Preen by Murray Swan

This work is a careful fusion of stainless steel, titanium and copper in a dimension of 1100 x 400 x 500mm. It is simple yet sophisticated in form, and have captured my taste for contemporary minimalism. It somehow reminds me of a fallen twig and leaf that is a beauty in itself, if only the eyes would look beyond what is ordinary. This piece would make a curious addition to modern lofts and contemporary homes. The artist surely knows how to bring out the life from cold metals.

More About the Artist:

Murray Swan was born in Tauranga, New Zealand and moved to Auckland with his family as a youngster. He developed an artistic flair during his intermediate school years, but chose not to persue art in favour of an engineering career. He did a woodworking and metalwork course at Kelston Boys High school and then a 5 year Apprentiship with Air New Zealand (then TEAL).

The training and experience he gained as an aircraft engineer both in New zealand and the United States over the next 34 years gave him some of the fairly unique practical and design skills he would need to express his artistic leanings later in life.

What is Your Philosophy?

It is my desire through my art, to reveal the inherent beauty within some of the metals we commonly use. The textures colours and shapes available from many metals are often taken for granted and sometimes not used to their full advantage. Living in close proximity to one of New Zealand's active volcanic hot-spots, one is sometimes reminded of the part nature has to play in the production of some basic metal elements. It is not uncommon for volcanoes to give up gold, silver, iron etc., during an eruption.

Within my artwork, I can express what I think are our links to the past, and the many uses of metals over the ages, with frequent references to the explosive creativity of nature's forge. It is my personal challenge to explore to the greatest possible depth, all the elements of colour, texture and form that can be achieved from the metals I work with.

Whisper of Explosion by Michael Cheval

The proverbial Garden of Eden will always captivate the imagination. Forbidden knowledge has a price and it has been an innate human desire to seek what is beyond our reach. It is human to be curious of many great, fascinating things.

I love the way innocence is captured in these two lovers. Though I am not sure if the apple is really that fruit of wisdom in the immortal garden, the point is that lust can be a powerful force that moves even the purest of hearts. The tree of life looks like a morbid twist of sin, carefully hiding the serpent of desire. This work in oil is an ingenious depiction of alternate realities.

More About the Artist:

Michael Cheval is the world's leading contemporary artist, specializing in Absurdist paintings, drawings and portraits.

Born in 1966 in Kotelnikovo, a small town of Southern Russia, Cheval developed passion for art in his early childhood. When his family moved to Germany in 1980, the West European culture made a great impression on the young artist.

In 1986, he moved to Turkmenistan and graduated from Ashgabad school of Fine Art. Absorbing Eastern philosophy and the character of Central Asia, he began working as an independent professional artist, shaping his style and surrealistic direction. His decision to immigrate in 1997 to USA began a new epoch for the artist. He returned to the Western culture that greatly inspired him in his German youth, but now he brought his own experience, his philosophy, and vision.

What do you believe in?

In his definition, "absurdity" is an inverted side or reality, a reverse side of logic. It does not emerge from the dreams of surrealists, or the work of subconsciousness. It is a game of imagination, where all ties are carefully chosen to construct a literary plot. My paintings are maps of my journey into illusion. My work is often metaphorical and requires a sharp eye to decipher the often hidden allusions.