2025 Watchlist
Morgan Hese
Morgan blurs the lines between photography and sculpture, transforming memory, place, and identity into immersive works that invite us to reflect on what it means to belong. Rooted in her small-town Southern upbringing, her art holds the tenderness of family histories while questioning the boundaries of tradition, identity, and cultural change.
Her vision reminds us that art is not only about what we see, but what we feel and carry with us. Morgan’s work embodies the experimental spirit of her generation while remaining deeply connected to the soil of her heritage. 🌾📸
Explore Art Rural America Magazine Morgan Hesse September 2025
Mathieu Ruel
From the quiet woods of Kingsey Falls, Québec, Mathieu Ruel paints with more than color—he paints with soul. His art is not just seen, it’s felt. Every brushstroke honors nature as a sacred teacher, and every shimmering face or animal speaks to the warrior within us all.
What moved me most was his humility—how he creates not for fame, but as an act of healing and service. His paintings remind us we are deeply interconnected, and that courage, presence, and inner strength are available to each of us.
Mathieu and I are kindred spirits—curious seekers, life-long learners, and believers in art’s power to unite and transform.
🎨✨Explore Art Magazine Mathieu Ruel July issue,
Jalen Martise Williams
In every generation, there’s an artist who makes you stop, feel, and see the world differently. For us at Explore Art Magazine, that artist is Jalen Martise Williams—a bold, multidisciplinary creative voice emerging from the heart of North Carolina. 🌾🖼️
Born and raised in the rural South and now based in Greensboro, Jalen represents a powerful fusion of past and present, identity and imagination. His journey began with childhood sketches and a deep curiosity for colors, textures, and stories. Today, that spark has evolved into a boundary-pushing visual practice rooted in metal sculpture, illustration, lithography, and intaglio etching. 🔥
Explore Art Magazine Jalen Martise Williams June 2025
Ian Ndambuki
Ian Ndambuki is a visual artist based in Kiambu County, Kenya, originally born and raised in Nairobi. His passion for art began in early childhood, inspired by solitary moments with pencil and paper and the influence of the kids’ show Blue’s Clues. Although academics often took priority in his youth, Ian found time to draw during school breaks and eventually grew more serious about his craft in high school, where he discovered the ballpoint pen as a favorite medium.
Learn more about Ian Ndambuki's practice in the
Explore Art Magazine Ian Ndambuki May 2025 issue
Gerardo Labarca
Gerardo Labarca, a visual artist with an atypical career, has not always been dedicated to painting. Before making the brush his preferred tool of expression, he forged his creativity in the world of gourmet dining. As a director and creator of restaurant concepts, Labarca has made his mark on the Montreal culinary landscape, with four of his establishments ranked among the best gastronomic addresses to discover.
However, at the age of 47, a bold decision changed his trajectory: he chose to leave the restaurant industry and devote himself entirely to visual art. A passion rooted in him since his youth, painting has become for him a way to capture the soul and essence of the characters. His portraits, imbued with sensitivity and precision, show a meticulous attention to detail, while giving off a lightness that contrasts with the intensity of the emotions he represents.
Learn more about Gerado's practice in the
Explore Art Magazine Gerardo Labarca May 2025 issuee
Unique Fair
Unique Fair is a Fine Artist from Rochester, NY who seeks to use his skill set as an artist and activist to empower people to be the change they wish to see in the world. This vision has led Unique to craft artwork that focuses on the themes of oppression, liberation, and the friction between. Growing up, he developed a passion for art and community organizing, and after high school, Unique attended the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and received a BFA in Illustration, and is a recent graduate of the Studio Arts MFA program at RIT. Since graduation, Fair has been an instructor of undergraduate painting, drawing and printmaking classes at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Memorial Arts Gallery and the Flower City Arts Center.
Learn more about Unique's practice in the
Explore Art Magazine Unique Fair March 2025
Bojana Bojitt
Bojana Ilic- BOJITT is Serbian-born and raised, US based artist. Following a successful career in the fashion design industry in Serbia, she moved to the United States in 2007. Leveraging more than 25 years of combined experience, her passion for art and design ignites her work mission to develop and deliver client’s brands by deepening consumer’s visceral connection.
Learn more about Bojana's practice in the
Mays Mayhem
Mays Mayhew is a lifelong artist based in Aurora, IL. Born and raised on a beef and crop farm in eastern Wisconsin, she was influenced early on by her aunt, Patricia Mayhew-Hamm, a dedicated career painter. Mayhew earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Studio Arts from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She further enriched her studies in Florence, Italy, and at the Rhode Island School of Art. With a career spanning four decades, Mayhew has exhibited her work nationally. She has traveled extensively across the Midwest, showcasing her art at major fairs as an independent artist with minimal gallery representation.
Learn more about May's practice in the
Explore Art Magazine Mays Mayhem December 2024.
ntvangogh #exploreartproject #exploreartmagazine #visualartists
Mark Weller
Mark Weller is a contemporary American visual artist celebrated for his inventive and vibrant lens-based art, employing groundbreaking techniques that transforms conventional photography. His limited-edition prints have been acquired by private, corporate, and government collections, showcasing the widespread resonance of his distinctive vision as he reinterprets, and reexamines the intricate complexities of the ever-changing natural world.Weller was born and educated in Wisconsin, earning his degree from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee in 1977.
Learn more about Mark's practice in the
Explore Art Magazine Mark Weller August 2024
2024 Watchlist
Robin Malpass
Robin Malpass shares “Through my artistic practice, I dispel the myth that imperfections diminish beauty and I strive to demonstrate how flaws and defects provide cracks through which originality seeps. My painting technique and subject matter have been greatly influenced by Vincent Van Gogh, also self-taught, who was shunned during his abbreviated painting career for his many cracks and flaws.”
Learn more about Robin's practice in the
Explore Art Magazine Robin Malpass February 2024 issue.vincentvangogh #exploreartproject #exploreartmagazine #visualartists
Serena Kovalosky
Serena Kovalosky is also a writer, curator, cultural project developer, and filmmaker.
After Serena completed her successful The White Mulberry Project: A Silk Road Runs Through It Artwork Installation (September 15, 2023 to November 1, 2023), she subsequently landed a sweet 2024 artist-in-residence with the Slate Valley Museum Granville, NY.
The 2024 artist-in-residence projects is Moving Mountains: The Mustard Seed Project (2024). A dried mustard “tree” harvested from Serena Kovalosky’s Eco-Garden will be the foundation for “Moving Mountains: The Mustard Seed Project” which will explore the symbolism of the mustard seed for restoring faith in our ability as individuals and communities to achieve the impossible dream of peaceful coexistence, with nature and each other.
Learn more about Serena's outstanding career and achievements by visiting her website at https://kovalosky.com
Colin Sherrell
EXPLORE ART 1ST MAGAZINE RELEASE FOR 2024
It was truly refreshing connecting with a kindred spirit who is into exploring this journey we call life and discovers life with a fearless abandonment to take a peek at the endless possibilities life presents to him. Colin Sherrell will not be defined by boundaries, he’s adventurous about exploring out of his comfort zone and challenges himself as a visual artist.
Colin is blessed with being the son of an artist father and quilter mother, an interior designer as a sister, and both grandfathers were artists. Colin’s entire life has been saturated with creativity and a drive for individual expression.
Discover this fascinating visual artist in the 1st new release of 2024!
Christopher Schuyler Branch
Explore Art Magazine The House of Schuyler September 2023 issue:
featuring fine artist Christopher Schuyler Branch and exploring his AI artwork
Hailing from the dynamic backdrop of Washington, DC, Chris embarked on an artistic odyssey that began with a spark and evolved into a blazing passion. Chris ventured into the hallowed halls of Pratt Institute, emerging in 2002 with a BFA in art direction – a degree that would prove to be the compass guiding my creative voyage.