Surrealism Today

Contemporary surreal, visionary and pop surreal art

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Contemporary Surrealistic Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (support base). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used. Painting is a mode of creative expression, and the forms are numerous.

-via Wikipedia

Painting is one of the most versatile mediums in visual art. It is also a highly personal medium. Painting styles are as varied and idiosyncratic as the artists themselves.

And so it is with surrealistic painting.

Contemporary surrealistic painting ranges from the nearly photographic dreamscapes of Jacek Yerka and Mark Ryden, to the abstract surrealism of Mohammad Zaza, from scribbles on linen to highly detailed horror artists like HR Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński, to visionary artists like Alex Grey and Rudolf Hausner attempting to visualize the spiritual world or religious experience.

Jem Ham

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Jem Ham is an Australian, self-taught artist who started painting on brick walls with water at the age of four. Fascinated by the way the watermarked the brick and the ability to bring to life something from within, his love for art was born. Since then, it has been a journey of self-discovery through art, fuelled by a passionate need to create.

His work aims to visually represent the nature and psychology of the inner sphere of the artist. It is an attempt to understand the day to day psyche through self-expression and the creation of an original visual aesthetic. The process aims to tap into the subconscious world of imagination to reveal something from within which is often vague in the mind but comes to life through the process of drawing. As the whimsical creations are evolved manifestations of the artist’s inner sphere, the freedom in which each element can be interpreted allows the viewer to also connect to a naive imagination.

The evolution of each artwork is triggered by the recognition of the whirling maelstrom of seemingly random elements within. From this heightened state of being, the pencil hits the paper, channeling this creative energy into physical form.

Drawing influences from a range of artistic styles, his art comes with a large dose of heart, a touch of the surreal and psychedelic, a hint of realism, and a dash of whimsy. In essence, his works are a soapbox for the subconscious mind, giving voice to the imaginative world within.

Visit Jem’s Portfolio at jemham.com or purchase prints at Jem Ham’s Etsy. You can also follow him on Instagram or on Facebook.

Valeriu Buev

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The paintings of Moldovan artist Valeriu Buev explore the strange and poetic tragedy of the human condition. Although Buev uses the language of surrealism and dream, his stunning images remain fully rooted both psychically and technically in material reality. Through the processes of distortion and imagination, Buev confronts the stark costs of humanity’s darker tendencies, such as war and corruption.

And yet, Buev’s work doesn’t rely upon simplistic platitudes and does not fall back on propagandistic tropes. Instead, each gorgeously painted image is wildly open to interpretation through visual metaphor and rich layers of ambiguity.

Each surrealistic image is embedded firmly in the near past or possible symbolic present.

Buev doesn’t indulge in idealism or painting surrealist images disassociated from present reality. Instead, he unflinchingly confronts the stark realities of our world and transforms each transgression into something oddly beautiful, poetic, and archetypal.

Others of Buev’s images remain just beautiful and opaque. The artist’s symbolism suggests something meaningful. Like a Rorschach test, each skillfully crafted image queues the viewer to delve into his own subconscious. Our reading may tell us more about our own current emotional landscapes than we first assume.

Follow Valeriu Buev on Facebook

Prints can be obtained from Saatchi Art and on Fine Art America:

Valeriu Buev on Fine Art America

Valeriu Buev on Saatchi Art

James McCarthy

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James McCarthy is a surrealistic landscape painter. McCarthy’s psychedelic/cosmic mindscapes wrestle with the concepts of space-time and the afterlife.

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Artist’s Statement

I’m a surrealist but I also consider myself a landscape painter.

I like to paint biomorphic forms but I’m also interested in capturing the moods of various landscapes.

I like to depict the weather and the seasons – the seasons especially because seasons note the passing of time.

Winter has a special meaning for me as well. It represents solitude and wonder.

Much of my work is inspired by ‘mindscape’ music such as New Age, psychedelic, certain classical pieces, prog rock and medieval music.

As I grow older I’ve become increasingly more intrigued by what life’s Final Door has in store for us. Is it a doorway to eternity or oblivion?

James McCarthy on DeviantArt
James McCarthy on Facebook

Konan Lim

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About Konan Lim

Konan Lim is a Dubai-based Filipino artist. Lim was born and raised in the Philippines and discovered his passion for art at a young age. During his childhood, Lim won numerous art competitions. In 2005 he received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture at Western Mindanao State University, Zamboanga City, Philippines.

In 2007 he moved to Dubai to work as an Architect while still pursuing painting. From 2012 he participated in several local exhibitions to international shows. He has been commissioned in mural art events & collaborated with several artists.

Lim whimsically portrays childhood nostalgia through his representational paintings. The works play on the boundaries of playfulness and cuteness-overload but with something strange ominous permeating the atmosphere. Each work is exquisitely rendered and painterly: Lim’s craftmanship is surpassed only by his own strange imagination.

Lim’s images juxtapose conflicting emotions into a unified narrative: suggesting something strangely distorted and through-the-looking-glass about childhood memory in his compelling, surrealistic images.

konanlim.com

Stephen Gibb

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Artist Statement

I imagine a world where the visually rich language of fairy tales and nursery rhymes extends into adulthood. The traditional nature of this kind storytelling is best presented with visual aids; simple, straightforward text accompanied by fantastic illustrations. In our culture, this is a conventional part of our collective upbringing and experience. These stories often convey lessons, which are coded in familiar, symbolic language, and are likely where we first encounter metaphor and allegory.

We carry these symbolic codes into adulthood—like wolf equals bad, pig equals good. The narratives I deliver in my paintings utilize this common trove of visual references; however with more mature and timely messages.

The intertwined relationship between language and image has always guided me in constructing my artwork—using visual puns, symbolic themes and literal translations from words into paintings. Often the compositions and assemblies of characters seem to clash in a surreal incongruence, but on some level, they relate by a verbal association or some idiomatic commonality. My aim is to exploit these visual conventions and present something visually arousing with dynamic color and compelling content.

The level of “payoff” sophistication that the viewer “gets” from the paintings is relative to their own personal experience and history. There may be universal themes revealed, and there may be idiosyncratic dead ends. There is no correct reading of the images other than what the viewer extracts on their own. Even my opinion and the depth of what they mean to me may change from day to day.

Biography

Stephen Gibb lives and works in the small town of Amherstburg, in southern Ontario, Canada and maintains a second studio in Windsor. He earned a B.F.A. in visual arts from the University of Windsor and is currently represented by the St. Germain gallery in Toronto. Among the cities he has exhibited in are San Diego, Sacramento, and Hollywood— the hotbed of California’s Lowbrow and Pop Surrealism community. His work is collected around the globe and has gained widening interest since working on the album art for hip hop artist Trippie Redd.

Links:

facebook.com/bubblegumsurrealism/
instagram.com/stephengibbart/
stephengibb.com/gallery/