Tetat Ton is a painter from Bangkok, Thailand.
Painterly
Marjorie Darrow
Gateway to the Subconscious
Artist Statement
The main theme of my work has always been the connection and synergy of all living organisms. It’s symbolic of the delicate balance and inter-dependency of life. I see these interconnections as a perfectly choreographed dance where each element is singular, yet part of the whole. It’s a simple and timely message, and my hope is that the viewer recognizes this in my artwork and takes with them a sensitivity and awareness of all life forms on the planet. My art is a process. The physical act of drawing or painting taps into my creativity, and there are always new discoveries and surprises. I view this process as a gateway to my subconscious because it’s not analytical. It’s completely intuitive. I typically begin with an initial inspiration, such as an ancient bristlecone pine tree, or an exotic orchid, or even the structure of a single cell. Sometimes this initial inspiration is representational, and at other times it may become abstracted, or so stylized as to appear surreal. From that point on I trust in the creative process to lead me. I start every painting with a detailed drawing. The act of drawing is where most of my creativity happens. It’s like a stream-of-conscious where each new element leads to another, and the connections between them evolve – sometimes with surprising results!
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The Art of Mark Hopkins
Mark Hopkins Surrealism
The landscapes of Mark Hopkins are as gorgeous as they are mind-bending. Hopkins’ surrealistic techniques include playful visual distortion, juxtaposed symbols, and abstract surrealism in combination with a mastery of the craft of painting.
The first painting in the gallery above shows the Buddha hovering in the air in an archetypal temple. The scene is calm. Juxtaposed with this peaceful imagery is the ‘fallout shelter’ symbol on the tiles of the floor. The repetition of this symbol in an otherwise serene environment startles the viewer. It invites us into the work with Hopkins to reflect and process. Other symbols (which you’ll need to discover for yourself) further add the complexity, ambiguity, and depth of this image.
Hopkins’ gorgeous contemporary surrealistic paintings are both profound and ineffable.
Mark Hopkins Artist Statement
My paintings consist of elements assembled into stories or into ‘mood-scapes’. I place the recognizable into the supernatural as a way to invite a viewer to co-create a narrative from their understanding of what’s in a given composition. There is content, for sure. But it is flexible content or perhaps it is ‘content under construction’. Why? Perhaps it’s because I want more out of a work of art than straight representation can offer. My work adjusts to mood, current events, individual personalities, and to itself. It is possible come away with a different interpretation with each viewing. Bang for buck.
There are a few things I hope to say through the oeuvre of my work; That the Earth is precious, time is precious, life is precious, that our mind is amazing, that history is way more profound than we think, and that there are mysteries lurking which can provide insights into who we are, why we are here, and how ‘it’ all works. Graham Hancock calls us a people who have forgotten our past. My paintings both acknowledge and challenge that: We are finding what we forgot – awakening and reconstructing our past – but we might want to hurry.
I hope my work pleases my audience. I hope they play with it, enjoy the quirks, the color, and find it satisfying.
Nicolas Gadbois Surreal Landscapes
Artist Statement: Real Life Surrealism
My surreal paintings are taken from scenes in everyday life that have a quality that is strange or otherworldly. For a number of first wave surrealist painters emptiness was a significant feature in the art. De Chirico and Dali both drew heavily from scenes expressing existential void. My work focuses on the altered landscape and cultural emptiness. Photographs I take are the basis for the paintings. I choose dead malls, places left behind, and blank billboards for my subjects. Colors in my work are pushed to reference emotions, climate change, nuclear reality, and artificial life. Rather than illustrate things and landscape in a Disney like fantasy way I paint scenes from real life that already appear surreal.
Alan Brain
Artist Statement: Now I am Surreal
I never expected to become a surrealist but here I am.
I started out about 25 years ago as a regular representational artist like most everyone else. My artistic journey has taken me through abstract expressionism to non objective painting. I gained a reputation as a geometric painter with a love to capture the feel of flying. I have made many paintings and never really cared about what box I was put in but when someone said: “you are a surrealist!” I was shocked.
No not me, not all those melting clocks and stuff, oh no. But yes! And I am loving it. I think Dali gave surrealism a bad name, but for me it works. I can express my feelings in an enigmatic way and it feels good to be a surrealist 🙂
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