Best Photos of 2025 from The Independent Photographer Awards
“Leap of faith” by Subhran Karmakar, India
In 2025, The Independent Photographer Awards drew an unprecedented wave of submissions, and ten images rose above thousands with fearless creativity. Continue reading »
French Ceramicist Creates Adorable Blobby “Specimens” With Stone‑like Bodies And Tiny Faces Turning Alien Life Into Pocket‑sized Companions
Monsieur Cailloux is a Paris‑based ceramic artist and self‑styled explorer who has invented an imaginary planet, MRCX, populated by the “Cailloux Tribe” – small, blobby, stone‑like beings he sculpts in clay. Continue reading »
Japanese Illustrator Creates Dreamy Digital Landscapes With Tiny Figures, Moons And Houses Suspended In Quiet, Poetic Night Skies
Akira Kusaka (日下 明) is a contemporary Japanese illustrator and graphic designer based in Osaka, known for dreamy, poetic scenes where small human figures, animals and architecture float in vast, quiet spaces. Continue reading »
This Artist Creates Stylish Pop‑surreal Illustrations With Pastel Rooms, Sharp Objects, And Deadpan Expressions Carrying All The Emotional Damage
Cong Ming is a contemporary digital artist and illustrator who builds cinematic, character‑driven scenes that mix cute, gothic and quietly brutal elements into single‑frame stories. Continue reading »
South Korean Artist Creates Gentle, Surreal Heartwarming Paintings Sharing Small, Wordless Moments At The Edge Of Loneliness And Comfort
Jeon Pil‑hwa (Pil Hwa) is a contemporary South Korean artist and illustrator known for quiet, surreal digital paintings where humans and animals—especially cats—share small, intimate moments in soft, muted worlds. Continue reading »
Oil Painter Creates Contemporary Gothic Portraits With Classical Technique And Lowbrow Attitude, Recasting Fairy‑tale Femininity As Sharp, Haunted, And Fully Present
risten Margiotta is a Delaware‑based contemporary oil painter, illustrator, and art instructor whose work blends classical portrait skills with lowbrow / pop‑surreal influences Continue reading »
“Hundai Second Star”: Artist Duo Create Superb Futuristic Concept of the Hundai Car
Created by designers Chris Min and Hyunbeen Kye for Hyundai’s 2025 Stellar Restomod Competition, the Hyundai Second Star transforms the iconic Stellar into a contemporary vision. Instead of simply reviving retro charm, the project is anchored in storytelling—imagining the journey of a family leader who once depended on the original model and is now stepping into a new chapter of life. Continue reading »
This Artist Creates Pre‑apocalyptic Pop‑surreal Paintings With Glossy Humour And Horror Reframing Death And Consumer Culture
Tyler Tilley is a Canadian‑born surreal pop artist currently based in Thailand, known for “cute & weird” oil paintings that mash up pop‑culture icons, horror, kitsch and dark humour. Continue reading »
Illustrator Paul Blow Creates Simple‑looking but Idea‑rich Artworks, With Restrained Palettes and Clean Lines
Paul Blow is a Scottish‑born, Dorset‑based illustrator known for witty, concept‑driven images that strip ideas down to bold shapes, limited colour and dry humour. Continue reading »
Artist Greg Pettit Creates Transdimensional Still‑life Paintings With Airbrushed Crystals, Portals, and Objects Suspended in Space
Greg Pettit is a contemporary painter based in Austin, Texas, who describes himself as a “transdimensional still‑life painter” and “airbrush wizard,” building meticulous, surreal compositions from abstract sculptural references. Continue reading »
Artist Creates Stunning Drawings and Street Art Murals Rooted in Mexican and Indigenous Traditions
Mazatl is a contemporary Mexican artist and printmaker known for powerful relief prints, murals, and installations that center on nature, animals, ancestry, and collective liberation. Continue reading »
German Artist Eckart Hahn Creates Ambiguous Paintings and Evocative Visual Dramas
Eckart Hahn, born in 1971 in Germany, is a contemporary painter recognized for creating atmospheric and tension-filled narrative scenes. Continue reading »
“Six Feet Deep”: Horror Nostalgia and Bizarre Beauty in the Art Works of Tyler Pennington
Tyler Pennington is an American horror, fantasy, and sci-fi artist based in Richmond, VA, recognized for intricate black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings rich in macabre details. Continue reading »
Provocative Feminine Artworks and Vibrant Streetart Murals by Crisselle
Karina Vazquez (aka Crisselle) is a Long Beach-based, self-taught artist known for her dreamlike, poetic style and evocative exploration of femininity and personal identity. Continue reading »
Pop Culture Redux: Vivid and Humorous Illustrations of Niclas M.
Niclas M., (aka Monkeymouthart), is a Guatemalan-born artist specializing in kitsch and lowbrow art, illustration, and graphic design. Continue reading »
Paper, Flesh, and Urban Myth: Dissecting the Darkly Surreal Collages of John Vochatzer
John Vochatzer, (aka Calamity Fair), is a San Francisco-based collage and mixed-media artist whose surreal, corporeal imagery explores the contradictions of contemporary life. Continue reading »
“Another America”: The Fictional History of United States by Phillip Toledano
In his project ‘Another America’, artist and photographer Phillip Toledano uses artificial intelligence to construct a fictional, yet hauntingly familiar, history of the United States. Continue reading »
“When Rembrandt Meets Pollock”: Colorful Classical-Meets-Contemporary Portraits of Cesar Santos
Cesar Santos is a Cuban-American artist and portrait painter best known for his “Syncretism” series, which merges different artistic styles into a single, balanced composition. Continue reading »
“What Wasn’t Said”: Stunning Surreal Paintings by Nikolina Petolas
Nikolina Petolas is a Croatian visual artist and photographer known for dreamlike, surreal-inspired imagery that blends photography, collage, and digital techniques. Continue reading »
Amazing Glass and Neon Sculpture Installations by April Key
April Key is a British artist and sculptor whose work bridges tradition and innovation through light and structure. Continue reading »
Bold and Beautiful Illustrations by Michel de Novembre
Michel de Novembre is a contemporary artist and illustrator known for his vibrant illustrations. Continue reading »
3D Artist Gal Yosef Reimagins Pop Culture Legends in Unique Blend of Playfulness and Provocation
Gal Yosef is a self-taught Israeli 3D artist known for his vibrant and edgy digital sculptures of cartoon characters. Continue reading »
“Wild at Heart”: Beautiful Digital Collages by Annita Stamati
Annita Stamati is a contemporary collage artist from Thessaloniki, Greece. She creates distinctive analog compositions using cut and paste techniques, drawing inspiration from nature and urban life. Continue reading »
Stunning Digital Collages by Chiara Santoro
Chiara Santoro is an Italian digital artist and medical librarian. She also describes herself as a digital storyteller and geek. Her profile states: “There are always two artists: the one who creates and the one who perceives,” and she accepts commissions. Continue reading »
Playful and Colorful Minimalist Vector Illustrations by Andy Huang
Andy Huang, an American illustrator based in New York City, was born in Taipei, Taiwan. Continue reading »
