artists who inspire.

Something Split and New , 2013  Dwell: Aso Ebi , 2017  5 Umezebi St. New Haven Enugu , 2012 When the Going is Smooth and Good , 2017 "The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born" Might Not Hold True for Much Longer , 2013 Njideka Akunyili Crosby was born in 1983 in Nigeria, and explores themes of living in two worlds/cultures (Nigeria and America). She uses collage, paint, and photo-transfer to create her visually stunning images. I absolutely love her style! The color palettes are beautiful and engaging, and the photo/collage elements give it life without making it too busy. Her titles are ambiguous and intriguing, as well. Hers is a style I would love to emulate, and collage painting is something that has just recently sparked my interest in my own work. Please check out more of her work on her website !

Gigantic Youth , 2016   And the Landscapes Slide Away , 2016 Indivisible and Unchangeable , 2016 Glenn Who Lies There in his 8-Year-Old Body , 2016 The Earth on its Axis , 2016 Maria Kontis deals with themes of memory and the reinvention of the past by drawing from photographs. She often will deviate from the source material, like in removing the background for example, which is her way of rewriting those memories. I love that idea. I recently did a project for my figure drawing in which I did a similar thing--monochromatic sketches from family photographs. Kontis is definitely one I would look to for inspiration in continuing that project or others like it. To check out more or her work, visit this website .

2015 2012  2012  2013  2015 Kara Walker is known for her dynamic silhouettes, dramatic sketches, and more. Some of her work is kind of violent, but incredibly thought provoking. Specifically in her silhouette pieces, I love that she is able to create emotion and movement and narrative without showing facial expression. That's definitely a skill. To see more of her work, visit her website .

Holy Rollers (Gospel Train)  1930  John Brown , 1939 Our Good Earth , 1942 American artist John Steuart Curry is famous for depicting scenes of life in the Great Depression. He has a realistic style, and a specific type of mark, sort of like pencil hatching and cross-hatching. I like how personal the scenes feel, even pieces like Our Good Earth  that looks like it could be on a propaganda poster. They all feel very real, which I think is what makes his art successful. To see more of his art, visit this website .

Illegal Alien's Guide to the Theory of Surplus Value , 2009   Elvis Meets the Virgin of Guadalupe , 1994   100% Product Oriented Liberty Club #2 , 2006 Untitled Blue Man , 1996 Mexican-American artist Enrique Chagoya tackles concepts of corruption, politics, and controversy in his mixed-media paintings and prints. He has a distinct style and a way of mark-making that I love. His work all feels very charged and opinionated, which I love, because to me, one of the roles an artist assumes is bringing to light things in society that need to change. To check out more of Chagoya's work, check out this website .

Death Grabbing at a Group of Children , 1934 Small Self-Portrait (plate 3) from German Printmakers of Our Time , 1920 Two Chatting Women with Two Children , 1930 Woman Entrusts Herself to Death , 1934 Young Girl in the Lap of Death , 1934 Born in 1867 in what is now Kaliningrad, Russia, Kathe Kollwitz is known for her pieces rich with themes of mourning, death, and hardship. They are just chilling--I can't imagine living in a day where images like this were real life. I like how she is able to put a form to something abstract like death; it gives her images even greater power. To see more of her work and learn more about her art processes, visit this website .

Multiple Bearings , 1997 Transient Transformations II , 1996 Veil' n Trail , (Triptych) , 1997 Unknown Fleshy Weapons , 1997 Shahzia Sikander is an American-Pakistani painter whose work is inspired by art history, minimalism, and cultural identity. She skillfully bridges cultures together as she draws from all kinds of sources, like Middle Eastern identity, and Indo-Persian miniature painting. I love her colors, her stylized figures, her shapes, and line work. I admire how she is able to seamlessly weave different parts of her identity into her work, and that is something I want to learn from! To learn more about her and see more of her work, visit this website .