Fascinating Worlds of Jacek Yerka

"QUANTUM SHOT" #296
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and other surreal art, which makes our hearts beat faster

In a sort of follow-up to Jeff VanderMeer's interview, we present the "New Weird" movement among the cutting-edge surreal artists. This promises to be a series, highlighting the most imaginative works in visual arts. One master whose work deserves more recognition is Jacek Yerka from Poland. With artist's exclusive permission we show here a few examples of his surreal worlds, with many more available (some for purchase) on his website.

One interesting quality of his art (shared perhaps with visionary work of Vladimir Kush and Thomasz Maronski) is how the common, easily-recognizable objects are transformed and inserted into a wholly alien environment (this being the hallmark of surrealism, for sure), and how the artist never fails to convey his mood and commentary about the real world - all of which remains powerfully imprinted on a viewer's mind for days to come. Some of the artwork you might have seen in the "Mind Fields" collection (order it here), which even inspired Harlan Ellison to write a few stories. Other art is less known, but just as mind-blowing.

"An Uninhabited Island"

"The City is Landing"

"The Landscape Cutter" (love this idea!)

"Fever"

"The Riders of Chaos"

"New Age Manhattan"

"The Stone and the Brick"

"The Sargass Sea Bishop"

"The Walking Lesson"

"Steamberries Train"

"The Green Millennium"

"November"

"Waiting for the Tram"

"Brontosaurus civitas"

"Between Heaven and Hell"

"The Cathedral"
(all art copyright Jacek Yerka, used by permission)

In 1995 Jacek Yerka was awarded the World Fantasy Award for the best artist. His paintings emphasize the uneasy balance between the "industrial" and the "pastoral", and never fail to touch some deeply hidden strings in the hearts of those who see them.

Smooth Sailing in the Absence of Water

The other master that recently come to our attention is Stanislav Plutenko. His tagline is "See the extraordinary and make it still more extraordinary". He tries his hand at interior design, and paints with variety of media: oil, tempera, acrylic, watercolour (supplemented with some airbrushing and glazing with clear paints). His art is currently exhibited throughout Europe, and his website contains works of various genres and styles.

(artwork copyright Stanislav Plutenko)

Call from this portentious telephone booth and disappear into some Russian version of the Matrix. Or continue to gaze into the trippy masterpieces of surreal art and become one with the world of the artist, if only for a moment.

For the darker side of surrealism, see this page

Also see:
Surreal Art Update

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