Art

Acclaimed Chinese contemporary artist Huang Yongyu was tapped to create two new stamp artworks for China Post's celebration of the Lunar New Year. Yongyu, 99, is one of the nation's most revered living artists and had created postal artwork several times before, most notably for the 1980 Year of the Monkey stamp — which garnered nearly $300,000 USD when it sold at auction in 2017. This year's stamps have come with mixed reviews, however, as many in the online community are labelling the artwork "evil" and "scary" looking. The first stamp is titled “The Rabbit Sending Blessings” and features Yongyu's washy ink aesthetic as he creates a blue rabbit with bright red eyes holding a pen and letter. According to a press release by China Post, "such an image suggests that Chinese people think all ...

Luciano Calderon is a Swiss-Bolivian artist best known for his bold tattoo work and self-autobiographical compositions. Raised between the Swiss capital of Bern and El Alto, Bolivia, Calderon's worldview was shaped by the stark socio-economic contrast between these two distant countries and the vast array of iconography found throughout. Ruttkowski;68 is showcasing a new solo exhibition of work by the Barcelona-based artist, entitled Vitaminas, where each painting serves as a snapshot into the artist's mind. Sonic the Hedgehog, Sibarita seasoning, Spider-Man and vibrant signage are amongst the universe of visuals that Calderon employs to create a bridge between art academia and low brow norms found in pop culture. "Paying homage to his greatest source of inspiration, Calderon deals with hi...

This past Thursday, archaeologists discovered a 4,300-year-old mummy in Cairo — one of the oldest in recorded history. The tomb was found 50-feet beneath the surface in Saqqara, an ancient burial ground and UNESCO World Heritage Site located just south of the capital.A team led by renowned Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass believe the gold leaf-covered mummy belonged to a man named Hekashepes, who unlike many of the entombed remains around the site, was not a part of royal circles. "This discovery is so important as it connects the kings with the people living around them," said fellow archaeologist, Ali Abu Deshish, in an interview with the BBC. Researchers also found a number of relics, such as statues of deities, amulets and daily tools around the premises. The latest dig comes just a ...

China will be getting its first major retrospective exhibition on the history of graffiti and street art this March. Curated by Jeffrey Deitch and supported by the K11 Art Foundation, the show will coincide with Art Basel Hong Kong and feature over 100 works from 30 artists, including Fab 5 Freddy, FUTURA and Jean-Michel Basquiat, to Barry McGee, Mister Cartoon, KAWS and AIKO.Entitled City As Studio, the exhibition will spotlight a linear trajectory on the many innovators of street art from New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, São Paulo, Paris, and Tokyo. "It provides an immersive introduction to this vital movement which continues to resonate today," noted Jeffrey Deitch in a statement. Highlights of the exhibition include Basquiat's Valentine (1984), on loan from the collection of Paige...

Over the weekend, contemporary visionary Tom Sachs took to Instagram to reveal a new public art piece. Sachs is taking street art to the next level, showcasing the process of his "Enamel on Trailer" piece that he painted on the side of a red trailer in the middle of Connecticut. The post features a series of images of Sachs painting his own rendition of the McDonald's golden arches and branding. The piece includes signage on the bottom right corner of the trailer and appears to be dated in 2022. A closer look sees that Sachs finds perfection in imperfection as paint leaves streaks from the dripping. The caption of the Instagram also showcases the dimension as well as the location of the piece -- Max Power Motors in New Milford, Connecticut, and is "on display 24/7." The post also shows a G...

Los Angeles non-profit Mozaik Philanthropy has launched an online 3D exhibition featuring 50 artists who created work in protest of the human rights abuses currently transpiring in Iran. Entitled WOMAN. LIFE. FREEDOM., to match the slogan of the woman-led movement, the artists on view were chosen out of a pool of over 500 entries submitted late last year and reviewed by a panel that included Iranian artist Arghavan Khosravi and Mozaik Philanthropy founder, Neda Nobari.As part of Mozaik's fifth annual Future Art Awards, the 50 artists chosen were granted $1000 USD each — over 80% of which are women. “All the artwork is shown anonymously out of sensitivity for the severe security concerns for the artists inside Iran and in solidarity with all those who have and continue to risk their lives f...

Miniature sofubi toy versions of Jahan Loh’s “My Journey with Doraemon” sculpture are now available for sale at The Doraemon Exhibition gift store.The original sculpture was produced as part of the “Create Your Own Original Doraemon” section for The Doraemon Exhibition that’s taking place at the National Museum of Singapore — the first Doraemon exhibition to be held outside of Japan. For this specific section, a total of 28 acclaimed contemporary artists were invited to recreate their very own Doraemon based on their personal experiences and memories of the iconic robot cat. Aside from Jahan Loh, the list of contributing artists includes Kaikai Kiki founder Takashi Murakami, Superflat-artist Yoshitomo Nara, as well as renowned photographer and director, Mika Ninagawa.Jahan Loh’s reimagined...

Whether at the height of their success or the decades that followed, there was always a camera on the Beatles. Later this year at the newly refurbished National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London, the roles will reverse as a new show presents a suite of previously unseen photographs taken by Paul McCartney during the apex of his career. Always equipped with a camera himself, the show will present over 200 photographs from McCartney's archives taken between December 1963 and February 1964 — snapshots of the band while performing and staying at hotels, to impromptu mirror shots, that in a way, distill their celebrity and are shown like any other self-portrait taken by the average joe.“The photographs taken in this period captured the very moment that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harriso...

Six years ago, Korean tattoo artist Woojin Choi also known as Oozy, entered the cultural conversation. His incredibly detailed pieces featuring gothic and gory takes on East Asian themes spanning ramen to anime, made their rounds on social platforms, and quickly earned him a following that now tops 1 million.From a bird’s eye view, Oozy is representative of a generational shift in attitudes towards tattooing happening across Asia, further propelled by ever-increasing access to international artists via platforms like Instagram and TikTok. In Korea, art school graduates like himself have brought technical skills to the field, forming an incredibly talented class of contemporary tattooists who have been able to develop their own meticulous takes on the ancient art. Despite the beautiful outp...

Basketball is often equated as an art form. The way 10 players run up-and-down the court — each with their own individual style of play — working in tandem, as they channel their creativity to reach success. As the ultimate symbol of the game, Kehinde Wiley has released a special limited-edition basketball artwork that takes that metaphor one step further. Drawing on an earlier painting entitled Morpheus, which was inspired by Jean-Antonie Houdon's 1777 marble sculpture of the same name, Wiley's iteration featured a model from Brooklyn lain across a white sheet with floral motifs around his body. The work featured in Wiley's 2008 exhibition "Down" at Jeffrey Deitch, and unlike the Houdon sculpture, whose melancholic figure looks away, Wiley's figure invites onlookers through direct eye con...

Each time Shantell Martin showcases new work, it's an invitation for artist's and non-artist's alike to be in the present and reconnect with their own creativity. Well-known for her black-and-white drawings and installations, the British visual artist, teacher and philosopher creates many of her pieces amidst a live audience — forcing herself to create with an unconscious flow. Martin's latest collaboration with Joya Studio seeks to bring that meditative spirit to one's home or office. The capsule presents a classic candle with the artist's hand-drawn messages screen printed across the glass votive. The candle features two wax layers: a darker layer with top notes of clary sage, lavender, chamomile and Cardamom Guatemala; heart notes of geranium, rose blossom, lily and coconut; and drydown...