Monday Featured Artists

I have two (very different) artists I would like to feature today. I discovered Hellen van Meene's photography over the weekend and I was absolutely floored (we are having a gigantic sale on books at the MCASD store and I'm discovering all these books I never even knew we had!!!). Hellen van Meene, born and living in The Netherlands, focuses her work mainly on portraits of young people, specifically girls. I love the soft lighting and the facial expressions she gets out of her subjects and how she integrates quirky poses and scenarios like a girl with her head in a wastebasket with more classic poses. The book I found over the weekend, Hellen van Meene Untitled, I just can't seem to find anywhere else online so I'm going to have to buy it and scan some photos. They are my favorites but here are a few more good ones I found on her site.

{All photos courtesy of Sadie Coles}

In my morning google reader ritual, I noticed this post at Poppytalk. I just finished reading (finally) The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and this image by Harry Underwood reminds me of Tereza's dream where she is marching around a pool with a bunch of other women. I love his retro color combinations and his characters; they could be 1950s vacationers from the movie Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (a must see for any francophile and classic movie lover).

{photos courtesy of artbyharry.com}