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10 Artists that paint women

July 30, 2014 Today we take a quick look at ten contemporary urban artists
painting women
women, the everlasting subject that has intrigued artists
Matt Randal since the time they lived in caves. Some of them explore this subject
exclusively, while others only visit it occasionally. When we look at
their work, it is clear that the common subject is the only thing they
share. From those who emphasize sexuality, over those that explore
sensuality and human condition of their characters, to those that go
deeper in the surreal. Regardless of what you prefer, there is no
doubt you will be amazed by their skills and their aesthetics. So let
us enjoy the female beauty through the works of these 10 artists
artists.

David Walker - A Beautiful Mess

English artist David Walker has created a signature multi-layered

style of magnificent, color-explosive and chaotic female character
portraiture, which he often “steals” from magazines, photography or
websites. Using nothing more than spray paint, his elaborate and
surreal portraits painted on large walls with high level of skill,
captivate viewers, inspire joy, and challenge preconceptions of fine
and urban art. His use of vivid, clashing colors with translucent drips,
“a beautiful mess” as he calls it, makes it hard to believe this loner
once used only black and white colors.

Leza One - A Modern-Era Caravaggio

Member of the global collective Army Of Snipers International, Swiss

artist Leza One has been referred to as "a modern era Caravaggio"
because of the way he presents human emotions. And there is a
reason behind that. His art, filled with emotion and drama, is a
perfect example how street art can be grand and sophisticated. This
became most apparent after he had moved to working on canvases.
His vivid paintings have an amazing atmosphere and smoothness,
but still retain a street spirit by following the same guidelines of his
outdoor works. Always experimenting with various techniques, his
most recent exhibition of “Urban Muses”, displayed on objects he
found on the streets, drew a lot of attention.

Olivia Charmaine - Sex Appeal Combined With The

Surreal and Supernatural

One of the greatest revelations in recent years, Olivia Charmaine, a

self-taught and extremely talented artist from California, works on
wood panels and boards mostly in oils, but also in charcoal, pencil
and pastel to create astonishing, meticulously rendered, ethereal
compositions of female characters that are full of poetic passion. Her
art is personal and oozes with sex appeal, often with a touch of the
supernatural and surreal. Be prepared to get charmed.

Miss Van - One of the Best Feamle Painters of the

Graffiti Art Scene

Sultry female characters by Miss Van are instantly recognizable when

seen in the streets worldwide. This French artist started wall-painting
as a teenager, back in the 1990’s, and today is considered to be one
of the best female painters of the graffiti scene, gaining worldwide
acclaim. A big step forward in her art was when she moved into a
gallery, which allowed her characters (dolls or poupées as she calls
them) to mature and to become more intimate and delicately
rendered due to working with more subtle media than in the streets.
Recently her dolls started wearing animal masks which make them
appear more sinister and mysterious.

David Choe - Seductive and Perverse, Yet Comforting

American painter, muralist, graffiti artist and a genuine multimedia

enfant terrible David Choe gained worldwide success with his dirty
and frantic style, through which he explores themes of desire and
degradation. His style is compelling and repulsive at the same time,
and demonstrates what an intelligent and angry artist can achieve.
His imaginative and provocative paintings of young urban women
made with oil, acrylics and collage, are seductive and perverse, yet
somehow comforting and narratively complex.

RONE - Telling the Story of Beauty and Decay

RONE is a notable street artist and a key individual in the Melbourne

street art scene, renowned for the stylized images of glamorous
women. Telling the story of beauty and decay, he is most famous for
the portrait of Jane Doe, a character that is recurring in his work. His
gigantic, yet subtle, closely cropped melancholic faces, that appear
to be staring at the viewer and make it impossible for them not to
stare back, are of visceral and raw style made of intricate line work.

Lionel Smit - A Burst of Energy and Balance of

Spontaneous Actions

South African artist Lionel Smit has established a substantial

international following in the recent years. Portraiture of monumental
size is his preferred style, and his models are everyday, but highly
memorable people. He accomplishes this by the immense size of
the paintings and his artistic technique, which he describes as “a
burst of energy and balance of spontaneous actions”. As the viewer
gets closer, a planned chaos ensues on the canvas, pictures start to
disintegrate and reveal fine details. The eye is drawn to the drips,
splatters and interruptions of bands of solid color or segments of
canvas that are almost untouched. That is the moment when these
faces begin to tell a story of their emotions and mental states,
engaging the viewer’s intellect almost involuntarily.

Hopare - Taking You on a Voyage to the Surreal World

of Illustrations

Street art virtuoso from France, Hopare, uses a variety of interesting

variations in line and color, relying heavily on drawing and deep
blacks, to create expressive murals that appear to be popping off
and sinking into the walls they are painted on. His captivating
portraits of unique style and mix of the figurative and abstract, come
together in an explosion of color and details, dramatically contrasted
to the streets which surround them. It is a dynamic and hypnotic art
that leaves a great impact on the audience, pulling them out of their
surroundings and taking them on a voyage to view the surreal world
of illusion.

JR - Putting a Human Face to the World's Poorest

Areas

Gigantic monochromatic posters by the French artist JR are socially

and politically engaged, and deal with subjects like freedom, identity
and commitment. From the slums of Kenya to the outskirts of Paris,
this guerilla artist, who hides his true identity, aims to put a human
face to the world’s poorest areas. With the Women Are Heroes
project he emphasized the idea that women are the ones holding the
community together. These are powerful images of sympathetic and
unfortunate female characters who suffer and long to build a happy
future, often looking death in the face.

Bicicleta Sem Freio - Taking an Acid Trip on a Bicycle

Without Breaks

Acclaimed Brazilian art collective Bicicleta sem Freio (or Bicycle

Without Brakes) is internationally famed for the large-scale public
works. They paint their surreal women characters with massive
marine tentacles and colorful environment, typified by expressive
line work and appearance of a sexy psychedelic comic. Their salient
use of color and a twisted cynical Pop Art style is what makes their
work stand out. And their work is definitely the one you can not
miss. It is so good that looking at it for too long can melt your brain,
it feels like taking an acid trip on a bicycle without breaks or, to
simply put it in just one word: awesome!

Follow These Artists Follow These Galleries

JR SAMHART GALLERY
F O L LO W Neuchatel, Switzerland
F O L LO W

David Choe
F O L LO W Lougher Contemporary
Bristol, United Kingdom
F O L LO W
Miss Van
F O L LO W
Perrotin
Seoul, South Korea
Show More
F O L LO W

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