These artists will inspire you to create work beyond what you thought possible.
Last week we featured an in-depth interview with our very first Artist-In-Residence (AIR), Miami-based Jonathan Stein, all about his incredible Swarovski encrusted Matzoh boxes, Red Bull and Spam cans. His droll sense of humor makes for quite an entertaining read!
Be sure to check out our Q&A tomorrow with this week’s AIR, Gregor Turk. He tracks the bloodiest battles in US history by oil-rubbing car names like “Samurai” and “Tracer” on related topographic maps. It is a clever and thought-provoking way to create work about America.
Dorota Pankowska is a young Canadian artist who takes street art to an edible level, stenciling product logos using the actual item. Good enough to eat (well, almost…) We’ll be showcasing a Q&A with her in the near future to find out more about how she comes up with all her brilliant ideas.
Another one of our favorite artists who incorporate brands is über-talented painter and photographer Gregory Siff. He fuses street art and pop art to create his work, and regularly pays homage to his favorite artist Andy Warhol in clever and sophisticated ways.
Make sure to check out our “Find of the Week” section to see some of my favorite artists including Mu Chen, who creates logos and brands out of sacred dirt, and Daniel Arsham, who casts relics from the past out of sand and glass.
Of course we can’t talk about brand art without talking about the KING, Andy Warhol! His Campbell Soup Cans is one of the most iconic exhibitions in art history. He also created work using Brillo Boxes and Coke bottles, which have inspired millions of artists, musicians, and other creatives.
But he wasn’t the first. If you study the photomontage of Dada artists from the 1920s you will find logos, brands, and everyday items scattered throughout. Richard Hamilton, a British artist, is considered by many to be the first Pop Artist with his 1956 collage, Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing? The piece features a bodybuilder holding onto a giant Tootsie Roll Pop.
And California artist Ed Ruscha forever captured the iconic Standard gasoline sign in his 1966 painting Standard Station, Amarillo Texas (1963).
Contemporary artists like Murakami have designed some of the most coveted bags in Louis Vuitton history. Street artist Banksy is constantly subverting branding and our perceived notions of graffiti to create thought-provoking and humorous work across the globe.
If you have suggestions of any artists you think we should feature, email me.