Unexpected Beauty

We’re excited to introduce you to two new artists this week – Aline Bittar Kunzel and Hamu Isen.

Hailing from Brazil and trained at Central Saint Martins, Aline Bittar Kunzel’s paintings remind us that nothing about the passing of time is linear. Her paintings recall the viewpoints of nature we happen upon unintentionally: looking out the window wistfully, or kicking up the leaves on an autumn walk. We may not be actively seeking nature in these dazed moments, but somehow it always finds us. Kunzel’s paintings don’t let us forget these meetings of mind and nature, making these fleeting ‘afterimages’ the core of her colourful work.

For Japanese artist Hamu Isen, the savouring of unexpected beauty is a similar concern. His abstract pieces have been widely exhibited in Tokyo, and coalesce around a unique process that involves mixing paint and clay, adhering it to wooden supports, before scraping it off and seeing what sticks. It’s a process that involves patience, waiting, and discerning the right levels of pressure to apply. It also involves a lot of hope. Who knows what the outcome will be? In a mellow colour palette Isen’s work is about chance itself and the human ability to give and take, push and pull, and ultimately withstand whatever is thrown at it.

Take a moment to look through these original artworks that ultimately remind us to savour the unexpected.

Study of Lanes by Aline Bittar Kunzel