Abstract painter and educator James Jankowiak has impacted Chicago’s artistic community for almost thirty years. James grew up on the south side of Chicago, and knew he was an artist as a wide-eyed three-year-old. Once ...
Artist Profiles
Discover exciting Artists + Learn About Their Work
Figure Painter Jackie Nagel Explores the Painful Process of Growth
A 2011 study on creativity reveals that “the creative process is characterized by flashes of insight that arise from unconscious reservoirs of the mind and brain.” California-based artist Jackie Nagel tunes into these flashes of ...
Desert Kitsch: Fiber Artist Becca Van K Creates Comfort in Wild Spaces
“[I’d] only leave New York if there were techno clubs in the desert,” says fiber artist Becca Van K, whose practice is based upstate in the idyllic Catskill Mountains. Becca’s needlepoint landscapes, snuggled next to ...
Sherry Karver’s Pixelated Photographs Reveal a Glitch in the System
Technical difficulties, please stand by. Sherry Karver waits, camera-ready, for a glitch in the system. In her series of unaltered photographs, Movement Interrupted, the multidisciplinary artist snaps pictures of a pixelated television screen, the ghost ...
Alexandra N Sherman Recasts Women in the Role of Death
“Things That Should Be Left Unsaid,” reads a questionable subheading in an 1894 women’s magazine. Pasted onto the background of Alexandra N Sherman’s collage, the phrase now includes a welcome correction, plopped rudely right in ...
Best of 2022: Our Favorite Moments From the NOT REAL ART Podcast
We know it’s a tad early for a “best-of” list, but since September is International Podcast Month, we couldn’t resist the chance to look back on our favorite episodes from the last year. Below, you’ll ...
‘A Multitude of Voices’: Chilean Artist Manuela Viera-Gallo Wants Women to be Heard
Chilean artist Manuela Viera-Gallo’s life started in political unrest. Her father, a Chilean politician, was forced into exile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Her parents, exiled in Rome, welcomed Manuela to the world in ...
Ben Frost Ties Hyper-Consumerism to Addiction
Golden arches on a field of blazing scarlet? That’s McDonald’s. Instantly recognizable worldwide, the brand’s iconography serves as a backdrop for Ben Frost’s sculptural pop art mash-ups. Subverting messages from mainstream media, the artist’s acerbic ...
Messy Desk’s ‘Cloudy Wonderland’ is a Joyful Romp Through the Painter’s Wildest Daydreams
“When I daydream, I look into the blue sky or the starry night,” says Hong Kong-based artist Messy Desk, aka Jane Lee. This month the internationally acclaimed painter debuts Messy Desk in the Cloudy Wonderland, ...
The Art of Hunger: ‘Food & Drink Logos’ Makes the Perfect Kitchen Companion
When you see McDonald’s golden arches, you think Big Mac, french fries, and a Coke. Food and drink logos occupy a special place in graphic design, doing double duty by appealing to consumers’ eyes, as ...
‘We’ve Been Trying to Prove Our Humanity For Years’: Julio Salgado Illustrates His Life as an American Dreamer
Every two years, hundreds of thousands of people who came to the United States as children—often referred to as “Dreamers”—complete and sign a series of inscrutable documents with hope their case will be heard. Under ...
Ryan Sarah Murphy Finds Stable Ground in Untethered Places
You can either add or subtract. Become a knife-wielding Emily Dickinson or a freewheeling hyphenator like Walt Whitman. Mixed-media artist Ryan Sarah Murphy does both. Using a combination of found cardboard, hardback book covers, and ...
Ethereal Glass Works From Korean American Artist Eunsuh Choi
Glass artist Eunsuh Choi creates flame-worked sculptures that narrate her journey to the United States. After earning a masters in fine art from Kookmin University in South Korea, Eunsuh earned a second MFA at the ...
Drool Over Abbi Kenny’s Mouth-Watering Market Spreads
Devoted foodie Abbi Kenny schleps her trusty Nikon SLR into packed public markets in search of marbled ribeye cuts, raw oysters, and fresh fish. Using her photographs as reference material, the emerging painter guides viewers ...
Nostalgic for the ‘90s? Alex Coronel Creates a Pop-Culture ‘Cluster-Fuck’
“Mmm, good Squishee.” Fans of The Simpsons’ canonical years (seasons two through eight—fight us) will instantly recognize Springfield’s off-brand Slurpee in Alex Coronel’s chaotic work. Brimming with yellow limbs and Hello Kitty cartoons, Alex’s mixed-media ...