Looking at the contemporary art world, it’s clear that there isn't one aesthetic dominates over another. This changes depending on gallery or museum exhibition show you attend or what art circles you fit into. This creates a strange paradigm where what is relevant is what is in front of you. Everything becomes relevant. Volume 5 shows this paradigm unfiltered and for what is it. We feature works by artists working in several mediums including painting, photography, installation, and printmaking. These artists represent the spirit of what’s being made today. We present some artists like Anastasia Komorva, who uses non-traditional material to create a performance piece at a New York beach, alongside Kris Rehring who uses traditional painting techniques to the figure with strong geometric forms. Despite this contrast, none of the artists are seeking to coddle themselves in the comfortable or overly familiar. Instead, they are seeking to make something new by pushing boundaries of what is considered art while upholding a reverence for an art historical ideas. If anything, this shows the tension of what it’s like to be an artist today.We’re pleased to present these artists who are from the US and UK and are at different points of their career. It should be noted that we’ve made it a special purpose to include photography in this volume, which overall has been lacking in other volumes. Some are making an impact as university students in graduate or undergraduate programs while others are full time professions and have shown extensively throughout the world. We avoid stating each artists qualifications, because they can be misleading. Instead we rely on the integrity of work which is not lacking in any of these artists work.
