With his signature “Ohlala” character, Reen Barrera creates both mixed-media paintings and windable toys. The figure moves between cutesy and menacing iterations, appearing both hardened and crudely decorated. In the moving wooden sculptures, the deceptively simple actions show ingenuity from the artist.
“In some artworks, I discreetly take on socio economic classes,” the artist has said. “Some people are born rich, mid class, some are poor. But the common ground is, everybody will have no choice but to deal with it. So I cover all their heads with a canvas cloth to give OhLala a freedom to paint their own symbols on their heads as if they are designing their own fate. And I guess that is what we all have in common, the power to make things happen for ourselves.”
See more of Barrera’s work below.
Whimsy, humor and fantasy collide in the sculpture of Beijing artist 
The work of Sean Landers has long examined the relationship between artists and their own work, including the adventures of the character Plankboy. In a recent show at Rodolphe Janssen Gallery, he shared new paintings featuring Plankboy, many taking on mythological narratives. Landers was last featured on our site 
Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan tackle displacement, community development, and memory in their cities and structures made of cardboard. Their work ranges from these sculptures and installations to drawing, paintings, and works on paper. Their current, major installation at