The November Selection: 3 Artists We Love
DANA-MARIE BULLOCK
Born in 1989, Jamaican-born abstract painter Dana-Marie Bullock has resided since 2016 in New York City, which serves as her artistic base. Shaped by her fulfilling, yet often raw, experiences as a social worker in Jamaica, Bullock’s art is rooted in autobiography, social injustice and unconstrained imagination. Her abstract, larger-scale paintings leverage multiple media and comprise an interpretive blend of blurred scribbles and amorphous forms overlaid with a broad array of bold colors and textures. Her paintings represent a modern take on art that explores a myriad of emotions, and targets societal issues such as racial and gender inequality – subjects that society tends to shy away from.
“I am currently being featured in Christie's Global Pop-Up Exhibition, which aims to raise money to support the Friedman Brain Institute at Mount Sinai – a meaningful endeavor that fills me with great pride. Looking ahead, I will be collaborating with Chashama on a Lobby exhibition in NYC's Midtown. In addition, I am considering an offer from an art gallery in NYC for a solo debut.
Ultimately, my goal is to establish myself as a trailblazing black female abstract artist who will not only keep society focused on systemic inequalities, but also inspire young black aspiring artists to embrace abstract art. In the more immediate term, I look forward to forging a long-term relationship with an art gallery that shares the same artistic and societal goals, while continuing to hone my artistic skills and evolve as an artist.”
JADE FENU
“I came from an artistic family, growing up in a Parisian apartment that was eighty percent painting studio with only minor space on the edges for sleeping and eating. Creative expression has been a constant in my life as I moved through music, writing and visual arts in my early years until I eventually settled into painting full time. Maybe somewhat ironic, rather than getting easier, concentrating on painting left me with more questions than answers, more styles, techniques, objectives and desires to explore, to reject and overcome. In my evolution, I am less concerned with mastery and capturing perfection than confronting the canvas and my feelings of the moment with honesty regardless of where it leads. My process is always refining color and form to make it inseparable from the action of painting as opposed to replicating something defined by my head. Painting is energy and gesture, a visual dance, not a frozen finished product. Within the act of painting, order and discord coexist inside harmonies, anticipations and potentials lay intact incomplete while the field of what is shown develops in partnership and battle with that which remains unseen. Elements push and pull one another, layers are revealed and obscured creating an aggregate surface of motion, depth and space. Just as mysteriously, the act and observation of painting produces associative emotions and perspectives: fear, hope, excitement, peace, longing, pleasures and connections. Sometimes without intention, beauty embraces all of it. Just as shows in Italy, Portugal, England, France and the United States have reflected specific times and situations, it’s my deepest desire that my new exhibit at Valérie Eymeric Gallery in Lyon incorporates all my past travels to build authentic views wholly unique to this current moment.”
MIKI LOWE
Miki Lowe is an Anglo-Japanese artist educated in France, with a history of working in the arts, musical, literature and cultural industry. Formed as an illustrator, her portfolio demonstrates an interdisciplinary practice between designer and artist. Mixing techniques such as drawing, painting, digital manipulations, she creates sensitive images juxtaposing the real world with symbols and abstractions. Nomad at heart, she draws a lot of her inspiration and desire to experiment from her travels, living in different places, and her curiosity of other places and cultures. She has been published internationally in magazines, children's books, events and cultural venues, while exhibiting in London, Madrid and Paris.
“I am mostly doing illustration and design work at the moment - which I enjoy, as each brief is a different challenge that comes with it’s own world, and I end up coming into contact with a lot of interesting and unexpected subject matters. Currently, one of my jobs is illustrating a series of monthly poems for the Atlantic Magazine. I’m not one to project myself into the years ahead with a very precise vision, but I know I want to keep on broadening my range of projects, try new things- a collaboration in fashion/textile design, for instance. Thinking of a more long term goal, I want to take a step back from the fine arts side, and focus on developing, and integrating more graphic design in my practice - a field that has always fascinated me. There is something very beautiful and satisfying about the form of something following its function.“
