Rent art from the Rise Art Shortlisted Artists

Pedro Guimaraes was born in Braga, Portugal in 1977. He recently completed an MA at the University of Westminster in Photographic Studies and currently lives in Copenhagen. Pedro’s works have been widely exhibited in Portugal, Spain and France. Some highlights include Descubrimientos Photo Espana, Spain (2008); Creative Lab UNICER, Lisbon (2007) and Rencontres d’Arles, France (2003).His artistic practice is mainly based around large-format images, stylistically moving between documentary and fine art photography. Key photographers such as Bernard Plossu, Stephen Shore or Alec Soth influence his work, but he also embraces themes from writers such as Jorge Luis Borges or Charles Bukowski. This amalgamation of eclectic styles and inspirations results in images that are closely tied to travel, isolation and dislocated narratives. Typical…

Pedro Guimaraes was born in Braga, Portugal in 1977. He recently completed an MA at the University of Westminster in Photographic Studies and currently lives in Copenhagen. Pedro’s works have been widely exhibited in Portugal, Spain and France. Some highlights include Descubrimientos Photo Espana, Spain (2008); Creative Lab UNICER, Lisbon (2007) and Rencontres d’Arles, France (2003).

His artistic practice is mainly based around large-format images, stylistically moving between documentary and fine art photography. Key photographers such as Bernard Plossu, Stephen Shore or Alec Soth influence his work, but he also embraces themes from writers such as Jorge Luis Borges or Charles Bukowski. This amalgamation of eclectic styles and inspirations results in images that are closely tied to travel, isolation and dislocated narratives. Typically, Pedro’s photographs are produced in series, each image acting as part of a conceptual story, whose meaning is often intended to confuse.

Erik Bendix was born in Lusaska (Zambia) in 1975. He studied painting and philosophy before moving to London (where he now lives and works) in 2008 to take an MFA in Art Practice at the prestigious Goldsmiths College.The main driving force behind Erik's work has its origins in cartoon-based imagery. He translates this ubiquitous product of popular culture into idiosyncratic paintings whose major strength is their ambiguity and hidden meaning.? Erik's particularly interest lies in the moment when the form (naive, almost childish figures) collapses with its content (namely, questioning how the painterly medium is read and interpreted in contemporary culture). But his work consciously refuses to offer any definite conclusions. Instead, the work relies on subjective readings, creating an active dialogue between the work and its audience.Erik…

Erik Bendix was born in Lusaska (Zambia) in 1975. He studied painting and philosophy before moving to London (where he now lives and works) in 2008 to take an MFA in Art Practice at the prestigious Goldsmiths College.

The main driving force behind Erik's work has its origins in cartoon-based imagery. He translates this ubiquitous product of popular culture into idiosyncratic paintings whose major strength is their ambiguity and hidden meaning.? Erik's particularly interest lies in the moment when the form (naive, almost childish figures) collapses with its content (namely, questioning how the painterly medium is read and interpreted in contemporary culture). But his work consciously refuses to offer any definite conclusions. Instead, the work relies on subjective readings, creating an active dialogue between the work and its audience.

Erik won the Jealous Print Prize in 2010. Selected exhibitions include: The London Art Fair (2011); The Affordable Art Fair, London (2010); 'Harsh Lines and Spongy Surfaces', Hackney Wicked Festival, London (2010); 'Pause and Eject 2', The Rag Factory, London; The Fall Exhibition, Den Frie Exhibition Space, Copenhagen (2005 & 2004).

Avigail Talmor is a painter living and working in Tel-Aviv. Her work is deeply concerned with the relationship between the institutionalized and the private space. The tension between safe and threatening environments is key in her paintings, which usually depict isolated architectural structures and urban landscapes than conjure a desolate and special sense of beauty.The use of colour is essential in Avigail's paintings. The contrast between dark and light tones highlights even more the ambivalent qualities of those deserted spaces. Furthermore, she uses acrylic paint as main material, which has an artificial and flat texture and dries faster than oil paint, which informs a very particular rhythm to her painting process.Influenced by photorealism and contemporary painters such as Franz Ackeman or Dexter Dalwood, Avigail's work has a uni…

Avigail Talmor is a painter living and working in Tel-Aviv. Her work is deeply concerned with the relationship between the institutionalized and the private space. The tension between safe and threatening environments is key in her paintings, which usually depict isolated architectural structures and urban landscapes than conjure a desolate and special sense of beauty.

The use of colour is essential in Avigail's paintings. The contrast between dark and light tones highlights even more the ambivalent qualities of those deserted spaces. Furthermore, she uses acrylic paint as main material, which has an artificial and flat texture and dries faster than oil paint, which informs a very particular rhythm to her painting process.

Influenced by photorealism and contemporary painters such as Franz Ackeman or Dexter Dalwood, Avigail's work has a unique presence that makes us think of Ed Ruscha's iconic gas stations series: sublime, isolated and with a flat surface. Avigail applies a similar treatment to the vernacular of Israel, which inevitably adds a political aspect to her works, even if that is not her primary intention.

Avigal graduated from her BA at the Wizo-Canada Academy of Design (Haifa) in 1997 and from the MFA at the Utrecht School of the Arts (Netherlands) in 2000.

Dai Roberts (b.1974 Andover, UK) studied at Chelsea College of Art & Design, London (2003-05) and Nottingham Trent University (1999-2002). Dai's work references the ideas of movements such as the Constructivists and the Bauhaus, which can be seen in the geometrical shapes and abstraction. His work attempts to blend different methods and mediums of production by using architecture and furniture as a reference point to reproduce the utopian desires of the early Modernists.Dai currently lives and works in London. In 2008 he won the Marmite Painting Prize and in 2009 he was part of the Jerwood Drawing Prize Exhibition. Selected exhibitions include: UNIT, Kingsgate Gallery, London (2009); Drawing with Dolphins, Crimes Town, London (2009); The Marmite Painting Prize, Studio 1.1, London (2008); Anonymous Drawing 6, Meinblau, Berlin, Germany (20…

Dai Roberts (b.1974 Andover, UK) studied at Chelsea College of Art & Design, London (2003-05) and Nottingham Trent University (1999-2002). Dai's work references the ideas of movements such as the Constructivists and the Bauhaus, which can be seen in the geometrical shapes and abstraction. His work attempts to blend different methods and mediums of production by using architecture and furniture as a reference point to reproduce the utopian desires of the early Modernists.

Dai currently lives and works in London. In 2008 he won the Marmite Painting Prize and in 2009 he was part of the Jerwood Drawing Prize Exhibition. Selected exhibitions include: UNIT, Kingsgate Gallery, London (2009); Drawing with Dolphins, Crimes Town, London (2009); The Marmite Painting Prize, Studio 1.1, London (2008); Anonymous Drawing 6, Meinblau, Berlin, Germany (2007); Disposable Fetish, The Nunnery, London (2007); Through The Large Glass, Three Colts Gallery, London (2006); Another Product, Cornerhouse, Manchester (2006); Trampoline, Broadway Cinema, Nottingham (2003).

Peter Lamb was born in 1973 and lives and works in London. In 1996 he graduated from the Camberwell School of Art, London. Solo Exhibitions: Warm Time Machine, Monika Bobinska Gallery, London (2008); The Unemployed Prophet, CTRL Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA (2007); The Art of Dickies and Pollocks, Kontainer Gallery, London (2006). Recent Group Exhibitions include: The Perfect Crime, curated by Phill Allen and Dan Coombs, 4a Gallery, Malvern (2010); By Chromed Hooves It Travels Now, Annie Wharton Gallery, Los Angeles (2010); Ist Show, Strezelski Galerie, Stuttgart, Das vertraute Unvertraute, Wurttembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart (2010); PlusArtProjects, Bankside, London (featuring Damien Hirst, Anselm Kiefer) (2009).'Liberating' is one of the first adjectives that spring to mind when facing the work of the artist Peter Lamb. His painti…

Peter Lamb was born in 1973 and lives and works in London. In 1996 he graduated from the Camberwell School of Art, London. Solo Exhibitions: Warm Time Machine, Monika Bobinska Gallery, London (2008); The Unemployed Prophet, CTRL Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA (2007); The Art of Dickies and Pollocks, Kontainer Gallery, London (2006). Recent Group Exhibitions include: The Perfect Crime, curated by Phill Allen and Dan Coombs, 4a Gallery, Malvern (2010); By Chromed Hooves It Travels Now, Annie Wharton Gallery, Los Angeles (2010); Ist Show, Strezelski Galerie, Stuttgart, Das vertraute Unvertraute, Wurttembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart (2010); PlusArtProjects, Bankside, London (featuring Damien Hirst, Anselm Kiefer) (2009).

'Liberating' is one of the first adjectives that spring to mind when facing the work of the artist Peter Lamb. His paintings ooze as sense of rebellion. A certain punk attitude, a sort of postmodern abstract expressionism mixed with some pop art and 'new-wave' touches. His paintings are fearless, unafraid of their own potency and the possibility of a formal collapse. Their inner strength comes from the strange coupling of incongruous creative forces and the process of fresh paint. He shows a deep knowledge of painterly traditions and techniques, as well as a very astute use of colour. But he never allows the weight of academia to cage his wild imagination and creativity, and this is why his work is always fresh and enlightening.

Alma Haser is a young photographer, born in 1989 to an English mother and German father, both of them artists. Haser has worked in a wide range of media, including drawing and sculpture, but it's photography that has fascinated her the most and is the medium that she is currently exploring in most depth. Alma's current works seem to result from the staging of a narrative whose unfolding is never made clear. Her ‘scenes’ and settings seem to convey an unsolved mystery, hidden behind their apparent everydayness. Her style, in keeping with her mixed provenance, blends the German photographic style –extremely precise and often taxonomic– with the narrative and cinematographic touch of British/American peers like Tom Hunter, Tim Walker, Gregory Crewdson and Jeff Wall. Because of her refusal to tie the images to any particular meaning,…

Alma Haser is a young photographer, born in 1989 to an English mother and German father, both of them artists. Haser has worked in a wide range of media, including drawing and sculpture, but it's photography that has fascinated her the most and is the medium that she is currently exploring in most depth. Alma's current works seem to result from the staging of a narrative whose unfolding is never made clear. Her ‘scenes’ and settings seem to convey an unsolved mystery, hidden behind their apparent everydayness. Her style, in keeping with her mixed provenance, blends the German photographic style –extremely precise and often taxonomic– with the narrative and cinematographic touch of British/American peers like Tom Hunter, Tim Walker, Gregory Crewdson and Jeff Wall. Because of her refusal to tie the images to any particular meaning, Alma's work seems to tackle the universal. The result is a mysterious body of work, the consistency and maturity of which surprises.

Ciara Killalea is a photographer who lives and works in Ireland. In 2010 she graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art & Design. Her work details the memory of everyday domestic life, and invites the viewer to look afresh at a subject, to discover significance, a reassuring sense of continuity and often surprising beauty. She is interested in the places where people live and how these environments affect their habitants and vice versa. Every time she takes a photograph she imagines the hand that touched the object, the hand that arranged and placed it where it now rests. She imagines a specific kind of narrative, one that is shrouded in reverence and subject to memory. The objects left behind leave the mark of the inhabitant on the building, reflecting the habits, routine and life they lived. There is a sense of intrus…

Ciara Killalea is a photographer who lives and works in Ireland. In 2010 she graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art & Design. Her work details the memory of everyday domestic life, and invites the viewer to look afresh at a subject, to discover significance, a reassuring sense of continuity and often surprising beauty. She is interested in the places where people live and how these environments affect their habitants and vice versa. Every time she takes a photograph she imagines the hand that touched the object, the hand that arranged and placed it where it now rests. She imagines a specific kind of narrative, one that is shrouded in reverence and subject to memory. The objects left behind leave the mark of the inhabitant on the building, reflecting the habits, routine and life they lived. There is a sense of intrusion, a sense of sadness and mystery when observing these spaces.

Alastair T. Willey was born Aldershot (1986) and currently lives and works in London. He holds a BA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, where he graduated with honors in 2008. Alastair co-founded The Pigeon Wing, an artist-run space based in South London and he is also director of the online project TheBunkerGallery. In 2009 they were invited to participate in NEXT Art Fair in Chicago, where they showed the work of 18 London-based artists.Alastair defines his artistic practice as "spatial adventures in architecture and history with conceptual methods of presentation". His works develop from personal encounters with space, especially at night, his favourite time for these explorations, using London as his playground to discover the architectural landscape of the city. He envisions himself as combination artist/explorer/adventurer. Ano…

Alastair T. Willey was born Aldershot (1986) and currently lives and works in London. He holds a BA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, where he graduated with honors in 2008. Alastair co-founded The Pigeon Wing, an artist-run space based in South London and he is also director of the online project TheBunkerGallery. In 2009 they were invited to participate in NEXT Art Fair in Chicago, where they showed the work of 18 London-based artists.

Alastair defines his artistic practice as "spatial adventures in architecture and history with conceptual methods of presentation". His works develop from personal encounters with space, especially at night, his favourite time for these explorations, using London as his playground to discover the architectural landscape of the city. He envisions himself as combination artist/explorer/adventurer. Another aspect of his practice is the idea of timelessness and how his works (should) come across as if they could have been made at any time period.