paintings

ZIO ZIEGLER

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(1987)

Zio has both a studio and street practice where he creates bold paintings and murals with a distinct tribal-like aesthetic. His paintings are often more colorful than his monochromatic murals but in all his work there are the repeated motifs of primitive patterns, gigantism, and distortion. 

His Mill Valley studio is not just a room, but an entire house filled with finished and unfinished paintings. Walking in for the first time is quite the experience; there is so much to look at, and everything is bright and big and, again, demands your attention. 

Graffiti has greatly influenced Zio’s mural work as well as his studio practice, he says he likes the idea of “having the boldest spot, an interesting and provocative surface, the most visual traffic, and the fastest read for a piece while still maintaining complexity…”. Zio’s approach is raw and brazen, intuitive and gestural. But he acknowledges that this approach has its glitches too, one of them being that he finds it difficult to examine and articulate what his work is about, saying, “It often takes me a while to understand why I’ve painted what I painted… To understand their meaning I have to understand the context in which they were created, which often proves hard because it means understanding myself.”

Watch this video of Zio:


TIFFANY BOZIC

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(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:


STANLEY DONWOOD

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(UK)

Stanley Donwood is an enigma. His work on Radiohead's albums and all associated artwork has gained him worldwide recognition. Since 1994, having designed all artwork from the second album ‘The Bends’ onwards, his evocative and haunting imagery has helped to create one of music’s most distinctive brands. In 2006, the release of Thom Yorke’s ‘Eraser’ record brought Donwood’s very distinctive artwork ‘London Views’ into the public eye once again.

As an artist he veers from propagandist graphics to introspective illustrations, but a consistent strength is its combination of deep personal and political emotions with modesty and humor; weighty subjects examined not entirely seriously but certainly respectfully. Notoriously reclusive, Donwood himself doesn't pander to the disingenuous media trend for grandeur, and like many intelligent creatives operating in such a conceited sphere, cannot resist underselling himself.

Stanley Donwood is recognized as one the UK’s ‘popular contemporary’ artists and has exhibited his gallery art to an international fan base, including galleries in London, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Rotterdam.

Watch Stanley explain how he creates art for Radiohead and Thom Yorke's solo album:


SLICK

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(1961, Meskwaki Nation)

Duane Slick’s work takes the form of books, paintings, and prints. In the early 1990s he worked with colorful abstracts and gradually shifted to work that is nearly monochromatic and figurative. Presently his figures can appear transitory, fragmentary and border on the elusive. The theory of absence and presence can be applied to his work. 

Through the raw shadow of an image, he creates a longing in the viewer to discover, in the hint of it that is left on the surface of the canvas, the actual or absent object. The importance of time, the play between surface and image, are concerns for Slick. The shadow that he captures is the intangible linked to the tangible, as seen in the acrylic-on-linen work White Bird Circuit (2007). Slick is protective of the cultural knowledge acquired from his family; therefore his work can be interpreted as a means to play with reality without specifically naming or giving away information.

Slick confronts issues of materialism; hence he dematerializes by revealing the essential shape ofan object, symbol or person. The figures in his paintings are taken from shadows that he projects and then traces onto the canvas. Through this process he acquires the intangible (the shape or presence of the object), without giving a literal interpretation of the object itself. He creates through the process of addition and subtraction, by layering and erasure, until the work appears to him complete.

Watch this video by NetWorks Project:

 

MUNK ONE

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(US)

MUNK ONE is a contemporary American Illustrator, Poster Artist, Political Cartoonist, and Fine Artist from California. He is well known for creating Artwork for major label musical acts and world renowned brands, recognized for their creativity. His fine art has gained much attention through many galleries both at home and abroad. He was previously the official Juxtapoz Art Magazine editorial Illustrator. He is also owner and Creative Director of the Invisible Industries Brand.

His artistic style may seem serious and even dark at first glance, filled with undertones of mortality, religion, or politics but his work can also be full of movement with bright, and fun colors and ideas with a sense of humor. These elements seem to coexist and mix throughout much of his work both commercially and personally. Proficient in both traditional and computer media, he is comfortable using whatever methods his projects may call for.

Working within the apparel and merchandise industries since the mid 90s, much of his knowledge and technical expertise has been gained from hands on experience. In 2006 he decided to focus on creating his own style of art while using his website as the vehicle to share this creativity with the world. During the 2008 election He created a striking portrait of the then Presidential candidate Barack Obama that was to be used for prints, stickers, t-shirts and also ran at bus stops all over the state of Pennsylvania. In 2009 Munk One was featured in Juxtapoz Art Magazine issue #96. That year he also began to work on limited edition screen printed posters and has since worked on prints for Pearl Jam, Blink 182, 311, Soundgarden, City and Colour and More.

Watch this interview:


MR. JAGO

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(1972, UK)

Duncan Jago is considered a veteran of the urban art and design community. He has been described as a pioneer of the Scrawl Movement. Growing up in the small village of Eye in Suffolk, Jago had an intense interest in graffiti, which led him to study illustration in Bristol.

He graduated from the University Of The West of England in Bristol in 1998. It was there that Jago met Steff Plaetz and Will Barras, which led the way to the start of the now renowned Scrawl Collective agency. Mr. Jago’s skills lie in everything from painting and illustration to creating artwork and designs for some of the biggest international brands.

Watch this interview by BBC Blast:


MISS VAN

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(1973, Toulouse, France)

Miss Van started wall-painting at the age of 20, in 1993, initiating the feminine movement in Street Art. Originating from Toulouse, France and having spent most of her artistic life in Barcelona, Miss Van has travelled the world painting her instantly recognizable women on the streets, as well as on canvas. She has exhibited extensively for decades worldwide in Europe, USA and Asia.

Miss Van’s recent artistic pursuits have taken her to Los Angeles, Miami , Spain and Brazil, which hallmarks a recent return to street art, after several years spent solely painting in the studio, charging her new works with increased depth, emotion and an elevated romantic darkness and delicacy. Her iconic sultry female characters reappear in sensual yet dark animal masks and evolving environments.

In a gauzy romantic compositions, they carry a surreal quality of burlesque, resonating with a beautiful synergy of rawness, softness and emotion.

Watch this interview by Friends We Love:


MAYA HAYUK

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(1969, Maryland, US)

With their symmetrical compositions, intricate patterns, and lush colors, Maya Hayuk’s paintings and massively scaled murals recall views of outer space, traditional Ukrainian crafts, airbrushed manicures, and mandalas. The artist weaves visual information from her immediate surroundings into her elaborate abstractions, creating an engaging mix of referents from popular culture and advanced painting practices alike while connecting to the ongoing pursuit of psychedelic experience in visual form. She has painted her iconic outdoor murals all over the world and, when not traveling, maintains an active studio in Brooklyn, sketching in paint to inform the large-scale works. Maya Hayuk sees her studio painting practice and mural making as both inversely relational and symbiotic.

Maya Hayuk earned a BFA in Interrelated Media from Massachusetts College of Art in 1991 and has studied at V.C.U. in Richmond, Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, the University of Odessa in Ukraine and at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. 

Her work has been the subject of one person exhibitions and commissions at venues including The Hammer Museum, LA (2013), The Museum Of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto (2013), Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht (2012) and Socrates Sculpture Park in New York (2011). Aditionally, Maya Hayuk has curated numerous exhibitions, is a member of the Barnstormers collective as well as the Cinders Art Collective and she frequently collaborated with other artists and musicians. She has created album covers, hand-made screenprints, videos, stage sets, photographs and posters for famous musicians such as Rye Rye/M.I.A and The Beastie Boys. Furthermore, she has curated “This Wall could be your Life” (2005 - 2011) on the exterior walls of the now legendary and recently demolished Monster Island/ Secret Project Robot in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Watch this video by Hammer Museum:


MARCO ZAMORA

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(1981, California, US)

Marco Zamora received a BFA from California Institute of the Arts in 2004. His work is inspired by the working class, the chaos of city life, and personal discomfort.

He uses photographic reference for the landscape in his paintings and afterwards improvises figures. The desired result is ‘a beautiful and complex tension between humankind and the urban landscape,’ he says.

Zamora currently lives and works in Los Angeles California. His work has been exhibited across the west coast and in Barcelona, Miami, and Copenhagen.

Watch this video by Converse:


KOZYNDAN

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(Los Angeles, US)

Kozyndan are husband-and-wife artists who work collaboratively to create highly detailed paintings and drawings for both illustration and fine art. 

The pair met while majoring in illustration at California State University, Fullerton. Since then, their projects have included CD covers for bands such as Weezer and The Postal Service, clothing (including lines of illustrated shoes), and posters for companies such as Nike, Inc.

Kozyndan care deeply about the topic of shark finning. In December 2012, Dan Kitchens posted a controversial statement about finning to accompany an Instagram photo of shark fins for sale. He referred to those who engage in the practice of finning as "Chinks" due to Chinese consumption of the shark dorsal fin.

Watch this timelapse video of them painting:


EVOL

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(1972, Berlin, Germany)

With a degree in product design, street artist Evol has become known for his urban installations and paintings made on reclaimed cardboard. Evol is interested in depicting the urban lives of ordinary people in decaying buildings. For his public practice, he turns electrical boxes and street fixtures into miniature architectural models of austere apartments, using a process that combines pasting paper, stenciling, and painting. 

He also stencils and paints urban street scenes and buildings onto cardboard and incorporates its tears, markings, and folds into his compositions as part of the buildings’ facades. Evol believes that the character and history of any space is manifest on its surface, and many of his works are narrative or suggestive of the turbulent history of Berlin.

Watch this video of his work:


DOZE GREEN

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(1964, New York, US)

Doze Green translates complex metaphysical concepts through his paintings, such as the possible manipulation of energy and matter to create a timeless space. He explores meditations on matter and anti-matter, layers of consciousness, and different possibilities based on cosmology.
 

Through stream-of-consciousness painting, Doze Green creates fractured imagery to convey infinite possibilities. His intention is to reveal works with an ever-changing narrative. Multi-dimensional planes and illusion of time are presented through fragmented, incomplete figures. He believes by depicting beings that are not fully materialized, these beings are not of this realm. He presents possibilities of immortality through paintings where narratives are interminable. His collection of paintings is an extension of this metaphysical concept.
 

Cubist influences include ascending and descending planes and repetitive, overlapping, and concentric lines in an otherwise undefined landscape. For Doze Green, this energy and motion of created forms exist in a visual meeting place of ideas. Influenced by Edo period paintings, Doze Green mixes black gesso with Sumi ink and applies “creatively chaotic, and intuitive brushstrokes,” in a calligraphy-inspired and graffiti aesthetic. Doze Green translates these primitive markings as “biological entities, a swarm of arrows coming in from infinite perspective.”

Watch this interview by Walrus TV:



BEN TOUR

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(1977, Canada)

Ben Tour channels a dark, often haunting sense of humanism in his work. His observations deftly inform his paintings, enabling him to capture the essence of a character, then distort that view any way he desires. 

Frenetic lines, swaths of color, and intimate angles all convey a sense that Tour may not only be drawing inspiration from the lives of strangers he observes, but manifesting his own personal experiences as well. The emotional content in each portrait is palpable as this perceived notion of creation and catharsis is paired well with the immediate voyeuristic allure of his characters. 

Tour has exhibited in galleries from Los Angeles to Miami, Hamburg to New York. His work has been featured in publications including BLK/MRKT One and Two, Juxtapoz, and Playboy. He has worked with clients such as BMW, Absolut, Nike and Burton Snowboards.

Watch the Stickboy "Monster Murals" project by vancouveropera: