Unknown Artists

Participating in the ever-changing conversation around well known artists is undoubtedly inspiring and invigorating, though it is worth casting light on unbelievable great art that exists on the outskirts of that world. In a chaotic landscape of image-sharing and visual art transit, it is inevitable that some artwork gets disconnected from its creator, however the work retains power nonetheless, and is possibly even amplified provided it gets seen in the first place. When stumbling on a striking image with missing traces, there is almost an intimacy created— where perhaps in the absence of the knowledge of the person talking, a barrier falls away and their words, or artistic marks, are more available. This is especially true when those very marks are the evidence of a skilled and talented worker, someone with clear uninterrupted vision.

This piece Portrait of a Girl has so much airspace surrounding it that it becomes easy to meander the beauty of the dark lines and varying lineweight. One finds almost as much to look at in the abstract natures of expressionism than in the actual description of the subject. The work translates a compelling mood, and an effortless resonance.

The Cluny Tapestry is part of a series of six tapestries, woven from wool and silk from designs drawn in Paris around 1500, often considered one of the greatest works of European art of the Middle Ages. Created in the style of mille-fleurs, or thousand-flowers, the first five are commonly interpreted as depicting the five senses of taste, hearing, sight, smell and touch, with the sixth displaying the words “À Mon Seul Désir” or “My Only Desire.” Full of lush details and a glamorous floral tone, the piece seems to be celebrating life.

Japon is actually a signed stone lithograph print, a beautiful abstract piece with wry inventive typography, walking the line between graphic abstraction and legibility. This marvelous balance between recognizable structure and malleable fluidity lends a confidence tempered with sensitivity.

And for another signed work, this monoprint HMP Untitled #4 is practically glimmering, where the more you look, the more the subtle layers of color and tone gradation intermingle— allowing for endless iterations of relatable terrain, whether viewed from closeup or afar. The piece is surprisingly graceful for such an amount of color and brass.

Enseignes Africaines is a fantastic collection of styles and textures, perhaps inhabiting the spaces of pop art, outsider art and important contemporary work all at once. With folk fabric design and everyday culture reflections, this collection of imagery takes on a voice of its own, a soulful snapshot of an archetypal modern experience.

And yet again, a signed stone lithograph print can be appreciated, slowly and meditatively, despite being separated from its creator. On My Mind is a sublime example of the wonders of lithography, its combination of colored layers creating an ethereal environment that feels like more than simply the design alone. This mystery artist’s knowledge of color interaction is highly skillful, their ability to create space, form, personality and ambiance quite profound.