Italian artist Marie-Esther (aka Gaia) draws sensitive portraits of women interrupted by overlaying abstract images. Her women have a multi faceted quality which she literally peels back in layers, revealing their emotion underneath. She describes her subjects as “a sort of icon of rationality, the way I see it. Geometric, cold. The rationality we need when people, or even our emotions hurt us.” A self taught artist inspired by Italian classical drawings, her mixed media work is beautiful while a little rough around the edges. Her focus on figures most likely stems from her education in medical studies which requires skilled observation of the figure. Gaia’s “Transparency Series” featured below is focused on depicting her subjects as “see-through Chinese boxes”, tied up in knotted red string representing their complexity. This feeling of being entangled and restrained is combined with the feeling of losing control. Her young subjects experiencing love, sadness and hope for the first time struggle with the choice between experience and remaining secure.
Gilles Cenazandotti is a French artist known for his arresting sculptures of animals constructed entirely of litter he collects from the ocean. Petroleum products, bottle caps, tubes of sunscreen, and other plastic refuse are gathered from the sea and transformed into a variety of species, many endangered. Through his art, Cenazandotti hopes to bring greater awareness to the condition of our planet and the number of species threatened by human activity and pollution.
The solitary figurative sculptures of Frode Bolhuis are untethered to any one specific culture or frame of mind, existing at the convergence of generations and experiences. His use of textiles brings a more visceral connections to each of the subjects, and the vibrancy within each extends past the artist’s chosen hues.
Blending painting and drawing, 