Dutch artist Toon Joosen knows how to have fun with words.
Using old-school books and photographs, he creates collages that transform a printed page into a playful scene of wordplay.
A lawnmower clears a path from a page, a group of gentlemen pluck words from a ‘field’, and more.
Clever and nostalgic, the collages feel original yet familiar all at once.
See more of his work on Instagram and Society6.
Images used with artist’s permission.
We had fun creating this series of spooky and yummy Halloween Mandalas, featuring a range of scary and tasty objects, from strange fruits to dramatic candy corn arrangements, to creepy crawlies.
Created using Midjourney, we found that mandalas, geometric configuration of symbols, are a perfect prompt for generative AI art, which is great at creating patterns and symmetry.
Through a lot of trial and error, we were able to find the right balance of realism, recognizable objects, and some stranger-than-real-life creations.
We tried to balance the creepy creatures with spreads of Halloween candy and moody witch séances.
See more mandala art by Moss and Fog and other talented artists here.
Enigmatriz, a digital artist from Argentina, is creating a fascinating blend of old and new.
Using ASCII, the basic characters of computer code, they’re transforming classical paintings and archival photos into shimmering digital collages.
The process begins in online archives, where Enigmatriz searches for forgotten or overlooked images.
These are then reworked through Image to ASCII tools and layered with characters, symbols, and text.
The result is a hybrid language of art and code. A portrait might be reshaped so that letters create texture and shading, or a landscape might break open into a field of text.
The artworks are both beautiful and puzzling. They ask the viewer to look closer, to decode how traditional imagery can be rebuilt with digital fragments.
In doing so, Enigmatriz shows that images and language share more common ground than we often think.
At its core, this work is about transformation. It takes the familiar and renders it strange, inviting us to see art, code, and history from a new perspective.
See more of Enigmatriz’s art on Instagram. Via Kottke:
Images © Copyright Enigmatriz.
Collage work takes myriad form, from simple cut and paste from a magazine, to something more nuanced and complex.
These collage pieces explore a merging of portraits with cut paper, leaves, and LED lights, creating an aesthetic that feels both dreamlike and fragile.
The soft glow of the LEDs create a depth that adds nuance to the zen-like portraiture.
Original work from Moss and Fog.
The appeal of physical cut-and-paste collage is even higher in our age of digital-everything.
Dutch artist Toon Joosen keeps this tradition alive and well with his page collages. In the ever-growing series, cut and pasted characters interact with printed pages, as the printed words are scooped, collected, and even rain down on the subjects.
See more of his work on Instagram and Society6.
Images © Copyright Toon Joosen. Used with artist’s permission.
The Greek artist duo Frank Moth has carved a distinct niche in the art world with their dreamy, retro-futuristic collages. Blending vintage photography, celestial motifs, and organic elements, their works evoke nostalgia, human connection, and a sense of otherworldly wonder.
Known for their signature surreal aesthetic, Frank Moth’s art is a visual exploration of identity and time.
In a world that’s all about keeping it real and appreciating beauty, Frank Moth’s art totally hits home with how it connects us and sparks inspiration.
Images used with artist’s permission.
Collage art can take many forms. In our digital age, collages are often done using tools like Photoshop, and there are myriad examples of it online.
Lola Dupre takes a more analog approach, using scissors and paper, to create repeated forms that stretch, bend, and distort her subject matter. She prints multiple copies of a subject, cutting and expanding the form to create entirely new faces and personalities.
The results are both bizarre and charming, creating moments of both ‘aww’ and ‘whoa’, in equal measure. We love her series of dogs and cats, whose personalities are exaggerated in amazing ways.
A few animated GIFs show Dupre’s process, and show the painstaking work that goes into each image.
See more of Dupre’s work on her website and Instagram. Limited prints and original art can be purchased on her website as well.
Images © Copyright Lola Dupre. Used with artist’s permission.
Using repeated textures, images can be expanded, stretched, and turned surreal.
Dupre is able to wildly change the emotion and mood of her characters with her use of repeated stretching and pulling techniques.
The pets and characters in Dupre’s work are utterly charming and memorable.
Conveying complex themes through illustrations can be difficult and confusing. Italian artist Beppe Conti manages to navigate this well, creating editorial illustrations and collages that combine pop sensibility with timely themes and relevant issues of our time.
From riffing on pop culture icons like Andy Warhol to creating editorial themes around healthcare and nursing, Conti manages to create art that resonates and makes the subject matter more accessible.
See more of his clever and fascinating work on Behance, and his website.
Images © Copyright Beppe Conti. Used with artist’s permission.
The world of collages is alive and well, thanks to a plethora of digital tools, and more and more artists creating exciting visual mashups.
Kaylan Michel is a self-taught designer and artist, based in Montreal, focusing on fierce and beautiful portrait collages in the style of Afrofuturism.
Her mixed media approach uses all manner of objects and visual metaphors, coalescing into a distinctive, hyper-vibrant style.
She works under the moniker Lost in the Island, and was inspired by a range of post-modernism artists, but also pop culture references, and her own African heritage.
However, people haven’t heard from the artist in a number of years, questioning whether Lost in the Island is in retirement, or hiding from the public eye.
We love the mixed media approach, using flowers, flying saucers, cat eyes and more to create such distinctive and rich detailed art.
Being originally from Africa, I look up to African art and afro futuristic art styles. I love patterns, colors and designs that represent my roots.
The motivation behind my art is to break the rules and not fit into any box, while building self-expression. I am inspired by life – experiences, science, fashion, music, the universe, spirituality and nature. I’m drawn by my inner-me, my mood, and the moment of the day.
It’s therapeutic and it’s a way of releasing the creative spirit. Fellow independent artists also inspire me to create more.
“I love the fact that each person can see different things in one piece of art and relate to it. Some artists I look up to are: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Frida Kahlo, Gustav Klimt, and a New York based artist Kehinde Wiley. I love the energy behind their work, it truly inspires me.”
The surreal, psychedelic collages by artist Denis Sheckler give us a window into the weird and otherworldly.
Faces are replaced by planets and galaxies, eyes rain down waves and surfers, and an overall sense of trippiness takes over.
See more on his Instagram, Pills for Skills. Via Fubiz:
The collage lives on, even through our era of AI-generated art and high-tech digital wizardry. There’s something reassuring about the medium, cutting and combining visual elements into something irreverent or decidedly new.
Trashriot knows this well, and employs a fun retro vibe to their collages. Combining vintage imagery, torn and weathered textures, and an avant-garde sensibility, their creations are exuberant yet grounded.
Below are some of their latest collages, which caught our eye.
See more of their work on Instagram.
Combining everyday, household items with architectural and built elements, photographer Hugo Suíssas shows us the lighter, more clever side of the ordinary.
The Lisbon-based photographer has a keen eye for alignment and form, making connections between a bridge or a building’s outline match up perfectly with a pair of scissors or a drill bit. The effect is surprisingly effective, in a medium that sometimes seems tired and simplistic. His eye can create a clever moment that others might simply walk on by, or not consider.
It’s this type of playfulness that make our build world all the more interesting.
See more of Suíssas’s work on Instagram.
Images © Copyright Hugo Suíssas.
Skillfully using Photoshop to create digital collages that blend disparate scenes together, Justin Peters shows us entirely new realities. Horizons cleanly fade into foregrounds, human elements seamlessly become natural ones.
Great collage work. See more on his website.
Dutch artist Toon Joosen knows how to have fun with words. Using old-school books and photographs, he creates collages that transform a printed page into a playful scene of wordplay.
A lawnmower clears a path from a page, a group of gentlemen pluck words from a ‘field’, and more.
Clever and nostalgic, the collages feel original yet familiar all at once.
See more of his work on Instagram and Society6.
Images used with artist’s permission.
SLip is a self described “old French Geek” who discovered collage work and perfected it, creating dynamic pop art that is dynamic and captivating.
We see vintage imagery combined with pastel backgrounds and pop-art references that feel colorful and alive. World War II planes fly overhead, as historical, fashion, and sport icons fill the scenes.
See more of SLip’s work on their website and Instagram.
Images used with artist’s permission.
Cameroonian artist Maxime Manga is a talented artist who creates vibrant, expressive work that blends photography, graphics, and painted elements. The collage-style work is inspired by artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, yet has a 21st century digital fluency that makes it highly relevant today.
We love his use of bold contrast and eccentric shapes, forming narratives with his images that are powerful and memorable. Some of his poster-style work features wordplay and positive affirmations.
Manga is represented by UK-based The Different Folk.
See more of his beautiful work on Instagram.
SLip is a self described “old French Geek” who discovered collage work and perfected it, creating dynamic pop art that is dynamic and captivating.
We see vintage imagery combined with pastel backgrounds and pop-art references that feel colorful and alive. World War II planes fly overhead, as historical, fashion, and sport icons fill the scenes.
See more of SLip’s work on their website and Instagram.
Images used with artist’s permission.
Smile more, will ya?
That seems to be the M.O. behind Vanessa Mckeown’s delightful absurdity. Her mashup images combine objects in nonsensical yet logical ways.
From taps pouring pasta to skinny baguette legs, we see her creative and humorous range. Always cleanly created and beautifully photographed, there’s a studio quality that adds a plausibility to these moments. Thankfully she offers prints of her work, so you can add some needed levity and humor to your home.
See much more of her hilarious creations on her website and Instagram.
Images used with artist’s permission.
Happy weekend! Hope it’s full of flavor. Have a good one.
Various surreal collages via Pinterest:
There’s no shortage of space-related collages on the internet, it’s a popular theme that many people have gravitated toward, no pun intended.
There varying levels of quality, however. Artist and designer Frank Moth is among the best, and has been creating iconic collages that he calls “nostalgic postcards from the future”.
It’s a fitting description, as the work has a warm, vintage quality to it, with images of people in their pastimes, set against dramatic space backgrounds. They provide a great visual escape from the everyday, and inspire a sense of wonder.
Be sure to check out his Instagram page for more inspiration.
Images used with artist’s permission.
There’s something calming about a collage that makes you forget everything on earth, if only for a moment.
Visual artist Nikola Miljkovic shares collages that feel vintage and carefree, showing quiet human moments, except they’re in extraordinary places.
Obscuring the faces of these vintage photographs, Australian artist Harriet Moutsopoulos gives us a whole new, comical and surreal perspective.
Blurring the lines between humor and tragedy, her collage work is strange yet captivating, and we’re intrigued where her next project might take her.
The world of collages is alive and well, thanks to a plethora of digital tools, and more and more artists creating new and exciting visual mashups.
Kaylan Michel is a self-taught designer and artist, based in Montreal, focusing on fierce and beautiful portrait collages in the style of Afrofuturism. Her mixed media approach uses all manner of objects and visual metaphors, coalescing into a distinctive, hyper-vibrant style.
She works under the moniker Lost in the Island, and was inspired by a range of post-modernism artists, but also pop culture references, and her own African heritage. We love the mixed media approach, using flowers, flying saucers, cat eyes and more to create such distinctive and rich detailed art.
Being originally from Africa, I look up to African art and afro futuristic art styles. I love patterns, colors and designs that represent my roots.
“I love the fact that each person can see different things in one piece of art and relate to it. Some artists I look up to are: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Frida Kahlo, Gustav Klimt, and a New York based artist Kehinde Wiley. I love the energy behind their work, it truly inspires me.”
Dementia is a tragic condition throughout the world, where people’s memories and thought process start to go haywire, causing untold pain and suffering for those with it, and family affected by it. These beautiful but sad collages pay respect to the condition, using imagery of the elderly, and foggy, fading memories. Powerful work by Christian Barthold, who has a vast and impressive catalog of collages on Behance.
Aidan Sartin Conte has a great collage series that explores the concept between the mind and its development.
It’s a visually compelling concept, and a great series of collages, combining dramatic photographs with images of cities and buildings. It’s an emotional exploration, and one that makes us want to create more.
“Where is my mind” is the product of these inspirations and the belief that the “journey” not only open the mind, but it gives it a new shape.”
