An initial encounter with the work of Ben Sanders might leave the viewer perplexed. Are they retro digitally painted screen savers? Are they just stickers on a sheet of paper? Through expert color choices and impressively crisp lines, Sanders creates paintings that trick the eye. His acrylic and oil works sometimes even look photographic. There is definitely something decidedly vintage and even cartoon-like about the works, most of which revolve around food.
His sculptures feel even more animated; the artist created a series of pots with hilarious faces. The strange pots hold plants and are arranged in photos with various household items. In Pot No. 9 the curious object sits to the side next to a hand that wears a yellow cleaning glove and holds a clean rag. Behind the pot you can barely make out a small Oscar Mayer hot dog truck toy. His work as a whole seems to hint at domestic scenes and childhood memories, but in some pieces we don’t get as many clues. Even at their most cryptic, Sanders’s works feel fun, enigmatic and innovative all at once.
Found Objects:
Sebastián Gutiérrez crafts two-layered portraits that reveal something less elegant beneath the surface. This particular series from the Puerto Rican artist, titled “Inner Beauty,” is a study in contrast. A statement says that “though his main medium is oil paint, its usually presented on everyday items such as doors, rugs, windows or toys; he wants to give the spectator an instant sense of familiarity.”
The lush, dreamlike illustrations of 
