InterviewsJustin Bua EIAMAGAZINE.COM
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Cover: Justin Bua Back Cover: Jeff Bartels eiamagazine.com info@eiamagazine.com
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exclusive Interview
Ed Meredith Nathalie beard JOHERMS QUIALA BROOKS Mike No Christophe Marmier Marcelo Holzinger lana greben Kevin R Eberle Victoria Maidhof
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TROY SIMMONS Philip Mc Cobb Joe Thompson Amanda Neistat Pierre Duranleau Jeff Bartels Brian Kirhagis Paul Plaintanuwong
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Ed Meredith is a self-taught artist and 35 year veteran of commercial photography who hung up his camera in 1998 and began to make art. To his credit the art industry is grateful. His brushstrokes are alluring with a deep sense of a spirituality in the human form side to each piece.
edmeredith.com
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"In these two paintings I tried to convey that men and women are truly equals in that we are indeed part of one another, that we are made of the same star stuff and we come from the same source... In essence what I'm saying is, we are the universe realizing itself in the form that is us so how can we not be equals." "I don't think I have ever made a painting, drawing or piece of sculpture with the idea of selling it, It took me a long time and a lot of pressure from friends to begin to offer my art for sale. For me making art is like a metaphysical conversation with myself and whatever I'm working on, and that dialogue helps to satisfy something within that wants to get out."
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Nathalie beard nathaliebeard.com
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Nathalie BĂŠard
www.nathaliebeard.com
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JOHERMS QUIALA BROOKS
J
oherms Quiala Brooks is a formally trained painter who brings his own Cuban twist to a Dali-esque form of surrealism. His paintings frequently contain beautifully rendered mysteries which the viewer must try to unravel in order to decipher the true meaning of the piece. His seductive and intriguing works present commentaries on the modern Cuban cultural experience.
 Quiala was born in 1970 and still resides between thesea and the mountains in Guantánamo, Cuba. “You are talking to a person who, as a student, hated landscapes. In class, I painted grass or a tree trunk, not the whole tree. Today, circumstances have led me to change my formal view of art, but I don’t reproduce nature pictorially. Instead I have the landscape speak for itself, or defend itself. Landscapes are not always what surrounds you, but rather what determines the reason you are there.”
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Mike No Mikenoart.com
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Christophe Marmier
www.xtuffdesigns.com
Christophe Marmier www.xtuffdesigns.com
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The16Diva
Different People
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Marcelo
was born in Argentina, and has over 20 years of combined experience as an artist, graphic designer and interior decorator. He began cultivating his artistic talents at a young age, and was naturally drawn to art. “I was born loving beauty. I have always been attracted to art, and it's always been a part of who I am.� Marcelo and his family experienced a lot of adversity, and that hardship deepened his sense of compassion. Overcoming the obstacles that he faced helped solidify Marcelo’s belief that anything is possible in life. He learned to consistently put his best into everything he did, and to always pursue his passions and dreams. Those dreams led him abroad, where he explored other parts of the world. In his early 20's, he traveled extensively throughout South America, Europe and the United States. The mix of cultures, the history, the timeless art, the wonderful architecture, and especially the people that he encountered greatly impacted him as a person, and as an artist. Marcelo strongly supports charitable causes, and feels fortunate to be able to give back to his community whenever he can. He donates his work, his time, and his energy to help those in need.
Marcelo Holzinger MHolzinger.com
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The artist... Is the one Who creates no matter What anyone thinks. A true artist has a vision that many cannot see yet. until they expose you to A whole new world.
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lana greben the
muses eyes EIAMAGAZINE.COM
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lanagreben-fashionartist.ca EIAMAGAZINE.COM
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Born in Ukraine, Lana Greben received a law degree from Dnipropetrovsk State University before moving to QuĂŠbec, Canada. There, she received a degree in fine arts from the University of Quebec in AbitibiTemiscamingue. She refined her technique through workshops with some of Canada's most famous artists, and is the founder and Director of the Palace of Arts Harricana and History Museum of Abitibi, Quebec. She has had exhibitions of her work across Canada, as well as in Spain, France, Belgium and the United States. She is a member of the Circle of Painters and Sculptors of Quebec (Le Cercle des Artists Peintres et Sculpteurs du QuĂŠbec). Her work is also featured in the International Contemporary Artists book and International Contemporary Masters V, which feature leading international contemporary artists. Lana is a Gold Medal recipient from the jury of Circle of Painters and Sculptors of Quebec for the originality and technical and aesthetic value of one of her fashion-inspired artworks. "Through their creations, fashion designers create styles, imply values, aesthetics and lifestyles. Fashion, for me, is all about the power of emotion, seduction and passion. My work explores the fascinating interrelation between art and fashion, one in which there is something of a role reversal. Fashion magazines, fashion photography and graphic design, in claiming and validating the visceral emotions and desires evoked by fashion, have themselves become powerful sources of inspiration" Lana said. "If leading fashion designers adopt an aesthetic that brings fashion to art, my work uses art to explore fashion, with its concepts of liberated femininity, unisex, gender identity, and timeless elegance and sophistication. My work does not emphasize accessories or aesthetic details; rather, it is a personal interpretation of the psychological aspects of femininity in fashion design. Using the techniques of fashion illustrators, I try to show not only fragments of feminine characters, but the feelings in women's faces that create the atmosphere of fashion, ushering the observer in a world of extreme sophistication." Lana's artistic philosophy can be summed up in one statement: "Art is my lifestyle and fashion is my world."
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Kevin R Eberle KevinEberle.com
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Victoria Maidhof victoriamaidhof.com
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Victoria graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2010. She currently resides in San Diego with her husband Tahan. The camera grants Victoria permission to investigate stories. For her, the act of photographing leads to the onset of unexpected story lines and interactions. She is drawn to people who are vibrant non-conformists with large personalities and odd habits, and her photographs are portraits of her interactions with people and environments whose worlds she enters and chronicles. Victoria builds relationships with her subjects and is welcomed into their private lives to photograph their possessions, hobbies, partners, and pets without them feeling self- conscious of her flashing camera.
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When the bonds of life are too much to bear. When the chains of reality Chafe the skin of the weary, Art may set them free. From brushstrokes to bass notes, Art will move you – It will unchain your soul And make your heart beat A melody of liberation, A drum line of emancipation A dance for a soul’s salvation Art can set you free, Whether the artist is using a pencil or diction, Clay or acrylic, They still can create a new world, user specific, Realm: Idyllic And a new set of eyes, For you to perceive The world as they see Art Will Set You Free. So stare at the canvas, Run across fingers on the sketch, Listen to the notes progress, Feel the words carving in your chest, Rising, welling up, ready to profess, That’s screaming, waiting to express That feeling...That’s how I know... And that warm feeling in your breast, Art Will Set Us Free.
By Alexander Castiglione
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FOREST
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Troy Simmons is a self-taught sculptor with an educational background in Architectural Design and Environmental Science. The combination of these two fields of study fostered his desire to unite man and nature – a concurring theme in his most recent body of work. Most of Simmons’ sculptures are created using found objects, construction products and a wood-like parasitic plant found in moist humid areas of the Southern United States. He invests months preparing the medium before each sculpture is created. Bending and cutting the material to the correct angle, he and the wood work together as they navigate through each curve. The process, as described by Simmons, is like creating a large 3D jigsaw puzzle with no limitation on direction.
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Philip McCobb's artistic passion started when he moved to Yokohama, Japan, and was exposed to Japanese comics and cartoons. The bold graphics and use of movement within the illustrations strongly influenced his style. His eventual relocation to Rome, Italy, proved to be a fortuitous move for a budding artist. Later, Philip moved to New York City to study at the School of Visual Arts, where the main practice is to teach students how to implement & harness creativity. It was there that he truly learned about idea-making and he still implements contemporary design techniques taught by leading American designers into all his projects. Now based in California, Philip has come a long way in this rich and diverse business. After many years, his style is bold and graphic. Heavily influenced by historic and iconic imagery, Philip loves to tell stories through his pieces, hiding symbolic numbers and images throughout. "When people see my work, I'd like them to be emotionally and physically drawn in, to want to touch and explore the piece."
Philip Mc Cobb philipmccobb.com EIAMAGAZINE.COM
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Joe Thompson is an Atlanta native currently living in Merritt Island, Florida. Married for twenty years, he also has four children. His art reflects many years of experimentation and evolution. Being self taught gives Joe a fearlessness to explore new ideas with a sense of adventure and enthusiasm. "The knowledge is in the doing! Books and lectures only give a person synthetic experience that does no good without application,� Thompson says. “Don't look for permission. Go get your hands dirty!" Presently, Joe only uses recycled materials in his art. These materials are manipulated many different ways to achieve different effects. From the whimsical to the serious, no two are the same. Every piece is authentic and original. His art is inspired by the objects he finds and his own colorful life experience.
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Joe Thompson joethompsonart.com
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Stacey Geyer artbreak.com/stacey1375
Edgar Garcia
EdgarEGarcia.tumblr. com
Paula Shaughnessy
Roy Daley fudworks.com
Sarah E. Mercer flickr.com/geekgirly
Renee Adams reneeadamsart.
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Mia Morris Shannon Gallogly ShannonGallogly.com
Janesa Suzanne JanesaSuzanne.com
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Carla Golembe
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Amanda Neistat
AmandaNeistat.com
Amanda Neistat was born in Miami Beach and raised in the Chicago area. She attended Hofstra University, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Amanda's work has been described as "controlled chaos." The most important areas of her paintings are the portions of canvas without paint. "The raw canvas is what gives the piece movement and flow. The moving colors' allow the observer to connect in their own way to a piece. My work is best experienced without opinion and an open mind. The creative process is deceptively simple. I choose different color paints then, using a pallet knife, spread them across the canvas."
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Dhurrie Designer Series "Icon Blue" 45Green. Photo - Armelle Habib Styling - Julia
cafargo.com
Pierre Duranleau
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Born and raised in Montreal, Pierre Duranleau considers himself a cultural product of the cold- war, space-race, and oil embargo era. He took an early interest in art and technology at a very young age. By the 1980s, Pierre studied painting and sculpture in Montreal, and spent two years in Houston, where he was an artist in residence as part of their museum of fine arts. Today, his work primarily concentrates on core subjects such as human mutations, apocalyptic landscapes, the coldwar stigma, the spacerace, the supernatural, and hybrid techno-devices. Pierre’s work is concerned with the incomprehensibly unhealthy, wasteful, and destructive side effects produced by a technologically driven, trapped and hypnotized culture.
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Charlene Weisler CharleneWeisler.com
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Jeff Bartels jeffbartels.com Jeff Bartels was born on April 11, 1973 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He grew up in the Toronto area where he showed an interest and talent for art at an early age. Throughout his schooling he focused his attention on art and in 1992 he continued those studies at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. Painting and sculpture continue to be Jeff’s main artistic focus and he has spent years working on his craft. Most of his paintings are done with oil on canvas that have recently taken on a photo-realistic style. By using dramatic lighting, exciting expressions and tight cropping, he is trying to bring emotion and passion to what can sometimes be seen as a cold style. The look of hyper-realism with the emotional impact of expressionism is what he is seeking.  His current series of paintings are a look at the human condition shown through hands. The first piece in this series is a huge work that will consist of 12 canvases and will be 12’ tall and 9’ wide. This piece will show the passion of creativity with each of the 12 canvases focusing on Jeff’s hands playing different musical instruments. When completed, the series will look at many different aspects of our humanity by focusing on our hands.
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Exclusive Interview:
Justin Bua
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Interview
q
You studied art throughout high school and college, receiving a BFA from the Art Center College of Design in California. What did you learn there that you apply to your artwork? What did you learn in the streets that you apply to it?
q
Art Center really allowed me to be more able and articulate. I really learned the basics there. It opened up a whole new door to me. As for the streets, there’s a lot of energy in New York. The environment that I grew up in was very chaotic. It’s where I learned creativity. I hung out with a lot of crazy kids, and it contributed to my personality and creativity. Some people look down on graffiti as not being an art form. Why do you think graffiti or street art has such a reputation in the art industry, despite the fact that it takes raw talent to produce, and requires the basics of art foundations? And what would you say to those who stereotype it as vandalism? First of all, I think people are starting to accept it as a higher art form. You have art shows featuring it. You have museums and major galleries featuring it in Europe. Those who say it isn’t are wrong. It’s legitimate. Graffiti is a big, big word, though. It implies lots of things. I think when people hear the word, they think ‘tagging,’ not necessarily the murals. Place and presentation has a lot to do with it. If you’re tagging a pastry shop, people might look at that as devaluing the person’s business. But, you could have someone do a mural on the side of a sneaker shop, and it could add value to the business. So, it’s complicated, and each case is individual.
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Your “Justin Bua”-style figures in your paintings and drawings have so much character and energy in them. Are they recreated from something you may see on the street, or is it as simple as sitting down and just letting go and creating? All of the above. I have a library of imagery in my imagination that gets unleashed. Like Picasso said, how do you know you’re inspired unless you have a pencil in your hands? Where do you get inspiration from? Is there anything in particular that gets your creativity flowing, such as music? When I was younger, I was really inspired by dancing, and those rhythms really manifest themselves in my brush strokes as well as my subject matter. I get inspired by film, music, other people’s art. When you are creating a piece do you listen to music? I listen to music or Howard Stern when I paint. You have shown the world that urban art is beautiful. How does it feel that your creativity has enabled you to partner with the biggest names in sports and entertainment, such as the NFL, NBA, and MTV? I just like that my work is out there. I have no problem with working with big corporations. In this day and age, it’s virtually impossible not to. There are some corporations, such as McDonald’s, that I won’t work with due to my own personal convictions, but it is very difficult not to work with a large corporation these days. I think my work with Target has enabled people who maybe aren’t able to go to a museum to see my work, so that’s a positive. I’m all about getting my work to the people, making my art available, and making people happy. Tell us a little about your new book, The Legends of Hip Hop. Legends of Hip Hop is a series of portraits of the legends of the greatest culture of the last hundred years, along with the people who inspired the culture, like michael jackson and james brown. These are people who are hip hop. It’s my homage to the culture. There hasn’t been a book that historically documents these iconic images before. There’s also an essay that goes along with each portrait, explaining why they’re significant and why they inspired me.
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Do you ever get nervous when you’re revealing a portrait to some- one? Absolutely, it’s horrifying. Especially when you get a reaction like ‘Yo, I love the piece, but I don’t really think it looks like me.’ So yea, I get nervous, but I do it because I love to do it.
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Is there ever a time where you look at your work and think ‘oh, it’s horrible’? All the time. There are times where people will compliment one of my pieces and I’ll think ‘really? where?’ So yea, I’m just trying to get better. I’m still a student.
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What is your favorite piece of art that you have created? I can’t select one. It changes daily. What is your favorite book? Portrait of the artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. What is your favorite movie? It depends on genre, but it ranges from Rocky to Seventh Samurai. Most exciting time in your art career? Right now. By far. Most disturbing time in your art career? Right after I graduated. I was living in a fleabag motel, doing really big paintings for the skateboard industry and making very little money. Terrifying. Not sure where my next meal was coming from. Was there ever a time where you thought you couldn't make it as an artist? Absolutely. and there’s still times where I’ll hit a dry spot and wonder what the hell is going on. It’s weird. What is your take on the budget cuts to art programs in U.S. schools and the effects it will have on the future of art in the U.S.? Typical and disgusting. I think they should cut the pay and benefits to Congress if they need money, not public school art programs. It’s disturbing. How do you define, making it in the art world? It’s not financial. Financial and material success is an illusion. It doesn’t mean anything. The only thing that means anything is love. It’s doing what you love to do. Where can people find your artwork? I’m on twitter at: @justinbua, I’m on Facebook at: facebook. com/bua and justinbua.com. I’m always putting up new work, and it’s really a community. I love to interact with fans, and we discuss art or whatever people want to talk about.
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“Your brushstroke is flawless, your technique masterful, and your color theory exceptional... But your art is dead. I guess you should have done more than read...” Brian Kirhagis WWW.BRIKART.NET
Brian Kirhagis
BRIKart.net
Fine Artist - Acrylic on canvas EIAMAGAZINE.COM
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BLACK ROAD 1 ARTWORK www.dwellstudio.com $1,395.00
BLACK INK ARTWORK www.dwellstudio.com $1,595.00
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Paul Plaintanuwong - Thailand Paul Plaintanuwong
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Paul’s Gallery is a playground of color, where every surface is painted in a playful manner. While most galleries have a sterile, institutional vibe, with wide open spaces of bland wall space, patrons of Paul’s find that the work dances with the sunlight in the morning, and curls up with the moonlight at night. People are often drawn in at night, like moths to a flame, because there’s so much texture in Paul’s work. There are many influences romping in this playground of a gallery. Paul, who is of Japanese and Thai heritage, studied modern art in both Japan and Thailand. One can blatantly see the Asian influences in some pieces, decorated with flowers and the faces of Thai maidens. Other pieces are more universal. Plain tables lacquered black and held together with clean, functional lines that can be decorated with color schemes to customize it to your home.
Paul’s Gallery is a playground of color, where every surface is painted in a playf galleries have a sterile, institutional vibe, with wide open spaces of bland wall space, pat the work dances with the sunlight in the morning, and curls up with the moonlight at drawn in at night, like moths to a flame, because there’s so much
There are many influences romping in this playground of a gallery. Paul, who herita in bo On As
flower ma more lac
func
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As with any artist, his skill and artisanship are truly realized with the varied stylistic modes he commands. By this token, more traditional landscapes and still-life pieces may seem out of place when compared to more modern works. But when you realize it is all the work of the same artist, with varied style, texture, tone and mediums, you can see the stability in his use of texture and attentiveness in each one of his pieces.
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