Tomokazu Matsuyama was born in Japan. He moved to the US when he was around ten years old, not speaking any English, and being overwhelmed by the culture shock of 1980s Los Angeles. His artistic work is a reflection of this upbringing. Matsuyama’s paintings envision traditional Japanese imagery through the lens of American pop art, creating a unique and beautiful hybrid. He strives to portray this global melee through a conscious “appropriation” of all of his influences: cultural, artistic, and personal. Matsuyama’s unconflicted and positively ebullient works do not ask, “What am I?,” but assert, “I am everybody.” (via) [more inside]
posted by netbros on Nov 29, 2009 - 14 comments

Rachell Sumpter takes color and detail to the extreme in her art exhibits, reminiscent of Fantasia in a sense. Sumpter is developing quite the portfolio as demonstrated at the Richard Heller Gallery. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Oct 22, 2009 - 9 comments

The Images of Eyes Gallery exhibits images and paintings of eyes by international artists, featuring work from about 200 artists from Algeria to Zimbabwe. Gallery I contains figurative paintings, oil and watercolor paintings, portraits, charcoal and ink drawings, lithographs, sculpture, digital, and other fine art content. Gallery II exhibits nude paintings, so may be NSFW.
posted by netbros on Oct 11, 2009 - 10 comments

The pictures and sketches of JRR Tolkien
posted by nthdegx on Sep 16, 2009 - 24 comments

Apes do it. Birds do it. Even educated elephants do it. But can a dog do it? Can a dog make art? Meet Tillamook Cheddar, an adorable Jack Russell Terrier who, after 19 solo shows, has made more than $100,000 in sales of paintings like these. (I believe she did not choose the titles.) Opinions on her work vary. [more inside]
posted by maudlin on Jul 25, 2009 - 33 comments

Paintings of trains. I like the energy of this one, but there are enough for everyone to have a favorite. [more inside]
posted by winna on May 9, 2009 - 14 comments

Zoom in to brush-stroke level detail of the masters at the World's First HD Online Art Exhibition. At SXSW 2009, France's Zoomorama showed off its latest collaboration with Bridgeman Art Library. So far the collection features the work of only three artists, but for those of us who like to make museum security nervous by getting really close, the results are pretty amazing, and the implications for future exhibitions are exciting. [Flash]
posted by Rykey on Apr 25, 2009 - 3 comments

Elphenden — elphen things from Sergei Tretiakov, 1967-2003. In between there were big cities, isolated islands, cannabis, oceans, pain and love...
posted by netbros on Apr 23, 2009 - 7 comments

Boy in the Water ― The website of artist Miran Kim. Her art is characterized by an eerie, gruesome quality, which she achieves without the use of computer effects. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Dec 17, 2008 - 12 comments

A rare glimpse into a forgotten Hindu world.
Garden and Cosmos - The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur. Virtually none of the 60 works on view in "Garden and Cosmos" have ever been published or seen by scholars since their creation centuries ago.
All paintings are from the Mehrangarh museum. ( whose links are also full of interest ). [more inside]
posted by adamvasco on Nov 29, 2008 - 5 comments

The picture of a boat approaching a wooded island held a strange sway over the early twentieth century imagination. Strindberg closes The Ghost Sonata with the image; Rachmaninoff brought forth a symphonic poem from it; Freud, Lenin, and Clemenceau all owned prints, while Hitler hung one of the original five paintings on his wall. The work's creator, a Swiss Symbolist painter named Arnold Böcklin, never cared to give it a name. It was an art dealer who first called it Die Toteninsel — "The Isle of the Dead."
posted by Iridic on Oct 31, 2008 - 27 comments

Hilda Magazine ― prose, poetry, illustrations, photography, video, and music from a wide assortment contemporary artists. [contains some nude art images] [more inside]
posted by netbros on Oct 29, 2008 - 3 comments

Pattern Recognition, mostly serene paintings, illustrations and photographs from a variety of sources, grouped according to similar motifs: Interiors in paintings and more l moon l napes l light and shadow l moments of quiet intimacy, daydreams, dreams l very early Vogue and Vanity Fair covers 1, 2 and 3 l portraits of children and more l children's book illustrations l flora. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Oct 19, 2008 - 9 comments

The Grand Tour is back, and this time it's in York. [Previously]
posted by djgh on Jun 6, 2008 - 9 comments

Jake and Dinos Chapman have bought a stack of Adolf Hitlers paintings for £115,000 and defaced them with rainbows and butterflies for their new show, "If Hitler Had Been a Hippy, How Happy Would We Be". The show also recreates "Fucking Hell", a huge swastika shaped diorama of tiny plastic nazis torturing and killing each other, which had been destroyed in a fire.
posted by Artw on May 31, 2008 - 72 comments

artjob.ru is a Russian site worth exploring with some pretty awesome, eclectic galleries (some nsfw). Naoto Hattori, 134 paintings of surrealistic Mona Lisas transformed and more l Child Soldiers Dream Simply of Being Children ads for Amnesty International/photographs by Michael Lewis l Christian Lohfink's playfully mischievous and dark humor photographs l Elliott Erwitt's superb black and white photographs, many iconic l [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Dec 23, 2007 - 17 comments

The Grand Tour. Until August 31st, the National Gallery in England is putting reproductions of famous paintings on the streets of London, with MP3 audio guides and maps available for download. The reaction has been good.
posted by djgh on Aug 5, 2007 - 22 comments

Portraits of Stuffed Monkeys.
posted by brain_drain on Jul 27, 2006 - 9 comments

The young people that have volunteered for this series have all endured physical pain and personal tragedy. They have developed a strong sense of 'self ' at an early age in order to survive public alienation due to their appearance.

Doug Auld's State of Grace - Paintings of Burn Survivors. via
posted by dobbs on Jun 21, 2006 - 26 comments

The Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York City, houses paintings by Nicholas Roerich, a Russian artist, who spent most of his life on the Indian-Tibetan border, creating evocative images of night and day in the Himalayan Mountains. (more inside)
posted by nickyskye on Jun 15, 2006 - 15 comments

In 1872, influenced by the Impressionists at the Exposition Universelle, Italian painter Giovanni Boldini permanently settled in Paris. There, he quickly developed a reputation for his elegant depictions of fashionable society women executed with bold, fluid brushstrokes that made the model appear to be thrown onto the canvas -- the "Master of Swish". By the turn of the century Boldini had become the most sought after portrait painter of the 'La Belle Epoque'. More inside.
posted by matteo on Jan 27, 2006 - 9 comments

Zdzislaw Beksinski (warning: music) produced some hauntingly beautiful, disturbing works of art: many, many paintings, as well as photographs, drawings, and digital creations. Sadly, he was killed earlier this year.
posted by Gator on Nov 13, 2005 - 11 comments

The Caravaggio Trail: "The Lost Painting". (BugMeNot for the New York Times). more inside
posted by matteo on Nov 13, 2005 - 9 comments

When Henri met Pablo. Wandering through the rue des Martyrs in 1908, Picasso stopped beside an upholstery shop. "A head peered out, the face of a woman, hard eyes, a penetrating look, decisiveness and clarity. The canvas was huge. I enquired about the price. 'A hundred sous,' replied the dealer. 'You can paint over it.' It was one of the truest portraits ever of the French psyche."
Henri Rousseau's five-franc, life-size woman in Van Dyck black stayed at Picasso's side until his death, longer than any flesh-and-blood muse. A century later, she towers over us at Tate Modern's Rousseau retrospective as imperiously as a Velázquez monarch. More inside.
posted by matteo on Nov 5, 2005 - 21 comments

Artocracy is aiming to use the net to democratize yet another expensive thing in the world: the sale and distribution of art works. While the first works offered aren't that impressive and having to use your own inkjet is a limiting factor, I like the direction this is going in. From their Gallery, you can purchase prints from a dozen or so artists, in the range of $20-50, and then print as many as you wish at home. The Seattle PI has a full story. Perhaps this will spark a "long tail" of small change art sales from folks used to getting several thousand per canvas sold, while at the same time allowing any Tom, Dick, or Harry to have some nice looking apartment walls at home.
posted by mathowie on Jan 11, 2005 - 16 comments

The artist Gustav Klimt began his career by creating classical realist murals for public buildings in Vienna. Soon, his innovations and experiments became too controversial for further government-commissioned work, illustrating the changes in society taking place around him. Klimt’s sensual paintings (which sometimes included nudity) shocked some, as did his experiments in form. Since his father was an engraver, Klimt took to using gold in his work, creating a distinct style. You’ve probably seen at least his most famous work, The Kiss. People can see Klimt’s work in person, including the spectacular “Beethoven Frieze” wall cycle, at the Secession Museum in Vienna. On-line, there’s this database of about 100 works, searchable by title, year, theme and technique. Another gallery of 114 works is here, and for landscapes, try these.
posted by jeffmshaw on Dec 8, 2004 - 25 comments

Prints, and paintings by Dan McCarthy. My faves: 1 2 3 4 5 6.
posted by dobbs on Sep 30, 2004 - 12 comments

Fantastical paintings from Chinese artist Fang He. I think I like Subway Underpass Bird best for its vague sense of creepiness, though Chinese Pavilion No. 1 appeals to my love of old time sci-fi illustrations. Check out similarly whimsical Zhang Gong's cute phallic creatures (NSFW), or peruse the large collection of artists at Courtyard-Gallery. (Related Chinese art posts here and here.)
posted by lychee on Jul 28, 2004 - 6 comments

"Time passes, or rather doesn't pass. It is just there, solid as a coffee mug on the diner's counter. Time hangs like the reek of old tobacco in the hotel furniture". We all think we know Edward Hopper's images, even if we've never seen his paintings. Somehow the solidity of the world -- even the sky is like a wall -- is at odds with the transience of the people in it, however long they sit and stand and wait. Hopper's people, like Manet's figures, often appear consumed by the irreducible business of being. Hopper, too, would descend into his own silences, would delay himself in self-doubt... (more inside)
posted by matteo on May 25, 2004 - 19 comments

Will the promise of the other side of heaven tug at your heartstrings? About four-dozen of the watercolors of Daniel Merriam are on display at the Louis Aronow Gallery online.
posted by Shane on Apr 5, 2004 - 4 comments

Seeing the World Sideways: Prunella Clough. 'A private individual who chose to remain out of the limelight and yet was admired so highly by her peers, Prunella Clough, like Edward Burra, lived to paint. Her technique is masterly, her subject matter everyday in origin, her method idiosyncratic, the results atmospheric. She worked with her skill, not her ego, saying: "I like to paint a small thing edgily." '
Online gallery here.
posted by plep on Mar 1, 2004 - 6 comments

3D Sidewalk Paintings [via 37signals]
posted by kirkaracha on Nov 19, 2003 - 17 comments

Mark Ryden is to the iconic saucer-eyed urchins of the '60s as Salvador Dali is to Hickory Dickory Dock. His delicate palette, fine details and classical references offer compelling counterpoint to the deliciously disturbing imagery of les tykes terrible in collections such as "Blood: Miniature Paintings of Sorrow & Fear"; "Bunnies and Bees: Paintings Created to Illustrate DIVINE TRUTH in Accordance with the Secret Principles of SCIENCE AND SOUL"; and "The Meat Show: Paintings about Childen, God, and USDA Grade A Beef". Plus, they're kids - with big eyes!
posted by taz on Sep 8, 2003 - 25 comments

The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Online exhibit.
Related :- Buddhist art and ritual from Nepal and Tibet; photos of Tibet in the 1940s; dissecting the mandala; mandala and temple sacred architecture in Tibet; mandala sand painting; early Tibetan mandalas; Buddhist sculpture and paintings; the Norbulingka Institute.
posted by plep on Aug 11, 2003 - 9 comments

Audrey is a flash portfolio of abstract paintings by Audrey Bergounioux, including videos of the creation of Life is Energy and Color Del Sol (requires Flash 6).
posted by eddydamascene on Aug 3, 2003 - 5 comments

Van Gogh's Moon Shines Again This Weekend If you go out this Sunday evening and look up at the Moon, you will see not only our closest celestial neighbor, but a piece of art history as well. The rising full moon will appear exactly the way it did 114 years ago, when Vincent Van Gogh captured the scene in his famous painting "Moonrise.". Also learn how the moon helped date the painting.
posted by NewBornHippy on Jul 11, 2003 - 12 comments

"It's not often that a painting you can stick in your briefcase sells for $200,000." A recently discovered long-lost Tom Thomson painting was sold at auction for far more than it was estimated to fetch. Sure, the price tag pales in comparison to the most expensive painting ever, but it's nothing to sneeze at. Are these auction prices calculated, or just some random numbers that they pluck out of the air? How should the value of a piece of art be determined?
posted by debralee on May 16, 2003 - 4 comments

Ton Mondrian Is Even Worse Than Mon Mondrian: Use the machine to see how you square up to the Master. [Shockwave required; first link via Bifurcated Rivets.]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Jan 23, 2003 - 18 comments

The King As Art. Artist Naoki Mitsuse writes, "I remember reading an article in the morning paper about a local teenage girl who had thrown herself out of a balcony of a tall apartment building, leaving a note that said something like, 'now that Elvis is dead, I have nothing to live for and goodbye.' This had a profound impact on me and I realized then, that Elvis was a very powerful man." So the artist created two series of Elvis paintings that are way better than any Elvis on black velvet you might find on eBay.
posted by VelvetHellvis on Dec 30, 2002 - 10 comments

Monkey Painting. No, it's not monkeys that paint, but rather a new fad in low-rent art circles. They're selling like hotcakes on ebay. But don't forget sock monkeys, sea monkeys, and of course, those monkeys typing out Shakespeare.
posted by vraxoin on Dec 27, 2002 - 32 comments

Menstrual Art: Vanessa Tiegs uses her livejournal and her own, uh "natural" paint supply to make some pretty cool paintings. (via fullofnothing)

My intention in making paintings using my menstrual blood is to create beauty from something that most people would rather avoid. I consider my paintings as personal and political images presenting a positive and celebratory attitude toward menstruation.

posted by Ufez Jones on Nov 8, 2002 - 67 comments

Frank Moore [NYT], the originator of the red ribbon, died of AIDS last week. His gorgeous paintings depicted politics from Yosemite to Versace. As one of the few incredibly contemporary but still publicly accessible artists, he will be missed.
posted by RJ Reynolds on Apr 26, 2002 - 4 comments

Neuroscience Art Gallery Cats Painted in the Progression of Psychosis of a Schizophrenic Artist .....
posted by bunnyfire on Feb 21, 2002 - 23 comments

Rijksmuseum: Many of the paintings of this famous Dutch museum can now be viewed online.
posted by justlooking on Feb 16, 2002 - 10 comments

The Queen's latest portrait was bound to cause controversy, what with the artist being Lucien Freud. Today a photograph of it was plastered over the front pages of nearly every major newspaper. The tabloid press are, as ever, 'up in arms' about it. I rather like it, but the palace isn't commenting as yet.
posted by davehat on Dec 21, 2001 - 40 comments

Those French have been at it for a very long time.
posted by lagado on Jul 5, 2001 - 9 comments

Eddie Breen is one cool artist. He takes paintings bought at garage sales and flea markets and makes them better. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I love this piece and everything on this page.
posted by mathowie on Aug 17, 2000 - 2 comments