Art Kaleidoscope

I miss you. Romantic night illustrations by Hajin Bae

Romantic night illustrations by Hajin Bae can’t leave anyone indifferent. Talented South Korean artist Hajin Bae (a.k.a. soulist-aurora) has changed a lot of jobs – copywriter, Ad Planner, public relations specialist, web designer, celebrity manager, before she began to sell her work at local art market in Korea. After some time, she became known as a local artist who had the opportunity to work for the magazine Seventeen – creating illustrations for the articles. Since then, Hajin Bae has collaborated with many publishing houses and magazines, advertising companies and record labels around the world. Hajin Bae graduated from Kaywon University of Art & Design in Korea.
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Baby wolf. Ural House Masters Florentine mosaics

Ural House Masters Florentine mosaics
The main activity of the company “Ural House Masters” – creating highly artistic stone products in the technique of Florentine mosaic. In particular, boxes, icons, desk sets, clocks, candle holders, sculptures and paintings. According to sources, mosaic artists all over the world work in the technique, known as Florentine mosaic, for more than 400 years.
Thus, in 1580 in Florence, the Medici family founded the first workshop of mosaic artists who created the best examples of mosaic works. That caused imitation throughout Europe and in Russia. Finally, the Florentine mosaic technique was formed in the XVII century. The artists used natural stone patterns: layers, veins, dendritic (tree-like patterns), stains and strokes. This mosaic is called “shadow”. For Florentine mosaics, usually used hard stones: jasper, lapis lazuli, flint, porphyry and others. Well, today, Florentine mosaic has gone far ahead, and Russian mosaic artists from Ural House Masters achieved tremendous success in this work, unique and exclusive.
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Crochet portraits by Ekaterina Penzina

Crochet portraits by Ekaterina Penzina
Talented 26 year-old Russian graphic artist, animator and painter Ekaterina Penzina (aka Katika) is from Yaroslavl. She received her first artistic knowledge in Yaroslavl art school. Then followed three-year course of jewellery design in a college, and six years of studying in the Ural Academy of Architecture and Art. However, the idea to replace the brush and paints with a hook and yarn came during her pregnancy, when women tend to do something “warm” and cozy: knitting or sewing. The inner artist and female nature – this is where her technique was born. Besides, it was her mom who played the main role in the decision to begin this direction of textile art. From early childhood Ekaterina learned knitting and sewing from her mother. According to her, crochet painting, and portrait in particular, takes about a week to create it. And the main inspiration for her – famous personalities, human eye, exotic animals, and even epic images of cars. Since 2006 Ekaterina Penzina has exhibited her crochet masterpieces at the national and international exhibitions and in some art projects.
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Cute mouse holding its Peter the Rabbit toy. Needle felted. Vera Megorskaya felted miniature

Vera Megorskaya felted miniature

Talented Russian craftswoman Vera Megorskaya lives in Krasnodar. The girl grew up in the artistic family and has always loved to make things with her hands. Besides, the girl’s step father is a painter and sculptor, and it was him who taught her basic knowledge in art. Once Vera noticed wool and special needles in a craft shop, she decided to try her hand. And she couldn’t stop creating her felted cuties… Now, after 5 years of needle felting, the crafts has become her full time job. Meanwhile, Vera’s Shop on Etsy “Handmade by November” has more than 2000 miniature felted birds, mice, foxes, bunnies, dogs and cats.
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Konstantin Somov. Title Page for A. Blok’s book The Theater. 1907. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. World of Art movement for theater

World of Art movement for theater

In the history of Russian art, and in particular, the late nineteenth century was a period of creative innovation and a fundamental restructuring of form. Thus, in the 1890s, a generation of artists who radically revised almost the entire range of established tradition, opened a new chapter in Russia’s visual arts. The World of Art group, which gave rise to this forceful and influential movement, was formed in St. Petersburg in the early 1890s. In 19885, Savva Mamontov established his private opera company in Moscow, enlisting many prominent artists to work as theatrical designers. This laid the foundation for a new type of stage decor, having nothing in common with traditional stereotypes. All World of Art members were strongly attracted to the theater. Much later, in his memoirs, Benois admitted that throughout his life he worshiped the theater, that in his mind the concept of “artistry” was always associated with the concept of “theatricality”. The same is true of other World of Art masters who dedicated themselves to stage design and book illustration.
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Vanity. Oil on canvas. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow. Juriaen van Streeck vanity still life

Juriaen van Streeck vanity still life
For those who love to discover the hidden codes in paintings, any Dutch still life is a real find. In allegorical still life vanitas even the smoke from the pipe is not just smoke, but an ephemeral symbol of our hopes. Dutch still life – a corporeal admiration of the world. Even when the canvas depicts a luxury edibles and cups of wine, they are symbols of death and the transience of earthly life. Dutch Golden Age painter of still lifes Juriaen van Streeck (1632 – 1687) demonstrates such type of vanity of vanities, indicating the transience of life.
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Rain over the lake. Painting by Russian artist Grigory Kuznetsov

Russian artist Grigory Kuznetsov was born in 1959. He has been a member of the International Art Foundation since 2002 and the Artists Union of Russia since 2004. It is safe to say that the work of Grigory Kuznetsov combines “algebra and harmony” – namely, emotional and carefully tuned composite construction. Perhaps, that is due to the fact that the artist, who had in his luggage technical educations, graduated from the Surikov Art Institute in 1996. He is able to see the world through the eyes of both – physics and lyrics.
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