Posts Tagged ‘artist’
Oct13
Studio Ghibli artist Michiyo Yasuda passes away
2016 at 04:27 pm by admin | Comments Off
After decades of working on Studio Ghibli’s many films, the unfortunate news has come to light that prolific Ghibli artist Michiyo Yasuda has passed away earlier this month. Yasuda, who was 77 when she passed on October 5th, originally worked at Toei Doga in 1958, and became one of Studio Ghibli’s most influential color artists from the studio’s inception. Her work includes iconic Ghibli films like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Ponyo, and most recently The Wind Rises, along with other animated pieces like the Hols: Prince of the Sun and the Future Boy Conan series.
In total, Yasuda’s career at Ghibli spans 40 years and many films, and she as surely left her mark on Ghibi and the animated medium as a whole with her gorgeous color design and artwork. As Yasuda herself said in a 2009 interview, “Color has a meaning, and it makes the film more easily understood. Colors and pictures can enhance what the situation is on screen.” Her passing will be dearly missed by fans from all over the world, and her integral role in making Ghibli films what they are will not soon be forgotten.
Aug16
Artist creates 3D-printed fashion
2016 at 09:22 pm by admin | Comments Off
Tel Aviv fashion artist Danit Peleg strives to bring tech into her fashion design with her new wave of 3D-printed fabric! The clothes, which are made from a durable, rubber-like material, started as a prospective idea in 2015, and have since took the form of clothing in a variety of colors and designs. The dresses take advantage of FilaFlex, which is a 3D printed material that stretches and feels comfortable against skin, as opposed to standard 3D-printed filament that is brittle and rough, making it unsuitable for use as clothing. The designs, due to their printed nature, are easily sharable, and can be printed in under 100 hours using modern printers. A trend that has been picking up speed recently, 3D-printed fashion and clothing is quickly becoming the talk of the town, and Peleg’s design are sure to turn heads!
Jun28
Art turns building into wormhole
2016 at 05:15 pm by admin | Comments Off
All images © Loures Arte Pública
Graphic artist Astro has lent his hand to a public art initiative in Loures, Portugal by transforming a building into a psychedelic wormhole! The mural, which was created over the side of a residential building and surrounding walls, employs the use of hue shifting and depth in order to fool the eye into seeing a deep tunnel, covered in Astro’s signature style of geometrically-themed graphic design. The design also bleeds out onto nearby walkways and ramps! The art was created for the Loures Arte Pública project, and also includes a bus that Astro covered in his artwork as well! This year’s Loures Arte Pública debuted on June 25th, featuring a number of artists alongside Astro, so make sure to check it out to see more of the latest international street art!
Nov12
Kim Jung Gi collaborates with Kaikai Kiki in new exhibit
2015 at 06:40 pm by admin | Comments Off
Internally renowned brush-and-ink artist Kim Jung Gi has gained worldwide fame over the past few years with his super-detailed illustrations, sketches, and murals, and has been shown at a number of exhibitions across the globe. Now, Kim Jung Gi will be working together with pop art production Kaikai Kiki, created by Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami, to create a new pop-up gallery featuring his artwork! This solo exhibition will be set up at the Kyoto Shin-Puh-Kan shopping center in Japan starting on November 16th, and will feature a variety of events on the opening day, including live painting and autographs from Kin Jung Gi himself. The show will remain open until March 2016, giving fans plenty of time to check out the exhibition for themselves when it opens later this month.
Aug18
Tim Biskup to host exhibit in Hong Kong
2015 at 12:49 pm by admin | Comments Off
Tim Biskup, internationally renowned artist known for both his painting and vinyl figure artwork, will be opening his first ever exhibition in Hong Kong later this month! The new exhibit will be titled “Space Madness”, and will feature a slew of brand-new works by Biskup, as well as a variety of his older work to debut in Hong Kong for the very first time. The exhibit will be located at the Kong Art Space gallery in central Hong Kong, and will open its doors from August 27th to September 27th. Check out some of the previews for his new pieces here, and make sure to keep your eyes open for when the gallery opens later this month!
Aug06
TOMODACHI x mt tape Art Exhibit & Launch Party
2015 at 01:05 pm by admin | Comments Off
Please join TOMODACHI at our Mall of America location for a special art exhibit and launch party featuring artwork created with Japanese washi tape brand, mt masking tape, co-presented with Minneapolis contemporary art space Public Functionary. Come down, celebrate with us and see some amazing artwork!
The TOMODACHI x mt tape exhibit will focus primarily on the use of the Japanese washi tape brand as a contemporary art medium. 18 artists were challenged to create an original piece that reflects their personal style, with a fun, pop art twist. From incorporating the tape into paintings, drawings or prints, to crafting wearable fashion pieces and facilitating in-store installations, the artists have been given free creative reign to produce vibrant, colorful works using this unconventional, dynamic material.
During the event, attendees will enjoy an interactive art activity with Los Angeles-based exhibiting artist, urban planner and Place It! innovator James Rojas, who specializes in educating people about the role that urban planning and design play in shaping how we live. Rojas will invite participants to decorate small cubes with mt tape that can either be incorporated into a mini-city installation or taken home as a souvenir. Learn more about James at www.placeit.org.
The event will also feature complimentary snacks and soft drinks sponsored by Coca Cola and TOMODACHI, in-store specials, hourly raffles and the delightful musical stylings of DJ SALLY spinning J-Pop, K-Pop and everything in between.
Participating Artists Include:
Lex Thompson
James Rojas
Michael Cina
Bryant Locher
Mike Davis
Samantha Rei Crossland
Christopher Straub
Jennifer Davis
Leekyung Kang
Ashley Hay
Jamie Owens
Rudy Fig
Christina Da Cruz
Caitlin Karolczak
Joshua Nelson
Emiel Gregor
Kao Lee Thao
Andi Hillestad
Chris Matta
About mt masking tape
mt is a brand of washi rice paper masking tape produced by Japanese company Kamoi Kakoshi. It comes in a huge variety of colors, patterns, and styles, and is designed to be easily aligned and repositioned for use in crafts, interior decoration, art installation and design. Consumers and artists worldwide use the tape for a wide variety of purposes, ranging from personal projects to large-scale international art exhibitions. mt has collaborated with many designers, companies and museums throughout the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Anthropologie in New York City, the Maison & Objet in Paris, the Ambiente in Germany, Ikea Japan, Uniqlo Paris, Issey Miyake boutique and more. mt tape is currently carried in Minnesota by TOMODACHI and the Walker Shop at Walker Art Center.
This exhibit is presented by TOMODACHI & Public Functionary with additional support from mt tape & Coca Cola.
Jul15
CALL FOR ARTISTS: TOMODACHI x MT
2015 at 10:18 am by admin | Comments Off
Greetings from TOMODACHI! We would like to invite you to participate in our call for artists for the upcoming TOMODACHI X mt art exhibit, happening August 29th at our Mall of America location.
What is mt, you ask? mt is a brand of washi rice paper masking tape produced by Japanese company Kamoi Kakoshi. mt tape comes in a huge variety of colors, patterns, and styles, and is designed to be easily aligned and repositioned for use in crafts, interior decoration, art installation and design. Consumers and artists worldwide use the tape for a wide variety of purposes, ranging from arts and crafts projects to large-scale international art exhibitions.
TOMODACHI has hosted a variety of art events and workshops over the years, and this time we’ve collaborated with mt to host an exhibit and mt launch party this coming August. This event will focus primarily on mt’s decorative tape and its use in creating art. mt has collaborated with many designers, companies and museum throughout the world, such as MoMA in New York City, the Maison & Objet in Paris, the Ambiente in Germany, Ikea Japan, Uniqlo Paris, Issey Miyake boutique and more.
WE WANT YOU!
This event will be held at our Mall of America store on August 29th, and will feature creations from a select number of talented artists and designers. The theme for the show is focused on the use of mt tape in art, so accepted artists will use mt tape (provided by TOMODACHI) to design something cool in the form of 2D pieces, 3D objects, fashion or even by covering a vehicle like a moped or bicycle — we want to hear your ideas!
SUBMISSIONS
To apply, send us an e-mail with a link to your online portfolio or photo album with work samples AND pitch us an idea of what you’d like to make. Tape will be provided compliments of TOMODACHI and each accepted artist will receive a special gift bag from the shop as a thank you for participation.
Submission Deadline: July 31st / 5pm
To apply e-mail: kate@publicfunctionary.org
Jun08
Yoshitomo Nara interactive exhibit at Hong Kong
2015 at 02:43 pm by admin | Comments Off
Renowned Japanese artist Yohsitomo Nara has been keeping busy these past few months. With his recent exhibit, “Greetings from a Place in My Heart”, appearing in the United Kingdom last year, along with other exhibitions at Denmark and Berlin, Nara’s work is now on display in Hong Kong! In his newest show, titled “Life is Only One”, Nara has placed a wide variety of art, sketches, mixed media pieces, and sculptures on display at the Asia Society HK Center, and asks viewers to participate in a dialogue with the artist on his works. The exhibit itself also features a number of interactive elements and events for visitors to participate in, including a exhibit where visitors can draw their own emotions, and have them projected onto a scree with other visitors’ feelings, as well as free scavenger hunts and postcard giveaways! The exhibit opened its doors on March 6th, and will remain open until July 26th.
Yoshitomo Nara, born in Hirosaki in 1959, is one of the most influential artists to emerge from Japan’s 1990s pop art movement. Studying at the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music in the 1980s, and at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in Germany from 1988 to 1993, Nara has since assembled a cult-like following centered around his child-like illustrations. Drawing inspiration from the anime and manga characters that he was exposed to during his childhood, Nara creates characters, usually small children, who possess similar cartoon-like qualities, with highly stylized features and especially large eyes. However, Nara’s illustrations of children are often more menacing and devilish than they are cute and innocent. These images touch on broad social and cultural topics, such as violence and the rigidity of social structures in Japan. Since his first solo exhibition at Blum & Poe Gallery in 1984, Nara has had nearly 40 solo exhibitions worldwide, including Iceland, Japan, France, and the United States.
Feb26
Mr.’s art exhibit in Seattle
2015 at 04:49 pm by admin | Comments Off
Superflat Japanese pop artist Mr. has worked with big named from around the world in the creation of his otaku-themed artwork, including his mentor Takashi Murakami as well as musician Pharrell Williams. In a large step for the artist, Mr. has debuted his first solo exhibition in the United States with “Live On: Mr.’s Japanese Neo-Pop” at the Seattle Asian Art Museum! The exhibit is a collection of a variety of Mr’s artwork from the past 15 years, including large-scale paintings, clothing design, installations, and more.
One of the center pieces to the exhibit are Mr.’s found object dioramas, created from trash and everyday objects in the wake of 2011’s devastating tsunami disaster in Japan. Mr. identifies himself as an otaku, passionate about anime and videogames, as well as the works he creates. Using those works to provide a deep insight into the otaku subculture as well as addresses a variety of social issues and anxieties.
The show, which has been open to the public in Seattle since its opening on November 22, 2014, has drawn numerous favorable reviews, and astounded visitors for the past few months. Mr.’s exhibit will remain open until April 5th, and is a must-see for pop art fans and everyday visitors alike!
Sep15
LEGO artist announces exhibits worldwide this fall
2014 at 01:41 pm by admin | Comments Off
Artist Nathan Sawaya has been creating world-renowned LEGO artwork since 2004, working with the toy company directly as well as collaborating with companies across the world to create stunning LEGO artwork. Now, Sawaya’s work is on its way to both Brtain and Boston this fall with his “Art of the Brick” exhibition! The show’s first stop, located at The Old Truman Brewery in eastern London, will open on September 26th, and will then head across the Atlantic to appear at the Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, Massachusetts on October 7th! On top of that, Sawaya’s “Brick by Brick” exhibit will be debuting at the Anchorage Museum in Anchorage, Arkansas on October 3rd, as well at the V&A Waterfront Gallery in Capetown, South Africa on November 29th, making this fall season a very busy one for the artist.
This year’s “Art of the Brick” exhibit is a continuation of last year’s show, which visited international locations like New York, Singapore, Taiwan, Europe, and Australia. The show is currently the largest collection of LEGO artwork in the world, featuring more than 100 works of art created from the classic building toy. Featuring works like a 20-foot long T-Rex created from more than 100,000 bricks, along with recreations of famous classical artwork and Sawaya’s own masterpieces, the show will also debut never-before-seen artwork from Sawaya, making this year’s “Art of the Brick” show one that fans should not pass up on!
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