ARTISTS:

Montana Cooke

@montycooke

Incorporating Acrylic paint, Indian Ink, Tissue Paper, and other mixed media into each composition, Montana Cooke employs aggressive, loose, and free-flowing marks to create her work. She becomes incredibly physical with her materials and creates intricately layered compositions that feature tremendous quantities of texture, rendering each painting almost three-dimensional. Atop these numerous veneers of paint, cartoon-like characters are formed, with Cooke explaining that their faces and surroundings represent individuals she knows; places she has visited, and visions and thoughts she has encountered. Thus, her practice fundamentally explores the emotional ‘architecture’ that develops between artist and subject, using her brush to transform this intangible sentiment into something more visually accessible.

Alongside paintings, Montana Cooke experiments with a more historically accepted three-dimensional medium: air-dry clay. Creating caricature-style sculptures and ‘tile-portraits’ similarly, the British artist brings her canvas-based practice into a more tangible form. In this way, Cooke is able to display both styles of work alongside one another, formulating a well-rounded viewer experience.

 

T:zi

@tzi_artistic

@artvault_tzi

Ahmad Tarmizi or better known as T:zi (b.1979, Singapore) is primarily known in the local community as a singer-songwriter. Having produced numerous albums and written songs for more than a decade, a little-known fact is that he is also a prolific, self-taught artist. Despite never attending any formal art classes, he has always expressed himself visually, gaining inspiration from various local and regional artists. Hence, his education in the visual arts was attained via reading numerous art publications and attending exhibitions over the years. Having produced numerous paintings alongside his music career, as a multidisciplinary artist, he has been steadily participating in local and international art exhibitions in Singapore, Malaysia, China, and Italy, having done 4 solo art shows and participated in 9 group art shows.

Forms, colour, rhythm, strokes, and grace are visible in my paintings. The ‘form’ is interesting for me in the overall harmony. ‘Colors’ tell the story of my feelings and certain moments in my life. ‘Rhythm’ symbolizes my culture and identity. ‘Strokes’ reveal the message of what I am sharing. ‘Grace’ is the understanding and acceptance that exist in my soul. For me, whatever is visible starts from the inside and from there I paint to share what is concealed in the depths of my heart. Amongst the forms that keep appearing in my paintings is a sharp form which curls and gracefully merges into the background. The sharpness of the form symbolizes the amount of knowledge that has been acquired so much till the end dissipates. The less visible it is, the narrower it becomes like a lethal knife. The curled formations instil a sense of something fresh and emerging. Taking inspiration from the natural world, a new plant curls as it grows before forming into leaves ready to take shape into a tree. The final form ends and merges into the background representing the fact that knowledge and understanding, alongside our actions – all come from a single source after which we all return to nature. Colours tell the stories of my feelings and specific moments in my life. White and yellow symbolize the finer aspects of my life. Red symbolizes both the intensity and anguish that comes with love, while the rest of the colours complement the environment of the natural world. I often paint with the brush, my fingers, palms, and the palette knife to achieve an effect that is closest to what I am feeling and what I am inspired by. The brush, my fingers and palms are used for the broader strokes and bigger landscapes – what I am seeing from a vantage point. The palette knife and smaller brushes are used for the finer strokes which I paint till I achieve a sense of union between my body and my soul. I wish to share that everything starts from a singular source which is manifested into multiple forms as wide as our imagination, and as much as our understanding can humanly comprehend.

 

Laura French

@laurafrench.art 

Laura is an Irish abstract artist working in Manningtree, Essex. She graduated from DIT, Ireland with an honour’s degree in Fine Art. Her work primarily focuses on energy and light. Earthy neutral colours work alongside dynamic lines, sometimes creating tension or expressive bursts, other times harmony and calmness.

“My line of inquiry lies in the moments of great energy which bring about a calmness within; seascapes, storms, breaks of light and landscapes of my imagination abstracted from the idea of place.”

 

Sumali Piyatissa

@bukicreations

Sumali is a self-taught artist from Colombo, Sri Lanka. She loves experimenting with vibrant colour palettes, textures, and different mediums. The dominant style of her painting is abstract and differs from traditional techniques to a blend of modern mixed media techniques. Her inspiration is drawn from her travel, surroundings, and whatever captures her eye. She has exhibited her work internationally and locally and works with many design companies on diverse projects.

 

Solo exhibitions:

“Genèse” – February 2015 – Sri Lanka

“KOLORFLO” – July 2018 – Sri Lanka

 

Group Exhibitions:

Contemporary Art – Brick Lane Gallery (12 – 23 April 2023)

Women of the work – NFT artwork exhibition – Nowhere Gallery NYC (22-25 Jun) in collaboration with Starbahn and TheArtling

Art Climate change – Novum Basel (March 2022)

Swiss Art Expo – Art box project (Urbanside Gallery Switzerland – Feb/Mar 2022)

Swiss Art Expo – Art box project (August 2021)

Occhi/Phoenix Magazine – COP26 Online exhibition (Sept 2022)

Art Climate change – Novum Basel online exhibition – 7.6-7.7.21

Collective exhibition – Sonia Monti Gallery (Paris) Dec – Feb 2021

Women by Women – Virtual art exhibition by Emerging artist platform (25 – 29 May 2020)

Collective Art Exhibition – March 15, 2020 – Van Gogh Art Gallery, Madrid, Spain.

Art Innsbruck 2020 – January 2020, Austria (in collaboration with Van Gogh Gallery, Madrid)

Roy’s Art Fair – Oct 2019 (London, United Kingdom)

Kala Pola – (Sri Lanka – 2013 / Feb 2020)

 

“My journey as an artist started at a very young age. Colour and texture have always intrigued me, and art has been my passion since then and remains to be to-date. Being an accountant by profession and giving up a full-time career and stepping into the world of creativity has been challenging yet so rewarding. My work is mainly on oils with texture mediums, and I love the blending of colours and how it all comes together. The freedom & joy that I express is always reflected in my work bringing in something unique. Buki is the name I sign on my work which is the nickname given to me by my parents. It’s a reflection of love for them on a blank canvas.”

 

Rafa Vieira

@artistarafavieira

Rafa Vieira was born in Brazil, in the city of Santa Rosa, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. At the age of 12, he had his first individual exhibition, which took place in a public school in the city. it was the beginning of a career spanning more than 35 years in the artistic world. Successful exhibitions in galleries in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo would soon conquer the world. He has exhibited in art galleries in 25 countries. In recent years, he has gained prominence in the North American market, with exhibitions in New York and Miami.

“His art is so lively and playful that it goes beyond reality, offering an identity of colours and lines sometimes denied by geometry, but released by extreme art.”

“I am a self-taught artist and art is an integral part of my life. In recent years I have been creating and perfecting my own techniques. I seek to innovate and pass them on to my students. the philosophy of art as a discovery, as if each new creation were a child, that must be understood, loved, protected, and admired.”

 

Rachel Coltz

@rachelcoltzart

 

Artistic exuberance guides me, collaboration nourishes me, and challenges make me grow! My artistic passion led me to give up a stable and well-paid job in business to completely immerse myself in the beauty of creativity, and that’s one of the best decisions I have made so far. As a visual artist, I express myself through mixed media mostly combined with a strong message to create a unique signature. Through this experience, I would love to get a first chance in the art business and reach a wider audience.

I am very passionate about societal topics, and they are always a source of inspiration. I am never afraid to tackle a controversial topic and give my opinion. I think art has a duty to raise awareness of certain social matters. Artists possess the means to deal with issues that the rest of society dares not to address. So, they can provoke a reaction, a question, a doubt…

Whatever the medium, I use symbolism to pass my message through. I often use a sentence too that accompanies the artwork.

I am inspired in my approach by a voracious thirst for research and my life experience. Experience provides me with images and emotions that come together in a colourful picture. The colouring process is very dear to my heart as I feel like my work is coming to life.

My process might seem very analytical (maybe due to my business background), but I always start by getting inspired by my fellow artists on the Internet, searching for symbolism, meanings, and more information on the topic. Then I write everything in a notebook, weirdly, I am not a doodler, but I “explain” my ideas and project by writing them. Once I have a clear idea of what I want to do in my head, I make a first draft on paper. I am always planning at least five projects at a time and plan everything accordingly. For me, perfection is not beautiful, so that is why I always say I am not a perfectionist because I don’t long to be perfect!

My creations are like me, curious about our society, and our world, and a bit provocative.

 

Catarina Bernardi

@aka.catarina

Catarina Bernardi is a London-based illustrator and designer from São Paulo, Brazil. Inspired by the visual manifestations of culture and identity, particularly those found in Brazilian popular culture, Bernardi’s work expresses her nostalgia for the visuals and the environments of her homeland. In this series of works entitled “Of heat, of colour, of salt, of sun, of heart”, the artist uses the beach as a background to portray these colourful and vibrant everyday scenarios that exist in her mind. This collection is named after Gilberto Gil’s song “Back in Bahia” and represents Bernardi’s exploration of the intersection of collective and subjective memory, emotion, and art.

 

Marlena Simmet

@marlenasimmet.art

“I paint mostly figurative but never quite realistic. I like it when a painting is still in the working stage. That leaves room for imagination, feeling and tension. Art doesn’t always have to shock or provoke. For me, art is allowed to use its depth and energy to heal and make people happy. I tell about life, about everyday life, about the joy, the hope and the power that lies beneath and within us all. About the small, fleeting moments, the moments in the morning when you drink your first cup of coffee, resting in yourself, not yet fully awake. How beautiful and precious life is when we linger for just a moment, how many precious moments we could actually have if our heads weren’t filled with news feeds, information and working stuff. I show what we see when we just feel for a moment, linger, not think.”

 

Ali Boyd

@gallus.life

Ali was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland but now calls California home, after moving to LA with her husband and son 8 years ago. FaceTime calls are a big part of life for Ali, essential for her work, calling her Parents and Brother never seems to disappoint with their entertaining, humorous everyday conversations full of Scottish patter. Inspired by her family, Ali works under the name Gallus.Life on Instagram, bringing the Scottish language to life on paper, clothing, and Merchandise. A fusion between the warm, vibrant colours of California and the bold, striking, and colourful phrases of Glasgow, Gallus.Life was born.

Listening to family and friends from home in Scotland and everyday conversations with her Glaswegian husband brings back memories and the poetry of her childhood. Ali starts off by writing ideas, sketching, and transferring them to her iPad to work on them digitally. Joy, charisma, and humour are the end result.

Simply put, Gallus! The Glasgow word for bold, daring and a little cheeky!

 

Joel Benjamin

@wascolouring

@newhairbyjoel

I’m a London-born freelance hairstylist, with 18 years of experience. I worked in high-end fashion, where I mastered over 400 braiding techniques (& counting,) leading projects with Topshop, Vogue, Liberty, and Nike along with educational braiding workshops for professionals and the public around the UK. I’m also a published author on the topic and in an effort to add to my repertoire, for the last 6 years, I’ve been writing and drafting my technique-focused 2nd book, this time on a stand-by-strand basis. With 110 educational techniques drafted on 2ml A4 graph paper, it became apparent each braid’s pattern made a unique motif, so using my ongoing self-taught lessons in Proportional & Analytical Geometry the motifs/braid pattern now acts as the focal point to showcase the artwork I create. Combined with the various innovative 2ml guides I’m now able to draft, moves the utility of the braiding patterns in never seen eye-catching ways.

 

Stu Rosen

@sturosenart

The world I knew crumbled in 2018. As I rebuilt my life, I focused on two things: raising my son as a single dad and returning to my love of art. I picked up a ballpoint pen and a piece of paper and started to “draw anything.” Once I began to draw wildlife with one parent and child, I found my calling. This niche has opened a whole new world. My art has been in galleries and over 50 shows in Miami, Washington, Laguna Beach, and Beverly Hills, California. With a pen, there’s no turning back. You do the best you can with what you have. Welcome to life.

I first came to London around the time of Princess Diana. It was a magical time. Even as the chaos grew around her, she kept her grace, and her children safe. The lion collection is based on her and her children when they were young. The others represent me and my son, where love and safety are paramount.