’x8’x3”
I made sculptures of
doors are of carved and
potted plants, human
painted mahogany, lit from
scale, painterly,
within and pierced with
gestural.
stain glass.
I painted shadow and light as if the sculptures
What is the backstory of
were flat, giving them a
one of your pieces?
heightened synthetic
When I was invited to
sense of reality.
submit a proposal for the
From sculptures of
Ark doors at Temple
plants I moved on to
Emanuel, I researched
making sculptures that
Jewish symbols and
addressed genres usually
struggled with pulling
reserved for painting– florals, still life and landscape. The challenge in painting sculpture is to paint each side differently and uniquely, and by the time you are back at the beginning the painting must come together as a whole.
Why is your work a good investment? This award, as one of the Top Emerging Artists for 2019 pretty much says it. It is an honor to be included in this publication, with the opportunity to present my art to a global audience. As an art appraiser, I would have to say that the best investment you can make in art is buying something you truly would love to live with. Trust your own judgement, trust your eye.
those symbols together cohesively. Ultimately I settled on a Tree of Life motif, and my design was unanimously chosen by the Temple selection committee. After I carved the doors, I was reading an older brochure about the Temple, and found that the
relief sculpture above the
Share with us your
doors was a combination of
upcoming projects.
Hebrew letters that
One of the most rewarding
signified tree of life! After
projects for me is the
my doors were installed,
yearly Open Studios tour.
I invited my parents to the
A dozen or more artists
dedication, and my Dad
open their studios to the
recognized the Temple as
public for a weekend.
built by my grandfather’s
It’s a beautifully promoted
construction firm of brick
event, a visual art tour
masons. Destiny, perhaps?
that meanders through the Fall countryside.
What are you passionate
It’s an opportunity for
about?
sales, and I enjoy sharing
I’m passionate about color.
my studio with the public,
It’s the color relationships
and educating interested
that I find most interesting,
visitors about the process
and I learn something new
of wood carving.
with each brushstroke. I might have a general idea
Tell us about where you
of what colors I want to use,
are based.
but once the creative
I am based in the Blue
process takes over, I try to
Ridge Mountains of
stay open to all color
Virginia in the small town
options. My goal is to make
of Fincastle, outside of
it work, to keep it fresh, to
Roanoke. I grew up here,
create an aliveness and
and was very anxious to
energy, to not be too
leave after high school.
predictable.
I went to college in Richmond and then to the
What are your sources of
Bay Area for graduate
inspiration?
work. I lived a block from
Landscape inspires me.
the ocean in Santa Cruz,
Art history. Other artists.
and went to the beach
The creative process
nearly everyday. I moved
inspires me. But ultimately I
back to southwestern
would have to say my own
Virginia for family, and
work. I make one piece, and
now live in a fairy tale
that piece leads me to
landscape of rolling hills
another, and then another.
and mountains, cornfields
I tend to work in series, and
and cow pastures.
I have three or four
I am confronted by a
directions going on at any
stunning landscape every
one time. I have more ideas
day, and it just feels right,
than I can keep up with.
it is home.
"I believe that the artist is an envoy of the human spirit who’s job it is to reestablish the 'enchanted' dimensions at the core of human existence." How do you feel about Art and its role in
objects carved from wood and painted.
the world today?
Another is a series of totems, free-standing
I believe that the artist is an envoy of the
sculptures that combine images one atop
human spirit who’s job it is to re-establish the
another.
“enchanted” dimensions at the core of human existence- poetry, myth, passion, imagination,
The best reaction to your artwork?
true love, magic, the marvelous, dreams.
The best compliment I received of my work
In the words of Michael Lowy, art is also the
was that it was that it was profound. I’m not
utopian and revolutionary aspiration to
satisfied to make pretty objects, I want my
“transform life”- an adventure that is at once
work to have soul, to be humorous,
intellectual and passionate, political and
whimsical, unpredictable, well-made,
magical, poetic and dreamlike.
beautiful, to have heart.
What keeps you coming back to the studio,
What questions are you asked most
day after day?
frequently about your work?
I’m looking for a visual experience that is
What’s the significance of this or that
satisfying to me and unfolds with the making.
element? What’s the snake about? What’s with
In addition to my house sculptures, I have
the ladder? What’s the meaning of the iron?
several other series that I have investigated
In carving recognizable objects from wood I
over the years. One is a series of carved and
get the chance to add layers of meaning.
painted mahogany relief sculptures, life-size
An iron can be a symbol of women’s work,
silhouette shapes of the female form
it can be seen as enslavement or a strength,
enclosing an interior dreamlike landscape.
depending on your point of view.
I have a series of non-objective painted
A ladder can signify progress, ascenscion, and
constructions, as well as a series of still life
spiritual passage.
"Art has directed every aspect of my life."
What’s your artist story? (as opposed to your biography and CV) Art has directed every aspect of my life. I have a BFA and MFA in sculpture which enabled me to teach, and I taught sculpture, drawing and art history as a part-time adjunct for many years, as I was never interested in teaching full time. Studio time was my priority, and making art came first. Somehow being a sculptor emboldened me to undertake a motley collection of jobs including brick-laying, construction, working in a bubblegum factory, a fiberglass technician making mining devices, waitress, book-keeper, gallery director, motel manager, salesperson, childcare worker, art appraiser, mother. Who is your art for? I would hope that there is something in my art for everyone. I want these objects to have weight and presence, to provoke curiosity, to be multi-faceted, to be interesting and visually beautiful, to be profound, and to have heart. www.lindaatkinsonart.com
PETE NICHOLS
Tell us about yourself and background. I was born and raised in Colorado and have lived here all my life except for a 10 year span of time when I was in college and graduate school.
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
I probably don't have the typical back round of an artist because I studied and trained to
Tell us about your work.
perform research in Biochemistry and found
I work hard to find something around me
that I felt socially isolated doing this and
that will be interesting. I want people to think
switched careers to become a teacher in this
about what they are viewing and hope they
area of study. I've never had any formal
think there is more to the photograph than
training in art but pursued studying and
"that is pretty".
learning about photography on my own many
For me, the photographs I have taken tell a
years ago. I began traveling overseas when I
story. Maybe, in part, this is true for me
was 19 and never stopped because of how
because I both saw something I felt was
much I loved taking photos while in a foreign
interesting and decided on taking a
location. I take my camera with me anytime I
photograph of what I was experiencing.
leave home because of that one trip I took
I like color photographs primarily, because
while in college.
they represent what I am seeing, literally.
PETE NICHOLS | TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"I know I see things differently than most people and I'm very patient in finding and setting up a photograph." What makes your work and approach unique? I know I see things differently than most people and I'm very patient in finding and setting up a photograph. I've had people I've traveled with say "I never saw that" when they viewed my photographs. I believe my desire to find something interesting when I take a photograph is unique. I also find that people and animals provide the most interesting photos so I love this genre of photography. Why is your work a good investment? This is an interesting question because I feel art brings out so many subjective feelings. I personally would never put something on my walls that I didn't love and want to look at every day. I would desire that anyone who bought my art loved my work and wants to see it every day and maybe find something interesting in the work that they can contemplate. Having something in your home, that you love to look at and that makes you wonder about the world that my photo captures is what makes art worth while to own.
PAGE 1 • LE VOYAGE
"I am passionate about travel because so many things arise to stimulate your thinking."
What are your sources of inspiration? I loved the work of Sebastiao Salgado from the moment I first saw one of his photos. He shoots black and white photographs and he does exactly what I hope to do; he makes the viewer wonder about what they are seeing.
Tell us about some of your achievements. I was twice selected to exhibit 3 photos in the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Colorado Artists Exhibition. I had a photo exhibition in the Manitou Arts Center that displayed about 30 photographs. Finally, I had photos in a regional art gallery mixed media exhibit and my photograph of one of my dogs in the show was used on the cover of the arts section in the Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper.
Steve McCurry is another great photographer who shoots in color and I enjoy that he finds people very interesting to photograph. My last inspirational photographer is David Yarrow, who does both black and white and color photography and many of his photos are of animals. All 3 of these artists provide inspiration because they have a very interesting take on the world around them.
"Photography has an essence of Buddhism to it. You saw something that will never be seen again." What are you passionate about?
Tell us the back-story of some of your
Very early I found a natural curiosity about
projects.
many things. So, I am passionate about
I've wondered why I have really good focus
learning and satiating my curiosity. I believe
when I am out performing photography and I
this curiosity is what directed me to study
believe that where I grew up has a lot to do
science. I loved school and to this day study
with my ability to concentrate and understand
because of my passion for learning.
what is going on around me. We grew up in
I am passionate about travel because so
the poorest part of the city and went to pretty
many things arise to stimulate your thinking.
tough schools.
That, for me, is the great thing about
A skill that was of benefit was to be able to
photography. I try to capture the great things,
quickly understand what was going on around
the incredibly stimulating world around me.
you and the mood of people around you as
Photography has an essence of Buddhism to
well. I have used this ability to judge my
it. You saw something that will never be seen
surroundings well when I am looking for a
again. You found that brief moment that
photograph. I also know that the very first trip
highlights the concept of impermanence and
I took overseas (to Kenya to see my brother
that sight/moment is mine and hopefully my
who was there working with the Peace Corps)
photos translate so that brief moment of time
excited me and helped me to become
can be appreciated by someone else.
passionate about capturing the images I saw.
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
www.peternicholsphotography.artspan.com
How do you feel about art and its role in the world today? Think about your home, office, etc. and what you have there. My guess (my hope) is art. I can speak best about photography because this is the art form I work with primarily. People will see photos in my home and immediately this opens up conversations about the places and situations they see in my photos. The world comes to the viewer and stimulates them and I believe art has a very Share with us your upcoming projects.
important role in bringing the world to
I have two places that I want to travel to and
people who otherwise may not be able to
photograph. Papua New Guinea and Bhutan.
experience or even know about a certain
Both of these places have incredible culture to
culture or region. I love that I can look at
experience and seeing the people practicing
the photos all over my walls and think about
their culture in these locations I would find very
that moment. I still remember taking every
intriguing.
photo I have on display and the photos I
I also believe I have unfinished photographic
have on display that I did not take make me
goals in Kamchatka, Russia as well.
wonder just what the artist was able to see and experience when they took that
Tell us about where you are based.
particular shot. Art should make us think,
I don't believe that I have a traditional base that I
wonder and feel that we are part of
operate from. Just about any place I go, my
something, even if we didn't create what we
camera is with me. In fact, I believe living in the
are looking upon.
same city for a significant part of my life is a detriment to using this city as a base of
How do you want your Art to affect the
operation. I say this because I'm just too familiar
viewer/ world?
with things here and I don't often feel stimulated
Nearly every question I've answered seems
by what is around me in an artistic sense.
to find me discussing something about how
This is unfortunate because I know there is a
I have tried to capture something
wealth of great photography here but it is up to
interesting and thought provoking in my
me to refocus on the area to see all the
photographs. I would hope I've achieved
interesting things around me that I have taken
these goals and if I have, I believe I've
for granted.
brought a bit of the world into someone's
Until I make that refocus, I will continue to love
eyes they've never seen or if they have been
traveling to capture a world that is so different
to the same locale, I've captured something
from the one I experience here.
unique for them to contemplate.
NATALIE
VENTIMIGLIA
"We can choose to live in a high vibration or a low one. My work is dedicated to grounding down the highest of vibrations."
Tell us about yourself and background. I grew up in Michigan where I was mostly interested in science. I went to Michigan State University to study Biochemistry. I graduated, although sometime during those years I came to realize I wasn’t going to be a scientist in the traditional sense of the word. After college I moved to San Francisco where I got wrapped up in the Dot-Com era. I was 10 years into a successful run in telecom sales when I decided I could do something more important with my minutes. I quit my job and enrolled in art school and private instruction in forming glass.
Tell us about your work. My work is a physical manifestation of the inner-word in the outer-world seen through a spiritual lens. I spend an enormous amount of time trying to understand the mysteries of the Universe and why we are here. What speaks to me the most is that we are here to co-create with the Universe and the best way to do that is to see everything in terms of energy and vibration. We can choose to live in a high vibration or a low one. My work is dedicated to grounding down the highest of vibrations. What makes your work and approach unique? In order to have the best outcome for every project, I created a process called Intentional Reflection™; intentionally creating our own story, such that it is embodied in glass art, reflecting that portrait back into the space in which the art resides. Through self reflection the desired look and feel is merged with the reflective qualities of glass. Just as light is refracted by glass, changing its direction, we intentionally direct The Light toward the highest potential of what the space is becoming, affecting both the environment itself and those that may occupy it.
DESTIG | TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
Why is your work a good investment?
Stopping the wheels in motion to explore the
When people buy my work they are really
inner-world was difficult for me.Â
investing in their future. I studied with a feng
Although, once I could clearly define my lane I
shui master and one of the biggest takeaways
was able to completely focus my awareness on
was learning that people tend to gravitate
accomplishing that purpose everyday.
toward, and surround themselves with, items
Everything fell into place after that.
that resonate with who they are in the current moment. One of my gifts is being able to tap
What are your sources of inspiration?
into what people are supposed to be doing.
When I was in high school I met an American
I create a spark, reminding collectors of the
Indian bead artist who taught me how to
agreement they made with the Universe before
channel energy into art.
they got here and hold space for them to walk
I understood in one moment the power art can
into what they are becoming, to experience this
have. It blew my mind wide open.
evolution through art.
I was so inspired by her ability to see that the art she was making wasn’t about her, it was for
Tell us about some of your achievements.
the people who would connect to it and let it
The thing I am most proud of is clearly defining
transform their environment.
the purpose of my work and who my collectors
I am very action oriented and respect those
are. I literally had to stop making art for a
who are also taking steps to be the best version
period in order to regroup and figure this out.
of themselves.
"My passion lies in making every project the best it can be for my collectors and the spaces they occupy." What are you passionate about? My passion lies in making every project the best it can be for my collectors and the spaces they occupy. When people walk into a room, I want it to feel good, that is my intention for every project. When people are in the perfect environment for the situation, they are free to thrive on all levels. My process allows my collectors to determine the quality of their surroundings so they can easily shape their world. I can’t think of anything more important than spreading this high vibrational energy out to the world and people really feeling it. Share with us your upcoming projects. Right now I am creating a series of 10 pieces for a new hospital in Denver. It will be for the entry hallway and the work will be on either sides of the room. I am imbuing the energy of strength, healing and love into the glass so that when people walk through the front entrance they are surrounded by this energy and can carry it to the rest of the hospital feeling supported in whatever challenging situation brought them there. Tell us about where you are based. I am in the middle of moving my studio so I will be across the alley from Flux Glass studio in Denver, CO, home to some super talented glass artists I adore. We have complementary equipment and different yet overlapping skillsets in forming glass. The value of collaboration is so evident to me and I am grateful we will be able to support each other in our projects and bounce ideas off each other. In general, I am going to keep this studio so I can always work in Denver yet I see myself making art onsite all over the world with the myriad of talented artists I have befriended over the years. We are all uplifted when we share our talents with each other and the world.
"We have the ability to catalyze consciousness towards a more unified World and mediate the transition to Heaven on Earth." How do you feel about art and its role in the world? Artists are on the cutting edge of what is available in regards to evolution. We have the ability to catalyze consciousness towards a more unified World and mediate the transition to Heaven on Earth. Art has consistently been able to unify and evoke feelings that would otherwise not be so easy to tap into. The visual arts are especially successful in achieving this as there is no language to separate the viewer from the artist/art. It creates a “feels like” response that is universal to all realms. We are so blessed as artists to be able to touch people in this way. How do you want your art to affect the viewer? The flow of creativity is the purest expression of our Divine purpose. Art made with the intention to spread the Light can activate parts of our subconscious that are eager to awaken. It is easier to stay in flow if we surround ourselves with people and things that keep us “High Vibe”. My intention is to make art that is transformative, art that creates an experiential environment that keeps people in this higher state. The longer we can stay in this high vibrational state, the easier it becomes to feel the love available from God, the Universe, the Force or whatever name one gives to a Higher Source. I want people to remember on a daily basis the potential of what they came here to achieve so they can spread and ground this energy as well. The more people who do this, the bigger shift we make as a species and the distance between us all eventually diminishes. www.natalieventimiglia.com
HANAA
AL-WARDI
Tell us about your yourself and background. I was born in Baghdad, Iraq and I am the middle of seven siblings. My academic background was always in the Sciences. I worked as a Bacteriologist for a short period, and then came to the U.S. for advanced education in 1970. I received my Master's Degree in Medical Microbiology from California State University, Long Beach in 1973 and my Master's in Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate University in 1990. I am a Multimedia Artist, Author, and Poet. I opened my own studio and Art Gallery in Alhambra, California in 1990 and I work and exhibit my art work at the same location. In 2000, I founded the Museum of Contemporary Arab Art (MOCAA) as a nonprofit organization to house and exhibit
"I founded the Museum of Contemporary Arab Art (MOCAA) as a nonprofit organization to house and exhibit my work and host highly accomplished artists for exhibits and lectures from around the Arab world."
my work and host highly accomplished artists for exhibits and lectures from around the Arab world.
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"Issues involving the environment, politics, and society are very important to me and affect me emotionally. I am both saddened and uplifted greatly and my emotions ignite my passion to create art about what I am feeling." Tell us about your work. I am a Multimedia Artist. I use wood, metal, canvas, photographs, oil and acrylic paint, ink and chemicals in my work. I am not confined to one medium because I like to be free in choosing whatever is necessary that fits the subject that I am working on. For example, if I am working on an environmental subject, I use metal, chemicals and wood. On the other hand, if I am working on a political project, I use acrylic on canvas, photographs, ink and maybe a collage to convey my message. Sometimes I even use newspapers, sand, straws and twigs. I also write poems, slogans or comments and embed them throughout the surface. What makes your approach unique? My work and approach are unique as a result of the subject matter and the media I choose to work with. My point of inspiration is
because of my cultural and academic background. Issues involving the environment, politics, and society are very important to me and affect me emotionally. I am both saddened and uplifted greatly and my emotions ignite my passion to create art about what I am feeling. I have incorporated my own poetry and messages all over the canvas which has intrigued viewers and evoked their emotions. Why is your work a good investment? My work has received significant and meaningful publicity over the decades. Local, national and international venues have selected my pieces for major group and individual exhibits. My exhibits have also been featured by TV networks, magazines, and newspapers through the years. Private art collectors and public institutions from all over the world have purchased my art for their own collections over the years. Also, I have been commissioned by public institutions for ceramic murals and paintings for public buildings. Some of my art work is featured in major international museums, including the Museum of Art in Baghdad, Iraq. The value of my art work has increased in value with such wide exposure and coverage in the media.
"Currently, my ongoing solo exhibit entitled 'The Wall' features eleven paintings and five poems all exhibited together as one."
Tell us about some of your achievements. I believe that my biggest achievement is when I received my MFA and opened my own art gallery in 1990. I hosted my first solo exhibit in 1992 entitled "Collateral Damage." Another significant achievement is the establishment of the Museum of Contemporary Arab Art in Southern California. MOCAA has featured exhibits for many important contemporary Arab artists from around the world and allowed art lovers in Southern California to understand and appreciate diverse perspectives and non-traditional artistic styles. The publication of my first book in 2015, "Paint Your Stress Away," is also a highlight of my career. Currently, my ongoing solo exhibit entitled "The Wall" features eleven paintings and five poems all exhibited together as one. This exhibit has received extensive media attention as it merges war, migration, borders, and pressing social issues of our time. A book about "The Wall" exhibit is currently in schedule for publication shortly.
What are your sources of inspiration? I am most inspired by nature, environmental issues, social and political issues. I am surrounded by rocks, minerals, jewels, pods, and tree bark when I am working. I keep these items in my studio for inspiration. What are you passionate about? I am most passionate about issues involving the health of our environment, nature, society, and politics. Tell us the back- story of some of your projects. My recent exhibit entitled "The Wall” originated as a poem that I wrote in response to oppressive conditions in the Middle East, the upsurge of the Arab Spring, and the disappointing outcome shortly after the movement began. My heart was broken and hurt. The mass exodus of people to neighboring countries, the human flow, was truly horrendous and impossible to ignore. Poetry flooded me and later my verses turned into painting. I was translating my thoughts on to canvas which resulted in eleven panels. I used mixed media on canvas and wrote five more poems to be exhibited in tandem. Currently, I am publishing a book entitled "The Wall" to document this exhibit and process.
Share with us your upcoming projects
there are plenty. Artists are typically free thinkers,
I am enthusiastic about my current work which
fearless and honest to voice their opinions loud and
deviates from serious issues. I am currently
clear. They think outside the box to express their
experimenting with the flow of acrylic paint, mixing
thoughts through art and as a result, important
and moving, having fun. Watching the colors move
issues are re-imagined, re-interpreted, and
with freedom and combine without hesitation is
presented with creativity for the world to see.
energizing and beautiful. How do you want your art to affect the Tell us about where you are based.
viewer/world?
I am based in the lovely city of Alhambra, which is
I hope that my art allows the viewer to become
very close to Los Angeles in Southern California,
more aware and informed of issues important in
California, USA.
the world and around us. I hope that my art invokes reflection and allows viewers to see that there are
How do you feel about art and its role in the
many dimensions to every side of the story.
world today?
Through my artwork, I hope that viewers can open
Art today is a very powerful tool that can be used to
their eyes and their hearts to see that limitless
address important issues of today, of which
possibilities exist around us.
"I hope that my art invokes reflection and allows viewers to see that there are many dimensions to every side of the story." www.hagallery.com
MAX Siedentopf maxsiedentopf.com
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KAT
O'NEILL
"My oeuvre is eclectic. I am as likely to be found taking photographs off the back of a Harley in Manhattan in the summer as on a commercial fishing dock in Montauk in February or at a cemetery anywhere, any time."
Tell us about yourself and background. Born in NY, one of seven children. Challenging the left side of the brain with an economics major landed me on Wall Street but no amount of success could keep me from abandoning the street for the path - that painfully beautiful artistic one. Creative director by day, Playwright by night and when not writing, shooting. Though I studied dramatic writing at Columbia and had plays produced all over Manhattan I was never without a Nikon. Eventually I traded in my artist in residence in the city to be a resident artist and gallery owner in the Hamptons. Tell us about your work. My oeuvre is eclectic. I am as likely to be found taking photographs off the back of a Harley in Manhattan in the summer as on a commercial fishing dock in Montauk in February or at a cemetery anywhere, any time. “Kat creates works of beauty and works of provocation across different media and isn’t afraid to stare mortality or difficult facets of life in the face.” What makes your work and approach unique? “O’Neill’s work is a colourful coupling of near abstraction with realism along with a strong dose of implied narration.” I like exploring the fringe of life and finding unexpected beauty in the darker side - human and graphic - like Walker Evans and Henri Cartier-Bresson though, for me, more through scenes and things versus portraits. With my photography I often add words to enhance the narrative and layer images to create a sculptural effect. I work on canvas and metal but what I love about the metal is that it can live everywhere - over the fireplace or at the poolside fire pit. Outside my studio window, fastened to a tree, is a 40x40 graffiti image of Frida Kahlo.
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
Why did you become an artist? Blame it on the DNA. My Mother was an artist and my Dad, though a litigator by trade, was a wonderful story teller. At one point I did consider being a psychiatrist until I realized that I would have to listen to other people’s problems all day. But to steal a line from the late great Edith Piaf - je ne regrette rien - because there is nothing like hearing people laugh at something you wrote, or witness them truly reacting to a piece of art that you created. There is definitely struggle in the arts but it is commensurate with love. Why is your work a good investment? As a gallery owner and collector I know the importance of appreciation. I only started showing my fine art in 2015 so I have a huge untapped portfolio of photographs, mixed media and ideas to which I am constantly adding - ensuring that my art continues to evolve and engage. Reviews, exposure and the fact that all my pieces are either one of a kind or limited editions have had a significant impact on my market value. That said, having collectors wanting to live with my art every day is its own form of appreciation. Tell us about some of your achievements. I have been awarded Best of the Best East End Artist in the Hamptons and South Fork for the past three years as well as awarded the Award of Excellence three times. My gallery, The White Room Gallery in Bridgehampton, has also won best gallery in the Hamptons and South Fork for the past three years. And there have been countless awards for creativity in advertising and dramatic writing including Best Emerging Playwright.
"There is nothing like hearing people laugh at something you wrote, or witness them truly reacting to a piece of art that you created." What are your sources of inspiration? Being a writer as well as an artist I do find much inspiration in the written word, often incorporating insights and humor into my pieces. Beyond that, industrial images and workers have always intrigued me. I’ve snuck into construction sites and crane graveyards. A rusty dumpster is beauty to me. Nature never disappoints nor does the exploration of life and death. Manhattan – 24 hours with a camera and I return with 500 shots of inspiration. And of course a dark bar anywhere in the world - corner seat, notebook - characters are in the cocktails. What are you passionate about? Besides the obvious – the arts - passion lives in the human condition. I incorporate it into all my work – written and visual… the unseen, the overlooked, the ephemeral, the beauty - the good, the bad and especially the perceived ugly. On a personal level I have championed many causes but at the gallery we work with several charities through exhibits and our Culture Club, fighting abuse to women, children and animals as well as cancer and addiction.
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
that engage and entice. This summer is our third graffiti exhibit. It is a juried show, titled TAG – the fine art of graffiti. Outside of the gallery, I am always conceptualizing on the next trigger point. The abstract series where I print one of my photographic images on a canvas and then use layers of spray paints and acrylics to add dimension, texture and impact is my latest, late night exploration… always evaluated in the morning light. And, of course, I shoot pretty much every day so there is also the new revelation to be explored.
Tell us the back-story of some of your projects. For my Uncle Jack mixed media series I used vintage album covers, photography and lines from fiction pieces I wrote for the East Hampton Star. For my Tombstone series I layered 200-year-old tombstones to bring dead narratives to life. The history of the tombstones, coupled with the decay over time, creates beautiful monuments to lives long gone and reminds those still here, to live. My Commercial Fishing Boat Reflections series evolved from the discovery of beauty in the negative space. My West series is a way to showcase graffiti and the concrete beauty of urban living. Share with us your upcoming projects. Our gallery is open year round and we have an exhibit every month, which keeps us quite busy. We pride ourselves on curating unique exhibits
"For my Tombstone series I layered 200-year-old tombstones to bring dead narratives to life. The history of the tombstones, coupled with the decay over time, creates beautiful monuments to lives long gone and reminds those still here, to live."
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019 | KAT O'NEILL
www.katoneillgallery.com Tell us about where you are based. The cultural Mecca of the east end of Long Island known for its unique light and beauty. 2+ hours from Manhattan. East Hampton, specifically “The Springs” has been described as the cradle of the abstract expressionist movement. Home of the de Koonings, John Ferren, Krasner and Pollack. The east end was coined The Hamptons in 1879 as part of a destination campaign once the railroad was expanded. I live in East Hampton. Our gallery, as mentioned previously, is on Main Street in Bridgehampton. To pay homage to the iconic abstract expressionists of East Hampton the “Springs Invitational” was created where certain artists are invited to exhibit in the same gallery where the icons showed. I have been invited several times. I have also walked through Pollock’s studio, which is right down the road and created a drip painting on his lawn. Many writers also hail from The Hamptons. I got to write “Uncle Jack’s Steinbeck” in the writing shack that Steinbeck himself built. The piece was published in The East Hampton Star. How do you feel about art and its role in the world ? As an artist, gallery owner and mother I feel the role has never been more vital. Through the gallery and The Culture Club that my business partner and I created we are vigilant about expanding the arts. What was wonderful about the renaissance was that it celebrated all forms of cerebral exploration. Today, diversification is not as valued. Of course math and science have their place in history but, without art, who do you think would be looking up at the Sistine Chapel? How do you want your art to affect viewers? To add something. Humor. Compassion. Reflection. Intrigue. Rage. My plays were all sardonic comedies but if you looked closer there was always some form of suffering and loneliness. I suppose my desired affect is as eclectic as my work. I have no interest in pushing the boundaries to offend but if I can help portray that black lives matter and abuse is never to be tolerated I certainly will. And then we circle back to the word appreciation. Though beauty seems to be underrated in the world today sometimes just serving up artworks that are simply beautiful is its own statement.
Nello Petrucci nellopetrucci.com
DESTIG.COM FEATURED ON
CAROLYN
LAMUNIERE
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019 My other part is exterior, it looks at the created world as reflected in architecture. I love patterns and shapes. I go outside and meet light as it creates these patterns and shapes. Not the moody light of the interior but the strong direct light of the exterior. I try to focus not just on the building but on the abstraction created by light. The mood of a place also interests me. What does it say of the people who created it? How do they live? What do they value?
Tell us about your work. Many people see a certain Surrealistic mood to my paintings. They may be responding to a somewhat otherwordly quality. I would describe myself in that way, I have a part of myself in two worlds. One part is interior. I believe there is an essential core of aloneness in all of us. Some people run from it. I try to embrace it. I paint interiors, empty spaces with low light, but what I feel is the energy of what has been. The spirit in deserted spaces. Sometimes people look at my empty rooms and create scenarios - What has happened here?, Who was in this space? What is the story? I do not paint people. I want what is un-shown. I feel that when one paints people the viewer stops there. I hope to take them beyond.
"Many people see a certain Surrealistic mood to my paintings. They may be responding to a somewhat otherwordly quality."
Tell us about your
Scandinavian Art of the Late
background?
19th and Early 20th
My background is in Art
Centuries".
History. I am a self taught
It struck me like lightening.
artist, I have always
I saw myself in that art.
painted. My life was never
Most of what I had studied
without art. I graduated
had been southern and
from Skidmore College in
continental European and I
Saratoga Springs NY with an
felt something in my core
Art History degree.
had been reached with the
My teachers have been the
Northern art. The artists
painters I love. My mother
which have most influenced
and aunt were both artists.
me are: Felix Vallotton,
My ancestry is northern
Henri le Sidaner, Prince
European. When I was young
Eugen, Vilhelm Hammershoi,
I went to see an exhibit in
Harald Schlberg, and William
Washington DC titled
Degouve de Nunques.
"Northern Light, DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"I am a self taught artist, I have always painted. My life was never without art."
"I have been almost too immersed in the history of art. I don't believe it is possible to really create art without knowing it's history." Tell us about some of your
England Artists Under 30”.
Embassy program,
achievements.
From there I became part of
International Juried Exhibition
On the practical side, I have
The National Association of
in the Treasury building,
been painting and selling my
Women Artists, won awards
Annapolis, MD, National
art for a long time. I have been
from the National Association
Association of Painters in
in many galleries for years, the
of Painters in Acrylic and
Acrylic and Casein, and Allied
gallery owners are my friends,
Casein and ADDY (cultural and
Artists, NY, as well as other
and I have sold well for them. I
advertising). Pictures of my
small museums and galleries.
have ideas for new work and
paintings have been in The
I have been in several books
continue to treat my painting,
Village Voice in NY, The New
including “One Hundred Artists
not just as an expression, but
York Art Review, The New York
of the Southwest”, Who’s Who
as a commitment. I have won
Times Gallery Guide, New York
of Western Artists”, The Best of
several awards and been in
Magazine, Better Homes and
Acrylic Painting”, “Who’s Who
many publications. The first
Gardens, The William and Mary
of Business and Professional
was at the DeCordova Museum
Review, Women Artists
People”, “Who’s Who in
where I was part of a
Calendar. The paintings
American Art”, and The
show called “The Top New
exhibited in The Art in
Collector’s Guide Santa Fe, NM.
"I do believe it is possible for art, in both its creation and experience to be of the moment. The 'Ahah' response." Tell us about where you are based. I spend as much time as I can in France, particularly in Aude and Ariege, what is called "Cathar country". I am at home there. However, living in New Mexico in the US has brought a new perspective to me. The light is so direct and full of color. Sometimes too harsh, but mostly uplifting. The sky is always changing. I used to live near the coast in the northeast part of the US, I have been asked if I miss the water, Not at all. The sky moves faster with more color. There is a purity. What is your view on art and its role today? It is hard for me to give too much of an opinion on the art today, I have been almost too immersed in the history of art. I don't believe it is possible to really create art without knowing it's history. The elements already exist, it is a matter of how they are put together that make what is new. However, I do believe it is possible for art, in both its creation and experience to be of the moment. The “Ahah” response. In terms of art and its role in the world today, I feel more than ever good art is important. Bad media is everywhere. Art is often not taught in schools. Our society promotes what is quick and superficial. Art is important because it promotes a feeling reaction, it shows what is beyond the mundane, it gives a perspective, it takes the viewer away to places he or she would never go otherwise, it stimulates the imagination, and it is a release from the hard, often meaningless parameters that surround us.
www.carolynlamuniere.com
Shezad Dawood shezaddawood.com
DESTIG.COM FEATURED ON
HEIDI
MCKEOWN
"I prefer to let the paint and colors guide me and I’m often shocked to see where they lead." Tell us about yourself and background.
Tell us about your work.
I am an emerging artist from Minnesota.
I’m known for my large, colorful abstract
Three years ago I found myself at a
acrylic paintings. I’m also known as a prolific
crossroads having raised my children as an
painter as in this short time I have created
at home mother and then having the
nearly 500 paintings and filled up a 5,000
challenge of reinventing myself as an empty
square foot studio and gallery. I don’t think
nester, so I decided to paint.
of colors as warm or cool, but as loud or
I started painting for my own enrichment
soft. I usually paint horizontally with large
and development, not intending to sell my
scrapers found at hardware stores.
work or to call myself an artist.
I also don’t know what I’m going to paint
It has been an unusual journey as it quickly
when I start out, as I prefer to let the paint
became evident that my paintings resonated
and colors guide me and I’m often shocked
with people and that there was a demand for
to see where they lead. I’m happiest when
what I was doing.
I’m learning and lost in paint.
What makes your work and
Tell us about some of your
approach unique?
achievements.
One of the things that makes my
My painting titled “Anno Domini-
work unique is that I usually don’t
Saint John’s Abbey Church” was the
mix my colors on a pallet; instead I
first painting to leave my studio and
let the colors mix themselves on my
is installed in the university’s library
canvas. The result has been a
that was designed by Marcel Breuer
surprising reaction to the vibrancy
and also hangs over one of his
of the colors. Often my work is
original benches. A client asked me
described as being extremely
to fill their model home with my
uplifting and my studio space is
paintings featured in an Artisan
described this way as well.
Home Tour. I’ve also been accepted into national call juried shows along
Why is your work a good
with being a feature artist in the
investment?
Artful Living Magazine.
If one loves a piece of art then I
My studio and gallery also keep me
think it is a good investment.
busy as I work with designers,
Regarding my art; my sights are set
architects and clients.
high and my clients know I diligently work to keep up with demand.
What are your sources of
It is not uncommon for a client to
inspiration?
buy multiple paintings, as my work
My source of inspiration is twofold.
is constantly changing and growing
First; it’s color, paint and curiosity as
as I develop as a painter. This keeps
I love color, I love what paint does,
my clients engaged, as my work
and I love to learn. Second; it’s from
stays fresh and reinvigorated.
painters who have come before me.
"It has been an unusual journey as it quickly became evident that my paintings resonated with people and that there was a demand for what I was doing."
HEIDI MCKEOWN | INTERVIEW
"I would like my viewer to know that anything is possible; we just have to try." A quote by August Renoir is printed on my studio
What are you passionate about?
wall: “One must from time to time, attempt things that
I’m passionate about interior design and
are beyond one’s capacity.” The other quote that
architecture.
inspires me is by Andy Warhol: “Don’t think about
My imaginary muse for many of my paintings is
making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decided if
either a red or a cobalt blue womb chair designed by
it’s good or bad whether they love or hate it. While they
Eero Saarinen. I usually feel a painting is complete
are deciding make even more art.”
when I know it can rest comfortably next to one of
When I realized I was an abstract painter it took me
them. I study architecture and interior design, as I
by surprise. I’m self taught and I found I suddenly
aim to put my paintings in certain structures and
spoke a different language. Studying other abstract
designs.
painters often brings me to tears both in the relief that maybe I’m not crazy and also in amazement of
What projects are you currently working on?
what they have done with this language.
I’m currently working on a large project in Florida.
Text placeholder
Tell us the back-story of some of your projects. The same team that printed the Saint John’s Bible created the print of my painting titled “Anno Domini- Saint John’s Abbey Church”. It took us nine hours to make the print on a Heidelberg press and during the process I fell in love with the color test sheets that were being discarded, thus “Anno Domini-Winter” was discovered. It intrigues me how technology found its’ way into my work by me digging in the trash bin asking to “save this one!” and “save that one!” It was a delightful experience in that I also got to hear stories of the arduous work they did on the Saint John’s Bible with master calligrapher Donald Jackson. The experience was a day of gratitude and thrills. How do you feel about art and its role in the world today? I’m very grateful for all forms of art especially in the challenging world we live in. I feel it is essential both for our sanity and for our balance as humans.
HEIDI MCKEOWN
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
Heidi McKeown How do you want your art to affect viewers? My painting journey started at mid-life thus I’d like to inspire people to know that their passions matter regardless of age. As our life circumstances change we can take the changes as an opportunity to find fulfillment in ways we never imagined. I would like my viewer to know that anything is possible; we just have to try. When people enter my studio and I see their eyes light up and their jaws drop, I know I’ve hit my mark and that indeed, the words of August Renoir hold as true today as when he first said them.
www.centervillestudio.com
EVA
BELISHOVA
INTERVIEW
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"Eighteen years of painting gave me the wisdom
In my early 20’s my siblings and I
to know that an artist never stops learning."
managed to enter the Italian embassy and seek political asylum. One year after we
Tell us about yourself and your background. I have a vivid imagination, curiosity for the latest in science, metaphysics, love for nature, and deep compassion for human kind. My memory of my childhood years is playing outdoors until dawn with friends, among them my best friend; my identical twin. Reaching puberty, my father one of the best physicians in the country was sentenced to ten years in prison for his political beliefs. At an early age I understood what it meant to live under a dictatorship regime and learned to stand up to humiliation, to lies, and the corruption of a decadent government.
moved to US and have been here since. Why is your work unique? I approach my painting purely intuitively even though I had years of training in classical painting. Eighteen years of painting gave me the wisdom to know that an artist never stops learning.
"My work is therefore spiritual and about seeking knowledge of being human in the altogether inhuman World."
Tell us about your work. I’m not concerned with realism or method, I don’t do preliminary work, little to any. I approach the subject with pure spontaneity. While painting I listen to music. The beat tapping through my sub-consciousness helps me reach and explore the deepest, darkest emotional territories; Angels & Demons, who fight on our plane in forms of our relationships, to self, to others, to the imagined. Through my artwork I learned to embrace it all, the good and the evil. At times I look at the World through the magic crystal at other times time ironically and thoughtfully. I understand what it is like to live in a perfect imperfect world, how heartbreaking it is, and how wonderful it is. My work is therefore spiritual and about seeking knowledge of being human in the altogether inhuman World. My paintings are deeply vibrant, lush, and electric. The color palette varies according to the subject. Most of the multilayers of color glazing are done on the canvas where the exuberance of color fields merges with disparate images. I strongly believe that my life remains an unfinished canvas! How do you want your art to affect the world? My artwork allows and invites the viewers to their own interpretation. As my Art is an invitation for a journey into the Kingdom of the Soul, and the Soul of humans is unique. Art seems to me to be above all a State of the Soul. Only through our Souls we are connected with the World, with the viewers, with the others, even with ourselves.
"Art seems to me to be above all a State of the Soul. Only through our Souls we are connected with the World, with the viewers, with the others, even with ourselves." Why is your work a good investment? Invest in what you really love and trust your judgment. Tell us about your achievements. I have pursued my artistic ambitions for almost two decades, I have been featured in juried shows and galleries in the San Francisco bay area. I have been part of Marin Open Studios, a yearly art event in Marin County. My work is part of private collections in San Francisco, London, and New York. A few years back my work was featured in Mapo newspaper and American Art Collector Book. Last year I was really excited to have my digital artwork used on the cover of several fiction books. What are your sources of inspiration? Music, I listen to a wide range from Paul Oakenfold , Metallica, The Doors, DMX, Jimi Hendrix, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin and many others. The old masters- Rembrandt, Bosch, Brueghel, the impressionist- Pissarro Klimt and the moderns- De Koenig, Warhol, Rauschenberg. Scify movies, horror movies, the dark sub consciousness. What are you passionate about? Painting of course, digital artwork which I self taught myself two years ago, and short video installation, all can be seen on my instagram account #8labelis666.
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"My paintings are deeply vibrant, lush, and electric. The color palette varies according to the subject." Tell us the back-story of some of your projects. "Figurative expressionism " gallery at www.artbyeva.com represents human emotions, like chameleons to their environment and surroundings, in different modes of adaptation in their life. That is manifested physically by painting humans with mechanical parts, humans hanging on time like the painting titled "Suspense" or deforming their body parts, or painting their ghoulish faces like the painting titled "The Gang of Four "or lifeless bodies like the paintings titled "black and white" all done with playful mastery, deep honesty, humiliation and care for human kind. The message stands for love and acceptance of all human kind. “Phantasy Landscapes” gallery at www.artbyeva.com These visceral and whimsical paintings are a jazz riff off on the ordinary. My rhythm takes the viewers into a fantastic World formed of trees and human hearts, bridges and lonely landscapes and melancholic women staring out at viewers from foreign lands, whispering to others, looking to understand the World and all its poetic glory.
Powerful, Internal, and Authentic. www.artbyeva.com
"Invest in what
Share with us some of your
Tell us about where you are
you really love
upcoming projects.
based.
My third short video for
“In the cloud “ since I like to
Halloween 2019 will involve
see myself like Boris Pasternak
effects coded by myself in
“a dweller of clouds”.
python, I’m still in the process
Geographically I live in
of learning. For the last couple
Sausalito, a lovely little town by
years I used a combination of
SF bay, five minutes from
my own artwork and digital
golden gate bridge and 15 min
technology to create stunning
from San Francisco.
and trust your judgment."
visual effects for my two Halloween trailers one of them
How do you feel about Art
titled “ Number 8” and the
and its role in the world
other “The hunting” both can
today?
be viewed on my instagram
Like G K Chesterton, I strongly
account #8labelis666. I’m also
believe Art is the only
having an upcoming group
authentic signature of human
show at Calabi Gallery in Santa
beings.
Rosa, Ca.
JOSEPH
B
NYA
INTERVIEW | DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
Tell us about yourself and background. I am a Nigerian-American self-taught artist, a feat I achieved by reading and experimentation. I am a trained attorney by profession with a masters degree in Law. I started doodling from the womb and did not have the courage as a young adult to
"I am intrigued by the diverse nature of the Nigerian culture and decided to use art as a medium to teach history."
tell my parents that it was arts and not law that was my preferred choice. At a young age I started
What makes your work and approach
drawing clothes for my twin sister who now has a
unique?
unique clothing brand DRESSADDICTION in Nigeria.
I have perfected a way of using my own style of abstract symbols to incorporate into my
Tell us about your work.
work. I research an aspect of culture and then
My work is contemporary African in nature and
use my imagination to compose. I do not
specifically Nigerian. I am intrigued by the diverse
sketch in pencil, I let my imagination guide me
nature of the Nigerian culture and decided to use
as I draw. I finish the detailed work, scan and
art as a medium to teach history. I am a very
use some digital effects to enhance amd then
versatile artist and deliver my work in a
finally hand-embellish for extra effects.
combination of intricate ink work, paintings or
I combine both traditional and digital methods
designs for different types of products.
to my approach.
"My cultural background plays a major role in how I create. Customs and traditions, folktales, masquerades and symbols are all what I refer to as the tribal mark and the cool thing is that it can be incorporated in today's art."
Why is your work a good investment? A CNN style-marketplace Africa report 18th july 2016 read: 'Looking for an investment? African art is hotter than gold.' There is a strong demand for contemporary African art, it is also attracting investors worldwide. The beauty and deep rooted cultural aspect of my work is a worthwhile investment. Tell us about some of your achievements. As an emerging artist, being considered for a spot to showcase my work in this magazine is a major achievement. However in this short period of my professional art life, I have established a brand and launched a custom design shoe outfit with Alive Shoes, an Italian shoe manufacturer. I have the belief and confidence in my work that greater things are yet to come. What are your sources of inspiration? My inspiration comes from the tribe which represents who you are: your identity. My cultural background plays a major role in how I create. Customs and traditions, folktales, symbols and masquerades are all what I refer to as the tribal mark and the cool thing is that it can be incorporated in today's art.
"I have recently created a superhero character based on the life of a Scottish/British missionary who stopped the killing of twins in Nigeria more than a century ago. As a twin, this is a project that is very dear to my heart."
What are you passionate about?
Share with us your upcoming projects.
I have always been fascinated about the creative
I have recently created a superhero character
process taking an idea and making it something
based on the life of a Scottish/ British
beautiful. I have designed a superhero, several
missionary who stopped the killing of twins in
shoe design concepts, designs for textiles and
Nigeria more than a century ago.
the like. To sum it up I'm just passionate about
As a twin, this is a project that is very dear to
art and design.
my heart. I intend to start out as a comic book and see where it goes from there.
Tell us the back-story of one of your projects. One of my works featured in this interview is
Tell us about where you are based.
what I call“ bush souls “. I was reading a book
I live in Indianapolis city, Indiana - the racing
about the primitive people of the former Cross
capital of the world.
River State in Nigeria. One of the beliefs was
This is a big city with the feel of a small one;
that there is a link between human beings and
the downtown is outright awesome and the
the plant and animal souls. People were capable
Indy 500 race day is just something words
of sending forth their souls to their plant or
cannot describe... you need to come and see
animal affinity, I then had to use my imagination
for yourself.
to create something based on that concept
"I have always been fascinated about the creative process taking an idea and making it something beautiful."
"I want my art to be considered as a repository of a society's collective memory where fact-based historical records are becoming scarce." How do you feel about art and its role in the world today? Art influences society by changing opinions, translating experiences across time. It is a powerful medium as it allows people from different cultures and time to communicate through images and stories. How do you want your art to affect the viewer? Aside from the need for self expression and fulfillment as an artist, I want my art to be considered as a repository of a society's collective memory where fact-based historical records are becoming scarce. I want people to learn about culture through my art. It's all about a story.
www.josephbnya.com
Ben Thomas benthomas.co
DESTIG.COM FEATURED ON
MICHAEL
KENNETH
DEPUE
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019 Tell us about yourself and background. I was born and raised outside Detroit Michigan. My father Ken, was a hard working blue-collar guy with a great sense of humor. Both my father and mother Ann, inspired me. After his passing, I began including my middle name in his memory. Growing up in the Detroit area, I thought I would end up drawing hub-caps the rest of my life. I studied design and photography in Michigan. With my design background, I was fortunate to get into the exhibitions business and eventually transfer to California where I studied music studio recording. I'm a jack-of-all-trades and my passion for music has always been therapy for me. I'm working on including the original music with my art. My goal is to give the music away for a donation and develop an Arts scholarship.
"I enjoy creating paintings from old photos and the hunt for the photograph is just as gratifying." Tell us about your work.
What makes your work and
My favorite quote is "Variety's the
approach unique?
very spice of life"...(William
The images that I collect are part
Cowper - Poet 1785).
of history, they are one-of-kind,
My website is nearly half painting
to me they are priceless.
and half photography. I enjoy
By manipulating these images
creating paintings from old photos
and combining them with my
and the hunt for the photograph is
own, it makes my work unique.
just as gratifying.
This exposure in DESTIG will
I love the happy accidents that
increase my perceived value and
happen in art featured in my
I believe the "Then-and-Now"
Double Exposure series with
series would work very well in
overlapping in-camera film
advertising - celebrating the past
exposures and my Artography
and showing the world just how
series highlighting an alternative
far we have come. As in the case
photographic process that involves
of most artists, they are worth
painting photo chemistry on photo
more dead than alive. I have 20+
paper. So far, I've had the most
years of life expectancy and if I
success with the Then-and-Now
keep going on free-style
series digitally manipulating my
mountain climbing trips with my
photographic collection.
son Alex, it could be sooner.
"Both my father Ken and mother Ann, inspired me. After his passing, I began including my middle name in his memory." "In this digital world we owe it to ourselves to print out the images that have meaning to us and write on the back so, 100 years from now, that story can be discovered and enjoyed by someone in the future."
"I have already spent a lifetime in the exhibitions business that has allowed me to gather images from all over the world - some collected and many photographed with camera in tow. "
Tell us about some of your achievements. My finest achievements are my daughter Amelia who is a talented teacher and musician and my son Alexander who is following in my footsteps including a few of his own, as a talented graphic/media designer and photographer. While he was studying at Cal Poly, I told him he needed to enter a museum exhibition in SLO and in his first exhibition he was awarded best in show and an honorable mention. I have already spent a lifetime in the exhibitions business that has allowed me to gather images from all over the world - some collected and many photographed with camera in tow. As far as the art world, my CV includes numerous juried exhibitions with three honorable mentions. Tell us the back-story of some of your projects. The kitsch image titled "Fashion Accessories" is sentimentally charming and upon closer observation the high-heel boots the Ostrich is sporting becomes a pleasant surprise. The ostrich feather hat would be at the peak of popularity during the “feather fashion craze” of the early 20th century. I decided to embrace the exhibition's fashion theme utilizing my historic image and adding modern high-heel boots to the Ostrich from a photograph I had taken. It was the comic relief of the exhibition opening. Laughter is the best medicine. The image "New Guinea TV" is engaging and upon closer observation the inserted early television becomes a visual statement of how western civilization has had profound influence on primitive cultures. The historic image is from 1944 during a time in which
"I love history and take pleasure in the
Japan invaded the New Guinea and
fact that an old photograph can reveal a
1942. I love history and take pleasure in the fact that an old photograph can reveal a story and inspire a journey back in time. Share your upcoming projects? The "Western Art" series will feature images from my collection of cowboys, Indians and more coupled with my background photographs. Some pieces will include mixed media collage incorporating painting, maps and photography. The design comp image illustrates the first stage of my planning a mixed media painting. The "Figures in Nature" series features a combination of my landscape photographs of the Sierra back country combined with the figure images from the collection some classic and some playful. The landscape itself is beautiful; However, the addition of the figure makes the image unique and adds an element of intrigue. Tell us about where you are based. My primary residence is in Oakhurst California, thirty minutes from Yosemite National Park and surrounded by the Sierra National Forest. I also spend time in the small town of Mountain Center, population 350, on Mount San Jacinto outside of Palm Springs and an hour from Joshua Tree National Park. I'm inspired by the beauty the high desert and the mountains have to offer especially the sounds and smells providing a great deal of forest therapy.
.p
story and inspire a journey back in time."
Australian territories in January of
www.michaeldepue.com
How do you feel about art and its role ? I love the fact that all forms of art are respected and that anything goes. Art can be as beautiful or ugly, as joyful or rude, as sentimental or political - all supported by the freedom of expression. How do you want your art to affect viewers? Even though photography has become such common place provided by every cell phone, I would emphasize that each viewer recognize photography is important and tells a story. In this digital world we owe it to ourselves to print out the images that have meaning to us and write on the back so, 100 years from now, that story can be discovered and enjoyed by someone in the future.
HANNAH
KANE
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
Tell us about yourself and background. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and I graduated with a Studio Art Major from Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. I am currently living in Southern California with my husband and my chihuahua. I'm inspired daily to paint and draw what is around me. My husband and I are back-country hikers, through some of the most breathtaking locations (Alaska, the floor of the Grand Canyon, the remote side of Catalina Island). I take photographs for reference. Tell us about your work. I work in oil and more recently acrylics. Focusing mostly on the female figure, I utilize sexuality, form and strength as undertones. When creating the figure I like to use color where one would not expect to see that color. This gives life and movement to the piece. I am influenced by my surroundings and my own personal perception of life, sometimes elevated to fantastical expression with a technical foundation. What makes your work and approach unique? It has its own imagination. I start with an emotion or expression and then show it literally with the human figure complimented by symbolic references and vibrant colors. I want there to be parts of the piece that one can connect with visually in the hopes that my work is approachable and also interpretive. Why is your work a good investment? With each painting you will find differences from my other pieces, sometimes subtle, sometimes major. My approach/message will change and will continue to change as I go forward. I will not remain in a specific style. I would urge patrons to buy what they find desirable knowing that they are getting a piece that represents a time in my career that will never be replicated.
HANNAH KANE:INTERVIEW "I want there to be parts of the piece that one can connect with visually in the hopes that my work is approachable and also interpretive."
What are your sources of inspiration?
I use the time I spend running as a way to sort
I am inspired by my own life experiences.
through my life. The majority of the ideas I get
I use art as a way to work through a feeling or
for a painting start while I’m running.
emotion. I often look to nature for inspiration, a timeless reference. I am also inspired by love.
Tell us the back-story of a project.
Being loved and loving someone is both a direct
My piece titled, “Weightless” started with a
and indirect influence of my work.
feeling of being without restrictions ie: gravity. I thought of two places that gravity is
What are you passionate about?
marginalized-outer space and under water.
Art - not just creating my own but experiencing
It fascinated me that both of these places are
other peoples’ artwork and being inspired by
parallel in their relation to human life.
their perspective all the time. I also find it
Some other examples of their symmetry are
humbling but motivating to look at works by
that; one cannot breath in either, one may
talented artists. I am also passionate about
encounter danger, fluidity of motion. Blue turns
running and staying physically healthy. Over the
black the deeper you get. So I created a piece
years, running has guided the ideas in my work.
that showed all of these facets.
DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
How do you want your art to affect the viewer? To put it simply, I want my artwork to affect the viewer independently. To see what one sees. I do not believe my work represents any mass appeal. It is purposely left open for interpretation by the viewer. My goal is just to stir emotions in the viewer.
"When creating the figure I like to use color where one would not expect to see that color. This gives life and movement to the piece."
"The biggest contradiction of art today is the juxtaposition of fine art being viewed and critiqued on a platform by people who have no interest in it at all."
Share with us your upcoming projects. While not sharing too much, I will continue to work with the female figure as the main subject in my work. I look to add different techniques in my upcoming pieces, more suggestive in style. I want to place my figures in a larger setting to be a part of a scene. This is in contrast to my current work where the figure is the main part of the painting, with little or no background reference. Tell us about where you are based. I am based out of my home in Southern California. I live by the ocean and have the luxury of watching the sunset over the pacific almost every night from my roof top (weather permitting). My studio is a part of my living space so that I can conveniently transition in and out of pieces with little interruption to my creative process. How do you feel about art and its role in the world today? The beauty of art is that it is the epitome of society. With the introduction of the internet, social media has influenced artists in both a positive and negative direction. However the biggest contradiction of art today is the juxtaposition of fine art being viewed and critiqued on a platform by people who have no interest in it at all. The risk is that an artist would be persuaded to change course to interest these viewers, “for the likes�. www.hsueart.artspan.com
KAREN
KANAS
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019 Tell us about yourself and background. My name is Karen Kanas, and I am a painter from Los Angeles, California. I was raised in Chicago, Illinois and involved in the arts from a very young age. I studied theatre at the Performing Arts Center, Barat College of DePaul University and hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in production stage management and costume design. I was fortunate enough to work with such theatre companies as Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Theatre and Phoenix Theatre. Throughout my years in school, I studied painting and art history in addition to architecture and interior design when I moved to Los Angeles, California at UCLA. Art has always been a huge influence in my life influenced by impressionism, post-impressionism and abstract expressionism. I am represented by Agora Gallery, New York, New York and a member of the Los Angeles Art Association. Tell us about your work. I specialize in landscapes, figures and abstract art. I typically explore my ideas on canvas using both traditional and innovative techniques. My background in the performing arts influences the themes of my paintings, which change depending on the mood or season I find myself in. I always learn something new about myself from each of my paintings which motivates me as an artist and brings me great joy. What makes your work and approach unique? My artwork captures the beauty and essence from a moment in time or an idea I have that I want to explore on canvas. I prefer creating a custom acrylic palette for each of my paintings, choosing one dominant color to take precedence throughout the piece. I paint from the heart with a lot of emotion which comes across in all of my artwork.
"I paint from the heart with a lot of emotion which comes across in all of my artwork." Why is your work a good investment? My artwork is approachable, relatable and evokes an emotion but with a calming affect. It’s an expression of myself that I want to share with others. I have often been told by viewers that my artwork reminds them of a memory they have from a specific time or place in their lives.I believe my artwork has a unique style which is evident and all my own. Tell us about of your achievements. I recently received a Special Recognition Award for my painting, The Red Balloon, from Light Space & Time On Gallery for their 2019 All Women Art Exhibition. In December 2018 my paintings, Facing the Future, Grounding, Abstract Coastline and Peacock were on exhibit at Conception Art Show - Los Angeles. My paintings, Ruins, Autumn, Purple Haze, Self Portrait and Abstract Landscape were on exhibit at Agora Gallery in New York City as part of their collective art exhibition: I Remember You, I Know This Place, Nov 10 - Dec 1, 2018.
KAREN KANAS | DESTIG TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
What inspires your work?
me; it is a way of life. Working
crow just stood there looking
I am inspired every day when I
out always motivates me and
majestic, not affected by the
walk out the door by nature,
puts me in a positive mood to
wind at all. My painting Ruins,
people, and places that I have
push myself even further as
is an interpretation and twist
visited which stand out in my
an artist. I also meditate which
on that memory.
mind. I am also inspired by
keeps me balanced and
music and dance, specifically
focused mentally. I believe
Share with us your upcoming
ballet which I love.
these are all necessary and
projects.
My extensive background in
feed into my creative process.
Currently I am working on a
the performing arts has
painting commission for a new
shaped my creativity as an
Tell us the back-story of
client. This is a contemporary
artist throughout my life.
some of your projects.
piece, for his home. It is also a
I share this quality with Marc
My painting Ruins, always
surprise present for his wife.
Chagall who I relate to the
stands out in my mind. Years
This painting is a mix of
most as the performing arts
back, my husband and I were
elements from his life growing
were a significant source of his
visiting family in Chicago for
up in California and his wife
inspiration throughout his
the holidays. There is a
who grew up in Texas. It is a
artistic career.
beautiful church on Michigan
large scale piece, 60” x 30”,
Avenue with a courtyard, very
acrylic on canvas. Then I am
What are you passionate
Medieval looking. We decided
planning to work on another
about?
to check it out. While in the
portrait and a contemporary
I am passionate about health,
courtyard, there was a crow
piece with an architectural
fitness and overall well-being.
standing on the cement in
influence. I also have two
Eating right, feeling good
between the columns.
upcoming art shows this
inside and out is important to
The wind was howling and the
March in Los Angeles.
Tell us about where you are based. I am based in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles has a great multi-cultural art scene. I love to explore the museums, galleries, installations, murals, theatre, and concerts happening around the city. There is always something new to experience no matter what time of year. I enjoy living in Los Angeles for this very reason and for the weather! Â
"Put down the cell phone, tablet and stop looking at the computer - go see art in person, it feeds the body and soul! What we learn from art carries into how we live our own lives, it creates new memories and reminds us of moments in our lives we may have forgotten about."
How do you feel about art and its role? I feel art is very relevant in the world today. With all the social media, art stands on it’s own and will be here for years to come. Viewing art in person is one of the best experiences we as humans can have. Put down the cell phone, tablet and stop looking at the computer - go see art in person, it feeds the body and soul! What we learn from art carries into how we live our own lives, it creates new memories and reminds us of moments in our lives we may have forgotten about. Viewing artwork is also a great way to decompress from the business of every day life. I always enjoy seeing other artists work and the messages they are conveying to the world. Art is inspiring. I feel as an artist, I am the most honest and true to myself in my artwork that I share with the world. How do you want your art to affect the viewer? I want my art to affect the viewer/world, in a way that they find the same sense of joy in my work as I do in creating it. I express a lot of my own emotion in my work, which I hope has a calming affect on the viewer/world. My art may remind the viewer/world of a moment they have experienced, whether it relates exactly to my piece or not, it takes them somewhere. My art is meant for others to have their own experience, their own story that is different than my own.
www.karenvkanas.com
KAREN KANAS
MARCIA
LORENTE
HOWELL
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019 | INTERVIEW
Tell us about yourself and background. I’m Spanish, my dad is from Barcelona and my mom from California, but I grew up in Madrid. I’ve been told my style is “very Spanish”. I guess I’m not afraid of colour! I had no shortage of art growing up, in Spain a painter is a master, up there with royalty. Velázquez and Goya were commoners who painted Kings and Popes. Picasso is a national hero. If you could, who wouldn’t want to paint? Tell us about your work. Right now, I’m painting beaches. I love painting waves and the ocean, it’s like it transports me there, I can literally feel the sparkle of surf and sunshine. I told my friends I’m a surfer now, it’s such a rush. Madrid has no beach so growing up I treasured my summers in Marbella and Encinitas, nothing like going to “la playa”. Now I have the beaches of Long Island down the road, lucky me. What makes your work and approach unique? I think my style is hard to classify, it’s both old and new. I’m a classically trained oil on canvas painter but my brushstroke is fast, it’s more Pollock than Picasso. I put my canvases on the floor and mix highly diluted oils with thick chunks of colour. The result is textured and fluid and fun to look at. I’m trying to capture movement so it has to be both delicate and raw, accidental. Just like light. Why is your work a good investment? Number one, my art looks great on a wall. I keep getting told how much better my paintings are in person. I think that’s because they’re bigger than you’d expect and fill up the eyes like a good sunset would. And they move, they’re fun to look at from afar and up-close. I stole that from Monet. Number two, I’m just getting started so I’m very reasonably priced. Number three, I don’t know how to paint the same painting twice. I can promise you’ll own a one-of-a-kind.
Tell us about some of your achievements. I was some sort of kid-artist prodigy in my hometown of Madrid, literally got handed an award from the city Mayor at the age of eight. I can’t stress how important it is to support kids in the arts, a girl from Madrid wouldn’t be where I’m at without a strong sense of achievement early on. I’m most proud of having shown in New York City and in the Hamptons, I’m a member of the Montauk Artists’ Association. I also just did a collaboration with a store in Bridgehampton, Ergun Khorchin. They sponsored The Hamptons Classic and put my art on seven cashmere scarves. That was so fun. What are your sources of inspiration? I’m new to New York and I didn’t know it had a beach. I go to Montauk a lot. I paint off photographs I take, it’s important to me that what I paint is something I saw and felt. It’s true that New York’s East End has a California feel to it. I also read that it has the same latitude as Madrid, so the same light as home. But it’s its own thing with those dark waters, moody skies, crazy weather. I’d never seen anything like it. It’s my happy version of that Don Henley song, Wayfarers on baby!
"I think my style is hard to classify, it’s both old and new. I’m a classically trained oil on canvas painter but my brushstroke is fast, it’s more Pollock than Picasso." MARCIA LORENTE HOWELL | TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
What advice would you give to
Who are your art mentors?
What are you passionate
other artists?
I’m lucky that my two
about as an artist?
Don’t judge your work, just keep
grandmothers were painters.
I want to depict something
at it, there is no “wrong”.
That’s why I went with Marcia
beautiful. I’m not a tortured
I hit a painter’s block that lasted
Lorente Howell as my artist
artist. A lot of modern art
a decade because my training
name, in homage to them.
rejects beauty, I don’t.
told me that my work couldn’t
In Spain you get two last names,
I’m convinced it exists and the
possibly be good given the
your mom’s and your dad’s, so
eye recognizes it. Italians have a
speed I was doing it at.
that was my actual name
great word for it: “bello”.
I then read that Pollock painted
growing up. My “abuela”
It means not just beautiful, but
57 paintings in one year, during
Filomena Lorente studied with
good. It doesn’t mean perfect,
1950. It was so freeing to know I
Sorolla in Valencia and taught
beauty often is not. But it has
wasn’t alone, to let go of the
me about light. Grammy Marcia
that joy about it, that cocky self-
work and start a fresh canvas
Howell handed me my first oils
awareness and insolence, a
every week.
and told me to go paint her
certain “I know you know” that
That was the inspiration behind
Escondido backyard. I know
makes a viewer smile. A sense
my Instagram handle
they’re smiling on me every time
of being one with nature, which
@apaintingaweeknyc
I pick up a brush.
is how Matisse defined art.
MARCIA LORENTE HOWELL "I want to depict something beautiful. I’m not a tortured artist. A lot of modern art rejects beauty, I don’t. I’m convinced it exists and the eye recognizes it." Share with us your upcoming projects. Besides showing in New York again this Spring-Summer, I’ve some corporate clients who have shown interest in displaying my art in public spaces. I had a great experience last year with a store and a hotel that showed some of my art. I’m excited about making my art accessible to anyone. America has a bit of an elitist attitude towards art that we don’t have in Europe, and that I don’t share. Tell us about where you are based. I’ve my studio in New York City’s West Village. It’s the best city in the world, it’s both brutal and supportive, just what any artist needs. I’m so inspired by Street Art. I paint fast and for a viewer, so I’ve more in common with those artists than with traditional art. They’ve turned the city into a modern art museum, and they do it for free. I wish I could contribute, maybe someday I will, I haven’t tried a spray can yet, that should be fun. I love the colour, the scale of it, the attention to context. That’s the kind of art I like. Punch me in the stomach and the eyes please. Leave me in awe. How do you want your art to affect the viewer? I hope my art makes people happy and makes them question what they see. I grew up Catholic but taught to question things. As a kid, I must admit, I wasn’t so sure God existed, I needed proof. I found it watching a sunset in the South of Spain: “God is a painter!” I thought, how else could something that insanely beautiful exist? And that is something, or someone, I can relate to.
www.surfergirlgallery.com
CHEVIS
GIBBS
GUNZZNBUTTER TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
Tell us about yourself and background.
What is GunZZnButter?
My name is Chevis Gibbs and I am 39 years
GunZZnButter is my brand. GunZZnButter is
old from Paterson, NJ. I am into photo-
a way of thinking that I express through my
graphy, sports, quotes, traveling and helping
camera lens which gives me a sense of
others. My style of photography is a freestyle
balance and understanding. I believe in
/ freelance approach where I capture
looking at everything from different angles
moments wherever I am from my vantage
instead of just the way I was taught.
point to bring a photo to life. I have been
When I shoot, I capture a moment from my
taking pictures since I was much younger
vantage point and try to make something
however I began taking it more serious about
simple become realistic to the viewer.
2 years ago. I take my camera everywhere I
I have 20+ galleries on my site,
go because I believe the best moments can
gunzznbutter.artspan.com, which all have
happen when you are not prepared, so I stay
meanings relating to my vision and what is
prepared.
actually being captured.
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
I approach each photo with the intent to capture something special from my vantage point to share with the viewer.
CHEVIS GIBBS
I also have incorporated a
took the picture or even ask
theme which includes the
what I am taking a picture
letter “Z” replacing the letter
of. I tend to think differently
“S” which represents my
when it comes to a lot of
daughter, Z’anni Gibbs.
things and that can
My gallery is personal to me
sometimes show in the
and includes a lot of hidden
photos that I capture.
gems for those that are in
I approach each photo with
the know.
the intent to capture something special from my
What makes your work
vantage point to share with
and approach unique?
the viewer. I also challenge
My work is unique to me
myself each day to get
because of the vision I have
better with my craft which I
when capturing each photo.
believe improves the focus
Some may look at my
for my next step through
pictures and wonder why I
my journey.
"I am inspired by all that is around me. From the people, to architecture, to cars to nature, I believe you can find a picture everywhere you go." GunZZnButter
Why is your work a good investment? I believe my work is a good investment because I think outside the box and I also capture photos from my very own perspective. I can go to a popular place and not take a picture that you have seen before as I focus on seeing from a totally different angle. My work is a good investment as I aim to create a 1 of 1 photo for those that are interested in my work and a photo that can be used for many purposes. What are your sources of inspiration? My inspiration is life and it starts every day when I wake up and open my eyes. Some of my other inspirations come from my daughter, nature and being able to help people in any way I can. Throughout my every day travels and experiences, whether walking or sitting around enjoying the scenery, I am inspired by all that is around me. From the people, to architecture, to cars to nature, I believe you can find a picture everywhere you go.
"I am passionate about showing the world what I saw when I captured each photo."
What are you passionate about? I am passionate about sharing my work with everybody and showing the world what I saw when I captured each photo. I enjoy making people smile and laugh and
"All of my galleries have a concept and theme associated with them that breaks down what each gallery consists of."
believe photographic memories will always be
from a 2-day road trip to Canada. Paterson
a treasure. I also believe in inspiring others to
Timez is a gallery from a trip back to my
be great and to focus on what they do and
hometown, Paterson NJ. Auto Componentz is a
never give up. I want everyone to succeed and
gallery based on my love for cars and trucks.
to enjoy doing whatever it is they do best.
When Nature Callz is a gallery about nature
I lend a hand to those I can because I believe in
including animals, trees and plants.
progress no matter how slow you move, as
Artlezz Beauty is a gallery that expresses
long as you move forward.
beauty from a different point of view rather than the beauty we are accustomed to.
Tell us the back-story of some of your
Street Craftz is a gallery designed to showcase
projects.
artists paintings and sculptures in areas I have
Infloresencez for Mom is a gallery of photos I
travelled to. All of my galleries have a concept
took based on the love my late mother had
and theme associated with them that breaks
with flowers. Up North Collectionz is a gallery
down what each gallery consists of.
"Art can be anything the artist wants it to be as it can provide inspiration as well as peace."
How do you feel about art's role in the world? I believe art is everywhere we go and a part of everything we do. Art is about expression of creative skills and imagination from the artist to
Share with us your upcoming projects.
the viewer. Art can be anything the artist wants
I have a few projects lined up in the coming
it to be as it can provide inspiration as well as
months as I plan to release a gallery called
peace. Art assists with bringing people of all
Every Day Peoplez where I capture people of all
colors and nationalities together as it has its
ages, races and nationalities doing what people
own language which reflects humanity.Â
do every day. This gallery is designed to show how much alike people really are. Some other
How do you want your art to affect the
galleries coming soon will be a series of
viewer?
Collection photo galleries where I travel to
I would like my art to inspire people to think
different cities, states and/or countries and
outside the box. I want my art to capture the
capture different photos during my travels.Â
minds and connect people together while
(I currently I have a gallery called Up North
producing true meanings to what they see or
Collections where I travelled to Canada for 2
how they view things. I want my art to bring
days) After that, I have a gallery in the works
forth an element of belief that anything is
dedicated to my daughter which is currently
possible if you work hard at what you love and
being put together and will also appear on my
believe in yourself and that it can be done.Â
site.
I enjoy taking pictures whenever possible and I believe that even if you love just one photo, I did
Tell us about where you are based.
my job as a photographer.
I currently reside in New Jersey and have always lived here.
www.gunzznbutter.artspan.com
ALLIE
BLEU
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019 Tell us about yourself. I was born and raised near Tokyo, Japan. I started drawing since I was very little, and it was something I never got bored of. Growing up, I took various performance arts, martial arts, and music lessons. After graduating high school, I majored in information technology for college, but I realized it wasn’t something that I wanted to do for my life. I dropped out of school, picked up a camera, and was instantly obsessed with taking photos. I decided to move to Hawaii for a new source of inspiration, and I’ve been living here for three years now.
Tell us about your work. I like taking pictures of nature, fruits, and anything that I think would look interesting in black and white. Sometimes I like using colors too, but it really depends on the subject. As for my drawings, I draw random stuff, but I usually like to keep things simple.
What makes your work / approach unique? I’m not sure, sometimes I take pictures, sometimes I draw, and sometimes I paint. I can’t stick to doing one thing so I experiment with different mediums and I go back and forth with my dslr and film camera, and sometimes my polaroid camera. Why is your work a good investment? I don’t know how to answer that question. I’m just doing what I like to do, creating what I want to create. Tell us about some of your achievements. After moving to Hawaii, I had an opportunity to shoot photos and model for a local hat store. Shortly after that, I was reached out to by an agency. I got to study how people worked during photoshoots so it was an interesting experience for me. But most importantly, having my first interview with an art magazine is my biggest achievement. What are your sources of inspiration? Music, nature, and traveling, but out of all I’d say music inspires me the most. I listen to all kinds of music depending on how I feel, and it really creates the mood when I’m working on something. What are you passionate about? Living life. Tell us the back-story of a project. I took some of these photos while I was on a trip to Los Angeles and New Mexico. When I got back, I was able to see my surroundings in a fresh new perspective and I was able to try out new things. Other than that it's pretty random as it gets. I went to the grocery store one day, picked up of some fruits and thought, "Maybe I should take photos before I eat them."
"I picked up some fruits while I was shopping for groceries and I was like: Maybe I should take photos before I eat them.”
"Currently, I’m based here in Honolulu. Nature is truly beautiful on this island and I’m grateful to experience life here."Â
ALLIE BLEU
TOP ARTISTS FOR 2019
"Art just does that. It makes you think and reconnect with yourself." How do you feel about art and its role in the world today? Art is a form of communication and I think it has always affected people in some way, shape, or form. For an example, you go to an art exhibit... well, it can be any type of art, from live performances to watching movies, but it gives you some kind of an inspiration or a feeling afterwards. Art just does that. It makes you think and reconnect with yourself. And I think it’s important to experience something like that, especially in this day and age we’re living in. How do you want your work to affect the viewer/world? I don’t know to be honest. But I do want to inspire people to be comfortable with who they truly are. I know, it sounds cliché.
www.alicobleu.com Tell us about where you are based.
Share with us your upcoming projects.
Currently, I’m based here in Honolulu.
Right now, I'm working on commissioned
Nature is truly beautiful on this island and
projects but I'll be traveling back to Japan
I’m grateful to experience life here.
soon so I'm excited to be working over there.
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