May 2012 30

OSAILYS AVILA MILIAN

Posted In artists,Uncategorized

OSAILYS AVILA MILIAN

Works and lives in Cuba

Biography

Osailys (Osy) Avila Milian born 1992, lives and studies in Havana, Cuba. She graduated from the San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts and currently studies at the Institute of Art in Havana. She has participated in several solo and groups exhibitions in Cuba and abroad.

Artist statement

Osy is a young working and versatile artist. Her love for different techniques is shown in her works using usually acrylics as a medium. She also paints in larger formats which she thoroughly enjoys. She likes to experiment with different themes in her art, each new body of work introduces subjects that seem to differ radically from previous work. At the moment she is working on social themes focusing on the meaning of freedom to allow any human being to move without restriction from one place to another like birds. She explores those ideas in many ways sometimes metaphorically, trying to express general ideas of migration and adaptation, taking inspiration from street, fashion, nature and Pop Art. She creates new and modern symbols and manipulates them into a fragile and beautiful scene, often questions the correlation between new technology and normal displacement of the migratory birds. Her paintings remind us that life is fragile and constantly changing but also denounces the negativity and intolerance of our society as a state of decay or obsolescence, all such prohibitions and legal obstacles convert the beauty of freedom into inhospitable environment.

www.osymilian.com

May 2012 30

MAUREEN BACHAUS

Posted In artists

MAUREEN BACHAUS

Lives and works in Netherlands

Biography

Maureen Bachaus graduated at the College of Fine Arts Maastricht, Netherlands. She also completed the Conceptual Post-graduate course ‘Hallo’, Amsterdam. Bachaus lives and works in Maastricht, Netherlands, where she works in a studio located in a former school.

She is represented in the Netherlands since 2006 by Gallery Wansink, in Switzerland since 2011 by Gallery Daniel Tanner, and in Belgium since 2012 by Gallery S&H De Buck.

Artist Statement

Maureen Bachaus’ work consists primarily of assemblages, with the basis formed by photography. These assemblies are actually portraits of people, in which their feelings and thoughts have been a focal point.

A (often enlarged) photoprint acts as a background, with assembled elements which suggest a portion of the underlying story. These elements are sometimes objects with traces of human use or lines of texts that are in fact fragments of the peoples thoughts that reveal the essence of the mind at the time that the portrait was made. A frequently used material is rope, sometimes pierced rawly through the image. This rope, sometimes in a knot, sometimes with hanging parts, symbolizes the limitation or even captivity but also the freedom experienced by certain thoughts and feelings.

Another essential aspect of Maureen Bachaus’ work is the human psyche, the freedom of expression, the human identity.

Intense conversations with people become increasingly important as an input for her work, and have led to the ‘Identification project’ on which Bachaus currently works. Core questions of the ‘Identification project’ are: who are you, and how did you become the person that you are? Is your identity your own free choice or is this determined by your genes, your country, your religion, your family, or your government?

The identification project consists of photo-assemblages and an art-video project.

www.maureenbachaus.com

May 2012 30

AZADEH BAHROOZI

Posted In artists

AZADEH BAHROOZI

Lives and works in England

Biography

An Iranian born artist, Azadeh trained as an architect and worked in environmental and urban planning.

In her artistic career she has a particular interest in sculpture and related disciplines of life drawing and painting. Her main focus is on political and social art that is reflective of her principles in life and her upbringing in a human rights environment.

Azadeh utilizes her ability in art to reflect her beliefs and personal experiences and to explore her feelings about the social and political upheaval in the world.

In her work she assertively challenges injustices in society, expressing her hope and that of many others, for positive change.

Her art work makes references to her Middle Eastern heritage, including its architecture and the use of calligraphy, incorporating traditional colours and design into contemporary comment on human rights.

Artist statement

Coming of Age

This piece challenges a number of interconnecting issues that oppress women from childhood to adulthood.

It provokes discussion on traditions as well as issues relevant to contemporary Britain.

The hijab, used as a symbol of the ongoing oppression of women is highlighted by the covering of a young girl’s body, the loss of her individual identity, and subsequent subordinate position in life from an early age.

The reference to education raises issues currently impacting in European societies about the tolerance of the hijab in mainstream schools and the separate education of children in religious based schools. It also points to the reality within traditional societies where education of girls is not a right and is still much contested.

The artwork questions the liberal assumption of cultural tolerance instead of placing the issue as an infringement of a child’s, and a woman’s, human rights.

Overall it is a statement against the symbolic subordination of the status of young girls and the role of women in society and a call for a more just and secular society.

May 2012 30

ELIZA BENETT

Posted In artists

ELIZA BENETT

Lives and works in United Kingdom

Biography

Born in England 1980, Eliza now resides in London. In 1997-1999 she studied a B-Tec National Diploma in Fine Art at Stafford College, specializing in textiles. From this point all formal ‘art’ training ended, as she went on in 1999-2002 to study a B.A. Honors in Fashion Design and Illustration at Middlesex University. This was a course that placed emphasis on concept and the creation of these ideas. In choosing a course she was careful to select one that placed little emphasis on commercial fashion and marketing as she was excited by the sculptural and figurative elements in fashion design and knew early on that she had little desire to embrace the industry as part of her life. After graduating she focused on her artistic development, working freelance creating bespoke pieces to commission. She found a natural gravitation towards costume design and prop making, stemming from her interest in creating a visual narrative by working with concept, form and character. Over the last couple of years she has returned to producing her own artistic work. It continues to be her main drive and focus.

Artist statement

As a visual interpreter, Eliza employs a range of techniques such as sculpting, casting, sewing and carving and applies them to the expression of themes central to existence, such as the formation and disintegration of identity, and the complexity of communication. With her work she is looking to create an iconography of physical existence, concentrating on the wonder of the lived moment, lifting the ‘intentional’ body to a state of reverence and worship. She expresses emotional experience in the form of tactile and animate sensations. Sometimes resulting in fixed sculpture, other times in photography, installation and film.

Pleading Affluenza can be viewed as an offering which provokes contemplation about physicality and the human capacity to perceive and act. The pleading hands are deep buttoned, referencing the style that was characteristically applied to inanimate furnishings of the Victorian bourgeoisie, and encased in an attempt to lift them out of their natural environment. The artist refers to the old and familiar styles of this era of artifice, by way of representing the body as a slightly ridiculous collection of ornamental parts, subject to the same alienating status of inert, lifeless objects.

“Acquisitiveness, riches and idleness had finally trapped her. Commodification of self had been her ultimate sacrifice. She placed herself and her acquisition on show, she stopped moving forwards, her life became still… She could no longer dwell in that soft well upholstered cell.”

 

May 2012 30

GARY BETTS

Posted In Uncategorized

GARY BETTS

Lives and works in United Kingdom

Biography

Gary Betts was born in London’s East End. He grew up in a working class environment that was tough and as far away from art as was possible.

He turned his back on the expected path of East End working life, enrolling at art school, where his individual anatomical style was instantly recognized and encouraged by an enthusiastic tutor.

After leaving art school, he got involved in the commercial world in a creative capacity, but after 25 years decided it was time to get back to his real passion and focus his creative energies in a more personal and fulfilling way through sculpture.

For the last few years he has concentrated solely on his ceramic figures and his one man show in Cork Street earlier this year lead to gallery representation in London, Kent and Bristol.

This year has also seen an exhibit at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the Religionis Violenta exhibition.  He has recently been made a member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and the Society of Designer Craftsmen.

Artist statement

Gary Betts’ younger brother was born with a pigeon chest.  This deformity fascinated Betts and he secretly drew his brother whenever he could.  He has been magnetized by the human form ever since.

Betts has been exploring and developing his figurative art, but he has always been interested in the idea as well as the image, searching out the subtext that lies behind the textures, patterns and shapes.  He investigates form, conveying his personal insights, giving the raw material a voice that is alive.  His work is often described as enigmatic, sometimes unsettling and yet there is a gentle sensitivity about his figures that cries out to be heard.