There are points where fine art, fashion, and commerce do intersect. And on its crux, there are Maren Esdar‘s surreal mixed-media collages. Most of her spectacularly glamorous works are commissioned by major publications such as Vogue, New York Times, and Esquire. However, she often injects her works with deeper (and, sometimes, disturbing) narratives which only become obvious upon closer inspection.
Trained as an illustrator and designer in Hamburg and London, she combines the classical technique of cutting and pasting images and digital rendering into her illustrations. She often incorporates images of high-end products from fashion magazines into her works. As a result, despite their darker underlying narratives, Maren’s work never fails to dazzle the viewer with its glamorous ornamental facades.
To me, ornamental design means richness. Richness in all its terms of meaning: variety, diversity, multiplicity, and complexity. Ornamental design is more often than not inspired by Nature and depicts its different structures. Those abstracted elements are often combined with patterns. – Maren Esdar
