“When you come in, I want you to be in a world — but it’s our world.”

“I appear defiant because I have something to rebel against, something to be resistant to. Every artist I admire has something to say, to instigate, a passion to ignite.” – Amanda Charchian

“I decided to try and get a closer look at sex trafficking and record what it means for the women to survive sexual slavery. I chose to have a glimpse of their souls — which at the time seemed very difficult to do… I wanted to look at their traces — at what women who had disappeared for years and who are believed to be trafficked and sexually enslaved leave behind.” - Dana Popa

“Time (and its physical/visual presence) is an ever-present concept in my work, as well as a large factor in crystal growth.”

“My intention is to reveal a spectacle of wood, water, light and atmosphere; to share my enthusiasm for these processes and patterns that overlay, harmonize and echo one another.”

“Every artist has the occasional fit over a project, reaching moments of doubtful frustration, but having the other near, offering words of encouragement and logic, can be even more fruitful.” – Shaun Kardinal

“With so much non-linear thinking going on these days, it is humbling to be reminded of the fact that there are still many things in life that are incredibly linear… We are born once and we die once. What happens in-between is totally variable.”

Stacey Page takes found photographs and adorns their subjects with elaborate thread headdresses and masks. Delving into notions of ego and avatar, Page creates a seamless melding of antiquated strangers and vague, archetypical monsters that stare out at the viewer with some understated promise of wisdom and secrecy.

“Love and light. Everything should be treated with the utmost respect and understanding.” - Arn Gyssels

“There are ongoing themes in my art that involve the clash of technology with the natural world as well as my own human guilt for being a part of that encroachment by default.”

“There’s something universal in expressions, but there’s something very much not universal in how we read them, in the way we empathize and connect with each other.”

“The training I received as as an illustrator emphasized the importance of aesthetic versatility. The way something is illustrated can have a big impact on the narrative. A lot of my technical work focuses on the tangibility of aesthetic.”

Dictators! Love them or hate them (philosophically-speaking), it’s hard to argue that a Communist aesthetic a la Mao Zedong or Joseph Stalin doesn’t have a compelling color palette and welcome vintage grain associated with it. Perhaps in spite of themselves — or perhaps not — illustrators and artists the world over are constantly reinventing these iconic images of humanity’s most well-known leaders; this feature explores why.

“I’m not trying to hold people’s hands. I’m not trying to make titles that go and tell you a specific way to look at the painting… That’s just the way I guess I am. I would never preach anything to anyone.”

“I was feeling a little lost and unsure about the future of my art career in Seattle, and I just wanted to make something fun that didn’t have anything to do with the contemporary art world.”

Netherlands-based photographer Jan Reurink can’t get enough of Tibet, and captures Tibetan landscape and everyday life with a dedicated selfless passion. In our brief Q&A with Reurink below, he tells us about the rainbow plethora of reasons he keeps returning to the sacred land.