Trend: Expressive Body Script

There’s been a lot of talk about graffiti finding it’s way into high fashion. Miuccia Prada ushered in the conversation last summer with her About Face runway presentation. The latest examples have similarities in their raw essence, but take a bold, expressive typographic turn. We have Evisu, Die Antwood, Comme des Garcons and Dior Homme all using the body or page as a canvas for expressive thought.

All of these pieces feel connected in some way to the style and vibe of Shantell Martin’s illustrations. Her stream-of-contiousness drawings have been an influential style for a while now, and a stark contrast to the crisp colorful characters and collage work from Fall.

May 20, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik

Tuesday's Gallery Picks

Our top gallery picks this week experiment with layers and the spaces where ideas intersect.

* * *

1. Mark Grotjahn employs a palette knife to drag, scrape, and feather densely woven layers of oil paint. Aggressively worked from the center of the painting, the impasto offers a glimpse into the many layers of color comprising the composition at Blum & Poe
2. Askew’s Exodusrefers to the perpetual migration of people within the greater Pacific region. The underlying themes of cultural identity are explored through an experimental style of portraiture, abstraction and graffiti still life paintings depicting traditional Pacific foods at Goodspace Gallery
3. Katharina Grosse presents pictures on canvas which seem as if made for the imposing, lofty space in which they are being shown. Compressed into the two-dimensional, rectangular format of a panel painting, the works point virtually outward, beyond their material bounds at Galerie Johann König
4. Adrian Ghenie’s paintings are all about alienation and the angst that accompanies it at Nicodim Gallery
5. Merion Estes’ Dystopia features new large “tapestry-like” paintings continuing her ongoing body of work exploring the intersection of nature and decoration at CB1 Gallery
6. “The Sound of Creation” is composed of a selection of painted works accompanied by corresponding musical tracks as the result of a creative collaboration between the artist Beezy Bailey, and the composer and music theorist Brian Eno at ArsCulture

May 19, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik

Concepts & Illustrations at Maiyet

Bringing a drawing to life takes a lot of work. The sky’s the limit when you take pen to paper, but achieving the desired results requires patience and expertise. I found these before and after watercolors from Maiyet to be beautiful realizations of product development. The crochet polo and hand beaded venus clutch are part of their Spring/Summer 15 line and have timeless appeal.

May 18, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik

Friday Quick Links!

1. Accidents by Zeren Badar via We The Urban
2. Karen Margolis’ architectural renderings of the mind’s operations via Design Crush
3. Interview with artist Elizabeth Barnett via The Design Files
4.Open weave color blocking via Present & Correct
5. New wallpaper from Juju papers via Design*Sponge
6. Whimsical art from Laura Berger via iGNANT
7. Amazing sculptural lighting by LZF Lamps via design-milk
8. Absolutely stunning wall murals via Honestly WTF
9. Business cards made from crayons via Creative Boom
10. A visit to Clementina van der Walt’s ceramic studio via Miss Moss
11. When oil, ink and soap interact via Colossal
12. Digging these paintings by Michael Carson via The Jealous Curator

Contributed by Emily Gup

May 15, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik

Trend: Grids & Motifs

Grids, motifs and colorways have been finding their way into my social feed as of late. While the theme’s not necessarily a new concept, the minimalist and spatial approach feels quite current. A few favorites weave color, illustration and narrative into an organized grid.

Julia Dault’s Toronto exhibition, Color Me Badd showcases color and form in a highly graphic and flat way. The colors are bright and the shapes are abstract. Next up, is a snapshot I took while in Marrakesh of a Berber rug. While it’s old, it feels on trend for what interior stores are stocking these days.

Then there’s a snapshot by Lesley Morphy from the Canal Street station. I’m forever in a rush when I go left at this visual fork in the road, as it’s the subway stop closest to my office – but always wonder about the story behind the icons – does anyone know?

And the glue that holds this all together, is Vivienne Westwood’s latest commercial print ad. The sticker laden stall compliments the art world, just as it mimics real life.

May 14, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik

Colors & Summer Brights

Summer’s arrived – especially in Manhattan where the temps are teetering on 90 degrees Farenheit. In acknowledgment and celebration of the season change, I thought I’d share some snaps from the past few weeks.

It’s been a bit of a travel forecasting whirlwind, and interestingly, it seems like the global color palettes are on the same page. The rose floral clutch is from Selfridges, while the mega leaf was spotted during a wedding weekend celebration in Tulum, Mexico. It truly feels like the Mara Hoffman of plants. I inserted myself in the mix- since the orange and pink play was unexpected, but extremely characteristic of the vibrancy throughout Morocco. That said, this dress is a Balinese print. This was a brief roadside coffee break, enroute to Marrakesh. Hay Design has created a pop up shop at Liberty London, and unsurprisingly, the patterns were fabulous. Here are a few tote bags from their spring collection. The geometric paper is from Pentreath & Hall, an interiors store just off Lambs Conduit Street in London. The folds make the 2D/3D graphics truly pop.

In putting this together, I thought I’d make a quick print that embodied all of the above, incorporating the colors and mood from each image. I don’t usually share my designs on the blog, but figured it’d be useful to illustrate the meaning behind concept and creation.

May 13, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik