The art world is continuously evolving, with a new generation of talented female painters emerging, each offering unique perspectives and creativity on canvas. These artists blend tradition with innovation, pushing boundaries and challenging the norms of contemporary art. They significantly impact the art scene, captivating audiences with their thought-provoking works. From bold abstract explorations to intimate portrayals of personal identity, these painters symbolize the future of contemporary art and are ones to watch in the coming years.

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Monika Morito

Monika Morito is an emerging artist based in Munich, known for her ability to blend her Filipino heritage with contemporary abstract art. After studying communication design, she transitioned to art in 2021, allowing her to express her deep connections to nature and her nostalgia for her homeland through her work.

Her artwork is characterized by vibrant colors and abstract forms, often inspired by the lush landscapes of the Philippines. Morito explores themes of longing and memory, capturing the essence of her childhood experiences amidst tropical environments. Her pieces frequently feature playful elements, such as swaying palm trees and dynamic shapes, creating a captivating visual interplay of textures.

Morito’s art invites viewers to reflect on their connections to nature and nostalgia, establishing her as a noteworthy figure in the contemporary art scene.

Follow Monika Morito on Instagram >

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Mathilde Polidori

Mathilde Polidori is a talented French artist and muralist born in Lyon in 1987, currently residing in Paris. Her artistic journey is defined by her unique approach to painting, utilizing oils on canvas and creating large-scale murals that explore themes of light and color. Polidori’s work is celebrated for its vibrant aesthetics and emotive resonance, inviting viewers to appreciate the small beauties of everyday life.

Establishing her studio in her family home in Paris, Polidori draws inspiration from her surroundings and personal experiences, significantly influencing her creative process. Her artwork has garnered recognition nationally and internationally, exhibiting in various venues across France and the United States.

Polidori’s artistic practice embodies a blend of personal narrative and universal themes, establishing her as an important figure in contemporary art.

Follow Mathilde Polidori on Instagram >

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Barbara d’Angelo Mansson

Barbara D’Angelo Månsson is an accomplished Italian-Swedish artist known for her unique approach to contemporary abstract painting. Born in Italy and currently residing in Sweden, Månsson draws inspiration from the diverse artistic heritage of Scandinavia and her everyday experiences in the tranquil Swedish landscape.

Her artistic practice combines traditional and contemporary techniques, resulting in textured pieces that explore the interplay between abstraction and analysis. Månsson’s paintings reflect her fascination with human nature and its impact on the world, often as a visual commentary on her surroundings.

As a self-taught artist, she embraces scientific rigor in her creative process, enriching her works with depth and narrative. Månsson’s art invites viewers to engage with both personal and universal themes, establishing her as a significant figure in the contemporary art scene.

Follow Barbara d’Angelo Mansson on Instagram >

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Moka Lee

Moka Lee is a South Korean figurative painter, born in 1996, who is celebrated for her evocative portraits and vibrant still lifes that explore themes of identity and perception. Based in Seoul, Lee captures the essence of youthful moments, often reflecting the complexities of modern social interactions through her art.

Her work is distinguished by a unique blend of realism and a slightly nostalgic aesthetic reminiscent of 1990s photography, bridging the gap between personal experiences and broader cultural narratives. Lee’s portraits predominantly focus on young women, exploring the contrasts between their true selves and the images they project in an age dominated by social media.

Lee earned her MFA from the Korean National University of Arts in 2022, and she has exhibited her work in several notable venues, including the SeMA (Seoul Museum of Art). Her art continues to resonate with audiences, offering a reflective look at contemporary life through a colorful and intimate lens.

Follow Moka Lee on Instagram >

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Vanessa Van Meerhaeghe

Vanessa Van Meerhaeghe is a contemporary painter and illustrator based in Ronse, Belgium. With a strong background in fashion design from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, she brings a unique perspective to her artwork. After spending over two decades in the fashion industry, she made a bold transition to painting, which allowed her to explore more introspective themes and artistic expressions.

Her work often reflects a blend of her fashion design sensibilities and her passion for illustration, resulting in vibrant, expressive pieces that capture both the fluidity of movement and the intricacies of human emotion. Vanessa emphasizes the importance of drawing and the creative process, noting that her love for sketching significantly influences her painting style.

Today, she continues to develop her art practice while also engaging in commercial projects, showcasing her versatility as an artist.

Follow Vanessa Van Meerhaeghe on Instagram > 

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Joanna Pilarczyk

Joanna Pilarczyk is a contemporary figurative painter based in London. Originally from Poland, she was born in 1980 in Gubin, a town located on the border with Germany. Joanna has been passionate about art from a young age, beginning to paint and draw at just five years old.

Her work is characterized by a vibrant color palette and dynamic compositions that blend elements of energy and introspection. She predominantly uses oils, acrylics, and spray paint, creating a unique visual language that often reflects her personal experiences and emotions.

Joanna’s artistic journey includes studying at the Art University in Zielona Góra, which provided a solid foundation for her career. She has gained recognition not only for her paintings but also for her contributions to various art fairs and exhibitions, including the Women in Art Fair 2024. Through her art, Pilarczyk continues to explore and celebrate the complexities of the human experience.

Follow Joanna Pilarczyk on Instagram >

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Gail Sarashon, originally from Brooklyn, New York, made a name for herself as a talented textile designer, fashion designer, and dinnerware designer. She dedicated her free time to drawing and painting, saving every design in a special notebook. Following her graduation with a B.A. in Fine Arts from Brooklyn College, Gail continued her education at the Fashion Institute of Technology, earning an A.A.S. degree in both textile and fashion design. This equipped her with the necessary skills to embark on a successful career in the garment industry. Gail gained valuable experience in the garment industry over many years before taking a new entrepreneurial step. She launched a website to showcase and sell her uniquely designed dinnerware creations. After a fulfilling career in the garment and dinnerware industry, she recently decided to renew her passion for drawing and painting. Her artwork is characterized by a whimsical, vibrant, and contemporary style, drawing inspiration from her travels, surroundings, and the beauty of nature.

“So engrossed am I in the piece that the outside world fades away and I enter a creative zone where only the art exists.”

Hue&Eye interviewed Gail to discover what pushes her to make art every day.

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When or how have you understood you wanted to become an artist?

Ever since I was in elementary school.

May you briefly describe your technique and tell us what drives you to make art?

My technique is painting many layers using paintbrushes and scraping tools. To me, art expresses my mood at the time of creation. I find the most joy in crafting colorful abstract shapes that captivate the viewer’s attention. I hope to bring happiness and sophistication to someone’s home.

What is the main feature that throughout the years has changed in your works or practice?

I went from designing textiles to fashion design to fine arts.

Which artist primarily inspires your work? And is there something else, outside visual arts, that keeps you motivated?

I appreciate many artists from classic, such as Renoir to modern, like Rothko.

How would you like people to engage with your work?

I wish my work to bring happiness to my viewers.

Spread the word! Do you have anything exciting on the horizon?

Currently, I have two paintings hanging in the Art Gotham Gallery in NYC, which I am excited about.

Follow Gail on Instagram.

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Daria Vasileva, currently living in Washington DC, USA, is a visual artist and fashion illustrator, with a special focus on people and fashion. In her artworks, Daria seeks to transcend the limits of fashion illustration, seamlessly transforming them into charming fashion portraits. Her unique style is influenced by classical art, concentrating on the portrayal of feelings and the beauty of the moment together with the depiction of individuals and their surroundings. Each painting tells a unique story. By utilizing figurative art, fashion, and decoration, Daria explores the intricate relationship between fashion and one’s individuality. She is driven by the desire to showcase fashion through her perspective by capturing the interaction between characters and fashion in everyday life, beyond fashion shows.

Hue&Eye recently interviewed her to discover more about what drove her to make art.

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Hello Daria! When or how have you understood you wanted to become an artist?

I have loved drawing since my childhood. It is very organic for me. But only a few years ago I decided to combine two of my passions: fashion and art and become a professional artist.

Can you briefly say something about your technique and tell us what drives you to make art?

Women and fashion are the two main themes of my artworks. I see myself as an artist whose paintings are elegant fashion illustrations, influenced by traditional art. What inspires me a lot is to show fashion through my perspective. Therefore, I capture characters in everyday situations. My paintings are stories, where either the fashion theme or the depicted character are both important as they support and complement each other.

All my artworks are painted in watercolors. I love this medium because I can achieve incredible transparency, and create a luminous and delicate effect that is unreachable with any other medium.

What is the main feature that has changed in your works or practice throughout the years?

I think the most important thing was the decision to follow my intuition to create with traditional mediums despite digital art trends and to establish my unique style as an artist.

Which artist primarily inspires your work? And is there something else, outside visual arts, that keeps you motivated?

I would say that Henry Matisse and Amedeo Modigliani inspire me a lot with their mastery of color and unique style. Also, artists like Helen Downie and Laura Laine whose artworks and aesthetics I admire a lot. They fill me with a desire to create. And of course fashion, as the art by itself, is to me an endless source of inspiration and reflection.

How would you like people to engage with your work?

I hope for my art to be perceived as a visual retreat to beauty and to evoke feelings of joy, happiness, and delight in my audience.

Spread the word! Do you have anything exciting on the horizon?

Recently I participated in art awards and competitions, where my works have received recognition. One was especially important to me since it is a well well-known award among fashion illustrators. For now, I am focused on the creative process and new ideas.

Go here to visit Daria’s website, or follow her on Instagram here >

Read similar articles on Hue&Eye >>>

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Charlie (Charlotte) Moon began refining her craft in digital image editing and vector graphics software from a young age and later studied fashion design in Amsterdam, keeping her love for digital art alive. 

Alongside her art, Charlie Moon founded an international business focused on social media and content creation. Using her skills in storytelling and digital platforms, she helps businesses and individuals create engaging content that connects with people worldwide.​

Hello Charlie. When or how have you understood you wanted to become an artist?

I was born for this.

Can you briefly tell us about your technique and what drives you to make art?

I’m hypersensitive to shapes and colors. When I’m experiencing an emotion and close my eyes, I see shapes and colors related to the emotion. Sometimes I paint, sometimes I draw digitally, sometimes I prompt. Technique rooms in being intuitive. I am addicted to colors and shapes as I can go hard on them!

What is the main feature that has changed in your works or practice throughout the years?

I went from traditional painting to digital drawing and now I am into prompting. I LOVE technology and its developments!

Which artist primarily inspires your work? And is there something else, outside visual arts, that keeps you motivated?

I never get inspired by other artists. I get motivated by femininity, animals, and nature. And the power within humans. Mama-earth is my source. It sounds like a clichè, but it’s true.

How would you like people to engage with your work?

I want to offer people the same feeling I get from shapes and colors. It’s dopamine!

Spread the word! Do you have anything exciting on the horizon?

I will sell NFTs via Foundation soon and start presenting my work in the first-ever virtual museum in the Metaverse.

Follow Moon on Instagram or go here to visit Charlie Moon’s website.

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Laura Theresia Köhler was born in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1980. As she writes on her website’s homepage, “With my paintings, I want to provide the viewer with a feeling of instant joy and happiness,” it is clear that there’s no space for anger or pain in Laura’s surroundings. She explains how filling her childhood with colorful nature, ranging from the blu Spanish sea to the green or white Swiss mountains, and her many grown-up travels is a significant reason for her vibrant paintings.

 

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Un post condiviso da Laura Theresia Köhler (@lauratheresiakoehler)

Laura’s Joyful Workflow and Storytelling

Laura shares silent stories through her paintings, holding a parallel universe inside herself. There are no words to complete an intuition. All she wants is to create what she loves from her soul, which is indeed abstract, bright, joyful, and colorful.

Nevertheless, she doesn’t stop there, as Laura is deeply interested in how colors and shapes have the power to influence our mood. She considers this to be her way of bringing joy.

Landscapes are a recurring subject of her abstract paintings, and as she can remember, she has always depicted landscapes since the age of 8. 

 

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Un post condiviso da Laura Theresia Köhler (@lauratheresiakoehler)

 

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Un post condiviso da Laura Theresia Köhler (@lauratheresiakoehler)

Life & Career

Having pursued a degree from the University of Applied Sciences in Trier, she worked as a Fashion designer in a leading position to understand soon how she was missing painting. Laura is indeed one human who finds true happiness in sharing happiness. So she left her good job to go for her heart. Today, she believes that having suffered the lack of doing what she loves is what brought her to her lively and vibrant style. Also, the fashion influence may be remarkable in her paintings through experimental color contrasts and rhythmical compositions. 

Ultimately, the covid-19 pandemic gave her more time to spend painting, and she finally became a passionate and professional one.

She started selling her artworks only in September 2020. Her collectors are growing increasingly, from private ones to offices or public buildings in Germany, Cyprus, Sweden, Spain, the UK, Canada, the USA, and China. She now loves working from her Bielefeld-based studio.

To view more of Laura’s work, follow her on Instagram or go here >

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We selected 6 artists to follow in 2023, but to discover them, let’s dive back to the past year. The contemporary art market is officially back in motion, and 2022 saw particularly notable increases in interest in street artists, abstract painters, fine art photographers, and expressive portraiture. Producing quality and thought-provoking work, the artists on this list are making waves in the contemporary art world. 

1. Felipe Pantone

Felipe Pantone is an Argentinian artist, born in Buenos Aires. When he was young, he moved to Spain to discover graffiti and, later, experiment with it. He obtained an Art diploma in Valencia, where he still has his studio.

An eternal wanderer, his mural paintings are visible in Tokyo, London, Osaka, Paris and many other cities.

Felipe Pantone draws inspiration from several artists like José María Yturralde, Frédéric Platéus, Herb Lubalin, Sozyone Gonzalez, Steven Powers, not to mention Demsky.

His work combines typography and abstraction with extremely modern aesthetics. Strictly avant garde, his unique style re-invents graffiti art with futuristic and kinetic art. He uses a palette of colors with geometric pattern of optical art, by defying movement and perspective. A true chameleon, he explores text, neon and metallic colors.

Felipe Pantone puts together a new visual language, on the borders of the digital era, technology and society.

His work has been exhibited around Europe, America, Australia and Asia.

Follow Felipe on Instagram >>> 

2. Maude Ovize

Born in 1980, Maude Ovize is a French artist, living and working in Lyon.

Graduated from the fine arts of Saint Etienne, she moved to Lyon in 2005 and works since the question of the motif in painting. She is part of a collective of artists working in a workshop on the slopes of the Red Cross, the Mecca of the Lyon creation.

In her journey around the question of the motif, Maude Ovize is currently working on a series devoted to water which she explores all aspects: sensation, matter, light, color.

Follow Maude Ovize on Instagram >>>

3. Kaws

Brian Donnelly, aka Kaws, is an American artist and designer born in 1974 in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. As a street artist, painter, illustrator, sculptor, publisher, his work touches on everything that surrounds the world of Pop Art.

After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Art in Illustration in 1996 from the School of Visual Arts in New York, Kaws briefly worked for Disney as a freelance animator. Today he lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Kaws began his career in the 1990s with street interventions. He superimposed his own work onto billboards, bus stops, and phone booth advertisements. As he became more well-known, his ads were taken down and collected by people. He created or reused well-known characters from comics and cartoons in his offbeat imagery. Subjects like the Michelin Man, the Simpsons, Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, Sponge Bob, are all common figures rooted in the collective imagination that allows the artist to adopt a universal language. Kaws’s goal is to make art accessible to all. He signs all his creations with a very particular trademark: figures with crossed-out eyes, making his style easily recognizable.

After becoming famous, Kaws appropriated different techniques and extended his artistic production to the world of sculpture and painting on canvas. The passage from 2D to 3D works is motivated by his search for greater mastery of space and reality. His sculptures can reach monumental dimensions. Some of his giant characters have been exposed in front of museums, and they never fail to draw the attention of passers-by.

Kaws’s work is influenced by Pop Art, but also by artists such as Gerhard Richter, Claes Oldenburg, or Chuck Close.

Follow Kaws on Instragrams >>>

4. Thandiwe Muriu

Passionate about photography since the age of 14, Thandiwe Muriu grew up in Kenya in a family marked by art, surrounded by a sister who is a stylist and a second one, a virtuoso pianist. She refined her photographic practice during her teenage years, influenced by Vogue magazine and the aesthetic canons in the front page of this women’s publication. She took one of her sisters as a model and tried to portrait her with complete freedom.

It is the time of the rise of social networks, her photographs meet a great success and lead her to sign her first commission as a young talent.

After graduation, passionate about the 8th art, she dedicates herself definitively to fashion photography and at the age of 23, signs her first contract for an international campaign.

Like her fellow citizens, it is important for her to highlight the natural beauty of women with whom she identifies herself. Her compositions are in keeping with the beauty criteria of a black femininity. Essential models for the African readership at home and from the diaspora too often absent from the front pages of magazines.

Also, she sublimates through her art, black skin and afro hairstyles that deserve to be more than ever valued. Moreover, the photographer reconnects with the glorious past of African empires by using fabric, declined in frank and vivid colors enveloping her subjects.

Determined, passionate, she wishes to spearhead a new generation of committed women entrepreneurs in Kenya through her art, destined to write an inspiring story for many of them. Next challenge? To photograph a cover of Vogue.

She considers the series entitled “Camo” (2015) as a particularly personal achievement marking a decisive stage in her artistic process.

Follow Thandiwe Muriu on Instagram >>>

5. Okuda

Okuda (Oscar San Miguel) is a Spanish artist born in 1980 in Santander. He lives and works in Madrid. His work deals with the meaning of life and its contradictions. The artist tries to make us reflect upon the conflits between modernity and humanity’s roots, upon war and violence.

Okuda is a major international artist, selected in the top 100 of the Urban Contemporary Art Guide 2014. He has worked with major brands and travels the world painting on trains, buildings, walls and showing his work in major art galleries.

Follow Okuda on Instagram >>>

6. Javier Rey

Javier Rey is a Colombian artist & photographer. His work is in many collective exhibitions, one solo exhibition and several international art fairs such as ArtLima (Peru), Scope Art Fair (Miami) and La Feria Del Millón (Colombia). Rey’s work has also appeared in books such as “Unlocked”, by the Greek collective Atopos, and was chosen as one of the 145 most relevant visual artists and photographers on the web in 2015. His photographs in which he explores the physical structure and the possibilities of sculpture through photography have been featured in several publications in Colombia, USA, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Denmark and other countries.

Follow Javier Ray on Instagram >>>

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After reviewing hundreds of stunning entries across 10 categories, the judges of the Best Photography Awards chose the winners who showcase the best in composition, lighting, and creativity. If you’re into photography, you know it takes dedication and skill to create the perfect shot. Whether the photographers entered as an amateur looking to gain valuable experience or as a professional photographers looking to expand their portfolio, participating in this competition will allow all contributors to compare their work with the best in the field. Winners should take great pride in their accomplishments as their photographs will now be featured in the competition magazine and online gallery, revealing their talents to new audiences. While only a select few can claim the top spots, each participant must experience a sense of accomplishment while pursuing their passion.

The Best Photography Awards Professional Photographer of the Year 2022 Award Goes To…

The Professional Photographer of the Year award goes to Alexandr Vlassyuk for his stunning drone photography “Beach Season”.

Author’s mention of the project:

 “During quarantine, no one could travel abroad, and that winter, ice hummocks on the Kapchagai reservoir near Almaty were very popular among the townspeople, filling social networks with pictures of ice hummocks. One evening, after talking with the girlfriend, I offered her to take photos on the ice hummocks from the drone. So early the next morning, we were on our way. We went to the most distant place where there was no one at all. I picked up the drone and preliminarily inspected the place from the air to choose the best location for shooting, and then start improvisation. The difficulty with this shooting was the cold and sometimes gusty wind, which, with small particles of ice, literally burned the body, and we tried to shoot as quickly as possible without spare takes.”

The Best Photography Awards Discovery of the Year 2022 Award Goes To…

The Grand Prix in the amateur photographer’s section won by Antonio Coelho with the photography series “Cities, one vision”.

The photographer talks about this project:

“I have a great fascination for cities, although I live in the calm of a small village in the north of Portugal.

 Cities are getting bigger, more populous, more polluting, and more consumerist. Each city has its specificity. This set of images points to just that. Since the massive use of iron and other metals, cities have grown, luminous and colorful, in height and in magnificent places that defy nature. Of course, for all this, there was the hand of architects,

 engineers, and builders. This series of images below features it all, including a tribute to the twin towers.

The connection to capitalism and the importance that each city has for the economy was also addressed in one of the images I presented. The complete series has more images. The series uses simple elements like screws, electronic elements, notes from my collection, and pastel pencils that I use in painting, arranged in a way to give the idea of ​​the skylines of big cities. I usually lay everything out on a glass platform and dark cardboard backgrounds.”

Ten photography categories conmpetiotion from all over the world

The BPA competition presented amazing results in these 10 categories: Advertising, Architecture, Portrait, Art Photography, Fashion, Nature, Animals, Nude, Documentary, and Open Theme.

We invite you to visit the winners’ gallery to see the works from the Professional and Amateur photography Sections.

Open Call – Season 2023

The unique medals of the BPA competition are a special, honorable, and exclusive thing that is intended for great talents from the world of photography! To have such a medal is a real pride, recognition, and also a reminder to photographers that they need to strive forward for new achievements.

In the 2023 season, the Gold Winners of the Professional category will receive such medals! BPA Awards has updated the list of the jury of the competition. The jury members are professional photographers from various genres of photography, as well as gallery owners, collectors, magazine editors, and other professionals.

Win valuable prizes and get the opportunity to become the Best Photographer of the Year! The open call will start on July 1st! Be the first to send an application to win!

Go here to discover more!

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The Best Photography Awards aims to recognize, reward, and present talented photographers from around the world and introduce them to the creative community. Although there are many photo contests in photography; many have a specific theme, and others include multiple categories, participating in competitions provides new and unique opportunities for photographers. At its core, photography cannot exist without an audience. It is easier for photographers to grow if they receive feedback.

When a photographer participates in competitions he mostly gets the opportunity to expand its audience of viewers and fans.

As a matter of fact, the organizers of The Best Photography Awards look at the word ‘best’ differently. If the photographer does not win the main prize, he shouldn’t give up as it’s a motivation for an exciting journey!

The organizers pay special attention to promoting and establishing relationships with photographers and organizations to support the photography. Sure enough, the panel of judges includes actual photography, art, and media professionals, allowing each author to receive an objective assessment.

For Professionals and Amateurs

The Best Photography Awards competition offers two sections for participation: Professional photographers and Amateur photographers. Both units have ten categories ranging from photojournalism to art photography, so almost any photographer can find its accurate variety. There are ten categories to participate in, from Advertising, Fashion, Portrait, to Documentary Photography and Photojournalism, and Open theme.

The international photography competition Best Photography Awards has announced the final submission deadline, April 30, 2023.

Both professional photographers and amateurs can participate in the competition by sending a single work or a series of photographs.

Photographers worldwide will have a unique opportunity to become part of the competition’s first edition and receive valuable prizes, exclusive physical medals, trophies, and a special winner kit box!

In addition to physical prizes, the Best Photographers will receive promotion and the opportunity to be on the jury next season.

Photographers must send their photos and read the rules of the competition on the official website of the competition, here.

Hue&Eye is proud partner of Best photography Awards.

Find more information on the FAQ page.

Follow them on Instagram > or on Facebook > 

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Natalia Lvova is an artist from Tyumen (Russia), based in Palo Alto (California). She owns more than 200 paintings throughout her artistic career. Known for her effective use of vibrant colors, unusual visual schemes, and patterns in creating original masterpieces hailed by art enthusiasts of every generation. Distinctly, Natalia holds a license for her unique painting technique, which she has aptly named “TwiddleART.”

Art Practice

Lvova explains in her artist statement, “I love order, for example everything is perfect in my wardrobes. As every business has its protocol, and I plan every day of mine, my TwiddleART style was born probably due to this. Curls and spirals are my way to balance the chaos, to relax and meditate. I love painting on huge canvases, and although their size is difficult to move, I believe it helps me dive inside of them.”, she says.

Further, she participated in several fashion collections featuring her distinctive art. She also illustrated BukvaBuk, an educational art book aimed at developing abstract thinking for children, endorsed by the Department of Education in Tyumen city, Russia.

Natalia has presented her unique artworks at some solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Russia, and France, including Unauthorized SFMOMA Show #27 (San Francisco, California 2017), ArtSpan (San Francisco, California 2017), Palace of Fine Arts (San Francisco, California 2016).

Teaching

In addition to displaying her distinctive art in worldwide exhibitions, Natalia presents many masterclasses, seminars, and workshops.

These include “Everyone is an Artist in One’s Soul” and the program “An Artist Who Sells” to help peer artists learn how to hold exhibitions and successfully build a professional career as an artist.

 The artists’ heritage is critical, depicting the present in my artworks, talking about the things that touch me. It’s crucial that a painting balances the mind, providing an inspiring charge of energy and contributing to meditation.

To know more about Natalia Lvova, go here, or follow her on Instagram 

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GUNIA Project is an Ukrainian brand of exceptional interior items & accessories focused on crafts and significant decor — it expands and rethinks traditional craftsmanship through effort and imagination. The founders are two Ukrainian designers, Natalia  and Maria Gavryliuk. 

Their main goal is to preserve Ukraine’s national values and tell the world about the country’s beauty in a modern way. Inspired by their ancestors’ deep and rich cultural heritage, Natalia and Maria produce ceramics, glass, homeware, and accessories.

The main philosophy of the brand is not to limit itself.

The brand wants to interpret the Ukrainian heritage in various forms and without boundaries.

For instance, they produce candles, sculptures, carpets, and jewelry. Also, Gunia creates educational content via social, shares information about artisanal crafts, and is planning to expand the variety of activities even more in the future.

The brand uses folk crafts to inspire and uses traditional culture to create designer products.

Ukrainian Heritage

Ukraine has a vast cultural potential, filled with rich traditions and cultural manifestations, regrettably mainly unfamiliar to most people.

Therefore, one of the main goals of Ukrainian brands is to spread accurate information about their national masterpieces, by overturning stereotypes and existing artificial perceptions. 

GUNIA Project is among the brands that aim to change the global views about our country formed in the past and show its new and modern present. From time immemorial, many stereotypes have gathered around Ukraine; GUNIA Project tries to influence human thoughts about Ukraine and change them.

The primary compass of the brand’s work is the modernization of art and giving a second life to those forgotten things and meanings. With its careful approach to resurrecting traditions in design, GUNIA Project develops a culture of caring for crafts, materials, and traditions, nurturing conscious consumption and emotional attachment to things.

About the Founders 

The founders and art directors of GUNIA Project — Natalia Kamenskaya and Maria Gavrilyuk worked together for a long time in the fashion industry and, in 2019, joined forces to create GUNIA Project.

The central vision drives the creative duo to create the future inspired by the best practices of the past and its modern interpretation. 

The first product released under the brand name was the Hutsul wool coat gunia, handmade in the Carpathians. It is in honor of this product that GUNIA Project got its name.

Artists

Ukraine has a rich and ancient culture of handicrafts, thanks to the country’s deep history and the artists that have entangled that account into their masterpieces with their own hands. GUNIA Project supports Ukrainian artisans and revives ancient Ukrainian techniques to uncover the underexplored world of Ukrainian craft for people interested in art and its roots and for aesthetic connoisseurs.

The search for artists specializing in rare techniques is a very responsible process. Still, the founders prepare carefully and never limit the purpose of the hunt because they often find even more than just talented people. They often find a perfect addition to the team, a fascinating story behind it, or an inspiration for the new collection.

Throughout the brand’s journey, the GUNIA Project team has worked with various techniques to produce multiple items. Among them are the guta glass, ceramics, gunia’s, and textile items.   

Tempered glass

One of the unique techniques is the production of Guta glass which then takes the form of artful homeware. It is traditionally made in the Carpathiansthe mountainous region in the Western part of Ukraine by a particularly unique method. Everything is done delicately by hand to create products of the proper shape, then color is added. 

It is worth noting that glass has its characteristics. Thus, it is quite challenging to work with, so the craftsmen can rightly call themselves true artists as they have a set of specific techniques and methods of manual processing of glass in a hot state that are pretty complicated to replicate.

Ceramics

Creating clay dishes or decorative items is a meticulous multi-step process into which artists invest all their knowledge and experience. In Ukraine, ceramic plates traditionally used by Ukrainian housewives were made by hand and decorated with hand-painted ornaments and patterns. GUNIA borrowed and adapted the idea to the modern world, producing items that can look great in the kitchen and when used as decor. 

Such dishes can become a true jewel in the house, adding a touch to the age-old experience of our ancestors. The GUNIA Project founders developed unique designs inspired by Ukrainian stained glass, antique towels, and Ukrainian folklore.

Gunia weaving

The most iconic thing for the brand is a traditional Hutsul fur coat called “gunia”, woven from sheared sheep’s wool called gunia. That’s where the brand name came from. 

Creating such a fur coat takes several weeks and is done exclusively by hand. Gunias were worn as work clothes when people tended to sheep in the mountains. The artists with exceptional technology and skills emphasize that making gunia beautiful and lush is vital. Every detail in this delicate work is essential, especially making yarns on ancient precious musical instruments using technologies passed down from older generations.

Textile

The founders’ release of the first collection of ornamented silk scarves by GUNIA Project was in 2018, inspired by Ukrainian embroidered towels of the XVIII century from the archives of the Ivan Honchar Museum.

The First Gunia Collection

When preparing the first collection, Maria and Natasha established an inevitable and close connection with other arts — painting, icons, woodwork, and ceramics. Scarves and bandanas of the brand made of silk and wool decorated with ornaments based on naive folk paintings or ceremonial holiday sewing are all handmade and stand out with a unique color palette.

Wickerwork

In Ukraine, there are whole villages where the main activity of the population is wickerwork. In ancient times, the entire family took part in this process. Each product is a unique creation that reflects the author’s mood, skill, and character. The method of wickerwork is truly magical, especially the special preparation of thin cane or whole vines for weaving. The artists make a basket with their own hands and put soul into each item, which usually takes a full day of hard work. 

GUNIA Project shows us repeatedly that everything created by the artists is always special and unique because it has its energy, history, and soul. Masterpieces of wickerwork, filled with vital content, could become a talisman for any home.

GUNIA Project is a brand that has absorbed traditions, customs, and artistic heritage and turned these masterpieces into contemporary elements of our lives. The high quality and personal character of each product are of the essence. 

Undoubtedly, the strength of each nation is in its original history, and those who emphasize and support this with their creativity, like GUNIA Project, deserve particular emphasis and admiration.

Discover all the collections and Shop on the Gunia Project website >

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