We have a hunch we will be seeing much more of the work by the young, London-based graphic designer and illustrator, Nikki Farquharson.
Her
ongoing project, Mixed Media Girls, gives the viewer a lot to look at.
The collages appear innocent and sweet but at the same time exude
sharp, pent-up energy that does not feel altogether safe. The title of
the work is also wonderfully suggestive — or not, depending on how the
reader wishes to understand it.
Farquharson’s work extends from the one-dimensional world to book
projects and 3D pieces in which she often ponders and twists the
meaning of words and proverbs, spies on conversations, and questions
established truths.
In 2007, she started the website Random Got Beautiful that is open for anyone to submit images focused on a specific color.
Farquharson’s work was on display in September in Helsinki at the YCN Alive exhibit hosted by the Helsinki-based agency Kokoro & Moi.- Tuija Seipell
New York artist Tara Donovan is a master of seeing. Not just looking, but actually seeing. Her sculptural, one-of-a-kind art is based on her ability to see, imagine and create forms, shapes and textures from ordinary objects that most of us don’t even notice. She creates art from rolls of tape, pieces of pencil, Styrofoam cups, paper plates, napkins. Her sculptural works evoke thoughts of nature. A perfect example is the “Untitled” cloud formation she created in 2003 from Styrofoam cups and glue.
The 38-year-old Donovan has recently accomplished several things many artists never achieve. This September, the first monograph of her work was published by visual book press, Monacelli Press (now owned by Random House). A couple of weeks later, on October 10, a traveling retrospective of her work opened at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.
But perhaps the biggest deal is the extra half-a-million dollars that she will have to work with in the next few years. In late September, she received a phone call from the John D. and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation. She was informed that she had been made a Fellow of the Foundation and that she will receive a $500,000 MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant. It is a no-strings-attached support of her work over five years. She was selected as one of 25 recipients in 2008. Others include a physician, an astrophysicist, a violinist, a computer scientist and representatives of many other endeavours who were selected for their creativity, originality and potential to make important contributions in the future. - Tuija Seipell
Take a look at these incredible abstract and retroesque pieces by designer and illustrator Andy Gilmore.
Born, raised and based in Rochester, New York, Gilmore applies the
understanding of one practice with the other - applying the proportions
of harmony to form and colour - colours as chords - and scales as tonal
gradations, in order to create these geometric works of art.
If you love his work as much as we do, you can get your hands on a print (or even a t-shirt) over at Esty.- Brendan McKnight
Having spent more than enough time travelling the world, I didn’t think
I’d ever been this excited about yet another art event. But Buenos
Aires and its amazing ArteBA Contemporary Art Fair
have just reminded me how exciting art really can be. Forget the
mainstream Basels and Miamis – this is where the world’s hottest art
event is right now, and this is where the art world is really happening.
Argentineans are an extremely cultured bunch, more than any other
nation, and this is the most important art fair in Latin America.
Absolutely everyone seems to be interested in or involved in art here,
and the massive daily line-ups were events onto themselves. This is
where you meet everybody who is anybody, from artists to collectors to
critics to celebrities to the general public. The entire city and its
incomparable art, cultural and tourism charm is turned fully on and you
are going to love it!
ArteBA is a fantastic meeting point of everything that has to do with
art in the Latin American market – new, avant-garde, exotic,
experimental, traditional; established artists, newcomers and everybody
in between -- you name it, and it is here. Mainly visual artist and
galleries from Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica, Colombia and
Uruguay displayed their best and their hottest art. The venerable,
17-year-old, five-day intensive art event had an attendance of more
than 110,000 people, and it came close to having more energy and eye
candy than I could handle!
Argentineans are extremely stylish with an edge, and it seems they are
all good looking. So, I found myself people-stalking a lot as well,
even at the art events where there was more exciting art than I have
ever encountered in any art event in any city. From now on, this is THE
one art event I will attend every year.
In Buenos Aires, my home away from home was Palermo’s Home Hotel, one of the Hotels included in our latest book World’s Coolest Hotel Rooms.
and also Tailor Made Hotel in Las Cañitas. Palermo Viejo is Buenos Aires's equivalent to New York's Soho and it is
definitely the trendiest neighborhood and way much cheaper than Soho. The cobbled streets are lined
with fashion boutiques, amazing restaurants and design shops, mostly one-off local brands,
the really interesting stuff. I liked Arte Etnico Argentino
that sells textiles, furniture and accessories made in tribal villages.
Another amazing area is San Telmo with its antique stores
and the hugely popular Sunday antique market. This is the way antiquing
is supposed to feel like!
I have never experienced a city more extroverted and exotic in its
fusion of night and day, history and future, foreign and local. My
every sense has been heightened here by the overwhelming richness of
sights, sounds, smells and tastes, and by the endless succession of
nightlife, tango parties, special events, dinners, clubs...I’ve had an
amazing time and I have Astrid Perkins and her great team at Think Argentina to thank for pretty much all of it. I have never been looked after better than here in Buenos Aires!
A big thank you to LAN Airlines business class for flying me to Buenos Aires from New York. By Bill Tikos
If in Barcelona, you’ll have a couple of more days to see MWM’s — aka Matt W. Moore — solo show 20/20 by ROJO magazine at Artspace at Carrer Girona 61 Local 02 in Eixample. But it is worth a view online as well at mwmgraphics.blogspot.com and Flickr.
Moore is a 28-year-old Boston-based graduate of Savannah College of Art
and Design. He is a multitalented artist, illustrator and designer who
has worked with Ecko, Nike, Samsung and many others. Fascinated with
symmetry, math and wild color, he creates retro-spirited, abstract
graphics with a wild, graffiti edge. His typography, type treatments
and icons are featured in his annual b/w book – MWM B:4, and in a
comprehensive solo book Vectorfunk by ROJO. By Tuija Seipell
Here is a selection of images straight from the portfolio of the sought-after illustrator Steven Wilson. Because Steven’s impressive client list includes everyone from Coke to Nike, BBC and MTV, it is likely that you have already come across one of his beautiful works.
Steven is inspired by circus imagery, tribal art and 70s rock posters among other things, and he can often be found sifting through flea market stalls looking for obscure books to use as reference. All of this ensures that his work stands out. There is no question that his pieces define and represent a new wave of illustrated art. He has a particular passion for working on albums covers. By Brendan McKnight
Gianluca Fallone
is a designer/illustrator based in Argentina and at only 23 years old
has managed to build up an impressive folio that includes working with
clients like MTV, Nike and Cartoon Network.
Fallone's stance is simple 'I love type and design, and particularly
like when both are present' – which is evident in much of his work.
Inspired by Japanese Animation and comic books, which were triggers for
his 'illustration - design rollercoaster', his pieces are beautifully crafted and extremely detailed. Putting a mark on the
Argentinean design world, we are expecting to see great things from this young and amazingly talented artist. By Brendan McKnight
Creativity has always been at the heart of CHANEL since its very
beginnings; it is the thread that unites Mademoiselle Chanel to Karl
Lagerfeld, a visionary spirit known for his skill in anticipating the
future of his times.
A modern brand, constantly moving forward, cultivating the
extraordinary and its innate sense of the moment, CHANEL is resolutely
open to the world and turning towards the future. It is this propulsion
that incites CHANEL to perpetually create surprise, from one continent
to the next, and to so deeply impact on our collective imaginary
consciousness.
A travelling project, with entry free to all, Mobile Art will circulate
for two years throughout Asia, the United States and Europe.In a
futuristic pavilion created by the architect Zaha Hadid at the request
of Karl Lagerfeld, some twenty international artists will exhibit work
that was inspired by the elements that give the CHANEL bag its
identity. Through this collaboration, resulting from their singular
points of view - poetic, audacious and as yet unseen - the multiple
facets of this mythical bag and its universe are revealed.
Mobile Art is a revolutionary event, uniting one of the greatest
architects of our time, some of our most innovative artists, and an
icon of the fashion world: the quilted bag. Mobile Art is founded in the
continuity of Gabrielle Chanel's strong relationship with the arts, and
reaffirms once more our devotion to creativity and to the avant-garde.
Forget about wandering through an art gallery and wondering if you’re
the only one who has no idea what anything means. Hannes Broecker
has brilliantly invited the cultural elite to grab a glass at an
exhibition in Dresden, Germany, and drink away the art.
Regardless of what we do or do not understand about art, we can all
agree, it stimulates our senses. Broecker has aroused our sense
of taste (not to mention eliminated the need of elbowing our way to the
bar) by hanging flat, glass containers with a variety of cocktails in
the exhibition space. As the night progressed, the levels of the
multi-coloured infusions diminished. By the end of the event, the
art, itself, ran dry, and empty drinking glasses were returned to where
they were originally placed. By Andrew J Wiener.