Art

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...

IZ-US is an expression of creative resilience at John Doe Gallery. Stemming from the vibrant "Do It Yourself" (DIY) ethos, the gallery was conceived by two pioneering first-generation Mexican American artists: Alfonso Gonzalez Jr. and Eduardo Medrano Jr. Concluding their first group show this past weekend entitled IZ-US, the presentation embodied the spirit of the current moment with a keen focus on both local and global perspectives. Altogether, the exhibition navigated the present, offering a diverse array of artistic expressions by local Los Angeles artists. IZ-US stood as a tribute to the enduring power of creativity and an open invitation to participate in reshaping the art landscape as expressed by the gallery's founders. Moreover, Medrano Jr. articulated the gallery's commitment to ...

Sam Youkilis, the New York-born photographer known for his intimate snapshots of Italian life, has released his first book via Loose Joints. The 528-page publication chronicles the myriad images Youkilis captured on his iPhone during his travels to Italy over the course of the past six years.Rather than using expensive equipment, Youkilis' camera of choice is his humble phone camera, the lens which has arguably defined our photographic generation. Whether through a still photograph or a quick video clip, Youkilis sporadically documents universal patterns of human behavior — a sunbather on the beach enjoying an ice cream cone, a couple kissing against a lamppost, peeling the perfect set of slices on an orange or enjoying the sunsets as it reflects off the sea. View this post on InstagramA p...

The complete works of Makoto Shinkai will be the focus of a special one-day installation at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.Taking place on November 19, "Makoto Shinkai: A Journey from Voices of a Distant Star" through Suzume is brought together by Crunchyroll alongside CoMix Wave Film, Story Inc and Toho Co. and will highlight eight of Shinkai’s films, including the likes of Voices of a Distant Star, Your Name, Weathering with You and his latest title, Suzume. The filmmaker's creative process will be explored in the installation as attendees learn about his first proposals, early sketches, design, including storyboard, animation renderings and final film materials.Shinkai's growth as an animation artist and storyteller will also be a central focus, specifically after the 2011 Great ...

The complete works of Makoto Shinkai will be the focus of a special one-day installation at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.Taking place on November 19, "Makoto Shinkai: A Journey from Voices of a Distant Star" through Suzume is brought together by Crunchyroll alongside CoMix Wave Film, Story Inc and Toho Co. and will highlight eight of Shinkai’s films, including the likes of Voices of a Distant Star, Your Name, Weathering with You and his latest title, Suzume. The filmmaker's creative process will be explored in the installation as attendees learn about his first proposals, early sketches, design, including storyboard, animation renderings and final film materials.Shinkai's growth as an animation artist and storyteller will also be a central focus, specifically after the 2011 Great ...

The Pyramids of Giza are currently hosting a series of new art installations as part of a group exhibition entitled Forever is Now. Curated by Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, who helms the Cairo-based Art D’Égypte, the third edition of the exhibition comprises of 14 international artists who bridge a dialogue between Egypt's ancient past and pertinent topics, including artificial intelligence and renewable energy, as well as celebrating the nation's contemporary art scene. Free to the public, the outdoor exhibition contains many installations whose material comes charged with meaning. For Sabine Marcelis, the Dutch artist chose to create a rectilinear glass sculpture dubbed RA, which takes its name from the sun god RA, as well as alluding to Egypt as the birthplace of the sundial and the fact that s...