New Photography / Armed America portraits by Kyle Cassidy

October 20, 2009 | New Photography | by The Uncool Hunter |

The Armed America website compiles portraits of the owners of weapons in America. Photographer and writer Kyle Cassidy traveled more than 12,000 miles for more than two years taking pictures of armed Americans in their houses, all the while looking for the answer to the complex question: ‘Why do you own a gun?’ Cassidy’s work has become an item of incalculable value, not only because of its conceptual strength, but also because of the description of the way of living, feeling and thinking of many inhabitants of America. Read more

New Photography / Rafal Milach’s Black Sea Of Concrete series

October 13, 2009 | New Photography | by Alison Zavos |

Of his series, Black Sea Of Concrete, Polish photographer, Rafal Milach says: ‘Eight photographers from Sputnik Photos collective were asked to cover contemporary Ukraine. Some got particular assignments, but I was free to choose the topic. As I knew I would be working in winter, I decided to go to the Black Sea. I wanted to have raw landscapes and real people. It was the only time of the year when I was able to avoid the tourist facade. The other reason why I picked the Black Sea coast was the fact that, for many years, it was a place where the entire Soviet Union went for summer holidays. Since the Orange Revolution in 2004, Ukraine has been an independent country, but still, very often, people are not able to detach it from its Soviet past. You can feel that strange mixture by the Black Sea coast’. Read more

New Photography / Nirrimi Hakanson

July 11, 2009 | New Photography | by Anna Sutton |

All you photographers out there, a word up on one of the most prodigious emerging photographers in Australia. And if you’re nursing an inadequacy complex, seeing Nirrimi Hakanson’s folio might propel you to briefly flee your aspirations and think about getting a job at the local supermarket. Hopefully, it will inspire you. The self-taught sixteen-year-old Hakanson has been taking photos on a digital SLR since the age of thirteen, after starting out on a disposable camera. Her distinctive style is ethereal and reminiscent of photo albums filled with enchanted childhood memories. Read more

New Art / Shannon Freshwater

July 3, 2009 | New Art | by Gerry Mak |

Shannon Freshwater makes a lot of design-y, abstract images and illustrations, but her more involved figure drawings and portraits, as well as her sculptures and photography, reveal a bit of a darker, gothic side. Read more

New Art / Travis Louie

June 18, 2009 | New Art | by Ron English |

I love monsters. I love old photographs. I love Travis Louie’s paintings. His masterfully refined technique allows him to take stunning portraits of the monsters in the recesses of his endless imagination. A beautiful balance of the grotesque and the comic, they are the perfect metaphor for the modern human. Once you acquire a taste for his product, you just keep wanting more and thankfully he keeps delivering his miniature masterpieces at an inhuman pace.

New Food and Packaging / Matsu’s photographic wine series

June 17, 2009 | New Food and Packaging | by Caitlin Zaino |

Renowned photographers Bèla Adler and Salvador Fresneda have paired together with Spanish agency Moruba to create a modern project for sustainable viticulture: Matsu’s photographic wine series. In this beautiful packaging, the labels for Spanish-based organic winery Matsu reveal the portraits of three generations that devote their lives to the vineyard. Each personality featured on the different bottles embodies the distinctiveness of that wine. Adler and Fresneda’s work captures the characters in a way that brings to life Matsu’s philosophy of linking nature with those that care about it. Through this portrait series, Matsu’s wine trilogy of ‘El Pícaro’, ‘El Recio’ and ‘El Viejo’ is stunningly realized.

New Art / Lori Earley

June 15, 2009 | New Art | by Ron English |

Lori Earley paints the soul of women clothed in a delicate mix of flesh and blood that scantily veils their inner light. The painting The Wish [above] is one of the most perfect paintings ever created. Earley is young and dedicated, which means the best is yet to come. Read more

New Events / Erik Mark Sandberg

June 13, 2009 | New Events | by Casper Johansson |

In his new exhibition Picture Day In The Garden at Berlin’s Johanssen-Gallery, American artist Erik Mark Sandberg explores the effects of pop-industry in a series of controversial Hairy Children portraits: ‘Sandberg draws his ideas from his daily environment. Random observations, reports in the media or a collection of personal photos and snapshots inspire him. His works comment on everyday life; they approach their subject with subtle humor and flashy colours, always leaving room for interpretation’. The show runs between July 10 and August 30.

New Photography / Anna Skladmann’s portrait series

January 30, 2009 | New Photography | by Alison Zavos |

I love the rich colours and sense of unrehearsed movement about the photography of New York-based, Anna Skladmann. She studied at Parsons School of Design before undertaking yearly internships at Annie Leibovitz’s studio and the Magnum Photo Agency. Read more

New Trends / Amateur portraits of Barack Obama

January 30, 2009 | New Trends | by Gerry Mak |

It’s been a while since we’ve had a global leader who also happens to be a folk hero. The amateur portraits of our new Commander-in-Chief posted at the <a href=” http://referencelibrary.blogspot.com/2009/01/obama.html”>Reference Library</a> reflect the reverence so many have for him. Read more

New Art / Chrysler De Castro Esma’s portrait series

January 28, 2009 | New Art | by Zolton |

Self taught Sydney-based artist Chrysler De Castro Esma takes a hands on approach the rendering of his artwork and makes use of soft pastels and coloured pencils, taking inspiration from the bustling urban environment that surrounds him. Read more

New Photography / Annie Leibowitz at London’s National Portrait Gallery

January 24, 2009 | New Photography | by Francis Andrews |

Known as the master of portrait photography, this exhibition of Annie Leibowitz’s works at the National Portrait Gallery in London marks her out as a truly versatile artist. Her landscape images of the Wadi Rum in Jordan, and her bleak, shuddering portrayal of a normally still and silent Monument Valley are utterly encapsulating and haunting. Also in this collection is a very daring and intimate look at her family, and her relationship with Susan Sontag, traced right up to her death. Read more

New Illustration / Sarah Carter-Jenkins

January 24, 2009 | New Illustration | by Zolton |

There’s something captivating about the vibrant tones and sense of blissful optimism in the work of Sydney-based illustrator, Sarah Carter-Jenkins. It’s like a window into another age, with indulgent floral hairpieces, wrapped around the heads of sharply defined girls. Read more

New Photography / Celine Clanet’s Maze photo essay

January 20, 2009 | New Photography | by Zolton |

There’s a sense of beautiful unease about Celine Clanet’s photo essay, Máze, the icy environment creating a gentle juxtaposition against the subtle warmth of the colors. Of the series, she says: ‘I lived for several months in Máze, up to the north of the Arctic Circle, in Norway. There, I met these quiet people, melancholic, captivating, very proud of their Sami village and territory, proud of these landscapes. They are constantly gazing at it with binoculars which they never separate from, even at home. I have captured these Sami people, along with houses and reindeers that should not be here today as they are flooded with waters from a dam project that the Norwegian government planned in early 70s, but fortunately aborted. This series is all about capturing the perfect moment, when time doesn’t exist anymore and night is gone, at which point they immerse themselves in tasks such as fishing through an ice hole in Suolojarvi Lake, or riding the snowscooter across the tundra; talking, or laying down, doing nothing, saying nothing. Just being’. Read more

New Illustration / Jesse Lefkowitz

January 20, 2009 | New Illustration | by Ilana Kohn |

I’ve been digging the work of Berkeley illustrator Jesse Lefkowitz for some time now. You just have to love that fantastic printmaking meets vintage cartoons vibe he’s off and running with.