“A building is alive, like a man, and its spirit is the spirit of its maker.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
The work in our eighth exhibition of the year, selected from submissions to NOT REAL ART’s annual grant, addresses the nuances and permutations of our constructed environment. With expanding suburbs, high-rises reaching for the sky, and neighborhoods razed to the ground, the structural world is a living, breathing space. The artists featured in Architecture, Interiors, and Urban Landscapes open the gates into the imaginary cities, intimate havens, and cutting-edge containers that house our biggest hopes and dreams.
Whether repurposing abandoned buildings, envisioning the world as it might be, or inviting viewers into their neighborhoods and homes, these artists explore architecture and urbanism through painting, photography, mixed media, installation, and digital collage. Ranging in style from conceptual and realistic to surreal and abstract, the work in Architecture, Interiors, and Urban Landscapes includes reinvented interiors, familiar scenes from everyday life, and tender odes to beloved design landmarks. View Architecture, Interiors, and Urban Landscapes, then scroll down for details about the artists and their work.
Urban Archetypes and Visionary Cities
Andrew Soria’s vibrant composite of Miami storefronts and contemporary high-rises addresses the tectonic clashing of old and new in a burgeoning tropical city. Amy Yoshitsu reinvents the urban landscape by fashioning photographs of buildings, windows, and sidewalks into sculptural installations and placing them on city streets. Lola Adeleke’s dream-like image of a young woman drifting over an idealized skyline taps into the collective subconscious. Noelle Richard’s darkly imaginative ink drawing City on a Hill (There is no Hill) invites viewers into an “eerily familiar parallel universe.” In her digital photo collage, Laura Revelt layers German buildings with multiple self-portraits, wryly commenting on the acquisitive nature of travel.
Altered Interiors and Intimate Oases
Natalia Villanueva Linares uses multi-colored rolls of wrapping paper in a vibrant homage to Peruvian houses made of reeds. Lauren Alyssa Bierly combines her mapping, architectural, and drawing skills in a time-lapse study of light in a lakeside cabin. Anna Stump brings the outside in by adding a view of the grounds to the walls of a 300-year-old Mexican hacienda. Annie Tull transforms a design studio into a cathedral-like space with strands of colored rope. Maria Ylvisaker blends images of home and food in her whimsical linocut “French Toast.” Avery Savage’s meditative “Mon Chez Moi” depicts a moment in the life of a New York musician rehearsing in his personal oasis. In her illustration “Look Mom, No Windows!” Camille Elston imagines what public spaces would look like if Black voices had a role in shaping the environment. Linda Hunsaker’s caffeinated view of a doughnut shop at 3 a.m. captures the essence of late-night havens.
Singular Structures and Architectural Abstractions
Masha Tsimring’s elegant homage to Soviet-era apartment buildings gives Constructivism a contemporary spin. Abstract painter Jessus Hernandez distills structure to geometric form and color. Sculptor Dan "Nuge" Nguyen transitioned from architecture to organic forms created from wood. Barbara Brandel’s surreal painting of a house floating over wildlife hints at the disruption of urban sprawl while delving into symbolism and dreams. Francisco Palomares ponders the shifting hues of an iconic building during his nocturnal walks through downtown L.A. Lua Kobayashi’s Claremont Installations examine conformity and alienation in her suburban neighborhood while Lara Williams’ enigmatic “Deserted Structure” painting reaches back to early civilizations. Kara Rooney’s mixed-media collage “Mas Vale Nunca Que Tarde” explores themes of displacement and desire in gentrifying Mexico City.
Views From the Street
Christine Rasmussen and Andrew England transform the ordinary into the sublime in luminous paintings of the street. E. Daley’s nocturnal scene of a gas station “cruising spot” and Herman Aguirre’s haunting painting of a sidewalk where a child was killed have a ghostly resonance that allows viewers to fill in the blanks. Rosa Leff’s meticulous papercut of a cluttered street in Chinatown and Yin Ming Wong’s exuberant watercolor of Ping-Pong players on an urban rooftop celebrate the chaos and spontaneity of city life.
All photos published with permission of the artist(s).
Want to be featured on NOT REAL ART? Email editor@notrealart.com with a short introduction and a link to your online portfolio or three images of your work.