Jason Mecier’s Fabulously Trashy Portraits

San Francisco based artist, Jason Mecier has spent over 10 years creating fabulous mosaic portraits of pop culture icons. Each portrait is created from objects disowned by celebrities and junk such as broken sunglasses, make-up, gum wrappers, jewelry, deodorant, shoes, and other items. Celebrities even send Jason items to be incorporated into their portraits! As he grew up, Jason’s grandmother encouraged him to create art with using materials readily available. From beans to pills, Jason’s work has caught the world’s attention with his ingenious use of materials. Check out his amazing portraits on his website, here, or his upcoming shows in November.
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Daniel Arsham’s Fall, Ball, and Wall

Daniel Arsham is a Cleveland native who creates two-dimensional work, sculptures, installations, public art, and performances.  Daniel produces experiences, whether through his solo creations or collaborations with architects, choreographers and dancers. His dramatic art also showcases minimalist elements. His exhibit recently ended in OHWOW Gallery on Feburary 14th entitled, “The Fall, The Ball, and The Wall”. To see more of Daniel Arsham’s incredible work, check out his website, here.

Ari Seth Cohen’s Fashion Forward Golden Girls

I currently stumbled upon a blog, that is by no means “new“, but is fabulous in every sense of the word. Ari Seth Cohen’s website: Advanced Style appropriately describes the featured content. Ari photographs the fashion-forward New York street styles of women and men in their golden years. “I don’t think that my pictures should be that astounding to people or unique,” Mr. Cohen says “It should be as normal to see pictures of older women who are well dressed as it is to see younger women.” Bravo!

The site gets 100,000 unique visits a month and has spawned a book, which can be found here.  The devoted readers of all ages, find inspiration in the eclecticism and confidence in the women on the site. Women like Ilona Royce Smithkin: a flamboyant 91-year-old bachelorette, whose burlesque charms include a penchant for show tunes, daring colors and false eyelashes cut from her own shock of bright red hair! Even more endearing are the videos of men and women giving their fashion tips and insider how-to’s of style.

One encounter featured immediately made me smile. Ari approaches a fashionable woman for a photo and she responds, “But I’m an old Lady.” As Ari goes on to explain: “This is a response I hear all the time, when I approach people and ask if I can take their photograph. I always reassure them that they look wonderful and are exactly what I’m looking for. It saddens me to think that these gorgeous,vital, and creative women are made to feel less important and less beautiful as they age. After I was finished she thanked me with a big smile on her face and told me that I had made her day.”

Check out more of his wonderfully fashion forward ladies on his website, here.

Frédérique Morrel’s Tapestry Taxidermy

French design company, Frédérique Morrel, is composed of a husband and wife team of Aaron Levin and Frédérique Morrel. Together, they create life-sized tapestry of taxidermy-esk sculptures. Their intricate needlework was featured during Paris Design Week 2011. Made from polyurethane taxidermy molds and then covered in vintage needlework with real antlers, for the deer entitled “Ma Biche” . The couple says, “Our products have been carefully re-made using vintage needlework saved from oblivion in the interest of the redemption of the painstaking work involved in their original creation. When wandering around markets or garage sales we’re often very saddened to see discarded embroidery. We think about the love, time, craftsmanship and patience that went into creating such beautiful things and find it so sad that they end up unwanted and for sale for a few dollars. all of those wonderful tablecloths, doilies and cushions and the skills that are evident in those discarded things are in danger of being lost to future generations.” To see more of the dynamic duo’s amazing work, visit their website here. (via designboom)

Jason deCaires Taylor’s SeaPeople

At the bottom of the sea, you will find Jason deCaires Taylor’s sculptures. Beautiful and constantly developing as they grow artificial reefs. The scuba-diving British sculptor who trained at the Camberwell College of Art, created the figures out of a special cement with a neutral PH, which attracts corals to grow on them. Submerging 400 life-sized sculptures of people for his piece entitled “La Evolución Silenciosa” (The Silent Evolution), a Volkswagen entitled “Anthropocene” and a man watching television with a burger and fries entitled “Inercia” (Inertia). “In a gallery, you get one perspective,” says deCaires Taylor. “Under water, you can fly over the sculptures, go between them.” Incredible! To see more of Jason’s breathtaking sculptures, visit his website here.

Damian Ortega Gives a New Perspective

Mexican dis-assemblage artist Damian Ortega creates suspended sculpture, installations and manuals brought to life, exposing the inner workings and mystery of products and concepts. In the 2003, Ortega achieved international acclaim with “Cosmic Thing”  a suspended, disassembled Volkswagon Bug. With a background in political cartooning and satire, Ortega’s playful works exemplify his former craft and present new perspectives to commonplace items. In his own words, “I’m interested in those very everyday attempts to produce meaning.”

 


 

Peter Callesen’s Papercuts

Danish artist, Peter Callesen creates intricate paperwork in large and small-scale. Most of his smaller scale art has a slightly tragic quality to it. However, each is piece is unbelievable in its own aspects of fragility. Peter Callesen doesn’t so much create works on paper, but rather works from paper; creating sculptural works by folding paper. To see more of his breath-taking art, visit Peter Callesen’s website.

Maia Flore: Best Sleep You Ever Fricken’ Had

Contemporary surrealist photographer, Maia Flore showcases the world through an enchanted lens.  Her series, “Sleep Elevations” features young women floating in a dreamland, peacefully above the world. Flore wishes to emphasize the girls attraction towards their new, boundless surrounding. Their contorted positions are meant to articulate a contrast between physical limitation and the limitlessness of imagination. Attending l’Ecole des Gobelins in Paris, Maia exhibits in France and is signed with Agence VU. To see more of her amazing work, visit Maia Flore’s website.

Yeonju Sung’s Edible Art

Yeonju Sung is a brilliant artist who constructs high fashion garments from food in her series: Wearable Foods. Sung begins by designing clothing out of materials, such as eggplant, lotus root, chewing gum, shrimp and chicken. She photographs her culinary couture which ultimately is Sung’s exhibited works (not the sculptures, themselves). A graduate of Hongik University, Seoul. Yeonju Sung lives, works and exhibits in Seoul. To see more of her amazing, edible art- check out Yeonju Sung’s website here.

Banana

Winter Mushroom

Eggplant

Tomato

Bubble Gum

White Radish

Lotus Root

Spring Onion

Chives

Irina Werning Goes Back to the Future

I was first introduced to Irina Werning from a blog post (which I’m still looking for to supply a link) on her series entitled, Back to the Future and Back to the Future 2. I couldn’t stop comparing the photographs, amazed that she had managed to recreate every detail. Photographer Irina Werning, born in Buenos Aires, recently traveled to Euro Disney, the Middle East, Istanbul and Iceland for the ongoing series. The series was inspired by a blurry photo of a woman who intrigued Irina. She now receives dozens of requests from around the world each day. Strangers that share their stories and welcome her into their home.

On her website, she says many people have become so inspired they have recreated photos of their own and sent them to her. She recommends everyone to send pictures to young me now me, for the world to enjoy! Which, I recommend visiting- it is highly entertaining!

To see more of Irina Werning’s amazing two-part series, check out her website: Part 1 and Part 2

Do-Ho Suh’s Moving Installations

Artist Do-Ho Suh’s powerful installations explore the identity of the individual and strength in numbers. Born in Seoul, Korea Suh moved to the United States to attend Yale University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Whether addressing the dynamic of personal space versus public space, or exploring the fine line between strength in numbers and homogeneity, Suh’s sculptures continually question the identity of the individual in today’s global society. To see more of Do-Ho Suh’s breathtaking installations, please visit the Lehmann Maupin: here.

Steven Tabbutt Paints A Story

Artist and illustrator Steven Tabbutt was born in Maine and spent the majority of his childhood on military bases in North and South Carolina. He has exhibited with galleries around the world. Steven’s unique style is mixed with a slightly playful-dark storyline. It immediately draws me in. To see more of his wonderful work, check out his website, here.

John von Bergen, Modern Magician

Artist John von Bergen was born in the United States and has been living in Berlin for eight years. John is a brilliant sculptor, pencil and installation artist. His installations blend seamlessly into the surrounding gallery walls, making it impossible to decipher wall from sculpture.  John’s structures defy gravity and logic. To see more of his amazing work, check out his website here. Also, for an extra treat, make sure to read John von Bergen’s interview by Samuel Jablon, here.

Booooooom’s Remake Project

As you may or may not have known, (I have read a great post about this from our friends at The Ludlow Group.) for the past few weeks Booooooom was holding a contest asking for modern interpretations of iconic artwork, called Remake Project. And Holy-Moly!!! The submissions are incredible. I’m blown away at the drama, humor and depth. The finalists have been announced and can be viewed here.  But all of the submissions are a must-see! Which you can check out, here. I’ve posted a few of my personal favorites below. Do you have a favorite? 

“American Gothic” remake by Jesse John Hunniford

“American Gothic” by Grant Wood

“Self Portrait 1889″ remake by Seth Johnson

“Self Portrait 1889″ by Vincent van Gogh

“The Ship” remake by Justin Nunnink

“The Ship” by Salvador Dali

“Pot Pourri” remake by Tania Brassesco and Lazlo Passi Norberto

“Pot Pourri” by Herbert James Draper

“The Incredulity of Saint Thomas” remake by Cope Amezcua

“The Incredulity of Saint Thomas” by Caravaggio

“Untitled Film Still #48″ remake by Louella Martin

“Untitled Film Still #48″ by Cindy Sherman

“Adele Harms” remake by Andrea Di Carlo

“Adele Harms” by Egon Schiele

“Weeping Woman” remake by Frances Adair Mckenzie

“Weeping Woman” by Picasso

“Two Cherubs” remake by Bri Hammond

“Two Cherubs” by Raphael

“Girl with Ice Cream Cone” remake by Stephanie Gonot

“Girl with Ice Cream Cone” by Wayne Thiebaud

“Ohhh…Alright…” remake by Emily Kiel

“Ohhh…Alright…” by Roy Lichtenstein

A Magical Journey with Nicola Yeoman

Nicola Yeoman, installation artist, moved to London in 2001 after growing up in North Yorkshire. Her ornamental sets are beautifully detailed and dramatic. Her theatrics are often built around a specifically vantage point as she plays with perspective. To see more of Nicola Yeoman’s amazing installations, visit her website here.

Fred Eerdekens’ Shadow Art

Belgian artist Fred Eerdekens is a remarkable shadow sculptor. As light shines through his various pieces, the art extends to more than the tangible; giving the piece a whole new meaning. As the barbed-looking wire casts a shadow on the wall, it surprisingly casts a shadow of Fred’s beautiful prose. Find more of Fred’s art on his website, here.

Special thanks to Lisa for introducing me !

Bruce Lowell Bakes One Mean Doughnut

These amazing LEGO sculptures were created by artist, Bruce Lowell. Recently popularized by his LEGO doughnut, which was created out of four 90° curves, creating a complete circle out of the quadrilateral shapes. Bruce’s sculptures are an amazing mixture of mathematics and art. Be sure to check out the last picture of Bruce’s LEGO collection (below)! To see more of his astonishing sculptures, please visit Bruce’s Flickr stream here. (via My Modern Met)

Matthew Cox Performs Artistic Surgery

Matthew Cox uses needles, medical x-rays and MRIs to perform his operations. This Philadelphia-based artist carefully embroiders color onto the lifeless imagery of bones. Humanizing them. I especially enjoy his series “Heartthrobs, Avatars and Street Paper” in which the x-ray torso is stitched to an embroidered head of a pop-culture, iconic or religious head. Matthew is a clever and crafty artist who uses his skill to create very poignant imagery.

His work has exhibited nationally and is featured in the New Orleans Museum of Art. Matthew is a recipient of the Pew Charitable Trusts Fellowship in painting and attended the Parsons School of Design in New York and Otis/Parsons in Los Angeles. To see more of his work, can check out his website. (via The Artful Desperado)

The Incredible, David Mach

David Mach, brilliant sculptor born in Scotland, creates astonishing installations utilizing an unlikely instrument: coat hangers. Each piece is made of hundreds of standard metal coat hangers, welded to each other around a plastic mold. The hangers are then plated with a silver nickel finish.

David’s international reputation was quickly established with exhibitions around the world. In addition to coat hangers, the Turner Prize-nominated artist uses match sticks to create collages. His exhibition entitled “Precious Light” featuring a dramatic depiction of the crucifixion at Calvary (below), opened in August with a performance by Mach burning a devil’s head sculpture made from 1,000 matches. Check out more of David Mach’s sculptures on his website, here.

Etcetera Creates Face-Books

The face-book portrait sculptures you see below of  “Louis Van Gaal”,  “Anne Frank”,  “Vincent Van Gogh” and “Kader Abdolah” were carved into their own autobiographies. The campaign was created by dutch agency Etcetera and was conceived by Markus Ravenhorst and Maarten Reynen. The sculptures were designed and created by souverein.

 

Li Wei the Inspiring Performance Artist Dare-Devil

Li Wei is half performance artist, half photographer who uses his body as canvas. His Evil Knievel-type stunts truly test the limits of gravity. For Wei, this allows him to create his own limitless reality. Born in a Hubei province farming family and later migrating to Beijing; Li Wei lacked the academic qualifications to be admitted into the government-run Central Academy of Art. After a year at the privately-run Oriental Arts College studying painting he realized that the traditional art form was not for him and dropped out. To survive, Li Wei worked in various low paying jobs until he reached a dead-end. He radically changed directions to performance art and taught himself photography. His performance photography allows the audience and Wei to enter into his own manipulated reality. Many pieces are comical and provocative, however, they all give great insight into the artist. To see more of Li Wei’s amazing performance art, check out his website here.

Farhad Moshiri’s Sharp Display of Affection

Farhad Moshiri, Iranian artist, uses a contradictory tool to display the aptly titled installation “Life is Beautiful”. The ornate typography is stabbed directly into the gallery wall using hundred of knives. There is a sense of sarcastic ambiguity within Farhad’s piece. The artist believes there is room for interpretation and prefers to view the installation with a sense of lightheartedness. Attending the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) for art and filmaking, before receiving international acclaim, Farhad is known for pushing the limits of texture and materials. To see more of Farhad Moshiri’s amazing masterpieces, please visit Galerie Perotin. For an extra treat, check out an interview with Farhad Moshiri, here. (via swissmiss)

New Work by Yulia Brodskaya

I’m very excited to see that Yulia Brodskaya has release more amazing art. You may remember a previous post about her, which can be read here. She is a very unique and talented lady from Moscow, currently living in the UK. The piece below, entitled “Loves Doves” is breath-taking, to say the least, as she utilizes paper in a technique called quilling. To see more of her amazing work, check out Yulia’s website.

Laura Plansker’s Dynamic Dioramas

Laura Plansker is an uber-talented artist that creates photo-diorama’s that I truly can not take my eyes off. Laura’s dynamic cast showcases a full range of emotions and intent- from sinister characters to equally happy ones. Her meticulous eye for detail and emotionally charged scenes make her the perfect candidate for the next cult-following artist. She will be a part of a new book by Russ Kick, where she will be creating a diorama for George Orwell’s “Animal Farm“. To see more of Laura Plansker’s amazing art, check out her website here, where you can purchase cards and limited edition prints. (via Drawn)

 

John Hendrix’s Epic Art

I am very excited to showcase today’s ferociously talented artist- John Hendrix, of St. Louis. More specifically, his sketchbooks. However- his client work is nothing to bat an eye at!! John’s client list would make any designer blush (Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Equire.. to name a few).

Every Sunday, John attended church and would sketch during the sermon “though I don’t bring my watercolors with me- that waits till I get home.” A series entitled Drawing in Church Volumes 1-5 are on display and can be viewed on John’s website, here. He depicts ornamental imagery with beautiful typography and epic scenes. This would make a great exhibit.

To see all of John’s spectacular work, check out his portfolio and blog. Also, check out his beautifully illustrated books, John Brown: His Fight for Freedom which can be purchased here and Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero which can be purchased here.

Alexandra Bruel Kneads the Clay a Special Way

Alexandra Bruel, Paris based artist, uses modeling clay for her client work. Her background in design is very apparent in her typographical textile works. Alexandra is part of the stellar team at Handsome Frank. To see more of her amazing work, check out her Behance website, here. Or her portfolio which is currently under construction, here.

Today, Devorah Sperber Blew My Mind

Devorah Sperber is an artist who creates mind bending installations and negotiates your perception with reality. Using spools of thread as pixels, she carefully calculates where each will be placed… upside down. By placing a crystal ball in front of each display, the image is rotated 180 degrees and adjusted to a size more recognizable for the viewer. Incredible! Devorah has used anywhere between 400 – 60,000 spools of thread to create one piece.  As Deborah points out, how little information the brain needs to reformulate an image that it has been exposed to.  Devorah’s Thread Spool Work masterpieces have been exhibited around the world.  Devorah and her art are truly amazing. Check out more of her sculptures and masterpieces, here.