Lifestyle

Several Just Stop Oil activists were arrested yesterday for using hammers to break the glass protecting the 17th century painting The Toilet of Venus by Diego Velázquez, held at the National Gallery in London. The incident joins a long list of recent attacks that have transpired across European art institutions, where protesters — many of them students — are going to extreme measures to raise awareness to the climate emergency. Nicknamed The Rokeby Venus, the painting depicts Venus, the goddess of love, reclined against bed sheets looking into a framed mirror held up by her son Cupid. In antiquity, Venus symbolically represented absolute female beauty, one to which Velázquez purposefully blurs in the reflection, so that she isn't an identifiable person and only pieced together in the viewe...

Belgian sculptor Eric Croes has released a new series of bronze sculptures via Case Studyo. The Brussels-based artist is best known for creating ceramic characters that straddle the line between relics found across art history and the curious workings of his own imagination. In WAX BOX, Croes utilized the Bronze Age technique of lost wax casting, where the same mold is used to create lightweight metal copies of an existing sculpture as a way to save on the cost of material, which in antiquity was often made in marble, and easier for the user to transport. Available in green, black, and a natural patina, each bronze WAX BOX has a mystic backstory that "stands as a culmination of the artist’s mental universe, a vibrant fusion of chance, fantasy and marvelous mastery," according to Case Study...

The Power of Color is a dynamic and vibrant group exhibition taking place at VILLAZAN Madrid, featuring the works of three internationally acclaimed artists: Bibi Lei, Sun-Kyo Park, and Wahab Saheed. This compelling exhibition brings together a collection of ten striking artworks, each of which encapsulates the artists' distinct approach to color and artistry, resulting in a harmonious visual narrative.Bibi Lei, a Portuguese-Chinese artist residing in Tokyo, is renowned for her unique self-taught techniques, including finger painting and untethered brushstrokes. Her art reflects her unwavering love for painting and the profound influence of motherhood on her creative expression. Lei's works exhibit a sense of speed and directness, characterized by raw, unfiltered emotions and intuition. He...

The Power of Color is a dynamic and vibrant group exhibition taking place at VILLAZAN Madrid, featuring the works of three internationally acclaimed artists: Bibi Lei, Sun-Kyo Park, and Wahab Saheed. This compelling exhibition brings together a collection of ten striking artworks, each of which encapsulates the artists' distinct approach to color and artistry, resulting in a harmonious visual narrative.Bibi Lei, a Portuguese-Chinese artist residing in Tokyo, is renowned for her unique self-taught techniques, including finger painting and untethered brushstrokes. Her art reflects her unwavering love for painting and the profound influence of motherhood on her creative expression. Lei's works exhibit a sense of speed and directness, characterized by raw, unfiltered emotions and intuition. He...

BEYOND THE STREETS is spotlighting contemporary airbrushing in a new group exhibition at CONTROL gallery in Los Angeles. Entitled Under Pressure, the show bridges a dialogue between past and present by presenting the unique technical approaches of 16 artists, including Hank Reavis, Jasmine Monsegue, Kristofferson San Pablo, CHITO, Gustavo Zermeño Jr. and more.Curated by legendary LA artist, Mister CARTOON, the exhibition maps out the historical significance of the airbrush — from its early usage in advertisements and graphic illustrations, as well as by the Pop Artists, who favored the tool for its connection to consumerism. As Los Angeles became the poster city for the automobile in the 1950s to '60s, airbrushing took on new resonance through the custom decal work on hotrods and lowriders...

BEYOND THE STREETS is spotlighting contemporary airbrushing in a new group exhibition at CONTROL gallery in Los Angeles. Entitled Under Pressure, the show bridges a dialogue between past and present by presenting the unique technical approaches of 16 artists, including Hank Reavis, Jasmine Monsegue, Kristofferson San Pablo, CHITO, Gustavo Zermeño Jr. and more.Curated by legendary LA artist, Mister CARTOON, the exhibition maps out the historical significance of the airbrush — from its early usage in advertisements and graphic illustrations, as well as by the Pop Artists, who favored the tool for its connection to consumerism. As Los Angeles became the poster city for the automobile in the 1950s to '60s, airbrushing took on new resonance through the custom decal work on hotrods and lowriders...