Will Cotton

Will Cotton

Ice Cream, 2009

Cherry Pop, 2000

Will Cotton juxtaposes landscapes of ice cream and candy, etc. with portraits of beautiful women. His works resemble a Candy Land scene or a gingerbread house. These utopias evoke sight, smell, touch, and taste.

He features elements of advertising, human desire, sugar, and sex (all relatable). He paints with old master technical precision. Some of his paintings appear to be photographs.

His use of color, usually pastel,  provides a dreamlike quality to his paintings.

Ellen Gallagher

Ellen Gallagher

DeLuxe, 2006, mixed media on magazine ads

Dirty O's, 2006, pencil, watercolor, plasticine, and cut paper

Ellen Gallagher's identity as an African American woman is at the forefront of her artworks. Formally, she uses a variety of materials and processes. The language of magazine ads is reactivated in her work; she's especially interested in tackling physical transformation. Her works include themes of fashion, modernism, mass media, and race.

DeLuxe, seen above, was and possibly still is at the Walker Art Center.

A lot of her works are untitled which makes them hard to research.

http://www.art21.org/artists/ellen-gallagher