Breaking all the rules in fashion and design, Bernhard Willhelm, a German native residing in Belgium, uses colors, volumes and themes that challenge labeling. In 1999, Willhelm started with womenswear, an assemblage that premiered at fashion shows in Paris. The designer fashioned his first collection of menswear in 2000, which he didn’t allow the public to view until 2003’s Menswear Fashion Week. Other accomplishments include a showing of his work organized in 2003 by the Ursula Blickle Art Foundation in Germany, coupled with the publishing of his book in 2004 by Lukas & Sternberg. In 2005, the orphans’ aid association Misericordia asked him to design the school’s uniforms. In addition, he has launched his first shoe line and created the “White Wild Bunch,” a clothing line only available online at YOOX. Willhelm attended Royal Academy of Antwerp in Belgium and worked alongside Walter Van Beirendonck, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Dirk Bikkembergs.

Emerging artist J. Bennett Fitts began his cultural development as a skateboarder and photographer of that world. His concentrated focus is set on a place where undemanding materials go from being simple objects to necessities of life. The binding elements in Fitts’ photographs are created by taking substances produced for one purpose and making them into something entirely different. In his most recent series, “No Lifeguard on Duty,” Fitts traveled more than 20,000 miles from Arkansas to California in search of motel pools. By paying respect to the land, sky and man’s pointless manipulation of the natural world, the artist is able to highlight the effects of development and how it has created a decaying America. Fitts graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. The artist has been featured in Art in America, The New York Times and Photo District News (PDN). Fitts is represented by Paul Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles, Julie Saul Gallery in New York City and QPCA in Portland, Oregon.

Chinese painter and photographer Wang Qingsong was born in Heilongjiang Province, China, and now lives in Beijing. His photographs are large, elaborate, tableaux in style and tend to make witty references to the impact of globalization and modernization in China. In addition, they make references to elements of art history. Qingsong describes his work as “Kitschy, but powerful… Contradictory, but critical” (Art Info). By being both humorous and condemnatory, Qingsong is able to highlight the cultural and artistic misunderstanding of a society in hurried transition. Qingsong attended Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in China, and he had his first solo show at Albion in London. Recent shows have been at ART Strelka in Moscow, Galerie Patrick Veret in France and the International Center of Photography in New York City. He’s also been featured in the magazines Blind Spot and Next Level, as well as The New York Times.

Japanese artist and fashion designer Mihara Yasuhiro challenges the boundaries of fashion and sports in both design and execution. Yasuhiro, who is also known as Miharayasuhiro, recently released a collector’s book in conjunction with PUMA that showcases four Japanese artists who have all been influenced by the PUMA Mihara footwear collection. PUMA by Mihara Yasuhiro began in 2000 with the launch of a sneaker collection, bringing together a wealth of culture and original design from Japanese influences. This new and promising partnership has resulted in a fresh and vibrant collection of sneakers. PUMA by Mihara Yasuhiro was one of the first PUMA designer collaborations and became an integral part in establishing PUMA’s sport and fashion revolution. In 1998, Yasuhiro opened his first store, SOSU (“prime number”) in Aoyama, Japan, followed by his second store in Fukuoka, Japan in 2000, and his third store in Osaka, Japan in 2002. After becoming successful in the footwear industry, Yasuhiro expanded his creativity in design apparel for men and women and made his worldwide debut with Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy. He has also worked with Aprica, was featured in Sneaker Freaker Magazine. Yasuhiro graduated from Tama Art University in 1997.

German-born artist Sabine Hornig re-contextualizes architectural structures by rebuilding and abstracting her materials. The artist’s work has no boundaries between public and private space, as she often covers her entire piece with stucco to remove any reference from the original function and placement. In addition to large sculptures, the artist creates large-format photographs of architectural elements that are usually overlooked because of their intrinsic blandness, though they also act as a visual vocabulary for place and bring attention to the trivial. The artist studied fine arts at the UdK Berlin with David Evison and Isa Genzken and will be exhibiting this month with Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art in Lisboa, Portugal. Other recent exhibitions include “Geblide” at the Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York City and “Raum mit grobem Fenster” with Berlinische Galerie in Berlin. In 1999, Hornig received a PS1 grant and has appeared in numerous international publications, including an article and review in Artforum.

New media artist Cory Arcangel creates digital-based works that investigate the relationship between technology, art and contemporary culture. Arcangel predominantly creates work through computer programming that uses traditional applications of game coding. The artist originally obtained a degree in music technology but began subversive manipulation of vintage video game systems, such as Nintendo, by hacking the game and revamping obsolete computer systems from previous decades. The artist will subtly change the graphics of games, such as in the piece “Super Mario Clouds,” where Arcangel erased everything in the game except the clouds that are programmed to slowly glide across the sky. The artist’s imagery is nostalgically appropriated, simultaneously challenging the future of digital manipulation and elements of a cultural past. Arcangel has exhibited work in the 2004 Biennial at The Whitney Museum of American Art as well as at LISTE, The Young Art Fair, in Basel, Switzerland. Also in 2004, the artist exhibited in The Armory Show with Team Gallery, followed by a solo exhibit at the Migros Museum in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2005. The artist has been featured in exhibits in the Guggenheim Museum and the MoMA in New York City and gave a lecture at Columbia University about his practice within technology and arts.

Brooklyn-based artist David Ellis creates work that is influenced by hip-hop culture and traditional elements of graffiti. The artist moved to New York to work in the music video business. However, he soon ended that career and began to develop Barnstormers, a group of some of the most prominent and well-respected graffiti, street and mural artists working in the U.S. today. Ellis has gained much notoriety for his live motion paintings that are often filmed and created to music. Music is pivotal to the artist’s creative process and influences his imagery, sculptures and production. Many of the artist’s works are painted directly on the gallery walls or onto buses, vans and cars. Many of his mechanical works are driven by small computers and beat-making devices that are controlled by impressions written onto vinyl records. The computers cause mallets to bang on a variety of items such as oil cans, cymbals and drums. The artist has exhibited throughout the country, including recent shows at the Red Gallery in Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, and at the Jessica Murray Projects in New York City. The artist recently appeared with a full interview in the art and contemporary culture magazine Juxtapoz.