Discover the emerging visual artists on our radar this summer
Min Woo Nam
Min Woo Nam in front of his works. Photo courtesy of the RCA.
Min Woo Nam is a Korean artist born in 1994, and lives and works in London. In 2016, he completed his studies at the London School of Economics. Subsequently, he fulfilled a two-year military service in the Korean army, during which he was deployed to South Sudan as a member of the United Nations peacekeeping contingent. Immersed in an unfamiliar environment, this experience sparked Min Woo’s personal quest to delve into the essence of existence and the concept of ‘Self’. His artistic creations have received global recognition, with notable exhibitions including the RA Degree Show in 2023.
Min Woo Nam’s paintings act as conduits to realms beyond the ordinary, inviting viewers to transcend mundane experiences and delve into profound depths of existence. With meticulous precision in his color choices and brushstrokes, he strives to evoke powerful moods and create immersive experiences that capture the ever-evolving consciousness. His work guides individuals towards abstract and conceptual understanding, encouraging them to embark on transformative journeys of self-reflection and profound discovery.
Cruising the Winter Lake (left), Nocturnal Path (right) – RCA Degree Show Installation view. Photo courtesy of the RCA.
Effie Wanyi Li
Details of Effie Wan Yi Li, Scarring, 2023. Photo courtesy of Ocula.
Effie Wanyi Li, a sculptor and painter residing in London, delves into the exploration of the relationship between the body and mind in her artistic creations. Her focus lies in using painting as a means to visually portray the subtle interactions and movements that occur within the physical realm of the body, brought about by intangible emotions and sensations. Through her work, she aims to shed light on the intricate interplay between actions and thoughts that is often overlooked or taken for granted. By immersing themselves in these paintings, viewers are prompted to reflect upon their own bodily experiences and embark on a personal journey of self-discovery. Li’s earlier college works involved geometric elements and utilized hard materials like Perspex, metal, wood, and stretched string. She approached these materials rationally, using them as indirect means to transform ideas into physical artworks. However, recently, Li has shifted to softer and organic materials such as paints and fabrics. This change allows her to experiment with a more perceptual approach to expression and document her personal journey of self-acceptance.
Emmanuel De Carvalho
Installation view of Emanuel De Carvalho, New State at Guts Gallery, London. Photo courtesy of Guts Gallery.
Emanuel’s artistic journey began with enrolling in a painting course at the Slade School of Fine Arts in London. It opened up new possibilities, allowing him to create narratives beyond traditional mediums. He is currently immersed in the transformative Turps Banana Art School Studio Painting Programme mentored by Anne Ryan. Recently joining Guts Gallery, Emanuel aims to address the underrepresentation of queer bodies and experiences in art history. His work explores political shifts and connects queer experiences with mental states, challenging preconceived notions of gender and identity. Through his dynamic figures and juxtaposition of objects, he sparks dialogue about perception and seeks to overcome negative associations. Emanuel’s art captivates with its iridescent tones and profound exploration of themes. By deconstructing the notion of perception associated with bodies, objects, and the creation of imagery, Emanuel prompts a dialogue about the viewer’s own perceptions and any potential negative associations that may arise.
Emanuel de Carvalho, neurosystem 1, 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Callum Harvey
Details of Callum Harvey, Spolia, 2022. Photo courtesy of Huxley Parlour.
Callum Harvey (born in 1998) resides and works in London. He finished his undergraduate studies at Falmouth University in 2020 and was awarded a scholarship to pursue his Master’s degree at the Royal College of Art, graduating in 2023. In 2019, he participated in a residency at Porthmeor Studios in St Ives. Harvey’s artwork has been featured in various group exhibitions worldwide, including Kingsgate Project Space in London, Safehouse in London, Centre Space Gallery in Bristol, and Huxley-Parlour in New York, all in 2023. Through his work, Callum Harvey delves into architectural details and patterns, exploring how they influence spatial relationships. His paintings, characterized by a gentle color palette, highlight the often overlooked and mundane aspects of architecture. Harvey frequently focuses on a single repeated pattern or detail and skillfully alters perspectives, offering fresh and alternative ways of perceiving space.
Max Boyla
Installation view of Max Boyla at Royal Academy Schools Show 2023. Photo courtesy of the Wick.
Max Boyla, born in 1991 in Musselburgh, Scotland, is an artist currently based in London and pursuing post graduate studies at the Royal Academy Schools. Boyla’s artistic practice embraces the concept of painting as a means of creating illusions. His artworks exist in a perpetual state of ambiguity, where the tangible and genuine world intertwines with the eternal and fictitious. Familiar characters reappear throughout his works, navigating unfamiliar realms devoid of temporal or spatial context. In recent pieces, Boyla has delved into the realm of advertising, exploring fictional worlds that reflect our longing for unattainable ideals and endless promises. By blurring the boundaries between reality and fantasy, Boyla prompts us to question our sense of existence in a world where distinctions between the two become increasingly indistinct.
Mary Stephenson
Mary Stephenson, Deep Pool, 2022. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Mary Stephenson is a London-based artist currently pursuing postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy Schools after graduating from the Glasgow School of Art in 2011. Her artwork intricately weaves narratives, drawing viewers into complex and surreal scenes. Employing humor and distraction, Stephenson creates a palpable tension that is ultimately disrupted by the presence of objects depicted as characters within her work—a bowl of melancholic olives, a surprised fork, or a wistful piece of Stilton. These objects play a central role, both influencing and being influenced by the situations they inhabit. Stephenson explores the theme of “conspicuous consumption,” subtly examining humanity’s yearning for acceptance and belonging. Her paintings serve as a sorting room for excessive thoughts, layering narratives and conflicting emotions to portray the frenzy of projected self-identities. Through her art, Stephenson offers a magnifying glass to scrutinize our own constructed identities, prompting introspection and a deeper understanding of the intricacies of self in a world driven by consumption and societal expectations.
Elinor Stanley
Details of Elinor Stanley, Babe, 2022. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Elinor Stanley has a background in studying at both the Glasgow School of Art and Open School East in Margate. Through her paintings, Stanley aims to intensify and amplify the experience of the viewer. The focus on the human figure within her artwork undergoes a deliberate shift, akin to the way an unsettled eye might perceive its surroundings. The paintings evoke a sense of unsteadiness or vertigo, representing a subjective and biased viewpoint. Stanley’s artistic practice is deeply rooted in drawing, and she often works in series, creating multiple iterations of repeated imagery. The subjects and ideas explored within her work revolve and circle, much like thoughts in the mind, continuously turning over and evolving.
Ji Won Cha
Details of Ji Won Cha, Fire in Her Touch, 2023. Photo courtesy of Artsy.
Ji Won Cha’s practice revolves around the re-articulation of the sublime in the context of the 21st century, focusing on capturing and processing complex emotions of uncertainty that permeate both personal lives and societal constructs. Termed as “The Anxious Sublime,” the artist explores the intricate emotions that arise during prolonged moments of anticipation, where one yearns for the arrival of an expected future. In an era dominated by an overwhelming abundance of information at a rapid digital pace, coping mechanisms are eroded, and the ability to discern fact from fiction is compromised. Despite accumulating a vast cloud of data, definitive answers remain elusive. The artist aims to portray the heightened feelings that emerge when confronted with these existential questions. By accentuating the conditions of “not knowing” and the loss of control, the artist’s paintings capture the conflicting emotions of hope and despair, continuously interrogating the concept of “fate.” While the imagery draws inspiration from landscapes, the created scenes transcend the physical realm and exist in a realm of fantasy. The paintings engage in a rich dialogue, embracing the coexistence of divergent sentiments, finding allure in darkness, distress in beauty, serenity in chaos, and bravery in destruction. Through the use of imagery that amplifies sensory experiences, the artist’s practice delves into the anticipation for a future that perpetually eludes realization.
Alexis Soul-Gray
Details of a work by Alexis Soul-Gray in Immutable Fragments at Bel Ami, Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of Bel Ami.
Alexis Soul-Gray employs a unique artistic process combining painting, drawing, and collage to explore the role of imagination in navigating sadness and loss. By appropriating mid-to-late 20th-century family photo graphs, she selects staged scenes of women and children, then reveals their underlying emotions through delicate drawing techniques and disruptive methods such as erasing and applying chemicals. Through painting over or collaging the figures, Soul-Gray seeks to restore their humanity, while the washed-away images become transparent, allowing the texture of the canvas to shine through. Her artworks capture the trans-formative power of imagination, inviting viewers to reflect on the emotional impact of childhood experiences and the ways they shape our perception of the world.
Bijanka Bacic
Details of Bijanka Bacic, In a desperate land, 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Bijanka Bacic’s art seeks to rethink and find meaning in the world through a visual language that embraces both order and chaos. Her paintings feature energetic lines and forms mingling in vibrant fields of color, creating a captivating interplay between abstraction, gesture, and geometry. With her current series, ‘We are defending their illusion,’ Bacic playfully explores the Grid as a disruptive device that allows differences and limitations to coexist on a single surface, blurring the boundaries of time and perception. Her artistic process involves a delicate balance between addition and obliteration, leading to transformative moments of light emerging from a series of “mistakes in blindness.” Through her work, Bacic invites viewers to con template the paradoxical nature of abstract art and the boundless possibilities it offers for reimagining our understanding of the world.
Details of Bijanka Bacic, You can’t rely on memories, 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist.