Hi Fructose Vol. 19

After checking out the new Nook Color (eh) at Barnes & Noble I decided to check out the magazine section as well. I must say, B&N has one of the best magazine sections of any bookstore I’ve been to. It always has the literary journals I’m looking for and I often find new magazines I’ve never heard of that are awesome.

Hi Fructose was one such magazine. The cover art was what attracted me to it at first, and the gorgeous art spreads within were what convinced me to take it home. The magazine is mostly art spreads, with a short accompanying article about the artist whose work is being shown. The cover art belongs to Martin Wittfooth’s apocalypse collection, one of many beautifully rendered images of animals in a post-apocalyptic world. While the cover art was my favorite piece of his, there were also some beautiful images of polar bears on fire, a monkey holding a candle, and a dead fox with bright red flowers growing from its exposed ribcage. While these images may sound gruesome, Wittfoot’s rendering is nothing short of magical.

The other artist that really caught my attention was Kelly Allen. Each piece of her colorful collages is meticulously painted by Allen, which brings several layers to her art form. Each collage includes nature elements like flowers and animals while also including space and drops of color.

Also included in this issue is the trippy art of the Clayton brothers, the word art of Wayne White, Charles Krafft’s “Disasterwear”, the liquidy paintings of Michael Page, the cut up sculptures of Christophe Roberts, and more.

What I love about this magazine is how it exposes quite a few distinct, amazing artists in the most straightforward way possible. They print images of their pieces and run a short but informational article along with it. Those with short attention spans can appreciate the art without getting bogged down by lengthy articles.

Check out a preview of this issue here.