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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Ronald Zambrano’s works focus investigates the discipline of painting through color. Almost all his work develops through layers and natural pigments. Ronald covers parts of the canvas while leaving other areas only partially empty. Abstract art allows him to explore painting with freedom, to live the journey as an experience with its different stages to reach the recognition of the identity.

The harmony he reaches is honest and vibrant, an explicit conversation about himself through pigments and forms. The chosen colors and shapes resemble physical nature, such as plants and water, or genuine feelings like anger and joy. Although each area of his canvas may also stand alone, it is undeniable how every element in his paintings functions as a whole.

We had an exclusive interview with Ronald. Get comfy and enjoy reading it!

Let’s start from the basics. What’s your name, and where have you grown up?

My name is Ronald Zambrano. I was born in San Cristobal, Venezuela, a city in the Venezuelan Andes. I lived there for the first stage of my life, where I studied art and language, and literature. Later I came to Europe to spend a year in Vienna, working as an assistant to an artist called Karl Goldammer. Finally, I settled in Madrid, where I got a master’s degree in criticism and practice of contemporary art.

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

As a child, I painted the walls of my house. Back then, I wasn’t aware of art, so I started to be mindful of color, and slowly something awoke in me. It was when my mother gave me a box full of colored pencils that I began spending hours drawing and painting.

Please briefly describe your technique and tell us what drives you to make art.

I work with color, and I create paintings from pure pigments. I also use sprays, acrylics, and oils.

What is the main feature that has changed in your work or practice?

I used to work more with figurative art, but development and artistic research led me to abstraction. Even if I never rejected figurative art, I prioritized looking for the prominence of color.

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

I like different artists, Peter Zimmerman, Cruz Diez, Joseph Beuys, and some classics like Turner and TiZIANO. I also like music and literature.

How would you like people to engage with your work?

I want people to feel a relationship between print and memory. These are two of the points I mainly work on, and I like the viewer to catch this when looking at my piece immediately.

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

I am currently painting a lot while also working on objects and installations to strengthen contacts with galleries and art spaces. 

Follow Ronald on Instagram! 

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Otto Baum (b. 1979, East Berlin) studied textile and surface design at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee, and now lives and works in Berlin.

He is currently creating stunning videos of himself making murals, usually large format, geometric and monochromatic while testing his latest OttoTools. OttoTools are his investigation of trying out various everyday tools for large-format painting mediums. He usually uses wooden slats, a few brushes, and screws and combines them into a new painting tool.

 

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Hand lettering and abstract painting

Otto holds multiple accounts for his art practice, ranging from prints to objects to murals and letterforms. He calls a project of much of his hand lettering work “Wallphabets,” a hybrid of alphabets written directly onto walls. For him, it’s about the craft itself, the shape of the letters, and transferring them analogously to the wall, so he practices his skills with the brush to draw these beautiful writings by hand.

Baum is fascinated by simple forms, the feel, and the structure of materials such as wood and paper. He is interested in how unpredictable analog printing techniques such as linocuts or monotypes can be.

 

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KLUB7 Collective

Otto Baum has been part of the KLUB7 since 2004, an art collective of visual artists based in Berlin and Halle, Germany. Their focus is on producing large-format murals and site-specific performances in public spaces. As KLUB7, they have all gained excellent visibility and experience from different backgrounds in the arts over the years.

KLUB7 uses graphic, pictorial, abstract, and figurative works between fine and applied art. They have shown their work at international exhibitions and are involved in interdisciplinary projects. Through synthesizing their styles, they have developed a group style that is both playful and handcrafted. Go here to discover more. https://klub7.de/

Old Yellow Creative Studio

Defined as his ‘main job’ in his link bio on the Instagram profile, Otto is proudly part of a Berlin-based creative studio founded in 2014. Old Yellow works at the intersection between art and design for clients, agencies, architects, and interior designers to create inspirational objects or spaces. Old Yellow ranges from art consulting or small designs to extensive concepts comprising all kinds of artistic media. 

Go here to learn more. https://oldyellow.de/

Otto Baum NFTs on OpenSea

Discover Otto Baums’ recent NFT collection on OpenSea.

He says on his OpenSea profile page: 

My focus is on the analog process. This means producing specific sequences with a rigid drawing tool to create large-scale shapes and patterns that I can then adorn ornamentally. 

Go here to discover more. https://opensea.io/collection/ottobaum-collection

LINKS:

https://www.instagram.com/ottobaumart/

https://oldyellow.de/ – https://www.instagram.com/oldyellowberlin/

https://www.instagram.com/otto_baum/

https://www.instagram.com/ottobaumshop/

https://klub7.de/

https://artists.klub7.de/ottobaum/

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Amsterdam-based Marta Veludo (originally from Lisbon, Portugal) is an art director, graphic designer, and illustrator well-known for being inspired by pop culture and folk art. Her artworks have a significant influence from colors, movements, and compositions for both cultural and commercial fields, all in the wake of engaging experiences.

Marta can combine different disciplines and mediums, stretching from brand communication to visual identity and printed materials, all in a digital realm or on a three- dimensional scale. 

Veludo’s Motto: Fun and Play

Her motto is ‘fun and play’, as her first memories of creativity date back to when she was around five years old, in the era in which her fingers got dirty from painting and drawing with any possible color. She spent hours building up exhibitions in her grandmother’s kitchen.

After high school, she studied sculpture at The Fine Arts department of the Fine Arts Uni in Lisbon, to soon realize she wanted something more ‘visual.’ That’s how she started engaging with posters to end up with a BA in Graphic Design.

Then Veludo soon moved to Barcelona for an MA at Elisava, where she found her first work experience at No-Domain studio.

Veludo finally ended up in Amsterdam to work for Matte Studio, where she designed both cultural and retail fields. Soon she decided to bring this creative job and passion to the next level and launch a studio of her own. 

To view more of Marta’s work, go here.

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Moses Zibor was born in 1978 in Lagos and raised in the Ajegunle ghetto. His early life was filled with dreams of football stardom, but it was his innate talent for drawing that set him on a different path. Supported by his uncle, Zibor pursued an education in the arts at Yaba College of Technology, graduating in 2008. After years of refining his craft in Nigeria, he moved to Kazakhstan, where he continued to explore various creative avenues while teaching and working in other artistic roles.

In 2020, inspired by the global impact of the Black Lives Matter movement, Zibor returned to painting with renewed vigor, channeling his dreams and inner thoughts into a unique form of surrealism. His work, deeply influenced by his experiences in Nigeria and Kazakhstan, reflects a fusion of African spirituality and surrealistic elements.

Moses Zibor’s Exhibition at OOA Gallery

Barcelona– Spain – OOA Gallery is proud to present the solo exhibition “African Surrealism” by Nigerian-born artist Moses Zibor, running from September 12 to October 20, 2024. This exhibition marks a significant moment in Zibor’s artistic journey, showcasing his evolution from the slum of Lagos, Nigeria, to the international art stage.

Moses Zibor’s exhibition “African Surrealism” invites art lovers and collectors to explore the vibrant and imaginative world of an artist who has journeyed far but has always remained true to his roots.

Zibor’s dedication to his craft has garnered international recognition, with his works being featured at prestigious events such as VOLTA New York in 2023. His current exhibition at OOA Gallery offers a deep dive into his recent creations, including his self-portrait “Broken Egg, Rooster, and Goldfish” (2022), which symbolizes his rebirth as an artist, and the striking “A Woman and Her Lamp,” which represents guidance and creation.

The exhibition also features paintings that celebrate solidarity, transformation, and the artist’s perseverance in the face of adversity. Zibor’s journey from Lagos to Almaty is a testament to the power of creativity and the resilience of the human spirit.

In conjunction with the exhibition, OOA Gallery is hosting a contest where participants can win an original artwork by Moses Zibor. The contest will run from September 12 to October 20, with the winner announced on the final day of the exhibition.

Opening: Saturday September 14 at 7:30 with cava

Place: OOA GALLERY, Carrer Nou 1 – 08870 Sitges, Barcelona

Go here to visit Moses Zibor’s website >

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Monique Belier (1971) is a Dutch visual artist currently studying at the Fotoacademie in Amsterdam. 

Since 2017, she has been a dance teacher and choreographer and has run her studio for 17 years. But after experiencing burnout, she shifted to writing and photography as a creative outlet. She always loved writing and frequently dabbled in photography before pursuing it more seriously.

In 2018, Monique began studying at the Fotoacademie and published her first short story in a collection of stories. That same year, she decided not to return to her dance studio and instead focused on becoming a professional photographer. Drawing on her experience as a choreographer and dancer, Monique approaches photography to tell stories through raw emotions. She is particularly drawn to natural light and strives to capture the same storytelling aspect in her photography, seeking a balance between truth and aesthetics.

We had an exclusive interview with her!

Hello Monique! Let’s start from the basics. Where have you grown up, and how have you understood you wanted to become an artist?

I grew up in The Netherlands and decided to become an artist very early.

Please briefly describe your technique and tell us what drives you to make art.

I use a digital camera. I make art to express, to show what I have no words for. That can be an emotion but also a theme or a story.

What is the main feature that has changed in your work or practice?

I found out about my individuality. Hence, I am no longer just busy making something others think is beautiful.

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

Many artists inspire me. It also changed over the years. But photographers like Sally Mann, Raymond Meeks, and Alec Soth always inspire me. Also, dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch. The diaries of Nijinsky, music from Olafur Arnalds, and many more.

How would you like people to engage with your work?

I am in love with books, especially photo art books. I would love to exhibit or publish work related to the books I wish to create.

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

On May 24th, I look forward to graduating from my study at the Fotoacademie in Amsterdam. I am also part of the graduation exhibition with 31 other students from the 25th to May 28th. My first art photo book, ‘Where the Spirit meets the Bone’, will also be on show.

Follow Monique on Instagram on go to her website here >>>

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Agostino Iacurci (b.1986) is a contemporary visual artist working with painting, murals, sculpture, drawings, and then welcoming space through installations. Originally from Foggia (southern Italy), Agostino’s art practice began at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and then moved to various places, the last being Berlin for six years. Until 2022 he was in New York for a residency at ISCP (International Studio & Curatorial Program) in Brooklyn. 

Iacurci has worked extensively in the public art context making large murals, alternating them with more traditional studio practice, experimenting with various mediums, and collaborating with other professionals, artisans, and crafters.

Often driven by a site-specific attitude, Iacurci manages heterogeneous materials, constantly manipulating them. By doing this, he generates images in which he willingly recounts cultural history, emotional memories, literary references, and tales.

 

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Un post condiviso da Agostino Iacurci (@agostinoiacurci)

Exhibitions, Works, and Awards

Iacurci has shown his work in solo and group exhibitions, including; Of my abstract Gardening, Ex Elettrofonica, Rome (2022); Hortus, IIC, Prague (2022); Premio Termoli LXII, MACTE, Termoli (2021); Tracing Vitruvio, Musei Civici, Pesaro (2019); Talent Prize 2019, Mattatoio, Rome (2019); Gypsoteca, M77 Gallery, Milan (2018); Trompe-l’oeil, Celaya Brothers Gallery, Mexico City (2017); Urban Art Biennale, Völkinger Hütte, European Centre for Art and Industrial Culture (2017); Cross the streets, MACRO Museum, Rome (2017); 16° Premio Cairo, Palazzo della Permanente, Milan (2015). But sure enough, the highlight to his career are the monumental wall paintings and installations for public and private institutions he creates since 2009. Recent commissions include Ludwigs-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen (2021); Life is Beautiful, Las Vegas (2021); Principal Place, London (2020); Yakutsk Biennale, Yakutsk (2017); Distrito Tec University, Monterrey (2016); Govind Puri Metro Station, New Delhi (2016); Istituto Mario Penna, Belo Horizonte, Brazil (2014); Fubon Art Foundation, Taipei (2012).

He also participated in residency programs such as ISCP (International Studio & Curatorial Program), New York (2020-2022), and Plop x Cob Residency, London (2021), and has ultimately received The New York Prize, promoted by Mibac, MAE and Italian Academy-Columbia University (2020), and Cantica21, Italian Contemporary Art Everywhere Prize (2021). 

Last but not least, throughout his career, Iacurci has collaborated with international brands and publishers, including Apple, Adidas, Hermès, Herman Miller, La Repubblica, Penguin Books, Starbucks, and The New Yorker.

Follow Agostno Iacurci on Instagram or learn more on his website >

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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 >

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Heliconia Projects, a new art platform founded by Nicole Bainov and Elsa Maldonaldo-Buitron, has started promoting artists and bridging the Dominican Republic to the world of collectors, curators, and galleries.

Nominally, Heliconia Projects is an art platform, which is a blanket term, but adequate for characterizing Maldonaldo-Buitron and Bainov’s practice. The key to their policy is to remove sterile aspects of the art exhibition, replacing a typical gallery program with a series of crafted pop-up shows that connect carefully curated art with unique, atypical venues and their communities. It gives even more relevance to the presented artworks. “With the new ways that the contemporary world offers in terms of art presentation and getting new audiences, we prefer to act quickly, without necessarily minimizing ourselves or collaborating artists to just one formula,” Elsa Maldonaldo-Buitron explains.

A signature of the Heliconia Project is the ability to act with respect for art legacies and existing institutions while proposing a new, mindfully disruptive approach.

They named their platform after the flower Heliconia, which today is a typical Caribbean plant. Seven thousand years ago, however, it was a Greek flower named after Mount Helicon, the home of Apollo and the muses. According to Maldonaldo-Buitron, “On some level, the Heliconia Project is simply an emotional, passionate answer to art we fell in love with. Nicole and I are Venezuelan, and we were both raised in admiration for art. My family is directly connected to art collecting and I was fortunate to grow up with incredible kinetic and geometric art around.” Bainov adds, “Some of the early art presence in my life was Christo, who was Bulgarian and one of my aunt’s best friends. The first piece of artwork I owned was a gift from him, a very small drawing of Christo’s. Later, it led to working at institutions such as Saatchi Gallery, galleries as Simon Lee and Nicoletti Gallery.”

What also distinguishes Heliconia Projects among new art endeavors is a combination of their physical and digital presence. Aside from their carefully curated pop-up shows, Maldonaldo-Buitron and Bainov provide a lens for looking at the art world through social media. They report Latin and American art fairs, feature gallery shows in the region, and introduce artists. Knowledge is open and needs to be widespread. This is just an extension of their “let’s give the spotlight to the underrepresented” policy.

Working also as art advisors, they are used to monitoring the markets efficiently, fishing out myriads of interesting voices. Their digital snapshots are agile and quick, grasping the changing pulse of what is best and relevant. “We do our thing, freshly. We don’t want to compete with the establishment, Dominican maestros, or Dominican galleries. We choose our paths,” says Bainov.

“Our main goal is to get Dominican artists out of the region and give them the International representation. Then, to expand the local art scene by showing artists from outside the country.”

Maldonaldo-Buitron and Bainov plan to bring a foreign voice to the island, circling the topics of underrepresentation and minorities. Furthermore, they plan to show the Dominican artists at one of the worldwide art events.

About ‘Scenes and Revelations’ by Brittany Fanning

The first show, Brittany Fanning’s Scenes and Revelations, was presented in January 2024 in Casa de Campo.

The darkish space of a luxurious, cabaña-vibe room is opposed only by a couple of lights. It feels eerie and theatrical here, in the Casa de Campo Country Club, which has been transformed into an art venue for one night. It’s a truly perfect setting for the art of Brittany Fanning, an LA artist who specializes in mixing depictions of leisure with danger, lurking somewhere in the back of the image. Fanning’s impasto oil-on-canvas paintings bring to life a full menagerie: alligators, ocelots, pumas, and human figures that appear to be studiously ignoring the coming catastrophe. All of this is set in a resort-like architectural background that seems generic yet oddly familiar.  This is “Scenes and Revelations,” the first show of Heliconia Projects, a nomadic gallery that was launched in January 2024 by Nicole Bainov and Elsa Maldonaldo-Buitron in the heart of the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic. Bringing a new approach to the formula of an art show, introducing new artists to the region, and making the local art scene vibrant, relevant, and present, in the world–from the outset, Heliconia Projects makes a strong statement.

Heliconia Projects’ co-founder, Maldonaldo-Buitron, says that the goal is to present art in a different, non-ordinary way: “We operate on a base of dialogue with communities and existing cultural frameworks–mindfully, respectfully, and supportive of the Dominican Republic, where we live, but always delivering something fresh that has never been seen around here.”

Nicole Bainov, the other founder of Heliconia Projects, explains that the art of Brittany Fanning, an American artist from Florida who now lives in California, felt familiar and relatable to the Dominican audience. Moreover, it was a unique, first-hand introduction to the oeuvre of a celebrated artist just a couple of months before her London presentation.

“We are happy that we could launch our project with this show.” Bainov continues, “I do not hesitate to say that we are a voice of the underrepresented: we fill a certain gap, make room for the art that hasn’t been shown in the context we propose.”

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