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Category Archives: Art

Openings: Fulvio di Piazza – “Ashes to Ashes” @ Jonathan Levine

Last month, the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York hosted an opening reception for surreal Sicilian artist Fulvio di Piazza (a previous subject of our Art Focus). Ashes to Ashes is the painter’s powerful debut show in the United States featuring his riveting landscapes of floating islands in a world covered in ash and fire. As an added layer in many of the works, the land masses depicted form their own images such as faces and creatures. For those interested in checking it out in more detail, the show runs […]

Streets: Picturin Torino Mural Art Festival

The Picturin Torino Art Festival recently played host to artists Graphic Surgery, V3RBO, and 2501 as they were invited to paint murals in an area of the Italian city with old warehouses and factories. They were among a group of 30 artists from France, Holland, Bulgaria, Spain and Italy who were tasked with beautifying city landmarks – Parco Dora, Amedeo di Savoia Hospital, Hiroshima Mon Amour, schools and façades – and turning Torino into a big outdoor museum. Photo credit: Diego Fatone & Picturin Torino via Graffuturism.

Upcoming: Kris Lewis @ David B. Smith Gallery

Coming up in October, the David B. Smith Gallery will be hosting a new solo exhibition from Kris Lewis (interviewed). If his previous shows (see 2011 & 2009) at the Denver showspace are any indication, the California-based artist will be bringing a selection of enchanting oil paintings with him. His work bely a reverence for the old masters mixed with a modern quality as well as a touch of symbolism, all which combine for intriguing portraits. The show opens on October 19th. Photos via the artist. Discuss […]

Openings: “Unnatural – Natural History” @ Royal West of England Academy

Curated by Coates and Scarry, the  exhibition entitled Unnatural-Natural History recently launched at the Royal West of England Academy with many of the participating artists present at the opening. Featuring paintings, photography, drawings, sculptures and installations, 38 local and international artists are currently displaying their artistic interpretation of an alternative world. Following genetic mutations and environmental pressure, natural objects have been metamorphosed into unexpected forms in a place no longer ruled by humans. At the entrance, guests are greeted by feathered installations by Kate McGuire. The viewer’s mind is then immediately […]

Openings: Jason deCaires Taylor – “Human Nature” @ Jonathan Levine

Sculptor and photographer Jason deCaires Taylor recently made his premiere at Jonathan Levine Gallery with a solo exhibition entitled Human Nature. The British born artist who grew up with the coral reefs of Malaysia is known for taking his talents of altering environments to the ocean. Utilizing specialized PH neutral materials, Jason creates cement based sculptures and lays them in nature’s aquatic settings to create artificial reefs. Marine life grow and thrive around the artist’s “eco-sculptures,” kinda like underwater organic terracotta sculptures. Mr. Taylor then takes photographs of […]

Streets: Komafest (Part II) – Vhils

After opening a duo of shows in Lisbon and Paris, where he also was able to make his mark on the city streets in those major metropolises, Vhils moves north to the much smaller town of Vardø. The relatively tiny Norwegian town is the site of Komafest, a street art festival which hopefully will help revitalize a region that has suffered from depopulation and the decay. The Portuguese artist applied his unique technique to a something we haven’t seen before, a wooden building – with a pretty sweet result […]

Studio Visits / Preview: Mark Whalen @ Melbourne Art Fair

AM dropped by Mark Whalen’s studio recently to get a preview of his new work, which will be shown as a solo exhibition with Edwina Corlette Gallery at the Melbourne Art Fair  (August 1-5). If you can’t make it to the art fair, follow Mark Whalen (nowhaywhay) on Instagram for a play by play of the event. Looking into Mark Whalen’s psychedelic gridded realities is like a mythic journey into hyperspace.  He redefines the atmospheric picture plane, using pure geometric forms and grids to create […]

Streets: Olek (Brazil)

Last we heard from Olek, she was in her home town of Katowice working her yarn-bombing magic on a couple of escavators for a street art festival. Now, the Polish knitter, who was recently named as one of the Smithsonian’s 40 under 40: Craft Futures artists, has surfaced in São Paulo, Brazil to do some work for SESC where she created “Crocheted Jacaré” for their playground, covering an alligator shaped installation designed by Marcia Maria Benevento. Photo credit: Lost Art (via Designboom). Discuss Olek here.

Showing: Aya Takano – “To Lose Is To Gain” @ Galerie Perrotin (Paris)

Currently showing at the Paris branch (Saint Claude location) of Galerie Perrotin is a new body of work from Japanese sensation Aya Takano. Deeply moved by the recent earthquake and nuclear disaster in her home country, To Lose Is To Gain explores her feelings on the subject and reflects her thoughts of Japan in the past, present, and future. Of course, her Superflat stylings and prepubescent ethereal girls are still present in this new solo showing with the paintings displayed on walls as well as hanging […]

Upcoming: REVOK – “Gilgamesh” @ Known Gallery

REVOK recently posted up some photos on his blog of the process leading up to his new body of work created for his solo show coming up at the end of the month in Los Angeles. Gilgamesh is set to open on July 28th at the Known Gallery with a selection of works created from found objects. These shots show the graffiti artist from the beginning of his process foraging for materials in the abandoned and dilapidated buildings of Detroit to the precise and increasingly […]