Imagine R is back

This year's visuals are even better than last year's (check them here) for Imagine R. They really try to pull out something edgy with their agencies H and Lézilus.

The feminine visuals are signed by Jeanclode, a very cool collective whose blog can be seen here. I noticed their wonderful "Faisons Connaissance" campaign for France 5.


The masculine visuals are signed Cream and Hello.


Each teenager (let me remind you that Imagine R is aimed at high-school and college students) has their own personality and their own style. Without being too cliché, their universe displays different metro/train station in different fashions. A cute idea.

Panda Crew

MySpace helped me discover Panda Crew, a Saint Etienne based artist. An impressive gallery gathers numerous drawings on different media: Photoshop, stencil, cardboard...


The website also enables visualize graphs left here and there... We can find some merchandising, comics and nice wallpapers as well.


I chose a rather soft sample of his work, but among Panda Crew's themes, we can find urban wars or video games.


More on the official MySpace (myspace.com/pandakroo) or on the website (pandacrew.com).

Iko's Tainted Glass

While I was reading Libération's blog "Les 400 Culs", I heard of this rather peculiar artist who works on tainted glass. This media, generally devoted to religious artwork, is "hijacked" for more modern pieces of art, often being very provocative.


Diego Tolomelli has created a whole series of erotic tainted glasses in his IKO studio. More information and more pictures on his website: click here.

Nova - Le Grand Mix

Young & Rubicam developped a very nice campaign for Radio Nova's "Le Grand Mix". Ten different visuals exist, by ten artists illustrating the music styles of the radio; funk, rap, rock, electronica but also Cuban music or blues...

Enlarge them with a click, you can also watch the 8 mini-clips by clicking here!

Colin Christian

Dolls again! Even more vicious ones!


Colin Christian was born in London in 1964 and several experiences lead him to sculpting. He gets familiar with latex and, influenced by erotism and sadism, he works with that fabric in order to express his creativity through the portraits of young girls. He then moves to the US and initiates new project with his wife Sas Christian, a painter as well. In the 2000s, Colin Christian tackles a new matter: silicone. His themes: good & evil, sci-fi, H.P. Lovecraft or Asia.


The site he shares with his wife: here. His MySpace : here.

Akiza

On MySpace, I was invited by Akiza. After accepting the request, a little flyer appears in my comments, announcing the openning of an exhibition at the Cabinet des Curieux. That's how Akiza came to me.
It is difficult not to be touched by the creations of this artist who's very discreet on his website. In the fetish universe, this graphist often dedicates his little vignettes to his entourage or to artists who influenced him such as Amélie Nothomb or Coralie Trinh Thi.
Between a pure black and white and long and sinuous shapes, the almost pornographic representations of Akiza's dolls are sure to strike you. I'm totally seduced, even though I'm far from being goth, even chic.


Today, Akiza deals his creations on different media (you can find some really cool tees in the shop), and shows his creations in galeries. The website is here, there's also an Akiza page on MySpace.

Mitch O'Connell

A little stroll at Kiliwatch enabled me to discover this book of funky tattoos (above). Browsing it, I almost felt like I needed to have one of those trashy-cute figurine applied to my skinny forearm! Mitch O'Connell is a Chicago illustrator artist who works for Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Spin, The New York Times, Time, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The New Yorker and even Juggs (the HUUUGE breast aficionado magazine).


You can discover more of his work on his website (here) or his page on MySpace (here). Some of his works, between dark humor and a criticism of consumerism, are pop collages not necessarily childish, they can even be very dark (like down here).

Shaun Tan

Born in1974 in Perth, Australia, this young artist will illustrate at first some fantastic or horror short stories for teenage magazines.


Later, Shaun Tan's work is recognized and wins a prize for the illustration of "The Rabbits", a children's book.


In 2008, Shaun Tan is granted a prize at the Angoulême Comics festival for the best book with "The Arrival".


This exceptional work is a mute comic with a very cinematic verve telling the story of a migrant who just arrives in a new country. With emotion, the book introduces us to a fantastic world, between an austere gray tone and a universe populated with magical creatures like Miyazaki's, enable each of us to identify...
Cet ouvrage exceptionnel est une bande-dessinée muette très cinématique relatant l'histoire d'un immigré arrivant dans une nouvelle contrée. Tout en émotion, le livre nous présente un univers fantastique, entre l'austérité d'un trait en teintes de gris et un univers peuplé de créatures fantastiques à la Miyazaki, permettant pourtant à chacun de se retrouver...


His website will introduce you further to his world.

Mark Ryden

Mark Ryden was born in 1963 in Oregon, in the US. Growing up in California, Ryden then decides to take illustration and graphism studies.


His clients? Stephen King (he painted some covers for his novels), Danny Elfman, or, more surprisingly: Bridget Fonda and Leonardo DiCaprio (whom Ryden will paint on different occasions). Ryden will also find insipiration in Cristina Ricci many times...


He is commissionned by numerous artists to design their CDs' covers (Michael Jackson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jeff Beck, 4 Non Blondes, Ringo Starr for instance).


He displays his works from 1998 in some Californian art galleries. Museums also starts having exhibitions.


Childhood and death themes are often tackled in his paintings. Meat, numerology, catholic or buddist symbols, American folklore or toys are very often represented in his work.


His collections: The Meat Show (1998), Amalgamation (2000), Bunnies And Bees (2001), Insalta Mista (2003), Bllod (2003), Wondertoonel (2005), The Tree Show (2007).


Learn more on his website: Mark Ryden.