“The paintings are extravagantly in-your-face regarding execution, style, image, and social thrust,” remarked New York Times, chief art-critic Roberta Smith, when describing Williams’ work. “They take aim at the impossible idealizations of women in both art and advertising, depicting mostly nude and aloof androgynous supermodels, and the occasional feline, with a new kind of cool yet visceral bravura.”

Born in 1984 in Columbus, Oahio and now based in Brooklyn, New York, Williams holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Since graduating, she has attracted attention across the country, exhibiting both in solo and group exhibitions at PPOW in New York and Various Small Fires in Los Angeles.

Forever pushing the boundaries when it comes to her techniques, her work is cutting edge both in terms of style and execution. “I start with techniques I already have some mastery with, and then they evolve as I try to push them further,” she shared in an interview with Juxtapoz.

“My more recent mixed-media approach generates lots of interesting puzzles,” she admits. “To combine elements successfully, I need a plan. If I am staining raw canvas with acrylic, that has to happen first, then I have to draw my figures, then airbrush, then oil… every edge has to be mapped out in advance.”

According to Williams, this keeps her very engaged with the painting as every stage of the plan has high-stakes moments built-in. But even more than her unique style, it’s her portraits’ faces and expressions that make for a truly striking effect. “I am interested in micro-expressions and how we read each other’s cues,” says Williams.

“There seems to be a lot of illiteracy around body language and not enough acknowledgment that non-verbal cues can be, and sometimes have to be, very complicated. There is often a level of emotional intelligence that is needed to read these cues, and women are bathed in this knowledge.”

Scroll down to see some of her work and follow her on social media for more.

The post Robin F. Williams’ Portraits Are Truly in Your Face appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

Take for instance Hiejin Yoo’s paintings. Based on daily observations, they capture mundane moments—snapshots in time—that make the tapestry of memory and feelings. Moments like reaching out your hands to touch a friend, pet a dog, or grab a fruit.

Mundane events and everyday moments are depicted with large abstracted planes of color and bold, layered marks that evoke the subjectivity of Yoo’s inner life. But oddly enough, these very personal moments have a truthfulness about them that resonates with others.

“The motivations of my works are from very personal stories, but they’re also from everyday life,” shared Yoo in an interview with Juxtapoz. “I’ve met lots of people who have told me personal stories based on their own interpretations of the works, so I think people must be reminiscing about their own personal experiences when they see my work in their homes.”

According to Yoo, being able to express those experiences as paintings and sharing them with other people has been exciting and she’s grateful for it. “I hope those who view my works can also find happiness in their lives when thinking about these moments with their families, friends, or sometimes strangers,” she notes.

It is through these relatable snapshots that a connection is made, and intimacy is being translated to visual experience. “The paintings draw connections between my own personal experiences and those of others,” relays Yoo. “By highlighting and amplifying these moments, my work responds to the otherwise overlooked and underappreciated aspects of daily life. While deeply personal, these works also hint at the ways art can address shared feelings and experiences, whether grandiose or mundane.”

Born in Germany, raised in South Korea, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2015, Yoo admits that painting has been a huge passion throughout her life. “Living in the United States with a Korean cultural background inspires me more because of the differences between them,” she notes.

Scroll down to see some of her recent work.

The post Understanding Intimacy Through Art: Hiejin Yoo’s Paintings appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

But her introduction to art was much earlier, as a young child. “I started making art as a child,” she shared in an interview with Issue Magazine. “I was probably first introduced to it in kindergarten. My first recollection comprises plasticine, paper collage, watercolor and the varied possibilities of Lego blocks.”

These days, the majority of her work is based around people—portrait painting, that is. Often depicting people with whom she has significant relationships, Mathenge’s paintings are realized through structured compositions emboldened with gestural strokes and mark making.

According to Mathenge, through her work, she hopes to demystify what it means to be a Kenyan woman. “I was always intrigued by the fact that there was so much ignorance in the West as to the totality of conditions in Kenya,” she admits.

“Questions regarding the building structures, the cities, transportation systems all stumped me because these are things that I took for granted—that the West was aware that nations in Africa were organized and developing.”

Her portrait art is, at times, a reminder of what it looks like in these liminal spaces (between Africa and the diaspora), other times simply a glimpse back into the past, into other spaces as a way of recalling and recording. Scroll down to see some recent works by her.

The post The Striking Portrait Art of Wangari Mathenge appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

The focus is still on the subject but the power is in the parts we cannot see. The viewer is therefore invited to fill in the blanks. “I try not to impose a clear cut narrative on the viewer,” she explains on her website. “My aim is to illicit an emotional response without dictating to the viewer what they should or shouldn’t be feeling.”

Her unfinished portraits are drawn or painted, relying on found photos of strangers, with particular focus on ambiguous or, at a glance, neutral expressions. “The unknown subject and therefore his or her unknown emotions have become an important aspect in my work,” she notes, “where I, in turn, find myself instinctively attempting to read the individual – something which gradually becomes apparent in my treatment of the work.”

The finished-yet-unfinished products are perceived differently, depending on the individual viewer, and what one person perceives can be in complete contradiction to the next. Sometimes these reactions can be clearly explained by the individual and other times it is something visceral that can’t quite be placed. “The piece is then no longer about the face looking back at us, but about the feelings that it stirs and what that means about us,” she reflects.

Follow her thought-provoking work via Instagram.

The post The Uncomplete Portraits of Lucy Pass appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

Most of Riches’ portraits are based on intuition and they are spontaneous. He starts scribbling on a piece of paper with a pencil and then works his way from there. This results in impressive artwork that recently became quite popular among art collectors and enabled this talented artist to turn his passion for drawing into a career.

“I was always interested in drawing as a child and drawing from my imagination… I feel lucky to take something I did when I was younger and develop that into a career,” – Riches told BBC in a recent interview.

While Riches’ mostly does portraits of anonymous humans from his imagination, he sometimes also “doodles” portraits of famous celebrities like Amy Winehouse or Bruce Lee.

Check out some of his works below.

The post British Artist “Doodles” Impressive Portraits of Anonymous Humans appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

“Before, I found I was making work that I felt wasn’t for my community; it wasn’t for my family to enjoy, it was talking to the community that I wasn’t a part of,” she went on to explain. And that can be really alienating. As a whole, the art world is very alienating to specific groups of people: people of color and people who, maybe, don’t have certain levels of education. So, I like that the layered meaning [in my art] is for people who are from my own community who aren’t necessarily the art world community.”

Drawing for her mixed background, Sanchez finds a way to balance between the form and message she wishes to convey. “I always enjoyed doing paintings, but for whatever reason I wanted to do something that was totally new and at an experimental level,” she said. “I slowly realized that I could still do something that was experimental in painting through the messaging and through the way that I paint.”

Look closer. Can you decipher the message?

The post Gabriella Sanchez’s Art is a Colorful Mishmash appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

Sanabria paints unusual portraits that are deconstructed in a way that resemble a mosaic. According to the artist, the distortion of portraits represents the life of people in this new digital world and the distraction they are exposed to.

“Everything has changed in this digital new world, every thought, every problem we have today is thrown into social networks as nothing, as if we were supposed to live online” – Sanabria says. Check out some of his works below.

The post These Deconstructed Portraits are Inspired by People Living in Digital Worlds appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

“In my paintings, I previously presented each mask as a singular portrait,” Omolade told This is Colossal. “In my current work, the faces are now interacting with each other. They are arranged together on large canvases measuring 13-15 feet long. The masks have become mythological characters having conversations about humanity. I see them as deities pondering age old questions about birth, life, death, identity and love.”

For the first time, he has included his children in his work. He says that their portraits represent the ability of life to survive despite all the hardships that are thrown at it. He portrays his boys with their eyes closet, innocent to the world that surrounds them.

Omolade’s art will be exhibited in a pop-up show in NYC on September 9, if you’d like to see it in person.

The post Kip Omolade Creates Hyperrealistic Portraits and Chrome Face Masks appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

“The paintings are extravagantly in-your-face regarding execution, style, image, and social thrust,” remarked New York Times, chief art-critic Roberta Smith, when describing Williams’ work. “They take aim at the impossible idealizations of women in both art and advertising, depicting mostly nude and aloof androgynous supermodels, and the occasional feline, with a new kind of cool yet visceral bravura.”

Born in 1984 in Columbus, Oahio and now based in Brooklyn, New York, Williams holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Since graduating, she has attracted attention across the country, exhibiting both in solo and group exhibitions at PPOW in New York and Various Small Fires in Los Angeles.

Forever pushing the boundaries when it comes to her techniques, her work is cutting edge both in terms of style and execution. “I start with techniques I already have some mastery with, and then they evolve as I try to push them further,” she shared in an interview with Juxtapoz.

“My more recent mixed-media approach generates lots of interesting puzzles,” she admits. “To combine elements successfully, I need a plan. If I am staining raw canvas with acrylic, that has to happen first, then I have to draw my figures, then airbrush, then oil… every edge has to be mapped out in advance.”

According to Williams, this keeps her very engaged with the painting as every stage of the plan has high-stakes moments built-in. But even more than her unique style, it’s her portraits’ faces and expressions that make for a truly striking effect. “I am interested in micro-expressions and how we read each other’s cues,” says Williams.

“There seems to be a lot of illiteracy around body language and not enough acknowledgment that non-verbal cues can be, and sometimes have to be, very complicated. There is often a level of emotional intelligence that is needed to read these cues, and women are bathed in this knowledge.”

Scroll down to see some of her work and follow her on social media for more.

The post Robin F. Williams’ Portraits Are Truly in Your Face appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

Take for instance Hiejin Yoo’s paintings. Based on daily observations, they capture mundane moments—snapshots in time—that make the tapestry of memory and feelings. Moments like reaching out your hands to touch a friend, pet a dog, or grab a fruit.

Mundane events and everyday moments are depicted with large abstracted planes of color and bold, layered marks that evoke the subjectivity of Yoo’s inner life. But oddly enough, these very personal moments have a truthfulness about them that resonates with others.

“The motivations of my works are from very personal stories, but they’re also from everyday life,” shared Yoo in an interview with Juxtapoz. “I’ve met lots of people who have told me personal stories based on their own interpretations of the works, so I think people must be reminiscing about their own personal experiences when they see my work in their homes.”

According to Yoo, being able to express those experiences as paintings and sharing them with other people has been exciting and she’s grateful for it. “I hope those who view my works can also find happiness in their lives when thinking about these moments with their families, friends, or sometimes strangers,” she notes.

It is through these relatable snapshots that a connection is made, and intimacy is being translated to visual experience. “The paintings draw connections between my own personal experiences and those of others,” relays Yoo. “By highlighting and amplifying these moments, my work responds to the otherwise overlooked and underappreciated aspects of daily life. While deeply personal, these works also hint at the ways art can address shared feelings and experiences, whether grandiose or mundane.”

Born in Germany, raised in South Korea, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2015, Yoo admits that painting has been a huge passion throughout her life. “Living in the United States with a Korean cultural background inspires me more because of the differences between them,” she notes.

Scroll down to see some of her recent work.

The post Understanding Intimacy Through Art: Hiejin Yoo’s Paintings appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

But her introduction to art was much earlier, as a young child. “I started making art as a child,” she shared in an interview with Issue Magazine. “I was probably first introduced to it in kindergarten. My first recollection comprises plasticine, paper collage, watercolor and the varied possibilities of Lego blocks.”

These days, the majority of her work is based around people—portrait painting, that is. Often depicting people with whom she has significant relationships, Mathenge’s paintings are realized through structured compositions emboldened with gestural strokes and mark making.

According to Mathenge, through her work, she hopes to demystify what it means to be a Kenyan woman. “I was always intrigued by the fact that there was so much ignorance in the West as to the totality of conditions in Kenya,” she admits.

“Questions regarding the building structures, the cities, transportation systems all stumped me because these are things that I took for granted—that the West was aware that nations in Africa were organized and developing.”

Her portrait art is, at times, a reminder of what it looks like in these liminal spaces (between Africa and the diaspora), other times simply a glimpse back into the past, into other spaces as a way of recalling and recording. Scroll down to see some recent works by her.

The post The Striking Portrait Art of Wangari Mathenge appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

The focus is still on the subject but the power is in the parts we cannot see. The viewer is therefore invited to fill in the blanks. “I try not to impose a clear cut narrative on the viewer,” she explains on her website. “My aim is to illicit an emotional response without dictating to the viewer what they should or shouldn’t be feeling.”

Her unfinished portraits are drawn or painted, relying on found photos of strangers, with particular focus on ambiguous or, at a glance, neutral expressions. “The unknown subject and therefore his or her unknown emotions have become an important aspect in my work,” she notes, “where I, in turn, find myself instinctively attempting to read the individual – something which gradually becomes apparent in my treatment of the work.”

The finished-yet-unfinished products are perceived differently, depending on the individual viewer, and what one person perceives can be in complete contradiction to the next. Sometimes these reactions can be clearly explained by the individual and other times it is something visceral that can’t quite be placed. “The piece is then no longer about the face looking back at us, but about the feelings that it stirs and what that means about us,” she reflects.

Follow her thought-provoking work via Instagram.

The post The Uncomplete Portraits of Lucy Pass appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

Most of Riches’ portraits are based on intuition and they are spontaneous. He starts scribbling on a piece of paper with a pencil and then works his way from there. This results in impressive artwork that recently became quite popular among art collectors and enabled this talented artist to turn his passion for drawing into a career.

“I was always interested in drawing as a child and drawing from my imagination… I feel lucky to take something I did when I was younger and develop that into a career,” – Riches told BBC in a recent interview.

While Riches’ mostly does portraits of anonymous humans from his imagination, he sometimes also “doodles” portraits of famous celebrities like Amy Winehouse or Bruce Lee.

Check out some of his works below.

The post British Artist “Doodles” Impressive Portraits of Anonymous Humans appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

“Before, I found I was making work that I felt wasn’t for my community; it wasn’t for my family to enjoy, it was talking to the community that I wasn’t a part of,” she went on to explain. And that can be really alienating. As a whole, the art world is very alienating to specific groups of people: people of color and people who, maybe, don’t have certain levels of education. So, I like that the layered meaning [in my art] is for people who are from my own community who aren’t necessarily the art world community.”

Drawing for her mixed background, Sanchez finds a way to balance between the form and message she wishes to convey. “I always enjoyed doing paintings, but for whatever reason I wanted to do something that was totally new and at an experimental level,” she said. “I slowly realized that I could still do something that was experimental in painting through the messaging and through the way that I paint.”

Look closer. Can you decipher the message?

The post Gabriella Sanchez’s Art is a Colorful Mishmash appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

Sanabria paints unusual portraits that are deconstructed in a way that resemble a mosaic. According to the artist, the distortion of portraits represents the life of people in this new digital world and the distraction they are exposed to.

“Everything has changed in this digital new world, every thought, every problem we have today is thrown into social networks as nothing, as if we were supposed to live online” – Sanabria says. Check out some of his works below.

The post These Deconstructed Portraits are Inspired by People Living in Digital Worlds appeared first on Wallpaper Data.

“In my paintings, I previously presented each mask as a singular portrait,” Omolade told This is Colossal. “In my current work, the faces are now interacting with each other. They are arranged together on large canvases measuring 13-15 feet long. The masks have become mythological characters having conversations about humanity. I see them as deities pondering age old questions about birth, life, death, identity and love.”

For the first time, he has included his children in his work. He says that their portraits represent the ability of life to survive despite all the hardships that are thrown at it. He portrays his boys with their eyes closet, innocent to the world that surrounds them.

Omolade’s art will be exhibited in a pop-up show in NYC on September 9, if you’d like to see it in person.

The post Kip Omolade Creates Hyperrealistic Portraits and Chrome Face Masks appeared first on Wallpaper Data.