Los Angeles has always been allergic to other people’s narratives. It hates being summarized. It hates being tidy. That’s why … More
Tag: contemporary art
Barry McGee: The Street Poet Who Turned Graffiti Into Gospel
If graffiti ever earned a philosophy degree, fell in love with geometry, and still smelled faintly of Krylon, it would … More
WEAPONS-GRADE CUTENESS: YOSHITOMO NARA DOESN’T PLAY NICE! AN ARTIST PROFILE!
Yoshitomo Nara is the rare artist whose work triggers both “aww” and “uh-oh.” One minute you’re staring at puppy-round eyes; … More
PITCH PERFECT: Takashi Murakami Throws Pitch at Dodger’s Baseball Game in Tokyo!
These days it seems like every where we turn we stumble into the artwork of Takashi Murakami. Whether it’s his … More
IN TOKYO: Shameless Art-Luxury Collabs Redux! Murakami and Louis Vuitton Smash-up!
They’re at it again! Megawatt contemporary Japanese art star Takashi Murakami and storied French fashion brand Louis Vuitton have furthered … More
CUE THE LIGHTS & MIRRORS: AT THE STELLAR OLAFUR ELIASSON “OPEN” SHOW IN L.A.!
We checked out the new show of Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in Los Angeles … More
ATTACK OF THE CLONE: NEWISH “ASTRONAUT” PAINTING BY JAPANESE MEGA-STAR ARTIST TAKASHI MURAKAMI ON VIEW IN L.A.!
Newish Murakami Lands at The Broad, and Yes, We’re Obsessed Heads up, art lovers: We’ve just spotted a “newish” Takashi … More
PRETTY IN PINK: SAVORING THE “MUTE FLESH” SHOW IN L.A.
In the latest “Houseguest” series installment at the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts at the Hammer Museum in Los … More
IN IT FOR THE MONEY: THIEVES AGAIN BRAZENLY STEAL ICONIC BANKSY PAINTING IN LONDON GALLERY!
It’s the kind of art-world story that seems like it was ripped straight from a movie script. The iconic “Girl … More
DREAM A LITTLE SURF DREAM: THE MESMERIZING SWEET AND SOMBER PAINTINGS OF ARTIST PANDORA DECOSTER!
The paintings of French artist Pandora Decoster read like a love affair with the forms and shapes of waves, surfboards … More
LOS ANGELES, I’M YOURS: ARTIST ED RUSCHA RETROSPECTIVE SHOW IN L.A. IS MIND-CRUSHINGLY GOOD!
Ed Ruscha’s “Now Then” retrospective, now lighting up the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), is nothing short of … More
BLOODY CONTROVERSY: THE SHOCKING NEW OFFICIAL PORTRAIT OF KING CHARLES UNVEILED!
In a move that’s sure to stir the pot, Buckingham Palace has unveiled the first official painted portrait of King … More
IN IT FOR THE MONEY: JAPANESE ART STAR YAYOI KUSAMA FINANCIALLY KICKED ASS IN 2023!
Contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama kicked financial ass in 2023, outshining former leading revenue-maker David Hockney in total art sales! … More
RIDDLE WRAPPED IN A MYSTERY INSIDE AN ENIGMA: THOSE PESKY MONOLITHS STARTED POPPING UP AGAIN!
In an era where the mundane is often met with apathy, a series of enigmatic monoliths have emerged from the … More
DEEPFAKE ROYALE! ARTIST CREATES CREEPY FILM WITH ALL THE JAMES BONDS!
It’s simultaneously creepy and hilarious. And it’s definitely brilliant. Using AI video technology tools and filming herself on a green … More
MOONSTRUCK! : ARTIST JEFF KOONS’ COSMIC ART LANDS ON LUNAR SURFACE AS PART OF NASA SPACE MISSION!
In a cosmic fusion of art and space exploration, Jeff Koons‘ latest venture has propelled his miniature moon sculptures to … More
WALL OF COATS: ARTIST’S INSTALLATION ARTWORK IS … WALL OF COATS!
The artist is Ann Hamilton. The artwork is titled “side by side.coats.” The location is the Los Angeles County Museum … More
OUT OF HARMONY: THE UNBEARABLE HEAVINESS OF FILMMAKER HARMONY KORINE’S DISTURBING DYSTOPIC PAINTINGS!
Harmony Korine is better know as one of the leading figures to emerge from the New York City independent film … More
STREET FAKES: TAYLOR SWIFT AS STREET ART SUPERSTAR!
Taylor Swift is a pop-music mega-star with an audience on a scale of which the world has seldom seen. Her … More
THE BIG DRAW: CHECKING OUT THE MASSIVE KEITH HARING EXHIBITION IN L.A.
We dropped in on the massive retrospective exhibition of the late, great pioneering artist Keith Haring at the Broad art … More
CONTEMPORARY ART ON VIEW: ARTIST TRNZ CAPTURES CHILDHOOD IN ITS PRECIOUS MOMENTS OF PENSIVITY AND PETULANCE!
The new show by the artist TRNZ at Thinkspace in Los Angeles is filled with paintings that evoke children’s storybook … More
MUST-SEE TV: OUR LATEST VIDEO IS FIRST EPISODE OF NEW SERIES CALLED “ARTIST IN RESIDENCE”!
We recently released a new video we produced on the Australian artist Lincoln Mayne. It’s the first in a series … More
CONTEMPORARY ART ON VIEW: ARTIST RAY DUNLAP’S DEEPLY PERSONAL VISUAL CHRONICLES OF AN INTER-GALACTIC DREAM TIME!
“Diary of an Abductee” is the title of artist Ray Dunlap‘s latest solo exhibition currently on view at the East … More
SLEEPER HIT: MUSEUM VISITORS NOT-SHOCKED AT SIGHT OF MAN NAPPING ON THE GALLERY FLOOR!
Patrick Jackson’s two life-size, realistic human figures lie supine on the floor of two separate galleries in the Hammer Museum … More
ARTWORLD EN REGALIA: GUESS WHAT BUILDING THIS IS! THERE’S A HINT IN THE TITLE OF THIS POST! WINK WINK!
Did you guess? Did you guess that it’s the Marciano Art Foundation (MAF) museum building and home to one of … More
NEW PROJECTS: ART IS LIFE – AN INDISPENSABLE VISUAL REFERENCE TO AN ART CRITIC’S BOOK!
“Art is Life” is a collection of essays and articles by New York magazine’s art critic Jerry Saltz. The book is … More
URBAN JUNGLES: MASSIVE PLANTS MURALS INVADE CITIES AROUND THE WORLD! THE ART OF MONA CARON!
Swiss artist Mona Caron‘s building-size murals inject larger-than-life images of verdant botanical life into otherwise drab urban landscapes. Many of … More
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: MASSIVE L.A. MURAL STOPPING PASSERSBY IN TRACKS IS JUST “ONE OF THE GREATEST ARTISTS OF ALL-TIME”!
In the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles, there’s a massive mural of a middle-aged man, his hands clasped together, … More
STREET ART 101: ICONIC MURALS, BOLD STATEMENTS – WHO IS D*FACE?
D*Face, the British street art maestro, is a multimedia maverick who wields spray paint, stickers, posters, and stencils with unbridled … More
SOUND AND VISION: AT TECHNO PIONEER CARL CRAIG’S RADICALLY THUMPING, MINIMALIST EXPERIENTIAL ART INSTALLATION IN L.A.!
Last week we went to the exhibition of Detroit Techno pioneer and artist Carl Craig at MoCA in Los Angeles. … More
ART 101: THE ART WORLD’S MARVELOUS, MIRTHFUL PIED PIPER – WHO IS JEFF KOONS?
In the grand spectacle that is the art world, few artists can command attention quite like Jeff Koons. With his … More
SHOW ME THE HONEY : STREET ART SWEETENS THE HYPER-SHOPPING MECCA OF TOKYO’S SHIBUYA!
It was a sweet surprise to see the street art of San Francisco-based artist Fnnch (pronounced “finch”) in Tokyo a … More
FAR AWAY, SO CLOSE : JAPANESE ARTIST’S TOWERING HEAVENLY “SURF ANGEL” STATUE IS AN INDELIBLE EPIC DREAM!
Japanese artist Motohiko Odani’s massive, fantastic, classical-style neon and plaster sculptural object “Surf Angel (Provisional Monument 2)” towers in a … More
EVERYBODY HATES PUBLIC ART, EXCEPT WHEN THEY DON’T : THE INCREDIBLE, INEDIBLE AND POPULAR “TOKYO EGG”!
It seems almost axiomatic that most public art is bad. Like really, really mind-blowingly f*cking bad. And though it is … More
CONTEMPORARY ART 101: FROM “SUPERFLAT” TO SUPERSTAR – WHO IS ARTIST TAKASHI MURAKAMI?
Takashi Murakami is perhaps the best-known among a handful of Japanese contemporary artists who have over the past couple of … More
FROM THE STREET TO THE WHITE CUBE – WHO IS THE ARTIST KNOWN AS “KAWS”?
The work of KAWS, the pseudonym of American artist Brian Donnelly, has been taking the art world by storm for … More
STREET ART 101: IN PRAISE OF SUBVERSION — WHO IS BANKSY?
Banksy, the elusive street artist, has become a legend in his own time, carving out a unique niche in the … More
ART 101: THE POLKA-DOT PRINCESS OF CONTEMPORARY ART – WHO IS YAYOI KUSAMA?
Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist who has captivated the world with her mesmerizing polka dots and psychedelic installations, is nothing … More
ON VIEW: ALEX ISRAEL’S PASTEL-TINTED, SURF-INSPIRED VISION!
We’re fans of artist Alex Israel. It may in part be due to the fact that we’re surfers here at … More
“GOTHIC FUTURISM” : THE BLOCKBUSTER ARTWORK OF PIONEERING HIP-HOP ARTIST RAMMELLZEE!
We went to Deitch Projects gallery in Los Angeles on Saturday for the last day of the blockbuster “Gothic Futurism” … More
AT THE MUSEUM: INCREDIBLE NAVAJO-INFLUENCED ART OF ERIC-PAUL RIEGE!
We’re blown away by the artwork of Navajo artist Eric-Paul Riege. His current show at the Hammer Museum in Los … More
INCREDIBLE EDIBLE: ARTIST CREATES GIANT FOOD SCULPTURES TO DROOL FOR!
We checked out the whimsical “Fulton’s Exhibit” in Hollywood last weekend. The show is a collection of giant food sculptures … More
VAN LIFE: YET ANOTHER VEHICLE PAINTED BY KENNY SCHARF!
We spotted yet another vehicle adorned with artwork by the artist Kenny Scharf in Los Angeles. This one was on … More
MEDIUM IS MESSAGE: THE POTENT RELEVANCE OF BARBARA KRUGER!
The Broad museum in Los Angeles has several major works by the influential American artist Barbara Kruger in its permanent … More
POST-MODERN CLASSIC: REVISITING ANDY WARHOL’S “MAO” PAINTINGS!
Between 1972 and 1973, the late great pop-art pioneer Andy Warhol created 199 silkscreen paintings of the notorious Chinese revolutionary … More
COSMIC THING: KENNY SCHARF CARTOONS ADORN L.A. TIRE SHOP!
Two dark-pink, disembodied cartoon heads by Los Angeles-based artist Kenny Scharf bookend the signage on the facade of a tire … More
STREET ART: MURAL BY MR. B-BABY IN LOS ANGELES
Awesome street art mural by Mr. B-Baby near intersection of Venice Boulevard and Centinela Avenue in the Mar Vista neighborhood … More
STREET ART P.S.A. : HOUSTON GRAFFITI GIVES IMPORTANT HEALTH REMINDER!
Here’s an important message we should all heed: “Breathe.” A lovable and small graffiti artwork on the side of a … More
CRYPTO ART : MURAL OF THE BORED APE YACHT CLUB NFT AS GYM DECOR
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been around for few years now, but it was in 2021 that these captured the public’s … More
WRIT LARGE : MASSIVE “MSK” GRAFFITI THROW-UP IN L.A. ARTS DISTRICT
We spent a morning in the Arts District on a recent visit to Los Angeles. It’s home to lots and … More
POST-MODERNISM IN THE PARK : CONTEMPORARY ARTWORK AS PLAYGROUND
Dubbed the “post-modern playground slide” in the park across the street from my in-laws’ home near Roppongi in Tokyo. The … More
BEYOND “SUPERFLAT” : AT THE MIND-ALTERING TAKASHI MURAKAMI SHOW IN L.A.!
We finally made it to the landmark Takashi Murakami exhibition at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles. We posted about … More
UN-CONTAINABLE : AT THE OPENING OF THE BRILLIANTLY-CURATED “VESSEL” ART SHOW IN LA LA LAND!
On Saturday we went to the opening of a new group show at Hashimoto Contemporary in Los Angeles. It’s called … More
NIFTY : NFT STREET ART SIMULTANEOUSLY EVOKES AWE AND EYE-ROLLS IN TOURISTY POST-GENTRIFIED OVER-HIPSTERED VENICE HOOD!
On a wall in an alley behind a block of fashionable cafes, luxe-hipster boutiques and a foodie-grade ice cream shop … More
SUPERFLAT IN LA LA LAND: TAKASHI MURAKAMI’S FIRST MAJOR SOLO SHOW AT THE BROAD MUSEUM OPENS!
This weekend saw the opening of a major Takashi Murakami exhibition at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles. It’s the … More
LOST AND FOUND : TREASURE TROVE OF PHOTOG’S MISSING IMAGES FINALLY ON VIEW TO PUBLIC AFTER DECADES!
“A marvelous and delightful way to earn a living” is how American photographer Marilyn Stafford describes her career in an … More
STREETSY : BAFFLINGLY ABSTRACT MURAL CONFUSES VENICE BEACH LOCALS!
The Venice Beach area of Los Angeles, its fashionable neighborhoods and adjacent districts, is home to a lot of street … More
BRUSHED UP : HOW A GIANT COMB SCULPTURE BLEW OUR MIND!
The first time we saw Latvian artist Vija Celmins’ giant plastic comb at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art … More
FLIP MODE! SHREDDED BANKSY RE-SOLD AT AUCTION FOR MORE THAN $25 MILLION!
We’re in the wrong business. We should be in the business of flipping infamous Banksy artworks. Especially the kind that … More
“LIT A.F., DUDE! “: SEEING THIS ICONIC L.A. ARTWORK NEVER GETS OLD!
Artist Robert Irwin’s wall of multi-colored fluorescent tube lights at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art serves as post-modernist … More
ULTIMATE PAINTING: ARTIST SARAH CAIN PAINTERLY PROVOKES ART WORLD GATEKEEPERS!
The New York Times arts section has turned a deservedly keen eye towards Los Angeles-based painter Sarah Cain. Cain’s paintings … More
STOP MAKING SENSE: NEW WORK FROM TEXAS ARTIST RAY DUNLAP DIVES DEEPER INTO GLORIOUS ABSTRACTION !
Houston, Texas-based artist Ray Dunlap has unleashed a new series of paintings dubbed “American Made Witchcraft.” This new work delves … More
SPARKLING COLLAB: TAKASHI MURAKAMI BRINGS “SUPERFLAT” TO A PERRIER BOTTLE NEAR YOU!
It was only a matter of time until we see a contemporary art superstar lend their artwork to a major … More
INEDIBLE EDIBLES: ARTIST CROCHETS PASTA!
Somebody’s got a lot of free time on their hands. They’ve got vision. They’ve got yarn. They’ve got a crocheting … More
PHOTOGENIC : NEW SHOW REVEALS DEEP TIES OF TWO JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERS!
A new exhibition at the European House of Photography in Paris (Maison Européenne de la Photographie or MEP) showcases two … More
TOUR DE FORCE: OBAMA PORTRAITIST AMY SHERALD’S BRILLIANT “THE GREAT AMERICAN FACT” EXHIBITION IN L.A.!
It’s a small show, but one that packs a punch. Amy Sherald’s collection of five new paintings manage to fill … More
CALIFORNICATION!: THE SURF-INSPIRED ART OF DJ JAVIER!
One could draw a Venn diagram with one circle for artists, designers, musicians, actors, and all manner of creators, and … More
TRANSPARENT THINGS: THE MINIMALIST GLASS CUBE THAT TURNS THE WORLD RED!
Artist Larry Bell’s red, glass cubes at MOCA Los Angeles are a masterful use of color, materials and space. The … More
LIGHT LINES: THE STUNNING IMMERSIVE SPACES OF BRAZILIAN ARTIST BLOWS OUR MINDS!
Last weekend we went to the new exhibition of artwork by Brazilian artist Lygia Pape at Hauser and Wirth Los … More
DRAWN TO DISTRACTION: DAVID HOCKNEY FLIPPING THROUGH HIS SKETCHBOOK IS BRILLIANT!
. . . . . This video of British artist David Hockney flipping through his sketchbook without commentary is a … More
FANTASTIC PLASTIC: GIANT YELLOW CUBES MADE OF WEST-AFRICAN WATER CONTAINERS!
On the edge of a Native American land tract on the outskirts of Palm Springs, California, stand a pair of … More
EXPLODED VIEWS: ARTIST SLICES UP EVERYDAY OBJECTS!
Artist Fabian Oefner’s Heisenberg Objects is a collection of sculptural works created by slicing objects — sneakers, a clock, a … More
BACK TO THE MUSEUM!: WE VISIT OUR FIRST EXHIBITION IN OVER A YEAR! PANDEMIC BE DAMNED!
On Monday we went to our first art exhibition in over a year. Our first since the start of the … More
MARK THE SPOT!: EPIC, SPRAWLING “DESERT X” CONTEMPORARY ART EVENT RETURNS TO THE COACHELLA VALLEY!
It’s back! And we are so very happy to see it! Desert X has returned. What’s Desert X? It’s the … More
NIFTY!: DIGITAL N.F.T. ARTWORK SOLD FOR $69 MILLION AT AUCTION! JAWS DROP!
In a groundbreaking auction sale a digital artwork in the form of a JPG file as non-fungible token (or NFT) … More
WHAT PARTY?: FIRST MAJOR KAWS RETROSPECTIVE OPENS IN BROOKLYN!
The New York Times has published a review of the new KAWS exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. KAWS … More
THE UNLIKELIEST ART STAR: HOW KAWS WENT FROM GRAFFITI-TAGGER TO GLOBAL ART WORLD MEGASTAR!
The New York Times has published an excellent profile of artist Brian Donnelly. Who is Brian Donnelly you ask? He’s … More
FUZZY LOGIC: CULTURE OF MISAKI KAWAI!
Artist Misaki Kawai‘s current exhibition of new work at the Hole Gallery in New York City could at a brief … More
IN PASSING, IN MAKE OUT CITY: THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF IAN HOLWORTH
British photographer Ian Holworth‘s images remind us of the work of another photographer, William Eggleston, and the painter Edward Hopper. … More
FLAKEY: WEB-BASED SNOWFLAKE GENERATOR IS SUBLIME (AMONG OTHER THINGS)!
Here’s a fun way to wile away a couple of hours. The Snowflake Generator is the awesome work of California-based … More
STREET ART: SPEAK NO MONEY, SEE NO MONEY, HEAR NO MONEY!
This wonderful mural in Downtown Los Angeles is a visual play on the age-old proverb “Speak no evil, See no … More
UPLIFTING: JAPANESE ARTIST TAKASHI MURAKAMI DECORATES CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL WITH ICONIC ARTWORK
Mega-superstar Japanese artist Takashi Murakami recently decorated part of the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., with his iconic cartoon-like … More
LA LA LAND: INTERACTIVE DRIVE-BY PHOTO ARCHIVE OF EVERY BUILDING ON EVERY BLOCK OF SUNSET BLVD IN L.A.!
The Getty Museum has launched a website called 12 Sunsets that is a fascinating interactive archive of 65,000 photos taken … More
THRILLS, PILLS & SHARKS: NEW DAMIEN HIRST EXHIBITION BRINGS BACK THE FORMALDEHYDE SHARK AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!
British artist Damien Hirst made a name for himself in the early 1990s with a sensational exhibition of works that … More
RISE AND SHINE: ARTIST-DESIGNER PAINTS SUNRISE VIEWS FROM HIS APT. ON N.Y. TIMES COVERS, HONORS JACOB BLAKE!
The artwork is part of a series by New York City-based artist and designer Sho Shibuya, who paints sunrise view … More
YACHT ROCK: U.K. STREET ARTIST BANKSY FINANCES AND DECORATES REFUGEE RESCUE BOAT IN THE MED!
Mysterious and infamous U.K. artist Banksy has bankrolled a small refugee rescue ship sailing the Mediterranean Sea. The boat is … More
STUNNER: VANITY FAIR PUTS BREONNA TAYLOR ON COVER OF SEPTEMBER ISSUE!
The cover of Vanity Fair magazine’s September 2020 issue is a triumph. It’s a beautiful, bittersweet portrait of Breonna Taylor … More
STARS, STRIPES, POST-MODERNISM: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, AMERICA!
It’s 4th of July and in the United States this date is America’s Independence Day holiday. It marks the nation’s … More
ARE LUXURY BRANDS CO-OPTING PROTEST ART FOR THEIR OWN GREEDY SELF-INTEREST?
Amidst the recent protests and Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis … More
ARTIST RAYMOND DUNLAP’S STUNNING “AWAKE OF THE WHALES”
Raymond Dunlap’s “Awake of the Whales” is a high-water mark in the Houston, Texas-based artist’s two-decades of output. It’s one … More
HAS L.A. ECLIPSED N.Y.C. AS THE NEW GLOBAL CAPITAL OF CONTEMPORARY ART?
Yeah, probably. That the question is even being asking is telling in and of itself. It’s still early days in … More
DEATH STARES: WHEN CONTEMPORARY ART DARES YOU TO BLINK!
This artwork by artist Urs Fischer’s boldly stares at you with an equally bolder collage of photographic and graphical colors … More
EPIC! MARK BRADFORD’S “160 PORTRAIT TONE”
This epic painting is by Los Angeles-based artist Mark Bradford. Its title is “160 Portrait Tone.” LACMA is showing the … More
ARTWORK BY BARRY MCGEE
Artist Barry McGee’s work has been a fixture in our memory and imagination for close to two decades now. We … More
IS TAKASHI MURAKAMI ON DRUGS?
This massive hanging canvas by Takashi Murakami is like nothing else the Japanese artist has exhibited before or that we’ve … More
PROFANE: FRESH ARTWORK FROM MAYA HAYUK
We’ve been following artist Maya Hayuk’s work throughout her career and seen many of her colorful, cross-hatched abstract murals in … More
STARSTRUCK: ALEC’S INEVITABLE MARILYN MONROE MURAL
The artist ALEC has made a career of street art and massive murals with images of pop-culture icons and celebrities … More
“IT’S JUST A ROCK” … REVISITING “LEVITATED MASS”
Artist Michael Heizer‘s awesome, infuriating, confounding and beautiful installation-art master work “Levitated Mass” on the north-side of LACMA in Los … More
HIGH-FLYIN’: 800 VIEWS OF AIRPORTS
We — and possibly you, too — are a big fan of large coffee-table art books by the likes of … More
SUBLIME: MADE OF HAGOP
The street art of the artist who goes by the moniker Made of Hagop never ceases to impress us with … More
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