In the first week of August 2021 we’re excited to introduce a series of original works on paper from four young painters who have fielded widespread art world adoration and exponential collector interest in recent years — Roby Dwi Antono, Sarah Lee, Alexis Ralaivao and Antonia Showering.
Our first Work on Paper Week presents an unmatched opportunity to access their work. Throughout the week, we will reveal a different artist’s submissions each day, inviting collectors to explore the work and register their interest by midnight BST on Sunday 8th August.
Roby Dwi Antono
Roby Dwi Antono was born in 1990 in Semarang, Indonesia, and now lives and works.
Formerly a graphic designer, Roby’s distinct style fuses classical renaissance imagery with contemporary Superflat aesthetics. Motifs of deadpan, starry-eyed children and bizarre mythological creatures nod to notable artists like Yoshitomo Nara as well as pop-surrealists Mark Ryden and Marion Peck. Illuminating the paradoxes of our individual experiences with surreal vision and macabre humour, Roby balances disillusion and anxiety with heroism and hope to find clarity within the chaos of human experience.
As of Monday 2nd August, collectors can now register their interest for five original oil pastel on paper works by Roby Dwi Antono.
Sarah Lee
Sarah Lee is a contemporary artist who was born in Seoul, Korea.
Sarah Lee’s dreamlike paintings look like digital renders of themselves. Bulbous, icy landscapes coexist with abstract figuration in a palette centred on deep blues and black, lit by a series of eerie light sources in acidic pastels. The artist’s recent works use oil paint on canvas, lusciously pigmented and seamlessly blended to echo the airbrushed gradients of her earlier paintings. Imbuing her paintings with emotion, the works explore themes of isolation, anxiety and love.
As of Tuesday 3rd August, collectors can now register their interest for two original pastel on paper works by Sarah Lee.
Alexis Ralaivao
Alexis Ralaivao was born in Rennes, France, in 1991, where he continues to live and work.
Alexis Ralaivao puts a modern spin on figurative painting traditions. “In classical portraiture, there is a distance between the public and the person represented. I want to erase that distance.” The ultra-close-up, immaculately executed and seamlessly blended paintings punctuate a fleshy palette of pastel hues with tiny, bodily details like moles and blemishes. The male and female body are afforded an equal dose of agency and elegance — transforming gendered and religious tropes into new renditions of the painted nude.
As of Thursday 5th August, collectors can now register their interest for four original acrylic and oil on paper works by Alexis Ralaivao.
Antonia Showering
Antonia Showering was born in London, UK, where she continues to live and work.
Antonia Showering’s work is acutely personal. With heady colour palettes that move with the seasons, she paints friends, family and other people she loves or has loved immersed in dreamy landscapes and domestic scenes. Nostalgic childhood memories represent the freedom of youth, while the comforting-yet-uncanny environments they are placed in explore notions of ‘home’ and belonging — informed by the artist’s English, Swiss and Chinese heritage.
As of Friday 6th August, collectors can now register their interest for three original oil on canvas paper works by Antonia Showering.
The deadline for sign ups on all four artist’s work will be Sunday 8th August at midnight BST.
Beyond Work on Paper Week, you can register your interest on each artist’s page to make sure you’re the first to hear about any future collaborations. If you have any questions, feel free to send us an email on collecting@avantarte.com and we’ll be happy to help.
