Five Illustrators You Should Follow
Art displays are gradually shifting from museum galleries to Instagram feeds, and the medium is becoming more abundant because of it. While scrolling through endless influencer posts is entertaining, here are five illustrators to follow and color your feed:
1) Antonio Wisesa (@antonioreinhard)
Wisesa is an Indonesian illustrator infatuated with surrealism. His works are bundles of colorful vibrancy, otherworldly subjects, and vivid patterns. Each piece carries so much texture and emotion, making his entire roster of work the perfect momentary escape in a digital rabbit hole. When describing his art, Wisesa says that he loves to “draw scenes and places, also the feelings and memories contained within them.”
Antonio Wisesa, “Ondine Piano Room” (Courtesy of Wisesa)
2) Queer Habibi (@artqueerhabibi)
Choosing to remain anonymous, Queer Habibi captures LGBTQ+ intimacy secluded within the Middle East’s corners through a pop-art style. With some works even honoring prominent queer figures in the region. Since being gay is still largely a threat in the Middle East, Queer Habibi’s work is imperative in proclaiming the presence of a community purposefully concealed. On the importance of their work, Queer Habibi explains that they started their Instagram account to “represent the Middle Eastern and North African LGBTQ+ community, a niche target because the queer community in this region is often misjudged and hidden. Just because you can’t really see us doesn’t mean that we don’t exist.”
Queer Habibi, “Yalla Club” (image via Them Magazine)
3) Lee Yoon Hwan (@__tree_13)
A South Korean illustrator that goes by the name Namu (transl. tree) 13, Namu is a self-proclaimed specialist in city pop art. Bringing back 80’s retro with an anime-esque twist. Their work features bright colors and bold backgrounds, creating beautiful stills that almost seem like they came straight out of a movie. With a hypnotizing array of work, Namu’s style romanticizes everyday life as if it were an 80’s montage.
Namu13, “WM30” (image via Digital Arts Online)
4) Thomas Dubois (@thomas_dubois_art)
Dubois is a French concept artist with an intrinsic ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. His works position galactic dimensions and underwater enigmas in cityscapes and scenic environments. Marrying reality with fantasy, Dubois’s art is incredibly alluring and will draw you into so many worlds one piece at a time.
Thomas Dubois, “Fish District” (Courtesy of Dubois)
5) Rasuku (@hun5751)
Rasuku is a Japanese illustrator mainly drawing women in dreamy landscapes. Their work uses hazy color schemes of purple and pink, to submerge moments from everyday life in a cloud-like aura. Rasuku captures those moments when you’re sitting in a park, staring out the window, or waiting for someone to arrive, that only seem quiet on the surface but are really simmering with loud emotions underneath. Rendering their work is extremely captivating and inviting. One scroll through Rasuku’s feed and you want to desperately know more about the women you’re seeing on screen.
Rasuku, “Untitled” (Courtesy of Rasuku)
Adding art to your daily feed is a simple step in refreshing what you see every day to be more fruitful. Social media doesn’t have to be a redundant series of photo dumps, it can be a canvas instead.