Nastya Nudnik: emoji-nation

Ukrainian art director and digital artist Nastya Nudnik's "emoji-nation" series pairs well-known works of art with popular culture, social media and graphic design elements to create works that are as clever as they are timely.

My personal favorite is the 4th series, where paintings gain the addition of modal dialogs, but they're all pretty great in their own way. You can see them all right here: part 1, which pairs paintings with their emoji counterparts; part 2, where Edward Hopper's works gain social media icons; part 3, which shows paintings as movie posters; the aforementioned part 4; and part 5, which adds elements of Google's interface.


(Via kottke)

Adam Mysock

In Their Own Image, 2014.

On the Bright Side, 2013.

All You Want To See, 2014.

Only One Prepared for the Leak, 2013.

Richard Simmons Refusing to Participate in Our Current Cynicism (Detail 1), 2011.

New Orleans'-based painter Adam Mysock was one of my favorite artists at this year's VOLTA NY show. Mysock considers himself to be a "revisionist history painter," using historical imagery as a method of rationalizing our present circumstances. Which makes for a whole lot of beautifully painted, fascinating works featuring robots, people with moons and boats where their heads should be, presidents and explorers in strange lands, and even Richard Simmons. He explains: 

As a painter, I’m preoccupied by the undeniable role that the image plays in creating this acceptance of the fictional.  A painting has the authority to make the intangible concrete, and a series of them has the ability to authenticate a fabrication in our collective memory. 

When I begin a piece, I typically start with preexisting images, artifacts from this collective remembrance.  I look for images that shape my pictorial consciousness, that are hard to question because when I first saw them they were presented as the truth.   They have to capture my imagination and they have to feel largely descriptive of a greater story.  From them, I’m given my task – I have to “disrepair” them.  I have to consolidate an earlier world of historical and cultural visual-fact with an evolving understanding of subtlety and gradation.  I find that the discrepancies I discover between the absolute and the nuanced inspire me most.

The resultant work is largely about storytelling, the ownership and authorship of our culture’s visual narratives, and the parallels between those tales.  It’s meant to challenge the truth of “source” and the source of truth.  After all, as Franz Kafka once wrote, It is hard to tell the truth, for although there 'is' one, it is alive and constantly changes its face.  

See more of Mysock's work on his website, as well as through the Jonathan Ferrara Gallery.

Lee Price

Strawberry Shortcake III, Oil on linen, 67" x 32"

I am totally fascinated by artist Lee Price's paintings. Not only is her subject matter incredibly evocative - she paints photo-realistic, birds-eye-view self portraits of herself eating and surrounded by food - but it's also kind of unsettlingly intimate in a really wonderful way.

Self Portrait In Tub With Lemon Slices II, Oil on Linen, 76" x 34" 

Butter, Oil on Linen, 66" x 44"

Blueberry Pancakes II, Oil on Linen, 64" x 31"

Lemon Meringue, Oil on Linen, 32" x 72"

Of course, that's exactly the point that Price is trying to make with her works. As she explains in an interview with Tshepo Mokoena for Don't Panic:

The paintings, on a literal (and slightly narrow) level discuss women's issues with food and compulsive eating...I think society plays an enormous role in regard to the aspect of my paintings that is concerned with how women relate to food. Often women are brought up to control their appetites. Not just for food but in many areas of life. We are taught to be givers, to nurture others at the expense of our own needs (in a way that men are not).  I think food, for some reason, is one way we have chosen to give back to ourselves- to attempt to nurture ourselves. This, mixed with the pressure to be thin, has caused many of us to consume in secret.

Pretty fascinating stuff, no? You can read the entire interview with Price right here, and check out more of her incredible work on her website.


(Via sho & tell)

2014 calendars: part 6

This week is all about a multitude of flowers of the Scandinavian, perennial and watercolor varieties.

To start, we have this lovely year-at-a-glance Scandinavian floral calendar, from Brittany Jepsen of  The House That Lars Built. Starting with a traditional painted Scandinavian folk pattern, Brittany took the original design and replaced all of the florals with photographs for a calendar that's as pretty as a picture.

Then there's this gorgeous collaborative perennial calendar, from Brown Parcel Press and one of my favorite florists, Saipua. Rather than simply creating a traditional 12-month or year-at-a-glance calendar, these two teamed up to produce a collection of 6 letterpress prints containing carefully detailed illustrations and naturally inspired colors from Saipua's seasonal arrangements.

And finally, we have an annual favorite with Bookhou's 2014 calendar. This is one that hangs above my desk at work all year, and never fails to make me smile. This year's version, with lovely floral and nature-inspired watercolors is definitely my new favorite.

jennifer burton

I'm quite fond of Vermont-based painter Jennifer Burton. Her mix of portraiture, flattened landscapes and color fields, and peculiar details make for some very odd yet endearing works. See more on her website.

Keng Lye - alive without breath

Singapore-based artist Keng Lye's stunning series of acrylic-on-resin works, Alive Without Breath. See more on his website.


(Via The Design Ark)

Ron Isaacs

These incredible trompe l'oeil constructions are by Kentucky-based artist Ron Isaacs, who carves and paints wood to resemble "architectural clothing." I love the combination of garments and naturalistic elements. You could almost swear that these were wearable.


(Via The Jealous Curator)

Mona Caron

Some lovely murals by Swiss-born, San Francisco-based artist Mona Caron. She has some wonderful illustration and woodblock print work as well, but I saw the above utility box mural, "Manifeststation Station" on Colossal, and was impressed by the fun use of perspective. This fun piece then led me to her other mural work, particularly her Weeds series of hidden mural paintings - a beautiful idea and wonderfully-executed concept. See more on her website.

Tobias Tovera

Deepening Undercurrent, Pigment on panel, 60"x 60," 2008

Entering the Stream, Pigment on panel, 48"x 48," 2011

Rupture, Pigment on Panel, 48"x 48," 2011

I recently fell for San Francisco-based artist Tobias Tovera's moody Diffusions of Pigment paintings after seeing them on Design*Sponge. What a fantastic use of color! These led me to his portfolio site, where I was won over even more by another incredible series, Permutations on Iron. It's remarkable how such a similar feeling can be created using completely different materials.

Ruthenium, Pigment, mineral, solvent, on panel, 36"x 48," 2013

Marrow I, Pigment, mineral, solvent, on panel, 48"x 48," 2012

Nimbus, Pigment, mineral, solvent, on panel, 36"x 36," 2012

See more on Tovera's website.