Hi-Fructose Magazine

Artist Steven Quinn is known for his street photography and collage work. Quinn was born in Belfast and is currently living and working in London. The skull collages featured here, which were recently spotted at Laughing Squid, are comprised of old photographs and other magazine images. The many vintage images of stars add deep and dazzling perspectives to these kaleidoscopic collages. See more here: 

http://hifructose.com/2013/05/16/artist-steven-quinns-kaleidoscopic-skull-collages/

While hard at work on a brand new series of paintings, Matt Buck invited Hi-Fructose his studio space inside of Sacred Tattoo in NYC. Though currently focused on fine art and tattooing, Matt has made a name for himself with notable illustration projects, including the Hemlock Grove graphic novels, rapper Jay-Z’s autobiography and the cover of Chuck Palahniuk’s latest book. This strong background in commercial art carries over into Buck’s oil paintings through eye catching compositions and captivating color pairings. With his latest collection of otherworldly portraits, bodies disassemble as if parts of an organic puzzle of flesh and flora. Adorned with Renaissance costuming and painted in a classical style, each piece is a glimpse of old world aesthetic with a science fiction twist. View the complete body of work at his upcoming solo show at Last Rites Gallery, opening June 29, and check out some behind-the-scenes photos here: http://hifructose.com/2013/05/15/studio-visit-with-matt-buck/

On June 13, Korean painter Kwon Kyungyup (featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 24) and Japanese painter Kazuki Takamatsu (Hi-Fructose Vol. 16) will debut two solo shows at Rome’s Dorothy Circus Gallery: Kwon’s “White Elegy” and Takamatsu’s “Because I’m a Doll.” Both working with a frosty, white color palette, the two artists cultivate placid worlds populated by characters that deceptively seem untouched by human flaws.

Kwon and Takamatsu achieve this effect in strikingly different ways: Takamatsu, with his fascination with digital depth mapping, paints doll-like characters that appear at once holographic and ghostly. Meanwhile, Kwon’s approach comes closer to realism. The fair-skinned beauties in her paintings harbor painful secrets given away by their teary eyes and wary expressions. In focusing on characters that appear inhumanly flawless at a first glance, both artists reflect upon the darker elements of the human mind. Take a look at some of their artworks, images courtesy of Dorothy Circus Gallery, below.

MORE:

http://hifructose.com/2013/05/14/preview-kwon-kyungyup-and-kazuki-takamatsu-at-dorothy-circus-gallery/

Known for her hyperrealist sculptures of fleshy, humanoid creatures, Patricia Piccininirecently created an enormous fantastical character in the form of a hot air balloon titledThe Sky Whale. Commissioned by the Centenary of Canberra, the majestic Sky Whale recently took flight over the Australian countryside for the first time. Driven by the desire to spark a sense of wonder in her viewers, Piccinini designed the otherworldly creature as a disruption of the mundane. Take a look at videos by Blueboat of the Sky Whale’s first flight and Piccinini’s studio, as well as some photos of the Sky Whale below courtesy ofTolarno Galleries.

MORE: http://hifructose.com/2013/05/14/video-patricia-piccininis-sky-whale-hot-air-balloon-sculpture-takes-flight/

San Francisco based artist Travis Collinson creates noteworthy chalk portraits that echo the famously distorted perspectives and large eyed subjects seen in Lucian Freud’s paintings made around the 1950s. The way that the artist purposefully distorts the figures and warps their detailed yet muted surroundings makes the viewer feel an ineffable sense of unease. Collinson’s use of black and white chalk on paper create a subtle tension within the each piece. He tends to work with personal family photos, reworking the familiar images multiple times, while using different mediums on different backgrounds. His otherworldly subjects seem to be portraying moments of extreme emotional impasse.

MORE: http://hifructose.com/2013/05/14/travis-collinsons-uneasy-and-absurd-paper-portraits/