Menu

Subscriptions

Shop

Submit

Promote

The New Contemporary Art Magazine
Some of our past articles may not have images. Click here to see those that do.

Preview: Fu Lei’s “Dreams of Desire” at Art Plural Gallery

Chinese painter Fu Lei creates floating compositions with robust forms that defy physical laws. The rounded, voluptuous bodies of his human characters evoke the work of Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, while the airy cornucopias of plants and animals are reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki's whimsical animations. Fu Lei treats the human characters in his work like objects in a still life, weaving them into ornate arrangements of flora and fauna. He intentionally conceals their faces and genders to keep the narrative of his work as open-ended as possible. His upcoming show at Art Plural Gallery in Singapore, "Dreams of Desire," investigates lust, vice and humanity's penchant for excess.

Chinese painter Fu Lei creates floating compositions with robust forms that defy physical laws. The rounded, voluptuous bodies of his human characters evoke the work of Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, while the airy cornucopias of plants and animals are reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki’s whimsical animations. Fu Lei treats the human characters in his work like objects in a still life, weaving them into ornate arrangements of flora and fauna. He intentionally conceals their faces and genders to keep the narrative of his work as open-ended as possible. His upcoming show at Art Plural Gallery in Singapore, “Dreams of Desire,” investigates lust, vice and humanity’s penchant for excess.

“Dreams of Desire” opens November 13 at Art Plural Gallery and will be on view through December 30.

Meta
Topics
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles

Leszek Kostuj’s Storybook Like Paintings of Otherworldly Characters

Polish artist Leszek Kostuj paints fanciful worlds populated by otherworldly creatures. There is something playful, childlike, and naive about his work, with its simplified forms and friendly-looking characters. Throughout Kostuj's multi-dimentional compositions, his characters' eyes grab viewers' attention. He paints them in profile, evoking Ancient Egyptian wall paintings. The round, marble-like pupils draw us into his strange, storybook-like universe.

Kayla Mahaffrey’s Stirring, Surreal Portraits

Chicago-born artist Kayla Mahaffrey crafts portraits of subjects enveloped by pop totems and surreal elements. Her works are rendered in watercolors and acrylics, each oozing with vibrancy and candy colors. Her practice moves between illustration and fine art.

Ceramics, Landscape Painting, and Graffiti Merge in Jessica Hess and Christa Assad’s Collaborations

Jessica Hess considers herself a landscape painter, but rather than capturing vistas of waterfalls or forests, her paintings document the ephemeral graffiti she observes in Oakland, San Francisco, and in her travels (see some of her paintings here). Adding another layer to the images-within-images she has going on in her work, Hess teamed with sculptor Christa Assad to create a collaborative series of hand-painted ceramic sculptures. Assad created wheel-thrown, constructed stoneware pieces that take inspiration from Hess's subject matter — spray cans, paint buckets, fire hydrants, pigeons, and other markers of urban detritus. Hess then hand-painted them with acrylic, filling them with images of tagged-up cityscapes. Hess has an exhibition coming up at Art Works Downtown in San Rafael, CA on March 6 and some of these collaborative ceramic pieces will be in the show.

Marco Grassi’s Portraits Put Hyperrealism Slightly Off Balance

Italian artist Marco Grassi applies his hyperrealist painting chops to portraits that are slightly unconventional. While he paints mostly young, beautiful female subjects in traditional studio settings, his work becomes remarkable for the surreal accoutrements with which he adorns his characters. In one piece, a model's back becomes porous with a carved, baroque design — her body hollow like a doll's. In other paintings, he experiments with colorful body paint, tattoos, fabrics, and even a translucent, shield-like piece of futuristic jewelry. Throughout his portrait series, Grassi uses his skills with oils to create convincing illusions that make it easy for viewers to suspend disbelief.
Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List
Follow us on our social networks

Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Tumblr

Shop

Subscribe

Subscription Details

Articles, About, FAQs, Submit, Promote, Distribute

© 2025 Hi-Fructose Magazine

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List