ART LIFE:

Kenny Scharf just launched a body of new work at LA’s Honor Fraser Gallery as part of a new exhibition entitled “Optimistically Melting!” The show displays paintings, sculptures, prints, and more pieces that portray Scharf’s signature acid-induced motifs and cartoonish visuals.

With this presentation, the artist aims to shed light on the environmental issues occurring across the globe.”These signifiers of global anxiety become more overt in the artist’s ‘Sloppy Melt’ series of paintings, also to be included in the exhibition, which features dripping cartoon figures and screen-printed news headlines in English and Korean about climate change,” said the gallery. “With clear memories of smog days as a child growing up in Southern California, environmental concerns have appeared throughout Scharf’s oeuvre. The artist believes it is important to be mindful of future damage we will cause to the environment if we continue to prioritize comfort and ease in the present.”

To raise awareness on pollution, Scharf utilizes a number of found objects such as old televisions to create his ‘Lixos’ assemblages displayed in the show. He also unveiled a new series of large-scale ceramics made in collaboration with Pasadena-based artist Stan Edmondson that feature lush greenery.

The exhibition is on view at Honor Fraser until November 16. In other environmentalist works, artist Klaus Littmann transformed an Austrian football stadium into a sprawling forest.

Honor Fraser Gallery
2622 La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034

Following his “Keep it Real!” exhibition at New York City’s GR Gallery, famed Barcelona-based artist Joan Cornellà now returns with a bronze sculpture edition. Made in collaboration with AllRightsReserved, the 12.5” tall collectible takes inspiration from an original artwork entitled ‘SELFIE GUN.’ Channeling dark humor, Cornellà’s edition portrays a suit-clad male subject brandishing a selfie stick mounted with a pistol. The work is one example among many other pieces in the artist’s oeuvre that aims to take socio-political issues on a global scale.

‘SELFIE GUN’ arrives in an edition of 15 with each piece signed, numbered, and packed in a wooden box with a certificate of authenticity. Purchase one for $10,000 USD at DingDongTakuhaubin.com.

In the second half of 1999, the first edition of Arkitip was published, making this year Arkitip’s 20th anniversary and an occasion to celebrate.

The art zine tapped Aaron De La Cruz, an Arkitip alumni, to create an anniversary print that would depict the numbers 1999 and 2019 in a playful but meaningful way. The artist’s final design uses 20 shapes to make up the number 19992019, creating “a visual path to follow that makes a sort of figure 8, so the numbers have a flow to them in order and not just shape.” De La Cruz chose French Black Licorice paper with two layers of screen print to increase the opacity of the final print.

De La Cruz explains the design process:

“SAS called me one day with a crazy idea for a print that would highlight the years 1999 and 2019 that didn’t make the anniversary obvious. It was funny because it took me a few hours just to decipher the chicken scratch he jotted down on a post-it note. Being a fan of my numeric series he urged me to use it, and I was excited by the idea. We decided to keep it black and white (a nod at the first collaborative project we did together) and that was it. From there is was all about being balanced and clean; something we both appreciate, being extremely Virgo-esque.”

The 20th anniversary print will be available to purchase on Arkitip’s website starting September 1. Released in an edition of 100, the prints will be signed and numbered by Aaron De La Cruz.