To be a grown up is to have our emblematic, high-speed daydreams combed out. We’re told to “put away childish things”, that we need to toughen our delicate hearts to face a cruel world, when veritably we should all strive to make the world less cruel. Our childhood makes us more interesting adults. Re-experience the fresh enthusiasm of childhood, browse art that brings back the big tree and a swing, little triumphs in star light.
It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.
Cute and heartbreaking and then cute again! That’s how you feel when you find art that you love, you realize: Aww that’s me! We fall for a piece of art because it’s relatable, at the same time it subtracts weight from our daily lives. Life takes on lightness. Artists on Stew skillfully deconstruct tears, fears and anxieties and craft them into whimsical, charming and engaging images. So sweet! Their art is tinged with melancholy but fringed with joy, little conversations about this world and our generation.
Art helps us navigate our experiences while continuously delivering delights.
We’re the first generation lacking solitude but doing solitary tasks on screens. We’re always mediating between loneliness and the urge for solitude. Martynas Pavilonis from Lithuania articulates the delight of solitude in the sweetest way possible! Let them say what they will about “leaving the comfort zone”, sometimes we just want to recharge in a familiar place. Artworks on solitude reminds us to invest time in ourselves and to ask “How am I doing?” once in a while. When the world becomes a hard place to blend in, you’ll find an artist that shares your secret from afar.
“I hold this to be the highest task of a bond between two people: that each should stand guard over the solitude of the other.” — Rainer Maria Rilke
KYU is a young artist based in Seoul, Korea. His paintings contain short and sweet snippets of humor and wisdom about the familiar anxieties of modern life. They capture the nuances and habits of our generation, like sky gazing, rain jostling, spontaneous wandering and practicing how to be alone with one’s thoughts. The tree stumps waving is so cute it hurts! The most aww-inducing image is Tree Whale — aren’t we all slightly suffering? Another favorite is Go Away, an elegant piece which reminds us that having our head in the clouds is not a bad thing, we’re likely to come out of there recharged and laden with inspiration!
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There are those who think cute and pretty things are only sentimental, we think they’re getting it all wrong! There’s a good reason why we love cute things, in fact, we need them as refuge from the vulgar and somber moments in our everyday lives. Our version of cute is cute laced with satire, art that takes a playful jab at our follies and vices. Art helps us develop laughter and wonder, it adjusts our mood to better face the reality of our world.
The colorful paintings by Ann-Kathrin Nikolov have a casual, nonchalant vibe with a street art edge. They reveal a charming array of cartoon-like characters intermixed in anthropomorphic cityscapes. The architectural entities have a personality of their own as we see them infused with each other and consume the other characters. She contemplates the connection of the mind to the city, commenting on the sometimes entangling relationship between people and their environment. We love the way she considers the patterns and grains of the wooden canvas as part of her narrative.
Sometimes the creepiest things aren’t malevolent or grotesque, but cute and sweet. In the case with these artists, a bad dream doesn’t scare them, it inspires them instead! Once life shows us its dark side, we appreciate the cute and whimsical more, recognizing the darkness reminds us that our lives are not that bad. Jennifer Park‘s nightmare forest is the perfect mix of creepy and cute! Vladimir Stankovic lives in Odense, Denmark, the hometown of Hans Christian Andersen, no wonder his creations are fantastically dark and delicious! Emily Lau always charms us with her weird and wonderful characters. Nightmares and little horrors are a shared human experience and represent an honest part of ourselves. Next time you’re haunted by a dream know that someone on the other side of the world is having one quite similar to yours, and they’re super cute about it!