Q. What brought you to art or what brought art
to you?
A. I wasn’t fully aware of my potential to become an
artist while I was in Japan. Although I loved making
clothing and all kinds of crafts as well as drawing
cartoons, my parents and relatives thought I would
become a doctor when I was a child. At my high school
senior year, I became an foreign exchange student in
Wisconsin.  My art teacher there recommended art school,
and I subsequently studied art at the School of the Art
Instituteof Chicago. I think the process of making art
helps me to identify mypsychological conditions
and transform myself back to my original state. (more…)

Coverage of the Bushwick Open Studios courtesy of Kari Ferrell and DJ Mayonnaise Hands

To start our new dedication to artist’s materials and techniques on this site we thought we would look into something often ignored by even serious painters, the information printed on a tube of paint’s label.

Artist’s often intuitively understand the pigments and paints they use, relying on experience and trial and error to arrive at the effect they want. However a lot of the experimentation in the studio could be put to better use with a litttle information on what the particular paint they are using is telling you directly on the label. In  this case we will look at a tube of Golden Acrylic paint. (more…)

In this Culture Strike exclusive Aaron Johnson describes his recent show at Stux Gallery in New York City with curator Julie McKim.

by Hannah Mishin

The Gagosian, perhaps one of the most famous and respected purveyors of contemporary art in New York City, has fully facilitated the wealthy fashionista by opening a boutique to sell wares distributed with dubious intentionality. Posted in gilt letters on the store front windows of the Gagosian shop, in Manhattan, are these adjectives: Popular, Transient, Expendable, Low Cost, Mass Produced, Young, Witty, Sexy, Gimmicky, Glamorous, Big Business. Granted these adjectives are posted under a title “Pop Art”, but as labels, they certainly are descriptors as to what lie inside: the sale of faux fine art trinkets. (more…)