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Category Archives: Art

Previews: Cai Guo-Qiang – “Sky Ladder” @ MOCA (Los Angeles) – Part I

Posted by sleepboy, March 7, 2012

AM was on hand a couple days ago as explosive Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang started his preparations for his upcoming exhibition at the Los Angeles MOCA set to open on April 8th. The showing will be the first West Coast solo for the world-renowned New York-based artist and feature new commissioned works including three gunpowder drawings and a public outdoor explosion event created onsite at the museum. This first session that we attended saw the creation of Chaos in Nature (approx. 11 x 49 feet), […]

Streets: RETNA x COPE2 (New York)

Posted by sleepboy, March 7, 2012

While in New York painting the iconic wall on the corner Bowery & Houston (covered), RETNA (featured) took some time collaborate with East Coast legend COPE2. Hitting up a wall together in the Bronx, COPE2’s signature bubble tags blended in nicely with RETNA’s calligraphic MSK stylings with what seemed to be matching colors. Check out more photos of the duo in action after the jump…

Openings: Conor Harrington – “Dead Meat” @ Lazarides (Rathbone Place)

Posted by sleepboy, March 6, 2012

Last week in spectacular fashion, the new exhibition from Conor Harrington (interviewed) opened at Lazarides Gallery’s flagship Rathbone Place location in London. The sold out show, Dead Meat, included the impressive works we previewed during our studio visit with the UK-based painter last month, a total of 8 large-scale canvases and 24 small studies or “Morning Glories” as he has fondly titled them. The works reflected a further refinement of his signature mix of historical narrative and modern urban references, all in the setting of […]

Update: Naoto Hattori

Posted by sleepboy, March 6, 2012

As a headsup to his fans out there, Naoto Hattori has been uploading these little image montages of his creative process onto his facebook page. The scans show some of the steps in the Japanese artist’s time-consuming technique that he uses to paint his surreal imagery. And for those living on the two US coasts, you’ll have a chance soon to check out Hattori’s detailed paintings in person. He will be part of the Suggestivism show in New York at Bold Hype as well as […]

Mike Leavitt x Jail Break – Jeremy Lin “Linja” Action Figure

Posted by juggernut3, March 6, 2012

Hey ninjas… if you follow the NBA, you’re probably aware of the sensation known as Jeremy Lin, the Taiwanese American basketball phenom who has inspired excitement (aka Linsanity) among legions of fans around the world. Now, artist Michael Leavitt (interviewed) – working with our friends at the Jailbreak Collective – has inducted the NY Knick into his infamous Art Army series by mashing-up Lin with G.I. Joe master ninja Storm Shadow to create a one of a kind “Linja” action figure. Similar to the quality […]

Album Covers: Stalley x Patrick Martinez – “Savage Journey To The American Dream”

Posted by juggernut3, March 6, 2012

Continuing the line of art & music album cover collaborations created by artists who have graced the pages of AM in the past, here is a first look at the design of Stalley’s latest album Savage Journey To The American Dream. The cover is created by artist Patrick Martinez (here & here) and consists of his signature neon works depicting a disjointed shining flag in front of a shattered painted portrait of the rapper. The piece is symbolic of the twisted and broken roads on […]

Studio Visits: Aakash Nihalani @ Volta ’12

Posted by juggernut3, March 6, 2012

Time flies – it’s already time for Armory Week 2012 in New York. As the Big Apple preps for the onslaught of art and events, Aakash Nihalani quietly works on his upcoming exhibition with the Carmichael Gallery at this year’s satellite Volta Art Fair. We’ve all seen his street works and recent stint at the Facebook offices, but now we take a look at some of the sculptural works he has been prepping for the fair. AM was invited over to his Brooklyn studio to see […]

Streets: Vhils (Shanghai)

Posted by sleepboy, March 5, 2012

As indicated in some teaser shots of Vhils’ street work when he first got to China as well as a preview video posted here, the Portuguese artist has been hard at work preparing for his showing at the 18 Gallery (presented by Magda Danysz) opening March 31st. We now have a more comprehensive look at the murals he has impregnated into the walls of Shanghai with his special technique as part of this exhibition. More photos via Stick2Target after the jump…

Update: Josh Keyes

Posted by sleepboy, March 5, 2012

If you had been keeping abreast of photos from Josh Keyes’ (interviewed) studio blog (first mentioned here), you would have seen some paintings in progress among other things. These new beauties are presumably for the Joseph Gross Gallery at the University of Arizona when the Portland-based painter will next have a solo exhibition come May. Take a look at some more glimpses after jump and also look for a print release soon from Keyes with Tiny Showcase.

Streets: Retna Mural on Bowery & Houston (Part I)

Posted by juggernut3, March 5, 2012

Last week, we sat patiently as the beautiful mural created by Faile came down and was being washed white, wondering who was going to be bold enough to take on the legendary Bowery & Houston wall next? The challenger hails from the City of Angels and reps not only the west coast, but the renowned MSK graffiti crew. Retna (featured) makes his first official return to New York since his massive solo there last winter. AM was invited to capture this undertaking as the project started on a rainy Saturday. Undeterred, […]