VIDA is proud to partner with San Francisco based organization, Creativity Explored to support their mission to give artists with developmental disabilities the means to create and share their work with the community, celebrating the power of art to change lives.
At VIDA, we are dedicated to creating beauty every step of the way. We believe art allows us to transcend our outward differences by sparking thought and curiosity. It implores us to challenge the status quo. Art gives us the courage and freedom to live, feel, breathe within our authentic selves. But most importantly, art sparks conversations and as showcased by our partners at Creativity Explored, art also change lives.
Creativity Explored provides a supportive platform for artists to receive individualized mentorship, professional opportunities to exhibit their work and make their contribution to the contemporary art world. Our collaboration helps showcase these amazing artists and their work – reimagined as unique accessories and lifestyle products that people can bring into their homes and lives.
Meet The Artists
Andrew Li:
Andrew’s ink splattered sketches embrace cityscapes in motion, urban environments in their entirety and busy social activities of the everyday cosmopolitan lives. Inspired by his hometown in Shanghai, Li observes the minute details of the urban lifestyle and summarizes them from an individual and unique perspective into loosely merging colored lines. Li’s rendition of a San Francisco Muni bus and its passengers was featured on Actions REALized skateboard deck produced by Real Skateboards and Deluxe Distribution and his illustrations were also used for the San Francisco Muni Accessible Services Guide. The artist’s popular traditional pen and watercolour compositions on linen board have been exhibited nationally and internationally. You can see more of his artworks on Artsy. Andrew’s art is now available on VIDA x Creativitiy Explored collection here.
Dan Michiels
In an intense array of colors, shapes, and spaces, Michiels work is an overwhelming and fascinating system of rigorous grid structures, carefully filled-in to create a tessellated all-over composition. To portray the intricacies of the mind’s actions, Michiels uses pulsating pencil drawings with a ruler in a tradition-bending fashion that demand careful viewing. In a bizarre synergy of kaleidoscopic patterns and cheerful shades resembling peculiar gardens in bloom, Michiels artwork defies the rules of the ordinary and sets new standards in the art scene.Michiels joined the Creativity Explored studio in 2008, and his work was incorporated into designs for Comme des Garçons’ Autumn/Winter 2013-14 collection during Paris Fashion Week. Michiels passed away in November 2018. Check out Dan Michiels VIDA x Creativitiy Explored collection here.
Marilyn Wong
Wong’s artwork spans a diverse range of pop culture renderings, from icons like Elvis to Prince to popular cinema, including 60’s Beach Party and martial arts films, Chinese paintings to an aerial photo of her hometown, Allenstown, PA. Wong fuses complex and enigmatic abstract constructions with bold gestural lines to create a singular and unique body of arts. In 2018 Wong’s work was featured in Mind Place, a group exhibition at the CE gallery, and most recently in 6 Women: Female Voices from Creativity Explored at the Marriott Stanton Hotel in South Beach, Florida. Check out Marilyn’s artwork on VIDA x Creativity Explored collection here.
Ethel Revita
Ethel masterfully combines pattern into brightly colored, joyful figures suspended against an equally vibrant background. The animals and people in her artwork are made up of geometric shapes, resulting in a style that is reminiscent of Native American or Oceanic tribal figures. In a playful composition of colors, her artwork represents the subjects with a unique vibrating effect. Ceramics, textiles, and papier-mache are other media Revita has used in the CE studio. A large horse sculpture she created out of found materials was pictured on the cover of the Creativity Explored general brochure. Explore her artwork here.
Vincent Jackson
Breaking the human form into geometric shapes filled with a heavy impasto of layered colors and thick, defining lines, Jackson’s popular large-scale figurative oil pastels can be viewed as a contemporary renewal of traditional African and Oceanic folk art imagery. Jackson’s work was chosen to adorn the third series of artisanal chocolates from Recchiuti Confections. Also, CB2 chose his work for a limited edition tote bag and for a ceramic vase. See his artwork on VIDA’s Creativity Explored collection.
