#hi-fructose magazine

Rob Voerman’s massive installations and sculptures examine issues of wealth, climate change, and poverty—and where our current behaviors may take us. Projects like “The Exchange” posit that the only way to save natural resources is to tether it to currency. See more here.

Mari Katayama’s photography uses her own body as one of her materials. Born with a rare congenital disorder, the artist had her legs amputated as a child, and at times, her sculptural work emulates the features of her body that the condition caused. The resulting images explore identity, anxiety, and other topics. See more here.

Tattoo artist, painter, and sculptor Fred Laverne has a dark surrealist sensibility, blending in odes to pop culture and pulp tropes into his work. See more here.

TELMO MIEL, the artist duo consisting of Telmo Pieper and Miel Krutzmann, brings their surreal, distinct collaborative work to Thinkspace Projects with a new show. See more here.

Reza Bahmani’s oil paintings, a visceral sense of distinctive texture and scale, are accompanied by a musical score in his recent body of work. See more on HiFructose.com.

Luca Ledda’s surreal works deal with both our conception of the world and our consumption of its resources. See more here.

Shozy’s illusionary murals include this work, which uses reflective chrome paint that will change hues with the sky of the day. See more here.

With “Scatter My Ashes on Foreign Lands,” Amir H. Fallah’s largest solo museum exhibition is currently on display at MOCA Tucson. Exploring identity and the immigrant experience, his vibrant portraits of veiled subjects, botanical paintings examining classical Dutch work, and a new series of autobiographical pieces are included in the exhibition. See more here.

With Leon Keer’s recent output, the painter continues to craft illusionary gallery work, murals, and installations that play with depth and nostalgia. See more here.

Unit London is hosting a retrospective and memorial show to honor the late Tom French, the brilliant young painter who lost his battle with cancer on Christmas Day 2019. See more on HiFructose.com.

The illustrations and personal work of artist Jay Torres have a dark surrealist edge. See more on HiFructose.com.

Photographer Jan Hoek collaborated with Ugandan-Kenyan fashion designer Bobbin Case on a project focused on the Boda Boda motor taxis roaming Nairobi. As the drivers crafted vibrant and accessorized bikes to stand out each other, the pair worked with a set of them to create attire to match. The result is the photo series “Boda Boda Madness.” See more here.

Vivian Greven’s oil and acrylic paintings, bridging Greco-Roman art and a contemporary sense of depth and space, are studies of intimacy. See more here.

In John Jacobsmeyer’s parallel reality, pop culture and art history collide with the backdrops of his suburban youth. In his third solo show at Gallery Poulsen, titled “Locus Colossus,” he offers new paintings and linocuts. See more on HiFructose.com.

With “Kurobōzu/Dark Stranger,” artist Nicola Roos depicts the real-life figure of Yasuke, “the only Black Samurai in Feudal Japan.” Using recycled tire tubes, textiles, and other materials, the artist crafts four different representations of the historical figure for the show at Ever Gold Projects in San Francisco, running through Feb. 29. See more here.

A writhing amalgamation of architectural forms is currently inhabiting Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s 18th-century Chapel. The installation, from artist Saad Qureshi, is titled “Something About Paradise” and explores what the idea of “paradise” means to people of differing backgrounds. See more here.

Carrying a mystical undercurrent, Chie Shimizu’s sculptures are rooted in an exploration of “the significance of human existence.” See more here.

The middle-aged figures inhabiting Madeleine Pfull’s paintings are extracted from 1980s suburbia. The Australian artist has said that “beautifully painting mundane heroism is a large aspect of my work.” See more here.

Lisa Lach-Neilson’s vulnerable oil paintings often examine identity. See more here.

Oscar Oiwa brings his immersie mural work to USC Pacific Asia Museum with the new installation “Dreams of a Sleeping World.” The artist describes this new work as a “360° dreamscape,” created over two weeks and handrawn with 120 Sharpie markers. See more here.

The mixed-media assemblages of Christopher Bales come to La Luz De Jesus Gallery for a new show next month. Read more about “Death, Renewal, and the Second Enlightenment" here.

Painter Maha Ahmed’s creature-filled paintings are inspired by traditional Persian and Japanese techniques and sensibilities. See more here.

In the past, Wayne White injected his anachronistic phrases into existing, vintage lithographs. In White’s new show at Joshua Liner Gallery, titled “I DON’T KNOW,” the artist reacted to the shortage of these types of backdrops by creating his own in this set of paintings. See more here.

Jessica Stoller’s porcelain sculptures both examine art-historical notions of the material and how the female body has been depicted. Her current show at PPOW Gallery in New York City, titled “Spread,” offers new pieces from the artist. The show runs through Feb. 15 at the space. See more here.

Gary Stranger is known for typographic art that, as a surprise to many viewers, is executed free-hand. See more here.

The solitary figurative sculptures of Frode Bolhuis are untethered to any one specific culture or frame of mind, existing at the convergence of generations and experiences. See more here.

Rachael Pease’s lush drawings, crafted in India ink on frosted mylar, create mystical settings from trees and plantlife observed in reality. See more here.

Henry Gunderson’s solo show at Derek Eller Gallery, titled “It’s a Great Time to be Alive,” explores how an “image-saturated culture” is deeply embedding itself into our psyches. See more here.

For its “15 Years of Thinkspace” show, Thinkspace Projects asked more than 70 artists to craft works on 15″x15″ panels, including Sandra Chevrier (shown). See more works from the show here.

Artfucker’s recent body of work, displayed in the exhibition “Smoke Show,” meditates on just how accustomed viewers are to the omnipresence of marketing efforts. See more on HiFructose.com.

In Chris Austin’s surreal paintings, the overlooked giants of the ocean make their way across landscapes and suburban settings. See more here.

In the hands of KT Beans, a seashell takes on unsettling qualities. See more of her sculptures here.

In his current show at Copro Gallery, Allen Williams offers haunting visions in the form of new paintings and drawings. See more here.

Hideyuki Katsumata’s wild paintings and drawings blend centuries of Japanese motifs, pop elements, and more otherworldly elements. See more here.

Vaughan Oliver, the artist behind so many memorable LP covers from 4AD, has died at 62. Bands in his body of work include The Breeders, Pixies, Scott Walker, TV on the Radio, Lush, Cocteau Twins, Modern English, The Mountain Goats, and several others. See more here.

Masayoshi Hanawa’s intricate ceramic and resin creatures are pulled from the artist’s internal mythology. See more here.

Teiji Hayama’s oil paintings, often depicting the celebrities of yesterday, meditate on the idea of celebrity and how it’s evolved in the digital age. In his new show at Unit London, titled “Fame,” the artist offers 17 paintings that feature the likes of Monroe, Taylor, and Bowie. See more here.

Troy Lovegates may be known for high-profile work like murals and gallery installations, but the artist’s most absorbing work also comes in his strange, surreal figures. See more on HiFructose.com.