2020 has ushered in a renewed uprising against systemic racism, social injustice, and excessive police force. As the “Black Lives Matter” movement gains momentum all over the United States and abroad, Portland has taken center stage for its unwavering stand for change. Don’t Shoot Portland, a nonprofit civil rights agency, is collaborating with Portland-based HOLDING Contemporary on its second exhibit in a series designed to shine a light on injustice.
The city of Amarillo sits squarely in the wide, open spaces of the Texas panhandle. Aptly known as the “Yellow Rose of Texas,” Amarillo boasts plenty of cattle ranches, beautiful scenery, and world-famous museums. One of its lesser-known attractions, however, has long drawn attention from locals and tourists alike. Although christened the “Dynamite Museum,” the project isn’t a museum at all; instead, it’s a vast urban art installation of nearly three thousand distinct road signs.
For any artist, the ability to create a message and showcase a work for the world to see is the ultimate goal. But what if your finished work ends up displayed somewhere completely out of sight—like, at the bottom of the ocean? One artist has made a career of this method, putting his hyper-realistic sculpting work to use in a meaningful way by showcasing it in a location where few are likely to see it—because that’s the point.
They say that great art captures the spirit of the present and preserves it so that it may be appreciated in the future. But what happens when you combine the awe-inspiring work of a 19th-century Dutch Post-Impressionist painter with a turbulent 21st-century world reeling from the effects of a global pandemic? The result may look something like this.
The history of art features countless examples of painters, sculptors, and technicians, chronicling the minutiae of devastating periods in time, oftentimes using ebullient and joyful colors and materials to distract and entertain audiences. One guerrilla mosaic artist continues this tradition, and he brings his signature artistic style to the bumpy streets of Chicago.
Deep in the heart of the West Texas desert, sitting conspicuously alongside a lonely and infrequently traveled highway is a Prada boutique. That’s right, a hyper-realistic art installation, built to replicate one of the luxury brand’s high concept stores, has stood in place, unstaffed and virtually inaccessible, for fifteen years. And despite the lack of transactional fashion available, the site remains a steady draw. So how exactly did this desert oasis come to be?
The Isle of Man, a tiny, self-governing British Crown dependency situated between Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales in the heart of the Irish Sea, features prominently in Britain’s history of scintillating storytelling. A proud population of around 80,000 Manx occupy this mythical territory, and most are keen to preserve its rich connection to traditional fairy folklore. And they’ve recently gotten some help from an outside source.
Atlanta, Georgia, is a city steeped in history. One of the country’s most formidable cultural destinations, this state capital is home to nearly half a million citizens, as well as countless points of interest – including theaters, museums, galleries, and trails. One local artist knows all too well about the abundance of historical hotspots and the likelihood of becoming overwhelmed by all that the city has to offer tourists and residents alike. But Karen Anderson Singer isn’t your average tour guide.
In her most recent installation, “Memory Palace,” British artist and stage designer Es Devlin used a massive space, further amplified by mirrors and visual illusion, to convey the journey of humanity – past, present, and future. The work, which just concluded a showing at the Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery in London, features noteworthy events in humanity, carved from bamboo and given life and dimension.
Once used as a base for Italian and German submarines during World War II, Bassins de Lumières, or “Basins of Light,” serves a far different purpose today. Located in Bordeaux, France, the over 13,000-square-meter space will open to the public in April of 2020 as the world’s largest digital art center.
