Stumbled across this fashion designer today whose recent collection caught my eye. The designer is Katarzyna Konieczka and its not just her name that is a mouth full. In her recent series Nekromantik ,Katarzyna has designed contraptions that force the face into an expression. This series is trying to evoke discomfort and social fears.
You can find her website here: http://www.kkonieczka.istylist.pl/?p=gallery
A recent artist that has caught my eye is Shantell Martin, a London born visual artist who can’t seem to stop drawing on anything and everything. Martin has gained international fame showing work in Tokyo, New York, and Russia.
Martin has challenged the boundaries of what illustration can be from moving off of paper onto walls, rooms, people, clothing, and creating images through projected light. Her nontraditional methods and drawing style exude a childlike feel with sophistication.
Some images from her recent series Writing on the wall have the question repeated “who are you?”. These words amongst the childlike drawings brings about questions of identity.
Check out her work on her website: http://www.shantellmartin.com/
These images are from a recent series by the photographer Janet Simpson. Frankly, I’m in love with this series. In each diptych the subject is burying a jar filled with personal items. This series is very reminiscent of Liev Schreiber’s film Everything Is Illuminated (based off the novel by Jonathan Safron Foer) and probably adds to my love of it.
Janet Simpson is an artist I have written about before and definitly someone worth checking out.
Her website: http://www.janet-simpson.com/janet-simpson
Her tumblr: http://janetsimpson.tumblr.com/
This is work created in the last year by the printmaking artist Tessa Jade Harrison. Harrison is currently acquiring her B.F.A. in Printmaking at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Harrison uses a varied range of printmaking techniques in creating her work, from lithograph prints to etchings. Her work seems to draw inspiration from day of the dead folk art to the more occult subject matter. Her work is very well produced and has a sort of grotesque fascination that draws the viewer in. I’m excited to see what she will produce in the future.
Image 1 - titled: Spirit Dogs I.
Image 2- titled: Temple Guardian.
Image 3 - titled: Pocahontas is Dead.
Image 4 - titled: Spirit Buddies/Meditation and Prayer Effigies.
Sadly there is no known website/blog for her work.
CC:KC, a local Kansas City artist collective just launched their kickstarter! The goal is to raise enough money to publish their first Zine which features some rad Kansas City artist (including me!)
Please like, share, and donate. Seriously even a dollar would be awesome!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cckc/waste-not-want-all-a-publication-by-cc-kc
Photographic work from Kansas city based artist and curator Christopher Schrat. Schrat finds ways to combine photography with alternative processes to create captivating images.
The two images on top are from Schrats current collection of work which are photo collages created from a combination of digital prints, magazines, sand paper, and other materials.
The lower three images are from Schrats series Sapien Aurum. These beautiful images were shot with a 4x5 camera and then the negatives were gold leafed and scanned onto the computer.
Check out Christopher Schrat’s blog here http://cjschrat.blogspot.com/
This is various images from different series created by artist Janet Simpson. She is currently studying photography at the Kansas City Art Institute. Her work explores relationships between form, ephemerality and environment. I find that her work exudes a sort of softness and stillness. It’s interesting how she views environment, seeing things that most people would overlook.
Check out her website: http://www.janet-simpson.com/statement
Also make sure to view her tumbler to get more intimate updates about her growing body of work: http://janetsimpson.tumblr.com/
These are photos from various series created by artist Genevieve D’silva. Genevieve is a current photo and art history student at the Kansas City Art Institute. She is originally from Dubai but now resides in Kansas City. Her work focuses on cultural issues of her country and the expectations society has on Indian women. She combines her own personal experiences to create her images which often have a performance like element to them. Genevieve’s images are lovely and powerful much like the artist.
Check out her blog here: http://gendsilva.blogspot.com/
She will be having a show titled “Unveiled” Friday April 6th at Locus studio in Kansas City.
This work is from a few different projects by artist Ashley Ariel. She is currently attending the Kansas City Art Institute and is working towards her BFA in photography. Her work ranges from staged portraits to documentation of her life and the world around her. She is not only a photographer but also a talented book maker and often combines the two skills together.
The two colored images here are from one of the books she has created. The black and white is from a series of self portraits.
Ashley Ariel has also created her own language which is featured in a lot of the books she creates.
Check out her blog here: http://ashley-ariel.blogspot.com/
Ashley Ariel’s work has a sense of life and sincerity even in her staged work. I feel incredibly lucky to know her and to watch her work grow.
These images are from a series of work created by the artist Nika Winn. She is a current painting and art history major at the Kansas City Art Institute. I find her work humerus, colorful and just incredibly inspirational!
You can check out her blog here: http://nwinn.blogspot.com/
