MAGNUS GJOEN

Born in London to Norwegian parents, Magnus Gjoen grew up in Switzerland, Denmark, Italy as well as in the UK. As a contemporary artist Gjoen has exhibited worldwide and questions the notions of beauty by juxtaposing a range of styles and media, incorporating a street and pop aesthetic with a fine art approach. His pieces draw on history and allusion, using existing artworks or fragments from the past to create his own, contemporary aesthetic.

Describing himself as an ‘accidental’ artist, Gjoen studied fine art and fashion design which led to a successful career in fashion, working for brands such as Vivienne Westwood.

A move back into the art world came from decorating the walls of his London flat and realising he could do so with his own artworks. Thought-provoking and often-emotional, Gjoen’s art offers a modern spin on old masterpieces or manipulates powerful and strong objects into something fragile yet beautiful. By blending two genres from completely different worlds, his art is about rediscovery, taking things from the past and renewing them for the contemporary market. Breathing fresh air into dusty old paintings found in the far corners of a museum or lending a sense of beauty and grace to typically powerful, even dangerous objects, Magnus Gjoen’s work invites a second look. It’s this ability to engage with the viewer and get them questioning, challenging and thinking that makes him a promising and successful young artist in the contemporary art world.

Follow Magnus Gjoen on Instagram @magnusgjoen

BEN SLOW

Ben Slow is an artist who emerged through the UK street art scene of the late 2000s. Having created large scale murals across the UK and internationally, Ben’s background in street art visibly informs his fine art studio practice. Born from the early days of throwing paint-filled balloons at walls, he combines an abstract aesthetic with refined portraiture, navigating the space between order and chaos. Stating that there is nothing scarier than a blank canvas, Ben uses an array of different materials and techniques to create his unique style; deconstructing, destructing and blurring boundaries to strike a balance between figurative and abstract.

Ben is first and foremost a storyteller, continuously fascinated and inspired by his extensive travels. The colourful characters he meets, the ephemera he collects, the colours, sounds and smells of a place, all seep into his practice in one way or another.

“Often I’ll be creating something and the story will begin to reveal itself, I’ll have an initial idea but the true nature of the piece will only come over time – this is often influenced by the people I meet, the music I’m listening to, the headspace I’m in, the current climate…”.

Follow Ben Slow on Instagram @benslow

KIM M ARTIST

Born and raised in Brighton UK, Kim M Artist has been exploring and developing her creative talents in a number of exciting directions. Her work sometimes takes her down a different path than she had originally intended, experimenting with different mediums and sometimes mixing more than one to get to her final result. At times she creates one piece of art which she then deliberately ‘ruptures’ to create two distinctive works that are forever linked, regardless of where they are displayed around the world. She describes her approach to creating art as a form of osmosis where ideas and concepts often bleed into each other throughout the creative journey.

Kim is not always focused on creating something that is an identical replica of the subject matter like her photography but will sometimes allow natural form, colour, material and texture to influence the end result. Some of her pieces may evoke discussion whilst others can just simply be aesthetically pleasing to look at.

Kim prefers not to be restricted by convention and prefers to focus on her own emotions evoked from the work she undertakes.

We are constantly being told how to look, dress, speak, or act and Kim feels that art is no different. Kim believes all art should be celebrated whether it be art created by a child with finger paint or a renowned artist, there is no wrong way to do it. She acknowledges that learning basic skills is helpful but there is always a danger that too much intervention can rob individuals of confidence in their own abilities and their own individual creativity. Kim has witnessed this firsthand in the school classroom and when studying herself. Kim believes that if you enjoy the process of creating then the end result is immaterial and you have already got your reward but, if someone else appreciates your work too...that’s the dream!

Describing herself as an ‘Fluid Artist’, Kim has finally been able to fulfill her ambition of creating art full-time and hopes that her approach will help inspire others to follow their passions and begin their own journey of discovery in art and creative photography.

Follow Kim M Artist on Instagram @kimmartist