Carrying a mystical undercurrent, Chie Shimizu’s sculptures are rooted in an exploration of “the significance of human existence.” The artist, born in Japan and based now in Queens, New York, has crafted these riveting figures over the past couple decades, moving between different scales and textural approaches.
The middle-aged figures inhabiting Madeleine Pfull’s paintings are extracted from 1980s suburbia. The Australian artist has said that “beautifully painting mundane heroism is a large aspect of my work.” Pfull has said that she has modeled for herself to craft the paintings, donning wigs and accessories to embody the energy of her subjects.
Hirofumi Fujiwara’s isolated sculptures are called Utopians, each person actually an amalgamation of features and cultures. Many of these characters, said to be from a parallel world, are presented inside of barriers as they “bear witness.”
Uli Knörzer’s gorgeous colored pencil portraits are rich with detail and humanity. The artist moves between familiar and lesser known subjects in his work. Each is given his or her own space, Knörzer using negative space and abstracting garments to extract the figure’s personality.
In Adele Bessy’s crowded paintings, figures and faces are used as building blocks. Her work, in both its frantic quality and control, has been compared to the likes of Bosch and Arcimboldo. The artist is based in Achères, Ile-De-France, France.
Zhiyong Jing says he paints “dreams, bodies and absurd realities.” The Beijing-based artist takes a surprising approach to scale in his work, often rendering distant figures on small canvases. The effect is cinematic, further underscored by the artist’s occasional use of pop culture references and characters.