Artist of the day: August 2024

Saturday, August 31, 2024

Artist of the Day, August 31, 2024: Michael Sowa, a German painter (#2099)

Michael Sowa (1945) is a German artist known mainly for his paintings, which are variously whimsical, surreal, or stunning. His paintings often feature animals and are titled in English and German. His art is widely available as posters, notecards, postcards, and calendars.

Sowa studied at the Berlin State School of Fine Arts for seven years and worked briefly as an art teacher before focusing entirely on his career as a painter and illustrator. A book of 50 paintings titled Sowa's Ark: An Enchanted Bestiary was published in 1996. He also illustrated Esterhazy, The Rabbit Prince by Irene Dische and Hans M. Enzensberger. He is the illustrator of The Little King December and A Bear Called Sunday, both authored by Axel Hacke.

He was the cover artist for several albums, including Mad Season by Matchbox Twenty and two covers for The Beautiful South's Miaow and for their single "Everybody's Talkin'."

He gained new followers for his work on the 2001 film Amélie where his art on the walls comes to life. Sowa contributes illustrations to the satirical German magazine, Titanic, and he also did the art work for magazine covers of several well-known periodicals, most notably the December 2, 2002 issue of The New Yorker.

His work has been exhibited in the Wilhelm-Busch-Museum Hannover, in the Kunsthalle Oldenburg, at The Liebenweintrum in Burghausen and repetedly in Japan. In September 2020 Michael Sowa was awarded with the e.o.plauen Prize.

© 2024. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Michael Sowa or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only

Michael Sowa

Herbert

February

Kranker Hund

Sharks of Suburbia

Greetings From Berlin

Sheep with Laptops

Haunted City

A Turkey Provides Seven Kinds of Meat

Seemannslos

Köhlers Schwein

Carpathian Chicken

Happy Easter

Straße frei! (Johannes R. Becher)

Die Melancholie eine Sommerabends

Biker

On The Road

Schwanblumen

Ark

Ark (detail)

Big Buzzer

Die Einladung

Friends

Giraffe

Herta

Instant Relief Therapy

Man, Table, Fish

Portrait of a Singer

Quiet Days

School of Fish

Friday, August 30, 2024

Artist of the Day, August 30, 2024: Camila Falquez, a Mexican born, American emerging photographer (#2098)

Camila Falquez is a New York based photographer of Colombian heritage. She was born in Mexico City and grew up in Spain. Falquez’s photographs harness the traditions of fashion and portrait photography and honor the contemporary spectrum of social and gender diversity. Channeling the conventions of surrealism and a strong color palette, Falquez elevates and empowers her subjects. Her images have been published in The New York Times, TIME Magazine, El País, WSJ, and Vogue, among others.

She has collaborated with brands such as Clinique, Hermes and Nike. In 2022, Falquez had her first solo exhibition in New York at Hannah Traore Gallery called Gods That Walk Among Us. In 2023, Falquez was named the Fashion Photographer of the Year at the Latin American Fashion Awards. Her work was also acquired for the permanent collection of the Perez Art Museum in Miami, Florida.

In what ways does nature inspire or inform your work?
I believe in Mother Nature above all things. As humans, everything we should aspire to do is to respect, learn and protect our planet. I believe in the intersectionality of struggles and with my work I long to support, enhance and be in service of those who are in the frontlines fighting for our planet and our human rights.

What does it mean to you to be part of a thriving ecosystem?
With my work I try to manifest the possibility for a thriving ecosystem of LGBTQIA+ rights, Indigenous Voices and social justice. I believe the answers we long for reside in the individuals that inhabit de so called “margins”. There is nothing I respect more than being a part of those ecosystems and being in conversation with those who are fighting every day for a freer planet.

© 2024. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Camila Falquez or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only