Alessandro Ripane’s Humorously Grotesque Illustrations

All that should look solid melts right off in the compositions of Alessandro Ripane. Many of his characters have a mass of dripping liquid with plants protruding in all directions in lieu of real faces. Other figures sprout plants from their limbs while their gleaming white bones peek through. Yet these morbid compositions manage to keep a whimsical twist; in some, giant pink ice cream cones drip heavily. Genoa-born Ripane remembers collecting comic books and volumes on wild animals, a habit that definitely informs his strange imagery. Each vignette gives the sensation that the viewer is walking in on the strange characters. A couple cuddling becomes a strange mass of plants, melting parts and mangled flesh. But not all is lost: Ripane makes sure to let one of the figures keep his socks and shoes on. Part Surrealism, part satire and all visceral, Ripane's works leave few parts intact but offer plenty of visual gems.

All that should look solid melts right off in the compositions of Alessandro Ripane. Many of his characters have a mass of dripping liquid with plants protruding in all directions in lieu of real faces. Other figures sprout plants from their limbs while their gleaming white bones peek through. Yet these morbid compositions manage to keep a whimsical twist; in some, giant pink ice cream cones drip heavily. Genoa-born Ripane remembers collecting comic books and volumes on wild animals, a habit that definitely informs his strange imagery. Each vignette gives the sensation that the viewer is walking in on the strange characters. A couple cuddling becomes a strange mass of plants, melting parts and mangled flesh. But not all is lost: Ripane makes sure to let one of the figures keep his socks and shoes on. Part Surrealism, part satire and all visceral, Ripane’s works leave few parts intact but offer plenty of visual gems.

Topics

Alessandro Ripane, digital art, drawing, illustration

Andrea Wan, drawing, Exploding Heads, Fakelore, illustration

May 26, 2014

Born in Hong Kong, raised in Vancouver, educated in Denmark, and currently residing in Berlin – Andrea Wan is an artist with a diverse and culturally rich background to draw upon. Inspired by her relationships with the various people and places she has encountered throughout her journeys, Wan’s illustrations and ink paintings seek to communicate narratives that seem influenced by folktales and children’s stories. Indeed, the surrealistic and whimsical scenes that Wan creates could be illustrations straight out of a trippy children’s book, à la Dr. Seuss, Lewis Carroll or Shel Siverstein.

Tim Molloy’s Strange, Vivid Worlds

illustration, surrealism, Tim Molloy

June 22, 2017

New Zealander Tim Molloy crafts strange worlds in his illustrations, comics, and commercial work. Recalling artists like Moebius and Jim Woodring, Molloy's rich, detailed pieces are packed with surreal imagery. The artist’s tight linework makes his dreamlike narratives into vivid jaunts into the unknown.

Alex Kuno’s “Orpheus and Eurydice” Illustrates a Tragic Love Story

Alex Kuno, Greek mythology, illustration

February 12, 2016

Minnesota based artist Alex Kuno best describes his work's narratives as apocalyptic, satiric fairytales. His mixed media illustrations are as dark as they are whimsical, following deranged subjects, often children, rendered in acrylics, graphite, chalk, ink, ballpoint pens and crayons on pine boards. His early series, after which he named his website, calls this world the "The Miscreants of Tiny Town", inhabited by lost orphans looking for a home in an endless, foreboding landscape that has as much personality as its characters. Though nightmarish, there's also a sense of romance in his young subjects' undying desire to eke out a better existence for themselves. A story about romance is at the heart of Kuno's latest series debuting on Valentine's Day at Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome.

Ian Ingram’s Enigmatic Charcoal Drawings

drawing, Ian Ingram, self-portrait

June 20, 2014

New York-based artist Ian Ingram uses primarily charcoal and pastels to render rich self-portraits filled with details normally almost invisible to the human eye. Ingram focuses his energy on the copious details in the skin, rendering the texture of each pore and pockmark. He uses primarily dark tones for his work, allowing the skin's texture to glisten as if reflecting the sun's rays at its lowest point just before it sets. While some of the portraits focus on the poignancy of the facial expression, others include surreal details such as embroidered geometric patterns. By way of subtle cues, Ingram's drawings communicate the nuances of our emotions and imaginations.

Alessandro Ripane’s Humorously Grotesque Illustrations

Andrea Wan’s Imaginative Illustrations Provide Social Commentary

Tim Molloy’s Strange, Vivid Worlds

Alex Kuno’s “Orpheus and Eurydice” Illustrates a Tragic Love Story

Ian Ingram’s Enigmatic Charcoal Drawings

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