Conrad Shawncross

"Light Sculpture", Conrad Shawncross, glass tube, 1995

Fun Facts: A notable british artist who is known for capture light and bending it in different ways.

Brendan Tang

"Manga Ming Vase", Brendan Tang, Porcelan and mixed media, 2005?

Fun Fact: The artist loves to blend modern with traditional styles of japanese ceramic with manga

Bob Ross

"Another Generic Mountain", Bob Ross, 18 x 24 in, Oil on Canvas, 1990

Fun Facts: One of the first people to get me into art.  Generic landscape painter, made thousands of paintings that all look the same, but his tv show was fun to watch.

"Artform No.1", Mark Ho, 17 inches/ 43 cm, Bronze and Steel, 2009

Fun Facts: This posture is activated by a series of magnets on the base of the sculpture.

David Mach

"Coathanger Gorilla", David Mach, Coat Hangers, 2003?

Fun Facts: He is inspired by making work entirely out of a singular object.

Leonid Afremov

"Loneliness", Leonid Afremov, 20 x 24 in., Oil on Canvas, 1990?

Fun Facts: This artists uses only the pallete knife to craft textures into the paintings 

Lucian Freud

"Benefits Supervising Sleep", Lucian Freud, oil on Canvas, 59 x 82 in, 1995

Fun Facts:Freud's early paintings are often associated with surrealism and depict people, plants and animals in unusual juxtapositions. These works are usually painted with relatively thin paint.  From the 1950s he began to paint portraits, often nudes, to the almost complete exclusion of everything else, employing a thicker impasto. With this technique, he would often clean his brush after each stroke. The colours in these paintings are typically muted.

Todd Schor

"The Spectre of Cartoon Appeal", Todd Schor, Acrylic on Canvas, 60 x 84 in, 2000

Fun Facts: He use to work as an illustrator and then moved on to create "lowbrow" fine art.

Harrison Krix

"Portal Gun", Harrison Krix, Fiberglass Wood and Wiring, 2010

Fun Facts:  He makes replica props from things such as movies and video games. On his blog you'll find finished projects, as well as an archive of previous builds.

Makoto Tojiki

"Man With No Shadow", Makoto Tojiki, LED Light Sculpture, 2010

Fun Facts: His most recent "No Shadow" series is inspired by the interconnectedness of light and shadow and how they can be manipulated and controlled. Tojiki begins his creative process by breaking down the light and the shadow to capture the essence of their symbiosis resulting in fleeting images that are as ephemeral and enigmatic as shadow itself.

Leonardo da Vinci

"Flying Machine Design", Leonardo da Vinci, drawing, 1400s

Fun Facts: While many people regard him as the painter of the iconic "Mona Lisa".  He is a versatile artist and inventor having made thousands of scientific drawings and inventions ranging from how the digestive system works to even freakier early designs for tanks and helicopters. 

Claes Oldenburg

"Shuttlecock", Claes Oldenburg, 19 x 15 x 11 ft, fiberglass plastic aluminum paint, 1995

Fun Facts: Oldenburg is a notable sulptor known for his work of making enormous object that are considered small in everyday convention like thumbtacks and spoons.  This shuttlecock happens to weigh over 5500 lbs.

Frantisek Rint

"Skull Chandelier of Sedlec Ossuary", Frantisek Rint, Human Bones, 1511

Fun Facts: This chandelier is just one of many bone composed structures such as bells, altars, and beams holding the architecture of this Czech Republic Church.  It is said to have over 40000 bones of the dead who have died from the Hussite wars and plague, making the enitre composition.  Rint was a wood carver and artist employed by the Schwarzenburg famly to cleverly make a composition, simultaneously adding a feeling of respect and awe for the dead.

Tim Rogerson

"Cubist Quack", Tim Rogerson, Hand Enhanced Giclee, 24"x 19", 1986?

Fun Facts: Tim Rogerson works as a traditionalist illustrator and holds many awards including the Ringling Award given by the prestigious art school Ringling College of Art and Design. His inspirations range from Degas to Disney.

Jake von Slatt

"von Slatt original Computer", Jake Von Slatt, 24"x 17", mahogany brass copper and wire, 2010?

Fun Facts: An accomplished steam-punk sculptor, this artwork is fully functional as well.  His inventions range from the realistic telephones and lamps, to the fantasy with time traveling devices.    

Lee Bontecou

"Untitled", Lee Bontecou, welded steel canvas black fabric soot and wire, 58x 58 1/2 x 17 3/8 in, 1959

"Untitled", welded steel, porcelan, wire mesh, canvas, grommets, and wire, 7 x 8 x 6 ft., 1980-1998

Fun Facts: She challenged artistic conventions of both materials and presentation by creating sculpture that hung on the wall like a painting.  Her mobiles aren't half bad either.

Robert Lazzarini

"Chair", Robert Lazzarini, Maple, 54 x 26 x 12 in, 2000

Fun Facts: His approach to sculpture is to create a state of distortion in his works, where the material and generic shape of the object is recognizable yet the stretch and bend creates the fascinating illusion. 

Louise Comfort Tiffany

"Peacock Lamp", Louise Comfort Tiffany, Glass, 1910-1930?

Fun Fact: Aside from making hundreds of intricate art nouveau lamps, he is an excellent crafter in stained glass from windows, mosaics, jewelry, enamels, and vases, and metalwork. 

Heide Trepanier

"Nova", Heide Trepanier, Enamel on Canvas Board, 60 x 60 in., 2006

Fun Facts: her use of enamel explores how paint can slip and slide creating its own narrative

Sol Lewitt

"Splotch #22", Sol Lewitt, Acryllic on Fiberglass, 148 x 96 x 86 in., 2007

Fun Fact: When Creating his splotches he would lay them flat as drawings and map out the location of colors and then determine the height through the values and then render and change the angle creating the raised shape.

Tom Friedman

"Hot Balls", Tom Friedman, Balls and Marbles,1992

Fun Facts: He made this artwork by stealing balls for a series of six months.

Jon Beinart

"Toddlerpede", Jon Beinart, Plastic Dolls

Fun Facts: Jon Beinart has made entire armies of toddlerpede sculptures in a gallery in Australia as well as formed an international surreal art shared blog called "beinArt Surreal Art Collective".  It also hasn't helped that i watched "Human Centipede" yesterday.  I am still not hungry after watching that. 

Jeff Soto

"Wolf in Sheep's Clothing", Jeff Soto, Acryllic on Canvas, 30"x 24", 2008

Fun Facts: Jeff Soto, is a notable artist feature in Juxtapoz Magazine, for his exemplary work with man vs nature conflicts and themes.

Sarina Brewer

"Classic Griffin", Sarina Brewer, 18" x 22", Wildcat/Rooster/Turkey Taxidermy, 2006?

Fun Fact: Sarina Brewer does taxidermy for a living and has explored folklore by hybridizing creature together to make jackalopes, capricorns, unicorns, and whatever fantasy creature one could think of.   She is also a skilled jewelry maker. 

Tara Donovan

"Untitled", Tara Donovan, Styrofoam Cups Hot Glue, 6' (H) x 20' (W) x 19' 2" (D), 2003

Fun Facts: Tara Donovan's artwork involves utilizing a single material, and meditating on its properties when creating installations.  By doing so she can warp the texture of the environment throught these material, such as making a wavy cellular room out of cups or a cube out of stacked toothpicks.

Que Houxo

"Mural", Que Houxo, Wall Painting, 3600 x 2200 mm, 2009

Fun Facts: He creates a florescent chemical agent and applies it to surfaces he paints on and uses black light to enhance the glow.

Alphonse Mucha

"F. Champenois Imprimeur- Editeur", Alphonse Mucha, lithograph, 1897

Fun Facts: He would promote thorugh his work in magazine advertisement- he is recognized for his advertisements of absinthe.  He also has artwork featured in cathedrals.

Aaron Ristau

"American Optical", Aaron Risteau, glass frames tin and metal,  2009

Fun Facts: Aaron specializes in making and reinventing inventions with recycled material.  This Piece has original 1880 glasses frames incorporated into it.

Catherinette Rings

"Steampunk Spider", Catherinette Rings, Coiled Brass, 9 x 8 x 3 cm, 2008?

Fun Facts: This sculpture is a fully functional watch, and she has her own design of steampunk rings.

Art Donovan

"Siddhartha Pod Lantern", Art Donovan, 52"x 30", Mahogany Brass and Copper, 2008

Fun Fact: He is inspired by Steampunk genre as well as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells science fiction.

Evelyn Embry

Rapist Ethics, Evelyn Embry, 29"x 33", Pastel, 2009

Fun Facts: She is a political artist as well as featured in New Art International magazine. 

Dorothea Heger

Free Spirit V, Dorothea Heger, 14"x 11", Mixed Media, 2009 

Fun Facts: The variety of materials she uses in her mixed media pieces comprises of acryllic and ink, rice paper, collaged glass, watercolor paper, and bits of metal.  She is influenced by nature. 

L. Noel Harvey

Sage Vessels over Dark Pink, L. Noel Harvey, 33"x 22"x 2", Monoprint, 2009

Fun Facts: His prints are inspired by poetry.  This print in particular was influenced by a John Keats poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn.

Professor Lampo Leong

Motivic Consistency I, Professor Lampo Leong, 65 x 46 in, Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas, 2009

Fun Facts: His work primarily deals with the shaping of chinese characters silhouetted on experimental warm palettes.  His work has been showcased in 58 solo exhibitions and 260 group exhibitions.

Greg Pyra

Destination Night, Greg Pyra, 3' x 4', Oil on Canvas, 2009

Fun Fact: All of his motifs in his paintings is the competition with moonlight against artificial lights. Most if not all of his paintings are made in the night time. 

John Atkinson Grimshaw

Salthouse Docks-Liverpool, John Atkinson Grimshaw, oil on canvas, 12 x 18 in, 1865

Fun Facts: Grimshaw's had a fascination with dockside paintings and would use then as a recurring subject for classic paintings like "Glasgow- Saturday Night" and "Chelsea".  He would also saturate a color to depict mode such as a foggy green or burnt sienna overlap.

Wayne Barlowe

The Streets of Dis, Wayne Barlowe, Acryllic on Ragboard, 1999

Fun Facts: Wayne Barlowe has made notable contributions as an illustrator inspiring concepts for movies such as Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth, as well as video games by Activision.  He has done work with illustration for more than forty years and has written books on his artwork of hell called Barlowe's Inferno.

Brian Dettmer

New Books of Knowledge, Altered set of Encyclopedias, 16 x 26 1/2 x 10 in, 2009

Fun Facts: Dettmer uses a technique of appropriation where he takes already conceived material and integrates and changes it into a new work of fine art.  He is also a notable book artist.

Craig A. Kraft

Drawing Fusion, Craig A. Kraft, neon and rolled aluminum, 5'H x 6.5'W x 1'D, 2007-2008

Fun Fact: Craig Kraft is a notable light sculptor.  He defines his process as one of drawing with light, and indeed, a facility with glass bending, activating and reconfiguring it as it goes.

Takashi Murakami

Tan Tan Bo, Takashi Murakami, Acryllic on Canvas, 141 3/4 x 212 5/8 x 2 5/8 in., 2001

Fun Facts: Like Andy Warhol, Murakami tried to represent modern culture into his artwork, in this case he explores he culture of otaku, which comprises of anime and manga enthusiasts.

Tony Cragg

Wild Relative, Tony Cragg, Wood, 88 x 66 x 64 in, 2005

Fun Facts: “There is this idea that sculpture is static, or maybe even dead, but I feel absolutely contrary to that. I’m not a religious person—I’m an absolute materialist—and for me material is exciting and ultimately sublime. When I’m involved in making sculpture, I’m looking for a system of belief or ethics in the material. I want that material to have a dynamic, to push and move and grow." -Tony Cragg  

Louise Bourgeois

Spider, Louise Bourgeois, Bronze, 10'7'' x 24'8'' x 23'2'', 1995

Fun Facts: Spiders started to become a theme in her artwork in the nineties.  In her own words she claimed to be an "ode to her mother".

James Gurney

The Saurian Steps, James Gurney, pen and watercolor, 1990s

Fun Facts:  James Gurney is famous for the writing and illustration of Dinotopia, a fantasy saga of the tales of people and their coexistence with dinosaurs.

Dale Chihuly

Violet Persian Set with Red Lip Wraps Glass, Dale Chihuly, Glass, 76.3 x 66 x 63.5 cm, 1990

Fun Facts: Although his work ranges from the single vessel to indoor/outdoor site-specific installations, he is best known for his multipart blown compositions. These works fall into categories of mini-environments designed for the tabletop as well as large, often serialized forms that are innovatively displayed in groupings on a wide variety of surfaces ranging from pedestals to bodies of natural water. 

Pierre Riche

American Saddlebred, Pierre Riche, 48 x 42 x 8 in, Welded Steel, 2007?

Fun Fact: He would find scrap metal and create stocks of it in the form of plates and bars, and some of his works weigh more than a ton.

Chris Gilmour

FIAT 500, Chris Gilmour, Cardboard, 2002-2004

Fun Fact:  In order for Gilmour to give the cardboard the "bend" it needs to take the shape of the car is a simple group of incisions in the cardboard without cutting all the way through giving cardboard the ability to bend and warp with shape.

Adam Brown

Bion, Adam Brown, Injection Molded Plastics and Custom Electronics, 30 x 40 x 20 in, 2006 

Fun Facts:  Every bion has the ability to communicate with the others and with viewers that enter the space.  The name "Bion" references an individual component of primordial energy, first identified by scientist Wilhelm Reich.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster

 Dirty White Trash, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Rubbish, 1998

Fun Facts: The artists play with the illusion of shadow, where piles of garbage are positioned meticulously to render shapes recognized as people. 

Michelle Stitzlein

Sulphur Blue Smeck, Michelle Stitzlein, Wall Hung Sculpture, 62 X 84 X 11 in, 2005

Fun Facts: Her compositions are made with a variety of materials including piano keys, rusty cans, license plates, bottle caps, and electrical wire.