Jessica Fortner is a Toronto-based sculptor and illustrator who creates an assortment of odd beings out of polymer clay and other materials and then photographs them. These creatures are a mix of man and beast, such as the Walkin' Birds above. These creepy old men/chicken look as though they can be up to no good, but those clipped wings should keep them out of trouble. Ludwig the Lemur God is a two-headed mutant who spent years roaming the woods alone until happening upon a village that chose to worship him rather than cast him out. And our final character is The Gold Horned Hexapede Bear that roams the Arctic, mourning her lost love who has been killed by the man in her mouth.

Artist: Jessica-Lynn Fortner
+ jessicafortner.com

Gail Tremblay is a Native American artist who specializes in weaving baskets out of Super 8 / 8 mm film. Instead of using traditional materials, Tremblay uses film to reflect her views on the portrayal of native peoples on the silver screen. Her titles are telling: In Great Expectations (There is No Red Leader), Mountain Men and Indians: A Hot and Prickly History; Scorched Earth Policy; The Damnation of Being Cast as a Supporting Actor in Some Wasichu Story; For Red Queens Who Get Us Through When All We Want to Do is Cry.

Artist: Gail Tremblay
+ froelickgallery.com

Consumerism and our worship of all things material is a too familiar theme in the art world and beyond. Everyday disposable objects take on permanence as cast bronze sculptures by Luis Fernando Ponce and are further glorified when photographed as portraits. How long have we been so devoted to products and what they stand for? Probably longer than we realize or like to admit. Will the greed of branding, shopping, consuming ever be eroded?

Artist: Luis Fernando Ponce
+ luisfernandoponce.com

Jeremy Mora continues to work with miniature people, small-scale models and a mix of materials to create sculptures and scenes that leave the viewer thinking, "Uh-oh, something happened here ..." When a chair is found on its side, a bunch of ominous looking balloons still attached, there cannot be a lack of questions. Who was the person seated upon it and where is he or she now? Coming across an intricate archway, one is reminded of a rainbow. Does this span signify an entrance or an exit? What has the trio of curious monks found and how will they proceed?

Artist: Jeremy Mora
+ povevolving.com

Liao Yibai's steel sculptures may look amusing, but are really expressions of the Chinese artist's memories of the perception of the American threat during and after the Cultural Revolution. Propaganda Machine melds tradition in the form of a turtle with the megaphones from his youth as a reminder of the truck that drove through town with its messages three times a day. PLA Whiskey is a symbol of a former Chinese soldier's longing for the forbidden American beverage, while the enemy is depicted by a pair of mouse ears in Fighting Shadow. The work is informed by the artist's life experiences, having grown up at the site of a bomb and chemical weapons factory. His father worked there, designing cruise missiles to be used against the U.S.

Artist: Liao Yibai
+ mikeweissgallery.com

Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends is a shelving unit by Ron Arad that is composed of individual states made of stainless and Corten steel. This experimental piece that takes up almost an entire gallery wall is part of a new body of nine pieces of work. Also included in the exhibition is Thumbprint, a chair made up of multiple bronze rods that reveal gradations of colour as the light changes, and Rod Gomli, one of stainless steel rods. Three Bodyguards of inflated aerospace aluminum hover alongside their counterparts, three Drunk Bodyguards that appear to balance precariously. The collection of work is classic Arad and will fit timelessly into his oeuvre.

Artist: Ron Arad
+ timothytaylorgallery.com

Jerzy Goliszewski's dimensional works include wooden sculptures made up of many pieces. There is something of a cityscape about the pieces, especially when shown together to create a pixelated topography. Despite the use of straight edges and angles, the result is more organic in form than one might expect. And yet, there may be something familiar about the grid-like nature of these sculptures...

Artist: Jerzy Goliszewski
+ jerzygoliszewski.com

Caroline Saul works with recycled plastics to create sculptural vessels and forms to be used as ornamental pieces or for lighting. Saul's technique results in cut-outs that are intricate without being too lacy. Milk bottles are the material of choice for the plastic sheets created by Saul, who adds fibres and colour, but is also sure to keep some of the original translucence of the material. The effect Is one of watercolour, inks and tie-dye, combined with highly original forms.

Artist: Caroline Saul
+ carolinesaul.co.ukl

Joseph Barbaccia is an artist whose practice covers a variety of disciplines: sculpture, printmaking and encaustic, among others. Barbaccia's sequinned polystyrene sculptures are extremely captivating through the bold use of abstract form, variegated colour and pure old-fashioned sparkle. Euphoria's feathery sequins are particularly effective in implying movement and joy. The calming colours of Qualm distract from the claw-like nature of the piece, and Savor is what it is: a piece of popcorn.

Artist: Joseph Barbaccia
+ paradisestudio.com

Florence-based industrial designer Paolo Fumagalli is also a sculptor of contemporary conceptual pieces who works with mixed media. The contrasting materials, often a mix of hard and soft, are what lead to further contemplation. Mother Tongue is evidence of this with a soft tongue curling out of a hard shell, or the contrast between the polystyrene foam pellets held by the glass container in the form of a cross. Within these hard, protective cases lurks substance that is prone to more movement of spirit.

Artist: Paolo Fumagalli
+ paolo-fumagalli.com

Jud Turner's range of sculpture is fairly varied in terms of subject matter, but this artist is consistent in his use of found objects and welded steel. Biology, technology, ancient fossils and modern machinery are all inspirations for Turner's work. Some of the very intricate pieces combine nature and mechanics, others involve the human anatomy, either symbolically or as part of the machinery. The work is wrought with intentional contradictions in scale, concept and approach.

Artist: Jud Turner
+ judturner.com