TODD KURNAT

(1973, Great Lakes State)
 

Todd Kurnat grew up tracing Iron Maiden album covers and drawing Jim Phillips graphics on his bedroom wall. Fast forward to the current day and you’ll find that Todd’s visual work is predominantly done using ink and paint on re-purposed materials. Often finding inspiration in nature, wildlife, typography, fantasy and sound.

Todd is a self-taught artist who briefly attended the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design in the late 90s where he pursued courses in illustration and graphic design. Upon his move to San Francisco in the early 2000s, his art took a back seat to his graphic design successes.

In 2012, wanting more out of life than a paycheck, he began to pursue his art again. Reborn and with intent, Todd’s recent work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions throughout San Francisco.

TIFFANY BOZIC

(1979, Russellville, US)

Tiffany Bozic is a self-taught artist currently living and working in San Francisco, California. Bozic has spent the majority of her life living with and observing the intricacies of nature. Her work has the traditional air of tightly rendered illustrations with a highly emotional range of surreal metaphorical themes. In her paintings and sketches she presents her vision of life’s struggles and triumphs that are largely autobiographical. Her wide array of subjects are inspired both from her extensive travels to wild places, and the research specimens at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, California.

Over the years, Bozic has developed a complex process of masking and staining the maple panels in which she paints on. By doing this, the natural grain can collaborate with each composition using multiple layers of watered down acrylic paint.

She has participated in numerous group shows nationwide. Bozic has spoken at international events such as the 2007 Semi Permanent International Arts and Design Conference in Sydney, Australia. Bozic was also the first Artist in Residency at the California Academy of Sciences whereby she created the “From the Depths” exhibit on the public floor of the museum in November of 2007.

Watch this interview by Walrus TV:

SANER

(Mexico City)

Edgar “Saner” Flores is an urban artist, illustrator and graphic designer. Raised by his parents in Mexico City and surrounded by rich color and tradition, Saner developed an interest in drawing and Mexican muralism early on. He began expressing himself on paper and through graffiti art, later going on to earn a degree in graphic design from the Universidad Autónoma de México. His creations are influenced by Mexican custom and folklore, color, mysticism, masks and skulls. A mix of these lifelong interests and passions has led him to become the artist he is today.

Saner’s work has been featured in galleries in Mexico, the United States, London, Berlin and Barcelona. He has collaborated with Kidrobot, Vans, G-Shock, HQTR Canada, Pineda Covalin, Persigna Store, Bacardi, Adidas México, Televisa, and many others.

Watch Saner give a tour of Mexico City and talk about other muralists by MOCA:

SAGE VAUGHN

(1976, US)

Born in the American heartland to hippy, naturist parents, one of Sage Vaughn's earliest memories is sketching animals at the local zoo alongside his father. In adulthood, as an acclaimed painter, he contrasts the natural world against melancholic backgrounds featuring the post-industrial landscape. "I'm interested in man's wild side, and animals' civilised aspects … where society and the wilderness overlap", he says. A typical example is Sage's pictures of garden birds with discreet tattoos reading for example, "Kill 'em All" or "FTW". He has claimed to paint wearing infra-red night vision goggles, "as this is how most animals see the world."

Incurably romantic while never resorting to schlock, Sage's work also encompasses the intensity, hopes and losses of childhood, plus more recently a sense of humanity and community against the odds. Effortlessly combining a lightness of touch and a sense of drama, it encompasses painting, sculpture and installation work including recreations of childhood dens and gaily-painted baseball bats with six-inch nails driven through them. In January 2013 he first exhibited pieces made from stained glass. The drips that are a consistent part of Sage's paintings are a reference to not only his younger years as a graffiti artist, but also the inexorable marches of time and cycles of nature. His Butterfly Ringcompositions, resembling a mournful wreath of the winged insects associated with optimism in classical mythology, are among his most popular pieces.

In 2011 Sage Vaughn's work Integrity, created alongside photographer Michael Muller, adorned the cover of rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers' single Monarchy of Roses. His most recent triumph is MOCA Gallery's Transmission event, curated by Sage's childhood hero, Beastie Boys founder member Mike Diamond in December 2012. He lives and works in California.

Watch him make a mustard mural by Juxtapoz:

PEZ

(1976, Spain)

Pez started painting in 1999 in his hometown Barcelona. Specifically, he got into street art writing his signature, which soon took the shape of a fish. Little by little his tags turned into the shape of a smiling blue fish, and he became a celebrity throughout Barcelona.

Writing that peculiar signature, and influenced by comic and urban subcultures, he was interested in searching for a character whose language was universal. This was the birth of his famous character; a fish with a huge smile. 

His works appear in the best-known street art books: Street Logos, Art of Rebellion, Street Art, Bcn New York, in specialized magazines and internet websites. Last years, Pez has been creating several characters, not only his fish character, but also demons, angels, giraffes, and Martians. There is one thing they all have in common: a huge smile.

Check out this video by 55tvc:

NYCHOS

(Austria)

Nychos is a renowned Austrian Street Artist. One of the most prolific of the European scene. His style is characterized by pop surrealist and often has a sordid and critical content, particularly on media and society. He is a wonderful illustrator and he dissects and disembowels animals that fill his compositions to put them better into light.

He was born into an Austrian hunting family in South Africa and spent much of his childhood seeing things which many ‘normal’ people would consider cruel or even brutal. For Nychos though, it was a fascinating world. At seven he was bitten by a boar while he was playing in the forest close to home. Just a little while later he had boar meat for lunch. In another instance he saw a dead baby lamb being consumed by maggots the same color as its fur. Instead of being horrified, he was fascinated. He studied the hidden insides of animals and noticed the way life often grows from other life. At the same time he was also a child of the 80s, growing up watching cartoons and being influenced by their flashy bright colors.

Nychos has done collaborations with international giant urban art scene as Roa, Aryz, Satone, Zedz and Wany.

Watch this video by Hypebeast:

NATE VAN DYKE

Nate (N8) VanDyke is a prolific artist and illustrator who began drawing at the age of two. His medium of choice ranges from: pencil, ink, marker, watercolor, gauche, acrylic and oils. Regardless of what medium he picks up, his signature style can be seen in the contrast of his thin and thick lines in his pen and ink work and the high sheen contrast in his mixed media pieces.

Nate's heavily detailed illustrations feature his heavy metal humans and his well-known future primitive apes with dark menacing personalities. His color work features studies of animals (apes, elephants, giraffes) against lustrous backdrops.

He recently took a job as a senior concept artist at NCsoft working on City of Heroes/City of Villains. Just prior, he finished creating concept art and storyboards for the Sega video game, Iron Man. His work has also been featured in several magazines such as JUXTAPOZ, XBox, PlayStation and Heavy Metal. Over the years N8 has attracted clients such as Converse, Levi Strauss, Scion, EMI Records, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Burton Snowboards, Slayer and Wired. N8’s work has been commissioned and showcased internationally.

Watch N8 in his studio: