Rebecca Szeto: "Totems" Series

"Barn Owl 1"

"Barn Owl 2"

"Owl"

"Raptur"

"Redtail Hawk"

"Mask"

"Her Exquisite Pain"

Rebecca Szeto is an artist living and working in San Francisco, California. She received her B.A. degree from UC Berkeley in 1992. For over the past two decades, she has continued independent studies under mentors and artists Rose Shakinovsky and Claire Gavronskyin in Italy and South Africa, and working alongside renowned Venda master wood carvers such as Paul Thavanha and Thomas Kubayi. The shown pieces are from the "Totems" series which is a collection of hand carved wood into figural  shapes and birds. The entire sculpture can measure as small as 8" in height, 1" wide and .75" in diameter. Each piece of the raw wood is brought to life by the artist who transforms them into incredibly-detailed hand-painted portraits.

From Rebecca Szeto's website: "My work plays with subtle shifts of perception and provides open-­ended, visual prompts that encourage creative interaction and completion from the viewer. I explore states of "in-between" and transformation through conflated realities. Initially, the viewer recognizes one thing, but on looking closer, realizes something is curiously awry." 

She has participated in solo as well as group exhibitions both in the US and other countries. Her work has been included in several publications, and has received awards like the Banff Merit Scholarship and the Pamela Joseph Merit Fellowship for Minority Artists. Her work can be found in private collection in Denmark, England, France, Italy and USA. 

Make sure your visit her website to see more of her past projects, especially "Paintbrush Portraits" collection for which Rebecca Szeto uses old paintbrushes to create gorgeous portraits of renaissance ladies. She has a Facebook page where she posts about her upcoming shows and new work, if you would like to join.