American Icons, a recent solo exhibition by Hernando Alzate was nothing new under the sun. But that isn’t saying much. What is new these days? All forms of creation rely heavily on the work made before it. However, what American Icons lacked in new ideas, it made up for with visually stimulating images and an in depth process that if anything is a technical achievement. In one piece, he’ll evoke the pop masters of the past, Warhol and Lichtenstein. In another he nods to the pop master of the present, check out his Mr. Brainwash nod in the above image.
Sneaky Sound System is our latest sonic obsession. Part Neptunes era Kelis, party Vanity Six, part Marilyn Monroe, their video for their single ‘We Love’ is a quirky, bright video that gives tongue and cheek a very literal meaning. The track is insanely catchy, and nods to the 80′s while managing to ooze everything contemporary. Andy would be proud.
Marcelo Daldoce started painting at 16. Three years later he dropped out of school to as he simply puts, “stay home to paint by myself.” “I always liked to draw when I was a kid, but I never really thought about pursuing it,” the artist explains. “In high school, a friend suggested I apply to a Magnet School for the arts. I guess when I actually got accepted I realized I could make a living with art.”
Imagine there’s this sad soul whose never seen Greg Gossel’s work. Let me paint that person a picture. The Minneapolis based artist combines expressive interplay of words, images and gesture through a combination of mediums including silkscreen, transfers and found objects. Consider it visual intertextuality. With every piece is not only adding to the dialogue of contemporary art, he’s commenting on it, by the images he uses or doesn’t use.
The force is strong with this one. On June 1, Artist/graphic designer PaperFrank will debut new works in an exhibition entitled “Afro Picks and Bunny Suits 2″ at Archive Gallery. All work and merchandise will be for sale. If you’re in Atlanta and want to know where the art scene is heading, you need to make it out to this show.
On April 14, Art Nouveau Magazine presented Want To See A Sad Boy Smile? Pay Him, the debut solo exhibition by artist/designer GreatEclectic at Studio 900 in Atlanta, GA. GreatEclectic gave viewers a glimpse into his elaborate rants and musings on fame, power, money, love, the rise and the fall and our generation’s obsession with celebrity. His signature aesthetic evokes a unique combination of pop culture semiotics and art history paired with a vibrant narrative. Works in the exhibition range from mixed media collages, to drawings, paintings and photography.
It’s officially spring. The birds are chirping. Pimps and players are flirting. And the girls? Well depending on who you ask, they run the world. It wouldn’t be spring without a tribute to the girls, girls, girls.
I’ve never met GreatEclectic, but I know him quite well. I’ve never felt more innately connected to someone with whom I’ve never shared conventional contact; but that is the beautiful mystery that is the Great Mister Daye. He conveys and connects with the world and the one individual alike, because he is his work; as with any masterpiece, that connection lives in the unconventional void – where authenticity cannot be barred by limitation, and catharsis cannot be marred by sterile sanity. He lives in his work – it is in that shared space where I feel, and it is in that shared experience where life is present.
Atlanta based artist PaperFrank has been killing the arts scene in Atlanta. From RockSmith Clothing to City of Ink his signature style, a mix of neo pop and anime, is everywhere. You Mad?
While browsing Flickr I came across these spray paint can art pieces by Dillon Boy. Witty and political his cans are bright as the sun but the messages are grim as a Charlie Sheen drunken voicemail. At once there is Mickey Mouse splattered in blood on one can and Hello Kitty with sex on the brain–literally. Take a closer look at Dillon Boy’s Spray Paint Can Art below.
Risa Marie is your number one fan. At least if you’re a hip musician. The painter graduated from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design with a BA in Illustration and currently lives in Minnesota where she creates beautifully rendered portraits of everyone from Pharrell Williams, to Kid Cudi and Chester French. Risa Marie is Art Nouveau Magazine’s Artist of the Year. Take a closer look at her work below.
