Zoe Lacchei, an excellent Italian artist who has published several works and performed many exhibitions. Her unmistakable fusion of traditional styles is particularly evident in the paintings she created for the Geisha Project. This series consists of an eclectic mix of beautiful and slightly dark artworks, adorned as the subjects are with spirit animals and bones. See more from this series after the jump…… more…

Profound visions of poverty through paintings

Don’t Shed No Tears - 24″x36″, Acrylics on Canvas © 2004-2008

Today is Blog Action Day - a day where thousands of bloggers around the world commit to write on the one topic in the hope of creating awareness around that issue. The topic this year is Poverty, and what better way to shed alittle ALOT of light on this terrible human condition than through the provocative ‘hyperealistic’ paintings of Denis Peterson. Being acknowledged as the pioneer and primary architect of hyperrealism which was founded upon the aesthetic principles of Photorealism. Denis was one of the first photorealist painters to emerge in New York, creating realistic scenes and portraitures rendered in meticulous detail. Many of his paintings depict homeless and African people in scenes that confront the human condition. “By making something beautiful and hyperreal in appearance, I think he attempts to remind us that people suffering terribly are living, breathing, thinking, and feeling individuals in need of our attention and help (Chris Ashley, Look See).”

Visually disturbing subjects of this iconoclastic artist have been statuesque figures and stoic faces painted in an eerily and deafening hyper-reality. His subjects are universally depicted with an internalized calm in the face of the surrounding horrors of deadly disease, impending torture, terrorizing fear, irrational hatred and saddening poverty.

There’s not much more to say that the paintings don’t say themselves. They are extraordinary paintings from an extraordinary artist. Follow the jump to see more…

Saturn: The bringer of old age/ The brat with promise, 2007-2008, acrylic on black silk velvet with motor, 40 x 40 inches

If your a fan of Thomas Woodruff’s paintings, then you’ll be pleased to know about his latest works, entitled: “Solar System (The Turning Heads),”on show at NYC’s P.P.O.W. Gallery on October 10th - 15th Nov. This new series is a dazzling parade of super magical otherworldliness to celebrate a fanciful universe of weird beauty with an incredibly unique touch, using richly layered paint and subdued colors. Woodruff’s a master of hybridizing vocabularies from the past and present, referencing sideshow banners, Pompeian wall frescoes, Baroque religious paintings, theatrical posters, and Victorian penmanship charts to create new planetary oddities with a twist - every painting from this series is meant to be flipped, thereby revealing an inverse meaning.

See more…

“Tete Morte”

Ryohei Hase’s words of wisdom “My strongest area is realistic fantasy art…trying to express feelings which difficult to show in words.“

These disturbingly beautiful illustrations of feral animal-headed people were made by the freakishly talented Tokyo-based Illustrator/Designer, Ryohei Hase. His portfolio comprises of very dark and ‘polished’ (photoshoped) artworks, each with meticulous structure hidden inside what are seemingly chaotic images that aren’t random by any means. Most of his works are fantasy art, which he says is his strongest area of artistry. Although his work does have a fantasy art feel to it, I would say he brings his art to fruition with a bit more style than most fantasy artists, plus he has a few very nice commercial pieces weaved into his gallery.

Left: “Bound” Right: “Melancholy”

“Their feelings 04”

Make sure to check out his deviantART page for high resolution images. more…

“This show will include a handful of my ‘drawings’ on paper and wood, and will feature 24 talented artist’s work (curated by myself!).This is my first time putting together a show, so its all very new to me, but i am sure this will be quite amazing for all of us, and hope everyone will enjoy these artist’s work, both familiar and new” - Audrey Kawasaki

Audrey Kawasaki has pulled together some very interesting friends to curate her very first exhibition. Entitled: “The Drawing Room,” and consists of Stella Im Hultberg, Amy Sol, Kukula, Brandi Milne, Brian Viveros, Catherine Brooks, Mari Inukai, Nomi Chi, Lauren Albert, Jessica McCourt, Julia Sonmi Heglund, Eveline Tarunadjaja, Meg Hunt, Irana Douer, Catherine Campbell, Lilly Piri, Amy Earles, Eric Thomas Bostrom, Joao Ruas, Laura Laine, Jason Levesque aka Stuntkid, Fumi Nakamura, Travis Louie, and Liza Corbett. This eclectic showcase will surely be a huge hit when it opens at the Thinkspace Gallery on Friday, November 7, 2008.

Take an in-depth sneak preview of the many artists that will be featured on Audrey’s live journal.