Inflatable Art: The Most Incredible Pop-Able Sculptures Around The World

There’s something playful about anything inflatable. Blown-up objects remind us of a birthday party balloon animals, childhood bounce houses and bubbles of Bazooka Joe. Yet when artists work with inflatable sculptures, these tokens of childhood morph into high art. This year, Paul McCarthy’s balloon sculpture sat like a watchdog over New York’sFrieze Art Fair, Christo created …

James Franco’s ‘Psycho Nacirema’ Exhibit Reimagines Hitchcock’s Iconic 1960 Thriller

James Franco is going ‘Psycho’ for his most recent art exhibit, on view at London’s Pace Gallery this week. For the cinematic-inspired show, the actor performs his best Janet Leigh impersonations in a lofty reimagination of Alfred Hitchcock’s epic 1960 film. That’s right, the ever-reaching Franco dons a blonde wig and screams his lungs out in a shower, …

The Indian Frida Kahlo

The woman’s body is luscious but self-contained, suggesting that this is not an erotic pose, not quite. She is naked from the waist up, her heavy breasts seeming to offer an invitation, yet her thoughtful glance, staring out beyond the picture, suggests that she has other things on her mind. The painting, titled Self-Portrait as …

Venice Biennale 2013 Photo Diary: Wrap-Up

The Venice Biennale officially opened to the public on June 1, which means the VIP crowd was long gone by the time the common people were able to take a look at the much written about works from artists all over the globe. “Far from inaugurating, Venice crowns a career,” Chris Sharp writes in ArtReview. While it …

Jackie Robinson’s Brooklyn: Tracing A Legend’s Life In The Former Home Of The Dodgers

By BETH J. HARPAZ NEW YORK — With the movie “42” bringing the Jackie Robinson story to a new generation, fans young and old may be inspired to visit some of the places in Brooklyn connected to the African-American athlete who integrated Major League Baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. In Coney …

Change: On Kehinde Wiley’s ‘An Economy of Grace’ at Sean Kelly

Bobby Elliott Writer living in New York City On the surface, “An Economy of Grace” at Sean Kelly (528 W. 29th) is a well-timed game-changer for painter Kehinde Wiley. After making a name for himself by exclusively painting men, “An Economy of Grace” presents Wiley’s first series of portraits featuring women. For those who have …

Kara Walker Addresses Art and Controversy at the Newark Public Library

by Jessica Kramer Conference Producer, The Conference Forum Kara Walker is no stranger to controversy. On Thursday, March 7, 2013, the African-American visual artist addressed a room of more than 100 people in New Jersey’s Newark Public Library to talk about her work and its most recent firestorm. Walker, perhaps best known for her murals …

On Michael Rosenfeld’s Benny Andrews: There Must Be a Heaven

Bobby Elliott Poet and writer living in New York City For fans and collectors of 20th century African-American art, the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery has emerged as the place to go. I visited in early February, shortly after “Storm Nemo” had come to town (leaving the streets slushy and the galleries almost empty) and some two …

NEW HAVEN: Ficre Ghebreyesus

Polychromasia March 30–April 24, 2013 Opening Reception: April 5, 2013 ARTSPACE 50 Orange Street (corner of Orange & Crown) New Haven, CT ArtSpace is delighted to present Ficre Ghebreyesus: Polychromasia. Opening on March 30, 2013, this retrospective exhibition will celebrate the work and life of the late Eritrean-born artist. While his paintings and photographs are …

Nigeria’s Biggest City Holds A Carnival (PHOTOS)

LAGOS, Nigeria — In Nigeria’s biggest city, a Monday morning typically sees bumper-to-bumper traffic as people struggle through heat and exhaust fumes to get to work. This Monday, however, the roads were not filled with cars, but with people celebrating the Lagos Carnival. Dancers in colorful costumes resembling those of Brazil’s Carnival shimmied and shook …

‘Gravity’ By Michael Haussman Speeds Up The Aging Process (VIDEO, NSFW)

  Gravity isn’t kind to aging bodies, but the decades-long transformation makes for a gentle easing into wrinkles, cellulite and skin flaps. Not so with “Gravity,” a video installation by Michael Haussman. The artist asked his subjects to jump on a trampoline while he shot them at 2,000 frames per second. In the post-production stage, …

Devyn ‘The Face’ Model Says She Doesn’t Consider Herself A ‘Black Girl Model’ (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post | By Julee Wilson With all the talk about the lack of diversity within the fashion industry, you’d think black models would band together for support and show the world what it’s missing. So it was a bit disheartening when Devyn, a supermodel hopeful from Naomi Campbell’s TV show “The Face,” revealed …