Using ballpoint pen, Helena Hauss draws scenes that she says are “about self-acceptance through self-deprecation and satire.” The process is laborious for the Paris artist, who has said the choice of pen is deliberate in its stubbornness. The below work, “Afternoon Delight,” took 300 hours to complete.
“You have to look close at each drawing, to find clues hidden in the details as to what they’re really about: the bright and girly colours may often hide a darker side,” the artist says. “It is deceiving, which in a way is the very essence of appearances : too often are we seen through a sheen of perfection we aim to display to the world, hiding our darker truth. I focus on what it means to become one’s self while refusing to be tamed and straying away from the idea of an unblemished self : It’s about faults, and owning them.”
See more of her work on her site.
Houston-based artist Ana Marietta paints and draws animals with exaggerated human features to create sympathy for her subjects. Looking at a raven with wide eyes glassy with tears, or a frowning pelican dimpled with warts, one feels the animal's deep sorrow. The creatures appear to look outward however, suggesting their sadness comes from the environment, as opposed to any personal ailments directly. Their anthropomorphic deformities hint at something unnatural, an effect explained only by human behavior and intervention.
Christine Kim's practice is a blend of painting, drawing, and sculpture. The Toronto-based artist’s experimentations with layering and cutting works moves between both graphite drawings and painting. Each carry ghostly notes, each offering their own considerations of negative space.
Annita Maslov brings her pen and ink drawings to Beinart Gallery in the upcoming show “Arcana,” depicting scenes from mysterious worlds steeped in the supernatural. Maslov is an illustrator and tattoo artist inspired by mythology and the occult. Her work is known for its distinct dotwork.