Ian Fichman
“My sculptures chronicle life experiences, each driven by different desires but similarly seeking a correct modus operandi to fulfill their own aspirations, if there even is one.”
A Miami native, Sculptor & Illustrator Ian Fichman has “an outlook that defies the familiar [and] renounces the regularly scheduled program” through his one-of-a-kind sculptures. “My artwork is a sardonic narrative of human existence,” he says. “All my figures are mutually faceless, symbolizing our kinship as human beings through the shared struggles of our endeavors. The solid, manufactured steel and the primitive objects they hold tell a story, implicating individual personas and highlighting their ambitions. Within the juxtaposition contextualized in each work, I attempt to demonstrate the overbearing irony of the fact that our most authentic desire is actually desire itself.” Inspired by comics, video games, anime and other aspects of “nerd culture,” Fichman admits his sculptural style has yet to be named. “My artistic process involves a methodical procedural system of gathering various pieces of steel, preparing and cleaning them and then welding each section together piece by piece,” he says. “You could call it postmodernism with a neoclassical foundation but that sounds like a bunch of malarkey,” he quips. IG: @IanFichman; IanFichman.com. Photo by Pedro Wazzan
Aidan Marak
“I truly believe that when we invest in an art piece, it has to keep us company and enlighten us when in need — forever.”
Growing up in Morocco and living all over Europe, the Middle East and North America before settling down in Miami, Aidan Marak loves discovering new “life flavors” and has a deep-rooted yearning to create. “I’ve always craved beauty, and as a kid I would design funky atmospheres in my bedroom by creating oversized drawings and posters to plaster on my walls. I was even painting my lamps to change the lighting and project designs onto my ceiling!” The artist says her process when creating her “bold, sometimes shocking, but always truthful” masterpieces is literally unpredictable. “I never know how an art piece will end,” she says. “I gather different types of materials and see what happens. And I’m often using things from my travels. I buy what I like and store it. When I create, I roam my studio and start picking up what inspires me to start a piece — it could be a book, a color, a texture, a song, an event, you name it! Everything inspires me. My purpose is to convey a message through art.”; IG: @Aidan.Marak; AidanMarak.com.
Katy L. Hirschfeld
“The most inspiring things to me are fearlessness, strength, knowledge, self-awareness and individuality. These are qualities I value most and strive to incorporate into my work and my life.”
Only 4 years old when she created her first “masterpiece,” Katy L. Hirschfeld recalls the day vividly. “My parents had left me with a babysitter who was a bit preoccupied so I decided to use a permanent marker and make a ‘mural’ on almost every wall in my home,” she says, mentioning that after a brief outrage, her parents decided to leave one of the murals intact and still have it on display to this day. “This was a monumental experience for me because it showed from an early age that I could use art as an outlet and a way to express myself, while also asserting my independence.” In terms of her process, she says she basically “seeks and gathers” things that resonate with her for one reason or another — magazines, books and whatever else she can get her hands on. “I consider all of my creations to be puzzles,” she says. “I organically see what unfolds as I piece things together and slowly, more clarity comes as I immerse into the flow of the piece.” IG: Katyilana; Collage-Garage.com.
Jimmy Jaime Jorge
“I’m inspired by an innate desire to always keep moving, evolving, growing and reflecting the best of the world in my work.”
Jimmy Jaime Jorge is a triple threat: Singer, Artist and Entrepreneur. The Cuban native has rubbed elbows with some of Miami’s most revered luminaries, personalities and celebrities including Gloria & Emilio Estefan, Shakira, J. Lo, Camila Cabello and Enrique Iglesias, among many others. His meticulously hand-drawn portraits have become prized possessions of his big-name muses around the world. It’s something he was destined to do. “As a child I always remember myself having big dreams and drawing every day in school and at home,” he says. “I held on to some of the drawings I made when I was young and seeing them reminds me of how blessed I’ve been to be able to share my gift with the world and all the people who have helped me along the way.” When it comes to his art, his process is methodical. “I always start with a sketch and from there I continue building, taking into account the singularities of each project,” he says. “In the end, I always try to capture the essence of each person I draw.”; IG: @JimmyJaimeJorge
Miss Reds
“I’d describe my work as fun, tropical and bold! I love to use vibrant and fluorescent colors mixed with heavy black to make my art stand out and contrast my pieces.”
Homegrown Hialeah artist Miss Reds started painting in 2007 and has been able to see the world thanks to her craft, frequently traveling to places far and wide including jaunts to Colombia and Israel. “The earliest memory I have of creating art was when I was 3 and I drew a cow,” she says. “My mom couldn’t believe it!” Today, she says she usually just dives right in to her next masterpiece. “Sometimes I’ve planned certain color schemes for the piece and sometimes I do sketch — but in the end I compile all those sketches in my mind and mix and match them.” Her collectors range from young to old. “My tropical, vibrant colors and fun work call the attention of people from all walks of life,” she says. To date, the most stand-out commissioned work she’s completed is painting patio furniture for a penthouse. “It was something different and fun for me,” she says. “It’s definitely something I’d like to do more of in the future!” In addition to commissioned works, Miss Reds has an extensive portfolio of apparel, accessories, stickers, toys, pins and fine art; IG: @Redskeee; Redsone.com.
Valeria Yamamoto
“My art embodies haunting ideas of sounds, memories, forms, observations and reactions of the natural world.”
Japanese-Argentinean Sculptor Valeria Yamamoto’s father was a fishing engineer from Hiroshima, Japan, who worked as a mechanic in Argentina; and her mother was raised in a small Japanese colony of floriculturists in Buenos Aires. “I spent my early childhood between greenhouses and my father’s repair shop,” she says, mentioning that at 13 her family moved to Patagonia where she was impacted by the desert-like landscape.” Most of Yamamoto’s sculptures are inspired by a study of organic forms found in the natural world, or as a reaction to her environment, an abstract fusing of the animal and plant kingdoms. “I bounce between abstraction and figurative representations,” she says. As such, her body of work has been shown in several exhibitions nationally and abroad via galleries, museums, public art installations, permanent collections and international art fairs. Her masterpieces range from small, fragile pieces made of porcelain and eggshell, to large sculptures built out of cement and metal structures. One of her most notable works is an overwhelming installation created by 400 wing-like pieces showing a flying flock of birds. “My work is not about things,” she says, “it is about suggestions of movement; about change and growth.”; IG: @Valeria.Yamamoto; ValeriaYamamoto.com.
