A Coffee Table Book Celebrating Exceptional Artists from around the World
Magzoid Magazine is proud to announce the launch of “Artists in Focus 2023,” an opulent coffee table book that pays homage to 50 exceptional artists from across the globe. This exquisite publication is a testament to the remarkable talent, creativity, and perseverance of these luminaries in the world of art.
“Artists in Focus 2023” is a celebration of the phenomenal achievements of these artists and the journey that led them there. This book is a tribute to their dedication, hard work, and passion for creative arts. With this launch, Magzoid Magazine aims to inspire and uplift the creative community and support the cultural and creative industries in the UAE.
The release of this coffee table book aligns perfectly with The National Strategy for Cultural and Creative Industries, which recognizes and supports the creative industry. By showcasing the talent and hard work of these artists, “Artists in Focus 2023” seeks to inspire and uplift others in the creative community.
The coffee table book is a masterpiece that embodies Magzoid Magazine’s mission rooted in four pillars of Creativity, Unity, Innovation, and Upliftment. Through this publication, the magazine aims to boost the Creative Economy of the UAE and support creatives from all genres who are forging a path towards a bright future.
“We are thrilled to launch ‘Artists in Focus 2023,’ a coffee table book that celebrates the exceptional talents of these 50 artists, their creativity, dedication, and passion are an inspiration to all of us, and we are proud to support them through this publication.” Says Magzoid spokesperson. Magzoid Magazine invites art lovers, enthusiasts, and collectors to immerse themselves in the beauty and inspiration of “Artists in Focus 2023.” This exquisite book is a tribute to the artists’ exceptional achievements and their journey toward becoming some of the most sought-after artists in the world.
“I am honored to be a part of the Artists in Focus 2023 coffee table book. This amazing opportunity has not only allowed me to showcase my art to a wider audience but also provided a platform for me to connect with fellow artists and art enthusiasts. I am grateful to Magzoid Magazine for recognizing and supporting emerging artists like myself, and for providing a platform to amplify our voices and creativity. Thank you for this incredible opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful community,” says one of the featured artists.
Here is the full list of all the featured artists:
Andrea Orr Clague is an accomplished artist with a Master of Fine Arts degree from Pensacola Christian College. She is a member of prestigious organizations such as the Oil Painters of America and the Missouri Valley Impressionist Society. Her talent has been recognized by Southwest Art Magazine, which featured her in their “21 Under 31” showcase and displayed her artwork on the cover.
AI-DA, also known as the Artist Robot, is a highly advanced and ultra-realistic robot that creates art. With artificial intelligence, AI-DA can communicate and interact with humans in a sophisticated manner. Her artworks, including canvases and sculptures, utilize AI algorithms to comment on the current and future use of technology.
Aakanksha is a talented emerging artist based in Dubai, whose distinctive artistic style combines contemporary fluid art with ancient Indo-Asian mysticism. Her innovative use of bold, vibrant colours and unique patterns created with acrylics, alcohol inks, and resin has earned her recognition and acclaim in the art community. The name “Aakanksha” means ambitious desire, and “Kshatriya” is a term used to describe a person with the qualities of a queen and a warrior. These qualities are reflected in AK’s fearless pursuit of the purest and most grand expression of art – flow.
Albert Kiefer is a self-taught digital artist who has expanded his skills to include drawing. He creates artistic impressions and visualizations for business and governmental clients, ranging from individual items to historical reconstructions of structures and complexes. His representations cover a wide variety of subjects and are highly sought after for their quality and attention to detail.
Bala Nivetha is a talented artist from Tamil Nadu, India. Her passion for arts and crafts started in childhood, leading her to pursue a degree in fashion design and a master’s in the same field. Though she always wanted to pursue a creative career, she took a break to support her husband’s business. Despite the pause, Bala’s artistic spirit persevered, and she continues to create beautiful works of art.
Bathmawathy is a 19-year-old self-taught wildlife artist from Coimbatore, India. During the Covid outbreak, she discovered her passion for art and developed expertise in various mediums, including oil and acrylic paints, resin, pastels, charcoal, and gold leaf. Athmawathy creates art to raise awareness about wildlife conservation and the preservation of habitats.
Christiane Vleugels is a Belgian artist known for her hyper-realistic approach. Her stunning images evoke powerful emotional experiences, often representing her worldview and sympathy for her subjects, including traumatized women, her bereaved father, and animals. Vleugels’ work showcases a profound connection with those who cannot speak for themselves, leaving a lasting impression on viewers.
Camelia Mohebi is a multi-talented visual artist, designer, director, and entrepreneur. She draws inspiration from people, senses, and the subconscious/emotional mind in her creative endeavours. Camelia’s artistic journey began with her passion for drawing people and faces, allowing her to express herself through her art.
Dr. Ajit Gadekar is an Indian artist currently based in the UAE. As the head of the neonatology division, he is also a remarkable landscape painter in the oil medium. Despite having no prior experience in art, Dr Gadekar accidentally discovered canvas painting in 2019 while exploring digital art and has achieved remarkable success in just a few years.
Debbie Wingham is a UAE-based artist who has gained international recognition for her unique approach to art. Her most notable creation is the world’s most expensive black diamond dress, which showcases her ability to think outside the box. She has recently released an art collection based on the theme of ‘Time,’ paying homage to Dubai.
David Djiango is a French artist born in January 1991, who developed a passion for art while growing up in the south of France. He honed his skills in drawing and painting, particularly at the Bô workshop, where he learned various techniques such as charcoal, pencil, Indian ink, and acrylic.
Dylan Gill is a cubist artist from London, United Kingdom, who has been defining cubism through his perspective since 1999. He draws inspiration from the likes of Pablo Picasso, Fernand Leger & Marc Chagall. Gill has had a passion for art since childhood and pursued a degree in Fine Arts from Goldsmiths, University of London.
Fazel Shams is an Iranian calligraphic artist who discovered his talent in calligraphy in his middle age. Despite struggling with other talents, he is determined to become a professional calligrapher in 2018 and creates beautiful artwork through this medium.
Hassan is an interdisciplinary designer/artist from Egypt, based in Southern California. With experience in Museography, Exhibition design, Computational design, Furniture design, Architecture, and Construction, Digital Fabrication, and Conceptual art, Hassan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Design. He is also exploring the digital art scene with the use of artificial intelligence.
Igor Dubovoy is a Russian artist known for his cityscapes and landscapes painted in oil and watercolor on canvas. His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions around the world. Dubovoy draws inspiration from his travels and seeks to capture the beauty of the world in his paintings.
Irina Kukrusova is an accomplished watercolor artist known for her stunning animal portraits created using the alla prima technique and soft pastels. She has exhibited her work in several international exhibitions and has received recognition as a laureate for her exceptional skills in watercolors and pastels.
Ivan Valachovic, also known as zar4fussion, is an artist from Slovakia who was diagnosed with the fragile joint syndrome at a young age. He draws inspiration from this situation, considering it similar to the character in the movie Unbreakable played by Samuel L. Jackson.
Ismail is an artist who expresses various themes in his artwork, including nature, women’s rights, and the history of his people. His primary objective is the establishment of a new school in the Middle East, which he has successfully achieved. Ismail’s emotional and personal outlook on life is reflected in every piece he creates.
Ira Volkova is a Ukrainian artist with over 20 years of experience, who has recently focused on creating ethereal large-scale oil paintings of different kinds of flowers, exploring the topic of floristics. Ira was born in a small town in the south of Ukraine and looks back on her childhood as a happy and bright time.
Juria Sabdani Ajijul was born and raised in Zamboanga, Philippines during the late 1980s. She developed an appreciation for the natural beauty of the world, particularly the tropical islands of the Philippines, from an early age. Although she enjoyed creating artwork in her childhood, she never thought her dream of becoming an artist would come true.
Javid Tabatabaei is a renowned Iranian artist, born in 1973 in Tehran. He received a graphic design certificate from Montazeri High School in Isfahan in 1994 and graduated from Mehran University in Pakistan in 2016. He has accumulated 25 years of relevant experience in his field.
Khalil Abdulwahid is an accomplished artist and art professional, currently serving as the Director of Fine Arts Department at the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. He holds a degree in Workforce Education & Development from Pennsylvania State University, as well as an Associate Degree in Computer Aided Drafting & Design from Pennsylvania College of Technology in the USA.
Kalopsia Wiz is a self-taught artist, poet, and writer from India who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in international business management in Dubai. She has won numerous awards for her work in various fields and works with various mediums, including sketching, painting, digital artwork, poetry, writing, photography, and fashion.
Kelly Eden is an aspiring artist whose life has provided rich inspiration for her work. At 17, she attended the Denver School of the Arts and discovered her passion for oil painting. However, she left soon after and went on to graduate from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.
Lina Redford is an accomplished painter based in Spain whose work has been exhibited internationally. Her multicultural background and travels inspire her to represent uniqueness on canvas. Currently focused on animals, Lina draws inspiration from nature and wildlife, striving to capture the magic of fleeting moments and breathe life into her characters’ emotions.
Mahfuzur Rahman is a well-known art curator, contemporary artist, and art activist from Bangladesh, currently based in Dubai, UAE. He has been recognized with several prestigious awards, including a Guinness World Record for the most nationalities in an art workshop, and has exhibited his work in over 50 international and 10 national exhibitions.
Michael Angelo Guadalupe, better known as Mago, is a visual artist from Puerto Rico. Born in New York, he relocated to Puerto Rico with his family as a child. Mago specializes in using artificial intelligence to create unique graphics that depict tales from myths, religions, and histories.
Maisoon Al-Rubeai is an Iraqi-born artist who originally pursued a career in architectural engineering. After moving to the UK, she retrained as a secondary school teacher for mathematics but rediscovered her passion for painting following early retirement. As a self-taught artist, she quickly gained recognition for her work and began selling her pieces on the internet to customers around the world.
Maria is an artist from Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which is known as the “City of Artists”. She attended the National High School of Stage and Film Design, the only institution of its kind in the Balkans, where she studied art for five years. During her time at the National High School of Stage and Film Design, Maria acquired a diverse range of fine and applied art techniques, including painting, printing, sculpting, ceramics, make-up, and wig-making.
Marina Chisty is a Russian-American artist based in NYC who creates abstract and figurative paintings that capture the essence of the city’s diversity and humanity. She began nurturing her artistic talent at a young age while attending a children’s art school in Russia. According to Marina, art has the power to reveal the world in a new and thought-provoking way.
Matt Gondek is a Deconstructive Pop Artist from Los Angeles whose work celebrates rebellion and destruction with a playful tone. He tears down cartoon idols with a pop color palette, reflecting the spirit of punk rock. His exhibitions have sold out in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and Hong Kong. The artist had recent successes with his “Missing Person” exhibit in Tokyo, showcasing 15 new acrylic works along with drawings and screen prints.
Oumaima Choua, a self-taught artist born in the Netherlands, specializes in hyperrealistic portraits. Using graphite and charcoal on large canvases, she explores the psychology of her subjects, evoking their emotions and capturing the essence of the human experience. Her style has been crafted over many years of experimentation with shapes, textures, and tones. Oumaima believes that one must continue to challenge oneself in order to achieve growth, learning, and improvement.
Pranoti Karajgi is an Indian artist who uses art as a medium to express her creativity and individuality while showcasing the struggle and achievements of a community. Her passion for pottery started at 19 when she collaborated with Kumhars, a potter’s community in her hometown. She held solo exhibitions across India, gaining recognition from the art community. Pranoti later returned to pottery in 2015 after practising interior design in India and UAE.
Peter Terrin, a Belgian artist, has always been drawn to art and his need to paint has always been vital to him. His passion for people was reinforced through years of travel after graduating from Textile Design School in Belgium. He blends several artistic styles and incorporates different ideas to produce something more than just a portrait. The amazing blend of things in Mexico, including their way of life, customs, cuisine, family values, and music, drives him insane with inspiration.
Petterson Silva, a young virtuoso born in Brazil’s Mato Grosso, showed remarkable artistic talent from an early age. He attended Centro Universitário Belas Artes in São Paulo, and even at the age of five, he demonstrated his skills after discovering gouache in preschool. Silva grew up in close proximity to nature, surrounded by local birds. His grandfather, a house painter who enjoyed painting Walt Disney characters on plywood boards, served as his initial inspiration.
Rabab Tantawy, born in Cairo in 1971, grew up observing her mother’s artistic pursuits. Although she did not initially pursue art as a profession, Rabab retained her interest and self-trained in various techniques, from traditional oil painting to modern spray painting. She started her artistic journey by actively participating in different exhibitions and exploring street art. Rabab believes that a painting flows through the artist and the artist is merely a vessel to express it.
Raisa Mariam Rajan, a Guinness World Record Holder artist, expresses her passion for nature through her art. As an architect-artist and entrepreneur, Rajan’s artwork is influenced by her extensive travels and features a variety of mediums such as sustainable materials, acrylic paints, alcohol ink, and charcoal to create textured pieces on different surfaces. Her art showcases the harmony and peace she finds in nature and often incorporates crystals and sparkles for positive energy.
Rafa Tom is a highly accomplished fine art professional and art educator who is currently based in Dubai, UAE. Her extensive international background includes living in Lebanon, Canada, and Saudi Arabia, where she has continuously refined her artistic skills and participated in numerous exhibitions and symposiums worldwide. Rafa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts from the Fine Art College at the Lebanese University, where she studied a wide range of art techniques.
Rafael Antonio Fonseca Acevedo, born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1988, is a highly skilled hyperrealist artist. From a young age, he displayed a keen interest in drawing and experimented with different techniques and materials, particularly graphite. While studying Architecture, he reignited his passion for art and drawing and discovered the transformative potential of airbrush painting. He subsequently devoted himself to acrylic and the art of airbrush painting, honing his skills and technique to become an exceptional artist.
Rohith Rao is a highly skilled fine artist with an impressive 16-year career as a 3D Art Director and 3D Generalist in Dubai’s event business, TV commercials, and 3D animation industry. He has successfully executed over 500 projects with his artistic finesse and technical expertise. Rohith’s passion for the intricate Japanese art of origami dates back to his childhood, and he has since honed his skills to create stunning pieces of art. His dedication to his craft is evident in his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Applied Arts studies, where he received the First rank.
Sheida is an emerging visual artist based in the UAE whose distinctive artistic style is gaining recognition in the art world. Having completed four years of formal education in design and photography at the American University in Dubai, Sheida has cultivated a unique artistic vision that fuses traditional Arabic design with contemporary art. For Sheida, creating art is a deeply personal means of expressing herself and giving form to her ideas. Her work often reflects her own experiences and emotions.
Shaymus is a talented artist from south Devon, England who has built a reputation for his realistic portraiture of dogs, wildlife, and people. He recently earned a BA (Hons) in Illustration and has since focused on perfecting his craft. Shaymus has garnered a global clientele, with customers hailing from the US, UK, Canada, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, and other countries. While he primarily receives commissions for sketching dogs and cats, he is also occasionally requested to create portraits of other animals, such as birds, horses, and wildlife.
Salwa Saeed Abel Ghani, also known as Salwa Saeed, is a highly talented Egyptian fine artist, born in Cairo in the year 1984. She has been a resident of the United Arab Emirates since 2012 and is currently based in the city of Al Ain. Salwa possesses a Bachelor’s degree in Photography, Cinema & TV, which she earned from the esteemed Faculty of Applied Arts in Egypt. Additionally, she holds a Diploma in Multimedia from The Information Technology Institute in Egypt.
Samia Saleh is an accomplished artist and an internationally licensed trainer hailing from Egypt. Her artistic journey began at a young age when she was selected to participate in an interschool art competition and secured the first position. Over the years, she has gained recognition for her unique approach to blending realistic portraiture with abstract art. According to Samia, her father’s photography skills inspired her as a child, and she was captivated by the way photography and drawing/painting create an illusion that enchants the viewer’s eyes.
Simona Constantin is a highly accomplished dental medicine doctor and a former orthodontist with formal training in her field. Despite her medical background, Simona had a natural talent for painting from a young age and won several art competitions in her childhood. During her medical training, she utilized her drawing skills in anatomy courses and always found ways to showcase her natural artistic talents. Over time, her passion for art continued to grow, and she eventually made the decision to pursue her art career full-time.
Stephanie is a highly creative and innovative digital designer, with a strong interest in exploring alternate realities. Her preference for using unconventional technologies is evident in her choice of pencils over paintbrushes, which enables her to create unique and visually striking designs. Stephanie’s distinctive style is characterized by pink skies, flaming orange hair, purple eyes, and greenish skin tones, which add a touch of whimsy to her creations. She has a particular talent for bringing out the inner child in her clients.
Varsha Sureka is a highly talented and proactively creative artist, originally from India and now contributing to the art community in Dubai for over 13 years. She holds a Masters’s degree in Human Resources, and in addition to being a mom and a music lover, she is also highly energetic and passionate about her work. Varsha’s love for art emerged at a very young age, and it has been her eternal love ever since. She brings with her a diverse range of art forms, including Abstract, Resin, Landscape, and Mixed Media.
Labiba Ferhat is a highly talented artist originally from Algeria, currently based in Ajman, U.A.E. She started her career as an optometrist, but her passion for art led her to become a self-taught artist during the Covid pandemic. Labiba’s paintings are impressionistic, and they express people’s tales, emotions, and sensitivities in a way that is easy to comprehend. She uses various mediums and techniques to create her paintings, and her work has been exhibited in prestigious galleries across the world, including Mumbai, India, and Paris, France.
Malini is a multifaceted artist who excels in various mediums. She demonstrated her early talent in ‘The Young Times’ of the Khaleej Times with her pearl beading collection. Despite her professional career in interior design and architecture, she continues to pursue her passion for painting and drawing. Malini creates commissioned pieces for family and friends and participates in numerous exhibitions, displaying her diverse painting style. Her artwork ranges from detailed pieces to sketches, depending on the project’s requirements.
Magzoid Magazine’s launch of “Artists in Focus 2023” is an impressive tribute to 50 exceptional artists from all over the world. This opulent coffee table book is a celebration of their remarkable talent, creativity, and perseverance, and showcases their phenomenal achievements and the journey that led them there. By releasing this publication, Magzoid Magazine aims to inspire and uplift the creative community while supporting the cultural and creative industries in the UAE. This coffee table book is a masterpiece that embodies the magazine’s mission of Creativity, Unity, Innovation, and Upliftment. “Artists in Focus 2023” aligns perfectly with The National Strategy for Cultural and Creative Industries, and invites art lovers, enthusiasts, and collectors to immerse themselves in the beauty and inspiration of these exceptional artists.