Dive into portraits and other imaginings of people, they can tell such great stories. They evoke emotion. They suggest deeper meaning. They tell us about someone else, and maybe even ourselves. For the full collection, view the January 2022 issue of ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal.

ArtAscent Gold Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Matthew Usukumah

ArtAscent Gold Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Before being a photographer, Matthew Usukumah is a storyteller. Through his actors’ bodies, postures, and clothing, he expresses the freedom and struggles to be who you are.

The mise en scène of Matthew’s photographs is studied, but their aroused emotions are real. The photographer places his actors in contexts as if they were on a theatre stage. Each photo is the scene of a play, the frame of a film, the verse of a song. Using images, Matthew tells the unfolding of a story, which often starts from a creative suggestion or the need to get to the bottom of social and human issues. He creates a series accompanied by texts that explain each scene’s evocative and poetic content.

The selected six photos are taken from different series, but they all revolve around a single theme: identity. They are photographs of people who express themselves or fight to do so. The role of self-reflection and introspection is well exemplified by the recurrent scenario of a bathroom, such as in The Enabler or The Woeful Hedonist. The bathroom becomes the metaphorical setting for an intimate moment of selfanalysis, an inner monologue on one’s vices and fears. The element of water is also symbolic in Matthew’s photos. Water, transparent and pure, calms the mind and reconnects us to our most intimate nature. However, what happens when others do not hear and accept our identity? The photographer also addresses the issue of vulnerability, of not being recognized, as occurs in the case of gender-fluid people. Some photos, such as Furious Mime, also display the anger that pervades people when they suffer violence because of their race.

Matthew is intrigued by the possibility of expressing himself through art forms, like photography. His style is extremely tied to the narrative as if his photos were all acts of longer pièce. From a technical point of view, his fine art photography is also heavily influenced by his career as a fashion photographer. The models are in scenographic poses, sculptural in the center of the composition. The use of light, clothing, hairstyles makes them very aesthetic but still uncoated photographs. The great fashion photographers like Richard Avedon, with his human portraits, Irving Penn, elaborate black and white, or Robert Mapplethorpe, the undisputed king of the rendering of bodies, are certainly relevant references.

Matthew Usukumah is a British-born but New York-based fashion photographer. After working in economics, he collaborated during fashion weeks with magazines such as V Man Magazine, Downtown Magazine, or FUSED. From the turmoil of 2020, he began to embark on the path of art photography, winning the award as Best Rising Artist at the Art Expo in New York already in 2021. His photos reach the intimacy of the spectators, like a confession.  

Matthew Usukumah is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent People call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

https://www.usukumah.com/

ArtAscent Gold Writer of the 2022 People call for artists

Alex Steiner

Grading Diamonds

“Diamonds wear the poorest people.” That’s what I told myself. Back then. Back when nothing made sense. Back then, that ring was as worthless to me as those that valued it. People carrying their worth on the very hands they used to introduce new liars….

Alex Steiner gives us a piece that, like a diamond that grows day by day in the depths of the earth, is a crescendo. It is a text that evolves, changing shape and concealing hidden facets, like the people who are its protagonists.

Grading Diamonds is a work of literature that cannot leave indifferent. It reveals through physical and mineralogical metaphors, symbolic objects, the temperament and memories of its main characters. It depicts them as so complex, scratchable, human that they seem close to us. As if they belonged to our family. Grading Diamonds is the story of a father and a daughter. However, it is above all the story of a relationship that—as frequently happens in the closest ties between people—changes and reveals itself as time passes. Alex quotes the words of the Lebanese American author Khalil Gibran: “Perhaps time’s definition of coal is the diamond”; it is necessary to observe the transformations over time, to have a diachronic and patient perspective. It invites flexibility, in pricing and labelling people. Accelerations, collisions, slowdowns, and departures are all part of the process of evolution. They are essential to give us the tools to grade and understand what is authentically valuable, worthy, precious. What dirt can create a diamond? How much beauty can be hidden in chaos and calamity?

Alex’s story takes its cue from a significant object: a ring. However, she aims to talk about people, the forces and events that modify their identity, like rocks eroded by the wind. Grading Diamonds wants to inspire hope in readers, showing how time changes and redefines people and personal values.

The creative process of Alex reflects the themes of change and settlement that also characterize her work. The author worked on the text for a long time, editing and reworking it several times. The excerpts of her story follow each other fast, brilliant, direct, allowing us to follow the flow of emotions and situations step by step. The use of the first-person singular gives this to creative non-fiction text an autobiographical tone that is realistic, honest and creative at the same time. Alex’s writing style is rich in references. She is guided by authors who can describe personal experiences with veracity, such as Cupcake Brown in her autobiography, and novels that deal with life changes, such as the award-winning She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb. Her way of storytelling is also very reminiscent of the contemporary tool of podcasts, from which she has absorbed the incisive and fast-paced sound.

Alex Steiner is first and foremost inspired by people and their lives. She studied Criminal Law and worked as a teacher at several non-profit NGOs. Currently based in London, she works as a writer, getting closer and closer to people and their stories.

Alex Steiner is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent People call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

ArtAscent Silver Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Andrew James McKay

ArtAscent Silver Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Andrew James McKay—literal but also fictional—creates planes for his portraits’ imagined and lived experiences. Through his technique of layering pigment and graphite, he seals in the last bit of wonder with film ink and the vivid thoughts of the spectators.

His paintings remind us of our active mind and physical connection to others in their modest being. The melting and recurring colour schemes tickle our thoughts. A similar feeling occurs in the works of Euan Uglow, where the play of colour and poses of the sitters evoke mindfulness and bring back memories of the people most close to us. Taking in the portrait Paint by Numbers, you can observe a woman posing for the artist with her hands above her head. It could easily be interpreted as a happy and light image, but looking just a bit longer, the curiosity of how this person is feeling sneaks up on you. The face is not tensed but not relaxed either, and the eyes give us the best opportunity to create our own story. At first, it may seem like this person is looking directly at the viewer, but she is more looking through the audience, giving us this prickling sensation of not knowing what is going on in her mind. This is one of the exciting aspects of art and portraits specifically; you just never know what the artist or the portrayed person was thinking or feeling in that one moment. We get the chance to dive into our imagination and daydream.

Andrew’s following excerpt of work (Two Portraits) engages you in a different form of wonder: Have I seen these faces before, do they know each other, or is it just a coincidental connection, like locking eyes with a stranger on the subway? One portrait in black and white gives the visual possibility it might have been made 100 years ago, the other in nude shades and rainbow beams, reflecting deep emotions to the outside.

Andrew’s self-portrait (Studio Portrait) sends a calm atmosphere to its viewers: His eyes are closed; the prominent colour is a soft pink, and he is wearing a blue shirt. You can identify some eyeball shapes in the right upper corner, and the connection to daydreaming is easily made again. Still, looking at his features, a slight tension is detectable. Is he thinking of somebody? Who would you think of looking at this portrait?

Andrew James McKay is a Vancouver-based artist. He completed his BFA with honours as a visual art major in 2019 at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design. He has several exhibitions. His latest include “Missives” at the Masters Gallery in Calgary, 2021; “Summer Stories” at Peter Ohler Fine Art in Toronto, 2020; and the “Carmichael Landscape Exhibition” at the Museum of Art & History in Orillia, 2021-22. His available work can be found at the Masters Gallery in Calgary.

Andrew James McKay is the Silver Artist of the ArtAscent People call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

http://www.andrewjamesmckay.com/

ArtAscent Bronze Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Gosia Machaczka

ArtAscent Bronze Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Photography is conventionally treated as an impeccable tool for casting the surface of a moment. Yet, artists like Gosia Machaczka rather see it as a way to peel off the layers of reality, revealing its complex structure.

The featured series Hollow was born as a response to the artist’s experience of changing her milieu radically, as she had moved from Sweden to the USA. She has chosen the city, which would completely oppose her previous life—the never sleeping, colourful Los Angeles that promised endless possibilities and joy. And yet, the shiny surface of the first impression of LA got covered with cracks as Gosia discovered people were struggling with the same emotions there as her fellow countrymates, challenged with “loneliness, emptiness, and sometimes even despair,” as she wrote. Instead of replicating the utopian image, she used photography to represent its reverse side, often ignored in public discussions.

Looking at Gosia’s works, one thinks about arguably the most iconic American artist of the 20th century— Edward Hopper (1882—1967). Being influenced by the aesthetics of the Hollywood Golden Age films, he was the painter who inspired the later generations of filmmakers, like Alfred Hitchcock, László Kovács, and Wim Wenders. He was one of those, who influenced the Hollywood methods of framing and composition, and introduced urban imagery into painting. Gas stations, offices, cafes and other locations were traditional settings of Hopper’s pieces.

The parallel between his and Gosia’s artwork is the remarkable loneliness of their personages in the empty places, often shown in the nighttime. Trapped in the cage of the big city, those people emanate the sense of prostration and isolation captured with the intensive palette. Gosia stages a series of images intertwined into small stories concentrated mainly on unhappy relationships. The one chosen for this issue is especially Hopper-like in colouring: reading the description of his canvases by Leatrice Eiseman, Keith Recker, it’s easy to see Gosia is following the same formula: “Hopper’s disquieting emptiness is rendered in paradoxically fullbodied tones of teal and emerald, ruby and amber, and in an earthy brown.”

Each image narrates the collisions of imaginary private lives of her heroes, hinting at the conflicts and histories that led them to this moment. Gosia says, “Through my use of colour and composition, I monumentalize the characters, make them beautiful, admirable, even through their pain.” She hints at the key conflict of each case by including one image with the telling details, like an instant photograph of a couple on a table. Together with recognizably cinematographic angles and noir lightning, those elements shape the spectacular mundanity of small tragedies of an average person.

Gosia Machaczka is a Swedish and Polish visual artist based in Los Angeles, California, USA. She defines herself as a portrait, product, and concert photographer driven by a passion for storytelling. Strong colour stories, high contrast, and drama are frequently used in her work to reflect the broad palette of the LA lifestyle.

Gosia Machaczka is the Bronze Artist of the ArtAscent People call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

https://www.gosiamachaczka.com

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Gerald Alderman

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Norman Aragones

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Ashley Brunetti

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

https://ashleybrunetti.wixsite.com/my-site

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Désiré Betty

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

www.desirebetty.com

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Edita Bízová

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

www.editbphoto.com

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Khleo Morris

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see this in print, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

https://www.Equipoise-art.com

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Merana Cadorette

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

https://merana-cadorette.pixels.com/

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Miren Etcheverry

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

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ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Roopa Dudley

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see this in print, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

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ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Heidi Brueckner

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see this in print, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

https://www.heidibrueckner.com

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Gabiko IoMo

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

https://gabiko-iomo.square.site

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Agnieszka Kot (A.KOOT)

In the Presence of (Non)human Scripts Agnieszka Kot

The world consists of various kinds of stories that bind it together more than any type of atom. Not all of them have a happy beginning, not all of them end happily, and not all are even half as cheerful as one would wish. Hence, there are bedtime stories, glorious poems, and thrillers….

Distinguished Writer of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Aarone Krone

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

https://kroneaaron.wixsite.com/aaronkrone

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Jenny Lam

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see the full body of work, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

http://www.artistsonthelam.com

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Larry Wolf

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see this in print, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

https://www.abrushwiththelaw.com

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Zhanna Martin

ArtAscent Distinguished Artist of the 2022 People call for artists

Distinguished Artist of the ArtAscent People call for entry. To see this in print, grab a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal People issue.

www.zhannamartin.com