Illustrators 21st century
Richard Adams is a British artist and illustrator living and working in Sussex.
Adams received an honors degree in graphic design from Leicester Polytechnic and initially worked as an illustrator in London. Richard Adams creates all his paintings using chalk pastels, then fixes and impregnates with a special varnish that leaves an impenetrable surface. He depicts a variety of English landscapes and seashores, often inhabited by quirky characters and animals, as well as amusing domestic scenes. The artist successfully captures the humor and absurdity of everyday life in a bygone and contemporary English style.
Adams' work is regularly exhibited in London and other UK cities to great acclaim, and internationally in Sydney, Washington DC, Bremen and Madrid.
Vladimir Ivanovich Akulov (Russian: Владимир Иванович Акулов) is a Soviet and contemporary Belarusian artist. He is known as a painter, graphic artist and teacher, a representative of the second wave of Belarusian avant-garde.
Vladimir Akulov in his work has developed a unique style under the influence of expressionism, cubism, primitivism, fauvism. He is a master of portrait, landscape, still life, compositions with symbolic and allegorical subjects, illustrations of literary works. During his career the artist created several cycles of portraits, including those of famous people.
Saleh al-Jumai'e is an Iraqi artist noted for his works that explore the notion of tracks left by ancient heritage. His works often integrate Arabic calligraphy in an abstract artwork. Al-Jumaie and his cohort became the group of artists that defined 1960s Iraqi art. Although al-Jumaie is best remembered as a painter, he also designed posters and produced a number of book covers. His early work features Arabic lettering, but over time the calligraphy became fainter. His interest in exploring new media and materials was maintained throughout his career. The idea of tracks left by tradition is a theme that Jumaie takes up in much of his work. For example, Pages from Old Books is a series of mixed media artworks that creates an illusion of surfaces on which fragments of script have been written.
Craig Alan is an American artist whose work displays a technical sophistication as well as a rich imagination.
After moving with his family to New Orleans, Alan worked as a street artist in his youth, creating portraits. Through his exceptional talent and through his own research, he eventually developed an admirable understanding and sense of textures, compositions and colors. Today, Craig Alan represents a wide range of artistic styles, from book illustration to naturalistic oil painting and his Populus Art.
Kurt Ard was a Danish illustrator, painter and printmaker. He became internationally famous for his narrative cover artwork published in popular magazines of the 1950s-1970s, including the Family Journal, the Saturday Evening Post and Reader’s Digest. Ard started his career at various smaller newspapers and worked in the same realistic tradition as his role model, illustrator and painter, Norman Rockwell. During WW II, Kurt struggled to fulfill commission orders. His painting and his reputation and success grew steadily in the post war years. His illustrations soon appeared in major European publications, and he subsequently achieved international fame. Over the course of his career, Ard has sold more than 1000 illustrations to the best magazines in Europe, and to American publications such as McCalls, Good Housekeeping and Redbook. Today, Kurt continues to create exceptional figurative, landscape and seascape paintings with uncompromising authenticity , capturing the charm, beauty and power of these diverse subjects. His work is especially notable for its brilliant light and precise detail.
Sally Michel Avery is an American artist known for her paintings in the style of abstract expressionism. Her paintings are often associated with musical rhythm and melody. She began her career as a landscape painter, and in the 1940s she moved to more abstract forms and color schemes.
Avery was one of the few women recognized as influential in American abstract painting in the mid-20th century. Her work can be seen in museums and private collections around the world.
Jan Balet was a German/US-American painter, graphic artist and illustrator. Affected by the style naive art he worked particularly as a graphic artist and as an Illustrator of children's books. Besides this he painted pictures in the style of naive art. Referred to as a "naïve" painter, his works exhibit a dry wit and refreshingly candid, satirical view of life.
Margit Balla is a Hungarian artist, graphic artist, illustrator, director, stage designer and costume designer.
She studied typography at the Academy of Applied Arts in Budapest, mainly making posters, book illustrations, later working more and more with pictorial graphics. In her posters Margit Balla combines impressions from old prints with contemporary trends such as pop art. Her figurative compositions are easily recognizable by her special surrealistic drawing style.
Since 2000, Margit Balla has been working as a production designer for the Budapest Puppet Theater.
Quentin Saxby Blake is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works.[a] For his lasting contribution as a children's illustrator he won the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books. From 1999 to 2001, he was the inaugural British Children's Laureate. He is a patron of the Association of Illustrators.
Peter Brandes is a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist and photographer.
Brandes' art is abstract and often in brown colours. He had his breakthrough as artist in the beginning of the 1980s. He has, inter alia, done artwork on Roskilde Domkirke and mosaic (colored glass) windows in a church at Nordkap and the church Village of Hope, south of Los Angeles. In 1998, he created the enormous Roskilde Jars which stand outside the main Roskilde Railway Station.
Brandes is self-taught and his art circles around themes from Christianity. Ancient Greek mythology has also inspired his art. Brandes has illustrated a number of books, for example Homer’s Iliad. A great part of Brandes' ceramic works are inspired by ancient Greek art and mythology.
Raymond Redvers Briggs was a British writer, illustrator, and cartoonist.
A professional illustrator, he worked on the design of children's books. In the 1960s, Briggs discovered his talent and ability to combine words and pictures, using a form of strip cartooning that defined his later work.
Briggs is best known for his wordless book The Snowman, published in 1978, a sort of cute children's tale but with deep meaning. The animated and musical versions of this book are popular in Britain and are shown annually at Christmas.
Jason Brooks is a contemporary British artist known for his fashion illustrations and portraits. He was born in 1969 and studied at Chelsea School of Art and Central Saint Martins in London. His work has been published in publications such as Vogue, Elle and The New Yorker.
Jason Brooks has worked with fashion brands including Chanel, L'Oreal and Christian Dior. As well as commercial work, he has exhibited his work in galleries around the world, including the Saatchi Gallery in London and the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.
Michel Butor was a French writer and poet, associated with the Nouveau Roman literary movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He was known for his experimental writing style, which often challenged traditional narrative structures and explored the relationship between language, identity, and memory.
Butor studied philosophy and literature at the Sorbonne in Paris. In 1954, he published his first novel, "Passage de Milan," which established his reputation as a leading figure of the Nouveau Roman movement.
Throughout his career, Butor wrote more than twenty novels, as well as essays, poetry, and other works. His writing often incorporated elements of travelogue and autobiography, and he frequently collaborated with visual artists on projects that combined text and image.
In addition to his literary work, Butor was a respected teacher and critic, and he lectured at universities around the world. He was awarded numerous honors and awards for his contributions to French literature, including the Prix Renaudot in 1957.
His legacy as an innovative and influential writer continues to be celebrated by literary scholars and readers around the world.
Thomas Calloway Lea III was an American muralist, illustrator, painter, war correspondent, writer and historian. Much of his fiction and literary work has focused on Texas, north-central Mexico, and his World War II experiences in the South Pacific and Asia. Two of his most popular novels, The Brave Bulls and The Wonderful Country, are considered classics of Southwestern American literature.
Lawrence W. Carroll was an Australian-born American painter who established a career on both sides of the Atlantic. In his early career Carroll worked as an illustrator for The Progressive, The Village Voice, The New York Times, and other periodicals drawing political illustrations. However it is Carroll's career as a painter that is most significant. His approach to materials, to the scale and structure of the objects is highly distinctive.
Jean Carzou (Armenian: Ժան Գառզու), birth name: Garnik Zouloumian (French: Karnik Zouloumian; Armenian: Գառնիկ Զուլումեան) was an Armenian-French artist: painter, graphic artist, scenographer, book illustrator, representative of the Paris School. Years of creative activity - 1925-1999. The characteristic definition of Karzu's works is "magic realism".
Jean Carzou's works demonstrate a unique combination of realism and fantasy. His ability to give ordinary scenes mystery and intrigue distinguishes his work. Depictions of bustling city streets, serene landscapes or poignant human figures evoke a sense of contemplation and encourage viewers to delve deeper into the subject matter of each work.
Jean-Pierre Cassigneul is a French artist known for his stylized paintings of women in fashionable clothing and elegant interiors. He was studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Cassigneul's paintings often feature women with long necks, almond-shaped eyes, and vividly colored clothing set against simple yet elegant backgrounds. He has been influenced by the work of Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, and Edouard Vuillard, as well as Japanese woodblock prints.
Cassigneul's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, including the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, and the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. His paintings are also held in the collections of many prestigious institutions, including the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
In addition to his paintings, Cassigneul has also worked in other media, including lithography and book illustration. He has created illustrations for works by Gustave Flaubert, Paul Verlaine, and Charles Baudelaire, among others.
Cassigneul continues to work and exhibit his art today, and is considered one of the leading figures of the contemporary French art scene.
William Glen Crooks, an American neorealist painter, has carved a niche for himself with his unique approach to landscape and urban scene painting. Unlike traditional representations, Crooks' works omit human figures, substituting them with vehicles to embody human traits and emotions. His approach to capturing the essence of city and small-town life through this lens has garnered attention for its depth and thoughtfulness. William Glen Crooks' dedication to his craft began at a young age, evolving from drawing comics to a self-taught mastery in representational painting, driven by a passion to defy the norms of modernism that dominated his formative years. His self-imposed rigorous practice of drawing laid the foundation for his distinctive style.
William Glen Crooks' work has been the subject of several exhibitions, including a notable showcase at the Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA). The exhibition, "The Point of View," marked his first museum exhibition and featured twenty-three paintings that spanned over twenty-five years. These works emphasize cityscapes, nostalgic urban scenery, and expansive landscapes, illustrating Crooks' ability to translate everyday scenes into compelling narratives. His paintings are celebrated for their illumination of light and shadow, transforming landscapes into metaphors that reflect his perceptions of the natural world.
His technique and subject matter draw inspiration from a blend of influences, including the landscape painters of the 1800s, Edward Hopper's narrative style, Mark Rothko's color fields, Wolf Kahn's liberating techniques, and John Frederick Kensett's luminism. This eclectic mix has allowed William Glen Crooks to explore the opacity of light and transparency of shadow in a way that brings a fresh perspective to the landscape genre, making his work resonate with a contemporary audience while retaining a timeless quality.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, William Glen Crooks offers a unique investment in the realm of contemporary realism. His paintings invite viewers to explore the subtle interplay of light, shadow, and form, capturing the quiet moments of daily life with a profound depth and sensitivity.
To stay updated on William Glen Crooks' latest works and exhibitions, signing up for newsletters from galleries and museums that feature his work, such as the Oceanside Museum of Art, is recommended. This subscription will ensure that enthusiasts are always informed about new sales, auction events, and showcases related to Crooks' evolving portfolio.
Gérard de Palézieux is a Swiss painter and engraver.
From the very beginning, Palézieux's vocation was to attempt to render, as closely as possible to his emotions, the spectacle of the world - landscapes, interiors, objects, flowers or fruit. A rare occurrence in his time, characterised by constant questioning of the status of art and representation, he was never shaken by fashions and persevered alone in the faithful translation of reality.
Miodrag Djuric (Montenegrin: Миодраг Ђурић), known as Dado, was an artist born in Montenegro who spent most of his life and creative career in France. He is particularly known as a painter but was also active as an engraver, draftsman, book illustrator and sculptor.
Thomas Duttenhoefer was a German sculptor, draughtsman, graphic artist, and illustrator, and professor at the University of Mannheim.
In addition to his human figures, Thomas Duttenhoefer's figurative work includes many depictions of animals in a deliberately crude manner.
He is a member of the New Darmstadt Secession, the Palatinate Secession and the Argo Group, Speyer.
Klaus Eberlein was a German graphic artist, illustrator and ceramic sculptor. He initially completed training as a chromolithographer. From 1962 to 1968 he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, and from 1968 he was a master student of Hermann Kaspar, receiving a final diploma from the academy. Eberlein was a member of the Association for Original Etching, the Dachau Artists' Association and the Munich Artists' Association. In 2013 he was accepted into the South German literary association Münchner Turmschreiber.
Ellen Kristina Abelli Elander is a Swedish artist, illustrator and sculptor.
She was educated at Birkagårdens folkhögskola and at the beginning of her artistic journey she was interested in the monstrous and the morbid, the grotesque and the cannibalistic. Later on the figure of the Alien appears and becomes central in Elander's works, participating in human life in one way or another.
The artist uses painting, drawing, textile sculpture and ceramics to express her ideas, creates spatial installations, and also draws comics.
Maria Paula Figueiroa Rego was a Portuguese-British visual artist known particularly for her paintings and prints based on storybooks. Rego's style evolved from abstract towards representational, and she favoured pastels over oils for much of her career. Her work often reflects feminism, coloured by folk-themes from her native Portugal.
Paul Flora was an Austrian cartoonist, graphic artist, and illustrator known for his skill with pen and ink.
Flora's work has appeared in the famous New York Times and The Observer newspapers, and his drawings have graced the stamps of Liechtenstein and Austria. Paul Flora has been one of Europe's most famous illustrators since the 1960s.
He also produced books, films and sets.
David (Dudu) Gerstein is an Israeli painter, sculptor, draftsman and printmaker.
Gerstein received a broad education: he studied at the Bezalel Academy, then at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, in New York he continued his studies at the Art Students League, and in 1974 he received a diploma from St. Martin's School of Art in London. He works freely in all media: printmaking, painting, sculpture, drawing, murals and monumental creations.
In the 1970's Gerstein began experimenting with three-dimensional works, leaving cut-out fragments hanging in space. After many innovations, David began creating wall sculptures made with laser cutting and automotive paint. He created his own kind of pop art and gained an international reputation for his signature style with colorful images of numerous cyclists, butterflies, dancers, runners and more. With the advent of computers, he was able to convert his drawings into perfectly formatted patterns that can be faithfully reproduced in a metalworking shop.
And Gerstein's recognizable monumental sculptures can be seen in cities around the world. His street sculpture Momentum is Singapore's tallest public sculpture.
Kęstutis Grigaliūnas - Lithuanian graphic artist, art teacher. 1988-1989 created linen carvings, wood carvings, screen prints, etchings, illustrated books. Since 1990 one of the first Lithuanian graphic designers to use the color screen printing technique. Made a cut out of cardboard and plywood. It is characterized by a pronounced graphic beginning - lines, signs, ornaments, figurative and abstract motifs are used. Since 1998 creates more complex plastic graphic works and cut-outs, they feature postmodernism features, pop art, Fluxus elements, decorative, eclectic images. A playful mood, irony, and various intellectual references to the images of Lithuania and other cultures and civilizations prevail.
Alexander Ovakimovich Grigoryan (Russian: Александр Овакимович Григорян) was a Soviet and Armenian artist of the second half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He is known as a painter and graphic artist, portraitist and illustrator.
Alexander Grigoryan painted pictures characterized by bright saturated colors and emotionality. He specialized in portraits of well-known personalities, whose images he conveyed with warmth and empathy. His works did not just reflect faces, but also conveyed the inner world and temperament of each person depicted.
The master also illustrated works by Shakespeare and Armenian writers.
Friederike Groß is a German painter, caricaturist and university teacher who lives and works as a freelance artist in Stuttgart.
Friederike Groß studied free graphics and art education with Dieter Groß at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart from 1984 to 1989. Since 1985, Friederike Groß has worked as a caricaturist for the Stuttgarter Zeitung.
From 2008 to 2014, Friederike Groß taught as a lecturer in drawing at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. Since 2013, she has held a professorship for illustration at the Berlin Technical University of the Arts (BTK) at the campus in Hamburg.
René Gruau was a French artist and illustrator, known for his work in fashion, advertising, and magazine illustration. He is considered one of the most influential fashion illustrators of the 20th century, and his distinctive style has had a lasting impact on the fashion industry.
Gruau was born in Italy and spent most of his childhood in France. He began his career in advertising in the 1920s, working for the agency J. Walter Thompson. He soon became known for his elegant, sophisticated style, and his ability to capture the essence of a product or brand in a single image.
In the 1940s, Gruau began working in the fashion industry, producing illustrations for magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Elle. He became famous for his glamorous, sensual depictions of women, which captured the essence of the post-war era of elegance and sophistication.
Throughout his career, Gruau worked with some of the biggest names in fashion, including Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Givenchy. He created many iconic images for these designers, including the famous "Bar" suit for Dior, and the "Mondrian" dress for Saint Laurent.
Gruau's work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world, and he has been the subject of several retrospectives. His influence can be seen in the work of many contemporary fashion illustrators, and his legacy continues to inspire new generations of artists.
Boris Nikolayevich Gushchin (Russian: Борис Николаевич Гущин) was a Soviet and Russian artist of the second half of the twentieth century. He is known as a painter, graphic artist and author of diafilms.
Boris Gushchin created many diafilms, including "The Lonely White Sail", "Joke", and "Coats of Arms of Your Country". As a painter, he specialized in Russian landscapes, portraits and works dedicated to Pushkin, particularly illustrations for his works.
Robert Hammerstiel, an Austrian painter and engraver born on 18 February 1933 in Vršac, Yugoslavia, was renowned for his profound and impactful art. His works, deeply influenced by his experiences, were widely exhibited in prominent cities like New York, Vienna, Cairo, and Brussels.
Hammerstiel's journey in the art world was notable for its depth and variety. In 1988, he transitioned to a full-time artistic career, leaving behind his work in the steel industry. This shift marked a new phase in his life, allowing him to fully dedicate himself to his art. One of his significant works includes "Von Ikonen und Ratten: Eine Banater Kindheit 1939 – 1949," which comprises 32 woodcuts, highlighting his skill in both writing and visual arts. His talent was recognized with several prestigious honors, including the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art in 1998 and the Austrian State Prize for Graphics in 1973.
Hammerstiel's art was not just limited to traditional formats; in 2007, he impressively wrapped the Ringturm in Vienna with a 4,000 square meter painting. His works are a part of various collections and have been displayed in significant exhibitions. Notably, the Leopold Museum in Vienna featured his graphic work in an exhibition titled "Winterreise", inspired by Schubert's song cycle, showcasing a series of drawings and woodcuts.
Robert Hammerstiel's influence in the art world extended beyond his lifetime, culminating in his birth town dedicating a museum to his works in 2010. His passing on 23 November 2020 marked the end of an era but left behind a rich legacy that continues to inspire artists and art lovers globally. His work is a testament to the power of art in expressing the complexities of human experiences and emotions.
For collectors, auctioneers, and experts in art and antiques, the works of Robert Hammerstiel offer a unique blend of cultural richness and profound artistic expression. His art, characterized by its emotional depth and technical skill, continues to hold a special place in the world of fine arts.
To stay informed about exhibitions, sales, and auction events related to Robert Hammerstiel's art, sign up for updates. This subscription will keep you updated on new opportunities to engage with the work of this influential Austrian artist.
Theodor Theodorovich Herzen (Russian: Теодор Теодорович Герцен) was a Soviet and Kyrgyz artist of the second half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries of German origin. He is known as a painter, graphic artist, muralist, who was honored with the title of People's Artist of Kyrgyzstan.
Theodor Herzen worked in monumental and decorative art, easel painting and book graphics. One of Herzen's outstanding works was a monumental cycle of illustrations to the Kyrgyz epic "Manas", including more than two hundred linocuts. In this project, he combined his extensive experience of working on Kyrgyz themes with his deep knowledge of the ethnicity, history and spiritual traditions of the Kyrgyz people. Herzen collected extensive ethnographic material and created many sketches of costumes and scenes from Kyrgyz life for this cycle of illustrations.
Adi Holzer is an Austrian visual artist, illustrator, draughtsman, painter, graphic artist, glass painter and sculptor of bronze sculptures and glass sculptures. He works alternately in his studios in Værløse in Denmark and Winklern in Austria. In Austria he is a member of the Carinthian Art Association.
Bernhard Jäger, born on June 17, 1935, in Munich, Germany, is a multifaceted artist known for his work as a painter, printmaker, and sculptor. Initially pursuing biology between 1956 and 1957, Jäger later shifted to art studies at the Werkkunstschule Offenbach, graduating in 1961. His background in biology notably influenced his artistic career, adding a unique depth and perspective to his creations.
Jäger co-founded the Gulliver-Presse with fellow lithographer Thomas Bayrle, and during this time, he also embarked on a secondary career as a publisher until 1966. His contributions to the world of book art are significant, with some of his illustrated books being awarded the prize "Die schönsten Bücher des Jahres" by the Stiftung Buchkunst in 1970, 1984, and 1994. He is also known for designing thirty book covers for Jorge Luis Borges' "The Library of Babel" published by the Gutenberg Book Guild in 2007.
Besides his contributions to book art, Jäger has held positions as a guest lecturer and head of the evening school at Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main. He also served as a visiting professor at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Bernhard Jäger is a member of the Darmstadt Secession and a recipient of the Prize of the Heitland Foundation in 1998. His works are included in public collections such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Klingspor Museum, Offenbach.
For collectors, auctioneers, and experts in art and antiques, Bernhard Jäger's work offers a rich blend of artistic styles influenced by his diverse background. His works, especially his lithographs known as "X-ray graphics," are sought after in the art market.
To stay informed about sales and auctions related to Bernhard Jäger's art, signing up for updates is recommended. This subscription will provide timely information about new product sales and auction events related to his art.
Colette Justine, better known as Colette Lumiere, is a Tunisian-born, American multimedia artist known for her pioneering work in performance art, street art, and her use of photography to create photographic tableau vivant. She is also known for her work exploring male and female gender roles, use of guises and personas, and for soft fabric environments, where she often appears as the central element.
Edward Kay, or Ed(ward) Kay, is an English painter and illustrator, trained at the Royal Academy School in London.
Kay's work is inspired by art history and kitsch, and he masterfully combines styles. He works in a variety of genres, but the portraits and still lifes in his paintings become suddenly unconventional.
Alexander Serafimovich Kotlyarov (Russian: Александр Серафимович Котляров) is a Soviet and contemporary Russian artist, He is known as a painter, graphic artist, teacher and scholar, PhD in art history.
Alexander Kotlyarov works in a style close to Impressionism, especially in portraits and still lifes. He also creates landscapes and engravings, including illustrations for the works of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. The artist has participated in numerous exhibitions and his works are in private and public collections in Russia, France and the USA.
Since 1973 he has been teaching drawing and painting, and since 2006 he has been the head of the department of the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the Moscow State University of Printing Arts.
