Seonna Hong at Aqua

Seonna Hong : The Zero Sum Game : 2009 : Mixed Media : 7" x 7"

Over the next couple of weeks, and in preparation of the Aqua Art Fair in Miami, you will be introduced to a mix of fine artists who represent the fine arts in pop, collage, stencil, graffiti and fine rendering. Seonna Hong, Tony Fitzpatrick, Jeff Soto, Martin Wittfooth, Meggs, Cathie Bleck, Robert Connett, Mia, Marco Wagner, Mark Todd, Esther Pearl Watson, Brendan Danielsson, Christopher Buzelli, Leslie Ditto and Joel Nakamura.

Mix Tape : Acrylic on Paper and Wood : 24" x 48"

Our first installment features Seonna Hong, a talented fine artist who doubles as an animation art director. Seonna received an Emmy Award for Individual Achievement in Background Styling for her work on “My Life as a Teenage Robot” presented by Nickelodeon. Seonna is working on two pieces that will feature a narrative style that is both abstract and emotional.

The Corrective Effects of a Brushfire : mixed media on paper

Seonna’s piece, "The Corrective Effects of a Brushfire" was created while the fires were burning in Los Angeles. Seonna describes, “It cast such an apocalyptic air in the city, literally, with a big black cloud of smoke looming... the tragedy of lives and homes lost. I had also been listening to the news about everything going on in the economy and that all the things that were breaking down were things that sort of needed to break down because they had been built up on this flawed foundation. I was thinking how other things in life were that way and I began thinking about how all the uncertainty didn't have to be bad or scary, but that the things that were breaking down would be corrective somehow, like a brushfire. And that it was necessary for healthy growth. I saw that as an opportunity to look at my life and my art differently. So this is the piece I made.”

This is for me not to have : Acrylic on Panel : 48" x 48"

Seonna Hong Museum Installations :
Knoxville Museum of Art, "SubUrban Series"
Laguna Art Museum, "The Juxtapoz Factor"
Japanese American National Museum, "Giant Robot Biennale"

Gallery Exhibitions 2009
Jonathan Levine, "Beach Blanket Bingo" Group Exhibition
Sloan Fine Art, "+2" Group Exhibition
GRSF "15 year Anniversary show" Group Exhibition
Sloan Fine Art, "I Know What You're Thinking..." 3 person show

Gallery exhibitions 2010- 2011
Subliminal Projects, 5 person show
Kaikai Kiki Taipei, solo show

Siren Song : Acrylic on Panel : 48" x 48"

You can learn more about Seonna and discover more about her great artworks at seonnahong.com. Aqua Art Fair, Miami, FL : December 3-6 : Booth 44a + 44b

Marco Wagner at Art Basel

Marco Wagner : Banderillero : 12" x 12" : acrylic on board : framed

Marco Wagner is a German artist who inspired by his childhood fears, “As a very small boy, I had often felt uneasy about older people in my family, with their strange smells, wrinkles, warts and thick glasses, even though they meant me no harm. I utilize this fear in my paintings.” Marco is currently featuring a new series of 3 paintings.

Marco Wagner : Tovarna B : Acrylic on Panel : 12" x 12"

Marco Wagner : Tovarna E2 : Acrylic on Panel : 18" x 18"

Marco describes, “I often involve factories in my paintings, because for me they have a strange atmosphere. When I was a kid, I worked in those dirty factories during vacations and I always felt like I was in a nightmare. And, at the moment, I painted a special suite featuring factories and bullfights. As a kid, I watched a traditional bullfight in Spain and was totally shocked about that bloody dramatic fight of the bull. Well I think bullfight and factories mixed in one painting shows multiple levels of fear and the more I play with my own fears…I learn how to comprehend them.”

Tovarna Z : 18" x 18" : acrylic on board

Marco also shares, “One piece that I love very much, is the painting TOVARNA Z. As you see, it's another piece about factories in a very dark and dirty landscape. The size is 18" x 18" acrylic on board. We visit every year the Czech Republic, homeland of my wife and I am really inspired by the landscape sprinkled with many factories. In the night, you can see the fires burning on the horizon and there exists a town called Trinec, where the steel-factory is so big, it’s almost the whole town. Cruel!”

Recent Exhibitions
2009 one night show, damen und herren, Duesseldorf, Germany
2009 Superhero Exhibition, San Diego, USA
2009 Illustrative, Berlin, Germany
2010 Solo Show, 19Karen Gallery, Mermaid Beach, Australia
2010 Solo Show, Marco Wagner + Roman Klonek, DDR Projects Gallery, Long Beach, USA

You can explore more of Marco’s work by visiting any of the following websites, the kid gets around.

http://www.19karen.com.au/
http://www.ddrprojects.com/
http://www.illustrative.de/
http://www.paperideas.it/paperzine/news/3392-Marco_Wagner
http://www.marcowagner.net
http://coward33sneeze15.blogspot.com/2008/07/interview-with-marco-wagner.html

Meggs at Aqua Art Fair

Out of Sight out of Mind : Out of mind, Out of rights : Any means necessary :

All : Mixed media on ply : 36x36” + available for Aqua Art Fair

Meggs is a talented, highly productive, Australian graffiti, stencil and fine art painter. Meggs’ is inspired by the nostalgia of his childhood past. His work explores the ‘duality’ of good and evil and the on-going question of morals, rights and higher authority. Reflecting on personal experience Meggs produces energetic depictions of heroes, villains, and subverted collages of pop culture symbols.

Spreading his street work as far as Paris, London and Tokyo, Meggs has also contributed to numerous group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. His work has more notably been sold through ‘Artcurial Auctioneers’ (Paris) and is included in the ‘National Gallery of Australia’s’ (Canberra) permanent ‘works on paper’ collection. Continually evolving his painting style with a continued passion for graffiti and character painting, pop-art and abstract expressionism Meggs is recognized as one of Australia’s pioneering street and gallery artists.

Red, White & Blue : Aerosol & acrylic on canvas : 1800x1000mm

Exhibitions and Gallery Installations
2009
‘Crime & Charity’, Cerasoli Gallery, Culver City, CA (USA)

2008
‘Own Worst Enemy’, Dont Come Gallery, Melbourne CBD (VIC)

2007
‘Alter Egotism’, Utopian Slumps Gallery, Collingwood (VIC)

Meggs has a great blog that is updated often and features great photos of his work, along with video pieces and bits. Check him out at:

http://www.houseofmeggs.com/
http://houseofmeggs.com/blog/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/--meggs--/4045298803/

http://houseofmeggs.com/blog/gallery

Dont Know, Dont Care : Mixed media on board : 900 x 900mm : 2008

Mia featured at Aqua Art Fair

Persephone : 18" x 18" : Acrylic on Wood : Framed : Available at Aqua Art Fair

Mia is a Los Angeles based artist who captures fanciful characters from imaginative stories. She believes each magical story presents a world that captures our essence, influences our moods, hopes, dreams and desires while taking us deeper within the written text. Mia draws her inspiration from these classic tales, the performance, the culture and the lives of the characters captured within.

Persephone : 10 1/2" x 10 1/2" : Graphite on Paper : Available at Aqua Art Fair

Mia further explains, “I am interested in the complexity of life and the world we live in. There are endless facets to who we are, the situations we deal with every day, and the layers and meanings in the stories we read. Because of that, I like to paint more than just a solitary main character. I want to hint at the character’s story, her thoughts, and the things around her. My interest in all this complexity stems from my wish to see every person discover his or her own inner complexity when they contemplate the complex nature of the painted characters.
”

Gloomy Sunday : 7" x 7" : Acrylic on Wood

“My interest in all this complexity stems from my wish to see every person discover his or her own inner complexity when they contemplate the complexity of my characters as seen in “The Four Seasons.”

The Four Seasons : 48" x 36" : Acrylic on Wood


“’The Four Seasons,’ is inspired by art nouveau imagery and named after the Vivaldi concertos, this painting personifies the seasons with female figures. Here, Summer reclines, a funeral procession taking place in her hair, as Fall hovers over her. Summer is covered by galaxies and a sea of sleepers, and guarded by a hellhound on the left and gargoyles on the right. Winter holds death in her hands as Spring looks on, spinning the golden thread of life. Fall, Winter and Spring act as the Three Fates of Greek mythology, but as each season passes their roles are distributed. This is the first time I have painted a multi-figure narrative piece, as most of my recent work focuses on portraits of individuals. It is also my largest and most complex work to date, and it was a lot of fun creating a lush ‘stage’ for the seasons to act out this scene.”

Across the Nile : 16" x 20" : Acrylic on Wood

2010 Museum Exhibition:
SUGGESTIVISM : Curated by Greg Escalante
September 4 - October 17, 2010
Grand Central Art Center : Santa Ana, CA

2010 Gallery Exhibitions:
2010 CoproGallery
Santa Monica
September 2010, Corey Helford Gallery, Culver City, CA

Spirit Gatherer : 7" x 7" : Acrylic on Wood

Mia is an inspired artist who deserves a very close look. You can find more of her work at:

www.art-by-mia.com
www.miaillustration.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/people/Mia-Araujo/1104276862
www.coreyhelfordgallery.com
www.coprogallery.com
www.grandcentralartcenter.com

Brendan Danielsson at Aqua

Beauty

Brendan Danielsson is an imaginative fine artist who is not afraid to take a close look at the perverse relationships between beauty and the beast. Brendan’s work is lyrical in nature and described as, “Paintings celebrating the torn out pages of fanciful stories about romantic encounters gone horribly wrong…”

Honk on Bobo

Brendan shoots straight from the heart, “The subject matter behind my work is based on whatever crap spills out of my head and onto the paper or canvas. Atypically, somewhat perverse themes and ugly character. I enjoy the ugly side of humanity yet still am drawn to the beauty of the naked female form. I consider what I do right now mostly as character studies and not too concerned with any concept or larger narrative.”

Five Dollar Blowjobs

Brendan is creating 2 pieces for the Aqua Art Fair. He describes a recent drawing, “I really enjoyed the last drawing I did called "Five Dollar Blowjobs." It's the largest that I've done so far. 18" x 24". Working at that size allowed me to give the character more detail and form.”

Case of Mistaken Identity + A Fine Line

Museum Installation :

Exhibited at Maison d’Ailleurs, Museum of Science Fiction, Utiopia and Extraordinary Journeys in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland in 2007. The exhibit was called An Exhibition of Unspeakable Things. It was a show of 100 artists doing works based on H.P. Lovecraft's Commonplace Book. Maison d'ailleurs

World's Greatest Country Singer

2009 Gallery Shows:
Don’t Wake Daddy IV – Feinkunst Kruger, Hamburg, Germany
Aqua Wynwood Art Fair – Art Basel, Miami, FL
13th Hour – Last Rights Gallery, NYC
SuperHero – Wonderhaus – Comic-Con, San Diego, CA
Overdose – CoproGallery, Santa Monica, CA

2010 Gallery Shows:
Hi-Fructose Show – CoproGallery, Santa Monica, CA (March)

Check out more of Brendan’s work online at http://bdanielsson.com/index.php

Robert Steven Connett at Aqua

MEMENTO MORI (REMEMBER YOU WILL DIE) : 18" X 24" : ACRYLIC ON PANEL

Robert Steven Connett is a Los Angeles based artist who celebrates dream sequences, as he describes, “I often think that dreams may be the gateway to another world. Perhaps a parallel world just as important as the waking world we call ‘reality?’ ” Robert is an introspective artist who offers a sincere look into life’s circumstance while creating an equidistant world made up of micro organisms, fear and beauty.

DON QUIOTE MEETS HIS CHIMERA : 18" X 24" : ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

Robert is a tireless painter who offers, “My most recent paintings express my interest in what I call the "UNDERWORLD". I’m fascinated by the worlds that exist beyond our immediate field of vision and have an abiding interest in the flora and fauna that occupy the space within these tiny worlds. The kind of things that one must hunt for in the grass, in the pools of water or with a microscope.”

"FLORA VS. FAUNA, UNDERWORLD IV" 18" x 18" acrylic on canvas

“I try to render my interpretations of these tiny worlds in my paintings. I love the insects, fish and simple life forms. Some of these creatures create exceptionally complex social structures that in many ways mirror the world where humans dwell. I find myself attracted to these subjects for their extraordinary physical beauty: fantastic design, structure and their complexities of color, translucence… It’s amazing how so many organisms have evolved into our complex world.”

"UNDERWORLD 1, INSECTUS." 24" x 24" acrylic on canvas

“Insectus,” was painted to give the insects human characteristics. Steven describes, “This is because in my opinion, their lives mirror the lives of people in so many interesting ways. Complex, yet also simple, the insect world is vast. These beings are unencumbered by the weighty things such as human intelligence. I sometimes yearn to become part of a simpler existence…”

"UNDERWORLD II, Zooooids." 12" x 12" acrylic on canvas

You can learn more about Robert Steven Connett online and all around:

www.RSConnett.com
http://picasaweb.google.com/rsconnett
http://www.flickr.com/photos/connett
http://www.myspace.com/connett
http://vmaximus.deviantart.com
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=540835701

Chris Buzelli at Aqua Art Fair

Weed Beasts : 18" x 24" : oil on board : Framed : Available for Aqua Art Fair

Chris Buzelli is a New York, based fine artist, (originally from Chicago), who incorporates his childhood memories intertwined with fantastical beasts to set the mood of his pieces. Chris balances scenic backdrops with dynamic characters, conjuring feelings from a bygone era, as he explains, “Somewhere in between this world and one inhabited by gigantic beasts and sea creatures.” Chris’ work compliments the “soul” capturing moments of personal relationships and oddly familiar memories.

Aging Tyger : oil on panel : 18"x21" : Available for Aqua Art Fair

Chris shares, “Lately I’ve been working larger then usual. The larger scale allows for more detail and some extra freedom with my brush strokes. Every once in a while I find myslelf in a bit of a creative slump and I find by changing things up just a little really helps. ‘Aging Tyger’ is a painting that deals with my love and fascination of the animal kingdom. It is such a shame that many of the wild animals have, and will disappear during my lifetime.”

The Sea Collector : 12" x 12" : oil on board : Available for Aqua Art Fair

Exhibitions 2009
Bright Spot, solo show, Klaudia Marr Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Dimebag 3, Giant Robot Gallery, NYC
Grand Opening, The 4th Wall Gallery, Dallas TX
Illustration West, Gallery Nucleus, Los Angles CA

Exhibitions 2008
Brad Benedict's Sideshow, Robert Berman Gallery, Santa Monica CA
Failure, The Museum of Art Denver, Denver, CO
5th Year Anniversary, Varnish Fine Art Gallery, San Francisco CA
New Acquisitions, The Tropen Museum, Amsterdam Netherlands

Tropen 4

Check out Chris Buzelli's work, his blog at drawger is great:
http://www.drawger.com/buzelli/
http://www.illoz.com/buzelli/
http://www.commarts.com/insights/000-hours.html
http://www.chrisbuzelli.com/
http://klaudiamarrgallery.com/Artists/Chris_Buzelli/index.html