Initiating BRAIN-MELTING-SEQUENCE in T-minus 10 seconds. Akira Beard was featured previously in November 2010 and June 2012, and holy shit, does Beard have new works for us to feast our eyes on since then. BRAIN-MELTING-SEQUENCE initiating... http://flickr.com/people/akiraaa

Graszka Paulska is an artist based out of Poland who has an amazing ability to create both realistic females figures and haunting deformed creatures in her paintings. I find her paintings mesmerizing because some of the women portrayed in these paintings seem to relish the power from their situation despite their struggle. http://grazapp.deviantart.com/

Pedro Matos is no stranger to EK. Matos was previously featured back in September 2011, December 2010, and August 2010, and we bring him back today in time for his solo show at the Martha Otero Gallery in Los Angeles, California! "Building Castles Made of Sand" May 17 - June 15 Martha Otero Gallery is pleased to present Pedro Matos' first exhibition in Los Angeles, Building Castles Made of Sand featuring a new series of oil paintings on canvas and Azulejo panels - a traditional Portuguese medium of hand-painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tile work. Pedro Matos’ paintings are reminiscent of wheat paste and decollage-like exterior surfaces, layering textures, patterns, figurative subjects, and typography with a combination of trompe l’oeil and accelerated physical deterioration. Influenced by skateboarding, surfing, graffiti, hip hop, punk, and DIY (do it yourself), Matos began working in the public realm. He identifies with the evanescent existence of street culture, the disintegration of society and historical folkloric heritage. Matos uses his various mediums to create an atmosphere of aesthetic decay and ephemerality. With a survey of subjects, historical and contemporarysocietal references, Matos raises questions of subjectivity, arbitrariness, and transience in our cultural value structures and social epistemology. Pedro Matos was born in Santarém, Portugal in 1989. He studied Painting and Art & Heritage Science at the Faculty of Fine Art - University of Lisbon and Ar.Co Art Centre Lisbon before moving to London where he studied at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design and where he currently works and lives. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, including The University of Arizona Museum of Art, Philips de Pury, Goss-Michael Foundation, White Walls Gallery and Ivory & Black Soho. Pedro has also given seminars and lectures in Portugal, and worked as a curator in cities such as London, Lisbon, Miami and Atlanta. http://pedromatos.org