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Category Archives: Low Brow & Pop Surrealism

Mark Drew – “Deez Nuts” @ China Heights Gallery

Aussie artist Mark Drew, co-founder of the China Heights Gallery, recently held a solo exhibition at the Sydney showspace entitled Deez Nuts. The premise behind this new body of work (which started as a zine of the same name) was his genius decision to meld Peanuts comic imagery with classic rap lyrics combining some of his childhood obsessions. Rounding out the show was a reproduction Snoopy’s doghouse but modified with multiple Snoop Dogg references. Tipped off by My Modern Met. Photos via the artist. Discuss […]

Upcoming: “Game of Thrones” Group Exhibition @ Mondo Gallery

During this year’s SXSW week, Mondo will be unveiling original art and limited editions inspired by the hit HBO series Game of Thrones. The group exhibition will include artists like Audrey Kawasaki, Chet Zar, Esao Andrews, Joao Ruas, Mia Araujo, Tom Bagshaw, Mike Mitchell (above), and Daniel Danger (who already designed posters for the show for last year’s SDCC). The exhibition will be available public viewing (7:00 – 10:00pm) from March 8th through March 12th, and afterwards – two posters will be released digitally each week […]

Preview: Melissa Haslam – “Floating Garden” @ LeBasse Projects

This Saturday night (March 2nd), the paintings we got a glimpse of during a studio visit with Melissa Haslam last month will be put on display at LeBasse Projects. Floating Garden will feature the Australian artist’s botanically-infused portraiture and stems from her fascination with scientific and entomological illustrations. Garden spaces overgrown with foliage and focused work on suspended flowers and plants comprise of some of the imagery that will be seen in this body of work. Discuss this show here. Discuss Melissa Haslam here.

Openings: “Something Wicked This Way Comes” @ Cella Gallery

Last weekend, Cella Gallery and curator Stephanie Chefas hosted the opening reception for Something Wicked This Way Comes. The group exhibition featured the works of Annie Owens, Christian Rex van Minnen, Christine Wu, Chrystal Chan, David Ball, Fulvio Di Piazza, Jana Brike, Jessica Ward, Judith Supine, and Michael Page  – produced with the encouragement for them to delve into the more dark and ominous parts of their imagination. Take a look at the photo set below or head over for your own look as the show runs through March 23rd. Photo credit: Theonepointeight. Discuss this show here.

Update: Greg “Craola” Simkins

Greg Simkins (featured) recently shared some paintings he has been working on that spell out his moniker – CRAOLA – on each piece. Every one features a different color from his palette as well as some of the imagery his fans are sure to be familiar with like the knight, clown fish, candle, parrot, and more… Perhaps these are a warmup or are headed for his show opening in Los Angeles in April at Merry Karnowsky, site of his solo show one year ago (covered). Discuss Greg Simkins […]

Art Focus: Jake & Dinos Chapman

Jake & Dinos Chapman, often referred to as the Chapman Brothers, are English artists known for their subversive humor and provocative work often dealing with themes of  violence and death. What caught our attention recently was a new epic miniature landscape composed of four encased diorama entitled The Sum of All Evil that they created for their current show Chicken at the PinchukArtCentre in Kiev. The brothers often utilize historical references and inspiration from some of their favorite artists like Hieronymus Bosch and Francisco de Goya in their work, with this piece being no different.  Take a […]

Overtime: Feb 18 – Feb 24

More stories from the week ending Feb 24: It turns out some of Charles Krafft’s work was not supposed to be ironic after all, and he shockingly appears to be a white nationalist who believes Holocaust is a deliberately exaggerated myth. France making one of its biggest efforts to trace Jewish owners of artworks stolen by the Nazis during WWII. Jewish Museum of Vienna acknowledges it may be in possession of hundreds of items looted during the war. Fire on top floor of building at Pratt […]

POW WOW ’13: Yoskay Yamamoto, Jeff Hamada, Wu Yue, and Andrea Wan

Another mural we watched go up during POW WOW Hawaii was a joint effort from Yoskay Yamamoto, Jeff Hamada, Wu Yue, and Andrea Wan. Situated next to a small park in the Kaka’ako district, the piece meshed the talents of all four artists who hail from different parts of the world – Los Angeles, Vancouver, Paris, and Berlin. Take a look at some more detailed pics below… Discuss POW WOW here.

Openings: Marco Mazzoni – “Il Ricordo è Un Consolatore Molesto”@ Galleria Patricia Armocida

Italian artist and illustrator Marco Mazzoni opened a solo show last night with Galleria Patricia Armocida in Milan, Italy. As we mentioned in the preview for this show, this is Marco’s 1st solo show in a city where he has been working and living in for years. Along with medium-scale colored pencil paper drawings, moleskin paper drawings, and a site-specific installation that was announced for this show, the artist had another three mini moleskine books exhibited with three drawings that matched the theme and the spirit of this show. […]

Showing: Mark Dean Veca – “Made For You And Me” @ Cristin Tierney

Last month, Mark Dean Veca (featured) opened a new solo show at the Cristin Tierney Gallery entitled Made For You And Me. The mostly new series of paintings explore the LA-based artist’s interpretation of the collapse of the “American Dream” and the corruption of ideals in this country, seen through the lens of his re-imagining of pop culture. Included are images of the monopoly man, riffs on the American flag, a hanging pegasus Mobil logo, and more – all rendered with Dean Veca’s modernized “Toile de Jouy” technique. Take a look at […]