The 2025 art scene delves into nature, human existence, and narrative expression. Four artists use diverse mediums to explore environmental crises, cultural memory, and human confusion.
1. Mysterious Narratives and Color Experiments
Esaí Alfredo’s oil paintings, inspired by Miami Vice neon hues, depict men gazing at distant smoke or unknown events. His work blends film stills and improvisation, creating sci-fi-like scenes that spark curiosity.
“The Wait” (2025), oil on canvas, 50 x 72 inches
“La Playa Lucia” (2025), oil on canvas, 10 x 20 inches
“The Theme Park” (2025), oil on canvas, 72 x 96 inches
“The Everglades” (2025), oil on canvas, 72 x 96 inches
2. Books and Bodies as Metaphors
Paola Grizi’s bronze sculptures merge faces, hands, and book pages, with text flowing like knowledge on skin. Ranging from small objects to monumental pieces, they materialize memory and culture.
“Looking Ahead,” Casart Edition, bronze, 120 x 110 x 20 centimeters
“Background,” Casart Edition, bronze, 32 x 12 x 15 centimeters
“Inner Motion,” Casart Edition, bronze
“Kiss,” Casart Edition, bronze, 35 x 37 x 20 centimeters
3. Silent Accusation of Ocean Plastics
Ana Brecevic crafts coral reefs from recycled materials, dotted with plastic fragments. Her Plasticum series uses serene aesthetics to expose marine fragility and pollution.
Photo by Marion Saupin
4. The Absurd Theater of the Anthropocene
Zed Nelson’s photo series The Anthropocene Illusion captures staged nature: Kenyan tourists with “performing” wildlife, Italian snow machines, and South African lion encounters, revealing ecological exploitation masked as entertainment.
Snow cannon producing artificial snow at Val Gardena ski resort, Dolomites, Italy
‘Walk with Lions’ tourist experience, South Africa
Common Threads and Contrasts
All critique human-centric views but differ in approach: Alfredo’s suspense, Grizi’s cultural focus, Brecevic’s environmental urgency, and Nelson’s absurd realism. Together, they reflect on survival amid technological excess and ecological collapse.
From enigmatic paintings to materialized knowledge, plastic corals to artificial wilderness, these works reframe awareness. In 2025, art challenges humanity’s true place as nature fades into a backdrop.
All images courtesy of Artists, shared with permission
