Issue 50 of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, with artist Tarntara Sudadung’s extraordinary pop surrealist painting on the cover is on sale now! Contact one of our Stockists or or Shop Online, but don’t miss this special Issue. Take a peek at what’s inside below.
Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Issue 50
Settle into the special 50th Issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine and discover the world of Chilean painter Victor Castillo. A world borne of the joy from early childhood Disney and Warner Bros cartoons becoming corrupted through the realisation that the very country producing these bright, colourful, moments of joy for the young Victor was the same country that was the driving force behind the coup d’état in Chile. Victor’s oeuvre is entirely of his own creation, brought about by a deliberate distortion of those cartoons that he so enjoyed as a child.
Some people have told me not to be too political because I could lose followers and collectors. I’d rather lose sales than sell my soul. Art and politics go hand in hand, and just as anger can be a powerful creative force, you can’t remain silent.
Victor Castillo
Darkness lurks within the paintings and illustrations of João Ruas. Bleak images of war, death and decay appear to almost consume his subjects in a hazy fog of monochromatic grain like an old forgotten photograph. For as bleak as his paintings first appear, these works don’t radiate a feeling of hopelessness. The viewer is instead met with an authentic, yet deeply surreal look into the mirror and is encouraged to see humanity for what we truly are.
Cover artist Tarntara Sudaduang welcomes you to a place where memory moves like mist, and the line between child and ghost, fantasy and feeling, is always gently dissolving. Her pastel toned paintings hum with myth and quiet magic, asking us to look twice at what we thought we’d outgrown – glitter, paper dolls, the ache of daydreams – and wonder: what did we leave behind when we “grew up,” and was it really useless?
Sometimes I think of childhood friends I was really close to, and the memories of playing together come back. Occasionally, they even show up in my dreams. So, in a way, the kids in my paintings are inspired by those old friendships; the ones that faded with time.
Tarntara Sudaduang
We also delve into the work of Spanish artist Ángeles Agrela whose current body of work explores the role that women have played throughout art’s history. Using a combination of acrylic paint and coloured pencil, Ángeles creates bold and beautiful portraits of women using hair as a driving force for important discussion. Hair has long held deep historical and cultural importance when concerning the feminine experience. For centuries, hair has been shown as signs of beauty and strength, of community and individuality, of politics and freedom. Hair isn’t only a bold fashion statement from Ángeles, but a malleable organic mass that can be shaped to fit our identities. It is practically weightless yet is weighed down by so many societal and self-imposed connotations. It is a mask to hide behind, a representation of individuality and in Ángeles’ case, her way of recontextualising our history.
Hair fascinates me because it’s one of the most enduring parts of the human body. It’s a living organ you can cut without pain. It serves a function, but it’s also ornamental. What really interests me is how, when it comes to women, hair on the head is considered beautiful – but hair on the body is seen as repulsive. That’s where the boundaries of ornamentation come into play: when does a decorative element stop being beautiful and become unsettling or grotesque?
Ángeles Agrela
In a time where electronics and the digital space overwhelm our every facet, more and more people are retreating to nature. The trees and streams, without the cacophony of street cars and
advertisements, offer a tranquil sanctuary, while the creatures we typically only see in nature documentaries can provide wisdom and beauty for those who know how to listen. Through
her exquisite monochromatic drawings, Japanese artist Ozabu delicately explores the relationship between humans and nature. Working primarily with graphite and mechanical pencils, she creates evocative works that are both technically masterful and emotionally resonant.
The eyes of Daniel Archer see whole worlds of enigma and emotion unfold in a few rays of light. They are the gateway to whispered, widescreen reveries where the boundaries of reality and fantasy intertwine and inner truths slowly step out of hiding, building atmospheres and moments purposely left undefined. For the London-based Australian artist, photography’s fascinating duality means that it can reveal everything, yet remain ambiguous, suggest rather than explain. It’s the medium’s most seductive quality: “I’m drawn to images that leave space for interpretation, allowing the viewer to bring their own perspective and emotion into the experience,” he explains.
Time to get inspired as we learn what Clint Mansell, Director of Principle Gallery, would like to add to his personal collection in this Issue’s Curator’s Wishlist.
With roots in both tradition and fantasy, Japanese artist Hanae Nakajima‘s work presents a surreal visual language, blending Japanese cultural themes, Western art movements like Art Nouveau and Art Deco, and the intuitive narratives of dreams. Her protagonists – often enigmatic, solitary women – appear in richly patterned environments, their faces often downcast, their expressions elusive. To see Hanae’s paintings is to step into a space where memory and imagination coalesce, where forms ripple like water, and symbolic meanings drift just beneath the surface.
Seth Haverkamp‘s scenes are juxtapositions of the now and the primordial, the ephemeral and the timeless, the ubiquitous and the majestic. There is a luminescence to Seth’s paintings, which is evocative of something beyond the mundane, something spiritual or visionary or perhaps from some other astral plane. We see this in the colours of the nebulae and galaxies in his backgrounds and also in the wisps and trails of light that encircle his subjects.
Gerard Mas’ body of work relies on the competing elements of the old world and contemporary life to tell greater stories about the inherently contradictory nature of the human experience. From the very start of his art career, Gerard has been intrigued by the constraints posed by societal norms and values. He pondered what artists of the past were unable to represent in their time – imagery that he is free to create today. Beyond breaking social taboos, Gerard’s work also emphasises the contrasts between the past and the present, offering onlookers the chance to wonder why they feel inspired or challenged or even uncomfortable with his pieces
From that first abstract burst of colour and design in her work, a figure emerges, and then the carefully chosen props. Chloe Early admits surprise at turning out to be a figurative painter. Like most colourists, she expected to find her subject in abstracted interpretations of the landscape. Instead, her paintings tell a story, or rather, speak a poem. By fusing the abstract with the specific, and by keeping the narrative both mysterious and recognisable, Chloe has found her own “easy contact with magic” to exist alongside contemporary life. And the magic exists not just in the poetry, but in the craft itself: “it’s the painting part that holds the magic,” she says, “somewhere behind the image or between the image and the paint. I think that’s what I’m trying to get at, and that’s where I try to pour in feeling.”
Troy Brooks hypnotizes us with full page reproductions of his moody, iconic figurative paintings inside this Issue’s Lookbook Editorial.
In this issues’ Artist + Artist, Ross Takahashi & Amy Sol interview each other, sharing how they navigate being working artists in the current climate. From experimenting with new mediums and themes to going through an identity crisis, Ross and Amy touch on many points we can all relate to. But they also bring hope in a time when it can be hard to find light. They remind us of the importance of continuing to make art, and of continued learning and exploration.
In the Quick Q & A editorial, we ask Marzieh Shojaee, Molly Devlin, Briana Hertzog, Sara Lee, Nadine Tralala [2025 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, Emerging Artist Award 1st Prize Winner], Senescence [2025 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, Emerging Artist Award 3rd Prize Winner] to answer the same four questions:
- Has creating art ever served as a form of emotional regulation or healing for you? How so?
- Do you work with recurring symbols, archetypes in your art? What do they represent for you?
- What role does imperfection play in your art, if any?
- How do you imagine the relationship between technology and creativity changing in the next 10 years?
In this Issues’ Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory editorial we highlight the work of many exceptional artists and photographers including: Alexandra Manukyan, Carmit Haller, César Orrico, Featherpistol, Felicia Feldman, Joe Vaux, Jon Ching, Juliet Schreckinger, Liva Vilemsone, Matt Walford, Mothmeister, Nadine Tralala, Nika Nyoko, Oceana Rain Stuart, Racheal Bruce, Sara Lee, Sarah Lee, Sebastià Martí, Severine Pineaux, Silvia Bignami, Valeria Andreis, Yulia Pustoshkina.
In our first Lust Haves editorial, we are thrilled to share with you some of the most beautiful and bizarre treasures from around the world, thoughtfully curated by our team to adorn your body and home.
Inside this issue: Addison Ross Home, Adele Mildred, ALAN CROCETTI, Bearwolf Books, Celia B, Crumble, Dinosaur Designs, Granny Jing, House of Hackney, Jujujust, Julia deVille, Just Adele, Kasun London, KLIMCHI, Liv & Dom, Maison Balzac, NAF Ceramic, Nicolette Johnson, Pavilion Parade, Rachel Burke, RITUAL, Sage x Clare, Tanaka Daisuke, The Cross, Tukii Tukii Designs, Vegan Treats Bakery, Wandering Folk.
In our Letter from the Editor, Danijela Krha Purssey welcomes you to the landmark 50th Issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine! She takes a moment to reflect on the emotional support and unconditional bond with our pet families and even the way grief and loss can become a gateway to understanding, acceptance, and love. Danijela also speaks on the exceptional entries of this year’s Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and our sincere gratitude.
This issue marks a major milestone – 13 years and 50 editions of celebrating creativity, imagination, and the incredible artists who inspire us. We wouldn’t be here without you dear reader! Thank you, once again and always, for supporting our independent magazine. Your support allows us to stay deeply immersed in our passion and to continue uplifting countless creatives from across the globe.
Danijela Krha Purssey
And last but never least, enjoy a beautiful collection from Our Community, featuring some of the amazing hashtagged #beautifulbizarre and tagged @beautifulbizarremagazine artworks from our social media of over 2 million followers!
All this inside Issue 50 // September 2025, which showcases some of the best and most inspiring emerging and mid-career artists of our time.
Visit our online store and enjoy Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Issue 50.
