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.

Lotta Nieminen is a multidisciplinary designer and illustrator from Helsinki, Finland. She has studied graphic design and illustration at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Rhode Island School of Design, and has worked as a freelancer in both fields since 2006. After working for fashion magazine Trendi in Finland andPentagram Design in New York, Lotta is now based in NYC, working for design studio RoAndCo. In 2010, Lotta received the Art Directors ClubYoung Guns 8 award and was selected by Print magazine for its annual New Visual Artists review, highlighting 20 international rising designers under the age of 30. Her work has also won honorable mentions at Vuoden Huiput (Best of Finnish advertising and graphic design) as well as in various logo competitions. She has illustrated for the likes of clients such as United Airlines,International Herald Tribune Magazine,Monocle and Bloomberg Businessweek. As an illustrator, Lotta is represented by illustration agency Agent Pekka.

Caspar Lam is a partner at Synoptic Office, a multidisciplinary design studio operating in the space between design, technology and education. The studio’s work has been exhibited internationally and recognized by Fast Company Design, iDn, Neshan, Etapes, and It’s Nice That.

A NY-based multidisciplinary visual communicator with a rational visual methodology. My most interest in visual practice is to bring the essence of beautification from nature and make them practical and joyful. Currently, he works as freelance AD/designer for various project that small to big such as NIKE, NIKE NYC, SAMSUNG, DESCENTE, ROBLOX in USA and run a design studio Smile Flower in Seoul, Korea.

Art director and designer.