ART LIFE:

Banksy ended 2018 with a politically-charged mural that was spraypainted on a garage in the South Wales town of Port Talbot. Entitled Season’s Greetings, the stenciled piece portrays snow falling on a child on one wall with a dumpster fire visual on an adjacent wall. When the mural is viewed from afar, one will realize that the falling snow is actually ashes swelling from the burning trash receptacle. Altogether, the elusive artist aims to raise awareness of the town’s pollution problem with the striking mural.

Days following the artwork’s debut, an art dealer based in Essex named John Brandler purchased it from the owner of the garage, Ian Lewis, for an undisclosed six-figure amount. According to The Art Newspaper, Brandler has plans to build an urban art center in Port Talbot where the artwork will be preserved and displayed for all to see. Brandler is currently undergoing talks with the town’s council to see where the art center will be built.

A series of erotic illustrations and a hand-drawn love letter by the late Tupac Shakur have been sold at a recent auction for over $21,000 USD. According to TMZ, the artworks were made by Shakur to his then-girlfriend, Desiree Smith, when he was serving time at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York back in 1995. The sketches, previously owned by the legendary rapper’s estate, portray 2Pac having sexual intercourse with Smith on a couch alongside text stating “Missing You Deeply” and “forever with love.” A man in his 60s purchased the artworks and letters during a sale at Steiner Auctions this past December 24.

View the letters here and then head over to Steiner Auctions’ website to learn more.

Fresh off December’s Can Man collaboration with Bast, UK contemporary artist Paul Insect is set to release two prints via Avant Arte. Crystal Habits, in both gold and blue, is a 97 x 71 centimeters piece that was produced via 16 individually layered screen-prints with diamond dust, glitter and varnish finishes.

The blue version of Crystal Habits, limited to 100, will retail for €1,199 EUR (approximately $1,363 USD) on January 24, while the limited-to-20 gold iteration will release for €2,180 EUR (approximately $2,478 USD)  on January 31. And if you’re wondering why such a tall price, do note Insect’s May 2018 print sold out in under two minutes.