ART:

Last April, Brussels-based Stems Gallery kicked off a new initiative called Stems Prints that will be rolling out exclusive editions by artists across the globe. Organized in collaboration with with Artsy, the platform’s inaugural collaborator was celebrated street style photographer, Julien Boudet. 

Stems Gallery has now launched a second print by Boudet for the ongoing installment. Titled GT3 RS, Tailwind et Shox, the print shows the backseat of a Porsche GT3 RS filled with heaps of the Nike Air Max Tailwind IV. The sneaker’s “Light Photo Blue” accents matches the supercar’s exterior paint with tonal black details. 

The photographic work measures 27 by 19 inches and will release in a signed and numbered edition of 50 with 15 artist proofs. Head to Stems Gallery’s online shop to purchase a print for $330 USD apiece.Last month, COMME des GARÇONS SHIRT released its collaborative capsule collection with Futura. The assemblage featured 12 pieces covered in the world-famous graffiti artist’s recognizable, spray-paint motifs. This time around, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art is releasing a special edition poster depicting one of Futura’s original designs from the Fall/Winter 20 apparel collaboration. 

Futura is also set to participate in a virtual studio visit on Instagram Live hosted by MCA Chicago on September 18. Those tuning in will get an up-close look at the artist’s practice, techniques, possibly unseen works and the process behind his collection with COMME des GARÇONS SHIRT. The exclusive poster featuring his SPORTS IN SPACE WITH AIR FORCE BLUE artwork as well as items from the capsule will release on MCA Chicago’s online store. 

Each piece in the capsule is adorned with vivid graffiti that is synonymous with Futura’s abstract-meets-figurative style. A total of three prints are found in collection with all of these pieces reinterpreted by CdG founder Rei Kawakubo through applying prints, paneling, and cutouts, which give each piece a multi-layered and collage-like aesthetic. 

Check out the poster above and visit MCA Chicago’s website for more details on Futura’s upcoming virtual studio session.Phillips‘ New Now auction is set to bring nearly 200 works from artists both emerging and renowned, and a portrait of Lil Nas X titled Old Town Boy by Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe is leading the sale.

Quaicoe was inspired by his home country of Ghana and the way it produces hand-painted movie posters. As a result, the painting depicts Lil Nas X in a full rap-country-singer get-up, posing with his hands on his hips and his thumbs in his belt holsters, in front of an orange, blue, and yellow leaf background.

This is Quaicoe’s second work to be sold at auction, following on from Shade of Black, which sold for over twelve times its estimate at Phillips in July for the final price of $250,000 USD (estimated $20,000 — $30,000 USD).

Other lots in Phillips’ New Now auction include Amoako Boafo‘s Lighter (the artist recently tapped by Dior), as well as Ai Weiwei‘s solid marble Surveillance Camera, KAWS‘ Untitled (MBFF7), Tracy Emin‘s I Never Wanted to Leave You neon sign, and more. There are also other newcomers to the second-hand market including Matthew Wong’s 2016 painting Blue Tree, which was painted three years before his early passing and is expected to fetch between $50,000 — $70,000 USD.

Take a look at Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe’s Old Town Boy above, and check out the entire New Now auction on Phillips’ website. The auction will go live on September 30.Chicago’s Mariane Ibrahim gallery recently launched the first solo exhibition of works by Amoako Boafo. The Ghanaian painter is known for his vivid portraits that feature expressively-painted subjects on single color backgrounds. The brushstrokes across the form of his figures are thick and gestural, introducing an aesthetic of subtle abstraction. Boafo’s series of Black Diaspora portraits are perhaps his most recognized with the project reflecting on his identity and Blackness. 

The artist’s latest presentation features unseen pieces that explore the notions of autonomy and self reflection. Boafo used photo transfer compositions across the large-scale paintings presented in the show. The artist also sources European wallpapers to create the patterning on the clothing for his subjects.

The figures depicted in the paintings are emerging designers and creatives that have had a profoundly influence on Boafo’s practice. “To the artists disclosure, some remain anonymous, and some revealed subtly through suggestive elements in the title of the works. Regardless of the viewer, the gaze of the subject functions to disrupt observations from canonical, often white, viewership and put forward definitive sentiments of how Black people are constructing their own identity.”

Check out installation views for “I Stand By Me” above and then visit Mariane Ibrahim’s website for more information. The exhibition is on view through October 24.