Lucky Italy. Opening at Marella Gallery in Milan this Thursday the 21st is Something Old, Something New, something Borrowed, Something Blue. Curated by Aaron Rose the show features a line-up of Heavy Hitters with the likes of Barry McGee, Ryan McGinley, Ed Templeton, Clare Rojas, Mike Mills, Phil Frost, Matt Leines, Raymond Pettibon, Deanna Templeton, and Ari Marcopoulos. We need more shows like this stateside.

Swoon came off on two sides of the World over the weekend. First, there was her solo show at New Image Art in Los Angeles. On the same day, 8 hours ahead, she was included in Black Rat Press' Print Show, where it could be said that they were printing money. From that show is where this gorgeous two-plate etching and screenprint, Argentina, came from. Retailing at £600 in a signed edition of 95, the print is a must have for any SWOON collector.
Buy the print here

See photos from SWOON's solo show here

And a couple videos of the Black Rat Press event and New Image Art show after the jump.

A couple interesting articles for your perusal today.
If Ebay is an indicator, Obama will win presidential race.

And, Shepard isn't the first artist to dabble in presidential campaign design. A brief history.

On a random tip, a question. If Obama was to be elected, would Shepard Fairey be called upon for the presidential portrait?

Your local hardware store is offering a little more than just nuts and bolts. You probably spend most of your time at Crest buying what you need to make the art. Now you will be able to show what you made. Back in the late 90's the Store became the home to a few art exhibits and, it was also featured on a PBS special. This summer Crest will host its first in a series of art exhibits. Stay tuned, we will bring you all the details.

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Opening up tomorrow is Michel Gondry's installation for his upcoming movie Be Kind Rewind. Luckily, the installation is in the bigger Deitch space on Wooster, which means the creator's imagination has more room to run free.

So while some of you were out romancing and others were getting black out drunk, the upper crust was spending money on art and laughing at the plebeian recession. Thankfully they spent their money well, bidding up Banksy well over his estimates. RUINED LANDSCAPE (above) sold with a hammer price of $385,000 briskly passing the high estimate of $300,000. That was the smallest margin between estimate and hammer price. The outstanding VANDALISED PHONE BOX more than doubled its estimate of $300,000, selling with hammer for $605,000. The star of the show however was Banksy's defaced Damien Hirst painting, KEEP IT SPOTLESS, which set an auction record for the artist weighing in at $1,870,000, well over the $350,000 estimate it was given. Now watch the secondary market prices rise once again.

We saw this one on Search and Destroy and we were immediately inspired. A simple idea with a big message. As the kid from AI or was it I.A. said in that other movie Pay it forward.

Our version.

Over on the Art Market Blog, Nicholas Forrest describes to readers how he doubled his money overnight. Nice one guy!

What more can be said about this epic group of artists? Not much, except that they will only get better and their work, more unattainable. The movie/documentary about them slated for release this Spring should solidify any doubts you may have had. So why not take the easy way out, and get pieces of their work together in one bundle? The easiest and most affordable way to do this is by purchasing The Beautiful Losers Catalog (Boxed Edition). Available in an edition of 100 and costing $1500, the "Custom slipcased First Edition / First Printing catalog is packaged in custom military grade wood box with limited editions and original works of art by the Beautiful Losers artists." For a full rundown of the goodies inside check the site. Here are some of my faves, Cynthia Connolly - Page, Arizona [from the portfolio Ice Machines featured in the Beautiful Losers exhibition], silver gelatin print, 4 x 6 inches, printed and signed by the artist, edition of 100, Barry McGee - Untitled, marker on various sticker papers, dimensions variable, signed by the artist, James Jarvis - The Thin Blue Line, action figure, approx. 6 x 3.5 inches, signed edition of 100.

A big happy VDay from YoPeace, check out their holiday contribution.

Before today, I hadn't a clue who Leslie Minnis was. Truthfully, I still don't, but what I do know is that her paintings are sick. Available now for purchase through Andenken Gallery is a print on canvas of what I believe to be her strongest work to date. Signed in an edition of 10 and measuring 20" x 30" the print costs $400. If interested, contact the andenken shop.

Artist Golan Levin created Opto-Isolator a artwork that's realistic-looking eyeball actually responds to an onlooker's gaze with a bunch of human-like movements, including coy side-glances and blinks. For more images and background check out gizmodo.

More than excited about this opening on Saturday at New Image Art Gallery in Los Angeles. SWOON baby!

New Image Art is pleased to announce the first Los Angeles solo exhibition by SWOON, "Drown Your Boats." Partially inspired by Angela Carter's "Burning Your Boats," this show, and much of SWOON's work is not only a momentary glimpse in contemporary life; her work speaks of tales, legends, and variations on mythic themes, sparked by great vitality, inventiveness, and a deeply macabre imagination. Having recently participated in an armada of sorts SWOON along with other fellow Pittsburgh "boat punks" constructed their own flotilla and sailed down the Hudson and Mississippi Rivers. For this new exhibition SWOON will be executing a canoe as her central installation piece that will later become part of a Deitch Projects show this Fall.

SWOON's worlds are often populated by realistically rendered-- and evocatively cutout street people, often her friends and family. Riding bikes, talking on a stoop, going grocery shopping-- these people traverse a cityscape of her own unique invention. Bridges, fire escapes, water towers and street signs create crisscrossing shadows and spaces through which her figures move. Inspired by both art historical and folk sources, ranging from German Expressionist wood block prints to Indonesian shadow puppets, SWOON is a master of using cut paper to play with positive and negative space in a conceptually driven exploration of the experience of the streets.

Sebach Potties, take a shit in a masterpiece.

Via, eternallycool

You might have missed Esao Andrews, Jonathan Levine show, if so check out his work here.

Opening this Saturday night at Giant Robot in the East Village is William 'RotGut' Buzzell's Class Action.
From the press release...

"Working almost entirely with found wood or metal and common latex house paint, Buzzell's pieces are characterized by a surface of intricate brushwork and often feature three-dimensional elements. William Buzzell dips into the mundane, the practical world and a deep well of popular culture, often using maps, logos, charts, text, and familiar cartoon characters or TV icons to fill every inch of his paintings. A native of Providence, RI, much of Buzzell's early work was installed on the streets of his hometown and New York under the alias Rotgut."

image from thegiant.org

This Friday, after a busy four years, Jason Filipow, Shepard Fairey's primary assistant/man behind the scenes will set down his Andre stencils and leave the operation and artist behind to pursue his own work. We at The World's Best Ever wish him much fortune, success, and longevity in his future ventures.

From his Blog.

"I am very proud of all that I have accomplished while employed by my long time friend and mentor, Shepard Fairey. His sustained ambition, motivation and work ethic is nearly unmatched and I hope I have been able to absorb some of that in the 4 years working with him. He has provided me with amazing opportunities and introduced me to countless pop culture heroes and I am forever grateful.

2008 will see me branching out on my own as a creative free agent and I will continue to live and work here in LA. I will be devoting much more of my time to personal work as well as developing some long-simmering projects. I will be launching my own website as well as a detailed and frequently-updated blog. I will be exhibiting my work in galleries, doing some short film projects, commissions, commercial work/design, etc...I am very excited to start this new chapter in my life."

From the mid-90's featuring interviews with Futura, Blade, Espo, and Reas

Check out artist Miel-Margarita Paredes. Feature work from 2005 "Dachshund Stilts". Her work has this "soft" disturbance, where its not too uncomfortable but there is something there that is dark.

Here's to all the graff writers doing time occupying the Middle East. Read more here.

via, c-monster

The new issue of Swindle is out now. Number 15 features Cheryl Dunn, Painters in the Congo, and more.

A frequent subject of posts on this site, Banksy has updated his own website with a nice Q & A session plus some new pictures and words from the outdoors. Enjoy!

Get tipsy in a museum with Cannonball Press and Space 1026. PopRally coming through for the single set.

Fashion imitates art. Or lets say pays tribute. Photographer Paco Peregrín, photographed the editorial spreed titled" The Blood Show" for Ae Magazine. For more images from this spread check it out here.

GAME OVER is one of the art projects developed by the Swiss artist Guillaume Reymond. It consists of a series of collaborative animation movies which revive some of the very first video games. The project started with video performance of Pong. The second video was Space Invaders on June 24th 2006, followed by Pole Position on February 11th 2007, and Tetris on November 24th 2007].
Check out Poll Position and Space Invaders after the jump.

In the words of the man himself, "GET SPRUNG THIS SPRING!" Look slick in a slicker with a fashionable price tag.

Buy it here

Check out a special Juergen Teller show tonight. The show will also feature some fashion-week-appropriate snaps like his Victoria Beckham-starring ad work for Marc Jacobs and candid, previously unseen portraits of MJ with Teller's kids. For one night only, hot dog cart legend Rolf Babiel (a fellow Teuton) will be dishing up sausages on the street outside the gallery.
Juergen Teller: Ukraine, tonight through March 15, Lehmann-Maupin Gallery, 540 W. 26th Street, NYC, (212) 255-2923, lehmannmaupin.com

Via Material Interest

For his Fall 2008 lookbook, designer Adam Kimmel enlisted the help of his downtown friends to show off the the new duds. Included in the lookbook are Ryan Mcginley (above), Ear Snot, Dan Colen, and Telly from that movie Kids. More at Men.Style.Com

In the spirit of all the politics in the air, rising art star Brandon Friend sent me over an image of his newly finished work.

Pledge of Allegiance
36" x 54"
Acrylic / Mixed media
2008

A great video by incredible artists, Cern and Space, accompanied by a dope soundtrack. YMI crew

One of the most amazing young female artists of our time. Swoon speaking at MoMa. Watch these with your morning coffee.

I caught this little blurb in Page Six yesterday "44-year-old supermodel Elle Macpherson is dating Vito Schnabel, the sexy 21-year-old art dealer son of acclaimed director Julian Schnabel." Fuck. Seriously, good for this kid. See the opportunities you are given when you are born into some type of celebrity household.

via, page six

The new issue of The Journal is out on newsstands now. Issue 21 features Helmut Lang, Miranda July, Juergen Teller, Tomoo Gokita, Mark Borthwick, Beirut, Kenneth Cappello, Kon Trubkovitch, Kazumi Asamura, Julia Burlingham, Andrew Kuo, Tim Barber, Kathy Lo and others. As always it is an entertaining read.

Kehinde Wiley. Modern master and all around nice guy. Al Gore Tv brings him into focus.

Just as the Enablist did weeks ago, Shepard now advises you to buy a print by Cleon Peterson. Listen up, the man is that good and maybe if we are lucky he'll produce 5 more prints to mimic his installations.
Back to Shepard. Today is Super Tuesday, and for those who vote it is an important day. What will be interesting to gauge is how Obama will fair in California, the state where Shepard unleashed his poster campaign in support of the candidate. If only there was an exit poll asking if their vote was influenced by Shepard's poster. The tally would be something like, 18 - 42 year olds stated yes, while the geezers were still color blind. Whatever will be, will be.

Lot 29 Adam Neate (British, born 1988) 'The Apprentice', 2007 Estimate: £25,000 - 30,000

To critics this may seem like a glorified ebay auction, all familiar faces and names, works that we have seen before. The difference is that this auction is not taking place on the World Wide Web, but in physical space on February 5th, at Bonham's in London. Of the 75 lots up for sale, almost one-third (22) are attributed to Banksy. While the artist is represented by a couple stellar pieces, most have made their rounds in one form or another. But do not let the volume of work available by the living legend throw you off. There are also those other artists who have been unwillingly cast into cold reality of the Auction House. The most interesting lot in the auction at Bonham's may be no. 29 featuring Adam Neate (b. 1988), who still a teenager, is commanding a high estimate of £30,000 for his painting 'The Apprentice'. He is still a kid, and a highly regarded one at that.
What is missing from this auction are the Americans. Sure, Faile is here and there are a couple Harings thrown in for authenticity, but for the most part a lack of Americans. The place where this form of art was born, represented poorly. While this Auction is tagged The World's First Urban Art Auction, there is not much of the world here. And how does Murakami feel about being lumped into 'Urban Art'?

A couple highlights after the jump.

It may be inside, but it is still tight.

I remember seeing Emit's work alongside Gaze and sometimes Cycle down at AUP in Washington, D.C.. I always liked the IMOK (If Mother Only Knew) and SPORTS (Sick People Out Rockin' The Streets) crews and this was only reinforced the more I saw their work. Now I come to find out that Emit is no longer on the East Coast, residing presently in mile-high Denver. Over on Format's Blogs, Scribe does a nice little 3 question interview the man.

image via DF

If this is real, then the voice of Banksy is close to what I would expect. If this is not real, it was a good try indeed. Watch the video here

Banksy must have decided to leave the grey winter of London for a little vacation in Los Angeles. Over the past couple days some new pieces have popped up in the LA area. Only time will tell if the buff is as nice to him here as it is in England. a couple more after the jump.

Photos via Dog Byte Design

Child from blu on Vimeo.

When is Blu going to team up with Michel Gondry? That would be something else.

fantoche from blu on Vimeo.

No, thankfully not Obama, that would be weird. Banksy has agreed to donate an artwork to the Bid for Ken auction, supporting London Mayor Ken Livingston's bid for re-election.

read more at the Guardian

photo

Check this out! From this summer's agnés B show.

The new issue of arkitip (no. 44) was produced on the occasion of the HIGHMATH exhibit which opens in Berlin at Pool Gallery tonight. The exhibit is a collaboration between the fellows at Arkitip and those at Wood Wood and has a stellar roster of artists featuring
Andrew Schoultz, Chris Lindig, Ed Templeton, Evan Hecox, Cody Hudson, CR Stecyk III, Eric Elms, Gary Benzel, Geoff McFetridge, Jo Jackson, José Parlá, Josh Petherick, Kaws, Killpixie, Michael Leon, Kevin Lyons, Michael Perry, Parra, Phil Frost, Perks, Peter Beste, Peter Sutherland, Richard Colman, Ryan Waller, Shepard Fairey, Todd St. John & Steven Harrington.

Flier after the jump

Opening tonight and running through February 23rd at Deitch Projects.
"The exhibition will include works that have a life of their own, transforming throughout the exhibition as viewers engage with them. Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far is timed to coincide with the release of a new book of the same title, which surveys Sagmeister’s illustrious career."

Sam Flores and Upper Playground come correct with a new version of Fatima, in both a purple dress and a blue dress. Limited to 300 pieces each, give it to your girl for her desk at work.

Opening its doors this evening on the Lower East Side of Manhattan is Sloan Fine Art. The first of two parts, the opening exhibition features the works of the Clayton Brothers, Vince Contarino, Nicholas Cope, Elizabeth McGrath, Kristen Schiele, Aaron Smith and Eric White. The reception takes place from 6 to 9 pm. See you there.

It has been a while since I checked up on David Choe's blog, and it shows. The blog has been re-skinned and updated like mad. Busy times for the busy artist who has a UK solo show opening up at Lazarides in mid to late February.

What's the old saying give me .... something and I will make a golden egg...? You know what I mean and so do these Brazilian graffiti artists who take advantage of the crumbling buildings around them to create amazing images that comment on their surroundings. For more images check out Fun Forever.

Chewing-gum (also known in Italian also as “American gum“), was introduced by American soldiers at the end of World War 2 together with jeans, nylon, stocking and boggie-woogie. Its association with a state of euphoria, change and carefree youthfulness somehow carried on in the following decades. Also for those born in the sixties as Maurizio Savini, chewing-gum is a tie with childhood and adolescence.

I tried to find out some more information on Maurizo, and the funny thing about the internet is that everything is the same,..."american gum....childhood...adolescence...". His work is amazingly time consuming, and eerie. For more pics of his sculptures check out Kanye West's Blog. BTW if you did not know, Kanye has a pretty nice collection of art.

A presidency by design.

"I believe with great conviction that Barack Obama should be the next President. I have been paying close attention to him since the Democratic convention in 2004. I feel that he is more a statesman than a politician. He was against the war when it was an unpopular position (and Hillary was for the war at that time), Obama is for energy and environmental conservation. He is for healthcare reform. Check him out for yourself www.barackobama.com. Proceeds from this print go to produce prints for a large statewide poster campaign."
Thanks.
-Shepard

Big Boy, 2007, 12" x 9", Pencil and Gouache on Bristol board

If there is one artist to watch from now through the rest of your life, consider Josh Keyes. In the spring of 2007, Oakland-based Keyes had a break out showing in a group exhibition, Stranger Than Fiction, at his San Francisco gallery, Hang Art. Since then his shows have sold out instantaneously. His most recent, a two man show with John Casey at Tag Art Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee is no exception. Funny thing, it has not even opened yet. February 2nd is the date listed when the public can legally and physically enter the gallery. Success has not come quick for Keyes, who has been showing since 1993, but now it is safe to say that he has arrived and will continue to amaze. After the jump, some highlights from his two man show.

Apparently during his last visit to Perth, Australia, Heath sat for this portrait (above) painted by Vincent Fantauzzo. More at The Daily Telegraph.

via, Juxtapoz

In a time where it has become apparent that governmentally, things need to change, comes a competition that takes the idea to another level. The White House Redux is an "international call for ideas" to ask a simple question, "What if the White House, the ultimate architectural symbol of political power, were to be designed today?" What would it look like? More info on this project/competition here

Taryn Simon photographs some of the most top-secret, highly restricted areas in the world. Her latest book, An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, took four years to assemble as the photographer gained access to research facilities and government offices hidden from the public. "I felt like I was discovering a new landscape in America, a new terrain, morally and politically," she said.

The book dives under the surface of society with images of decomposing bodies and radioactive waste, deadly viruses and an outdoor recreation area for death-row inmates. The result is an all-access pass into America's best-kept secrets.

Transatlantic Submarine Cables Reaching Land(pictured above).
These submarine telecommunication cables extend thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean before reaching this endpoint in Avon, New Jersey. They transmit as many as 60 million simultaneous conversations. "There's a humor because the cables are so important, yet they look so unguarded and unimportant," Simon said.

Photo: Taryn Simon, courtesy of Gagosian Gallery
Via Wired.com

You need to know who Christian Marclay is. Born in 1955 Marclacy is presently a visual artist and composer based in New York. Marclay is a former lecturer of video collage and sound at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland where he conducted a summer workshop.

Marclay's work explores connections between sound, photography, video, and film. A pioneer of using gramaphone records and turntables as musical instruments to create sound collage, critic Thom Jurek describes Marclay as perhaps the "unwitting inventor of turntablism." His own use of turntables and records, beginning in the mid-1970s, was developed independently of hip hop's use of the instrument, and though not well-known to mainstream audiences, Marclay has nonetheless been described as "the most influential [turntable] figure outside hip hop." Via Wikipeidia.

Check out the mini documentary of You Tube.

To celebrate the 50th birthday of Lego, the Independent gave a bucket of bricks to a slew of creative minds including Rankin, Trevor Beattie and Sir Paul Smith to see what they could come up with.

Our favorite contribution (quite predictably) comes from Peter Saville, who went the "chance-oriented" route and melted his box of bricks. The rest can be seen here.

Opening tonight in Los Angeles at Honor Fraser is a solo show by super talented and gorgeous Rosson Crow. Titled Night at The Palomino, the show consists of nine large scale paintings dripping with a dark richness. If you cannot make it tonight, the show is up for a while running through March 29th.

If you're on your way to Philly check out Mark Khaisman's Packing tap portraits at the Woodmere Art Museum. Opening January 27th.

The works of art are made out of translucent brown packing tape. By layering the tape on top of a sheets of Plexiglas, Mark Khaisman was able to craft these creations that look a lot like sepia-toned negatives.

Some portraits are more retro, and look as if they were inspired by images of people during the Second World War, while others are clearly modern photos of young girls posing for silly self-taken group portraits.

Khaisman was born in the Ukraine in 1958, studied Art and Architecture at the Moscow Architectural Institute and now lives and works in Philadelphia.

Worried shoes is an online gallery dedicated to the early work of the eccentric talent, Daniel Johnston.

Steve "Espo" Powers - Studio Gangster from Carl Weston on Vimeo.

From video graf days to the present.

Opening to the public across the pond at The Leonard Street Gallery this Friday, Booby Trap is the first solo show in while for Brooklyn's Bast.
From the press release:
BAST combines the varied yet complimentary elements of pop-culture, political sarcasm, and a pinch of the Anarchist Punk movement with mixed media collage and silkscreen techniques to create boldly stylised and somewhat gritty images. His work appropriates this medley to convey his own interpretations of American life. Guns, grenades and Molotov cocktails are often waiting to be unleashed by a host of Disney and Warner Brothers' characters that use their weapons as carelessly as kids use water balloons, often asking the question, "What if cartoon characters ruled the world?"
Enjoy.

Opened at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art two days ago, Barry McGee's They Don't Make This Anymore is the artists first major solo exhibition in the UK. If anybody has pictures they want to share with us from this show that would be great!
From the press release:
"Barry McGee’s first major UK solo exhibition includes a selection of existing and new works in an installation created specifically for BALTIC’s Level 2 gallery. Rooted in the spontaneity and immediacy of graffiti culture, McGee’s direct approach considers both the melancholy and humour of life. Disrupting ideas of property, surveillance and control, his uncontained practice incorporates damaged surfaces, flash movies and hundreds of ‘tape’ paintings to question the privatisation of public space."

A smart, calculated art-business move. Julian Schnabel has developed a new series of large scale works that Larry Gagosian will show in Los Angeles, just in time for the Oscars.

Read more

For Original Fake's Spring/Summer line, Kaws reached out to Brooklyn Artist Mark Dean Veca. His interpretation of the chum reminds me of Jim Phillips designs for the Rob Roskopp decks of the late eighties.

via, kaws

A call to action this week from Shepard Fairey. Vote! is a screenprint measuring 24" x 36" in an edition of 350 and brings back the nice blue tones that occasionally appear in his prints. Apparently there was some manipulation of the checkout system last week, so to balance things out, the time and day of this drop is up in the air. Much the way our political and economic state is right now. Quite fitting.

This van should be placed in storage as a time capsule, to be revisited in 25 years. Three generations, one van.
Here is the ebay auction

Matt Leines is an extremely talented artist and I couldn't have been happier to find some images from his sketchbook on Book By Its Cover's Sketchbook series.

The whole Bono-fueled (RED) movement has finally made its way into the contemporary art world, and for this instance I couldn't be happier. Why? New Yorkers will finally have the chance to see three Banksy Masterpieces in the flesh. Included in the Sotheby's auction at Larry Gagosian's Chelsea digs, is the vandalized phone booth that Banksy installed on a street in the UK in 2005. If memory serves correct about this piece, an old lady remarked that crazy art students were always out of control. Another is a defaced Damien Hirst Pharmaceutical (spot) painting, tited 'KEEP IT SPOTLESS'. Expect this lot (34) to break any auction record Banksy bidders had set previously. The auction, which is on Valentines Day includes many other notable lots (veritably a who's who's of contemporary art), including Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami, Andreas Gursky, Tim Noble & Sue Webster, and Marc Quinn. All very impressive and on view in early February.

The other Banksy's after the jump

...Really isn't faile at all. This is the art of Greg Gossel. Someone once said Imitation is the best form of flattery, but how flattering is it really for the flatterer?

Fuckin' Revs is elusive. His early graffiti career was accompanied by the moniker 'Revlon' and if you flip through the Spray Can Art you can see early examples of his work. In the middle nineties he cut his name down to Revs and bombarded NYC above ground with Cost and below ground with diatribes and confessions. Then, Revs went into hiding. When he resurfaced his work had evolved. Using construction grade steel he now does installation pieces, permanence in a temporary environment. Luckily for us, Jake Dobkin has been making a concerted effort to document all of Revs new work on Streetsy. Enjoy.

Opening this Saturday at Robert Berman in Los Angeles, Will Rise is a unique group show featuring members of the legendary L.A. graffiti crew AWR. Each of the eleven members (KRUSH, SKREW, SABER, PUSH, REVOK, ZES, RETNA, RIME, SEVER, EWOK, REYES) painted six, 4' x4' wood panels that will be displayed floor to ceiling. The show looks to be colorful and dope, so if you are in the Los Angeles area stop by.
A more informed rundown at the L.A. times, here

We just got this in from the creators of the Yo What Happened to Peace Show, opening this weekend in San Fransisco. And I know if you live in NYC you have seen these crazy Rambo heads everywhere. If you have not seen the trailer for the film check it here. Send us your Rambo alterations. Rambo comes out just in time to lift America's spirits.

On top a making incredible chandeliers, Adam Wallacavage takes some great portrait photographs. Available now through Community Outreach are an assortment of these portraits that are featured in their current show, 7 photographers. At $600 a piece, these unique photos of Shepard Fairey(above) and Steve Powers(below) would be a great addition to any wall or collection.

The flier says it all

She's not a new name, but her work is pretty amazing. Check out the first installation of her interview on ART TALK onVBS.TV . It is a nice glimpse into the personality of Aurel Schmidt.

Today's print release, Peace Bomber, comes in three colorways, boosting your chance of obtaining one by a small percentage. A smart design by Shepard Fairey, one of these could feasibly makes its way into your grandmother's living room, next to all of the doilies. Didn't I read somewhere that Shepard was going to be taking some time off? The other colorways after the jump.

Adam and Ron is a tale of two artists (great friends, complete opposites), one gallerina, and a film crew. In this five part video/mockumentary, the camera follows Adam Krueger and Ron Beach Jr. as they prepare for a two man show, Better Version of Me, at the Canal Chapter in Lower Manhattan. As could be expected with two contrasting personalities, tensions run high as the date to open draws closer. Lives momentarily change. In a way, think of this as a much cooler version of the Fine Living Network's Opening Soon.

If you're like me and you have not bothered to go check out the New Museum yet, let me tell you it's ok. I made it there this weekend, and let's just say this grimy dollar bill is not worth the admission to go see "un-monumental". Wait, maybe I am wrong? Maybe it's that the name reflects the art so well that you find yourself saying, "you got to be kidding me." The only thing it has going for itself is the observation deck on the 7th floor. I guess plans for the balcony restaurant must have been nixed. I was very surprised at the amount of space actually dedicated to the art, at least for this show that's a good thing.

Oh and the really interesting thing is you can get a "artist membership" that cuts the members fee in half. All you need is a website that says you're an artist.

The Banksy Wall that went up for auction on ebay earlier this month has just sold for £208,100.00 or approximately $407,709.52. This just goes to show how far street art and capitalism have come. Not to be overlooked, the Middle East has gotten into the act by offering up this Banksy piece (below) from Palestine on ebay. Apparently, a palestinian and an israeli worked together in excavating this one. Isn't it nice to see cultures put their beef aside for the sake of money.

This weekend we were fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to see a great show at Jonathan Levine Gallery in NYC. The group of works that stood out the most were the large pastel drawings of Chinese-born artist Xiaoqing Ding. Above is a piece, Little Drop of Poison, that measures 40” x 32” and is truly a sight in person. To buy this piece or to look at others available in the show, click here

A group exhibition curated by Jesper Elg and Nanna Thylstrup at v1 gallery in Copenhagen, Denmark. Full press release after the jump.

The quilted one, Caroline Hwang, gets all snugly at Giant Robot San Francisco tomorrow night for her new show Salvage.
"Hwang's latest work integrates the craft aesthetic of quilting and sewing with nautical themes such as color-block flags. As the title implies, Salvage is about searching for something lost and preventing further loss in adverse circumstance: picking up the pieces--glimmers of hope, pieces of oneself--and starting anew."

Opening in the main gallery of Jonathan Levine to the public tomorrow is Jonathan Viner's (Weiner?) new show, Target Practice. Oil on canvas in blue light always goes a long way.

Texas represent. Curated by Fecal Face impresario John Trippe, Gold Rush is a group exhibition featuring the likes of Josh Keyes, Aiyana Udesen, Kelsey Brookes, Anthony Lister, Jeremy Fish, and more. Okay Mountain is a swell gallery that brings culture to the state. On Fecal Face there is an abundance of mini interviews with the participating artists, so check it.

With so many great openings this weekend, I must warn you that there will be a flurry of these today.
Alex Lukas is one of my favorite artists. Luckily for the world, he is showing at White Walls in San Francisco with Chris Pew, and Amy Casey in an untitled show that opens this weekend. If you have some extra cheddar to throw around, I recommend this piece, which you will find after the jump

Due out this Spring with text by Carlo McCormick and Pushead, the book is 162 pages of Frosty goodness.
From the Italian publisher Damiani...
"the book Frost reconstructs the evolution of a graphic cipher rich in abbreviations, symbols and stylised logos that give this self taught artist’s works the primordial character of tribal articles. If it is true, as Phil Frost believes, “that within every person there is an indigenous expression of themselves,” his artistic action consists of “tattooing” the greatest possible number of surfaces, be they an old baseball bat or a girl’s skin"

Today's find on Etsy.com, Berkley Illustration. These little gems are Archival digital prints, for 7 bucks. I would like to see an original if I was going to buy one.

Ignorance was bliss. Now that I am paying attention, all of this impending financial doom is depressing me.

Investment Bank views on 2008

Economic fear in the UK

The Art Market in 2008

Photo by Mike Brodie

Opens this Thursday, January 10th.

Mary Boone Gallery, 745 Fifth Avenue, New York

Metalosis Maligna is a fictitious documentary about a spectacular yet chronically disabling disease which affects patients who have been fitted with medical implants. Sourcing from such implants a wild metal growth ultimately transforms human patients into mechanical looking constructions.
By Floris Kaayk and Sil van der Woerd, Microbia.

Stepping into 2008, Shepard Fairey comes correct with this print of the Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry. This print is very crisp and back to a nice, stencilly propaganda style. Yes!
"Shepard was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to do a piece of artwork for their Concrete Frequency Series. The print Shepard created is an image the famous Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry which is one of Los Angeles’ newest landmarks. For information about the Philharmonic, the Concrete Frequency Series, and Shepard’s involvement please visit, http://www.laphil.com ."

From the Poster Renaissance 2 show we spoke earlier about, Cleon Peterson, 20" x 20", silkscreen on paper in an edition of 100. $50

"Imagine a culture without copies because there are no originals. This is a reworking of two of the most imperative, if woefully underestimated questions of our era poised by Rosalind Krauss when she asked: ‘What would it look like not to repress the concept of the copy? What would it look like to produce a work that acted out of the discourse of reproductions without originals?’ Lascaux II provided an early draft of an answer, and now an online digital image of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper (1498) supplies another. On 29 October 2007, The Last Supper (1498)">a 16 billion pixel image of The Last Supper became available online. What’s the importance? The online version is 1,600 times more concentrated than an image taken with a typical 10 million pixel digital camera, meaning that it is literally more than the naked eye can see." excerpt from "15 Minutes" by Ronald Jones, Via Frieze. Read the rest of article at Frieze, and checkout The Last Super, here. BTW, the music on the Da Vinci page is a bit unnerving.

On newsstands now is the new issue of Swindle Magazine, featuring cover star Barry Mcgee, as well as Blu and Dalek. Go pick one up as soon as possible and enjoy the great interviews with the modern masters.

Well, we kind of slept on art openings last week and here is a show not to be missed now that it is already open. Poster Renaissance 2 featuring the print work of Shepard Fairey, Faile, Bast, Cleon Peterson and more. At New Image Art through February 2nd.

On the internet, Things grow old real fast, and old things become new just as fast. For example, sketches by Kurimoto Tanshuu done during the Edo period (1603-1868–the beginning of early, modern Japan). These sketches are as beautiful as they are odd and intricate. An early catalog of life in a unique style. For more images of Tanshuu's work check out the links at Pink Tentacle. The post is from 2006 but the drawing are even older.

Do you remember that scene in Children of Men where Clive Owen walks into the Palace of Fine Arts and there is a huge section of wall cut out with Banksy's Kissing Coppers on it? Well, things like this are slowly becoming a reality.
Up for auction on EBAY UK right now is a great Banksy piece that is still intact on a building. The cost of the auction does not include removal or delivery, but by the fact that there are already 9 bids totaling £200,000 this may set Banksy's auction record, at least his one on ebay.

You can find the auction here
And read more about this here

The Wall Street Journal profiles Jose Mugrabi, who owns at least 800 pieces by Andy Warhol. Damn.

Checkout Vincent Skeltis. The Brooklyn-based photographer is set to release a book of photos -- Adolescence And The Virtues Of Maturity. Co-curated by Skeltis and Daniel Jackson of Surface2Air and Bblessing, the project features works by Studio Von Birken, Brendan Donnelly, Daniel Jackson, Danielle Levitt, Justine Parsons, Andrew H. Shirley, and Skeltis. An opening reception will be held 01.10.08 at Bblessing (181 Orchard St) at 8pm. RSVP to: rsvp@bblessing.com. Via This Heart On Fire

Available for just one moment is this print, Huahuapan de Leon (Blue), by a favorite artist, Swoon. All proceeds go to support various projects that Swoon is interested in. Not only does the money go to a great cause, but the piece is amazing as well.

Brooklyn-Based, international art duo Faile, have updated their website putting a cap on what was a breakout year. If you search closely, you will find the ability to download a couple of their fonts, plus a couple desktop backgrounds. In addition, there is an up to date archive of their work plus all of their gallery exhibitions to date. Enjoy!

Auction Saboteur is a website based out of England which is essentially a free art classified based on the honor system. It is a very noble idea as it connects buyers and sellers directly, cutting out any middleman fees. Relatively new, the site still has some kinks to work out (a currency converter is quite necessary), but the natural business element of free trade is there and that is what matters most.

"I'm sure it's worth a lot, but it's not worth more than our dignity."

Read More

photo by rmccarthy

Here it is.
Think of a message that you would want to be displayed in Palestine.
Pay this guy above 30 euros.
He paints the message as accurately as possible.
He sends you three pictures of it on the border wall via email.
Or, he can send it to your friend.
Tadow! Reach international markets easily.

Check the website

The Annual All Star Hustlaz show opened at White Walls in San Francisco last week, among the standouts was this piece above, OG, by AJ Fosik. The sculpture is made out of enamel and wood and would hang perfectly on your wall, intimidating any intruder.

Dan Witz is probably the most painterly of any street artists. Working since the 1980's he is able render his subjects lifelike and place them in spots that could easily be overlooked. Some of his recent work reappropriates Do Not Enter signs with visual elements. Luckily, editions of these signs can now be yours for purchase through his website. A nice touch to any establishment.

Check out Swedish illustrator Mattias Adolfsson's, rendition of star wars the baroque version. There's Darth Vader, stormtrooper, and chewie and the gang.

offical site

Today's news is a contest of sorts. The info is below.
VISUAL definition is a contest to provoke creativity. OBEY challenges you to capture the essence of your favorite city, anywhere in the world, in a single photograph. Think of the sights that have influenced you to pick up a camera while prowling a city. The architecture of a building, the sights of a skyline, the street that has a favorite shop, the art that peels off a well weather wall, these are elements that evoke a feeling. It is this emotion that compels you to explore what more the city may have to offer. Show us what inspires you and we will reward the best results with prize packages from both OBEY and Karmaloop for the effort.

The grand prize submission will be offered as a printed, limited edition OBEY/Karmaloop t-shirt, along with a signed version of Supply and Demand, a limited OBEY signed print and an assortment of OBEY product.

Enter here

Today's prints which are leftovers from the WK/Shepard Fairey/Agnés B show are after the jump if you feel so inclined

On Creative Review's blog there is a post "The Bible According To Google Earth" which shows a "God’s Eye View" portraying "four key Biblical events as if captured by Google Earth." Some seriously great work done by the Glue Society for Pulse Art at early December's Miami Art Fairs. Moses parting the Red Sea, above.

Have a look

A new Banksy print, Stop and Search, was released today to the internet saavy. Here is what the folks said about it on Santa's Ghetto,

"Banksy would doubtless have you believe this print is an ironic comment on the paranoid nature of our security-minded times. But seriously, how much is this guy courting the pink pound? It's got a man in uniform, latex & Dorothy herself all in one spanky package."

If you missed it you can find one on Ebay later today for roughly 4 times the original price.

The artist Cum* has updated their site with some new works ands news. They will be showing at Fifty24SF in a group show January 10th, 2008. Head on over to the site and have a gander at all that is Cum*. My favorite piece, Best Seller (above).

More images at Santa's Ghetto

It's a skateboard deck. Put some trucks on it and roll.

Check out Hiroki Otsuka's installation at the the newly designed Triple 5 Williamsburg retails store. I used to share a studio with Hiroki back in the StayGold days, his work is clean beautiful and sensual. The opening is is from 7-10pm tonight, 145 Bedford Avenue at 9th.

Shepard Fairey

We had noted this show earlier in our December Art Preview, but today Juxtapoz pointed us to the preview of the work available at Ad Hoc Gallery in Bushwick. I think it's time to tap Uncle Scrooge and buy some more art. Opening Tonight.

LOT 12 ADAM NEATE, SUICIDE BOMBER est.10,000—15,000 GBP, 49 1/4 by 40 1/8 in., acrylic, oil, ink and gold foil on cardboard, executed in 2007

HAMMER PRICE W/ PREMIUM 78,500 GBP

Most won, a couple lost. All in all, another strong showing in London for this new breed of art. The results after the jump.

Fecal Face has put up some great shots of Primary Flight, which took place down in sunny Miami over the past week. Enjoy!

photo of Cycle painting © Jeremiah Garcia

LOT 25 BANKSY, CUSTARDIZED OIL #3 est. 150,000—200,000 GBP, 27½ by 23 5/8 in, signed and dated 06 on the reverse, oil on printed canvas in artist's frame

Tomorrow afternoon at Sotheby's in London, artwork by "urban" artists whose names have been previously shadowed by the Banksy spotlight will be placed on the Auction Block. What is disturbing about the majority of this artwork is that it is relatively new, executed and sold earlier in 2007. Collectors, speculators, and dealers alike will be watching very closely to see if these lesser known artists whom they have come to obsess about are ready for the wide world of auctions. Also watching closely will be specialists at Bonham's Auction House who are staging the first ever auction totally dedicated to "Urban Art" this coming February. We know that Banksy has the legs and tomorrow we'll see if the bidding public thinks the same of his contemporaries.

Could this be the start of Shepard's weekly print drop hiatus? Or is it a blind drop? Let's hope for the former, the crew needs a break and I will still be able to find random things to keep you mildly amused. Like, Obey Women. They're fun for us all. If you are in real dire need of buying something today, my suggestion is after the jump.

On his blog, KAWS pointed us to newly opened online gallery/social networking/community site, Heywire Guild & Gallery. Nice Endorsement. The site has a welcoming design feel to it and a search function that gets all cosmic, filtering horoscope signs on top of the normal attributes. Have a look and join the community.

Mark Ryden has produced a new limited edition print with Pressure Printing. Titled "Madonna and Karl", the print is an intaglio print of Mark's drawing of the same name, Madonna and Karl. It is museum quality, mounted into a completely handmade and gilded, wooden frame.

Print Size: 5 1/2" x 6 1/2"
Frame Size: 10 1/4" x 16 3/4" x 1 3/4"
Edition Size: 40

This print edition is available only through Pressure Printing. Available now for $5000.00, limit one per order.

I would do this piece of dopeness a disservice if I described it any other way than it already is.
"This ring is 24k gold plated, and was made in a very small quantity in bali by my homie, chance. they are pretty big and fit an average size dude finger, roughly a size 8. If you have one of these you can instantly score with babes, and really do damage to someone if you punch them with it. "
Available at Umbrella Market

On his blog, David Choe gives us a glimpse into his new studio and some of the things he is working on in preparation for his upcoming show this February at Lazarides in London.

Well, José Parla's work.

"The Woods, the Sea and Tea print", created by artist Sarah blank. Her work has a little Henri Rousseau feel to it, ("myself" portrait from 1890). She makes the work available for purchase in her Etsy store, and you can read her blog here.

Don't despair, I only have 19 more days of updating you on happenings in the Middle East.

via Format

This Friday at 7pm in Philadelphia, Space 1026 will hold their annual art auction. Participating artists include Katy Horan, Matt Leines, Alex Lukas, Shepard Fairey, Jim Houser, Adam Wallacavage, Andrew Jeffrey Wright, and more. What's really dope is the poster for the auction (above) which can be purchased as well. More info at Space 1026

I am unsure of when this book will be 'officially' released to the public, it is out, just very difficult to find. The cover is so crisp. Amazon it here.

David Shrigley's Worried Noodles

Flickr user CheVali has some of the first pictures we have seen of the Santa's Ghetto show inside that former chicken shop in Manger Square, Bethlehem.

Have a Look

Following a great opening weekend, today Shepard Fairey releases a new print titled 'POW'. All proceeds from the print go to WitnessTorture.Org, which is the website for a campaign to shut down Guantanamo Bay.

Over at Broke Ya Neckkkkkk they did a nice Q & A Session with Brooklyn-based graf & street artist, Gore B. Read up.

Blu, Letter A, Installation with wall painted animation

Over the weekend a refreshing show opened at Jonathan Levine Gallery in NYC. The Streets of Europe is a six man show featuring some of the finest Street Art talent from the Old World. Three Italians (Blu, Microbo, Bo130), Two Frenchmen (Blek Le Rat, Space Invader) and one Brit (D*Face) each with a different style, crossover well to the stark, white walls of Levine's Chelsea digs. After the jump some highlights.

The "Banksy" show opened Saturday night at the Vanina Holasek Gallery to a suckfest of wanking Brits. The show consists of basically everything Banksy has released through Pictures on Walls in the past 3 years with a few originals of suspect origin thrown in for good (or bad) measure. Hosted by an aging kilt-clad English gentleman doing his best impersonation of Johnny Rotten, the prices were as ridiculous as the accents. A signed “Girl with Balloon” print was listed at 55k. Not to miss any angle to exploit profit from Banksy’s image, there were even t-shirts for sale at a “reasonable” $50; because, in the words of our snaggle-toothed host, “Nothing’s free." Nothing.... except for the 18 beers my roommate and I drank of yours. The evening wasn’t all money hungry Brits selling out their countrymen for a quick buck. The nether depths of the British ex-pat celebrity scene were also in attendance; and we drank in their glamour as voraciously as we imbibed our aluminum-bottled Budweiser’s. While rubbing shoulders (literally, the place was a friggin closet) with Soap Opera ingénue and star of the hit movie Aspen Extreme Finola Hughes, photographer Mick Rock uttered the line of the night to me, “It’s brass monkey outside tonight!”. I inquired, “What’s that mean Mick?” “It means it’s cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!” Until next time, Gene P out.

Once again it is that time of year when for roughly three weeks Santa's Ghetto comes to life and art is sold to the public in a haphazard fashion. For the first time in its brief history, Santa's Ghetto is leaving the motherland for the climatic opposite, a former chicken shop in Bethlehem, Palestine. On top of setting up a stellar show featuring the likes of Banksy, Swoon, Ron English, Aiko, and more, the Artists will continue painting all along the border wall just as Banksy had done in 2005. This public artwork will be epic. The show will run through December 25th, with an online shop to satisfy those unable to make the trip. All proceeds go to the kids. Check their site daily as there will be updates.
It will be interesting to watch how this event plays out.
More info at Santa's Ghetto and a great article at the Times Online

Some pics of the indoor art after the jump.

The Streets of Europe, December 1st - December 29th, 2007, Jonathan Levine Gallery

While these are not all of the shows this month, this is what stands out. A Basel/Miami section is to come, but that is an entirely different matter. Too much good stuff.

Available now for your purchase is this gorgeous print by NY's favorite Street Artist Swoon. Coming in an edition of 150, Boy (Strong) is a 6 color print measuring around 12" x 43". Retailing at £350, it may seem steep, but well worth it

Installation by Hannes Broecker where museum goers are invited to pick up a glass and take a drink of a variety of cocktails in the container. (Via Neatorama)

You have to love pieces of jewelry with name Hooker Medallions. Natalia Fabia, whose show Hooker Safari is now on at Corey Helford Gallery in LA, created these limited edition Hooker Medallions for daily wear and strut. Hooker is such a great word.

Inside the studio of Downtown artist Dash Snow. via Razor Apple

Keep it moving.

Well, sort of. Opening this Sunday at the Vanina Holasek Gallery in New York is Banksy Does New York. Following in the wake of Andipa in London, the work in the show has been sourced from private collections and will be available to collectors at a premium. Just in time for investment bankers holiday bonuses. The show runs through December 29th.

Thanks to outer-borough for the info

press release after the jump

Everything is Shit, Enamel on Metal, 24" x 24"

As we previously mentioned over the holiday weekend, Steve Powers opened up a new exhibit this past Friday at the v1 Gallery in Copenhagen, Denmark. The following are highlights from the show. For more information contact elg@v1gallery.com

Today, Shepard Fairey releases Kiss Me Deadly to the world. Coming off in two colorways, the prints title is rumored to reference the Generation X album of the same name. Whatever the case, it will be gone in a heartbeat. On a side note, check out this Australian student's visual thesis (below).

This February, Bonham's Fine Art Auctioneers in London will hold the world's first auction devoted entirely to street art. While street art is nothing new, in the past year works from street artists have been seeping into auction houses and performing extremely well. Coming up this December, Sotheby's in London will have a section of their auction devoted to street art, but nothing in comparison to Bonham's. 100 works from the likes of Swoon, Shepard Fairey, Faile, Banksy, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat will be put on the block. Exciting for sure, this auction will definitely gauge whether or not this genre of art has the legs to be more than just a flash in the pan. Luckily, estimates are not creeping too high which gives the art a chance to break records.
Thanks to admonkey,thegiant.org moderator for bringing this to light
via, the times online

OPEN AIR from knox on Vimeo.

Wooster Collective pointed us to this great video from 2006 featuring ESPO, Dan Witz, Faile, Michael De Feo, and Skewville.

Opening tonight and running through December 21st, Steve Powers (Espo), Sleep and Repeat at V1 Gallery in Copenhagen Denmark. This is his first European solo show and comes directly after his first museum show at Pafa this past October. A busy month for Mr. Powers. Full press release after the jump.

If you do not know about her already, check out this month's Hi Fructose vol 6. interview with Marion Peck. Amazing, beautiful, and surreal work, that is disturbing and inviting at the same time.

Dan Hillier's Cthuloid drawings sport engraved Victorian gentlemen and ladies who are magically twisting into tentacled horrors. I just bought this one from the artist himself at a market stall in London's Brick Lane, and it's proudly hanging on my wall. I'm restraining myself (just barely) from buying more. (Via Boing Boing)

Blame this Tuesday's post on the Fox News Channel. Shepard will be releasing a pair of prints next week in anticipation of his Imperfect Union show coming up December 1st, but this will be covered later. After looking through a retrospective of all of his works to date, the Fear Bush 2 print (above) made in 2003, is still his most emotionally driven work of attack. Bush as Hitler, with the clever phrase at the bottom. Classic.

Available today at Target Stores nationwide are Limited Edition Beach towels by the likes of Jeff Koons, Kehinde Wiley, Cindy Sherman, and Elizabeth Peyton. These towels were concieved by the Non-Profit Art Production Fund and can also be purchased online at Works on Whatever. The towels are huge 60" x 70" so you could feasibly get them signed and hang them in your dwelling. Now you can be visually high-class either poolside, beachside, or coming out of your dirty bathroom.

ESPO keeps popping up everywhere, this time on the cover of the December issue of Juxtapoz. The article on the man is spot on, and guides the reader through the wild personality who was born with the name Stephen Powers. On newsstands now.

This Thanksgiving on the balmy streets of New York, the artist Jeff Koons will have a balloon based on the rabbit sculpture above flying in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Yup, that's about it.

Now that Swindle has their archives up on the internet, you can dig around through their earlier issues and uncover some great features that may have escaped you previously. Like this interview with Swoon by Marc Schiller of Wooster Collective. Probably the greatest interview with her I have ever read.

read

If you are in NY on November 15th, start your night off by attending this nice collabo between Chris Yormick (Rust), Swindle Magazine, and W Hotel. The opening reception is between 7 and 9pm at the W hotel in Times Square. More info here, and here

After a two week hiatus from a print release, Shepard returns to action with a release limited to 100 out of an edition of 400 featuring the work he did for Led Zeppelin's new album Mothership. More interesting to me is the commercial (above) which features Shepard's work coming to life. The print is after the jump.

A computer technician claims to have discovered a real da Vinci code after finding music hidden in Leonardo's masterpiece, The Last Supper.

Giovanni Maria Pala said that the hands of Jesus and the Apostles, and the loaves of bread in the picture each represented a note, which formed a 40-second composition.

He made the discovery after superimposing a stave - the five lines used in sheet music - on the painting. The composition emerges when the "notes" are read right to left, following Leonardo's own technique.

Mr Pala, who will publish his findings in a book next week, said: "It sounded really solemn, almost like a requiem."

Alessandro Vezzosi, of Tuscany's Leonardo museum, said the theory was "plausible", but added: "There's always a risk of seeing something that is not there, but it's certain that the spaces [in the painting] are divided harmonically.

"Where you have harmonic proportions, you can find music."
(via the telegraph)

A Taste of Seduction, Acrylic & Silkscreen on paper, 9 x 12 Inches

As we previously mentioned, today begins the five day viewing of Faile work that will be available through a lottery. The majority of the work being offered are "originals" with a couple prints thrown in the mix as well. If you decide to enter the lottery, here are the works which I recommend you choose.

For 2007, the artist SkullPhone has come out with some great ornaments featuring his signature Skull with a phone. Handblown glass and measuring 4" tall the ornament comes in varying colors and textures and can be purchased through his site for $32.

Sam Flores, whose show Senso to Heiwa opens at Lineage Gallery next week, is half mexican. On his blog, he reveals that other half, Pepe.

Starting November 12th and running through the 16th, Brooklyn-based artist collective Faile will be holding a lottery to secure the ability to purchase work directly from them. Talk about demand!

"You will be able to enter the lottery at any time during these 5 days. The lottery will randomly generate a "winner / winners" and those people will be notified through the email entered in the lottery site on Nov. 20th."

If you like their work and feel good about playing the lotto then do it.

Steve Powers is one of our favorite artists ever, so we were ecstatic to get some great images of his 8 day week installation that is currently part of his The Magic Word show at Pafa right now. Enjoy!

A Kaws kind of day. I was happy to find that included in the box that contained the white Zooth were these sick tarot card stickers.

Artist/illustrator Kerry Roper created this Ltd. edition Giclee print on 350g acid free fine art paper signed and editioned by the artist. Edition of 100. Buy now from 4wall.

Not only is Kaws talented with traditional mediums, he is also very apt at making plates of food into something special. As a reader of his blog, I have always been drawn towards his Art of Grub. Now you can be too.

Threadless.com was first a design house then a online t-shirt retailer. Next under 30 millionaires. Now...a brick and mortar store and gallery. November 9th marks the opening of Chuck Anderson (aka Nopattern). For his first solo show in Chicago, Chuck is showing both a collection of brand new original work, as well as a sampling of past commercial works. Chuck will be on hand for the opening celebration, and an exclusive reprint (in new colors) of his Select shirt will be available during the length of the show.

Check out Rolling Stone for a little gallery of Pearl Jam posters, from the 90's. Do you still have yours?

The other night we had the pleasure of visiting the studio of Queens-based artist Brandon Friend. After the jump, the visual evidence.

Nineteeneightyfouria was a resounding success. According to sources it is all sold out, creating more demand on the little island with the big currency. While Shepard continues preparation for his upcoming show at Merry Karnowsky in December, here is a little media recap of the past events.

Telegraph Market News
The Guardian
Telegraph
Times Online

Photos
Vinyl Pulse
DELARGE
SlamXHype
The World's Best Ever
Flickr

photo by delarge