rest in color

Haleh Mashian’s “Rest in Color” is an emotionally charged work of contemporary abstract figurative art that captures the tension between stillness and energy. Composed of vibrant yellows, fiery reds, and deep blacks, she feels like she’s built from emotion rather than paint—alive with movement, even in rest. The warm tones within the figure create a sense of life and urgency, while the chaotic black-and-white strokes around her add contrast and tension. There’s a constant push and pull—between chaos and calm, identity and abstraction, form and fragmentation.

Mashian keeps the face partially obscured, which adds a layer of mystery. It’s not about capturing a specific person—it’s about expressing a state of being. The ambiguity opens the door for personal connection, making the work feel universal.

For collectors and art lovers drawn to expressive, layered mixed media paintings, “Rest in Color” combines bold color, emotional depth, and textured complexity in a way that speaks to the human experience—how we carry emotion, how we take up space, and how we’re constantly shaped by what surrounds us.

True Colors

Arthur Brouthers

24 x 24″

Acrylic, ink, spray paint & resin on wood

“True Colors” is a striking fusion of figuration and abstraction, where the human form transcends physicality, becoming a vessel of emotion, energy, and transformation. The artist masterfully challenges traditional representations of the body, merging sculptural intensity with fluid motion, resulting in a visually arresting composition that pulses with tension and release.

The subject’s evocative pose—shoulders flexed, hands gripping in suspended motion—exudes power and introspection. Yet, through the artist’s bold use of color and texture, the figure dissolves into a luminous metamorphosis, as though sculpted from light rather than flesh. Bathed in an electrifying magenta, the musculature appears almost monumental, yet remains weightless against the abyssal black backdrop, heightening the painting’s dramatic tension.

Contrasting this raw intensity, fluid, hypnotic swirls cascade across the lower body, their undulating bands of color mirroring ripples in water or striations in marble. This ethereal dissolution blurs the boundaries between body and space, between the tangible and the ephemeral, reinforcing the work’s meditation on identity, transformation, and self-discovery.

The juxtaposition of hyper-real detail with expressive abstraction creates a delicate interplay between intimacy and detachment. While the posture suggests an inward retreat, a moment of meditative stillness, the radiant hues propel the image outward, engaging the viewer in a dialogue of perception and sensation.

“True Colors” is an experience—an exploration of contrast between light and dark, rigidity and movement, presence and transcendence. It invites the viewer to contemplate the fluidity of identity and the shifting nature of self-expression, leaving them suspended between reality and dream, strength and surrender.