Artist Profile - Liu Di

Liu Di is an artist from the little known Shanxi Province of China, where the cities are just starting to get industrialized and overpopulated. His first series here, "Animal Regulation", is a little social commentary on nature vs urban development in these cities...









Now the cool part about Liu Di, is that while his works are way beyond the realm of reality, he is actually a photographer. All of the city settings are his photographs, the animals are obviously put there afterwards, and the result is a pretty seamless mesh of two mediums.

China is on the verge of a complete artistic revolution right now, and I'm so excited to see how many amazing new artists are finally coming out of the biggest country in Asia.



PREVIOUSLY: Artist Profile - Marc Johns


-john-

Artist Profile - Marc Johns

I've been following Marc Johns' work for quite some time now, and he consistently delivers some of the most simple yet random creations in his drawings. Never really thought of him for an Artist Profile, so I think it's about time I introduced you to his silly world...









Most of his work involves at least a little bit of his dry humor, and is simply drawn using pens and water colors. His works for sale are mostly done on drawing paper, however he knows no limits and occasionally uses sticky notes, rat traps, and my favorite, paper towels.

For more, be sure to read Marc's blog and follow him on Twitter.


-john-

Artist Profile - Lee Price

When you first get a glimpse at Lee Price's work you most likely think something like 'huh, that's quite an interesting perspective and subject matter for photography'. And the subject matter is interesting indeed, except for one thing, it isn't photography... Lee's works are actually all extremely realistic paintings!
Paintings that she uses to explore the relationship between women and food...

'Refuge'

'Butter'

'Sunday'

'Snack'

'Grilled Cheese II'

'Happy Meal'

'Full'


Yeah, I know, the detail is nuts.

I actually wanted to post this before I even realized that these ultra realistic and amazingly detailed paintings were paintings at all, because the perspective is so unique. The slightly exaggerated scenes of women and food are pretty interesting to look at, but also an interesting subject to paint about, especially since I was just trying to understand the concept of comfort foods. (the females I spoke to were way more passionate and specific about their feelings on comfort food than the males)

Oh and for the record Lee is from America, a female, and is the subject of her own works that you see. Some of here works are on display around the country, so peep this short list to see if any are in a gallery by you.


Previously: Artist Profile - Mateusz Kolek


-john-

Artist Profile - Mateusz Kolek

Well I can't seem to find a whole lot of information on this week's artist, but enter the world of illustrator Mateusz Kolek and see how much you can learn about him through his work...

Toyeater

Tokyo Rain

Yakuza


Couch

Jelly Demon

Longing for the Sun

Clearly influenced by some Japanese culture, and it would also seem that the recurring male character in his work is indeed himself. On his site there are some further works with bike and snowboard companies, as well as a ton more work to check out.


Previously: Artist Profile - MR.


-john-

Artist Profile - Mr.

Kaikai Kiki artist Mr. is one of my very favorite artists out today, however with a name like "Mr." it isn't exactly easy to search for him or his work. However I recently stumbled upon a ton of his stuff online, so I can now show you the innocent yet bizarre and slightly perverted world of Mr. ...

'Corn Dogs are the Best When Hot' 2008

'Glancing at Your Cheeks, I Can Start to Feel My Heart Changing, Just Like the Leaves' 2009

'Making Things Right' 2006

'V' 2005

'You Girls' 2007

'15 Minutes from Shiki Station' 2003

Untitled

'I Have a Headache, Oh 10 Yen!' 2006



'The Boy Who Came to Like Bukuro' 2006

'In the Late Afternoon at the Convenience Store with Big Sister' 2008

He also does these huge installations of anime children heads that you can actually walk into from the back, and there is a rediculous room inside as if you are in their mind.

Mr. is a true Otaku artist (peep this Murakami lecture to learn more about Otaku culture), who paints in worlds of anime fantasy and alter-ego. He is often portrayed in his own work (he's the creepy dude with glasses) in very awkward situations as he said he paints some embarrassing dreams that he has. He is also a multi-faceted artest, recently doing photography, film, and live performances at his art openings (where he has been known to show up in Japanese lolita costumes O_o). Told you he was far from normal.

But alas I LOVE this man's work, it flirts with such an awkward like that it almost makes me cringe, but love the visuals even more! And impressively enough all of his work is acrylic on canvas, even though it looks so smooth and computer rendered in some pieces. Only seen some of his stuff twice in person, but the size of some of those canvases is amazing.

Huge thanks to La Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin for all of the archives so that I could finally do this Mr. profile!



Previously: Artist Profile - Shuichi Nakano


-john-

Artist Profile - Shuichi Nakano

Japanese artist Shuichi Nakano has started to turn some heads with a surreal collection of paintings featuring super-sized zoo animals taking over Japan! The series is titled "Searching for Paradise"...

初秋の風、夏の余韻 (Early autumn wind, lingering memory of summer)

５時２５分の寒気 (Chill at 5:25)

荒天の予感 (Premonition of storm)

夢の途中 (In the midst of a dream)

真昼の記憶 (Memory of noon)

春の園 (Spring garden)

帰り道を忘れて (Forgetting the way home)

楽園を捜して (Searching for paradise)


Sadly, outside of this series, I really can't find much info on Shuichi, but her work is pretty awesome so hopefully we'll be seeing some more works soon!


-john-

via pinktentacle

Artist Profile - Li Li

Upon stumbling into a very small and somewhat hidden gallery yesterday in Shanghai, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a new Chinese artist by the name of Li Li. She is born, bred, and working in Chongqing, China, and her works of adorable gruesomeness are starting to turn some heads...

(click images for larger)







I wasn't really able to find a ton of info on Li Li, but she has been painting professionally for the past 5 years and has already shown in galleries in New York, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taipei. Her universe of overly violent (so violent that it becomes adorable) scenes makes some people laugh and others cringe, which I think is the exact beauty of her work. 爱它

Contemporary art is still very much so an underground scene in mainland China, so I was pretty shocked to find a gallery that not only held contemporary works, but also from native Chinese artists. Hong Kong's art scene is bustling and most mainlanders head there for shine, so it's nice to see the communist government let up a little bit and allow their people to express themselves.



-john-