Michael Shapcott, 1982

Michael Shapcott, born in Hartford, Connecticut, is a Central Connecticut-based painter, known for his daring color palette and emotionally charged portraits. His work deals with highly detailed graphite underdrawings which he then paints with colorful washes in oil and acrylic paints. In addition to painting, Shapcott creates art videos that track the process of painting a painting and show his unique style of working. Shapcott studied illustration for two years before switching to fine arts for the remainder of his studies at Paier College of Art in Hamden, Connecticut, graduating in 2007 with a diploma in Fine Arts. He credits his education for basic technical experience but feels that only in breaking some of the traditional methods he was taught and experimenting on his own did he develop the confidence, unique voice and style he continues to expand upon today.

Liz McKay, 1974

Australian painter McKay is a contemporary figurative artist who's vibrant works draw their essence from smoky bars, sultry jazz singers, romantic couples, European cafes and childhood memories. Her work is about love, childhood imagination and music. Liz McKay has exhibited paintings in most Australian capital cities, New York, LA, Singapore and New Zealand.

Ling Jian / 凌健, 1963 | Pop Surrealism painter

Ling Jian / 凌健 was born in Shandong Province, China.

Ling Jian graduated with a BA from the Fine Arts Department of Tsinghua University Art College, Beijing, in 1986.

​Ling moved from China to Europe in the late 1980s, a geographical transition which led to the artist’s experimentation with the body and performance art. Ling circles his practice around mass consumerism and society’s hypocritical stances on beauty ideals through various painting methods.

Klaudiusz Abramski, 1971

Studies at the Art faculty at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun. Diploma in 1991 at Painting Workshop of prof. M. Wiśniewski. Practises painting and drawing. Takes part in collective exhibitions and competitions. His numerous works are in the private collections in Poland and abroad. His own gallery and studio in Toruń.

Vlad Kravchuk / Влад Кравчук, 1977 | Venice painting

Влад Кравчук was born in Dubna Russia, approximately 75 miles north of Moscow. He graduated from Venecianov Art Lyceum and followed it up studying and graduating from Moscow's Stroganov Art University. Since 1995, Vlad has taken part in many exhibitions within Russia and abroad. Vlad's paintings can be found within galleries and private collections in Russia, USA, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, Poland and Slovakia.

Vlad's subjects are often floral, landscapes and cityscapes and occasional seascapes all of which are compatible with his style of painting with a painting knife versus a brush.

Roberto Ferri / Pablo Neruda | Your Laughter / Il tuo sorriso..

Toglimi il pane, se vuoi,

toglimi l'aria, ma

non togliermi il tuo sorriso.

Non togliermi la rosa,

la lancia che sgrani,

l'acqua che d'improvviso

scoppia nella tua gioia,

la repentina onda

d'argento che ti nasce.

Georges Barbier | Art Déco painter

Born in Nantes France on October 10 1882, Barbier [1882-1932] was 29 years old when he mounted his first exhibition in 1911 and was subsequently swept to the forefront of his profession with commissions to design theatre and ballet costumes, to illustrate books, and to produce haute couture fashion illustrations.

Nicoletta Tomas / Pablo Neruda | Ormai sei mia..

Ormai sei mia. Riposa coi tuo sonno nel mio sonno.

Amore, dolore, affanni, ora devono dormire.

Gira la notte sulle sue ruote invisibili

presso me sei pura come l'ambra addormentata.

Pal Fried | La Belle Époque

Pál Fried was a Hungarian-born American painter.

He studied at the Hungarian Academy under the instruction of Hugo Pohl and in Paris under Claude Monet and Lucien Simone.

He was heavily influenced by the French impressionist school of Renoir and Degas.

Pál Fried excelled in portraits of high society Parisian women, ballerinas, Oriental and western scenes, seascapes, primary working with oil and pastels, experimenting with light and movement in his work.

Ancient Greek | Legacy

The civilization of ancient Greece has been immensely influential on language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, science, and the arts. It became the Leitkultur of the Roman Empire to the point of marginalizing native Italic traditions. As Horace put it,

Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit et artis / intulit agresti Latio (Epistulae 2.1.156f.)

"Captive Greece took captive her uncivilised conqueror and instilled her arts in rustic Latium".