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      Surreal Watercolor Illustrations Shake Back and Forth in Marija Tiurina’s Chaotic Stereograms

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      Animation
      Art
      Illustration

      #painting
      #surreal
      #video
      #watercolor

      May 27, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All image © Marija Tiurina, shared with permission
      Longtime Colossal readers will recognize the surreal, fictionalized scenes illustrated by Marija Tiurina (previously). Whether a bizarre mishmash of thoughts from quarantine or a crowded parallel universe in North London, Tiurina’s works are a seemingly endless exploration of mystery, delight, and general chaos, themes the London-based illustrator continues in her new series Stereogramos—the title is a portmanteau blending the “Spanish world for a bouquet (of endless objects and limbs, in my case) and ‘-os’ ending that is typical to the worlds of plural female form in Lithuanian language,” she says.
      Comprised of three jiggling gifs and a longer, scrolling animation, the works deviate from Tiurina’s static paintings and build a playful, peculiar setting around three central characters in her signature style. The female figures exude an air of cool disinterest and are surrounded by objects defining their unqiue personalities, including greasy slices of pizza, cracked vinyl, and even a disturbingly severed limb.
      To create the dizzying works, Tiurina began by drawing and painting the individual elements with watercolor, and after cutting each out, she layered them into rich, abstracted scenes with a single central character. Her stereograms, or two-dimensional renderings that give the illusion of greater depth, diverge from historical stereoscopic images that positioned two photos side-by-side on a flat plane viewed with binocular vision. Instead, the illustrator merges the two into one glitching visual that appears in three dimensions.
      Tiurina recorded her entire process for Stereogramos, which you can see in the video below, and you can find more of her packed, sprawling illustrations and similarly looping Droste Effect watercolor on Behance and Instagram. She also sells originals, prints, and books on her site, and if you’re in Reykjavík, stop by SIM Residency to see her work as part of a group show that’s open through May 29, 2021.

      

      #painting
      #surreal
      #video
      #watercolor

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      Graphite Portraits Distort and Intertwine Subjects to Visualize Metaphors of the Body

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      Art
      Illustration

      #anatomy
      #drawing
      #graphite
      #portraits
      #surreal

      April 12, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Miles Johnston, shared with permission
      Malmö, Sweden-based artist Miles Johnston portrays subjects whose figures are in states of flux, whether through fragmented bodies, multiplied faces, or limbs contorted into impossible positions. Often depicting Johnston (previously) or his partner, the graphite portraits distort typical anatomy in a way that balances the familiar with the unknown and visualizes the thoughts and emotions otherwise hidden inside the mind.
      Whether set against a trippy backdrop or quiet beach, each piece portrays the experience of the body “through a kind of internal metaphorical language,” the artist says. He explains further:
      We don’t directly experience the actual biochemical facts of what is happening in our bodies, hormones secreting, weird little proteins and neurons doing whatever it is they do. Instead, we have a whole language of expressions like stomach tied up in knots, feeling empty, torn in two, burning with anger, etc… I’m aiming for this sort of naive direct representation of what things feel like instead of a literal representation of how they look from the outside.
      Keep an eye on Johnston’s site and Instagram for news on upcoming print releases and his latest works.

      #anatomy
      #drawing
      #graphite
      #portraits
      #surreal

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      Ironic Compositions Juxtapose Outlandish Scenarios in Paco Pomet’s New Paintings

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      Art

      #humor
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #satire
      #social commentary
      #surreal

      April 8, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “The Lesson” (2020), oil on canvas, 130 x 170 centimeters. All images © Paco Pomet, shared with permission
      In Beginnings, Spanish artist Paco Pomet (previously) visualizes a series of jarring and absurd scenarios born out of an equally concerning event. He juxtaposes disparate elements—a mushroom cloud erupting in a classroom, women cavalierly poking at a tabletop sunrise, a mountain range lying on an operating table—in a series of satirical commentaries infused with pop culture references and nods to art history.
      Generally contrasting a black-and-white scene with a recurring, full-color sunrise or sunset, Pomet’s compositions merge time periods and situations to mark the start of a new reality, a broad theme tied to the current moment. “Romanticism with a twist of irony is a very powerful visual engine,” he says about the series.
      If you’re in Santa Monica, Beginnings is on view through May 8 at Richard Heller Gallery. Otherwise, find more of Pomet’s humorous and bizarre compositions on Artsy and Instagram.

      “Little Big Grief” (2020), oil on canvas, 51 1/5 × 66 9/10 inches
      “Hesperides” (2020), oil on canvas, 51 1/5 × 66 9/10 inches
      “Melancholy School” (2020), oil on canvas, 51 1/5 × 59 1/10 inches
      “The Art of Scaling” (2020), oil on canvas, 51 1/5 × 59 1/10 inches
      “Headstrong” (2020), oil on canvas, 23 3/5 × 28 7/10 inches
      “Classicism” (2021), oil on canvas, 60 × 73 inches
      “Das Erhabene Büro (diptych)” (2020), oil on canvas, 59 1/10 × 102 2/5 inches

      #humor
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #satire
      #social commentary
      #surreal

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      An Uncanny Animated Short by Fernando Livschitz Twists Mundane Scenes into Bizarre Alternatives

      by

      
      Animation
      Art

      #humor
      #short film
      #surreal
      #video

      April 6, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      [embedded content]
      Argentinian director Fernando Livschitz (previously), who helms Black Sheep Films, is back with a surreal short film that envisions everyday activities and scenes with a slightly unsettling spin. Infused with Livschitz’s distinct penchant for humor and absurdity, “Anywhere Can Happen” is set to a rendition of “What a Wonderful World” by Reuben and the Dark and AG and descends into an uncanny universe of galactic rollercoasters, dimension-traveling trains, and oversized hands keen on manipulating the landscape. Watch the animated short above, and find more of Livschitz’s cleverly bizarre projects on Vimeo and Instagram.

      #humor
      #short film
      #surreal
      #video

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      Faces and Fingers Glazed in Celadon Emerge from Surreal Vessels by Canopic Studio

      by

      
      Art

      #anatomy
      #body
      #ceramics
      #clay
      #identity
      #surreal

      March 22, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Canopic Studio, shared with permission
      Disembodied faces and fingers encircle the surreal vessels created by Canopic Studio, a Los Angeles-based practice helmed by Claire and Curran Wedner. Known for their ceramics that display human anatomy in a repetitious pattern, the husband and wife recently diverged from the black-and-white works previously mentioned on Colossal to create a series entirely in celadon, a jade color with a rich history.
      The translucent glaze originated in China and was prominent throughout the country for centuries before being replaced by blue-and-white porcelain. It’s traditionally made with a bit of iron oxide—too little creates a blue color, while too much produces a darker olive or black—and then fired in a reducing kiln at a high temperature.
      Curran says he first experimented with the glaze in 2004 as part of a ceramics class and returned to it now after researching cone 10 gas firing and reduction, or the process of decreasing oxygen in the kiln. The resulting pieces shift in color with the light, a trait that dovetails with the studio’s interest in mutable identities and idiosyncrasies that shows up in the shape of their works.
      Pieces are created using the same mold to produce similar, but not identical, body parts. When attached in rows on the mug or bowl, the single face or finger becomes one of many, each defined by its slight difference. “I’m interested in identity and how it shifts when we go from being alone to being a part of a crowd,” Curran says. He explains:
      I like prodding that space in between, where identity feels almost pliable or molten, then hardens, then shifts again, and so on. When the face I’m using is pulled from a single mold, it has a surreal quality—so identical it’s almost eerie, and all the tiny flaws and differences come forward when they otherwise wouldn’t.
      Right now, Canopic Studio is in the process of creating a line of face medallions finished with 22 karat gold. The duo list new pieces bi-monthly on Etsy, and you can keep an eye out for shop updates and see works-in-progress on Instagram.

      #anatomy
      #body
      #ceramics
      #clay
      #identity
      #surreal

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      New Perspective-Bending Collages by Lola Dupré Distort and Reconfigure Pets and Portraits

      by

      
      Art
      Photography

      #animals
      #architecture
      #collage
      #humor
      #surreal

      March 19, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Cleo” (2020), 8.2 x 11.6 inches. All images © Lola Dupré, shared with permission
      Glasgow-based artist Lola Dupré (previously) continues her practice of slicing and rearranging photographs and art historical works into cleverly surreal collages. Her newest manipulations include a blockheaded Léon Bonnat, an entire row of irresistible puppy eyes, and a twisted rendition of George Stubbs’s “The Kongouro from New Holland.” Dupré’s cat, Charlie, still finds himself as fodder for the unusual works—see two pieces centered on him below—and the artist is currently in the process of creating her 33rd portrait of the orange-and-white feline. Find more of the Dupré’s compositions in the latest issue of Standart Magazine, shop originals and prints on her site, and see the distorted works in person at Portland’s Brassworks Gallery later this year. You also can follow along with the contorted creations on Instagram and Behance.

      “Kayack” (2020), 11.6 x 8.2 inches
      “Roo after Stubbs” (2021), 8.2 x 11.6 inches
      Left: “After Leon Bonnat” (2021), 8.2 x 11.6 inches. Right: “The Community” (2020), 8.2 x 11.6 inches
      “Charlie 32” (2021), 8.2 x 11.6 inches
      “Hardy” (2020), 16.5 x 11.5 inches
      Left: “Cat after Nathaniel Currier” (2021), 8.2 x 11.6 inches. Right: “Rand” (2021), 11.5 x 16.5 inches
      “Charlie 31” (2021), 11.6 x 8.2 inches

      #animals
      #architecture
      #collage
      #humor
      #surreal

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      Pockets of Landscapes and Still Lifes Adorn Subjects in Lavish Portraits by Aniela Sobieski

      by

      
      Art

      #dogs
      #fashion
      #makeup
      #painting
      #portraits
      #surreal

      February 11, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      Oil on panel, 8 x 10 inches. All images © Aniela Sobieski, shared with permission
      Aniela Sobieski is intrigued by “the human impulse to self-decorate,” a fascination that permeates every aspect of her portraiture. Evoking both baroque paintings and contemporary fashions, Sobieski adorns women and the occasional dog with elaborate makeup and sculptural accessories placed conspicuously to mask the subject’s features. She seamlessly maps classic still lifes and sparse landscapes directly onto the sitter’s face, often highlighting the natural shape of the eye and coating the figure’s lips in bold red.
      Apparent within Sobieski’s oil paintings is a symbiotic relationship between the subject and their lavish accessories: while a pair of daisies or bucolic scene serve as expressions of identity and emotion, the subject “provides them with an environment,” the artist writes. “It is my hope that these relationships speak to the tendency for nature and the human psyche to mirror each other.”
      Sobieski, who is based in St. Paul, has a solo show at Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee that’s slated for this October. Until then, follow her poetic artworks on Instagram, and pick up a print from Etsy. (via This Isn’t Happiness)

      “Bird Eyes,” oil on panel, 6 x 6 inches

      “Daisy Eyes,” oil on linen, 8 x 10 inches

      #dogs
      #fashion
      #makeup
      #painting
      #portraits
      #surreal

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      Fantastical Atmospheres Are Rendered with Dark Impasto Strokes in Digital Paintings by RHADS

      by

      
      Art

      #digital
      #impasto
      #surreal

      February 4, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Continuation of the Dream.” All images © Artem Chebokha, shared with permission
      Impasto strokes in deep shades of blue and gray form the volatile environments that backdrop Artem Chebokha’s surreal works. The Saint Petersburg-based artist, who uses the moniker RHADS, mimics the texture of oil paint in his digital pieces. Situated within heavy clouds and pockets of lightning, elements of unusual scale, like minuscule airplanes or an oversized octopus, create otherworldly atmospheres filled with unpredictable weather and open expanses.
      Prints of Chebokha’s dreamy paintings are available on Society6. Head to Instagram to see a larger collection of his pieces, including a 3D shot of the work above, and keep an eye out for his upcoming project that merges art and music. (via Cross Connect Magazine)

      “A Great Storm Approaching”
      “City of Love”
      “Floating in the Dark”
      “Octosoup”
      “The Longing to Air Trips”

      #digital
      #impasto
      #surreal

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