Oliver Kosta-Théfaine (born in 1972) is a French artist who lives and works in Paris. He was the chief redactor of Wordlsigns Magazine and Nusign magazine, Paris, 2007. Graduated in Art History, he is a Self-taught artist. Since 1996, the artist works with galleries and institutions worldwide. In each of his pieces, Olivier Kosta-Théfaine plays with the codes of popular culture. His work is structured around the use of language specific to the city and its suburbs, thus changing or twisting given meanings to confront the widest possible audience. His work has been shown at institutions and galleries such as Fondation Cartier, A.L.I.C.E. Gallery and Cripta747.

These playful and creative photos are the work of Guim Tió Zarraluki, artist based in Barcelona. Have a look.

The Arkadelphia Piece (2010) by artist Jonathan Brilliant, is an installation composed of 50,000 wooden coffee stir sticks woven in place and held by tension with gallery bench inclusion -Hammons Gallery OBU, Arkadelphia Arkansas.

” I am an artist living and working in Scotland predominantly interested in culture, prejudice with ambitions to challenge traditional concepts of portraiture and figuration with works that are almost devoid of recognisable facial characteristics. Through an obsession with identity I have produced a body of work containing paintings that communicate all that is intimate and personal in me. These figures have been stripped of identity by immersing their face in various materials that deform and disfigure their appearance; the only way in which the viewer can penetrate through these disguises is to look into the eyes, in which they try to contemplate the vulnerability, trying to understand the image before them. My aim is to use my art to stimulate questions of beauty and ugliness, of disfigurement and difference, and thereby, interrogate the viewer’s responses to prejudice, stereotyping and perhaps even subliminal reactions.” – Lisa Scrimgeour

Elena Rapa (Fano, 1978) lives in Milan. She defines herself as an eclectic artist. Her creatures and background settings come from childhood fantasies. They pervade her entire work, and can be found in pictures, objects and supports, paper and recycled stuff. Experimentation means artistic growth to Elena. It is opposed to the stasis caused by the production speed and the repetition of a well-known, banal signature style. In the production process, Elena loves to keep more than one way to choose, from the beginning to the final step. She starts with a sketch (inspired by a book, a toy, an object), then she decides the surface to work on, choosing the colours depending on the mood she’s in, and she gives a possible “ending” to her artwork. She will probably modify it months later. (via Fabrica Fluxus)

This is great. Have a peek into the sketchbook of illustrator Marco Mazzoni over at his Tumblr page. Ah, amazingness!

“Dust bunny” is a vernacular term for “a mass of fine, dry particles of matter, especially hair and skin particles, formed by static electricity.” (1) This mass serves as a perceptible, though overlooked model of aggregation and self-organization. For the most part, we are conditioned to think of dust bunnies as disposable accumulations to be swept away, or worse, airy masses of irritants that threaten our senses; however, when mindfully considered, these discomforting systems transform into diagrams of association, demonstrating how the formation of material relationships generates higher level identities. All matter disintegrates, but the attraction and reorganization of dissociated fragments into new form is just as fundamental. A dust bunny embodies this type of synthesis; a small amount of matter achieves greater structure and presence as a network. The fibers and particulates do not collapse into a pile or scatter far apart. The strands tangle, creating intersections that attract smaller bits of matter into orbital nodes. Between the nodes are pockets of negative space that inflate the overall volume of a dust bunny. The expansive network of connected nodes generates an illusion of unified behavior, a cloud-like epiphenomena. Though mundane, a dust bunny bears unexpected symmetry to the most complex and baffling systems, such as the accretion of cosmic matter or the organization of memories in the brain.

Browsing the beautifully-painted works of artist Javier Palacios. More here.

‘You’ll have time to make the rounds with a fresh carafe of coffee, check on the cake in the oven, and take your seat on the porch, before your guests are finished chuckling over these charming egg cups! Just break open a bottle of something bubbly, and let them get another giggle at the bright yellow feet that accompany each petite, rounded piece. Crafted from ceramics with a glossy glaze, this quirky quartet will lighten the mood, whether you’re hosting a birthday brunch or an early morning party for a friend’s recent promotion!’ Buy here.

It’s too bad there isn’t any information about Liu Xia, but it is still well worth sharing her work here. The first painting above is amazing. Caught my eye.