Art

Popular London-based streetwear brand Stone Island has announced a multi-year global partnership with leading contemporary art fair group Frieze. Also born and bred in London, Frieze has become globally recognized for its expertise in the curation of contemporary art experiences, focused on celebrating living artists.As part of this partnership, Stone Island will act as the official partner of "Focus," Frieze's arm dedicated to emerging galleries that participate in its art fairs. The streetwear brand will offer a bursary of up to 30 percent of the stand fee for each of the participating galleries -- providing support that combined with Frieze's existing subsidies will further accelerate the growth of emerging galleries' participation in fairs."Stone Island is built on community and creati...

Pablo Picasso's 1934 oil painting, Femme à la montre, is expected to fetch around $120m USD when it hits auction this fall. Painted during the height of his iconoclastic career, Femme à la montre is inspired by Picasso's longtime muse, Marie-Thérèse Walter, a French model he had an affair with from 1927 to 1935. During that period, Picasso was still married to his first wife, Olga Khokhlova, a Russian-Ukranian dancer. He ultimately wasn't able to keep the secret of his affair, emblematic of Walter's influence on many of his works, ultimately ending his first marriage and simultaneously coinciding with Picasso's first retrospective exhibition at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris. “Picasso’s ‘Femme à la Montre’ is a masterpiece by every measure," noted Julian Dawes, Sotheby’s head of Impres...

The season of art fairs is well underway, with both the Armory Show in New York and Frieze Seoul making headlines this past week. While it's several months away, Art Basel (ABMB) and Untitled have announced the exhibitor list for their upcoming events in Miami Beach.While slightly smaller than last year, the forthcoming ABMB will feature 277 galleries, including a special emphasis on artists and exhibitors from Latin America and the Caribbean diaspora, as well as a restructured layout, which will allow “improved visitor flow and seating, eating and drinking rest points," according to a statement by the organizers. First-timers will include Château Shatto from Los Angeles and Galerie Minsky from Paris — the latter of which will showcase a joint stand with San Francisco’s Weinstein Gallery, ...

Visitors to Madrid's Reina Sofía museum will no longer be berated by staff if they take a photo of Pablo Picasso's Guernica painting. Earlier this month, the institution lifted the 30-year ban on capturing the artist's seminal work, which commented on the horrors of the Spanish Civil War."Visitors are now allowed to take pictures but without flash or any stabilization elements such as tripods or selfie sticks,” according to a museum representative in an interview The Art Newspaper. The institution hopes that the change will help the flow of traffic when viewing the artwork. “It only takes a few seconds to take a selfie and so the pace of the public will flow more,” added another official. Reina Sofía's new director Manuel Segade also hopes the lift will attract a younger audience, who he s...

One could only wonder what Vincent Van Gogh would think if he was transported to the present and, amongst other things, was introduced to the expansive world of Pokémon. Well, fans of both will be delighted to hear that a real collaboration between The Pokémon Company and the Van Gogh Museum is in the works.The minds behind the popular video game recently took to its YouTube channel to release a new promo video where Pikachu and Eevee are seen running through a field of sunflowers, filled with picturesque Dutch windmills, where the two characters look up to the sky as it transforms in the pastiche of one of Van Gogh's Impressionistic paintings. As they look back down to the surface, Pikachu and Eevee are greeted by a sea of Sunflora Pokémon, one of which is shown painted in the style of th...

SFER IK Museion, a creative hub by AZULIK in Tulum and Uh May, is launching the SFER IK AWARD for artists to create AI-integrated artwork. The winner receives $100,000 USD, a two-month residency at AZULIK Uh May with access to resources, and art residencies for runners-up. The application period is from September 12 to November 17, 2023, with winners announced during Miami Art Week. Open to global artists, the award focuses on AI-driven art exploring themes like biodiversity, collaboration with nature, and ancestral knowledge in the Mayan jungle. Proposals will be judged based on AI integration, thematic relevance, and feasibility. The showcased works will be part of SFER IK's open-air museum in Tulum. This award aligns with AZULIK's support for culture and upcoming museum launches in Tulu...

This past Friday, September 8, Morocco experienced a devastating 6.8 magnitude earthquake that has left 3,000 dead thus far, as well as 5,500 injured across the North African nation. The epicenter of the quake hit at the rural town of Oukaïmedene, just 50 miles southwest of the capital city of Marrakech, with some estimates stating the shockwaves were felt as far as Portugal and Spain. The creative community has joined the relief efforts through a new charitable print sale entitled Artists for Morocco. Set up by GQ Middle East's editor-in-chief, Samira Larouci, in collaboration with photographer Anass Ouaziz and designer Ismail Elaaddioui, the shop will feature 24 artworks from 24 prominent Moroccan artists and photographers with full proceeds benefitting the Amal Center and the Rif Tribes...

Katsuhiro Otomo's "AKIRA cel exhibition" will set up shop in Osaka next month.The exhibition, which just closed out in Tokyo in late August, will feature around 600 of Otomo's AKIRA celluloid drawings and handwritten layouts taken from his Complete Works of Katsuhiro Otomo (which includes the Storyboard Collection) and Collection of Illustrations and Layouts. In addition, the exhibition will feature limited edition merchandise only available in Osaka.Katsuhiro Otomo's "AKIRA cel exhibition" takes place at Shinshaibashi PARCO's SPACE14 and runs from October 6 to October 24. Tickets will be available starting September 25 for ¥1,500 JPY (approximately $10 USD).SPACE1414/F, Shinsaibashi PARCO1 Chome-8-3 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo WardOsaka, 542-0085JapanElsewhere in art, Emma Stern created a fict...

Contemporary artist Mike Reesé's exhibition titled "Boyz II Beasts Act 1: No Soul Left Behind" is currently on display at Central Server Works' gallery in Downtown Los Angeles. Alongside the exhibition, a book of the same name has been co-published by Central Server Works Press and Dreamhaus Inc. Limited edition signed copies of the book were made available during the opening of the exhibition."Boyz II Beasts Act 1: No Soul Left Behind" is based on the artist's series of short stories which he worked on for seven years. This unique project combines both an exhibition and a book to delve into the psychological and metaphysical challenges of adolescence and their lasting effects on personal development. The core concept of the work explores how some young individuals are forced to make signi...

Brooklyn-based artist Emma Stern is showcasing her latest body of work across the pond at Almine Rech's London outpost. Entitled Penny & The Dimes: Dimes 4Ever World Tour, the paintings within the exhibition center around a fictional all-female rock group that was notably inspired by a trip Stern took to Stockholm, where she visited the ABBA Museum."I was utterly captivated," recalled Stern in an interview with writer and curator, Shumon Basar. In particular, the artist was fixated on a recent ABBA live show which consisted of holographic facsimiles performing their biggest hits. "I couldn’t stop thinking about the four of them, about their holographic proxies frozen in time, touring in perpetuity," added Stern. "This was conceptually so very connected to the work I had already been do...