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  • ‘Art Is Fed by Experiences’: Watch Artist Leonardo Drew Explain How His Worldwide Travels Inform His Work

    Traveling is off limits for many people right now, but art can offer a window into new places and experiences.
    One artist for whom travel is integral is Leonardo Drew. Despite an early life spent tethered to his neighborhood in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and a career formed on the basis of that localized experience, Drew eventually made his way beyond his city, traveling to Peru, Cuba, Spain, Switzerland, and Japan in quick succession.
    “If you allow your antennas to reach out,” Drew says in an exclusive interview with Art21, “you’ll find what it is you need for this part of your journey.”
    Drew’s practice relies heavily on being in the studio, where he creates massive sculptures from materials that he has transformed by oxidizing, weathering, burning, and manipulating objects. From sifting through landfills to amassing piles of hay bales and cotton, Drew’s work is rooted in the physical. 
    “The art is fed by experiences” he tells Art21, explaining that while he was in Japan, he learned techniques for naturally dying fabrics.
    “I went there to physically learn,” he says in the video, which originally aired as part of Art21’s Extended Play series. “But actually, spiritually learning was a whole other thing.” 
    Watch the video, which originally appeared as part of Art21’s series Extended Play, below.
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    This is an installment of “Art on Video,” a collaboration between Artnet News and Art21 that brings you clips of newsmaking artists. A new series of the nonprofit Art21’s flagship series Art in the Twenty-First Century is available now on PBS. Catch all episodes of other series like New York Close Up and Extended Play and learn about the organization’s educational programs at Art21.org.
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  • “KAOS TRIP: A Color Journey by Okuda San Miguel” in Guangzhou, China

    It has taken nine months and an infinite amount of effort within a Chinese-Spanish multidisciplinary team working in the midst of a global pandemic crisis. But finally, ‘Kaos trip’ made its debut last July 10 in K11 Art Mall in Guangzhou, China. This show  offers a tour of the different supports, formats and techniques that he uses in his work, but also covers some ideas and concepts that drive him when creating his art.
    Okuda has brought together some twenty pieces of large format and spectacular installations, in addition to presenting in public some of his latest visual research in the form of kaleidoscopes and dark rooms. The show creates a gorgeous and fantastic surreal visual experience, presenting an organic fusion of colors and geometric figures and provoking both a visual impact to the audience, but also reveal a sense of mystery in the viewer.

    In the words of Okuda, “I have enjoyed creating this exhibition not only because it is my first in China but also because I wanted to share with the public an authentic immersive experience with two unique pieces that I introduce here for the first time. This exhibition is a retrospective of all my work that covers from the early years to my latest pieces that include painting, sculpture and embroidery, among other things”.

    Spanish contemporary artist Okuda San Miguel is famous for splashing vibrant hues across architectures in different corners of the world. He is known for his distinctive style of colorful geometric patterns that portray animals, skulls, religious iconography and human figures.
    Scroll down below to see more photos of Kaos Trip.

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    “Nûdem Durak” by Mahn Kloix in Marseille, France

    French painter Mahn Kloix just finished a new fresco in the streets of Marseille. The fresco was made as tribute to Nûdem Durak, a Kurdish woman imprisoned for singing in Turkey. The artist shared this artwork together with a quote from Pınar Selek, a Turkish sociologist exiled in France during an interview by les Inrockuptibles:

    “They wanted to make an example with Nûdem, because music is very important in the resistance in Turkey: when the police arrive, the demonstrators sing and dance. They chose her because she sang in protests and became very famous – and she is a free woman, who speaks”.

    Mahn Kloix originally began painting in urban spaces in New York City. Heavily influenced by the street art scene, Kloix’s contemporary fluid and free figuration is also expressed on canvas and paper. He pays tribute to young protesters in Istanbul, Tunisia, and Athens by conveying their similarities in his works. Their portraits are a leitmotif to highlight human and environmental struggles.
    Take a look below to see more photos of the fresco.

    Images taken by @fabio_calmettes

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  • Artist Clotilde Jiménez’s Collaged Images of Bodybuilders Tell a Personal Story of Black Masculinity. See His Work Here

    As galleries and art institutions around the world begin to reopen, we are spotlighting individual shows—online and IRL—that are worth your attention.
    “Clotilde Jiménez: The Contest” at Mariane Ibrahimthrough August 22

    What the gallery says: “THE CONTEST unravels Jiménez’s own queer imagination to physicality. The works grapple with his deeply personal and once estranged relationship with his father, a bodybuilder and boxer. Jiménez adopts the boxer and bodybuilder as motifs, recalling early ideas of the body, specifically the Black male body.
    Placed within each ‘pose’ or boxing ring, the large scale boxers and body builders brawl, their positions mighty, next to bronze sculptures of heads with colorful boxing headgear. He finds beauty in the color and sculptural physicality of boxing headgear and the groin protector that transforms the body into something strong, powerful and guarded.”
    Why it’s worth a look: For his first solo show at star gallerist Mariane Ibrahim’s Chicago gallery, Honolulu-born, Mexico City-based artist Clotilde Jiménez is quite literally tackling notions of masculinity and Blackness.
    In these works, you can really feel how the artist has infused the works with his personal understanding of what it means to be a strong man—delicate painted flowers adorn the furniture incorporated in some works, and swaths of pattern cut out and pasted onto the canvas provide another layer when juxtaposed with the shaded contours of the muscled bodies. His juxtaposition of unexpected materials and charged forms makes for images that wrestle their way in your head.
    What it looks like:

    Clotilde Jiménez with his sculpture, Orange Boxer (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim.

    Clotilde Jiménez, Always on Guard (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim.

    Installation view, “Clotilde Jiménez: The Contest” Courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim.

    Installation view, “Clotilde Jiménez: The Contest” Courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim.

    Clotilde Jiménez, Pose no. 4 (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim.

    Clotilde Jiménez, Pose no. 5 (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim.

    Clotilde Jiménez, Pose no. 6 (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim.

    Installation view, “Clotilde Jiménez: The Contest” Courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim.

    Clotilde Jiménez,, Shadow Boxer (2020). Courtesy of the Artist and Mariane Ibrahim.

    Installation view, “Clotilde Jiménez: The Contest” Courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim.

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    “A Pale Blue Dot” by INTI in Grenoble, France

    Visual artist INTI is back with a new mural entitled “A Pale Blue Dot” in Grenoble, France. It features a woman embodying the universe with a small dot in her hands that represents the Earth. This mural was made as part of the Grenoble Street Art Fest. Together with the artwork, INTI left us with a quote from Carl Sagan. “Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves”
    Born in Valparaíso, Chile, INTI creates artworks surly carries out not more than the meaning, he also transmits the warm colours of it. Painting on canvasses, creating sculptures or large murals, his artwork addresses birthplace of the Latin American culture, multiplying it on a global level.
    He uses few characters in his murals and often talks of themes of life, death, ancient religion and Christianity. INTI takes his name from the Incan sun god and the Quechua word for ‘the Sun’ as homage to his Chilean roots. He always add a special orange/sun glow in his works, which has become his Moniker of sorts, INTI’s style is not only unique and outstanding but thoughtful and calm.
    Scroll down below to see more of INTI’s mural.

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  • Hauser & Wirth Is Hosting a Series of Shows for Fine Art Graduates Whose Thesis Exhibitions Were Cancelled—See Their Works Here

    Mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth is giving recent art-school graduates whose IRL MFA shows were cancelled a spotlight with two exhibitions in Somerset and Los Angeles.
    The gallery will host the graduate exhibitions over the next four months, the first at its artist residency studios, the Maltings in Bruton, in Somerset; and the second at its Book and Printed Matter Lab, in Los Angeles this fall.
    Hauser & Wirth is offering technical, curatorial, and marketing support to the students for both shows.
    Ten recent graduates from four universities in the South West of England will present work in Somerset in an exhibition titled “In Real Life,” which will run from July 29 through August 2.
    The artists included are Melody Addo, Betsy Bond, Samantha Davies, Kamila Dowgiert, Juliet Duckworth, Louise Hall, Lauren Horrell, Lilith Piper, Madeline Rolt, and Connor Vickery-Gearty. 
    “This has been a remarkable time for our final year students,” Natasha Kidd, head of the Bath School of Art & Design’s fine art program, said in a statement.
    “The degree shows were postponed—the assessments took place online, whole shows compressed into pdfs. Tutorials took place through ‘hangouts’—into an array of domestic spaces. Washing lines, hallways and even greenhouses became the site of making work—pet dogs, parents/partners or the odd passer-by on their daily exercise became the audience.”
    Louise Hall, 13 Dead, Nothing Said (2020). Image ©Louise Hall. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

    “Providing support and a platform for artists emerging at this current moment is crucial,” says the Kent-born artist Anj Smith, who is among the artists who are contributing to the gallery’s education program. “Art has long been at the forefront of cultural progress and we need inspired, thoughtful voices now more than ever.”
    The gallery is also partnering with Cal State LA to include works by MFA graduates from the 2020 class in the Los Angeles exhibition in the fall.
    The project is part of the gallery’s philanthropic initiative, #artforbetter, which includes effort to support educational institutions.
    “A deep-rooted commitment to education and professional development has always been at the heart of the gallery and embedded in each exhibition,” gallery cofounder Manuela Wirth said in a statement.
    “It’s important to us that we remain connected to the wider creative community and artistic energy surrounding each gallery location, enabling new generations of talent to thrive by creating meaningful partnerships and support networks.”
    See images of student artworks below.
    Kamila Dowgiert, 24/5 (2020). Image ©Kamila Dowgiert. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

    Melody Addo, Chocolate Pudding (still frame) (2020). Image ©Melody Addo. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

    Juliet Duckworth, Apple Path – November 2019 (2019 – 2020). Image ©Juliet Duckworth. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

    Betsy Bond, Landscape Exhibition Space (2020). Image ©Betsy Bond. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

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    “Balance” by Millo in Sardinia, Italy

    Italian artist Millo have recently collaborated with Non Solo Murales di San Gavino Monreale for another mural. Entitled “Balance”, the murals features Millo’s signature child-like creatures balancing different found objects over a cityscape. This mural is located in San Gavino Monreale, Sardinia, Italy.

    “The last months’ events forced and are still forcing all of us to find an inner balance. We suddenly found ourselves in a dystopic reality and we had to struggle to find the strength to go on and out. This wall is about this. How to use what we have and how to find an equilibrium in ourselves.” Millo said.

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    “CALDENSE” by Add Fuel in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal

    Add Fuel just recently finished his addition to FALU Urban Art Festival in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. The mural entitled CALDENSE was inspired by the enormous Bordallo Pinheiro, the richness of natural elements represented in his collections and the genius shapes of his objects, Add Fuel’s intention was to reinterpret the legacy of traditional Caldas ceramics and offer the inhabitants of the city this tribute.

    “From the blue of secular tiles to the green of Bordallo cabbages, from the shape of artichokes to the one of decorative pots, from the master’s realistic fauna and flora to my own imaginary creatures, this wall that is now part of the city wants to be as Caldense as each one of its inhabitants.” the artist mentioned.

    Portuguese visual artist Diogo Machado alias Add Fuel has always been fascinated with the aesthetic possibilities of symmetrical patterning and tessellations. His focus towards working with and reinterpreting the language of traditional tile design, and that of the Portuguese tin-glazed ceramic azulejo in particular. Effortlessly blending these two seemingly-irreconcilable visual idioms, his current practice seeks to combine traditional decorative elements with contemporary visual referents into new forms that reveal an impressive complexity and a masterful attention to detail.
    Take a look below to see more of Add Fuel’s masterpiece.

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