At some point, I realized I didn’t want to choose between the past and the present. I was interested in allowing them to coexist,” says baroque-style painter Nieves González, who distorts trappings of traditional portraiture to exalt modern day women. Her recent portrait of British pop star Lily Allen, for example, places contemporary attitude—and fashion—within […]

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“What I am advocating for is a type of grace,” says Matthew Hansel. “Both in the way we see ourselves and in the way we see others. I am celebrating the impossible mix of contradictory things that make us human, including the parts of ourselves we hide from the world.” Hansel’s tour of our hidden […]

The post Matthew Hansel’s Hidden Demons first appeared on Hi-Fructose Magazine.

To celebrate the cult movie director’s 80th birthday, we bring you our interview with John Waters from Hi-Fructose Isssue 69. You can still get a copy in print of this issue here. Happy Birthday to The King of Puke! ABOVE: Portrait of John Waters, photo by Greg Gorman, © Academy Museum Foundation Early on in the […]

The post Happy 80th Birthday to The Pope of Trash: An Interview With John Waters first appeared on Hi-Fructose Magazine.

In a world not so unlike our own, during a time not that long ago, a mother wolf sits comfortably upon an abandoned tree stump in a clearing in the woods. Surrounded by carefully rendered flora and fauna, the creature is positioned upright with impeccable posture and human-like mannerisms. Her hind legs are crossed at […]

The post The Drawings of Femke Hiemestra Depict Fairy Tales with Looming Consequences first appeared on Hi-Fructose Magazine.

ABOVE: “Spatial Awareness”, 54″ x 250″, hand-knit with wool, 2025, photo by Chris Rettman From her dining room table in Oklahoma City, Kendall Ross knits brightly colored, intricately patterned sweaters and vests—some so large that referring to them as wearables is a bit misleading. Her textile pieces are often emblazoned with diary-like messages that speak […]

The post Kendall Ross Comments Directly on the Craft Vs. Art Debate first appeared on Hi-Fructose Magazine.

In 2019, Kayla Mahaffey reached a turning point with her art. The Chicago-based artist had a solo show at Line Dot Editions in April of that year. Titled Off to the Races, the series of paintings centered around children ready to hit the road. Some sat with their growing legs crouched in tiny cars or […]

The post Child’s Play: The Paintings of Kayla Mahaffey first appeared on Hi-Fructose Magazine.

When Frode Bolhuis got his start as a sculptor, he worked classically, with monumental figures made of bronze and metal—the kind of thing you see in a public square or park. But then the Dutch sculptor discovered the simplest of mediums, polymer clay, and his art practice exploded into a technicolor world of hue and […]

The post For Frode Bolhuis, The Figure Contains Life’s Mysteries and Its Multitudes first appeared on Hi-Fructose Magazine.

When the Bulls Fest—a raging celebration of the iconic and famed NBA team—first happened at Chicago’s United Center in 2022, Kyle Cobban was one of the contributing artists to The Art of the Game exhibition. It’s a piece that encapsulates Cobban’s aesthetic vision. Working with graphite and paper, the Chicago-based artist makes small, detailed drawings […]

The post Kyle Cobban Draws From The Unknown first appeared on Hi-Fructose Magazine.

In the process of painting someone, artist Jenny Morgan reveals not only what shows, but what doesn’t show. Her vibrant and emotional oil paintings of figures hover in a place that is between realism and abstraction, where many of her subjects confront their viewer with an electric stare that braves against the vulnerable moment in […]

The post Very Strange Days: The Paintings of Jenny Morgan first appeared on Hi-Fructose Magazine.

Growing up as a queer kid in the ‘80s, I was well aware from an early age that I was different, and that different was not okay, especially living in Missouri,” says New Mexico artist Anthony Hurd, who recently shifted away from abstracts, to delve into what may be deemed “controversial” figurative work. Not only […]

The post Boy Howdy! Anthony Hurd Embraces the Personal first appeared on Hi-Fructose Magazine.

The 78th Issue of Hi-Fructose includes a cover a feature on Nieves Gonzalez, the art of Grip Face, The landscapes of Jennifer Nehrbass, the soft sculptures of Ela Fidalgo, the stitched urban landscapes of Laura Ortiz Vega, the art Jeffrey Gibson, Yu Jin Young’s once transparent figures, and the paintings of Fatima De Juan.  Plus […]

The post Hi-Fructose issue 78 is Coming! first appeared on Hi-Fructose Magazine.

Henrik Aarrestad Uldalen captures people in oils with all the precision and clarity of a camera. He then places these incredibly lifelike images in impossible scenes. Uldalen’s models float in blank spaces. They precariously climb staircases that spiral upside down. They fall from buildings that tilt at odd angles. The Oslo-based artist’s work isn’t so […]

The post Weightless: The Paintings of Henrik Uldalen first appeared on Hi-Fructose Magazine.