We’re very pleased to introduce to you, Coffee Club members, Yucen Yao, our new Fine Arts and Graphic Design Barista. It’s hard enough finding a qualified poet, fiction writer or audio arts barista, but finding a creator with the talent and skills to curate contemporary arts has been the toughest. We’ve had to go without one for several years. Now you can meet her. Yucen was raised in Nanchang, China. She took her bachelor’s degree in visual communication at Guangzhou University. Her parents encouraged her to follow her dreams in the arts, and she came to the United States to earn her master’s degree in graphic design at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita. Her career has rapidly taken off: she’s been interviewed in several LA zines, one saying she is…
Mario Loprete: Urban Paintings on Concrete Pt.2
We are happy to feature the talented Mario Loprete once again on our website. Mario shares even more of his paintings and sculptures with us, showcasing his unique and captivating style. Artist Statement: Painting is my first love. An important, pure love. The base of my paintings starts from the spasmodic research of a concept and transforms into a message that I want to send to the viewer. The sculpture is my lover, my artistic betrayal of the painting. That voluptuous and sensual lover that gives me different emotions, that touches prohibited cords . . . I worked exclusively on my concrete sculptures in the last few years. I use my personal clothing for my concrete sculptures. Through my artistic process, in which I use plaster, resin and cement, I transform them into artworks to…
10 Collages by Bill Wolak
One of FC’s most beloved contributors has returned! Take a look at 10 more collages by the talented Bill Wolak. Artist’s Statement: Everywhere we look there are faces staring back at us. Out of the corner of the eye, we spy a wink from a passing shadow or a smile in a gleam of water. We project our selves outward into the field we experience. Collage sets out to record these fleeting impressions. “Drifting on a Strangers Smile” “Aloof as the Touch of a Mirror” “Learning How to Breathe Through Your Own Scars” “The Slip Knot’s Enticing Touch” “Tingling That Deepens Every Embrace” “Quick as a Smile’s Net of Moonlight” “The Arousal of Circular Lips” “The Tenderness of Seeds” “The Whisper of Sand” “With the Flesh of Awakening Moonlight” Bill Wolak has just published his…
The Talented Miss Amina Murodova
Amina Murodova is a 14-year-old refugee from the war the despot Vladimir Putin brought down upon Ukraine. She has found her true artistic expression across a wide range of subjects and mediums. She was a student at the famous Kyiv Academy of Arts, beginning when she was six years old – before the war forced her and her mother to flee (with her cat and bunny) to America a year ago, which is certainly a story for another day. Her father has remained, in battle against the Soviet invasion. Amina’s diverse range of work is displayed here, each with its title, medium, and the artist’s age when she created it. Owl; Gouache, 13yo Still Life with Violin Acrylics, 14yo Hurricane Ian Acrylics, 14yo Amina is very dedicated to her art, including the animated movies she…
Shehab Hossain’s Mesmerizing Light Paintings
Digital photography has opened up a plethora of new forms of creative expression, such as you see here in the works of Shehab Hossain. But who better to explain his artistic process than the artist himself? I bend and freeze time in my photos. What’s your superpower? I am a Bangladeshi/Nigerian/American artist specializing in urban night photography and light painting. My craft is making photos of my light painting strokes in urban environments. I use various camera exposure durations to paint objects and places with light. My strokes become a performance as I dance my orchestrated layers of light through a scene while drawing and painting objects to build my composition. At times, I use existing light sources and trails to complement the scene. The shutter closes and freezes the movements and light strokes within…