News & Features

UK musicians Amplifier are offering an insane limited edition treatment for their album, The Octopus, complete with silver cover made of KEVLAR, an animation, and a three-disc box set. Limited to 750 copies, below is a sampling of some associated graphics, created by artist Goni Montes. Watch as a male character gets swallowed up in a burst, an infinity symbol, and an octopus — which, as a spirit animal, traditionally symbolizes the infinite. Incredible!   Says Goni of the project: “Sel [Balamir of Amplifier’s plan was to create a sequence of paintings inspired by fractal imagery. The process was exciting as Sel gave me this one solid starting point then urged me to run with any possible inspiration that came [...]

Often by way of the unrefined medium of ballpoint pen, UK artist Mark Powell turns vintage envelopes into portraits of the elderly. His high-contrast black-and-white images find their strength in wrinkles, as though making some sort of meta-commentary about aging faces upon aging trees. Creases separate mouths from noses and stamps and seals make fanciful bindis, stressing that there is a story to be found in every one of these century-old envelopes, whether infused with Powell’s artistic intentions of not.  

Oh, but of course Oakland’s Randy Colosky is the main artist showing at this month’s Gallery Hijinks (2309 Bryant St., San Francisco) show (stated in a knowing-yet-pleasantly-surprised way)! Nondeterministic Algorithm. shown below, is a series of seven ink drawings on paper that use repetition of the same shapes to plot unique paths in three-dimensional space, like slithering cosmic Slinkys. Given their color palettes, one might almost expect for them to pop out and swallow you into a cascading vortex, upon one’s donning of a pair of 3-D glasses — or perhaps even without. The show is on display through April 28th, 2012. Below, Colosky gives some insight into his artwork.   See all posts related to Gallery Hijinks  

“The training I received as as an illustrator emphasized the importance of aesthetic versatility. The way something is illustrated can have a big impact on the narrative. A lot of my technical work focuses on the tangibility of aesthetic.”

Mount Eerie – To The Ground 7″ Our European friends Atelier Ciseaux are releasing a limited edition copy of To The Ground, a 7″ featuring the tracks “To The Ground” and “The Mouth Of Sky” (MIDI Strings). As with all Atelier Ciseaux mixes, this one does not disappoint, and they’re proving it to you by offering the whole thing for stream, below. The artwork is designed by Phil Elverum himself, and the release is limited to 300 copies.   Order To The Ground 7″ On Atelier Ciseaux July 12th, 2012 Update After the records were distirbuted, Atelier Ciseaux asked fans to take photographs of where their copy of To The Ground ended up. Scroll over the image above to see [...]

Dictators! Love them or hate them (philosophically-speaking), it’s hard to argue that a Communist aesthetic a la Mao Zedong or Joseph Stalin doesn’t have a compelling color palette and welcome vintage grain associated with it. Perhaps in spite of themselves — or perhaps not — illustrators and artists the world over are constantly reinventing these iconic images of humanity’s most well-known leaders; this feature explores why.

“I’m not trying to hold people’s hands. I’m not trying to make titles that go and tell you a specific way to look at the painting… That’s just the way I guess I am. I would never preach anything to anyone.”

Seattle’s Flatcolor Gallery is taking a hiatus for the summer! But before then, they will be moving out of their long-standing Pioneer Square location (528 1st Ave. S, Seattle), and are inviting you to join them for a folkloric show of Stacey Rozich‘s new works. The opening is tomorrow, April 5th, from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. Select pieces are displayed below, and more can be see here.   See our interview with Stacey Rozich, Patterns Of Renewal  

Up through the end of this week at Carmichael Gallery in Culver City (5795 Washington Blvd.) is a globe-trotting exhibition with a somewhat street art lean. Bumblebee The appearance of materials such as stencils, spraypaint, and unconventional installation materials makes sense when one considers the curator of the show is none other than Los Angeles street artist Bumblebee — an individual that really runs with his moniker to create miniature beehives and models that he attaches to abandoned phone booths. In this group show, he pulls his work off the street and into a gallery setting. What is perhaps most impressive about the curation of this show is that beneath its sophisticated facade, each and every artist knows how to [...]

Our Hands Will Eventually Destroy Everything Beautiful, a new body of work by Japanese illustrator Fumi Nakamura, is the result of a personal period of growth. After a mental breakdown and a year of hiatus from art, Nakamura realized that she needed to leave behind a past of pain and suffering to grow into the person she is now becoming. “I was chasing after unrealistic thoughts and hopes during that year… Then one day, something inside of me snapped and I came to the realization that I need to move on and get rid of my ‘problems’ — beautiful memories with someone I loved, childhood trauma, pains of growing up and literally everything since they were the core source of [...]

Gary Hill. The Psychedelic Gedankenexperiment. 2011. Two projection screens, two HD video projectors, eight specially fabricated foam chairs, four text panels (each 40 x 71 inches), four amplified speakers on tripods, 3D glasses, acoustic foam/plywood divider, one computer with two channels of Quicktime pla Courtesy the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels. Saturday, March 31st, 2012 from 2:00pm to 3:30pm at Henry Auditorium. $5 for Henry members and UW students; $10 General Admission. Tomorrow, at Henry Art Museum in Seattle, Gary Hill and George Quasha get scientifically psychedelic with performance art involving digital media and live video manipulations, human bodies, languages and rhythms, and everyday materials. In their collaboration, the two use what is probably overly wordy terminology [...]

This week, visual artist Margot Bird and Nils Petersen of Seattle’s psychedelic rock band Rose Windows are working together to co-curate NOISE: The State Of Being Combined Into One Body, an interdisciplinary show featuring fourteen artists and five bands. The two-day experience will include visuals, sound installations, and performances, with two sessions each day at 5:00pm and 9:00pm. Included among the artists and performers are REDEFINE favorites like Midday Veil (interview + exclusive MP3 download) and creator of Le Petit Prince Troy Gua (interview). In the spirit of NOISE, this post, too, will combine music and visual art in the same space, with a focus on artists who are creating site-specific experiences. Listen to samples from participating musicians or see [...]