It is tough not to stare at Susy Oliveira’s clunky, 1980s-video-gamish polygon sculptures. Of course, sculpture is created for gawking, so clearly Oliveira has reached at least one of her goals with these large-scale pieces made of color photographic prints (c-prints) on archival card and wrapped onto foam core. Clockwise, these pieces are called Bird on a Log, The Living Boy, Time Is Never Wasted, and The Girl and the Bear. In her description of her 2008 solo show at Toronto’s Peak gallery, Oliveira wrote about examining “our preoccupation with replacing nature with fabricated versions of itself.” Fittingly, she adds that these sculptures express an “opposition between the round aspects of sculpture and the flat aspects of photography, much like bringing a virtual model into a real space.” Oliveira is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design (2000) and the University of Waterloo (2006). - Tuija Seipell

New York artist Tara Donovan is a master of seeing. Not just looking, but actually seeing. Her sculptural, one-of-a-kind art is based on her ability to see, imagine and create forms, shapes and textures from ordinary objects that most of us don't even notice. She creates art from rolls of tape, pieces of pencil, Styrofoam cups, paper plates, napkins. Her sculptural works evoke thoughts of nature. A perfect example is the 'Untitled' cloud formation she created in 2003 from Styrofoam cups and glue.

The 38-year-old Donovan has recently accomplished several things many artists never achieve. This September, the first monograph of her work was published by visual book press, Monacelli Press (now owned by Random House). A couple of weeks later, on October 10, a traveling retrospective of her work opened at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.

But perhaps the biggest deal is the extra half-a-million dollars that she will have to work with in the next few years. In late September, she received a phone call from the John D. and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation. She was informed that she had been made a Fellow of the Foundation and that she will receive a $500,000 MacArthur Foundation 'genius' grant. It is a no-strings-attached support of her work over five years. She was selected as one of 25 recipients in 2008. Others include a physician, an astrophysicist, a violinist, a computer scientist and representatives of many other endeavours who were selected for their creativity, originality and potential to make important contributions in the future. - Tuija Seipell

The name Gary Fernandez has started to appear often enough to warrant a closer look. Fernandez is a freelance illustrator and graphic artist based in Madrid, Spain, and currently living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His client list is impressive, ranging from advertising heavies DDB, McCann Erickson, JWT and Grey to superbrands such as Coca Cola, Nokia and Camel. His illustrations have appeared in numerous magazines and books.


 
Fernandez's intricate, retro-esque illustrations marry a liquid stroke with a rigid tension, which in turn projects an underlying seething mood and latent danger. For some reason, I'm thinking Dadaism and Salvador Dali mixed with the sixties London vibes and New York's retro fashion illustrations. At the same time, some of his work is almost whimsical and merry; evoking images from Cirque du Soleil and old European circus posters. Whatever you see, you are irresistibly drawn into his world.


 
A fantastic recent example is his elaborate illustration book titled Introduction to Fantastic Girls, Future Landscapes & the Most Beautiful Birds Ever Seen, available -- possibly -- on his site in limited quantities.

 
Gary Fernandez is also the founder and creative lead of the T-shirt brand VelvetBanana. The name VelvetBanana draws its parts from The Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol banana cover for their first album The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967).


 
Fernandez started VelvetBanana in 2005 with the goal of redefining the "Art Rock T-shirt" by producing thematic collections. The themes capture certain moods, songs or bands. The latest, Collection #3, is described as having electrifying, abrasive, furious and hypnotic graphics full of energy, although the photo book of the collection appears indoorsy and tame, with clean yet fashionably brooding models photographed against a pristine white background.- Tuija Seipell
 

 

Originality is rare these days in the art world but we're pleased to report that we've stumbled upon an artist whose work is both innovative and modern. Matt Bilfield, California based artist, won us over with this incredible three-dimensional piece 'Peggy', a brilliant and ambitious interpretation of a painting by famous artist, Roy Lichtenstein. The mammoth work  - its seven feet wide and three feet tall - is comprised of 2788 hand cut, sanded, and painted dowels that where then assembled together to recreate Lichtensteins image. The result is a cross between a graphic art image, sculpture, and installation which offers the viewer a different experience from every angle. By Bill T
 

Sydney-based artist, Brian Walker's credits his desire to fuse seamlessly fashion, illustration and the element of surprise, as the driving creative force behind his artworks.



In a time where the line between hyper-realities and reality is becoming finer, the Sydney artists work speaks a relative language. The digital artist is inspired by surreal landscapes, the evolution of fashion, and changing popular culture. Walker takes these inspirations genres and merges them with his concept of 'using photography as a tool to represent the ideas of the impossible'.



Noting David La Chapelle as a major influence, Walker strives to create a hyper real visual language that at first glance appears real, and at second, evolves into the surreal . More of the Sydney artists work can be seen at lickthesun.com By Andy G

Queensland based artist, Donna Marcus, is well known for her fetish of using kitchenware and aluminum products to create her impressive sculptures. Marcus was one of three artists who answered a call for entries to exhibit work in the main piazza of Brisbane Square. Her project STEAM, consisted of 15 geodesic spheres ranging in size from 1.3m to 2.6m in diameter.

The spheres were created from 7000 steamer pieces welded together as well as 780 plates bolted together. Inspired by the concept of random disbursement, Marcus has placed the works in a variety of locations throughout the space in an almost haphazard manner. Her experiment in deciding where the pieces would lie, began with her creating a scaled down model version of the work and throwing them across the piazza floor like marbles. The point at which they landed resulted in the artworks final destination. by Andy G

The V&A museum in London has a display of a new interactive audio-visual installation in the John Madejski Garden. Volume is made of a series of vertical light columns and will respond to visitors' movements, triggering a display of light and sound.

The collaboration is between lighting designers United Visual Artists (UVA) and Robert Del Naja (aka 3D) of Massive Attack and his long-term co-writer Neil Davidge (as part of their music production company, one point six). The installation is part of the Playstation Season, a series of contemporary, interactive events at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts, The English National Opera, Sadler's Wells, The British Film Institute and the V&A.  

Times: Daily, 10am -5.45pm. Late night opening until 10pm on Wednesdays in 2006 and Fridays in 2007.

Prices: Free Nearest Tube station: South Kensington