As art expands to wider audiences and more artists flood into the community, art is ever changing. Art is essential to society, showcasing beauty and emotion. In a later issue of The Shield, Anjali Nayak, student and journalist at Westmont High School, wrote the article “What is Art,” which clearly captures the true meaning of art and is extremely prevalent throughout newer art in the twenty-first century. Below are up and coming artists that should be highlighted and recognized for their contributions to the community within the past decade.
#1 Brook Hsu- A Taiwanese-American artist who grew up in Oklahoma. She received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2010 and went on to receive her MFA from Yale University in 2016. This artist focuses on observation of the world around her. Hsu’s instagram frequently captures moments of observation, showcasing the way in which she takes in the world around her. A recent collection of paintings was presented through vivid shades of green with aspects of nature through a nature watchers perspective.
#2 Issy Wood- Not only is Wood a talented painter, but she also is a musical pop artist. Wood moved to the United Kingdom for higher education, earning a BA in Fine Art and History of Art from Goldsmith’s in 2015, along with an MA from the Royal Academy Schools in 2018. Painter of everyday objects and people, Issy Wood twists the paintings into her own, adding abstract contemporary tones into her pieces. 2019 proved a huge year for the newly graduated artist when she participated in the Zabludowicz Collection’s World Receivers exhibition, where she revealed a series of small oil portraits of comedienne Joan Rivers and an installation of over 1,000 hand-painted floor tiles. Later that same year, she presented All the Rage, a gallery at the Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art in London, this becoming her largest solo exhibition.
#3 Mohammed Sami- The artist studied drawing and painting at The Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad. Sami “approaches painting as an allegorical representation of the striking image of conflict and violence. His paintings explore belated memories triggered by common everyday objects from when he immigrated to Sweden as a refugee from his native Iraq,” explains the artist’s website. Every art piece this powerful painter touches expands into significant detail with emotion and representation of those emotions. A multitude of his art installations reside throughout the United States as well as in London.
