The disruptors are back! For art lovers who dare to explore the more avant-garde side of contemporary realism, John Seed brings us his latest book “More Disruption: Representational Art in Flux”. It is the sequel to “Disrupted Realism: Paintings for a Distracted World” which featured artists such as Aiden Kringen, J Louis, Valerio D’Ospina, Maya Kulenovic, and Zack Zdrale.
Readers explore 43 provocative contemporary artists as they pore through 224 pages spanning over 300 recent works. The collection is organized into 6 chapters investigating portraits in flux, bodies in flux, inner landscapes, outside forces, disrupted histories, and disrupted narratives. The artists featured come from all over the globe working in styles and themes that creatively bend the bounds of realism. Within these chapters, each artist gives us a peek into their mind through Seed’s interview questions and a selection of works that embody their style.
A foreword by artist and founder of Art2Life, Nicholas Wilton and a preface about the inspiring artist Jenny Saville give the book a running start. The introduction then outlines the connections between the activity in the contemporary art world and the turmoils we face as individuals, communities, and as a planet. Each artist reveals their unique path to the edge of representational realism. Their stories give insight into the artist’s views on culture, belonging, identity, philosophy, psychology, childhood, and human behavior. Seed also prompts the disruptors to shine a light on artists who have influenced them in film, music, literature, and traditional art. This opens the book up to mention hundreds of artists, some are even alongside them in “More Disruption”!
Many of these stunning artists credit their influences to historical icons like Frida Khalo, Diego Velazquez, Francis Bacon, and Peter Paul Rubens as well as more recent trailblazers like Egon Schiele, Jenny Saville, Mickalene Thomas, and Alex Kanevsky. “More Disruption” highlights complicated lives, intersectional experiences, and the emotions that connect us. It is effectively a reflection of how we do our best to build and understand ourselves while the world around us changes rapidly and irrevocably.
Our exhibition More Disruption: Representational Art in Flux curated by John Seed is NOW OPEN and features artists from both books “Disrupted Realism” and “More Disruption”. The participating artists are Megan Aline, Ben Ashton, Alla Bartoshchuk, Casey Baugh, Mia Bergeron, Martin Campos, Angela D’Ospina, Joshua Flint, Edwige Fouvry, Anne Harris, Alex Kanevsky, Stanka Kordic, Aiden Kringen, J Louis, Johnny Morant, Nick Runge, Kai Samuels-Davis, Timothy Robert Smith, and Caroline Westerhout.
View the entire exhibition here!
Principle Gallery 