Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we don’t always seek out beauty. Horror films, true crime documentaries, and a towering, freshly grilled burger are all “beautiful” in their own way, but perhaps not universally appealing. So it’s not surprising that some artists would choose to create works that stimulate us precisely by avoiding conventions.
This internet group gathers examples of “strange, weird, unique” art from around the world, from drawings to sculptures and art installations. So scroll through and upvote the pieces you find the most interesting. And if you feel like sharing, let us know in the comments about what you enjoyed and why.
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When Death Fell In Love With Life, Graphite And Colored Pencil On Paper, Sergey Zagarovski, 2021
Wow, I did not expect the emotional reaction I just felt. Really awesome.
Carved Avocado Pits Art , Me , 2019
Bicycle Chain Sculpture, By Me
The “Unusual Art” internet group is one of many places online where people can share and discuss various artistic endeavors. While the topic is somewhat niche, it boasts a healthy 59 thousand users, all interested in the “weirder” side of art. Some artists who end up having their works rejected from other groups will also post them here, so give “Unusual Art” a follow, if that sounds right in your wheelhouse.
While perceptions of beauty will vary, we do have a fascination with the unusual. In the early 20th century, when artists started to experiment with more “strange” styles and images, there was pushback from some segments of society. People, used to generally realistic images of nature, people, and so on were now encountering abstract and sometimes unsettling images that were downright hard to label.
Moonrise, Phyllis Shafer, Oil On Canvas, 2015
Woman With Schizophrenia Drew What She Saw On Her Walls
she is a talented artist---I hope creating this helped her and helped others understand her
My Over The Garden Wall Fanart, Ballpoint Pen
Artists pushed back, as many believed that photography had made “realistic” painting completely unnecessary. So the role of the artist was to create art, not just a visual depiction. Clement Greenberg, an American essayist, summed it up nicely in a 1960s article: “Realistic, naturalistic art had dissembled the medium, using art to conceal art; modernism used art to call attention to art. The limitations that constitute the medium of painting—the flat surface, the shape of the support, the properties of the pigment—were treated by the Old Masters as negative factors that could be acknowledged only implicitly or indirectly. Under Modernism, these same limitations came to be regarded as positive factors, and were acknowledged openly.”
"Experiment". Oil On Canvas, 40x60 Cm
Made From Recycled Skateboards By Disabled Skater (Me)
i don't mean to be rude, this is a genuine question, but how would skateboarding while disabled work? i'm genuinely curious
Tower Of Souls, Scott Dow Of Corry Pa
Most people see this debate as a question of beauty, and modern art no longer values beauty is the traditional response. However, this overlooks the reality that even the “old masters” could and would depict events that were hardly beautiful in any sense of the word. Francisco Goya, who painted in the 17th century, depicted, for example, French soldiers shooting Spanish captives.
I May Have Ruined Christmas Lunch By Saying That I See A Dinosaur In My Brother-In-Law's Expensive Painting. Now It's All That Anyone Can See. Do You See It Too?
Sunset Sailing
For A Minute There I Lost Myself By Gaia Alari
This, this isn't even physical, in a sense. It's painting a soul.
This just goes to illustrate the difficulty we have when it comes to accurately describing beauty and how it makes us feel. It's “in the eye of the beholder," yet most people can find common elements that they find visually appealing, like turquoise water on a clean, sandy beach. But at the same time, tastes will differ in nearly every aspect of our lives, from music, to film to literal taste.
Lord Of The Rings/ Eye Of Sauron Hoodie Painted With Bleach By Me!
R/Art Rejected This So I Thought Y’all Would Like It
Power Of Imagination, Me, Watercolor And Ink, 2017
But these sorts of debates on beauty overlook the fact that art doesn’t just exist to reveal beauty. In some sense, this is an egoistic way to see it, as often enough we just happen to be observers of what an artist has felt compelled to create. Some researchers argue that to create is just human nature, as we are the only animal that just does it. There are examples in nature of animals creating non-functional structures, but these tend to be part of a mating ritual. But who is to say that impressing others wasn’t the origin of our own artistic drives?
Last Light By Kim Dorland
Möbius Ship
This is class. Science and modernisms, and also beautiful and antique.
Happy Little Accident. Blender Collision Simulation Acted Weird And I Got This Result By Accident
[oc] I Paint These Eerie Cats!
“Fig” The Trash Frog
Artist Unknown. Found This In A Box In The Basement
I Like To Paint Over Thrift Store Artwork. Finally Got Ahold Of A Norman Rockwell.
Dance Of The Dandelion, Salvador Dali, Oil On Canvas, 1944
See: Destino, a short collaboration between him and...... Walt Di$ney..
Two Of Swords, Digital Artwork By Anna Christenson, 2021
Sis, Get Out The Way I Wanna See The Rainbow, By Marie Ève Richard, Oils 2022
Artwork By Lizz Lopez
Tattoo Design Venetian Doctor
Oc
How most of us feel when we go in a store, the music is loud and they have moved the stock around.
Western By Me Anoxical
love it! Have you watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid by any chance? What about you, pandas?
Strawberry, Me, Ink And Digital Color, 2022
I Draw On Post-It Notes
Forest Stream By Fourbythree
The Strings
Right up my street! I love everything dark and twisted and beautiful!
I've Been Repainting Unsolicited Pics And Sending Them Back The The Person
Flauna Sculpture Of A Squirrel Monkey. By Me
I Make Preserved Spiderwebs! *no Spiders Are Harmed Making These*
I Made A Flyer To Advertise Luxury Cave Apartments
My First Post! I Have No Clue What I’m Doing
Bursting with colour and many wierd and wonderful expressions ...love it
Does Anyone Know Where I Can Find More Art Like This?
I Made A New Yarn Bowl
The Faces I See Everywhere
The Garden Of Deception, Artwork By Andrew Blucha, 2022
"The Way I Want To Dance"
On one hand, I love the drawing. On another Hand, my back hurts looking at it.
Mundane Things [oc]
The Star, By (Me) Brock Springstead
Shadow People By Me
Death, Me, Mixed Media, 2022
Boney Guy Shopping For A Friend, Thoughts? Oc
I’m Somewhat New To Reddit But I Was Told My Art Would Be Appreciated Here. These Are Some Slimy Brain Shelves My Wife And I Painted Together
My Grandma's Last Fight
from the looks of it i assume breast cancer? im so sorry for your loss.
Illustration By Andrew Blucha
K.o By Me
A Few New Blacklight Monsters I’ve Made Recently. Thanks For Looking!
The Abyss Watchers - Draca Wilford, Oil On Canvas, 2022
Cyberethereal, Me, Procreate, 2022
Weird Stuff By Me
I Don't Know If This Is Considered "Unusual" But I Made These. I'll Delete If It's Not Fitting!
I Myself Am.... Strange... Unusual. So It’s Only Natural That My Pieces Turn Out The Same Way! 2020. Copic Markers. 11” X 14” Strathmore Mixed Media Paper
Artwork By Gaku Azuma
The Will, Enrique Martínez Celaya, Oil And Wax On Canvas, 2022
Death Of A Gravedigger, Carlos Schwabe, Oil On Canvas, 1900
Lucid
An Unusual Guitarist
Onward By Parker Steven Jackson
Death
Wip, Portrait Of My Parents, Mixed Media On Canvas, 3 X 4 Feet
Check It Out. Submitted This To The Pabst Blue Ribbon Contest Guess They Didn’t Like It Too Much. All Good
My Sister Works In Customer Care Over The Phone. She Draws Pictures Of What She Thinks The Person On The Other End Of The Line Looks Like Based On How They Sound. This Was Today’s
Someone Suggested This Subreddit, Hope You Like It
Ghostly. Like we are seeing them as they are called back into a void, where they came from. It's up to the viewer to decide where they are going.
Original Art By Me
I love the way you did his eyes, solemn and soft and black, with hints of youth.
Iceberg Cat Painting By Me. Acrylic On Paper
Phases
Emotions
Amazing. I would make actual masks out of them, and host a masquerade.
I Can't Draw Realistic To Save My Life, But I Have Developed My Own Style, And Maybe You Like It?
Ten Years Ago My Girlfriend At The Time Gave Me A Painting Her Aunt Did In The 70s. It's Hung Proudly Over My Toilet Ever Since
Sedentary Animal, By Me, Ceramic Sculpture, 2020
Untitled
Giant Cheese Slice Painting, Acrylic On Wood
Untitled
Blossom II, Erik Thor Sandberg, Oil On Panel, 2017
I’ve Had So Many Requests To Recreate Coraline In My Style Over The Years. This Was The Result. (Oc)
Jardinone, Mini Pop Art, Acrylic And Spray Paint, 2019
Heal, ... End The Cycle
I Was Hired By Cheech & Chong To Design A Surreal Themed Poster. Here It Is!
Someone Told Me My Painting Belongs Here, So Here It Is!
Gluttony By Victor Fota, Oil On Aluminium Panel, 2019
Not So Daily Colour Practice, 1 - 19
Breakfast At Sloth's
I Drew An Alien Invasion
Immateria Study 1, Me, Ink And Acrylic, 2023
'little Dark Age'
‘He Danced Well Into The Evening’, By Me (Pen On Piece Of Cardboard I Found)
I Drew This With My Hands
“Canine” Painted This For Art Class When I Was 16
My Handmade Gloves With Extra Long Fingers
Uh Oh
'carbon Based Lifeform' Handprinted Linocut 27.5x39 In - 70x100 Cm
I Drew One Of My Nightmares
A Fellow Redditor Suggested I Post This Here, It’s Still A Work In Progress. Hope You Like It
Just Follow Your Dreams By Adrian Borda, Oil On Canvas, 2019
This is breathtaking and powerful! I can't believe is not at the top! Brova!
Psychedelic Cat (Art By Me)
Cocroach Dreaming
Making Porridge [oc]
The Liar (Fourth Variation), By Me, Ceramic Sculpture With Cracked Glaze And China Ink, 2021
So Tell Me Why You Feel That Way
Pen And Ink
Sleeping In A Truck, Through The Night
Sitting Girl
Entropy Help-Line
I Paint With My Own Blood!
Dino Tomb
The Scenic Route. Collaboration With A Friend
Mt Baker, Me, Blanket Canvas, 2020
Painting While Fevered = Weird Results
You Find A Strange Fountain Near The Maze Entrance
Untitled
Smiling Beast, Me, Earthenware, 2022
Back With Some More Surreal Stuff
‘I Like Sherbet’ - Acrylic, Collage And Digital - Me, 2022
Wear A Mask
'bicycle Thief', Me, Oil On Canvas, 2022
Catty Long Legs
Salvation, My Son [oc]
Hi Hi Hi
Rusting Dimensions Collection, Magnus Moon, 2022
“Labascate”, Sailor Compass Fountain Pen, By Me, 2022
Woke Up In The Metro And Found This Next To Me. Anyone Know What This Is??
A Self Portrait! Some Days You Wake Up And In The Mirror You Just See A Monster
YOU ARE NOT A MONSTER EVEN ON YOUR WORST DAY. You are a human being. Please look into getting help. You are loved for simply being you. ❤️
Extra Weird Today [oc]
Just Found This Sub. Love It Here! Here Are Some Of My Unique Takes On This Art Thing. All Oc
Volcano Cat Painting By Me. Acrylic On Paper
“Teeth” Paper Mache / Plaster Mask
Found At The Alameda Flea Market
Odd Reminds me of Tim Burton's art. He made a book once, abut a clam or oyster boy and other poems. Reminds me of this.