This year, Aesthetica has profiled hundreds of artists from across the world – online, in print and through the Aesthetica Art Prize. Here, we pick a selection of pictures from 2023’s print issues, including luscious imaginary landscapes, colour-popping photographs and serene projects that are personal to the artist.
Issue 111 – Window to Other Places | Dreamscapes is a world of elegant imagination. We started the year with James Tralie’s digital renders, turning architectural spaces into verdant worlds teeming with life.
Issue 111 – Emotive Colour Play | Prince Gyasi, featured in our February / March edition, incorporates bright palettes into intimate portraits of figures from Accra, Ghana, the artist’s hometown.
Issue 112 – Intimacy and Curiosity | Our cover photographer Amy Harrity took us into spring with fields of yellow flowers, distilling personal experiences into compositions that evoke honesty and clarity.
Issue 113 – Deep in the Forest | Meanwhile, mysterious desk lamps nestle amongst lush green foliage and climb up tall trees in Rune Guneriussen’s compelling collection of magical outdoor installations.
Issue 114 – A Sense of Renewal | Gleeson Paulino brought a warm and evocative collection of pictures to our summer issue: a dreamlike personal chronicle about life in his native Brazil.
Issue 114 – Building a Universe | Origami boats sailed through our August/September issue, as JeeYoung Lee’s impressively constructed studio scenes filled the pages with seas of paper-cut leaves.
Issue 115 – Surreal Expression | Feathers, leaves, balloons, paper cranes and butterflies. Fares Micue returned to Aesthetica once again, bringing her joyous, inspiring self-portrait series to the pages of Issue 115.
Issue 115 – Free to Improvise | For French photographer Anne-Laure Étienne, taking pictures is as much about shooting as performance. In October, these shots were an antidote to approaching winter weather.
Issue 116 – Meaning in Collage | We rounded out the year with experimental pictures of coffee cups, mirrors, water jugs and headphones. Jooeun Bae folds and distorts them into deeply personal montages.
Issue 116 – Striking Landforms | The Gobi Desert is listed amongst the top 10 largest in the world. In the December / January issue, Jonas Daley’s landscapes capture its imposing rocky mountain ranges.
Image credits:
1. James Tralie, Archway Flood (2021). From Dreamscapes.
2. James Tralie, Lagoon Home (2021). From Dreamscapes.
3. Prince Gyasi, Patience & Purpose (2019). Courtesy of the artist and Maât Gallery.
4. Amy Harrity, Nordstrom Anniversary Campaign (2021). Creative Director: Kim Robbins. Principal Stylist: Ralee Bankston. Hair: Nikki Providence. Make-up: Michelle Mungal. Set Designer: Brian Toffoli.
5. Amy Harrity, Nordstrom Anniversary Campaign (2021). Creative Director: Kim Robbins. Principal
6. Rune Guneriussen, The beauty of the elderly (2013). Courtesy of Galerie Olivier Waltman.
7. Gleeson Paulino. Untitled. Image courtesy the artist.
8. Gleeson Paulino. Untitled. Image courtesy the artist
9. JeeYoung Lee, Secret Garden, (2018). Image courtesy the artist.
10. All images courtesy Fares Micue.
11. All images courtesy Fares Micue.
12. Image courtesy of Anne-Laure Étienne, from Tissue and Bones (2022).
13. Jooeun Bae, Different Lives but Same Thoughts, from Colorful Scissors (2021).
14. Jooeun Bae, Mono Tape, from Mono- (2022).
15. Jonas Daley, from Black Gobi, (2020). Image courtesy the artist.
