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SurrealismToday is an educational website dedicated to promoting the best surrealist and imaginative artists working today. We are reader-supported, and if you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission to offset some costs of running the site. Learn more

  • Khan Nova (Mathieu Saunier)

    Khan Nova (Mathieu Saunier)

  • øjeRum Collage Art

    øjeRum Collage Art

  • Michael Joy Digital Collage

    Michael Joy Digital Collage

  • Thom Easton Surreal Collage Art

    Thom Easton Surreal Collage Art

  • Drømsjel

    Drømsjel

  • Seamless

    Seamless

  • Beth Hoeckel

    Beth Hoeckel

  • Frank Moth

    Frank Moth

  • Important Contemporary Pop-Surrealist and Collage Artists

    Important Contemporary Pop-Surrealist and Collage Artists

  • Albane Simon

    Albane Simon

  • Eugenia Loli Surrealist Vintage Collages

    Eugenia Loli Surrealist Vintage Collages

  • SLip: Surrealist Collage Artist

    SLip: Surrealist Collage Artist

  • Charles Wilkin Collage

    Charles Wilkin Collage

  • 9 Unexpectedly Surreal Affordable Art Prints

    9 Unexpectedly Surreal Affordable Art Prints

  • Toshiko Okanoue

    Toshiko Okanoue

  • Trash Riot Collage Art

    Trash Riot Collage Art

  • Gadzooxtian

    Gadzooxtian

  • Psychedelic Art Prints by Andrew Herndon (Wahndur)

    Psychedelic Art Prints by Andrew Herndon (Wahndur)

  • The Invisible Realm - Surreal Collage by Felipe Posada

    The Invisible Realm - Surreal Collage by Felipe Posada

  • Anton Walker - Surreal Collage

    Anton Walker - Surreal Collage

  • Charlie Davoli

    Charlie Davoli

  • Evan Lawrence

    Evan Lawrence

  • Deborah Stevenson

    Deborah Stevenson

Surreal Collage

Collage is a technique of an art production, primarily used in the visual arts, where the artwork is made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.

A collage may sometimes include magazine and newspaper clippings, ribbons, paint, bits of colored or handmade papers, portions of other artwork or texts, photographs and other found objects, glued to a piece of paper or canvas. The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty.

The term collage was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art.

- Wikipedia

With the advent of digital tools such as Photoshop, collage in contemporary surrealistic art become one of the primary techniques to create surreal artwork. Simultaneously, with the ubiquity of camera phones (everyone is a photographer) and screens (how many ads do we see a day?) we a seeing a more nostalgic style to the style of some surreal artists. This may be a reaction to conceptual art and our digital interfaces as a way to differentiate art from, well, not art. This is not just simulated with retro styled photo filters but with the choice of materials. Artists such as Eugene Loli, Trash Riot, and Felipe Posada make ample use of decades-old illustration and photography. With this choice of materials, the work separates itself from “regular” photography (a window into the world) or film and develops its own retro-futuristic or retro-psychedelic aesthetic. Other Collage artists such as Khan Nova and Wahndur use digital tools and clean, contemporary styles to create their own surrealistic visions.

SLip: Surrealist Collage Artist

Last Modified October 22, 2020 Leave a Comment

Who is SLip?

SLip is a french digital collage artist working professionally for more than ten years. The artists’ clean, mod aesthetic marries yesterday’s nostalgic Sci-fi dreams in crisp, modern Technicolor.

The Work

Lovely memories of the sci-fi future that has not yet arrived, SLip reminds us of those more charming futures–of those hopeful expectations we’d forgotten–in the quaint imaginations of yesterday.

Found in exhibitions worldwide, magazines, vinyl albums, and clothing brands, SLip’s inspiring collages can be are lurking in every corner of the globe, following you, watching, waiting. Reminding us of what we need to remember. Of what we can, and should be.

In collaboration with Paperwallet, SLip’s work calls for you from Guggenheim Museum store’s shelves in New York.

Featured in Hypebeast, Gentside, France Inter, Konbini, Les Inrocks, still he feed instagram bi-weekly, where you can follow him at @iamslip.

iamslip.com
instagram.com/iamslip/

Filed Under: Collage

Important Contemporary Pop-Surrealist and Collage Artists

Last Modified April 20, 2020 Leave a Comment

Known alternatively as the Lowbrow movement, Pop Surrealism is an art form that originated in LA’s underground scene in the 1970s. Like other surrealist art forms, lowbrow art strives to reach deep into the unconscious mind and bring to life our innermost thoughts. Our compulsions, hidden memories, and more are displayed in unusual and absurd ways, no matter how light or dark. In this movement, however, artists draw inspiration from popular culture. In a pop surrealist collage, an artist may take inspiration from cartoons, street art, various music scenes, comics, pinups, and modern-day brands, amongst other things.

Pop surrealism is all about breaking the rules of conventional art— that’s why lowbrow artists strive to make up their own. Some critics turn their noses up at this art movement and, at times, even question its validity. Nonetheless, pop surrealists understand the power of borrowing aspects of pop culture and turning them on their head to create something unique, that connects with audiences in an utterly profound way.

Are you interested in learning more about the lowbrow movement? Take a look at the following profiles of some of the world’s best pop surrealist collage artists. 

Some of Today’s Best Lowbrow and Collage Artists

Side Dimes

Mikayla Lapierre is a Brooklyn based art director with a strong background in advertising design and graphic design. Lapierre’s works, self-titled “Side Dimes”, dissect the cultural and societal norms surrounding femininity. In most of her works, she takes 18th and 19th-century portraiture and digitally imprints modern-day items that the women in her pieces interact with. The women in these classical portraits can be seen chewing bubblegum, posing with fast food, and wearing branded jewelry. In her most recent series, Lapierre experiments with personal protective equipment and stacks of toilet paper in her Social Distancing Series — a response to the current events surrounding COVID-19. 

Linz Sepe

San Diego artist Lindsey “Linz” Sepe is known for her otherworldly prints. The events in her works feel as though they are happening on another planet, or perhaps even an Earth in another dimension. From skateboarding on Saturn’s rings to lounging on the moon to trippy time warps, Sepe’s works are far from boring to look at. West-coast beach pop influences are highly apparent in Sepe’s pieces. She often incorporates vintage photos of bikini-clad models, palm trees, vintage architecture, and intense pops of color.

Jeff Drew Pictures

Jeff Drew is a musician, animator, and graphic designer. Where he’s gaining increasing notoriety, however, is his surrealist artwork. Drew takes inspiration from a seemingly endless number of sources, but perhaps the two most apparent are vintage movie (as well as burlesque) posters and the world of the occult. Much like a deck of tarot cards, Drew encapsulates many of his works with elaborate borders and labels his creations with bold graphic titles or descriptions. Drew often plays with the concept of duality, whether it’s through the literal use of masks or the interpretation of beloved television characters as more than what they seem. 

Tyler Varsell

Artist and illustrator Tyler Varsell is based in Connecticut. Her works have been published in esteemed publications like the New York Times and Kolaj Magazine. Varsell uses collage as a means of identifying and questioning our world. Though her emotional intent varies between works, as with all artists, Varsells works have a tranquil and even comforting quality about them. Varsell’s collages mesh symbols of her own subconscious thoughts and memories with appealing landscapes and symbols that bring a smile to the viewer’s face. After all, what food lover wouldn’t want to smother themselves in a bed of mac & cheese?

Taudalpoi

Tau Dal Poi (stylized online as “Taudalpoi”) is a Norweigan artist based currently in London. His works are simpler in design than some of the other artists on this list, but no less expertly crafted. Taudalpoi’s mixes awe-inspiring cosmic graphics with natural landscapes, or pieces of modern architecture — or, in some cases, both. The human subjects in his prints are often miniaturized, causing the viewer to reflect on how small we truly are in this vast universe. While other artists push to make showcase this fact as sobering, or even disheartening, Taudalpoi’s subjects enjoy the expanse, feeling joy, tranquility, freedom, and power. As a result, we feel the same. 

Phil Jones

Artist and product designer Phil Jones has an incredible sense of humor, which he imbues in nearly everything he creates. Jones works across a variety of mediums, including film, photography, and design. If you aren’t aware of his “Lord of the Flies” swatter, you should be. The majority of Jones’ artwork is more print than collage work, and these prints are minimalist in nature. Nonetheless, they are surrealist works that comment on various aspects of popular culture. Jones makes it his challenge to take idioms and puns and turn them into lighthearted pictures that are bound to make you smile.

Lorien Stern

Graphic and ceramic artist Lorien Stern runs her brand out of Inyokern California. In her work, her intention is to bring joy to her audience through her rounded and inviting designs and comforting subject matter. Stern’s main subjects are animals of several varieties. She displays keen interests in predators and marine life (mainly sharks), the intimidating features of which she disarms with bright colors and bright prints. In her creations, Stern takes these real-life animals and turns them into surreal creations — fantasy creatures that leave adults and children alike in awe.

Heather Heininge

The works of Heather Heininge blur the lines between surrealist collage and reality. The stunning landscapes in her prints are so artfully crafted together, you might confuse them for photographs of real places. While this bafflement is a coveted reaction by most artists in the world of lowbrow, Heininge’s collages are anything but true to life. Heininge often experiments with doorways and portals to other worlds. Her human subjects are nearly always in a state of travel or contemplation — perhaps a purposeful reflection on the human desire to search for more on both spiritual and physical plains. 

Luisa Azevedo

Based in Lisbon, Portugal, Luisa Azevedo has turned heads in the art world since she was 18 years old. Azevedo started experimenting with surrealism in 2015. After some practice, she began to develop her own unique style a year later. She began using real-life photographs of locations, objects, and animals to build fantasy creations that any Hollywood exec would beg to use as conceptual work for their next big feature. In her efforts to satisfy her need for magic, Azevedo has used flora and fauna to create hundreds of fantastical creatures and environments that anyone would hope to visit.  

Justine Henderson

Expert photographer and salsa maker extraordinaire, Justine Henderson is also beginning to dive into the world of pop surrealism. In her collage work, Henderson experiments with wide-open spaces like desert plains, empty roads, and serene mountain ranges. Her sources are typically vintage, as seen in her use of a gun-slinging western hero in her print, The Gods Must Be Crazy. In each piece, she gives her audience an intriguing focal point, which is often out-of-place in contrast to the rest of the setting. Though her catalog of collage work is currently limited, her pieces have gained high favor in the art community.

Mr.babies

A self-described “psychedelic analog collage artist”, the Arizona-based Mr.babies is well on his way to becoming a household name in the world of surrealist art. Mr.babies uses collage as a form of meditation and reflection. He starts with a vintage base and works digitally to create a psychedelic symphony of mind-blowing imagery. His expertly crafted collages are at times so intricate that one could spend hours finding new meaning in every square inch. At other times, Mr.babies delivers simpler works meant to convey a single message or emotion.

Irie Wata

Irie Wata’s collages can be identified for their tendencies to bend the physical rules of our world. In her prints, you can find people frolicking and driving their cars in the sky, playing pool on the moon, and relaxing by the world’s literal edge. Wata creates a stark dichotomy in each and every one of her pieces. She mixes the activities of everyday living with environmental oddities and even catastrophic events. Though her interpretation can vary between viewers, Wata seems to illustrate humanity’s ignorance of the beauty of our planet – and the catastrophe we cause when we take it for granted.  

Richard Vergez

Born in Philadelphia and currently based in South Florida, Cuban-American artist Richard Vergez uses collage to showcase his ideas and perspectives on how human beings interact with each other. Vergez’s work has been featured in New York, Chicago, Londo, France, and Argentina, among others. His mixed-media collages are often minimalist works — a few special elements chosen to help Vergez create profound stories. Nearly all of his works are human-centric; his subjects are often depicted in mid-action or altered to showcase specific ideas about the human psyche. 

As you can see from the wondrous works of these artists, pop surrealism varies significantly in design and execution. Pop culture is vast, and an artist could head in any direction when developing concepts and deciding which media they should use to convey them. This, however, is what makes pop surrealist collage work so profound.

Filed Under: Collage, Print Tagged With: Juxtaposition, lowbrow, Pop Culture, pop-surreal, Psychological

Gadzooxtian

Last Modified November 11, 2019 Leave a Comment

Biography

Melbourne artist Xtian was conceived in East Germany but born in Hungary – that makes him one part Australian and two parts former communist.

He’s been actively collaging for two-plus decades – but is not adverse to making music or short animations. His works can best be described as questions, or “edge of comprehension”. He has exhibited and been published both locally and overseas – most recently by Oyster Moon Press’ Hydrolith 2: Surrealist Research & Investigations.

He is also one half of the now ten-year-old – and still growing! – exquisite corpse project The Infinite Collage (close to 80m long!), and is the creator of the longest-running surreal collage comic series The Micturating Angel.

Xtian is the founder of Melbourne Kollage Ultra, and a contributing member of a number of other collage groups.

Artist Statement

(Before you proceed: the images are an extract from a much larger work.)

“…too arty for comic book lovers, too comic booky for art lovers…”

Do you like comics? So do I. Marvel? Hell no! Okay, we’re gonna be friends then.

This is not an “artist statement” – that will come some other time. This is an introduction to “The Micturating Angel”. A spiel. A sales-pitch. But not an explanation – maybe an excuse? A necessary use of words to explain images that have already said all they can?

Do you like comics? I mean REAL comics, like Charles Burns’ stuff, or Druillet’s or Kago Shintaro or Nihei Tsutomu? Or “The Sandman” series by Neil Gaiman?

Right.

But what about weird stuff by the original Surrealists and the Dadas? Are you familiar with Max Ernst’s collage novels or Gilliam’s animations from Monty Python? What about free jazz, avant-garde music and the writings of William Burroughs? The (good) films of David Lynch? Those books from the 90s put out by V. Vale, the “REsearch” books? Are you familiar with the æsthetics of early industrial music culture or with the visuals of punk underground collages and photocopy art?

Am I laying this on too thick?

You wanted a statement, an introduction, so a schooling you’re gonna get, son.

Right. We’ve established the basics, so meet “The Micturating Angel”, the “Naked Lunch” of comic books! I unashamedly call it a comic, ‘graphic novels’ are for pretentious twats. But its a comic with a fatal flaw: too arty for comic book lovers, too comic booky for art lovers – where do you draw the line?

Why even draw it? (And why even draw a comic in the first place?)

I grew up in Eastern Europe, pre-Fall-of-Communism, so my background is a little different from yours. I read mostly French comics translated into Magyar, I read nonsense literature from Germany and local writers and science books (never became an astronaut though). Emigration was a grand adventure and high school was a ridiculous shock: all the beauty of learning coupled with everyone hammering a round peg into a square whole.

Squares man. They can be so beautiful when they’re not people.

Like the panels of a comic book. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

In high school, I invented surrealist writing – not being aware of its well-established existence. It saved my brain for greater things. Eventually, I met some actual surrealists, some actual poets, and artists and some actual interesting life.

And here we are today – and I’d like you to meet my children – The Micturating Angels (there’s more than one).

Q: What does “micturating” mean?
A: Pissing.
Q: Wut?
A: It’s all you get.

A surreal collage art-comic series seven years in the making (and counting). Somewhere between 2ooo – 3ooo collages in total, including the guest stars, the Secret Chiefs (guys in charge of this here Cosmos). Unraveling the adventures and sanity levels of young girls against their captive, oppressive world (is this a feminist comic? I don’t know…). Young girls against crappy old men and institutions, religious zealots, ignorance vs. science, freaks!

Drawing on source materials ranging from hardware catalogues to religious imagery to medical illustrations, alchemical instructions, furniture assembly instructions, “dirty” comics, mangas, giallos, and cannibalistic self-re-absorptions, the “Necronomicon” (containing not all but most of the sigils of the “Fifty Sacred Names of Marduk”), engineer’s manuals and mathematical formulæ

– do you still like comic books?

Then you’ll love this one! Playing with the conventions of comics to create striking visuals, adventures revealed through non-linear story-telling and complete non-sense dialogue – yes, the words are a red herring – “The Micturating Angel” is a unique comic that will never be understood by anyone – and that makes it an enduring mystery, I hope. (Aren’t questions better than answers? No, they’re not. But Bigfoot is more interesting when you DON’T know that it’s just mountain-lion footprints.)

And there it is. My seven-year Grand Opus, unlike its predecessors (all the other books I’ve made), and a never to be repeated exercise by me. And I WANT you to enjoy it! I really do, I want you to look beyond the confusion, I want you to stop trying to make sense of it and revel in what it actually IS: an ever-shifting series of nightmares laid out like the storyboard of a Hollywood blockbuster that will never be made.

Welcome aboard. I hope you like THIS comic.

– Xtian, 2019

“I LOVE your collage work! It is VERY surreal… your comics are great! … Good luck with your project!”
– Rev. Ivan Stang, Church of the Subgenius

“… a very original comic…”
– Surrealismo Internacional

Books: lulu.com/spotlight/gadzooxtian
Prints: redbubble.com/people/Gadzooxtian
Facebook: facebook.com/The-Micturating-Angel-1609957469288457
Site: gadzooxtian.com

Filed Under: Collage, Comic Tagged With: Black and White, Conceptual, Disintegration, Figurative, Illustration, Juxtaposition, Psychological, Whimsical

Genres: Low Brow and Pop Surrealism, Surrealism

Albane Simon

Last Modified October 24, 2019 Leave a Comment

About Albane Simon

Imagine a world where linear time has lost all relevance. A place where past memories and future visions dance in a familiar present gone awry, this is where nightmares collide with lucid clarity. Touching on topics diverse as ecology, science, architecture, and spirituality.

All is loneliness - Albane Simon
Chaos Machine - Albane Simon
Crimireality TV - Albane Simon
Divine messenger - Albane Simon
Flooding Brain - Albane Simon
Gaspard Born Card - Albane Simon
Gourmandise - Albane Simon
Guide du Whisky-Flammarion éditions - Albane Simon
Happy Valentine's day! - Albane Simon
Illusion Et Réalité (2010) - Albane Simon
Le Monde Perdu on canvas - Albane Simon
Low end theory flyer - Albane Simon
Luxure - Albane Simon
Meditation - Albane Simon
Plagues of Egypt - Albane Simon
Schizophrenia - Albane Simon
Seek & Find - Children’s book project - Albane Simon
Sheep under control - Albane Simon
Somewhere in Outer Space - Albane Simon
Waterland - Albane Simon

instagram.com/albanesurrealcollagist/

Filed Under: Collage Tagged With: Alegorical, Cinema, Conceptual, Disintegration, Nostalgia, Psychological, Recursive, Religion, Sci-fi, Whimsical

Genres: Visionary Art

Seamless

Last Modified October 12, 2019 Leave a Comment

Up Front by seamless
The Social Attempt by seamless
The Great Lesson by seamless
The Curious Ones by seamless
synthetic by seamless
pathfinder by seamless
Loop by seamless
Lets Live Here by seamless
Let's Go by seamless
Into Reality by seamless
Habits by seamless
GC-818 5 by seamless
Follow The Sign by seamless
Disunity by seamless
Deserted Reality by seamless
Contact by seamless by seamless
Bright Eyes (Forever Haunted) by seamless

Seamless is a Digital Composite Collage Artist

Artist: Seamless on Redbubble
Prints: Seamless on Society6

Filed Under: Collage Tagged With: Disintegration, Figurative, Juxtaposition, Landscape, Psychological, Sci-fi, Space

Genres: Surrealism

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