Last updated on September 9th, 2024 at 03:34 pm
These six contemporary artists are breaking new ground in the realm of classic art genres and igniting discussions with their works that are both original and thought-provoking. Their works, which range from synthetic landscapes to hyper-realistic installations, are able to challenge perceptions, evoke emotions, and leave an indelible mark on the world of art.
1. FVCKRENDER
FVCKRENDER, alias Frédéric Duquette, a Montreal-based artist, pushes the frontiers of imagination and technology with his ambitious experience artwork. His distinct and futuristic style is simultaneously mechanical and strangely human, infused with real emotion. FVCKRENDER’s work uses the creative process as a method of self-therapy, illuminating and ultimately overcoming previous pain. FVCKRENDER’s vivid and detailed art aims to challenge preconceptions, stimulate intellect, and inspire emotion. Whether he’s delving into the complexities of the human mind or creating imaginative realms beyond the bounds of reality, his work serves as a catalyst for reflection and amazement. He infuses all of his works with a stunning vulnerability while still including a crucial element of humour. FVCKRENDER bridges the distinction between digital and physical places, elevating and honouring both. From his IRL LVCIDIA premiere in New York City, which was shut down owing to large audiences eager to witness creative development, to his cooperation with Avant Arte, his work appeals to individuals beyond the traditional collector.
FVCKRENDER’s effect goes well beyond the digital canvas. With a strong social media presence and a devoted collector base, he continues to inspire and encourage budding artists all over the globe. His art has been shown at prestigious auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The recent success of his FVCK_CRYSTAL project has resulted in millions in income. Notable customers include Ledger, Supreme, Hypebeast, The Weeknd, The Hundreds, Swarovski, Dior, Avant Arte, Spotify, and TIME.
2. Cj Hendry
A New York-based artist originally from Brisbane, Australia, Cj Hendry’s preoccupation with current material culture inspires large-scale, hyper-photorealistic drawings. Cj Hendry’s exhibitions are not meant to be passively watched, but rather actively experienced via engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking displays. For her installation monotone, Hendry and her crew created a full multi-room “home” within a warehouse, with each room painted monotone from floor to ceiling and everything in between. Guests had to navigate a massive bouncy house labyrinth to see Rorschach’s amazing series. From Miami to Melbourne, each Cj Hendry display attracts large audiences, with spectators standing in line for several hours – and everyone departs feeling more enlightened than when they entered. With her famous clientele and numerous pieces in private collections, Hendry’s waitlist has grown to over 3,000 collectors, with some waiting up to five years for a piece.
On December 6, 2023, Hendry launched her first public art piece, HOOPS Tree, in the Wynwood district of Miami, a fitting match for the Magic City and its passion of basketball. After a year of collaboration with Miami, HOOPS Tree rises at 20 feet tall with 34 chandelier-like hoops. For this particular piece, Hendry explained”It’s been a focus to try my hand at public art. I enjoy the intimacy of my drawing practice but there is a part of me which gets frustrated because I want to make larger works. I have been building multi-faceted large scale exhibitions for quite some time but the downside to building a temporary exhibition is that it’s only temporary. This HOOPS concept is my first foray into a permanent public concept. I am so fortunate to be partnering with the Miami City council in such a big capacity. They took a risk on me and I am very grateful for the opportunity. Designing HOOPS Tree has been interesting because its scale is enormous and it’s so much heavier than I anticipated. The engineering team helped with the specs to make it safe and sturdy. All these components make for a fascinating combination of practicality and creativity. Having an artwork that will live on in a public space indefinitely is a real honor and I am so excited to see it come to life.”
3. Mary Lai
Mary Lai is a diverse Korean-American artist living in Los Angeles, California. Her belief that “art is a universal language that can speak to anyone” is evident in her vivid modern artwork, which attempts to elevate and elicit emotion. Her work encompasses paintings, mixed media art, computer art, large-scale murals, and sculptures. She holds a B.F.A. in Graphic Design and, previous to her visual art career, spent over a decade in New York designing fashion accessories, including an award-winning eponymous handbag brand. With over 20 years of art and creative expertise, Lai has collaborated with a number of well-known businesses, including HBO Max, Vayner, St. Jude, the Wahlbergs, American Express, SXSW, BAM, Snapchat, and others. She has shown at the world’s major art fairs and galleries, and she is still researching what it means to make and curate meaningful work.
Always a dreamer. LA-based Mary Lai has achieved her creative destiny by following her heart and gut instincts, with a dash of serendipity. Mary is a diverse and perceptive artist who has achieved significant success in a variety of genres such as painting, sculpture, fashion, murals, and graphic design. Her style is colourful, whimsical, and sometimes translates pop icons in comical contexts. She wants to elevate and elicit a good emotional connection with her audience. Her recent exhibition Synchronicity, held at the Art Room in downtown Los Angeles, honoured more than 25 pieces of Mary’s work. The exhibit idea was based on a situation in which two apparently unconnected occurrences become entangled. For Mary, this show was a visual embodiment of this entanglement, and, as she describes, “meaningful coincidences seem to happen when preparation and hard work meets opportunity, validating my artistic journey.”
4. Dan Lam
Dan Lam is an artist from Texas, US, known and admired worldwide as a notable modern artist and social media influencer. In her sculptures, Lam uses unusual materials, organic shapes, and bright colours to express and play with strong contrasts. Lam’s art makes people think about life and meaning by using themes that are both beautiful and gross at the same time. It makes people feel both familiar and amazed.
What makes Lam’s work possible are curiosity, play, and having fun. She tries new things and creates beautiful works with foams, polyurethanes, resins, acrylics, and plastics, among other things. This is what describes her style. Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, The Game, and Lily Aldridge are famous people who bought her work. Some well-known art buyers, like the Tisch family, have bought her work. Lam has also worked with notable companies like Facebook and Virgin and well-known art artists like Meow Wolf.
The textures and colours in Dan Lam’s solo show ‘Guttation’ at New York’s Hashimoto Contemporary in December 2023 may have been visually hard for some, but that was the idea. This new collection of alien-like sculptures was inspired by a weird but important purging process for vascular plants and fungi known as “guttation,” in which plants expel excess nutrients from their systems. The Dallas-based artist investigated the tension between want and repulsion by suspending the appealing and repulsive parts of natural oozing, seeping, weeping, and gushing via her chaotically controlled studio method. Lam explored guttation via nearly sixty pieces of varying proportions, arguing that something essential may be repulsive; something terrible may be beautiful.
5. Greg Mike
Greg Mike is a modern artist known for his unique characters, loud street art, wall paints, and Loudmouf Icon, which combines pop culture with bright designs. His famous figures are full of life and movement, making people feel nostalgic and happy. He has painted murals in the Swiss Alps, Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Gallery and museum shows all over the world. Nike, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Google, Spotify, BMW, and the Atlanta Braves. DeadMau5, NGHTMRE, and Big Gigantic are some of his partners. Greg Mike’s work has also been bought by Nina Dobrev, Justin Bieber, Diplo, Scooter Braun, and Swizz Beats.
A serial art entrepreneur, Mike started and is the creative director of ABV AGENCY, a creative company that works on many platforms and does graphic design, street art, public art, custom painting projects, art direction, and more. He is currently based in Atlanta. Greg Mike also opened and did the programming for ABV GALLERY, a modern art gallery in the middle of Atlanta’s Old 4th Ward neighbourhood. The ABV Gallery shows work by more than 500 artists from around the world, with a focus on the New Contemporary style. The gallery shows both new and known artists. Since it opened in 2010, ABV Gallery has been an important part of Atlanta’s growing art scene, showing works that both challenge and excite people. Greg Mike started the OuterSpace Project in 2015. The event series combines public art, live music, design, action sports, and culture. The project has created more than 100 paintings all over the city of Atlanta.
6. Ivan Toth Depeña
Ivan Toth Depeña is a Hispanic-American artist located in Charlotte, NC. His creative creation is impacted by his art, architecture, technology, and design expertise, and spans several mediums. Depeña’s studio practice is rigorous and self-directed, with a growing focus on public art. He has had several solo and group shows, both nationally and internationally, including at the McColl Centre in North Carolina, Praxis NY in New York City, the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut, the Miami Art Museum, the Frost Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami. Depeña has recently completed major public commissions in New York, Denver, Albuquerque, Gainesville, and Miami, FL. His work is included in a number of public and private collections.
Depeña’s newest release is Photon/s, a public art piece in downtown Charlotte, NC. Duke Energy, a Charlotte-based energy holding corporation, commissioned Photon/s for their new headquarters to represent their contributions to the city’s electric culture. Inspired by the microscopic elementary particle it’s named after, Depeña created Photon/s to encapsulate the dynamism and ethereal beauty of light particles through its groundbreaking sculptural form and pays homage to the essence of light and energy.
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