James Jean’s fantastical acrylic paintings and digital works are absorbing, even if viewers aren’t offered a specific storyline for each work. In his latest works, the artist packs even more abstraction, hues, and icons into these tales. Often, his paintings offer surreal interplay between humans and the animal world. Jean was last featured on HiFructose.com here.
“I enjoy projects that are predicated on some kind of narrative, preferably one that feels personal and is not tied strongly to a specific time or location,” Jean said, in an interview with the New York textile brand Maharam. “This way, it leaves space for me to weave various historical and geographical cues into a tapestry of images that feel familiar yet new and alien.”
Jean, a Taiwan native, graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. The artist has collaborated with DC Comics, Prada, and other brands alongside his career creating personal work.
Multimedia artist 
There’s a shapeshifting quality to the paintings Ricardo Estrada, whose subjects are physically inhabited by cultural iconography. The Los Angeles native specifically focuses on Chicano culture, whether in his murals or acrylic paintings. Each carries intricate brushwork that allows Estrada to transition between differing textures and planes of reality.
Korean-American multimedia artist 
Self-taught photographer