Russian collage artist Philipp Igumnov doctors old photographs to make them look like documentation of supernatural occurrences. An enormous cumulous cloud with doors and windows becomes a celestial residence; a woman holds up her palm to reveal a swarm of miniature UFOs; a soccer goalie dives to catch a speeding comet. Igumnov seems to enjoy messing with the idea of photography as a truth-telling medium and manipulates it to indulge his viewers' curiosity about aliens, ghosts, and the like.
Russian collage artist Philipp Igumnov doctors old photographs to make them look like documentation of supernatural occurrences. An enormous cumulous cloud with doors and windows becomes a celestial residence; a woman holds up her palm to reveal a swarm of miniature UFOs; a soccer goalie dives to catch a speeding comet. Igumnov seems to enjoy messing with the idea of photography as a truth-telling medium and manipulates it to indulge his viewers’ curiosity about aliens, ghosts, and the like.
Mexican artist and arts educator Claudio Dicochea is best known for his contemporary reworkings of 18th century casta paintings, featuring a plethora of media idols and public figures sourced from world history and popular culture. Dicochea describes his work as "a contemporary re-examination of mestizaje, or mixed race identity" that explores "the legacy of colonial representation, hybrid identity, and contemporary media stereotypes."
Alexis Anne Mackenzie’s handcut collages of found images and pages from vintage books in her latest body of work. By taking pictures like scenic backdrops and splitting them with photos of women and other figures, Mackenzie creates stirring, moody works on paper. The work can be at once empowering and seemingly treacherous for those depicted. Works like "Closer to the Sun," above, combine like objects, creates a synthesis between the beauty of flight and womanhood. The body of work is part of the show "Never Odd or Even" at Eleanor Harwood Gallery in San Francisco.
Vladislav Skobelskij, who works under the moniker Happy, creates voluminous, candy-colored scenes and animations. The delightfully garish works move between disturbing and alluring, each figure overcome by vibrant and cartoonish outgrowths. Happy often injects pop cultural and photographic elements into this fantasy world.
Melbourne, Florida based artist Derek Gores relates creating collage art to a dreamy, abstract search, digging through representational images to find beauty. Previously featured here on our blog, Gores has said that his primary motivation as an artist is to combine elements and make something new, a fundamental principle of collage. His colorful collages borrow clippings from recycled magazines, maps, and labels, reassembled into bright images of figures that pull both contemporary and vintage design styles.
