Lifestyle

In an act that has astonishingly become commonplace across the art world, climate activists threw an oily black substance over Gustav Klimt’s 1910-15 painting, Death and Life, at the Leopold Museum in Vienna. While one of the men was being detained by security, the other proceeded in gluing his hand to the glass protecting the work. The two members of Letzte Generation Österreich (Last Generation Austria) proclaimed that they were protesting their nation’s use of “oil and gas drilling”, which they equated as “a death sentence to society”. “When social unrest breaks out due to increasing crop failures, no art is safe,” the group tweeted. The painting was not harmed, but according to museum’s restoration team, damage to the glass and frame protecting the art is “evident and significant”. ?&#...

Guilty by Association (GBA) is a new digital platform that aims to empower underrepresented communities across the creative industry. Co-founded by Karen Wong, former director of the New Museum in Manhattan, along with Derek Wiggins, who has produced a number of collaborations for Nike, adidas, and Supreme, the two look to shift the paradigm within the art world by highlighting overlooked talent, redistributing wealth and transforming what is seen by many as an antiquated system. On December 12, GBA will showcase a new program dubbed ArtCities, which will initiate by spotlighting five BIPOC creators who all hail from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Made in conjunction with Wake the Arts at Wake Forest University, the initiative will present the work of Krystal Hart, Ashley Johnson, Lakea Sh...

In its latest creative project, Ballantine’s – one of the world’s leading Scotch whiskies – partners with contemporary visual artist J. Demsky to design an exclusive adaptation of its renowned Finest whisky bottle. They come together to explore and experiment with new perspectives that show the future is yours to shape. Through its annual Limited Edition campaign, Ballantine’s has cultivated a new-age attitude in the drinks scene by partnering with creatives such as artist Felipe Pantone and filmmaker Dave Ma to reimagine its identity and encourage emerging talent to nurture their craft as part of its Stay True platform. Ballantine’s new collaboration with J.Demsky sees the brand enter a new creative space. Drawing on digital scapes and form-altering dimensions, J.Demsky creates artwork th...

When Andrew Cooper was a child, his grandparents had a record player on which they’d play albums that became the soundtrack to his most formative years. Creativity drove him from a young age, and the shapes and silhouettes associated with this household object became imprinted on his mind, and would later become a signature motif throughout his large-scale paintings. Born and raised in Evansville, Indiana, Andrew – who now goes by the moniker of just “Cooper” – has moved around quite a bit, but now works and lives back in his home state. His studio and flat are located in the same building – with the studio part gradually entrenching further and further into the living quarters, particularly given that some of his pieces can reach great heights. It seems that this live-work blend inspires ...

On November 10, Gagosian opened a solo exhibition starring artist Sterling Silver’s new set of abstract paintings at one of their many gallery spaces in New York. In the series named “Turbines,” Ruby implemented the same materials that characterize his earlier “WIDW” paintings. Yet for “Turbines,” the artist incorporated sharp yet energetic diagonal forms, referencing not only turbines and windmills, but also illustrating destructive forces such as hurricanes, explosions, fires, and wars, pushed to the edges of the frames. The American artist is known for using a large variety of mediums for his works while citing a diverse range of influences and sources. “Turbines” not only encapsulates Ruby’s desire to create thought-provoking art that is also pictorial, figurative, and didactic. On the...

Numerous artworks that surfaced in Ukraine have lead experts to believe the elusive graffiti artist Banksy might be in the war-torn country, and last night, Banksy confirmed that at least one is indeed officially theirs. A series of murals have appeared across Borodyanka, a town near Kyiv, depicting everything from two children using a metal tank trap as a seesaw to one implying that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being defeated in a Judo match against a child. However, this is not the one Banksy confirmed is theirs — instead, they chose to highlight a work that paints a gymnast in a leotard performing a handstand on a pile of rubble. The artwork is seen on the side of a destroyed building as a result of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Of particular importance is that Borodyanka was on...

Lee Bae has unveiled his second solo exhibition in Mainland China. On view at Perrotin’s Shanghai outpost, the South Korean artist presents a suite of large-scale drawings from his Brushstrokes series, along with three towering sculptures that mimic the charcoal studies on the wall. In Souffle d’Encre, the gallery has been dressed with dark walls and dim lights to accentuate the charcoal studies on view. Bae’s introduction into charcoal as a medium was a product of both necessity and chance. Having moved to Paris in 1990, the young artist struggled to afford paint and serendipitously stumbled upon a sack of barbecue charcoal which he used to create art. This sparked a lifelong fascination with charcoal that persists to this day. Anyone who has used charcoal knows how unforgiving the medium...

Louis De Guzman is continuing on his new exploration into functional sculptures. Following a recent release back in August, the Chicago-based artist is set to unveil a new work entitled, Moving Parts 001. Part artwork, incense holder and flower vase, the multi-functional sculpture features geometric shards that swarm around the object and a floating set of hands. Made in collaboration with The Curative Company, Moving Parts 001 was created with the intention “to allow an individual to have direct curated and functional control of their personal space and environment,” said the artist in a statement. “The artworks intention is to grasp the depicted moods and disruptive elements that surrounds the unison of the vase, all while housing the interaction component,” De Guzman added. Included wit...

Following an emphatic opening exhibition, CONTROL Gallery in Los Angeles presents a new show by acclaimed Australian husband-and-wife duo, DABSMYLA. IN TECHNICOLOR takes a deep dive into DABSMYLA’s illustrative archives by showcasing 100 different characters they’ve brought to life over the years. The show is being hailed as their “most personal show to date,” according to the duo, “a symbol of all the emotions we’ve experienced as artists throughout our lives, channeled through these unique characters that mean so much to us.” Each canvas presents a different personality and backdrop, all of which are tied to narratives associated with personal growth, happiness and creative ambition. “We’re honored to be able to present DABSMYLA’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles since 2018,” said Ro...

Allouche Gallery in New York is launching a new solo exhibition entitled Pushing Up Daisies that will feature never before seen works by the internationally-known American artist, Michael Reeder. The body of work zeroes in on the duality of life and death as well as what lies beyond. The artist’s recurring motif of a human skull is ever present in the collection of works as Reeder imagines the form in distinct compositions to connote the presence of death and life that once harbored the bony vessels. One painting entitled “Blurred Lines” portrays a realistic-painted skull with obscure details inside a pill-shaped silhouette that contrasts its warm magenta background. Another work titled “Here Lies Man,” features a skull figure laying on the ground beside daisies to reinforce the show’s the...

Frederic Duquette, aka FVCKRENDER is typically known for creating digital renderings of alien forms that animate through an unnerving set of loops. As a first for the Canadian artist, FVCKRENDER has entered the world of sculpture through two new editions titled FEEL// and TOUCHED//. While his digital artworks are typically cast in an iridescent glow, FEEL// and TOUCHED// are strikingly opaque — the former in a pure white, while the latter in violet. Made in collaboration with Avant Arte, both sculptures hark to an earlier NFT project FVCKRENDER created called SELF_HELP//, which reflected the artist’s handling of a personal crisis. “Art is a way to clear my mind. It’s a way to celebrate the wins and leave behind the losses,” said FVCKRENDER in a statement. FEEL// and TOUCHED// continue on t...