Banish what has already been seen and seek a reality not separated from its mystery
Meeting Benches is a meeting and inspiration place dedicated to artists, thinkers and dreamers from all over the world. Here, where people can share art, stories and thoughts, virtual benches serve as a point of connection. If you’re an art enthusiast or simply curious to explore a world of inspiration and beauty, this is a digital destination not to be missed. The sole purpose of this site is to spread knowledge of creative people, allowing others to appreciate their works. The intellectual properties of the digital images that appear in this blog, including acrilic painting “Woman with a turban” created by Dastilige Nevante, are to be reported to their authors. Type in painters if you want to know more. Existing artists have helped create a world of imagination and extraordinary visions, pushing the boundaries of art and perception. They are the contemporary surrealist painters, artists who explore the realm of the subconscious mind through their art, creating dreamlike images, bizarre landscapes and unconventional juxtapositions of objects. Some famous contemporary surrealists include Mary Reid Kelley, Penny Slinger, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Jonathan Meese, and Inka Essenhigh. Among the most famous surrealists of the past, however, we remember René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst and Joan Miró.
Creating immersive videos that blend live performance, animation, drawing and digital design, Mary Reid Kelley is a leading figure in the fusion of digital and analog. This American artist born in 1979 in Greenville, South Carolina, she received her BFA from St. Olaf College in Minnesota and an MFA in painting from Yale University. Exploring themes of gender, class and urban development, with her black and white videos, this creative woman blends classic drama, modern literature and contemporary pop culture. Through intense research, she creates works that reflect on the promise of progress and complex cultural relationships. With a contrast between black and white, skillfully integrating painting and drawing, she brings a cartoonish touch to her multimedia works.
Her work has been described as belonging to the genres of surrealism and feminist surrealism. As part of the feminist surrealism movement, this artist address’s themes of empowerment, gender roles and power. We’re introducing you to Penny Slinger, a California-based British-American artist who has worked in a variety of mediums, including photography, film, and sculpture. Some of her recurring themes include sexuality and the female body, esoteric symbols, religious icons and mystical images. Her complex, evocative and meaningful works invite viewers to explore deep and personal themes. Well known for her explorations of sexuality, mysticism and feminism, she has exhibited her work around the world since 1971.
Nathaniel Mary Quinn is an American painter known for his collage-style composite portraits featuring disfigured faces, he legally adopted the name Mary in memory of his mother. Born in 1977 in Chicago, he has developed a style that combines fragments of images taken from the mass media and from his personal memory. Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, this artist faced personal challenges, including the death of his mother and the sudden abandonment of his family. After graduating from New York University, he continued to live in Brooklyn, teaching art to underprivileged youth. In 2013, he achieved his first major success with the painting “Charles”, which began his signature style. His works are present in important museum collections, including the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Whitney Museum of American Art and MOCA.
We want to introduce you to an artist who challenges convention, explores cultural identity and offers a unique perspective on the contemporary art landscape, a man interested in personalities from world history, primordial myths and heroes. Ranging from painting to performance, he creates works that challenge traditional artistic conventions. His works often address political, cultural and social issues in a provocative way, inviting viewers to reflect and question. He is known for his composite portraits and spectacular installations. Jonathan Meese a German artist born in 1970 in Tokyo, currently lives and works between Ahrensburg and Berlin. His work is eclectic and involves painting, sculpture, performance and installations. This creative man often creates multimedia works, including paintings, collages, drawings and writings. Some of his best-known works include “Dictatorbaby Mary Poppin’s Cats, Dogs and Eggpies” and “Spass an de Freud.”
Throughout his career he has held solo exhibitions in galleries such as Mary Boone Gallery, Jacob Lewis Gallery in New York and Il Capricorno in Venice. Inka Essenhigh, an American painter based in New York City, studied at the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio and earned a Master of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York. With a style that mixes abstraction and figuration, her creative streak ranges from Pop Surrealism to New Figuration. Over the years, she has experimented with different materials, moving from flat enamel paint to more atmospheric oils. In summary, she creates an intriguing and thought-provoking visual world, where reality and imagination merge. Some of her recurring themes include surreal landscapes, mythical creatures and fantastic plants, stylized and often abstract human figures, enigmatic symbols and references to myths and legends.
