Art Focus « Arrested Motion

Category Archives: Art Focus

Studio Visit: Phlegm

Posted by SAL, November 20, 2014

We recently had a peek inside Phlegm‘s little shed at the edge of Epping forest in London, seeing him adding final touches to his upcoming etching release that he has been working between his travels last year or so. The artist that is known for large, elaborate, narrative murals he has been creating everywhere from Sri Lanka to New Zealand, recently returned from his last world trip, and went straight to work finishing this long awaited edition. Working till late in the night in his tiny, 1.5 meters wide […]

Art Focus: Fernando Gomez Balbontin

Posted by sleepboy, August 9, 2014

Today’s Art Focus features Fernando Gomez Balbontin, a painter who hails from Santiago, Chile. Seen here are an ongoing series of works entitled Thoughts About Life And Death, acrylic on canvas paintings that depict horrific crashes (automobiles and planes) with strange figures seen next to the scenes of disasters. Are they curious bystanders, the victims of the accidents, ghosts of the recently deceased occupants, or something more sinister? While assessing the situation, the viewer is left to ponder their views on death, which is in […]

Art Focus: Jessica Stoller

Posted by sleepboy, July 24, 2014

Our next Art Focus feature is on sculptor Jessica Stoller and her provocative porcelain works. Her ornate, Rococo-influenced creations take a traditional medium and add a modern twist to it. The mix of decadent foods, masked characters, signs of decay, BDSM references, voluptuous body parts – all piled to together – challenge the viewer to find beauty in the grotesque. Some of her most effective work comes in the form of still lifes, but instead of painted, are composed of a selection of her unexpected deviant sculptures […]

Art Focus: Rafael Gómezbarros – “Casa Tomada”

Posted by sleepboy, July 15, 2014

If you have an insect phobia, you probably did not click through to read this article. For those who made it here, the swarms of ant sculptures you see are from Rafael Gómezbarros and his Casa Tomada project, traveling installations that have shown all over the world since 2007. The urban interventions are meant to represent displacement of peasants in his native Columbia due to war and violence, themes that resonate in one form or another in any country his work is displayed in. Crafted from tree […]

Art Focus: Adam Lupton

Posted by sleepboy, July 8, 2014

For this edition of our Art Focus feature, we present to you the work of Canadian artist Adam Lupton. Painted in oils, his portraiture oftentimes features multiple visages blurred together in a fragmented reality that seems to reflect the different struggles his subjects have with identity. Examples of this include different glimpses of a man dressing in drag and snapshots of another person putting on different masks. If you are in Vancouver over the weekend and are interested in seeing his work in person, he has […]

Art Focus: Pejac

Posted by SAL, May 9, 2014

For this edition of art focus, we introduce you to the diverse and inventive works of Spanish artist Pejac. We’ve been following his works for some time now, and have been enjoying the complete range of gallery pieces, indoor murals, and street works he’s been sharing online. From pieces on paper to different interventions involving various concepts and techniques, this skilled artist is able to show and tell so much by painting minimally, bringing new meaning to the term “site specific”. His works often use their surroundings as part of the […]

Art Focus: Fabio Magalhaes

Posted by sleepboy, April 21, 2014

This week’s Art Focus sees us taking a look at the unsettling work of Fabio Magalhaes. The young artist hails from Brazil, where he is based in the city of Salvador, also where he studied at the Federal University of Bahia. Working primarily in oils, Magalhaes paints as though he was a serial killer, with images of torture and body parts, and certainly it would be concerning if he used true photo references. So, we will just assume it comes from his imagination, studying anatomy textbooks, or […]

Art Focus: Tom McKinley

Posted by sleepboy, March 16, 2014

It’s time for another Art Focus, with this edition introducing the work of Tom McKinley. The San Francisco based artist works in oils, creating paintings of mid-century and modern homes seen typically from outside, often times illuminated by twilight. Rendered in a photo-realistic style, the unoccupied architectural gems filled with art and furniture almost make a viewer feel like a voyeur as well as a little envious of spaces that we may never have. Take a look at more examples of his work below… Via Mashkulture.

Art Focus: Aaron Li-Hill

Posted by sleepboy, January 26, 2014

For our latest Art Focus feature, we wanted to bring the dynamic work of Aaron Li-Hill to your attention. The recently relocated artist who moved from Toronto to New York City can be seen above working on one of his kinetic and visually arresting installations, another one of which can be seen below. The multi-disciplinary Li-Hill, comfortable across a plethora of mediums, also creates street murals and paintings. For those interested, he will be exhibiting at the Next Gallery in Toulouse, France in May, showcasing mainly […]

Art Focus: Zaria Forman

Posted by sleepboy, January 8, 2014

For our latest Art Focus feature, we have for you the Brooklyn-based Zaria Forman and her work exploring climate change. Inspired by her childhood travels, she has taken recent trips to places like the northwest coast of Greenland, retracing the 1869 journey of American painter William Bradford, then using this experience to paint the rapidly diminishing arctic landscape (seen above). Her newest series (some seen below) was started after traveling to the Maldives, the other end of the equation if you will, one of the places in […]