Kevin Christy's work has been described as humorous, absurd, contemplative and effervescent. Part painter, part comedian, the Los Angeles-based artist magnifies thoughts and observations into surrealist paintings that emphasize the strangeness of daily life. His work has previously featured in a number of esteemed publications around the world, such as The Atlantic and The New York Times, as well as his latest solo exhibition at The Hole in New York.Entitled Ghost Ladder, Christy is featuring 19 new oil paintings that ruminate on the human response to loss and the overlooked experiences that, in hindsight, form some of the most fondest memories. Playing in line with The Hole's previous exhibitions, Christy had the walls of the gallery's Tribeca location in an '80s theme through pastel pink...
German artist and designer Eike König has released a series of new knitted blankets that draw on his juxtapositions between pop cultural icons and whimsical wordplay. The studio HORT founder flipped his popular spin on Homer Simpson (and his Greek counterpart) through a pastel blue background accentuated with pink stenciling. Drawing from his INTERIM SOLUTION exhibition, which went on view at HVW8 Berlin last June, FUTURE RAVER (2023) and TRUE KINDNESS (2023) reappear as soft blanket iterations that can be enjoyed while lounging around the house or equally displayed as a wall work. VATHER RESIST (2024) is another standout in the collection, featuring Star Wars' chief villain in a sun-kissed color palette with the words 'WHAT YOU RESIST PERSISTS' overlaid on the image. "Feeels like spring i...
Artist Ruth Patir, who represents Israel in the 2024 Venice Biennale, is refusing to open her exhibit until a ceasefire and hostage release deal is reached between Israel and Hamas.Patir and curators Mira Lapidot and Tamar Margalit are behind (M)otherland, a video exhibit centered on fertility, one of the 88 countries represented in the international art show. The organizers, however, say they won’t be opening the doors to the public until their terms are met.“The artist and curators of the Israeli pavilion will open the exhibition when a cease-fire and hostage release agreement is reached,” reads a sign on the window of the Israel national pavilion, where (M)otherland is housed.Journalists were among the first to witness Patir, Lapidot and Margalit’s protest on Tuesday during a limited pr...
The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair recently announced its 2024 edition, held at The Starrett-Lehigh Building in Chelsea, New York, from May 1 to May 4. Featuring a press preview on May 1 and a VIP Preview on May 2, the fair showcases 32 galleries from Europe, Africa, and the United States, including eight debut participants. The Starrett-Lehigh Building, renowned for its creative environment, hosts this year's event, highlighting the commitment to promoting contemporary African art globally. Founded in 2013, 1-54 aims to raise awareness of African modern and contemporary art, fostering market interest and hosting panel events dedicated to the continent's creative richness. Participating galleries include 193 Gallery (Paris), Berman Contemporary (Johannesburg), and Spinello Projects (Mi...
In a show at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, renowned photographer Ari Marcopoulos is the subject of an exhibition entitled 'Beware.' Skateboarding moves from the streets to the museum's interiors, featuring photographs and a rediscovered video by Marcopoulos. The exhibition also includes 24 works from the museum's vast collection, personally selected by the artist.Born in Amsterdam in 1957, Marcopoulos began his journey in photography as a printing assistant to Andy Warhol and later as a photo assistant to Irving Penn. His work reflects an early fascination with cameras, motion, and urban architecture, notably capturing the dynamics of New York City's landscape. This show features a spread of his iconic works spanning from the 1980s to recent times, including portraits of legendary skat...
Lévy Gorvy Dayan announces the opening of Yves Klein and the Tangible World. The exhibition focuses on the human body in Yves Klein's art, featuring nearly 30 pieces including his Anthropométries and Fire Paintings. Klein's work emphasizes the connection between spirit, matter, and energy, capturing vitality through direct physical contact. Notably, the exhibition presents Klein's use of nude models as "living brushes" to create art, highlighting his fusion of choreographed motion and pigment. Among the showcased works is the monumental Anthropométrie sans titre (ANT 101, 1960) and the transformative Peintures de feu, which embody creation through destruction. The exhibition also features Klein's tactile sculpture and a sculptural floor installation of Pure Blue Pigment, showcasing his bel...
The Venice Biennale, the world’s longest running contemporary art exhibition, returns for its 60th edition this week. The nearly seven month event will be curated by Adriano Pedrosa, the first individual chosen for the honor from South America, and will include 331 artists exhibiting around the theme “Stranieri Ovunque — Foreigners Everywhere.”Conceptually framed around migration, identity and displacement, Pedrosa believes this year’s edition has multiple meanings: “wherever you go, and wherever you are, you will always encounter foreigners. They—we—are everywhere. Secondly, no matter where you find yourself, you are always truly and deep down inside a foreigner. …Yet, one may also think of the expression as a motto, a slogan, a call to action, a cry of excitement, joy, or fear: ‘Foreigne...
Faith Ringgold, the fearless artist, activist and children's book writer best known for her expressive quilts that commented on the African American experience, has passed away at age 93. Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Barbara Wallace, as well as ACA Galleries, who represented the artist since 1995.Classically trained as a painter and sculptor, Ringgold first created politically charged compositions that explored issues of race and gender inequality in the 1960s. Flag For the Moon: Die N***** (1967) appears aesthetically similar to Jasper Johns' Flag (1954-55) painting of the previous decade, but hidden between the former's jagged red stripes are the words 'Die N*****' — Ringgold's "way of saying that too many American people go to bed hungry," she previously said, "while the gov...
Every club has its own set of matchday rituals. Some spawn from quirky one-off results that superstitiously stick with fans as a lucky charm over the decades; others arise from sheer lunacy. In Buffalo, the Bills Mafia are known for body-slamming each other through tables, while in Detroit, Redwings fans throw dead octopuses on the rink during playoff home games. For artist and Tottenham Hotspur supporter, Jack Hirons, visiting the chicken shop before a game is just as integral as watching the match. In his first solo show, Hirons has unveiled a new body of work at OOF Gallery inside the Tottenham Hotspur stadium entitled Fowl Play. Emblematic of the title, the show comprises of monochromatic paintings and stained glass window artwork centered at the intersection of his love for chicken an...
In the run up to next week's Salone del Mobile, French visual artist JR has unveiled a new site specific installation at Milan's Stazione Centrale, entitled La Nascita (The Birth). JR is known for creating colossal graphic interventions that have appeared across the world, from Paris' Palais Garnier to the doorsteps of the Pyramids of Giza.His latest installation features an illusionary trompe l’oeil effect, as a monochromatic depiction of a mountainous terrain forks through the entrance to the train station. “In spaces that have social issues, my work is about bringing people together,” JR told The Art Newspaper. “In a place like this, a huge range of people come to catch the train. When they find themselves in front of an exhibition, they will suddenly have a different kind of interactio...
Munich's Pinakothek der Moderne is home to one of Germany's most esteemed art collections, from Goya and Manet to Van Gogh and Warhol. Last month, however, visitors and employees alike witnessed an unexpected painting in the institution that was allegedly put on view by one of its own staff.First reported by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, the 51-year-old technician and aspiring artist was fired for hanging his own artwork next to works by Warhol for eight hours “in the hope of achieving his artistic breakthrough”, according to local authorities. “The employee considers himself as an artist and most likely saw his role in the museum’s installation team as a day-job to support his true calling,” a museum spokesperson told the Guardian. The incident first occurred on February 23, b...
Skarstedt London is showcasing a selection of five mural-sized paintings created by Jeff Koons between 2001 and 2013. The art on view was first commissioned by the Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin in 2000, and features works from the American artist's Easyfun-Ethereal, Popeye and Antiquity series'. Colorful and chaotic, Koons' oil paintings draw on the history of American advertisements, purposefully conflating images tied to mass consumerism, such as food packaging and inflatable children's toys, with more blatantly sexual subject matter — from bare feet, hands and bikinis to ancient Greco-Roman sculptures of a phallus. "My Easyfun-Ethereal paintings are very layered," Koons explained in the past. "My interest has always been to create art that can change with any culture or society viewing it....