Paintings

The Soul of Aleppo

The traveling photographer sets his lens on Aleppo.

• View more of de Lange’s work here.

Onawa

3 Circles

The Soul of Damascus

The traveling photographer sets his lens on Damascus.

• View more of de Lange’s work here.

Oil and Water

The first time my eyes fell upon an Alyssa Monks painting, I thought I was looking at a photograph. Monks’ skill with the brush is clearly evident in this series of beautifully rendered flesh, steam, water and glass.

“Monks’ work explores narrative figuration. Currently she is playing with the tension between abstraction and realism in the same work, using different filters to visually distort and disintegrate the body. The islands of steam and water droplets on the glass distort the illusion of the face or figure as the flesh reshapes itself by pushing against the glass. In this shallow painted space, the subject is pushing against our real space with pulsating vibrations of color that can make a painted body seem to have blood pumping through it… Striving for anatomical and realistic accuracy, it is her intention to convey an arresting vision that compels the viewer to feel their own humanness. It is Monks’s intent to relate visually the contemporary female experience with sensitivity, empathy, and integrity.”

Oil and Water will be on display at DFN Gallery in NYC April 7 through May 8.

Nightscapes

Anthony Kurtz examines darkness in nature and displays his skill with this series of long exposures.

More from Kurtz: The World of Tomorrow

The World of Tomorrow

I recently read The Road by Cormac McCarthy and while immersed in the story of post apocalyptic America, I ran across the photography of Anthony Kurtz. When I looked through this series, I couldn’t believe the similarity to the images that McCarthy was conjuring in my head. Serendipitous that while reading the book I would stumble upon such a perfect compliment to it. If you’re not not familiar with The Road, no worry, Kurtz’s work speaks loudly on it’s own and is well worth exploring. Kurtz captures an America that doesn’t exist .. yet .. and he does it with style.

“One day, oxygen will be a commodity.

In this futuristic portrayal of a world gone wrong, it is unclear what happened. In the first photograph one observes a flow of converging traffic under a stormy sky. In another picture, Manhattan seems deserted. In yet another one, a man holding a baby stands at a gas station, both wearing oxygen masks. What happened? Environmental disasters? War? A world pandemic?”

The World of Tomorrow will be on display in conjunction with some of Kurtz’s other work at Dickerman Prints Gallery in San Francisco. The show titled It All Came So Close to Never Happening, will run from March 10th to April 30th.

• More from Kurtz: Nightscapes

Recent Works

“Kinsey’s work captures the universal essence of the human condition mainly through an energetic portrayal of urban figures. Working spontaneously, and utilizing a range of mediums, he constructs multi-layered, textured environments easily likened to the complexities of contemporary life. His images depict beings who are both triumphant in their defiant stance to their surroundings, and tragic, as they transmit a visual display of raw emotion and jangled nerves.”

• See more of Kinsey’s work at kinseyvisual.com

Heads & Creatures

Created primarily with India ink and often on found paper, Jon MacNair’s work is brimming with symbolism. His fantastical scenes, strange creatures, and outlandish characters invite immersion and stimulate the imagination. In taking a look at his work, you might find yourself kicking around inside MacNair’s head; When asked to descibe his work in a word, his response was ‘personal.’ While the work is personal to Jon, I see a mutual human element present that most of us can relate to and even become privy to. You can view more art from this prolific creator at jonmacnair.com. To find out more about his process and shows, check out his flickr stream.

In his own words:

Undoubtedly my work is narrative in tone. I like to create scenarios that play out on the paper; vignettes in which the viewer can ponder the origins of and hopefully imbue with their own personal meanings and interpretations. There is a sense of darkness and mysticism that permeates my landscapes and characters. Often I place these characters in a nighttime setting. At night, nothing is what it seems; shapes shift and shadows loom, tricking the eye and making us question what is reality and what is imagined. Revolving heavily around themes of birth, death, fear, love, joy, and the complex relationship of man versus beast, the images I create often reflect the most basic human emotions.

• More from Jon MacNair on Fogged Clarity: Scenes in Ink