Chris Ballantyne’s work focuses on vernacular architecture and observation of the American landscape.  Banal features of suburban and industrial zones are sources for paintings that highlight the quirky and absurd.  Ballantyne states that, “Growing up in a military family and moving to different parts of the country, there was a certain familiarity to the kinds of houses and neighborhoods. They were a series of suburban developments built in separate regions of the country, always on the outskirts of larger cities, at the exit ramps of interstate highways, and all very similar in age and design.  My own notions of space developed out of this cultural landscape which was striving for an indidvidual sense of personal space,  consciously economic, and somewhere between urban and rural.” Dysfunctional structures are flawless in their strangeness, made beautiful through symmetry, simplified lines and flat, subdued colors. Ballantyne eliminates detail to emphasize the subtleties of the way we experience space and our attempts at containment. He extends these concepts further by expanding the imagery of his paintings beyond the picture plane and onto the surrounding walls. “Most of my works involve combinations of various places, drawn from memory. As well, my own interests in skateboarding and surfing altered how I saw  the use of these structures ranging from empty pools, sidewalk curbs, to ocean jetties in a way that tied in to my sense of this larger push and pull between culture and nature.” With shrewd restraint, Ballantyne accentuates the antisocial effects of our built environment with a hint of humor and plenty of ambiguity. A curious emptiness permeates the work of Chris Ballantyne. Graphically rendered buildings, pools, parking lots, and fences take on new meanings and amplified significance, isolated on flat fields of color.

Simona Sharafudinov is an artist living and working in London. Born in Eastern Europe, emigrating to London at an early age she has been a Londoner for over two decades. 

La relación de Lola Giardino con la cerámica empezó en 2011, como medida para alejarse un poco del ordenador y encontrar en otros formatos una oportunidad para dar forma a sus creaciones. Después de probar distintas opciones, se enamoró de los materiales y la técnica, tanto que, un año más tarde, creó su propia marca: NonaBruna, gracias a la cual, disfruta de la imperfección haciendo piezas únicas con sus propias manos. Sus piezas se venden online en su página web y han salido en publicaciones internacionales como Vogue, Time Out, Freunde von Freunden y Kinfolk, entre otras. Además del espacio que le sirve para crear, NonaBruna también es el lugar desde el que Lola invita a todos a ‘Jugar con barro’, un taller para explorar la creatividad y materializarla. Lola se define como multifacética porque le resulta imposible quedarse con una sola etiqueta: es diseñadora, ceramista, fotógrafa, directora de arte, web designer, cocinera, coach y emprendedora. Y como parte de este concepto, es también es fundadora del Laboratorio Creativo.

Fine art photographer, Editor in Chief of Terra Firma magazine, curator, designer, publisher, creator, maker, thinker, dreamer.

I am visual artist working between video, installation, and fiber arts, living in Florence, Italy. I am also the co-founder of Creative People in Florence, an international community of artists, designers, artisans, and creative thinkers with the aim of fostering collaboration, promoting our members’ projects, and activating the contemporary arts in Florence.