Art

Introspection is central to the soft-hued paintings of Jenya Datsko. Born in Russia and now based in Valencia, Spain, the emerging artist creates intimate portraits of women as an exploration into loneliness and melancholy, as well as intrigue and mystery. Opening today at Villazan's VLAB gallery in Madrid, Datsko is showcasing an exclusive presentation of work entitled UNA HISTORIA EN PALABRAS NUNCA DICHAS” (A STORY IN UNTOLD WORDS).Datsko's recurring female character appears self-referential in appearance, but explores emotion universal to the human condition. Lost in thought, each woman emits a search for identity amidst the busy street scenes and plazas to which they are usually placed within. Inspired by the history of Russian art and literature, she balances the fleeting semblances h...

Everything surrounding Luna Luna sounds like the making of a gripping Netflix documentary. A legendary cast, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein and Salvador Dalí, all came together to create bespoke work for the world's first art amusement park. Instead of debuting in a big metropolis like New York or London, the park would opt for humble Hamburg, Germany. Then just after three short months, the event organizer, Austrian artist and entrepreneur André Heller, faced a series of legal challenges that ultimately closed its intended world-wide tour, and led to all of its many valuable artwork to fall in obscurity for nearly 36 years, until Drake came in to breathe new life. It's been quite the journey. But alongside the Canadian rapper, eager fans and art aficionados...

Four years on, Paris' Notre Dame cathedral is finally close to being renovated after a fire scourged the roof of the 860-year-old monument in 2019. Onlookers got a teaser to what the restored spire will look like as organizers raised a new golden rooster atop the historic site.A national symbol of France, the Gallic rooster has historically signified hope and faith since the Middle Ages, having adorned a number of national emblems and monuments — from the crest of French National Football Team to the tip of Notre Dame de Paris's spire.The fact that the original rooster survived the disaster signaled that "there was hope, that not everything was lost," according to Philippe Villeneuve, the chief architect in the restoration process. "The beauty of the [old] battered rooster... expressed the...

Christmas came early for a Virginia woman who turned $3.99 into over $100,000 USD when she took a Goodwill purchase to auction. Back in June, Jessica Vincent was on a usual thrift visit in Hanover county when a holiday-colored vase caught her attention. After purchasing the translucent glass vase with red and green swirls spiraling throughout, she thought to bring it to an antiques expert to get it appraised. Initially, Vincent thought the little "M" on the bottom of the vase denoted the Italian island of Murano, known globally as a hub for glassware. “I had a sense that it might be a $1,000 or $2,000 USD piece,” she told the New York Times, adding, “but I had no clue how good it actually was until I did a little bit more research.” Turns out, the vase was an original work by renowned Ital...

Rounding out the year, Chicago's Kavi Gupta Gallery is showcasing a new solo exhibition by contemporary American artist and engineer, Willie Cole. Bypassing traditional painterly materials, Cole upcycles discarded objects destined for a junkyard to create readymade assemblage sculptures that comment on his personal experiences as well as harking to the history West African sculpture.THE B-SIDES: 1989-2022 presents a series of sculptures made from repurposed musical instruments. The exhibition stems from a recent commission Cole created for the Kansas City International Airport terminal, in which the artist created 11 hanging birds made from saxophones. The title of the series, Ornithology, refers both to its literal definition as "the study of birds," but also alluding to saxophonist Char...

French artist JR has had quite the year. From installing work amidst the Pyramids of Giza to transforming the facade of Paris' Opera Garnier, each of his projects are monumental in scale, but touch on deeply intimate subject matter. His upcoming project is no different. Unveiled at the latest Art Basel in Miami Beach, the elusive French artist spoke with acclaimed actor and Tribeca Film Festival co-founder, Robert De Niro, about how they've been working in tandem to create a documentary on the actor's late father, Robert De Niro Sr.Recognized for his largely gestural compositions of daily life, De Niro Sr. is hailed as a key member of the New York School of painters, alongside visionaries, such as Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Jackson Pollock. He recently was the subject of a 2019 mo...

Music power couple Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean) will showcase their extensive art collection next February at the Brooklyn Museum. Dubbed Giants, the forthcoming show marks the first time the Dean Collection will view to the public and includes an extraordinary list of prominent and emerging artists from the Black diaspora.Housed on the first floor of the institution, the show's title alludes to the "strengths and bonds between the Deans and the artists they support," according to a release by the Brooklyn Museum. "Along with examining these links and legacies, the exhibition will encourage “giant conversations” inspired by the works on view—critiquing society and celebrating Blackness."While details surrounding the collection are still under wraps, the show will include work...

Argentina's new president Javier Milei has slashed the country's Ministry of Culture and nine other administrations just several days after being sworn into office. Having campaigned as a far-right libertarian economist, Milei is known as many things — from being a former tantric-sex coach to brandishing a chainsaw on his campaign trail — he beat out former Minister of Economy Sergio Massa by garnering support from many young voters disillusioned by Argentina's soaring inflation. As an admirer of Donald Trump, Milei too, was a former TV personality who campaigned to save the economy, "kick out politicians" from their post and gut many of the nation's social services, including public health, education and culture. He is also notably obsessed with his deceased English Mastiff, Conan (named ...

Following his inclusion at White Cube's booth at Art Basel Miami Beach, acclaimed British sculptor Antony Gormley has unveiled a new solo exhibition at the gallery's London flagship. Entitled Body Politic, the show encompasses five bodies of work that probe into the body's relationship with the industrial world.Central to his practice is an exploration into humanity's migratory nature. For nearly five decades, Gormley has interrogated bodily movements through geometric sculptures made from natural and manmade materials. Often cast by using his own body as a model, whether standing up, kneeled down or slouched on the floor, Gormley's sculptures and installations implore visitors to become aware of their own freedoms of movement.In Body Politic, the British artist presents a series of new sc...

Hajime Sorayama has publicly called out Beyoncé regarding visuals she's been using on her ongoing RENAISSANCE film tour. The graphics in question show Bey clad in a cyber femme bot headdress and suit similar to the painterly aesthetic that the Japanese artist has come to be known for. View this post on InstagramA post shared by Hajime Sorayama (@hajimesorayamaofficial)On Instagram, Sorayama reposted an image from the tour, cheekily commenting: "Yo @beyonce 🤘 You should have asked me “officially” so that I could make much better work for you as like my man @theweeknd ✊." At the time of writing, it's not clear, publicly at least, if Beyoncé's team has responded on the accusation. Fans of both sides, however, have sounded off. A neutral stated: “I’m a fan of your work, but thi...

MOCA Bangkok, along with 12 contemporary artists, have come together to pay homage to late artist Pharuephon "Mamafaka" Mukdasanit through the MAMAFAKA REIMAGINED exhibition.The show is designed to celebrate Pharuephon's life and his impact on the street art scene in Thailand, primarily through the lens of his most iconic character, "Mr. HellYeah."Mamafaka's career trajectory took him from graphic design to becoming a seminal member of Brand Of Radical Experimental Design (B.O.R.E.D.) -- a group of innovative graphic designers, formed in 2002. Following this, he joined the street artist collective "FOR" in 2011, the year he started going by the moniker "Mamafaka." It's worth noting that several artists from this collective have gone on to become household names in the art world.In the mids...