Belgian artist Cindy Wright’s realist approach to her paintings is straightforward and traditional, but her subject matter imbues her work with an haunting, enigmatic ambiance. Wright is interested in death and decay. Her still lifes focus on single objects — one polished skull, a slab of fresh meat bleeding on the ground. Presented to us without context or an explanation, the morbid subjects exemplify the physicality of flesh. In this way, her work continues the Northern Renaissance tradition of vanitas paintings, still lifes meant to evoke the passage of time and one’s inevitable mortality.
In a new exhibition at 
Kushana Bush is known for her packed, figurative gouache paintings, with influences from traditional Mughal and Persian miniatures, the Italian Renaissance, Japanese ukiyo-e, and beyond converging. Recent work takes a singular—yet still dynamic—approach. The New Zealand artist infuses contemporary reflections and interactions into each corner of her works, each containing several narratives worth investigating.