It’s hard to create more nostalgia than with the faded tones of a vintage advertising poster. Those glorious old ads push just the right buttons, bringing back memories of blissfully warm days, breathtaking views while traveling and good times spent with friends. Danish illustrator Mads Berg works with these classic influences, creating some of the most delicious retro posters we’ve seen. [Read more...]
Have you ever wondered what will happen to all the cathode ray tube televisions now that most people have switched to flatscreens? Chinese artist Zhang Xiangxi has re-purposed a few of them into a diorama like record of some of the rooms from his life- his old workspace in Guangzhou, the workers’ dormitory he once lived in, his parent’s sitting room, and the interior of a train carriage. He even created his “dream home.” He hollows out the old televisions, then intricately sculpts miniature furniture, wall art, and yes-even televisions! He doesn’t try to make perfect little dollhouse worlds, he includes all of the clutter that a real room would have.
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If you’ve ever wondered what The Walking Dead’s Daryl Dixon would look like as a cat, wonder no more. Made internet famous by her “Doctor Mew” illustration, Jenny Parks is at it again with her Catvengers series. Featuring a green Hulkitty Persian, a Siamese Iron Cat, and a slender beige Captain Catmerica, Parks matches each character’s personality with the perfect feline. Parks is a freelance scientific illustrator in San Frnacisco, and as most scientists, a self-proclaimed “shameless nerd”. She got her BFA in illustration from California College of the Arts, and a graduate degree in Science Illustration from UC Santa Cruz. [Read more...]
A gigantic face emerges from the pavement, its features faceted into sharp geometric forms, its color various shades of urban gray. With unseeing eyes cast upward towards the sky, it dwarfs passerby like a sleeping modern day giant born of the city. This is the work of Brussels based David Mesguich, an artist who has been working with polypropylene plastic to build impressive sculptural forms. His work blends the aesthetic of street art with that of the digital world, bringing something that appears computer generated to life before us. [Read more...]
One word that comes to mind when first observing a Ben Grasso painting: dynamic. Just about every piece of his large scale work is in motion – either being blown outward by an explosion, being blown away by a hurricane-force wind, or in many examples, moved by a mysterious energy beyond explanation. Much of his work features classic wooden buildings from the American plains – their timber frame details, long strips of siding and even surrounding foliage moving quickly in divergent directions. It’s a chaotic sight, but one filled with a surprising amount of beauty. [Read more...]
Beautiful faces peer from the pages of discarded vintage books. The printed word forms horizontal patterns in contrast with the curving forms of lips and hair, while giving each figure a certain fragility… “as if the wind may blow them away at any moment.” These are the ink drawings of Loui Jover, a Queensland Australia based artist who has been perfecting his craft since childhood. [Read more...]
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure! For this series, illustrator Kyle Bean sat down to create a portrait, but once he sharpened his pencil, he put it down, using only the shavings to create facial details. He arranged colored pencil shavings in a precise way to create depth and texture to re-create the faces of contributors to Wallpaper’s ‘Handmade issue’. The UK based designer is known to re-appropriate everyday materials for his art, having created a chicken out of eggshells which he titled What Came first?
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Perhaps we shouldn’t call them freaks… these are just normal citizens trying to fit into everyday society. Or are they? From the Edwardian era to the Victorian, these characters are all a bit odd, but they’ve shown up to have their formal portrait taken in their finest clothing; with their hair and beards neatly combed and their individual characters written all over their face (even if that face has only one eyeball). Where did these creatures come from? [Read more...]
One of the biggest problems facing street artists has always been the legality of painting on unauthorized walls. While many people cheer for a more art filled city, there are always those (including business owners) who decry the practice of using the urban environment as a canvas. Enter Aussie street artist Buff Diss, a man who uses masking tape to create his uniquely linear works of art… and in doing so makes works which can please everyone. Don’t like it? Simply peal it off. [Read more...]
Photographing the nude is just about as old as the camera itself… from cheesy pinups to surreal body landscapes, the form has been explored in just about every way imaginable. That’s why, when I ran across the work of Arno Rafael Minkkinen I was truly blown away. His work is filled with almost magical abstract forms created using just creatively positioned figures in the landscape and his well placed lens… nothing more. Each photograph is a revelation, something to decipher for its mysterious form and appreciate for its lyrical beauty. [Read more...]
