War and peace are not opposites. They are entangled states—historical, psychological, political, and deeply personal. They coexist within nations, communities, and individuals, often simultaneously. In this special edition of the magazine, we explore The Art of War & Peace not as a binary theme, but as a spectrum of human experience shaped by conflict, survival, resistance, reconciliation, memory, and hope. Throughout history, artists have been witnesses to war and architects

Rob Sunderman graduated from the University of Iowa with a BFA, MA & MFA. He is a Fine Artist, Scenic Designer, Scenic Artist & ISU Associate Professor Emeritus of Theatre. He was the Resident Scenic Designer/Scenic Artist & Associate Professor of Theatre Design at Iowa State University for 21 years. Before that, he was the Scenic Designer at Iowa PBS for 16 years. Rob has been teaching art classes at the Des Moines Art Center for over 36 years. He has designed & scenically p

Igor Grechanyk is a sculptor and artist whose work blends philosophical symbolism, mytho-poetic imagery, and a contemporary sculptural language. His creations are visualized fragments of spiritual experience, resonating with the collective unconscious and touching on the eternal questions of human existence. He gives form to the undefined, materializing spirit in bronze. Born in Kyiv into an artistic family, Grechanyk graduated from the Kyiv State Art Institute in 1984. His e

Maddie Blanchard is an illustrator and painter from the UK. Horror, surrealism, the dark, and the strange have been prevalent themes in Maddie’s work from a young age, for they are places to dispel all the ugliness of the world. This expressive approach has aided her career, allowing her to create heartfelt but gritty artwork for the poster advertising Phantasmal Galleries' exhibition Scary Monsters, Super Creeps (2025), the paintings to be displayed in the set design of the

Infused with warmth, humor, and an energetic line, these paintings on canvas and mixed media works on paper invite the viewer to contemplate the moment. Jan Wurm’s work is in collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, New York Public Library Print Collection, Monterey Museum of Art, San Diego Museum of Art, Archiv Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen, Berlin, Universität für angewandte Kunst in Vienna, and Tiroler Landesmuseen

Having previously embroidered handkerchiefs for the Board of Marks and Spencer alongside Sarah Corbett, Jenny Spouge then came across the Leeds Craftivists group online during the Covid pandemic, joined their Zoom meetings, and contributed items towards their projects. However, they focus on Leeds issues, and so she began to draw together people local to her who were interested in a similar group. She tried to explore a wider faith-based network - but to date, we are all memb

Born in 1999 and raised in Bacau, Romania, Laura Candet is currently exploring the alarming increase in femicide in Romania and around the world. Experiencing the gender gap firsthand, her visual art conveys the frustration and powerful emotions felt during these turbulent times. With significant achievements in the artistic and academic fields, Laura Candet combines theoretical and practical study for a good artistic representation of her subjects. The artist has won multipl

Jerry has more years in product and furniture design. He worked for IDEO's product development team for over 10 years, contributing to national & international award-winning projects. From there, he set up KD design and designed and marketed my own furniture design label. He sold furniture to many small design outlets while working on projects for the likes of Gucci and Hugo Boss with other design studios,

For many years, Louise Wellington worked as a nurse before making a major career change in 1987. In 1990, she graduated from Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne with a degree in Creative Arts (Visual Art). Since then, her artistic practice has centred on the use of handmade paper, collograph prints, and found objects—primarily wood, stones, bones, feathers, and shells. Until 1998, she worked as a freelance artist, delivering printmaking and papermaking workshops in

Zheni Warner is an international artist currently living in the UK. She has exhibited widely throughout Europe. Her current war is a sharp departure from her usually exuberant but intellectually calm practice. Inspired and infuriated by the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, it imagines the feel of life and death within a war zone.

From carving lumps of plaster scavenged from bombed-out houses as a child in French North Africa to sculpting clay forms today, three-dimensional creation has always been central to Michel Ducos's life. Like many of his generation, access to formal art education was discouraged, as it was not considered a viable profession. As a result, he studied Law and Politics with the ambition of becoming President of the French Republic—a path that ultimately gave way to a different vo

Elizabeth Olubunmi Albert-Abu is a British-Nigerian visual artist, speaker, curator, and business consultant whose work explores the intersection of art, mental health, and lived experience. Working under the name Elinth Arts, her practice transforms deeply personal narratives of resilience, identity, and emotional healing into evocative visual forms that speak universally. Elizabeth’s art, often described as “therapy in colour and form,” uses abstraction and symbolism to por

Bahar Talebi Najafabadi is a visual artist from Isfahan, Iran, now based in London since 2023. She uses different methods to create her artwork, including charcoal, chalk, and oil painting. Bahar's artistic practice is defined by exploration; she embraces a diverse approach to express her emotions through oil paint. Her work reflects the transmission of human feeling, using colour, style, and pattern as essential means of communication with viewers. Currently, Bahar focuses on t

Alexandra Buxbaum is a photographer whose work focuses on documenting the human experience of various people and cultures living in disparate urban environments around the world. Her objective is to capture aspects of the everyday life of people as they live, work, and play. Alexandra has worked professionally for major media outlets, and her photography has appeared in a myriad of news publications and books, both nationally and internationally. She has exhibited in over 45

Persefoni Vlachoutsikou was born in 1999 and lives in Athens. She studied Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens. However, her great love is painting, starting to create from a very young age. Her own workspace is overflowing with paint, watercolours, canvases, and brushes. At the same time, she participates in artistic workshops, seminars, and art exhibitions. The themes of her artworks depict nature, people, and the surrounding environment in an abstrac

Kiana Azizmohammadi is an interdisciplinary artist based in London whose practice is founded on rigorous craft knowledge and sustained conceptual inquiry. Trained with a BA in Handicrafts, they established ceramics as the central material of their practice before completing an MA in Fine Art that broadened their approach toward interdisciplinary production. Their work treats ceramics not merely as a functional or decorative object but as a dense vehicle of cultural and spirit

Daye Kim is a contemporary jewellery artist and sculptor based in London. She holds an MA in Jewellery & Metal from the Royal College of Art (2024) and a BA in Metalwork & Textiles from Korea. Her work bridges traditional metalworking techniques and Contemporary digital fabrication, exploring relational dynamics through multi-body jewellery designed for multiple wearers simultaneously. Recent Exhibitions include Design-Nation showcases (UK) and Plattform Schmuckkunst exhibiti

Ciprian Ariciu is a Romanian visual artist specializing in contemporary ceramics. He holds a Master’s degree in Ceramics, Glass, and Metal from the National University of Arts in Bucharest and is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics (Geneva) and the Union of Visual Artists of Romania. Ciprian Ariciu has participated in over 25 national and international exhibitions across Europe, the United States, India, and Argentina. His works are included in both public and p