Wicked Halo

Marco Mazzoni

Wicked Halo — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:48:51 +0000

Marco Mazzoni’s work revolves around an eclectic mix of mystical Italian folklore, medicinal flora, symbolic fauna and delicate femininity that end up creating a set of women who seduce, bewitch, curse and cure.

His work is an homage to the hidden craft and history of healing women and every drawing is infused with metaphors that tell their story. From flora and foliage that is either curative or hypnotic, butterflies and birds that drink the energizing and nourishing nectar to the circular compositions alluding to the cyclical nature of life and finally the semi-hidden, faces hinting at the enforced obscurity of women, obliged by prevailing religious beliefs to conceal their knowledge, power and practice.

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Edith LeBeau

Wicked Halo — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:15:23 +0000

A Canadian native, Edith Lebeau was the product of a creative environment as both her parents are also artists. Her artistic development was influenced by a fascination with popular culture, Greek, Roman, and Celtic mythology, movies and fairytales. These influences continue to be seen in her work today. Lebeau mostly paints female figures, portraying them as superheroes, villains, goddesses, and nymphs.
The women she paints have a strong look and even if they sometimes don’t seem to know what is going on, there is a strong energy that comes from them. “The look is the most important thing in my work; it’s the way the character tells the story to the viewer…” Edith paints these women and makes them tell their own story through their expression and the emotion they exude. The story is often blurred to encourage the audience to make it their own. “I like to look at my paintings and not get everything at once. I let the character question me… ”

You can see more of her work all over: official site, facebook, tumblr, twitter and an interview with her here.

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Painted Lady

Wicked Halo — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:43:49 +0000

The line between art and beauty has blurred this season.

Thanks to mag Stylist, Illamasqua’s creative director Alex Box, with the help of photogapher Malcom Pate and beauty director Joanna McGarry, takes us on a journey through her favourite art movements told via make-up, in homage to the catwalk’s art inspired approach to make-up.

Cubism
Spearheaded by Pablo Picasso, cubism reigned in the early 20th century. Subjects were deconstructed and reconstructed from a multitude of angles. Box’s take on the movement uses, “distorted perspectives and layers to create a geometric surface that pushes and pulls the perception of the face.”

Dadaism
Dadaism dominated art and design from 1916 to 1922. With a palpable humour, the Dadaists actively ridiculed the perceived pointlessness of the modern world. Here, Box reflects its absurdity by, “showing how you get there with visable safety pins.”

Postmodernism
Postmodernism gained momentum as a movement in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and is characterised by the desire to find new angles. “The Postmodernism movement is all about new interpretations,” says Box. “I took a classic Forties look and juxtoposed it with a jarring modern twist – it’s a reinvention.”

Romanticism
With a bias towards emotional subject matter, the romantic era spanned the art, literary and intellectual worlds during the early 19th century. “This is the antithesis of Cubism. It’s a feeling,” says Box. “She’s drenched in emotion and the effect has no edges.”

Baroque
Translating as ‘rough pearl’, the baroque movement of the 1600s was defined by dramatic intimations of grandeur. Of her interpretation, Box says, “I was inspired by decaying flaked paintings, the adornments reference the jewels of the time.”

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Italia Ruotolo

Wicked Halo — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:42:43 +0000

Having previously worked as a designer and as a goldsmith(!), Italy native Italia Ruotolo’s work walks a thin line between references past and present. Drawing heavily from the Art Nouveau movement, she paints women who live in an era of pop art, tattoos and body transformation.
You can check her facebook or deviant art page for more of her work.

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Smells Like Fairytale Spirit

Wicked Halo — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:28:16 +0000

The product of fashion’s love affair with fairytales, this time in the form of perfume ads starring modern day versions of Cinderella (as played by the gorgeous Eva Green) and Little Red Riding Hood.

Dior Midnight Poison by Wong Kar Wai

Chanel nº 5

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Earth Laughs In Flowers

Wicked Halo — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:17:46 +0000

If you’ve wondered what has David LaChapelle been up to, now that he’s turned his back to the lure of big budget magazines, I’ve got the answer for you.

In Earth Laughs In Flowers, an exhibition of 10 large scale photographs, LaChapelle has gone back to basics and looked to traditional Baroque still nature for inspiration. LaChapelle of course brings his own pop culture vision to the table and alongside the traditional staple marks of still nature (fruits, flowers and skulls), he includes everyday objects such as cell phones, cigarette butts, balloons, Barbies and medicines.

With his unusual compositions, LaChapelle explores the fragility of society and ideas of vice and vanity. The exhibition’s title, Earth Laughs in Flowers, comes from the poem Hamatreya, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in which joyous flowers articulate nature’s hatred of human ignorance and desire to control the earth.

Each work is named according to the cycles of both seasons and life and their painterly effect was achieved by using very slow shutter speeds, smoke diffusion and low light sources.
I’ve had the good fortune of having seen these live and their huge size alone is quite impressive, but it’s their chaotic nature that captivates and enchants. At the center of each image is a vase overflowing with flowers in typical Baroque painting style, surrounded by a disorderly pile of pop culture junk and it’s that bizarre juxtaposition that draws you in.

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Garden of Delights

Wicked Halo — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:47:24 +0000

Not of Bosch’s earthly kind! Instead, something much tamer to mark the arrival of Spring, with all its inherent greenery and flowery bursts.
Shot in 2006 by Steven Meisel for Vogue US, this editorial is the kind of stuff one would like all of Spring’s gardens to be like!

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John Brophy

Wicked Halo — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:25:08 +0000

John Brophy is an American artist living in the Seattle who spent a lot of time traveling when he was a kid. His father worked in aerospace and his family moved a lot while he was growing up, so he spent a large part of his life living in countries such as Japan, Greece, and Spain.
He studied art history and art conservation/restoration at Madrid but in the end wasn’t satisfied with being a fan of other artists’ work and wanted to make his own. After several years of trial and error, he taught himself how to paint.
John usually works out his compositions on the computer and uses the result as a concept for the final painting. He loves the freedom that designing in 3D allows, even though it is very technical and demanding. However, he considers digital imagery less interesting than traditional painting and thinks it is important to execute the painting by hand in oil using traditional techniques. For him, the digital study is only the launching pad for the final painting.
His favorite artists are 15th century Flemish artists (Memling, David, Van der Weyden, Van Eyck, etc), but he also has great admiration for contemporary artists like Todd Schorr, Alex Gross, Brian Despain, Thomas Woodruff, Pierre et Gilles and the writings of Haruki Murakami.

More at his site and facebook page.

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Selva Obscura

Wicked Halo — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:29:13 +0000

Selva Obscura is a collective exhibition in Milan, which presents 19 artists who exploit very different medias and languages, but are joined together by the central importance of Nature as a mother.
Forests provide a reservoir of oxygen, water and life, but are quickly disappearing. In the last 100 years, many forests of the planet have lost close to 90% of their habitat. This descendant spiral seems to leave indifferent a great part of the world’s population, who will soon be living in a real hell-pit: society as we know it, cannot survive in a habitat overwhelmed by rubbish.
Dealing with this plight are a bunch of artists spearheading the new neopantheism movement, a new mythology that blends last century pop culture, classic inspiration and alchemical animism.
Some of the artists featured are Chris Berens, Lisa Black, Daniel Martin Diaz, Tessa Farmer, etc.

If you want to check it out, you can get all the relevant information here.

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From Jazz Age to Space Age

Wicked Halo — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:07:21 +0000

Hauter space glamour shot by digital manipulation usual suspect Nick Knight.
I remember seeing this W magazine editorial recently and instantly thinking of how clearly influenced by Lillian Bassman it was.

Wanting to explore the future fantastic visions of SS12, it looked to the timeless language of elegance as seen not only in Lillian Bassman’s work, but also in the work of Erté, Aubrey Beardsley and Irina Ionesco, amongst others.

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Wicked Halo

Marco Mazzoni

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Edith LeBeau

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Painted Lady

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Italia Ruotolo

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Smells Like Fairytale Spirit

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Earth Laughs In Flowers

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Garden of Delights

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John Brophy

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Selva Obscura

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From Jazz Age to Space Age

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