Figurative artist Andrew Barton explores ideas of internal awareness and external action in the human form. Each sculpture offers a distinct visual difference for the male and female forms, expressing the fundamental balance of gender. Barton’s work also investigates the body as a fragment and the interaction of mechanical instruments for the purpose of bodily change. The artist studied at the National College of Art and Design (1996) and the Kunst Design Fagskolen, Folkenuniversitetet (1991), both in Olso, Norway. Recently Barton has exhibited with the Blomqvist Auction House, Norway, and presented at exhibition titled “Draumkvedet” at the Cultural Center ‘De Scharpoord”, Belgium.

“True Fiction Two” is a new photographic series by artist Sandy Skoglund. The original series” True Fiction” was created in 1986 but the edition was never officially finished due to discontinued photo chemicals needed for production. Now updated digitally the artist has created a new series, maintaining the emotion of her once elaborate room-sized installations depicting absurd domestic scenarios. Skoglund received her MFA from the University of Iowa and has worked in NYC for the past 30 years. In 2005 the artist exhibited with the Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Paris, France, the Guy Bartschi Gallery Geneva, Switzerland, and the Fay Gold Gallery in Atlanta. This past October the artist discussed her process of creating large-scale sculptural installations at a visiting artist lecture at Boston University.

English painter Richard Patterson takes miniature toys and covers them with voluminous paint, photographs the object and then recreates it in oil on canvas. The artist largely focuses on formal issues in his work literally reducing representation and figuration by covering the figurines in globs of visceral paint. Patterson also draws a connection to art history by referencing color field painters of the modernist period. Richard Patterson is a graduate of Goldsmiths College (1986), and recently exhibited with Timothy Taylor Gallery, London. The artist has also exhibited with the Dallas Museum of Art (2000) and with the James Cohan Gallery, NYC (1999). In 2007 Patterson will have three paintings exhibited in the Rowan Collection at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, and will be the first artist commissioned by Wallpaper* Magazine to collaborate on a feature and have work on the cover (March 2007).

For most kids the art of Tom Sachs is a dream come true. This New York based artist creates a multitude of sculptures and installations that include intensely worked scaled models, race tracks and even an room titled “Delinquency Chamber” complete with the video game “Grand Theft Auto”, a bong and a door with a lock to keep the “adults” out. The artist states “Part of what I do is accelerate the indulgence of adolescence to a profession.” As Sachs investigates adolescence and consumerism by creating indulgent environments, deeper conceptual issues of violence, apathy and capitalism emerge. The artist has recently exhibited at the Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Austria. Additional exhibitions include “Dedicated to the Memory of Ben Plummer 1968-2004,” Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, which had a review by the Aspen Times (2004). In the spring of this year Sachs exhibited with Fondazione Prada in Milan creating two large installations within a 1,500 square meter space.

Over the past decade digital media artist Vibeke Jensen has continued to investigate elements of urban spaces usually by creating an intervention between the art and the individuals who occupy a particular space. Before working in digital media, the artist studied and graduated from University of Trondheim, Norway with a Master of Architecture (1987) and Architectural Association School of Architecture, London (1992). With a key understanding of space, and the ability to work in a team, Jensen has been able to execute several large collaborative projects throughout the world. Recent museum exhibitions include works at Rogaland Kunstmuseum, Stavanger, Norway, and Salzburger Museum Carolino Augusteum, Austria. The artist has funded public projects through the support of Norwegian Visual Artist’s Fond and the Arts Council Norway. Jensen has also participated in Artist Residency programs at the Bronx Museum, and Nordic Artists’ Centre in Dale, Norway.

Chicago based artist Leslie Baum is currently exhibiting new oil paintings and watercolors in a solo show titled “The Space Between”. This is the second solo exhibition for Baum with the Bodybuilder and Sportsman Gallery in Chicago. Baum’s work references modernist artists like Helen Frankenthaler with thin oil washes while exploring ideas of the confinement of nature through zoos. The artist received her BA from the University of Vermont (1993) and studied at the Glasgow School of Art (1992). Baum also exhibited with the Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago and the exhibition had a review in Art in America (Jan 2003).

Hatred is the subject of investigation for Australian artist Fiona Foley. Through several bodies of work, Foley has diligently explored the idea of hate as it penetrates race through politics, science and culture. Through dark humor the artist has created a series of photos title “HHH (Hedonistic Honky Haters).” These faux anthropological photos have an obvious reference to the Klu Klux Klan, and this connection only strengthens the images’ relation to reality. This year Foley had a solo exhibition titled “Red Ochre Me” at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Sydney. Other recent exhibitions include “No Shades of White” at Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane, and “Bring it on a.k.a.HHH,” International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP), NYC.