Ah, Autumn, my favourite season! The trees have changed their green foliage for a more suitable orange one, and Halloween is around the corner. To put you in the mood, here’s a list of 6 artists that, to me, embody the autumn spirit.
Looking for more inspiration? Check out these articles:
Faye Wei Wei is, to me, one of the most inspiring artist of her generation. Her work has a naive, oneiric style that I find both magical and refreshing. Her brushstroke is soft, her colours muted and her motifs lyrical. Each detail have been thought through and create an otherworldly atmosphere so typical for Faye’s work.
I really try to make every mark mean it. Even if it’s big, I think every element is so important to how it looks in the end. I feel like when I’m there in front of a canvas, I have to be really genuine, otherwise, the marks look sloppy and it doesn’t hold the love and emotion and the magic that I want it to.
she tells G-irls in an interview about her work, where she also explains how her work is deeply rooted in the realm of dreams as opposed to reality.
These numerous images can also be found in her London studio, where she keeps various trinkets, art books and souvenirs that inspire her.
I’m surrounded by objects that are charged with emotional intensity.
she tells House & Garden UK, in an article dedicated to her studio. This creative space of hers is just as inspiring as her art, and I am in love with both.
Faye Wei Wei is represented by Cob Gallery.
via House & Garden UK and G-irls.
I may have missed the very promising exhibition The Pre-raphaelite Sisters at the National Portrait Gallery in London, what I did not miss though, is that:
a) its curator Jan Marsh has a blog where you can read about history of art, the making of an exhibition and other art-related subjects; and
b) I fell in love with artist Marina Elphick‘s work, discovered through Marsh’s blog.
Elphick was showcased at the Preraphaelite Sisters conference at York, where she brought her own depictions of the famous Preraphaelite models made with fabric and thread. Her “muses” as she calls them, are skillfully crafted (look at the hair! look at the dresses!) and perfectly beautiful. But that’s not everything. Not only did she create these amazing figures, but she also collaged them into illustrations, photographs and paintings of their contemporaries, thus creating new artworks for us all to enjoy.
Posing in picturesque landscapes and Victorian interiors, the muses are depicted as Elphick imagined their lives were. But she didn’t stop there either! On her website, she also shares the biographies of each of her muses, filled with details, portraits and anecdotes.
The creative process Elphick went through to create this multifacted project resulted in a very aesthetically pleasing, dream-like world where her enigmatic figures evolve surrounded by art and history. *le sigh!*
The Haveit Collective is a team of four badass gals from Kosovo who have decided to speak against the inequalities and patriarchal society of their country. Their prime target? The Kanun, a bronze-age set of rules, still in place in nowadays Kosovo, that considers women as only fit for childbearing, and altogether, as second-class citizens.
Their live performances are usually held in the streets of Pristina, the capital, where they challenge the local community with visually striking actions in order to make people think and reflect on the established ways. For instance, on International Women’s Day, they took a copy of the Kanun and covered it with flour, beat it with a rolling pin and then deep-fried it.
Their performances are usually filmed or photographed and then published online, resulting in them receiving regular death threats from less open-minded folks. These threats, unfortunately treated lightly by the local police, only reinforced the Haveit collective’s desire to make things change.
(photography : Dardan Zhegrova, Agim Balaj)
There is something very comforting about Chloe Joyce’s illustrations. Perhaps it is her use of somewhat muted colours in warm shades of pink and green, or perhaps it is because they show scenes of time spent in the intimacy of home. These private and cosy moments make me feel close to these women as I identify myself with them.
No need to say that I find these illustrations oh-so-lovely, and if you fancy seeing more of Chloe Joyce’s work –which I strongly recommend; you can do so via her website or her Etsy shop.
Usually, sharks don’t really strike as the friendly type. But pair them with bright colours and they look much more fun, almost cute! Lorien Stern is the genius behind this idea, and creates shark heads in rainbow colours with ceramic and an obvious sense of humour. I really love those heads, and wouldn’t mind one or two in my living room!
(via Jealous Curator)
I don’t know much about Fox Eating Skyr, except that they are a video and photography production company based in North Italy, and that they produced this beautiful series of photos for the Winter 2014 season of fashion brand Lazzari. I fell in love with these when I saw them in Frankie Magazine and they reminded me a bit of the aesthetics of Wes Anderson: frontal photographies, colourful shots and a touch of the 70s. Aren’t these just great?
(via Frankie)
Men, beware! You might be replaced by this happy woolly boyfriend if you are not careful enough! Single women looking for the perfect match, this might be your lucky day.
My Knitted Boyfriend is a huggable cushion made for lonely nights. He is forever smiling and will never leave you. What more can you ask for?
(via Creative Boom)
Ignacio Canales Iracil is a Spanish artist who collects flowers before pressing them into large molds and waits for the magic to happen. These beautiful sculptures are made with flowers and flowers only, and are obtained with a lot of patience (a month!) and love. Once ready, the artist only sprays them with light varnish to protect them from moisture.
(via The Jealous Curator)
Eugenia Loli is a Greek, California-based artist who creates images of love and passion by using collage and vintage images. Each of her works has a meaning and a story behind it, as she says in her biography:
“It’s important for me to “say” something with my artwork, so for the vast majority of my work there’s a meaning behind them. I usually do this via presenting a “narrative” scene in my collages, like there’s something bigger going on than what’s merely depicted. Sometimes the scene is witty or sarcastic, some times it’s horrific with a sense of danger or urgency, some times it’s chill. I leave it to the viewer’s imagination to fill-in the blanks of the story plot.”
You can buy her prints here.
The Art Gazette 