Art News

Blushed round faces with twinkling eyes, cartoonish flowers with big toothy smiles, and roly-poly characters painted in pastels are just some of the stylistic quirks that comprise kawaii art.

Through intimate images and the artist's own words, Danelle Manthey’s photographs and accompanying essays re-contextualize light displays as more than just holiday kitsch, but as visionary works of art created by talented folk artists.

Bob Ross was an American painter and art instructor known for his contagiously cheerful demeanor— and his “happy little trees.” Born in Florida in 1942, Ross grew up with a fondness for nature. At the age of 18, he joined the Air Force, which soon became the unassuming origin of Ross’ interest in painting, as he would take art classes while stationed in Alaska.

Santa Claus hasn’t always been the jolly, red-suited, grandfatherly gift-giver with a reindeer-drawn sleigh we all know. Here’s a look at how art has reflected the changing face (and waistline) of Santa over time influenced by stories about St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas, and Father Christmas.

Art Encounter, a father-son art gallery based out of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been tasked with the sale of a bronze cast of Leonardo Di Vinci’s last known surviving beeswax sculpture. The 10-inch by 9-inch piece, entitled Horse and Rider, is thought to be a maquette of a full-scale bronze statue dedicated to Di Vinci’s friend and patron, Charles d’Amboise, completed in 1508. 

Both consciously and subconsciously, we associate specific meanings with different colors. In Western culture, black is synonymous with death, relaying our sorrows through the darkened hues of funeral processions, while white has been selected as the honorary color for brides to be gowned on their wedding day. In turn, whether realized or not, these color associations translate to an emotional response. 

The sky and the universe, with its stars and planets, held a primal spot in ancient Egyptian ontologies with the gods and goddesses of this domain featured prominently in both written myth and visual culture. According to ancient Egyptian myth, the sky and all it contained was one of the first things to be created. 

Paul Mpagi Sepuya is a photographer based in Los Angeles. He takes photographs of friends, acquaintances, and colleagues, communicating with the vast history of figurative photography and portraiture.

British artist and director Steve McQueen has decided to skip the 32nd iteration of Poland’s Camerimage Film Festival following a contentious article written by the festival’s founder and CEO, Marek Żydowicz.

The Dutch MPV Gallery, located in the southern town of Oisterwijk, was the target of a semi-botched heist last Friday, November 1st, when CCTV caught thieves storming in at around three in the morning.Using explosives to bypass the gallery's front entrance, which resulted in the door handle being thrown about 160 feet, the perpetrators hastily left with four silkscreens from Andy Warhol’s 1985 series “Reigning Queens.”