On April 2nd, New York’s David Nolan Gallery presented new largescale paintings by American
artist Peter Saul. The seven acrylic paintings on show were made over the past two years. They are a vibrant continuation of Saul’s long career and tackle subjects such as, racism, paedophilia and feminism. Despite beginning his artistic career in the 1950′s, Saul continues to create art at the ripe young age of 74.

Painting without assistants, the artist has built a reputation as an outsider and troublemaker. These painting were created using Saul’s method of building up pre-mixed acrylics with a dry brush technique that results in something similar to graffiti. While Saul’s work is currently touring the united states, his career has been described as receiving an unjust and ‘ongoing lack of official recognition’ despite his avid following of fellow artists.

Jason Jägel was born in 1971 in Boston, Mass and later received degrees from the California College of Arts and Crafts, BFA 1995 and Stanford University, MFA 2002. Gallery listings include Plane Space, NY; Queen’s Nails Annex, SF; Greg Kucera, Seattle; and Richard Heller, Santa Monica. Recently Jason unleashed a large-format monograph titled Seventy-Three Funshine, which features over 200 images from his career. Spanning childhood sketches and family snapshots, but largely focusing on his current practice, paintings and paper works.

Hip-hop influences, family life, and the humming buzz of the street are a strange mix, but these themes run throughout Seventy-Three Funshine. Jägel’s work has been increasingly influenced by the music he listens to; this connection has been strengthened by his record cover designs for the LA-based hip hop label Stones Throw. One of Stones Throw’s major artists, Madlib, has three tracks that appear on a companion 10-inch vinyl record, an unexpected feature included in this artists’ book.For the low low price of $68, it can all be yours.

‘Mortgage’ is the suicide of our financial and economical system. The desperate situation of companies, states and markets caused by the financial crisis, the uncertainties of the last few months have changed the world we live in. The pledges are not ending but people are dying. The work ‘amazonas aka merdolino’ evokes the amazonian rain forest, made out of wooden poles, stacked up with toilet paper roles. Jota Castro provokingly says that “amazonas is just like toilet paper. We use it, some even abuse it, we do not think so much about it, it is there for our convenience and some people take it for granted. but it will not last forever.”

The French-Peruvian artist is one of the most interesting and active artist today to propagate a political activism within his practice. In the late 1990s Jota Castro brought his career as a diplomat at the United Nations and the European Union to a close and decided to devote himself totally to the field of art. Through his different professional activities, Castro gained in-depth knowledge of the world of politics; moreover, he considers his studies in law and political science as his real training in art. Conjuring up trivial humor, politically incorrect sarcasm, and a wide range of references, Castro’s sculptures, installations, and performances point up certain mechanisms at work in society, whose imbalances and weaknesses are skillfully highlighted by the artist. Castro’s works reinterpret facts connected with current events along with the artist’s personal history.

Sushipot is the Etsy-based home of found art sculptor, Suzanna Scott. Her work is truly amazing, and I liken her sculptures to mash-ups of Wall-E meets ER (circa 1800). The medically inspired works remind me of what my psychology textbooks may have looked like over a century ago. Little else is known about Suzanna, save for what she’s offered up in her Etsy profile: “currently living and working from my studio in Manhattan, Kansas.” In addition to Sushipot, she’s developed a spin off / sister site dedicated to selling off the loads of found objects and bits of ephemera that threaten to overrun her studio. Who knew there was such a market for old school board game pieces and garden water faucet knobs? Suzanna’s similarities with Wall-E are increasing with every word I read about her.

Potty training for youngsters is sometimes made into a game with the addition of a target in the water, or a reward for demonstrating proper habits. Today’s feature transcends the ages and is as appealing to kids as it is to adults. In an effort to help promote their new coffee energy drink, Georgia Max Coffee of Japan decked out bathrooms with scenery and paraphernalia that make the user feel as though they are about launch downhill onto a ski jump. The campaign has at least allowed the brand name to jump the puddle, as images of this washroom have been making their way around the Interwebs. I’m curious as to whether or not they offer an alternative for patrons who dislike heights.

Amy Casey is a painter based in Cleveland, Ohio. Casey has a fascination with the urban landscape and its evolution and transformation. Her paintings document the artist’s love of both the urban landscape and small, twisted creatures. Inspired by natural and unnatural disasters, personal fiascoes, and the never-ending stream of bad news, a relentless mob of curious, plant-like creatures and other disasters have swarmed over the painted landscapes, threatening the creatures and life within.

Casey’s structures stumble through the canvass, presenting doomsday scenarios that are masterful hallucinations of a true visionary. Acting out of vulnerability, they try to create security but sometimes, end up kicking their own asses in the reassembly process. Casey is fascinated by the resilience of life — every disaster is followed by a rebirth, in which we hike up our boots, duct tape our lives back together, and try to cobble together a “plan b” out of what remains. She paints most of her images on paper using acrylics.

We’ve been reading a lot of new blogs lately, and admittedly it’s been for all the wrong reasons. Many of them are guilty pleasures that focus on simple content rather than Pulitzer prize winning narratives. Take for instance This is Why You’re Fat, which is nothing more than a gastronomic gross fest. We’ve heard of this new blog called Cake Wrecks, but personally there’s only so many times I can laugh at mis-worded frosting, and inappropriate shapes of sugar. That’s where today’s post fits in, as it is a perfect meld between the fast food fury of This is Why You’re Fat and the sugary coating of Cake Wrecks. Smiley Sweets has uploaded a few pics of the famous slider burger, done entirely in cake form. “These are vanilla cuppies with a chocolate cuppie in between, green coconut for the lettuce and frosting for the mustard and ketchup. We used a bit of fresh orange juice to brush the tops so the sesame seeds would stick.” Delicious!

As soon as I noticed people were pulling out Archie comics, personal photos and returning to burlap sacks for their gift wrapping needs, I knew it was only a matter of time until we saw some truly amazing, and geek-erific offerings. The wait is over. Thanks to Lagom Design, one can now wrap their holiday, birthday and just because parcels in 100% pulp rasterization. That is to say that this wrapping paper comes in the form of chunky, sometimes hard on the eyes, pixelated glory. The first time I laid eyes on it I sort of expected the image to clear up, as though my browser had not yet fully loaded it. I wonder if the same effect could be achieved if it was under a Christmas tree, or beside 16 candles?

What are the chances? Back to back features showing off the playful work of two very talented photographers. Today’s spotlight shifts from the souvenir art of Hughes, to Canadian artist David Trautrimas, who has created a series of digitally enhanced composite photographs entitled Habitat Machines. There are a little bit “steampunk”, post apocalyptic and very imaginative. These compositions depict residences made from everyday machines like coffee pots and sprinklers.

Prior to the Habitat Machines, he created a collection of factories (as opposed to residences) called Industrial Parkland, those are included in the accompanying photos as well. Although I’m not usually a big fan of things remade in the style of “steampunk”, I certainly appreciate the time and effort that goes into making something in this style. Clearly, Trautrimas has skill, and his collection of futuristic buildings makes me want to live in a huge oil can or electric razer.