Brooklyn’s Ad Hoc Art

Skewville

Twin brothers, Ad Deville and DROO (aka Skewville), can’t seem to get a break. Working hard in a city where artists compete with finance gurus for space, the street artists are weathered craftsmen who are staying put and keeping shop in New York. Read more

The wood art of Cosme Herrera

The work of Brooklyn artist Cosme Herrera is beautiful, subtle and imbued with a deep sense of meaning. ‘As I constantly question man-made constructs, I search for a universal language’, he says. ‘Through this body of work, I seek to define my own logos. Logos are a system of symbols designed for easy and definite recognition. Using a system of logos, I explore my relationship with wood through metaphors and parables. My use of wood is observant of the information trees contain and communicate. Their rings, like an analogical language, tell the story of the tree’s experience through starvation, growth, long winters and wet springs’. Read more

Brendan Monroe and Evah Fan open up

The duo of Brendan Monroe and Evah Fan are one of those creative, powerhouse couples. Though two entirely individual artists, the influence they exert upon one another is subtle yet undeniable. Both create the kind of art that that makes you giddy with pleasure, while the lack of pretension puts you completely at ease. You get the undeniable sense that these are two people who simply live and breathe creativity and love every moment of it. Two amazing artists with a wholly individual take on life and the world around them. I had the pleasure to grill them both. Read more

Jon Todd solo exhibit in Los Angeles

If ever there was an artist more deserving of critical acclaim, it’s Toronto-based, Jon Todd. I first came across his work a number of years ago at an underground art exhibit at the famed Niagara Bar in New York City: it was a painted skateboard deck. Who would have thought four years later that he would be staging his first solo show in the hotbed of Pop Surrealism. Read more

Fornasetti wallpaper

I am in love with the new Fornasetti collection of wallpapers from Cole and Son. If you’re into Damask patterns, oddities, and a hint of the early surrealists, this wallpaper has your name written all over it. Cole and Son has been around since the 1800s and has become one of the oldest and most respected wallpaper companies in the industry. I’m ready to cover my walls in the new Fornasetti already. Merry Christmas me!

Tifenn Python

I recently came across the work of French illustrator Tifenn Python. She is also showing at the current Young Blood show at New York’s Opera Gallery. What I love about her work is that it has a certain vibe to it that reminds me of some of the great masters like Lautrec and Shiele, which I’ve been drooling over these past weeks. Her work calls focus to the line, encourages simplicity, and bathes our eyes in colour. It also has a certain sense of comfortable melancholy, which feels familiar to me.