Common Thread: Modern Embroidery of Victoria Villasana

The Royal Family is all the rage lately, and we recently came across some intriguing artwork of Queen Elizabeth… beautifully woven colorful thread over a simple black and white photo. Upon further investigation, we discovered a treasure trove of incredible works by Mexican textile artist Victoria Villasana. The unexpected can be powerful in art, and…

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Not Your Grandmother’s Embroidery

When one thinks of hand embroidery, a little old lady in her rocker with a wooden hoop on her lap sewing “Home Sweet Home” may immediately come to mind. Young Malaysian artist Sheena Liam turns that notion of traditional hand embroidery on its head with her simple yet smart creations. Using little more than black…

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Blurred Lines

We always find it interesting when artists figuratively blur the lines of media, and in this case literally. The work of South African artist Philip Barlow appears to be one thing but is actually another, and we are utterly intrigued. What looks like beautifully composed out-of-focus photographs are actually masterfully created oil paintings. Barlow focuses…

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Masterful Mosaics of Kevin Champeny

The beauty of the mosaic art form is how the experience changes based on the viewing distance. Wisconsin-bred, New York-based artist Kevin Champeny capitalizes on this dichotomy by creating custom hand cast urethane objects that comprise the resulting assemblage that complement the full meaning of each piece. Champeny’s work is not only visually impactful, but…

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A Feast of Famous Paintings

Playing with one’s food is a favorite pastime for many. Few carry that over into adulthood, but we certainly appreciate when artists take food to another level (here and here and here). So when we came across the work of this Russian art duo, we just had to share. Food stylist Tatiana Shkondina and photographer…

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Lamp Triggers Storm Through Trump Tweets

French artist/industrial designer known only as Parse/Error recently created an object that is both beautiful and troubling all at the same time. At face value, the Political Lamp is an aesthetically appealing decor piece… a lovely cylindrical dome housing a curious cloud. But behind this facade is a much darker reality, an intentional and well-conceived…

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Pixelated Pantone Paintings

British artist Nick Smith speaks the visual language of a true contemporary artist. His work is thoughtful, compelling and current. Seemingly inspired by 8-bit graphics of his youth, Smith recreates recognizable paintings from a variety of famous artists using little more than a brilliant sense of color and some custom Pantone Color Chips. Though the…

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Fluid Sculptures of Felix Semper

We’ve seen a lot of intricate artwork fabricated from paper in new and interesting ways, but nothing quite like this. It’s the work of Cuban-born, North Carolina-based artist Felix Semper. While his sculptures resemble traditional stone busts, Semper injects a bit of a twist, literally, into these awesome creations. Rather than a hefty, solid material,…

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Palette Knife Precision

For most artists, the palette knife is used for mixing paint, and in conjunction with brushes for applying paint. Tehran-based artist Salman Khoshroo eliminates brushes altogether. He applies thick layers of oil paint to his (massive) canvases with an arsenal of palette knives with such deliberate precision. Not only does Khoshroo have a deep visual…

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Lighthearted LEGO Masterpieces

LEGO bricks are no longer just plastic construction toys, they have permeated all facets of pop culture lately… showing up on the silver screen, in video games, on clothing and even fine art. Classically trained Italian artist Stefano Bolcato has had such a penchant for the timeless toys since childhood that he began using them,…

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