Arthur Brouthers, a Charlotte, N.C.-based artist, experimented for years with acrylic paint and other mediums before arriving at his current process, which produces wild textures that mimic celestial bodies and microscopic processes. In the artist’s figurative work, the human body takes on otherworldly form when it consists of this material.
On his website, Brouthers discusses on how he depends on the unpredictable to created his work. He’s described his current technique as pouring acrylic paint on wood panel, followed by resin coats. “I pour the paint and create a reaction that mimics natural phenomena, forming images in an unorganized unity,” Brouthers says, in a statement. “A thick clear medium is often applied to finished pieces, providing a looking glass into an ever evolving natural reaction. The viewer is left to find resonance between the piece and their own perception.”
Pieces like “Personal Universe,” shown below, are four feet in diameter, an absorbing size with its trapped bubbles and star-like apparitions. The artist is one-half of the team behind Culture Initiative, a Charlotte-based organization that organizes shows in the Southeast.
The acrylic paintings of Olan Ventura reference the still-life paintings of the Old Masters, yet take a contemporary turn in conveying what only appear to be printing errors that run hues off the canvas. While conveying “glitches” with paint can be found in the practices of contemporaries, Venture is able to navigate both ends of time in his faithful recreations.
Japanese artist Shintaro Ohata places sculptures in front of paintings to create wondrous scenes inspired by childhood. They play out every day encounters between his child subjects, their pets and imaginary friends with the world around them. While their lives may seem ordinary for the most part, Ohata's playful and impressionistic style make them feel like fantasies. They are sculpted from polystyrene which are then painted to perfectly match their traditional 2D acrylic backgrounds.