While Allen Linder's main pursuit is marble sculpture, his drawings of organic, otherworldly shapes contrast greatly with the precise forms he carves from stone. In his graphite works on paper, murky, cloud-like spheres seem to come together and pull apart. They unravel into abstract shapes that at once appear macro and micro, recalling both cell formations and the galactic patterns from outer space. Linder expertly renders both liquid and solid textures in these nebulous works.
While Allen Linder’s main pursuit is marble sculpture, his drawings of organic, otherworldly shapes contrast greatly with the precise forms he carves from stone. In his graphite works on paper, murky, cloud-like spheres seem to come together and pull apart. They unravel into abstract shapes that at once appear macro and micro, recalling both cell formations and the galactic patterns from outer space. Linder expertly renders both liquid and solid textures in these nebulous works.
Massive drawings by Brianna Angelakis are absorbing self-portraits, placing the artist among contorted shapes and forms. The graphite work impresses at any distance, and in a statement, the artist explains her pursuit in these portraits and her own state as being “transfixed by beauty, I remain stationary amid the nonsensical world. Through a metamorphosis, my past failures transform into elements of beauty, as I become a fantastical monument to my vexation, acting within the spectacle of the absurd.” She was last featured on HiFructose.com here.
Emerging artist Lauren Marx explores the intricate process of decay with her surreal and often grotesque drawings and paintings. Animals become enmeshed in each other's flesh as tendons and sinew rip apart, exposing their innards. While the subject matter often triggers an initial reaction of repulsion, Marx's ornate line work and graceful compositions are pleasing to the eye. Take a look at some of her latest work below.
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.
Ivan Meshkov, an artist based in Chelyabinsk, Russia, used pencil and ink to create moody, hyperdetailed works often adorned with skulls, squids, and other iconography often found in tattoo culture. His work can be seen on album cover from bands of varying genres, including acts like Black Urn, Ruhr, Potlatch, Humbaba, Human Sprawl, and others.
