Chema Mendez Blends Renaissance Painting and AI-Generated Detail Into Dreamlike Digital Collage

Chema Mendez, a self-taught artist from the Canary Islands, has been crafting intricate digital collages since 2009. His artwork combines the visual depth of traditional painting with elements from photography, 3D models, hand-drawn components, and selected AI-generated features. Mendez strives for his collages to convey the completeness of a painting inspired by an unusual dream, rather than appearing disjointed. His creations exist at the crossroads of neo-surrealism and modern digital fine art. By integrating Renaissance oil paintings, historical illustrations, biodiversity texts, religious imagery, landscapes, human forms, and digital textures, he transforms their original meanings. Influences on his work include M.C. Escher's geometric designs, René Magritte's refined surrealism, Miles Johnston's evocative dreamscapes, and Eduardo Recife's textured collage style.