frrresh visual arts magazine
Nยบ16
Bok!
That means “Hi!” in Croatian :) How’ve You been? We hope You’re ready for Your monthly fix of some awesome art! As usual, we’re not going to bore You with long intoductions and wise words from us - the editors. We just hope those fingers of Yours are itching to flip through these pages! Thank you again for supporting all our artists that have been featured in the past issues and we hope You are going to continue doing so! Give yourself a high five- You’re awesome!!! Go on, have a look-see and as alwaysenjoy and stay frrresh <3 Artists featured in issue 16 are: Jensine Eckwall ZOSEN Karin Söderquist Achraf Baznani Sean Lewis Eltono Natalia Rak Ville Savimaa Fá bio M. Roque Michelle Hiraishi
Jensine Eckwall I’m an illustrator based out of Brooklyn, ny. My family moved around a lot when I was a kid and settled near the woods in Connecticut. I then moved to New York and graduated from SVA. I have a complicated relationship with nature and my first favorite song was “Leader of the Pack”. My first name is pronounced jen-sen. My work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators,
American Illustration, and 3x3. My clients include the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Viacom, Nylon, Chronicle Books, Print Magazine, among others. I also enjoy self-initiated book projects, such as the internet horror anthology/creepythread, and a new zine with Ray Ray Books called Consumption.
jensineeckwall.com jensineeckwall.tumblr.com
Zosen Filled with neon colors, geometric patterns and symbols, Zosen’s paintings immerse the viewer in their vivid imagery. The artist creates his proper mythology, flooding walls and canvases with fantastic characters that reveal his commentary on the happenings of our own world. An active member of the Barcelona graffiti scene since the early 1990s, Zosen continues to produce projects that carry the antiauthoritarian spirit of his early days in the punk and do-it-yourself movements. After immigrating to Barcelona from Buenos Aires as an adolescent, he began to experiment with different graffiti styles, combining social criticism with amusing characters and letters. In 2001 he became a member of the celebrated crew Ovejas Negras (ONG). Though the crew has disbanded, he continues to collaborate with its former members as well as artists of different disciplines from around the world. The influences of skateboarding, fanzines and street culture permeate Zosen’s contemporary work, both on the street and in the studio. His murals bring color and spontaneity to the austere gray of the urban landscape of Barcelona as well as many other international culture capitals. But despite their playful aesthetic, Zosen’s paintings speak out against the social injustices he perceives. The multi-colored, two dimensional characters, though naive at a first glance, criticize the corruption of today’s society. Folkloric elements combine with the excesses of post-modernity, creating a new vocabulary of symbols. While Zosen paints on the streets frequently, his repertoire has expanded to include performance art, printmaking, illustration and fashion design. He has shown his work in galleries in Europe, the Americas and Asia and is the co-founder of the clothing label Animal Bandido. Relentlessly creative, Zosen constantly invents new artistic projects and urban interventions.
zosenbandido.com
zosenymina.com
Karin SĂśderquist Illustrator and artist based in Stockholm, Sweden. She graduated from Camberwell College of Arts in London in 2011 and has been freelancing since. Karinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work is a mix between hand-made and digital illustration and at the moment her favourite thing to draw is very muscular women.
karinsoderquist.com karinsoderquist.tumblr.com
My name is Achraf Baznani and I was born in Marrakech – Morocco. I started doing photography when I was young, completely by chance. I got an EKTRA compact 250 for my birthday which was intended to immortalize the good times. And finally, I was hooked. I then made several short films and documentaries, including “On”, “The Forgotten” and “Immigrant” for which I received several national and international awards, before once again opt for photography, but this time the strange and surreal photography. I am self-taught and I have no formal education in this field. I published a photobook called “Through my lens”. b
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Sean Lewis is an artist and illustrator based out of his hometown, Toronto. He attended OCADU for illustration. Inspired by North American culture, Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vast natural landscapes, and road trips across the continent, his work tackles environmental concerns and emphatically explores the way he and others look at the world and how they live and dream throughout it. Seanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work has been published by Nobrow, Gestalten, 3x3 Magazine. His work has been awarded by American Illustration, 3x3 Magazine and his thesis won the Gold Medal for his program at OCADU.
seanlewis.ca seanlewisdraws.tumblr.com
Eltono My work is essentially street-based. WhenIshowmyworkinprivatespaces, it always has a strong direct relation with outside. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t deliberately choose to work in the street; after years of writing my name on walls, I naturally developed other ways of intervening in the city. To stimulate creation, I feel more inspired by the uncomfortable environment of the city than by a clean and quiet studio. I use the public space as my main source of inspiration, as my studio and as my laboratory.
eltono.com
Upstate New York, USA, 08/2013
Caochangdi, Beijing, China, 06/2012
798, Beijing, China, 01/2014
Katowice, Poland, 04/2013
Bari, Italy 07/2013 013
Beijing, China, 01/2014
Caochangdi, Beijing, China, 06/2012
Seville, Spain, 04/2012
Utrecht, NL, 03/2012
Walk and Talk Festival, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal, 07/2013
Upstate New York, U.S.A., 08/2013
“Stairs on Top of the Stairs” Beijing, China, 01/2014
Utrecht, NL, 03/2012
Xishuangbanna, China, 01/2013
Natalia Rak
Since my childhood my manual skills have been growing. I graduated the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz years ago. I develop my skills in different directions such as screen printing, packaging design, poster design, corporate identity, comics, drawing, sculpture, but most of all I loved to paint. It was four years ago, the first time I held the can in my hand. It was a frustrating lesson of humility. In the next year I made my first woman’s portrait. It looked great and for me It was easy work so I decided to paint using spray can as often as I get a chance. My style that stands out as my work is a combination of vivid colors and the use of metaphors in the content of the mural. As for me, during those three years, each wall was the next step. Every time I learn something new. I have a few experiences and after that I can say that: I liked the large surfaces; I found a patent for a very minor detail; I hated brick walls; I liked use fluor colors cans. It’s difficult to explain but after this experience I began to see how my style is creating by itself. I always paint something as long as I won’t say: “I like it”. It’s not a problem to make mistakes. It’s problem when you see mistakes and you don’t correct it. There is no a particular message in my art. I want only that people start to thinking about art and the world around them. I want inspire and delight them.
nataliarak.blogspot.com
facebook.com/ArtNataliaRak
Ville Savimaa Ville lives in Finland. He is inspired by people and the stuff they are wearing. He tries to build up images which are a combination of dreamy atmosphere and real world. Ville makes his living as a freelance illustrator. He is represented by Agent Pekka.
villesavimaa.com
Fábio M. Roque (b. 1985) is a photographer born and based in Lisbon, Portugal. He studied photography at I.P.F. (Portuguese Institute of Photography), Lisbon between 2004 and 2007, later He attended the workshop of History of Photography Contemporary at Ar. Co., Lisbon 2010. and worked in two newspapers, both now non existant. His work is mainly focused on documentary photography; more recently discovered is passion for a more personal kind of photography. He had several solo exhibitions and is a member of the Collective Phos. He collaborates regularly with the online platform “A Viagem dos Argaunautas”, runs the editorial project “Our Private Garden” and is the creator and director of Square Space Magazine.
fabiomiguelroque.com
Michelle Hiraishi Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m currently an Animation student at California State University of Fullerton with a strong interest in the pre-production side of the entertainment industry. Storytelling is something that is very important to me and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something that I love developing. One very apparent and common theme that I like working with is the sense of scale between solitary subjects and their surrounding environment. I enjoy showing how different characters interact with the realization of being totally alone in their universe, only to then understand the power and wonder that this gives them with their perspective on the world. Thank you for viewing my work!
michellehiraishi.tumblr.com
Photos and text: Courtesy of each author unless stated otherwise Editors: Rafael MilÄ?iÄ&#x2021; and pekmezmed Contact: mail@frrresh.org frrresh.org