Art Kaleidoscope

Between art and craft

Juriaen van Streeck vanity still life

Juriaen van Streeck vanity still life. Oil on canvas. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow

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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Russian artist Grigory Kuznetsov

Russian artist Grigory Kuznetsov. Rain over the lake

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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Doll artist Larisa Isayeva

Alenushka, Khokhloma stylized doll, handmade

Wearing traditional Russian folk costume Alyonushka, Khokhloma stylized, handmade. Creation by Doll artist Larisa Isayeva

Russian doll artist Larisa Isayeva (kuklaelli) lives and works Yekaterinburg. She creates dolls on different themes – fairy-tale characters, movie characters, cartoons, literary characters, dancers, puppets of different nationalities, and more. Larisa Isayeva works in mixed technique, and in particular, she combines the modeling of polymer clay and textile parts on a flexible framework, as well as sculpting articulated dolls from polymer clay. Like cartoon characters, her dolls “come alive” because they are mobile and can change poses due to wire frame. According to the doll master, it takes her to 14 days to create one doll. In addition, many of her dolls are made in Russian style, for example, Khokhloma and Gzhel. Dressed in national folk costumes, made of fine textile – velvet, brocade, leather, lace, feather, embroidered with beads, and sequins.
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Colored sand art by Ako Tsubaki

Portrait. Colored sand art by Ako Tsubaki

Portrait. Colored sand art by Ako Tsubaki

Osaka based artist Ako Tsubaki paints one-of-a-kind pictures using granulated colored sand. Ako Tsubaki is a sand painter with a lively and vivid imagination, which is quite obvious. The process behind the creation of these paintings is quite simple: “I spread glue on the canvas and sprinkle it with sand as it was intended. Sometimes mark out the contours of the future picture, and sometimes what I get – full Impromptu,” says the artist.
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Argentinian artist Norma Bessouet

Family Portrait, 2012

Family Portrait, 2012. Painting by Argentinian artist Norma Bessouet

Argentinian artist Norma Bessouet was born in Buenos Aires. The talented girl learned basic elements in painting and drawing in childhood. And it was her mother who taught Norma first steps in art. Norma Bessouet studied at a Manuel Belgrano Fine art school (1964) and Prilidiano Pueyrredon Academia of Visual Art, from which she graduated in 1967. Five years later she traveled to London to study graphic arts at London University of Fine Arts on the British Council grant. Norma lives and works in New York and Buenos Aires. She is a permanent participant of solo and group exhibitions in art galleries and museums of Argentina, the United States, Venezuela, Brazil, Spain, Cuba, Uruguay, England, and Sweden.
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Clintons Art Nouveau cards

Clintons Art Nouveau cards

Lady in blue. Clintons Art Nouveau cards

Clintons Art Nouveau cards
You probably saw lovely “Clintons” birthday Deco cards featuring a beautiful lady in 1930’s dress on them. But in fact, they are Art Nouveau cards, the style that appeared later.
The style of Art Deco is characterized by rich colors, bold geometric shapes. Anyway, Clintons Art Nouveau cards are gorgeous – sparkling lady wearing a black or pink dress and fancy head dress embellished with glitter and silver foil text. In addition, the style was the first major artistic stylistic movement in which mass-produced graphics played a key role. And a key influence belongs to the Paris-based Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, who, by the way, created a lithographed poster, featuring Sarah Bernhardt.
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Exquisite Royal Crystal glass Moser

Royal Crystal glass Moser

Red and gold. Royal Crystal glass Moser

Royal Crystal glass Moser
Today, as 150 years ago, produced on its own unique formula, the exact composition of Czech glass Moser remains a strict secret. Exclusively hand-polished and engraved products and deep saturated colors, colored crystal – are the distinguishing features of the Moser brand. However, Glass masters do not just cut glass, but create real masterpieces of high artistic value. Meanwhile, Moser Glass Crystal is the best in the world for its artistic value, standard of quality, luxury and style. The beauty and extraordinary look of Royal Crystal glass Moser from the Czech Republic is undoubted. Indeed, even royal families, such as Queen Elizabeth II and the King of Spain Alfonso XIII appreciate it. In addition, the world-famous actors, in particular, Claudia Cardinale, Sophia Loren and Sylvester Stallone rated it. Besides, the articles of Moser Crystal glass ware, decorated with coats of arms and monograms of presidents and diplomats, always present at the reception of many heads of state.
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