Artists At Home And Abroad

104 NY ARTS www.nyartsmagazine.com

Artists At Home And Abroad

Airco Caravan

Amy Cohen Banker

Anna Maria Grill

Borislav Varadinov

Dimitri DrJuchin

Donna Butnik

Ed Morris

Fabricio Suarez

Jasnica Matic

Jenni Lombardi

Mae Jeon

Maria Eugene

Martin Wohlwend

Mary Lee Lombard

Nacera Guerin

Pari Ravan

Shigeo Sato

Tulin Gozukara

Veronika Szkudlarek

Zachary Bako

Charlotte Wensley

Chris Mayse

Eileen Berger

International Artists at Home and Abroad

Elizabeth Colomba

Elizabeth Uyehara

Gerry Mayer

Gina Lucia

Horacio Cardozo

Jamie Sunwoo

Karen Brailovsky

Keita Yasukawa

Kim Davison

Kimberly Becoat

Marianna Venczak

Mark Mawson

Mayuko Fujino

Melody Owens

Mirit Furstenberg

Neil Wyatt

Nina Dreyer Henjum

Robert Piersante

Sukhi Barber

Sylvia Tupper

Timo Vuorikoski

Vaananen Seppo

Spring 2011 105


Cuddly or cruel? Nice or nasty? Airco Caravan is always looking for the thin line; exploring the edge between sweet and sadistic, power and freedom, religion and emanci-pation, free choice and oppression, peace and war, life and death. Cara-van juxtaposes worlds of kindness and truth and explores the friction between them. The images appear to be friendly faces and cheerful scenes in bright, vibrant colors. On closer look, maybe they are not so nice at all. At what point does the

Airco Caravan

“At what point does the fine balance tips over from a sweet swimming pool

image on a summer day to everything wiping out nuclear meltdown?”

www.aircocaravan.comCourtesy of Airco Caravan.

fine balance tip over from a sweet swimming pool image on a summer day to everything wiping out nucle-ar meltdown?

Airco’s work is often called icono-graphic or Nu Pop Art; simple, strong, colorful images invite the viewer to take a closer look. They are sweet and harmless but sub-consciously disturbing. The images confront the viewer with existen-tial, hidden questions, and leave it up to you to find the answer, if any.

You may only find harder questions and confusion, or, if you choose, the soothing reassurance that nothing is wrong. Airco Caravan graduated at the Academy of Arts in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and studied painting in New York and currently lives and works in Amsterdam and New York City.



Amy Cohen Banker

Amy Cohen Banker has a “paint-erly,” colorful/colorless style that carves out shapes and forms (syn-thetic realism). Life is reconstructed as reality and imagination is pro-cessed to become a portrait and landscape as layers upon layers of meaning are revealed or concealed as the viewer sees new objects take shape on the oil/acrylic/crayons on canvas. Process, time, lyrical move-

“Process, time, lyrical movements, sumi-e, and palimpsests

are all revealed and articulated.”

Courtesy of Amy Cohen Banker.

ments, sumi-e, and palimpsests are all revealed and articulated, inspired by moments from nature, music and, poetry. She is always thinking of “metaphor.”

A native New Yorker, Amy resides in New York City and Massachu-setts. She collaborates and exhibits in multimedia and fine art projects, local and worldwide, including the

Smithsonian, MOMA, Whitney, Her-mitage and the Chelsea Art Muse-um. A Cornell University graduate, she studied design, art and busi-ness. Banker was an art instructor at the MOMA.

http://www.amycohenbanker.com/

Spring 2011 107


Anna Maria Grill

My painted and photographic (bw) art works come to life through light and space: The contrast between light-airy and earthly tones of representational closeness before spatial depth. My preferred themes besides urban and time-critical sujets are growth and transience.

“My preferred themes besides urban and time-critical sujets are

growth and transience.”

Courtesy of Anna Maria Grill.

http://www.annamariagrill.de



Borislav Varadinov

“My art stems from my dreams. I constantly dream of a garden where all the colors, sounds, smells and invisible spirits are changing constantly. Someone is stirring up impressions of this garden while I’m trying to steal a picture of it.”

http://www.guddah.com

“My art stems from my dreams.”

Courtesy of Borislav Varadinov

Spring 2011 109


Dimitri Drjuchin

My work channels different points of reference from my Russian back-ground, from pop culture, to comic books, to fine art, to spirituality, to the occult. I can’t truly say that it’s a commentary on anything, because I am not interested in judging any-one or any thing. I believe it’s more

“My work channels different points of reference

from my Russian background.”

http://www.avrodesign.com/dima/

Courtesy of Dimitri Drjuchin

of a reflection of multiple influences that get filtered through my mind and come back out all at once on my canvas redefined to my own lik-ing.



Donna Butnik

My inspiration is drawn from the natural world and dreamtime. My best cre-ations happen when the painting paints itself and I get out of the way.

“My inspiration is drawn from the natural

world and dreamtime.”

Courtesy of Donna Butnik.http://artpaintings4decor.com/

Spring 2011 111


Ed Morris

“Born, raised & still residing in Jersey City, the name T.DEE became a well-

known & well-respected moniker in the graffiti/street art community in the

early 1990’s.”

Ed Morris aka T.DEE has been actively express-ing himself through his art for over 20 years. Born, raised & still residing in Jersey City, the name T.DEE became a well-known & well-respected moniker in the graffiti/street art community in the early 1990’s. From 1992-1997 T.DEE produced & pub-lished Under Cover Maga-zine; a full color graffiti art publication, with the inten-tion of giving prominence to the culture in the dignified & professional fashion he felt it deserved. Since this time, T.DEE has broadened his range of expression to include fine arts, tattooing, photography, & a host of other artistic mediums.

Courtesy of Ed Morris. http://tdee.virb.com/



Fabricio Suarez

My ongoing practice of Plein-Air painting takes a turn to the abstract and surreal.

In studio, the immediacy of the landscape disappears, as memory and old photographs take on a dominant role. The combination of Pieter Bruegel and George Innes inspires the use of light and mood, bringing tragedy and drama to the landscape, expressing conflict both violent and peaceful, be it by man or nature.

Courtesy of Fabricio Suarez

“Each one of my paintings is a continuation of observed

shapes, formed by washes of color.”

Each one of my paintings is a contin-uation of observed shapes, formed by washes of color. While exploring and romanticizing the light in an expressionist way, I embrace a pro-cess of both uncontrolled and ma-nipulated brush strokes. The subject becomes a rich environment that holds a narrative of spontaneous mystery.

http://fabriciosuarez.com/home.html

Spring 2011 113


Jasnica Klara Matic

I am a Healing Artist. My artistic purpose is to heal others and myself through the process of painting. I use salt, incense, wax and medical herbs as painting materials because they were used for centuries to heal men and the outside world. I also use archetypal pictures from our un-conscious like angels, love couples, cosmic eggs and the tree of life as painting motifs because they have extremely positive effects on our at-titude and atmosphere of our living space. I believe that joining these healing materials with healing mo-tifs can help artists to attract more positive energy and intensify the complete affect of a painting.

www.jasnica.com

“I believe that joining these healing materials with healing motifs can help

artists to attract more positive energy and intensify the complete affect

of a painting.”

Courtesy of Jasnica Klara Matić



Jenni Lombardi

Through artistic endeavor, I have found that I enjoy working in a varied array of mediums. I have long regarded myself as a painter; however, as the years have progressed, my technical abilities have evolved, and I’ve become more suited to work outside of the 2-dimensional realm. Although working with vivid color and ma-nipulating brushstrokes are still my primary passions, I feel that experimentation with found objects and clay have proven to be equally satisfying.

I tend to create work that exhibits animal-like imagery and subject matter, but also explores human emotion and expression. My personal taste tends toward the distor-tion of the realistic with the addition of a personal twist, ultimately resulting in the bizarre or satirical.

My work has always had an illustrative quality. Until recently, these very qualities have only been brought to life on canvas and wood panels.

Experimenting with ceramic clay has al-lowed me to explore a new approach to my work. My work with clay has allowed me to bring my subject matter and the dynamism of my imagery to life in three dimensions.

Being that I have discovered a personal new method to communicate my thoughts and ideas, I endeavor toward the creation of a harmonious bond between the sec-ond dimension, and the third.

“My work with clay has allowed me to bring my subject matter and the

dynamism of my imagery to life in three dimensions.”

http://jennilombardi.com/Courtesy of Jenni Lombardi

Spring 2011 115


Mae Jeon

With heightened color, dramatic compositions and a multiplicity of visual textures, Mae Jeon creates Digital Art whose subject matter is an icon of organic beauty, the flow-er. Surreal and stylish, Jeon’s imag-es incorporate the sensuality of the flower into fantastical abstractions within synthetic environments. By contrasting the naturalness of her subject matter with the highly digi-tal medium used in its depiction, Jeon calls attention to the eternal question of the real vs. the unreal, and of the complex relationship of technology with nature.

“Surreal and stylish, Jeon’s images incorporate the sensuality of the flower

into fantastical abstractions within synthetic environments.”

http://www.gallerydir.com/art-web/ARTIST/data/ID/63

Courtesy of Mae Jeon



Maria Eugene Z. Aniar

My works are usually narrative by nature. I consider the viewers part of the story that I create; each inter-pretation adds an interesting twist to every work being presented. I also like mixing all sorts of things: the real, the imaginary, the oppo-sites and all else in between. It’s through the whole wide eclectic diversity that we become aware of the contrast and see the beauty of things.

“I consider the viewers part of the story that I create; each interpretation

adds an interesting twist to every work being presented.”

http://www.artmajeur.com/Courtesy of Maria Eugene Z. Aniar

Spring 2011 117


Martin R. Wohlwend

“My paintings are reflections of human nature, the creation of the

universe, our environment, and today’s society.”

My paintings are reflections of hu-man nature, the creation of the universe, our environment, and to-day’s society. Born in 1969 in Liech-tenstein, where I currently live and work, I have developed a painting process that allows me to channel both my empirical and intellectual persuasions on to the canvas. By a surrealistic method, I first create chaos on the canvas, until I arrive at a point where I detect forms and shapes in the painting, which speak to me. I then consciously work and

Courtesy of Martin R. Wohlwend http://www.martinwohlwend.com/

refine those forms and shapes and mold them into an organized com-position. I create order in the chaos. I studied Fine Art Painting at the San Francisco Art Institute in the mid 90’s. Since then, I have exhibited in America, China, Germany, Liechten-stein, Spain, and Switzerland.



Mary Lee Lombard

Since age five, Mary Lee Lombard had extensive training in a vast number of styles, ultimately emerg-ing as an American Abstract Expres-sionist painter. The artist’s paint-ings exude her feelings, emotions, imagination, visions, and dreams of a subject, space, and time unlike

“In ‘Pink Abstract Lombard richly executes her subconscious expressions of

a real time and space using masterful brushstrokes and texture.”

Courtesy of Mary Lee Lombard.

www.LombardArtGallery.com

paintings by Impressionists, who re-cord what they see visually. In Pink Abstract, Lombard richly executes her subconscious expressions of a real time and space using masterful brushstrokes and texture.

Spring 2011 119


Nacera Guerin

“Most of her work is a reaction toward injustice.”

Nacera is a French Algerian-born professional artist who has also lived in France, Switzerland, Colo-rado, California, and England. She has had many solo exhibitions in the U.S., including at Stanford Univer-sity. She has participated in several group shows internationally. Nacera was selected for and participated in the Florence Biennials in 2005 and

2007. She had the honor to be in-vited by the Swiss Gallery Del Mese Fischer to participate at the Art Mi-ami Convention in 2007/2008. Most of her work is a reaction toward in-justice. She uses all the media she can get her hands on and loves ev-ery step of her learning process.

Courtesy of Nacera Guerin.

http://www.nacera.com/www.nacera.com/Welcome.html



Pari Ravan

http://www.pariravan.de/3.html

“The painter is like a mirror in associates. There-

fore I paint what I see and feel.”

Courtesy of Pari Ravan.

Spring 2011 121


“If I feel a sweet smell, I will make a sweet color. I’m playing it on a can-

vas and making the groove.”

Shigeo Sato

I’m picking up the wastepaper, the sounds, the smells, the words and the landscapes on any street as my motifs.

Those motifs change into one shape with big undulations though it seemingly looks confusing. It looks like the Jazz Session. If I feel a noisy sound, it will become noisy drawing. If I feel a sweet smell, I will

http://www.shigeosato.comCourtesy of Shigeo Sato

make a sweet color. I’m playing it on a canvas and making the groove.

And a one-eyed character, The 3rd Eye Man, who often appears on my art has the ability to watch contem-porary society from another angle without rolling in human’s whirlpool. His objective viewpoint is a very im-portant thing for me as an artist.



Tulin Gozukara

I am trying to focus on what I believe as the “eternity” within me and produce my artwork solely with the inspi-ration of it. I believe that artwork expresses the intention with visual elements where everything that I cannot put into words comes back to life in the forms of the visual references in the paintings.

“I am trying to focus on what I believe as the ‘eternity’ within me and pro-

duce my artwork solely with the inspiration of it.”

Courtesy of Tulin Gozukarahttp://www.tulingozukara.com/

Spring 2011 123


Veronika Szkudlarek

It is through abstraction that frag-mented stories come to life. Trans-lucent, layered brush marks and distinct color combinations charac-terize the work. I am fascinated with oil paints’ physicality, in particular the transparency of each color and the combinations of its hues. Con-trasts—thick, thin or opaque as well as shape, direction, size and texture—inform my decisions. The works reveal nuances or variations

“The works reveal nuances or variations

in lines and colors of objects or nature.”

in lines and colors of objects or na-ture. The repetition and differences in window-panes for example or the slight variations in the cracks between floorboards articulate a broad scope of ideas and content. The paintings are colorful, expres-sive and adhere to an economy of form. The work’s discursive quality interprets a world that is vibrant yet sensitive.

web.mac.com/vszkudlarekCourtesy of Veronika Szkudlarek



Zachary Bako

I am interested in the creative and mental process that leads to the completion of a finished piece of artwork.

In October of 2010, I followed five contemporary Chinese artists in Bei-jing, documenting a single day out of each of their lives. This exhibition denotes my time spent with Oujin, an emerging artist. As Oujin spent his day creating, his wife Cai Qian focused on his well-being.

I began this series because of my attraction to the journey one must take in order to finish a piece of art-work. Each artist’s approach is dif-

“I began this series because of my attraction to the journey one must

take in order to finish a piece of artwork.”

Courtesy of Giancarlo Romero. http://www.zacharybako.com/

ferent; motivation and style come at different speeds. Regardless of life-style, each artist consistently pos-sessed a strong personal drive. For example, Oujin’s ability to create artwork successfully is relative to his ability to focus. All of his attention and energy was directed towards his current project, while Cai Qian focused on their domestic respon-sibilities.

Observing the connection between artist and artwork is fascinating and inspiring. Being able to witness the progression of a single day with art-ists gave me insight into who they are and how they work. I was not

only introduced to fellow artists, but to genuine family men and women and to people of extreme talent and motivation.

My main objective was to document the day’s progression to observe habits, to identify with personal characteristics, and to examine the way of life of a diverse group of Chi-nese contemporary artists.

This project began in Beijing and I will be traveling back in the fall of 2011 to continue my documenta-tion.

Artists At Home And Abroad

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