Three Artists that you need to know now
Mario Moore
The inner workings of the art world and the politics of who gets seen can leave some really talented artists hidden. Don't get me wrong the artists that I am about to introduce to you have shown in museums, galleries and art institutions but they are relatively known in certain circles and deserve a much larger audience. So here are three artists that everyone needs to know now:
1. Tiff Massey
Hidale Street, Tiff Massey
I Do I Do I Doooo, Tiff Massey
Tiff Massey is a mixed-media artist from Detroit, Michigan, currently represented by Library Street Collective. Massey holds an MFA in metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art, and a BS in Biology from Eastern Michigan University. Her work, inspired by African standards of economic vitality, includes both large-scale and wearable sculptures. Massey counts the iconic material culture of 1980's hip-hop as a major influence in her jewelry. She uses contemporary observances of class and race through the lens of an African diaspora, combined with material drawn from her experience in Detroit. She is a 2015 Kresge Visual Arts Fellowship awardee as well as a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge winner, and was recently recognized as a Michigan Chronicle 40 Under 40 award recipient.
To find out more about her work, where it's been and why it's so dope check out her site: Tiff Massey
2. Charles Williams
Lost and Found #3, Charles Williams, Oil on canvas
Lost and Found #1, Charles Williams, Oil on canvas
Charles WIlliams
Charles Williams is a professional contemporary realist painter from Georgetown, South Carolina and a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art. From utilizing oils for the basis of landscapes, each painting captures his reflection of human emotions in response to and in sync with the natural environment. Recent achievements and awards include a Hudson River Landscape Fellowship, featured work in the Artists Magazines 28th Annual Art Competition, honorable mention from Southwest Art Magazines 21 Emerging Under 31 competition, 2012 Winner of the Fine Art Category from Creative Quarterly.His contemporary landscapes have been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in galleries in New York, Vermont, California, Georgia, South Carolina and several other southeastern states. His contemporary landscapes have been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in galleries in New York, Vermont, California, Georgia, South Carolina and several other southeastern states.
To see more of his work check out his website: Charles Williams. His pieces that are based off of things we fear--like drowning--some which are featured here, are killer.
3. Lucia Hierro
Cache/Cachet, Lucia Hierro, Digital Print on Fabric/Felt/Mixed Fabrics
New Yorker Collage Series, Lucia Hierro, New Yorker magazine mixed media
On that grind/Dyckman: La casa de mami, Lucia Hierro, Digital Print on Fabric/Felt/Mixed Fabrics
Lucia Hierro's work explores the body as a collection of fragmented signifiers that includes language, taste, and culture. Hierro addresses these ideas across a broad platform of techniques that include digital media, collage, and felt painting constructions. As a Dominican American artist, Lucia Hierro's status as a bi-lingual female artist requires that she work across multiple media in much the same way she works across gender and culture on a daily basis. The use of The New Yorker in Hierro's work has been a way to tackle ideas of exclusion and privileged knowledge. Lucia received a BFA from SUNY Purchase (2010) and an MFA from Yale School of Art (2013). She was an artist in residence at Yaddo, the Bronx Museums Artist in the Market program and will be part of the FountainHead Residency in 2016. Lucia Hierro will be showing work at the NADA Fair NY at the Samson Gallery Booth May 5th - 8th.
Trust me when I say these works have to be seen in person. But until you are standing in front of her witty, dopetastic work, make sure you keep up with her busy schedule and visit her website: Lucia Hierro
Peace until next time,
Mario