It seems like Luisa just started and she’s not really about to stop. Freshly graduated from Parsons the New School for Design, New York, she quickly gaining experience and filling a wonderful portfolio. Luisa Opalesky was born in Philadelphia and is currently based in NYC.

Here is a selection of her collections Boys, Girls, Landscapes and Midst.

There are a lot of “before/after” images out there, but these captured my attention so intensely that they almost knocked me out. In the gallery, find a pick of Nicolai Howalt’s Boxer series capturing the expressions of young boxers before and after the fight.

Nicolai Howalt was born in Copenhagen and graduated from Denmark’s Photographic Art School Fatamorgana in 1992 and his work has documentary references, operating at the intersection of conceptual photography and installation.

Nicolai Howalt has had solo exhibitions at Esbjerg Kunstmuseum; Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York; Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen and Center for Fotografi, Stockholm among others. He has also exhibited at Statens Museum for Kunst, ARoS and Skagens Museum in Denmark, and in Korea, China, USA, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, France, Finland, England, Hungary and Turkey.

In 2001 Nicolai Howalt published the book 3×1 with Gyldendal Publishers. Boxer was published in 2003 by ArtPeople. He has received a series of grants from the Hasselblad Foundation, The Danish Ministry of Culture, The Danish Arts Foundation and The Danish Arts Council.

David is a master of still life. Be it in the form of a layered color forrest or a glory hole over a plastic fruit salad, the 30-yo artist never seizes to provoke and surprise. 2011 started off successfully for Sherry: OHWOW Los Angeles showed his solo exhibition FORM FORMING FORMATION. And another one in NYC is about to be announced (James Fuentes, New York)

Born in Long Island, David Benjamin Sherry’s family relocated to Woodstock, N.Y., when he was 5. The hippie-ish environment was a formative influence. His iconic landscapes envisage humans as part of an organic whole, placing them in a natural context and using body paint as camouflage to blur the lines between the body and its environment. Other images deploy psychedelic symbols, from the inverted pyramid to washes of color that mimic an auric field.

With his photographically based collages, Sherry explores specified geometric formations, based on the mathematical design of our planet and solar system. Also referencing crop circle phenomenon, these rectilinear configurations aim to address the varied changes Earth undergoes. The work also serves to chronicle this moment in history, and to raise awareness of the natural world around us, through a visual combination of minimal form and complex pattern.

Benjamin’s work is making me very sad. I don’t know if it’s the fact that he is depicting only a certain side of homosexuality and gay life. Or maybe it’s because he is showing (mostly) miserable fuck-ups getting barebacked and cream-pied and all the consequences of that? Dunno. Build your opinion on his website and from the gallery in the bottom of this post.

Benjamin Fredrickson studied at Parsons Paris School of Art and Design, he received his BFA in Photography from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. His work has been published in Butt Magazine and Brief Magazine.

Mitsuko Nagone would challenge your expectations and perspectives on Asian art. Her photographs carry a hidden yet not so obvious message and represent Nagone’s passion for detailed perfection.

Mitsuko grew up in a small southern city in Japan. She moved to Tokyo and studied photography at the College of Tokyo Visual Arts. She then moved to New York City to continue her studies at LaGuardia Community College. Her photographs appeared in magazines published in NYC and Tokyo.

Currently, Mitsuko resides in Japan, works as a freelance photographer, and contributes to Getty Images, La-vie Factory, and so on. She also graduated with a BA in Photography from Kyoto University of Art and Design. Photography remains her passion where she currently exhibits her personal work in area galleries. Her latest work is displayed online in Nagone’s latest project – Unpublished Magazine (Hyperlink to: http://www.unpublishedmag.com).

Mitsuko and I talked about the challenges of being a female artist in patriarchal Japan, East and West and nomadism. Oh, and she told me a traditional Japanese fairytale.

When and how did you start making art?

About 10 years ago, I took photography class in Tokyo, and it really showed me that I can make art.

Why are you hiding your model’s faces?

They are all self-portraits. The human face seems to emphasize “who” a person is and gives some insight about the individual. This may misinform the audience. I would like to challenge the viewer’s misconceptions and stereotypes.

Why hair?

To hide a face, the hair is just the closet thing from the face. In some of the photographs, I use my hair or a wig purposely to hide my face, but also in the others, I just face down then it comes over my face, or just turn back.

Do you plan your work or is it more spontaneous?

Yes, I do plan especially what materials to use in the photographs, but sometimes I alter the plan during a photo shoot.

Do you find inspiration in Japan or in other cultures for your art?

Wherever I live, I get different kind of inspiration. Since I live in Japan now, I guess I am under the inspiration of Japan culture.

Do you think Japan artists get enough exposure to the Western art scene?

Find out the answer to this question and read the whole interview in HONK!

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Dis magazine gives us another perspective on nipple clamps and how they can be a useful accessory not only bringing us pleasure but also being a great assistance in all kinds of situations. Nipple clamps make carrying groceries home more fun as well as religion more pleasurable than ever!

Explore casual sensations with functional nipple clamp necessities by FAUX/real.

Photography Lyndsy Welgos
Jewelry & Styling FAUX/real
Editors Solomon Chase and David Toro
Featuring Rick Herron, Stephen Thompson, and Liza Thorn

Fierce Saturday everyone! After rocking Pet Shop Bears and going to bed at 8 am, there is no better way to go on with the but a good deal of home-made pancakes by Sean and a low-maintenance program for the rest of the day. As they say, sticks and stones may brake my bones, but whips and chains excite me.

Here is some Italian realness for you. Sasha Marini makes quite the appearance in the latest issue of PREF Mag with the story “Bas Fonds”, shot in Athens by Errikos Andreou with styling by Al Giga. Wardrobe features John Galliano, Balmain, Hugo Boss, Ann Demeulemeester, Givenchy, Dior Homme, Friperie, MR. B and Rex.

images via PREF Mag

HONK – the word in German has a very different meaning than in English. In Germany, there are usually people who are just as stupid as the meaning of the word but also freaks, nerds, and anyone who is different are included in this definition. In the U.S., honk is like when a car “honks” – “Watch Out! Here I am.” So there is no better word than HONK for a new magazine. Our magazine is for anyone who is different – for people against the grain. We do not want to revolutionize the magazine world, we just want to share our world. Honk will appear quarterly with each issue focusing on a different theme. The theme of the first issue is Schizophrenic-Revenge of the Nerds. We have invited artists on a global scale to address this topic. We want to give young artists a platform to present their work to a larger audience and to share in an exciting project with us. We want to catch the urban trap. In our magazine, we will feature a lot of photography with the simple focus on the total image. Fashion, Art and Media will also be highlighted in HONK! And to the makers of these worlds: “Take it easy! It’s just fashion and art. Not the reinvention of fire.” In 2011, we want to present exhibitions, movies and many other exciting projects focused around the magazine. The team around HONK! has years of experience in this arena and in the unique direction in which we plan on going. Now is perfect time to stand up on your own two feet. HONK! is made in Berlin, Germany but we are actually made for everyone out there! We want to inspire our readers with charm, excellent work and lots of fun. We look forward to all of the new tasks coming our way in 2011 and hope that you have as much fun viewing our work as we had creating it. Enjoy the first issue of HONK!

Recently I discovered my need of intimacy. I don’t mean hooking up with just anyone or simply getting physical. It’s not even necessarily about exchange of fluids. Intimacy had turned to a kitsch accessory I hide behind the pillow for a while, but now I’m all about it. Maybe it’s the winter. Or maybe it’s the music I am listening to.

It’s hard to find intimacy in Berlin tho.

Anyway, here comes an artist whose main media of expression is intimacy right after photography.

Steven Beckly is a photo-based artist living and working in Toronto, Canada. His artistic practice explores the complexities of identity, relationships, intimacy, and sexuality in contemporary experience. Blending diaristic, documentary, and cinematographic approaches, his work predominantly employs portraiture infused with biographical elements and idealized fiction. Performance plays an important role in his process, and constructed environments provide the context for his images.

He is interested in reconstructing personal and intimate realities and replaying emotional conditions to transform ordinary moments into universal sentiments. Seemingly fictionalized characters are placed in fragmented and open-ended narratives, creating space for imagined structure, context, and meaning. By exploring the connections between the individual, the collective, and their environments, he continually aspires to portray emotional intricacies that comprise and reveal layers of human experience.

Jeff Hahn looks more like a 16-yo innocent boy than an emerging photographer with fierce chances for big success. But that’s just the looks. No wonder you haven’t heard about him yet – although he is based in London, Jeff is actually more popular in Hong Kong. There he’s been published in Esquire, KEE Magazine, Maison Mode, HK Magazine, Galleri HK. Online you might have met him on EVB.

Jeff has also been part of boyBANGboy – a provocative exhibition celebrating the image of the boy in East Gallery London.