"Westminster" (2006) by Erik Sandberg

"Westminster" (2006) by Erik Sandberg, mixed media on paper, 10"x15"

Erik Sandberg (Quantico, VA, USA), "one of the most brilliant young painters in the Washington area" according to Fraser Gallery, lives and works in Washington, DC. He is a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts, George Mason University (1995), a recipient of the Morris Louis Fellowship (1999) and has a Masters in Fine Arts in Painting, George Washington University (2000).

The Washington Post writes that "Sandberg is a gifted young painter whose small, dark oils depict in exquisite detail people in various stages of undress performing a variety of contortions and acts that cannot be mentioned or shown in a family newspaper. Think Hieronymus Bosch meets Madonna at a leather gym. There's nothing easy about these works that seem to depict a multitude of virtues and vices, but it's hard to look away."

You can buy a print of the work above for 45$.

If anyone knows where to find larger versions of these paintings please leave a comment.

"Standing Nude" (1855) by Auguste Belloc

Auguste Belloc (attributed to) - Standing Nude (1855)

Auguste Belloc (Paris, 1800) is a master of early photography and founding member of the Société Française de Photographie.

The simple poses and sets, along with less than perfect models, are what make his work so charming. (Thanks for your comment, Vorpalbunny).

More photos by Robert Asman

Robert Asman, Front and Back (Nude), Toned gelatin silver print from manipulated paper negative, 1987c/2001, 14 x 11 in. (356 x 279 mm)

Robert Asman, Meshed Flesh (Nude), Toned gelatin silver print from manipulated paper negative, 1987c/2001, 14 x 11 in. (356 x 279 mm)

See other posts on Robert Asman.

"311-11" by Viktor Ivanovski

Viktor Ivanovski, 311-11, photograph

The rest of Ivanovski's work we've seen is pretty run-of-the-mill 'erotic nudes' photography, but this photo we had to share with you.

Untitled (2005) by Erica Eyres

Erica Eyres, Untitled, Ballpoint pen on paper, 43 by 64 cm, 2005

Erica Eyres (Canada, 1980) completed her BFA at the University of Manitoba in Sculpture in 2002. In 2004 she finished her MFA at the Glasgow School of Art. (source)

Eyres speaking about her drawings:

Most recently I have been working on a series of drawings that focus on women and how they portray themselves through self-portraits, and how these images reflect their sexuality and their self-esteem. These women straddle the border between being pitiful and hilarious so that they demand both empathy and uncomfortable laughter.
The drawings are inspired by men’s magazines, with photo spreads such as "Real Girls to Phone and Date". Women are encouraged to submit photos of themselves and to describe their ideal man, or why they’ll "do anything". I am interested in the low production quality of these images (some taken with mobile phone cameras), and how they become self-portraits that reveal the women’s insecurities and clumsiness. The original context is removed from the drawings, depicting young women who pose awkwardly in their underwear, displaying deformities that could be either major or minor (depending on how we choose to see them). Despite their awkwardness, however, the women stare back at the viewer with a kind of ease, rather than a resignation. They appear eager or expectant, implying that they are awaiting the viewer’s approval. The viewer becomes uncomfortable, not sure if they should find the women attractive, ugly, melancholy, or threatening.

"Vestido Eterno, Mexico" (1999) by Flor Garduño

Flor Garduño, "Vestido Eterno, Mexico", 1999, Gelatin Silver Print, h: 20 x w: 16 in / h: 50.8 x w: 40.6 cm

Flor Garduño was born in Mexico City in 1957 and in 1979 became darkroom assistant to Manuel Alvarez Bravo. She developed her own style while working under photographer Mariana Yampolsky at the Secretary of Public Education, which involved her in visiting the rural areas of Mexico. Since then she has become an internationally acclaimed photographer, and now divides her time between Mexico and Switzerland.

"Venus" (1977) by Manuel Alvarez Bravo

Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Venus, 1977, Platinum print, 7 x 9-1/2 in.

See other posts on Manuel Alvarez Bravo.

"La Buena fama durmiendo" (1939) by Manuel Alvarez Bravo

Manuel Alvarez Bravo, La Buena fama durmiendo (The Good Reputation Sleeping), 1939, Silver Gelatin Print, h: 8 x w: 10 in / h: 20,3 x w: 25,4 cm

Whether concealed by a fig leaf or locked by a chastity belt, a woman's erogenous area has traditionally been kept hidden from view. Flouting convention, Manuel Alvarez Bravo staged this scene by clothing the model's upper thighs, hips, and waist, and exposing her pubic region. Although this photograph challenges traditional representations of women, it alludes to confinement through the use of bandages around the model's wrists and ankles. These devices can be interpreted as symbols of bondage and lack of free will.

In this seemingly serene setting, the star cacti lined up beside the slumbering model signal pain and danger. The plants impede the woman's free movement, while at the same time protecting her from the sexual advances of a potential intruder. In naming this photograph The Good Reputation, Sleeping, Alvarez Bravo drew upon the Mexican proverb: Earn a good reputation, then rest on your laurels. (source)

A self-taught photographer, Manuel Alvarez Bravo (1902-2002) purchased his first camera at age twenty while working at a government job. His earliest success at photography came around 1925, when he won first prize in a local photographic competition in Oaxaca. He returned to Mexico City, where he had been born, and in 1927 met Tina Modotti, who introduced him to a lively intellectual and cultural environment of other artists from various disciplines. Among them was Edward Weston, who encouraged Alvarez Bravo to continue photographing; Weston wrote to him in 1929: "Photography is fortunate in having someone with your viewpoint. It is not often I am stimulated to enthusiasm over a group of photographs." (source)

"Triptico de los Martirios III (29958)" (1950) by Lola Alvarez Bravo

Lola Alvarez Bravo, Triptico de los Martirios III (29958), 1950, photograph, h: 9.1 x w: 7.1 in / h: 23.1 x w: 18 cm

Lola Alvarez Bravo (1907-1993) was Mexico's first woman photographer. Her work is exceptional for both its compelling quality and its startling diversity. She began making photographs in 1926 under the tutelage of her husband, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, and continued photographing for the next sixty years. Although some of her earliest photographs reflect her husband's influence - they shared the same simple Kodak, and often the same role of film - Lola achieved her own aesthetic during the 1940s and '50s, concentrating on two particularly vivid bodies of work-portraiture and street photography. (source)

Five paintings by John Currin

Twisting Girl, 1996, oil on canvas, 96.5cm x 76cm

The Bra Shop, 1997, oil on canvas, 48 x 38 in.

Dogwood, 1997

La vieille barrière, 1999, huile sur toile, 193 x 102 cm

The Wizard, circa 1994

There are some wildly different ideas about exactly what Currin is up to—New York Times critic Michael Kimmelman sees him as "a latter-day Jeff Koons" trafficking in postmodern irony while Peter Schjeldahl at The New Yorker finds him a blissfully sincere artist tapping into the timeless values of "mystery, sublimity, transcendence." But everyone is unanimous about one thing: John Currin can paint. (source)

[..] A few years later he presented an instantly notorious group of paintings of women with basketball-sized breasts and faces done in craggy impasto acting out various soft-porn scenarios. Crass jokes rendered in oil on canvas, they are ostentatiously "bad paintings" done in the defiantly ironic mode of high-concept kitsch. Though the reviews were tepid, Currin got a big thumbs-up from Juggs magazine, which applauded him for "paying attention to the worthy theme of big tits." (source)