abstract – Circle Foundation for the Arts

Leena Fredriksson

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Helsinki-based artist, designer, trend specialist, and art educator, Leena Fredriksson received her MA from the University of Art and Design Helsinki in 2005. She is currently finalizing her second Master's degree in art education at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. Leena works as a designer and trend specialist at Kuudes, an insight-driven design consultancy. She is also the creator of Momolu, an original, design-led character brand. Leena’s career as an artist is at the core of her hybrid professionalism.

Leena has participated in juried group exhibitions in Milan and the coming few months in Luxembourg and New York art fairs. Leena is featured in Italian CORRIEREdell’Arte & CorArtMagazine and will be featured in Current Masters v. 5 published by World Wide Art Books. Her paintings can be found in several private collections in Europe. Leena has lived and worked in Paris and New York. She currently resides in Helsinki.

Continuous longing for the Finnish archipelago emanates from Leena’s abstract paintings: harsh nature and the movement and silence of the sea are the source of inspiration for her paintings.

”I grew up in the Finnish archipelago and, I am struck by the beauty of nature — the landscapes and animals — that surrounded me.”

Carolyn Adams

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American artist, Carolyn Adams graduated from the Southeastern Louisiana University and then began a career in advertising but also worked in other fields. She finally decided to fully dedicate her time and energy to fine art, consequently moving to Europe where she lived and painted for 20 years. Exposure to European culture "has had a tremendous influence on my life and work as an artist."

While living in Europe, Carolyn Adams had several solo exhibits and participated in a number of group shows. Upon returning to the United States she was unable to financially survive as an artist which led her to return to work and only paint when she had the time and inspiration.

In her own words: "Upon retiring, I once again fully devoted myself to art. There has been a long period of time between past exhibitions and my present achievements. However, I feel my artwork now reflects my growth as an artist as I continue my career.

I feel that my age should not be a deterrent. I'm strong and healthy and I paint every day. I usually work on a series of 10 paintings at a time. First building up each painting, and then completing them with a glazing process (10 to 20 layers) I've developed over the years I apply this process to both my oil and acrylic paintings. Recently I have been working more in acrylics and exploring this medium's possibilities.

As an artist, I strive to find a statement of harmony and awareness. I am always searching for integrity in my art as I seek a balance between craftsmanship and spirituality."

Despina Kyriacou

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British Photographer, Despina Kyriacou studied Fine Art and specialized in Photography during the final year of her degree course (1982-85).

"I used photography as a means of expression and have been preoccupied with it ever since."

In 1986, Kyriacou was commissioned to photograph the North East Yorkshire coast, followed by an exhibition at the Impressions Gallery of Photography. In 1988 she participated at a group show at South London Art Gallery and in 1994 at St.Thomas's Hospital, London. The following year she showed at South Bank Centre. In 2003 she had a solo show at Riversidestudios and the same year she presented work at Battersea Arts Fair. In 2014, Kyriacou participated at Brick Lane Art Fair and showed in a group exhibit at The Mall Galleries, London. In 2015 she participated at Art Now: The Artists Fair London. In 2016 and 2017 she showed again at the Artist Fair and Brick Lane Gallery.

Ingrid Steckelberg

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German artist, Ingrid Steckelberg was born in Breslau and lives and works as a freelance artist in Achim. She also works in the artist's colony of Worpswede and Achim. Between 1993 and 2000 Steckelberg received her artistic education in en plein air painting. Along with painting she has engaged in photography. Since 2001 she is a member of the National Association of Artists as well as a member of the artists’ collective ‘ART99’. Her works have been exhibited nationally and internationally and belong to private and public collections. In 2014, Steckelberg received the Volksbank Cultural Prize.

Ken Beckles

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"The best way to describe my art is to say that it is totally abstract, with large areas of varied colors that are sometimes splashed or solid and very linear in nature. The shapes are very unusual and the colors at times are also unusual. There are also some very hard edges, sometimes there are circles and sometimes there are small paintings within the paintings. My approach to doing the paintings also varies in that sometimes I work from drawings done to scale and then at times I draw directly on the surface because the concept is so clear that I can go directly to executing it. I have a continuing flood of ideas that I am constantly tapping into and as I do more paintings the greater the flow of ideas. I also work in multiple styles that each lead to a series of paintings and every now and then one of those paintings opens another door leading to a whole new series of paintings. The paintings seem to have a mystic power of their own and they seem to capture a flash of emotion and freeze it in time like a camera does but since they take longer to complete they cover a greater range of emotions. The paintings can best be described as abstract color jewels that have fallen from the cosmos like comets or shooting stars."

Cristian Blei

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Romanian artist, Cristian Blei started drawing and painting at a very young age, fascinated by the power of colors and shapes like a magical thing. Coming from a family of visual artists, the plastic language became very familiar to him from an early age, later unambiguously determining his path to the artistic field.

Blei's work is inspired always by an idea, a state, a dream, becoming then a story that is revealed in a subtle and unpredictable form. Introspection is very important in this creative process as a means of revealing the inner chaos, understanding it and overcoming it. This process makes him travel an unknown itinerary for the beginning, caught in a game of duality between logic and emotion between known and unknown, in which the mystery has its role.

As a technique, Blei mainly use the oils in a succession of fine color layers and use any pleasant accident of the colors on the canvas integrating it as part of the shapes game.

His style was strongly influenced by classical and also modern painting, as well as by the surrealist current that explores the idea of dreams and initiates the imagination as a total means of expression.

"I want to paint an emotion, a dream, through lines, colors and shapes, to create something new, different and unique!"

Eleanor McKnight

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Born in Ireland, Eleanor McKnight is a self-taught artist. She returned to painting a few years ago and "it has been such a joy to see my work hanging on walls all over the world."

McKnight has featured in Conde Nast's "Vogue" and "House & Garden" magazines, had gallery representation and has shown in many art fairs and exhibits in London, New York and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

"My permanent home is the Turks and Caicos Islands, capturing the beauty of ocean colour and bringing it to the demure and earthy colours of Europe. I love to play around with various shades of blue gathering inspiration from the wealth of wonder our planet offers."

Jean-Marie Renault

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Arati Reddy-Devlin

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“I completed my Fine Art Printmaking postgraduate at Brighton University, England, after my degree in Graphic Design in 1986. Later in 1986, I was awarded a British Council Scholarship to study at the Ljubljana Academy in Slovenia. This was a pivotal point that enhanced my technical skills as a printmaker.

Following this scholarship, I trained to be an Art and Design teacher and nearly twenty years of teaching followed. During this period my family and I moved to live on a small island off Dubrovnik, Croatia, where I continued to teach and work on my art. It felt like I had stepped off the treadmill of city life having grown up in London, England. Whilst living on the island I enjoyed the vast expanse of sky which was never so readily visible in a cityscape. The abundant natural forms and scenery around our house up on the hill inspired my work.

As a trained printmaker I work backwards in my pictures, seeing work as layers of shapes, forms, colours and patterns. My black and white landscapes often start as line drawings that force me to be highly selective in my choice of shapes. These landscapes often start from the bottom of the page, creating distinct positive and negative shapes. This process has encouraged me to see the micro rather than the macro.

My current series of images include references to mechanical parts and technology to create another type of micro-world and highlights my love of Sci-fi and Medieval Art. I continue to be fascinated with fine details and when I view my work as a collection, it is dense and full of detail that requires closer inspection. Detail continues to be my preoccupation. Alongside this is my interest in calligraphy and illuminated manuscripts that is becoming part of the schema of my work as further layering of patterns.”