'Happy Go Lucky' by Shawn Huckins

Imagine if Napoleon Bonaparte had an Instagram account, or if Pauline de Broglie was on Twitter. In his upcoming solo exhibition at Galerie Bessiéres in France, Denver-based artist Shawn Huckins satirically juxtaposes French history with internet culture.

Titled Happy Go Lucky, the collection features paintings based on 18th and 19th century portraits by French artists which Shawn painstakingly copied by hand. Superimposed over the images are hand-painted texts and symbols that remind us how our language is currently being radically transformed.

For example, Shawn recreates Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres's The Valpinçon Bather with the words PLZ DELETE ME. Bashi-Bazouk, painted by Jean-Léon Gérôme in 1869, is embellished with the words M K WHTEVR. Renoir's Pére Fournaise gets the Internet slang LMAO printed across the old man's face.

Happy Go Lucky is opening at Galerie Bessiéres on October 4, 2019, and will be on show through November 17, 2019.

Comments

Joie de vivre

Emily Powell has made a name for herself with her series of simple, colorful and exuberant paintings. Her passion pours out directly onto the canvas, inspiring the viewer to do something fun. Emily has exhibited with the Royal Society of Art and collaborated with MoMA and British Museum. Whether it's a coastal landscape, a cute animal, or an explosion of florals, her paintings will surely light up your day.

Hand-Painted Movie Posters by Tony Stella

In the 70s and 80s movie theaters in Manila were usually standalone buildings with nice seats and red curtains. To sell tickets, cinemas needed to advertise their offerings. But they did not have the original posters, or the means to print alternatives. So they made their own, commissioning local artists to hand-paint them. I really miss those hand-painted posters and billboards, which conveyed an artistry that was a form of visual hyperbole. But hand-made objects always have a way of returning. In this digital age, people will always look for things made by hand. I recently stumbled across the work of Tony Stella, whose genuinely cool movie posters have caught the eye of film enthusiasts and art lovers worldwide. He likes to work in watercolor and ink wash but sometimes he will make an oil painting, depending on the film. Tony's very active on social media, and his Tumblr blog contains a massive collection of illustrated movie posters that are often better than the original. ...

Artist reuses vintage envelopes to create remarkable biro portraits

Both my brother and I thought of ourselves as artists when we were kids. He the kind that could actually draw and paint, and me the kind that pretended that I could actually draw and paint. At least once a year (until I was 14 or 15) we bought art supplies at our favorite bookstore. We got paint brushes, watercolor sets, color pencils, crayons and paint tubes. But, soon I realized, I wasn't artistic and creative enough to pursue a degree in fine arts. And no amount of expensive equipment can make me a better artist. Sabi nga sa Tagalog, "nasa Indian yan, wala sa pana." Take, for example, Mark Powell. The London-based artist draws incredibly detailed portraits of elderly people using only a standard ballpoint pen. Know what I love more about Mark than his awesome drawings? His canvases. The University of Huddersfield graduate uses old envelopes, maps, books and newspapers to create incredible life-like illustrations. His obsession with vintage paper document...

finding cain

Search This Blog