Breaking

PhD sculpture student Jessica Harrison has a grotesquely alluring series of artwork that features delicate women figurines... and their exposed insides.  According to her Facebook Fanpage,  "Each piece is made using one of the mass-produced ceramic figures so familiar as the ornamental clutter filling shelves and gathering dust around the world, revealed and reshaped to show a soft and fleshy interior behind the brittle and fragile skin."

It is hard not to be intrigued by this juxtaposed mix of guts and glamor.

Stupidhead

Ha!  It is payback time for Portland artist Aruppel.  She is getting her revenge on birds that have attacked her and her friends, through an absolutely brilliant series called "Mean Birds".  She has painted a collection of beautiful acrylic bird portraits, complete with a well deserved bad name they earned through their actions.  So enjoyable!

Prints available at @my ruppel's Etsy Shop.

Lumadessa

I'm enamored by the work of Portland Maine artist, Josh Brill.  He creates modern illustrations of birds and animals in an ongoing series he calls the Flora Fauna Collection which captures,

"The design identities of plants and animals from around the world. Examining the visual character differences and similarities of species. A field guide of discovery, beginning with birds."

Josh's website Lumadessa features a number of prints for sale ($10-$30) along with free smartphone wallpaper (my phone is currently sporting the colourful Western Tanager (above middle)).

Lunchbox Paintings

Dan Kenneally's Lunchbox paintings are half infographic, half culinary masterpieces.  Dan paints sandwiches as colour blocks of ingredients, neatly stacked in 18" x 18" acrylics.  It doesn't take an overactive imagination to recognize a cheeseburger, cream cheese and lox, or smore when you see one.  Mmmmm.  If none of these get you salivating, Dan takes custom orders via his Etsy store.

Leigh Viner

I just purchased my first Leigh Viner

print. Her work is a pencil, pen and watercolor combination, enhanced with digital love. Her subject matter is always quiet, powerful and chic.

You can purchase prints at the jkldesign Etsy shop. I also recommend checking out Leigh's YouTube channel that combines her art with the touching music of Olivier Bostvironnois. A nice collaboration.

K is for Karma

Robert Samuel Hanson creates some simple and elegant illustrations. His in progress Alphabet caught my attention with its witty characterizations of the letters. K is for Karma makes me smile every time.

Kevin Cyr

Enjoying the realistic vehicle paintings of Kevin Cyr.

Rivane Neuenschwander

Rivane Neuenschwander's painting series Ze Carioca no. 4 is currently on display at MoMA. Rivane painted over a recently reissued Brazilian comic book series from the 1940s. The comic was a politically charged, but much adored Disney comic called Ze Carioca. In these pieces, the panels of the comic book are kept in order but the text has been blanked out, and the images painted over using the bright background colors of the original comic panels. The intention of the piece is for viewers to make their own stories up out of the emptiness, or to remember the stories from their own viewpoints, based on the titles.

(Found through Swissmiss)

Lineanongrata

I found myself staring dreamily at the artwork of German artist Lineanongrata (a.k.a. Julia Freund). She has a imaginative, quirky take on the world. Her style is super sweet, with just a little bit of edge to it. I particularly enjoy her interpretations of nursery rhymes and fairy tales.

Check out her Etsy store of prints, buttons and greeting cards or her blog.

Bodies in Urban Space

Bodies in Urban Spaces is a performance art piece by Austrian artist, Willi Dorner. His crew of dancers and acrobats tour cities, running around as a group, squeezing themselves into whatever gaps or crevasses they pass. Most of the time, the group is wearing dynamically coloured clothes (not in the image above), making themselves into tightly fit, bright, beautiful urban artwork.

Sisyphus Office

Jonn Herschend has curated an exhibit called Sisyphus Office, which pairs Houston artists with office workers to "highlight art as an integral and necessary distraction in our day to day life".

I haven't seen the entire exhibit, but I really enjoyed David Fullarton's contributions. David created a series of small art pieces, made entirely out of office supplies, around the theme "What I do at work when I'm supposed to be working". Some of them are just too good, like the note to the financial department about microwaving halibut, or the apology note (shown above) explaining tardiness.

The exhibit is currently showing in Houston until July 27, 2009.

Serious Drawings

My copy of Marc Johns' brilliant book, Serious Drawings, just arrived this week. I'm a big fan of Marc's work. I've been thoroughly enjoying the book. For a taste, go to Marc's website. It is a never ending supply of amusement and witty insights.

iSketches

Jorge Colombo creates paintings... on his iPhone.  He uses a application called Brushes, which allows him to paint with his finger.  He captures scenes of New York City on his little 3.5 inch digital canvas.  The backlit screen allows for easy nighttime painting sessions.

If you want to see how it's done, Jorge's website features movies of the paintings in progress (a feature of Brushes).  I'm amazed and inspired.

See Saw Series

Artist L Filipe dos Santos has a nice sketchbook series called See Saw.  They start with colorful gouache blotches and are transformed into quirky, story filled drawings.

There is something really nice about allowing yourself to be inspired by color and shape.    (Found through Sub-Studio).

Decaying Paintings

Humans have a tendency to want to fight time and create things that last forever.  But there is something very beautiful about how a fragile material ages, and changes over time. 

Valerie Hegarty challenges the way we think about art by creating pieces that are already decaying and decrepit.  Her art is battered, torn and damaged.  It has already been burned, shot, drowned or eaten by bugs... so now you don't have to worry about it, just enjoy it.  (Found through My Formative).

Everything I Have

Artist Simon Evans has taken inventory of all his worldly possessions in his piece, Everything I Have.  The image was created out of pen, paper, scotch tape, and white out.  I have so many questions...

This idea definitely makes you reflect on your own belongings and consumerism.  I'm trying to imagine how big or small an inventory of everything I own would be, and just how long it would take to catalog.  I'm sure at the end of the process I would want to give away everything and move to a hut on the beach.  I'll add this to my To Do List, just in case.

You can see Simon's work in NYC at the James Cohan Gallery, now until  April 4th.  (Found through PSFK).

Painting Facebook Portraits

Matt Held has found a timely twist on portraits - basing them off Facebook profile images. I've been thinking a lot the past few days about Michael Surtees' article about Face pics being the new logo.  In some ways I hope this isn't true.  The pictures people use for their profiles all seem so calculated and unreflective of a person's dynamic self (mine included).  All that aside, Matt's portraits are very alive and flattering.  I would love one.  If you are interested in getting your portrait painted, just join Matt's Facebook group.  Oh, and of course they are all square. (Found through Double Takes).

Hamburgerpanda

Hamburgerpanda is an Etsy favorite of mine.  I haven't bought anything yet, but I plan to.  Hamburgerpanda prints and cards are scientific-cute, if such a category exists.  Cindy Yep is the San Francisco artist behind Hamburgerpanda.  She says she is inspired by science fiction, nature, and Asian pop culture.  I particularly like her underwater robots, like Roboctopus and Turtlebot.

Leah Giberson

I just ordered a print from Leah Giberson.  She has a beautiful collection of prints available on Etsy.  Her paintings feature concrete urban landscapes, empty swimming pools, and unoccupied chairs.  Although the subjects seem cold, the colors make the paintings themselves very warm.

Dissecting Pastry

I always get in trouble for playing with my food.  But my food, rearranging neurosis don't touch on Kathryn Parker Almanas'!  She dissects food, arranges it biology lab style, and photographs it.  The scientific arrangements are a refreshing approach to a typical food still life.  They momentarily change the way I look at food.  This is my kind of innovative thinking.  (Found though PicoCool).