Eli Craven

American artist Eli Craven cleverly folds these classic hollywood portraits in his series 'Screen Lovers' and mends two subjects into one. Craven uses found images from old vintage books and brings the characters together by literally folding the image and creating something new. The way that the Craven chooses to fold over the faces of the figures leaves a dimension of ambiguousness. You can't help but to think whats going on behind the fold. I also enjoy the newly formed shape that occurs naturally when folding and escapes the traditional rectangle photograph. 

More beautiful folded photographs after the jump!

Isabelle Wenzel

Isabelle Wenzell is a German photographer who photographs the female figure in contorted poses, mainly focusing on the legs and usually leaving out the head. Wenzell uses a pallette that catches the eye. I enjoy the pastel colors with contrasting shadows as this gives a strong look and a nostalgic feel. 

There is definitely a comment on woman and the way they are perceived. In her series Building Images (2010) it is obvious by the secretary setting, clothing and props that Wenzell is focusing on the role of women in the work place. Is a woman really all just legs and ass? Combined with Wenzell's acrobatic history, these photographs are intruiging and clever in the way that movement is inplemented in these stills.The idea that the women's backs are being used as tables heightens the notion that women are in the same class as props or furniture. Nonetheless, just a feature. In another series, Wenzell sets the female lower body on a pedastol however with no upperhalf, thus making the women unidentifiable and being put on show. The combination of contortion and office setting is absurd although genious as they both are on completely different spectrums. She's definitely a photographer to keep an eye on. 

More works after the jump!

Rosa Verloop

The Dutch sculptor Rosa Verloop has created these really swollen looking human like figures. The material she has chosen makes them look almost life-like and very organic in the way it mirrors human skin as well as its soft looking texture. Thankfully, all she uses is nylon to mimic this! 

Personally, despite the fact that the figures look diseased and ill, I almost want to feel the sculptures just to see how soft they are. I enjoy how the figures are swollen and puffy. She has definitely pulled off her desired effect to cause a curiosity in people. The nylon material is perfectly creases and folds to mimic wrinkles and creates deformed, haunting subjects. I particularly like when Verloop uses white nylon that resemble marble head busts.

See more of these puffy figures after the jump!

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman produces these quite large (around 30") waterfalls of paint. There is a cleverness in which Coleman sticks with his color scheme, similarly resembling a painter's color pallets from which he mixes his paint. He shows the real capabilities of a brush and qualities of paint on paper.  Somehow within these clouds of paint Coleman depicts movement and organic-ness as well as depth in these ambiguous shapes. He allows the pain to drip and mix with the other colors although it is very controlled despite the chaotic compositions.

There is certainly an essence of Pollock, just a 2013 take on it. Engage with the painting as you will. Coleman states:

"My paintings and drawings combine elements of nature, cel animation and design to create obscured narratives through ambiguous form and brush work. I explore the relationship between abstraction and representation, revealing hints of narrative and imagery while leaving the sensation of the work at the forefront. Overlying themes in my work include spirituality and the sublime."

More of his work after the jump.

Moisés Mohiques

Spanish artist Moisés Mohiques has been creating these overlapping figure drawings that show situations and emotions. The constant repetition and overlapping causes chaos and distortion which is what makes the works interesting. Mohiqués chooses to illustrate siutations of disaster, violence and sex. Literally putting 100 frames into one. The works are very minimal in terms of tone and colour however it deems perfect for his overlapping style.

He does many site specific work where you are able to see his drawings on the walls which definitely adds another dimension to a white wall. I have chosen some works which you can see after the jump that showcase the variety of topics in which he covers in different ways. I am becoming a fan of his work however, I've only seen a couple pieces where he draws the female body - which I would like to see more of!

To see more of his work, visit his website here!

James Jean

I have long been a fan of James Jean. His drawings are so detailed and full of interesting characters and patterns. No shame in saying that I could look at his works for hours. Here are a couple of his newer works. I love how Jean has steered away from simple black on white illustrations and went for a bright blue background with the drawings in the center.

The characters look so delicate and soft while surrounding them in fantastical things that are very nature-like. The details in his patterns draw the eyes in and makes it very easy to get lost into the drawings - almost psychedelic. They remind me of old book illustrations about greek mythology or fairies. Jean has done many commissions including the likes of Prada, Atlantic Records and DC Comics.

He's also released an iBook called 'Parallel Lives' and from what I've seen, it's absolutely gorgeous.

Guim Tió Zarraluki

Barcelona based artist Guim Tió draws over pre-existing magazine photographs and renders them into something completely different. Tió's style is already evident by his use of highlighting the nose and reducing eyes into expressive-less circles of nothing. Some of the portraits are haunting and portray pretty zombie-like figures although there is an added quirkiness in Tió's work. I enjoy that in some of the illustrations that he has left the markings of the magazine advertisement giving us an insight that these surreal like figures were once beautiful models. 

Tió uses oil-pastels to distort the faces of models in advertisements that take up the majority of pages in magazines, posters at the bus stop and massive city billboards that you drive by and scream to us 'IDEAL BEAUTY'. Instead of shredding our self-esteem, these works are fun, abstract and dynamic compared to expressionless fashion advertisements. 

Be sure to visit his facebook and blog where he updates quite often!

More photos after the jump!