After unveiling a recent comprehensive site redesign last week, The Curator’s Eye (www.CuratorsEye.com) is pleased to highlight its flourishing Modern and Contemporary Art category. This category features hundreds of highly desirable objects of art and design from dealers based all over the world, ranging from Southeast Asian paintings to Fine Art Photographs to wood furniture of groundbreaking British design.

Chinese Innovation: Square Word Calligraphy

The offering begins with a new piece by Xu Bing, a Square Word Calligraphy Scroll. This ink painting is a new kind of writing, almost a code, designed by the artist to demystify calligraphy and reward the Westerner's engagement. It is a system whereby English words are written in the format of a square, so as to resemble Chinese characters, using the concept of classical Chinese stroke order, and this work features a poem originally written by Wang Wei (701-761), titled In Reply to Pei Ti.

American Light: Stephen Scott Young Watercolor

Also available is an exquisite painting by American watercolorist Stephen Scott Young, Dressed For School. Inspired by the work of Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, and Andrew Wyeth, Young creates highly finished, detailed figurative subjects. In the early 1980's, Young made his first trip to the Bahamas where he discovered the crisp, bright light that has become the hallmark of his paintings today.

Contemporary Realism: Doug Brega, Barbara Parker

Two paintings in the contemporary realism tradition underscore the impressive, technically adept pieces being created today. Barbara Parker’s acrylic painting, Sky, and Doug Brega’s Lighthouse Hill, Study watercolor are among the fine works available, and Doug is one of the most prominent contemporary American realist painters. Brega’s portraits, New England homes, sailboats, and old weathered barns are beautifully rendered. Seeking a reality beneath what appears to the eye, Doug reveals to the viewer a glimpse into the essence of his subject that lies under the surface.

Asian Angels: Pairoj Karndee

From across the world, Thai artist Pairoj Karndee’s distinctive work titled Hong Kong Angel makes a strong statement. This work is the latest in Pairoj's series of "Asian Angels" where he is looking at the angel within the Asian woman. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes beguiling, sometimes avenging, but always arresting. Indeed, Hong Kong Angel displays Pairoj's technical brilliance, and at the same time highlights his superb use of colour. Pairoj is one of the fastest rising stars of the Asian art world. His works display notable originality and elegance, have been exhibited in Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, and San Francisco, and are in collections throughout the world.

American Abstraction: Ilya Bolotowsky

For the collector more inclined towards abstraction, Russian-American painter Ilya Bolotowsky’s Untitled oil comes to the market out of a private collection, which it joined as a gift from the artist. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1907, Ilya Bolotowsky became a leading early 20th-century painter in abstract styles in New York City. His work, a search for philosophical order through visual expression, embraced Cubism and Geometric Abstraction and was greatly influenced by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian.

Sculpture: Bronze Bison, Mixed Mantis

A fine selection of contemporary sculpture can also be browsed and contemplated, from pieces such as Colorado artist Sandy Graves’ bronze Bison to a found object Praying Mantis by French artist Edouardo Marinet. This anatomically precise sculpture is individually and meticulously assembled from a huge array of found objects including car, motorbike and bicycle parts; each of the elements carefully selected to best portray the character and attitude of the creature. The result is an astonishingly lifelike and unique, contemporary animalier sculpture.

Sculpture: Steel Predator Cannibal, Glass Jellyfish

A dramatic Predator Cannibal mask by Robin Lovelace is the first traditional Northwest Coast mask to be cast in stainless steel. Lovelace, a Tlingit sculptor, created a master carving in alder with traditional adzes, and then worked with a foundry to cast her design in stainless steel. She describes Predator Cannibal as a benevolent spirit: "He is the one that makes things right - the Cleaner - the eater of illness." In short, he destroys predators and makes room for healing and wealth.

A selection of Jellyfish Sculptures in glass by Danish artist Steffen Dam round out the contemporary sculpture available in a wide variety of media. The delicate glass models of jellyfish are encased by and incorporated into glass tubes, giving the appearance of study specimens. Steffen Dam (b. 1961) spent many years experimenting with different techniques to master the craft of glass making, but it was the realisation that the small bubbles, carbon streaks and tiny "imperfections" could be manipulated to enhance his work and give it an otherworldly feel that his work moved into the realms of fine art.

Groundbreaking Furniture Design

In addition to the modern paintings and sculpture, The Curator’s Eye also presents a number of high design furniture pieces, beginning with a unique dining table from Joseph Walsh’s Enignum Collection. The Irish designer is inspired by the effects of elemental forces on the land where he was born and now works, on the southern coast of Ireland. Walsh creates the pieces by bending wood free form and allowing the work to grow as opposed to removing excess from the solid. Thin strips were sliced and manipulated, brought together to support the piece whilst also forming the previously sketched sinuous shapes.

Last but not least, Martin Gallagher’s ARDÚ Console Table is handmade and fuses together the basic elements of wood and glass using a combination of traditional techniques, modern forms and technology to create distinctive pieces of furniture. A constant source of inspiration to him is the rugged landscape around where he lives and works on the North West coast of Ireland. Geometric shapes, clean crisp lines and repetition of shape and form found in nature are key themes in his work and Martin's emphasis on using quality modern materials and colour give his work a fresh contemporary aesthetic.

The Curator’s Eye is the distinctive online platform for the finest art and antiques from distinguished dealers around the world. To view more exceptional Modern and Contemporary art and design items, visit www.CuratorsEye.com.