"Texture in painting refers to the look and feel of the canvas. It is based on the paint, and its application, or the addition of materials such as ribbon, metal, wood, lace, leather and sand. The concept of "painterliness" also has bearing on texture. The texture stimulates two different senses: sight and touch." --Wikipedia

Texture gives people a variety of feelings and can enhance the role of the image and appeal. People's perception of texture is generally based on touch, but due to people's long-term experience of tactile objects, they will feel the difference in texture visually without touching them. We call it sight texture. Sight texture is a texture felt by the eyes, such as stripes, patterns, and bumps displayed on the screen, but they are two-dimensional plane textures. Touch texture is generally obtained by pressing, die-cutting, engraving and other processing methods. It is a three-dimensional texture, which can be felt by hand.

Now, I would like to share some thick texture abstract painting and their materials below. Take a look!

Surging

Creation inspiration:

the idea of this work comes from the texture of marble. The painting uses the blowing technique of fluid pigment to show an abstract ink texture painting. Through the blend of black and white, virtual and real, the picture is harmonious and unified, complicated with simplicity, full of charm, vivid and fairy in deep and serene. The painting is intriguing, profound artistic conception, giving people endless reverie...

Texture： 

sight texture

Tools and materials:

acrylic paint, acrylic thinner, water, cup

Sunset in Four Seasons

Creation inspiration:

the idea of this work mainly comes from the sunset. Spring, summer, autumn and winter have unique and attractive sunset scenery. The sight of the gorgeous sunset can make people relaxed and happy every time. It is hoped that busy people can stop to enjoy different views and discover different life in Sunset in Four Seasons, which was created by pilling up pigments.

Texture： 

touch texture

Tools and materials:

talc, white latex, pigment

Summer Flowers

Creation inspiration:

the idea of this work comes from flowers in summer. Using circular tools forms subtle picture layers and a three-dimensional sense. Although flowers symbolize hope and beauty, they should bloom their life and light in the golden sunshine. It hopes to convey a positive and optimistic attitude towards life.

Texture：

 sight texture

Tools and materials:

gouache pigment, glass rod, straw, etc

A Colorful World

Creation inspiration:

the idea of this work comes from our life. Art comes from life. We can feel the colorful world through these colors.

Texture：

sight texture

Tools and materials:

gouache pigment, alcohol, edible salt

Colorful Hills

Creation inspiration:

the idea of this work comes from mountains of different shapes. The hills are endowed with multi-colors through colorful sand materials, giving the picture a rich layer and three-dimensional sense. It is expected that people can feel beautiful things in nature and the world with their souls in the complex and changeable social life.

Texture：

touch texture

Tools and materials:

colored sand, brush, white latex

Enjoy more thick texture abstract paintings

Can you tell which is sight texture and touch texture painting above?

Click here to explore more SOA Arts Abstract Paintings.

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Rita Ackermann, image via Hauser & Wirth

From November 30 to December 4, art collectors and enthusiasts from across the globe flew to South Florida for the annual Art Basel Miami Beach, a fair wherein leading galleries exhibit masterpieces created by both modern and contemporary art masters alike, as well as by emerging artists. Despite strict pandemic restrictions, this year’s affair drew hundreds of attendees, many of whom were more than willing to open their wallets and take home a few pieces.

Sky Marshal (Spread), Photo : Courtesy Thaddeus Ropac/Photo: Glenn Steigelman

For instance, “Sky Marshal (Spread)” by the American painter Robert Rauschenberg was sold for $1.5 million, while “Eroded Porsche 911” by Daniel Arsham was purchased by a local collector for a little over $500,000. This particular piece is a white-toned replica of a vintage car covered with a layer of epoxy resin and polymer to make it appear fossilized.

Eroded Porsche 911, Photo: Courtesy Perrotin

Among those that were sold at Art Basel Miami Beach was “Mama, Good Samaritan,” a canvas painting created by the renowned Hungarian-American artist Rita Ackermann. The piece was exhibited by the international fine art gallery Hauser & Wirth and purchased by an undisclosed buyer for a whopping $475,000.

“Mama, Good Samaritan” is part of Ackermann’s ongoing “Mama” series, which is currently exhbíbited at the Monaco branch of Hauser & Wirth. Launched in 2019, its other pieces include “Mama, Masked and Anonymous,” “Mama, Under the Brutal Hand of a Child,” and “Mama, the Knight of the Cave.”

Rita Ackermann
Mama, Good Samaritan, 2021
Acrylic, oil and china marker on canvas
195.6 x 167.6 cm

 Rita Ackermann. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Thomas Barratt.

“The exhibition consists of paintings on canvas, which reveal her persisting interrogation of line, color, and form,” reads the Hauser & Wirth website. “In Ackermann’s new suite of ‘Mama’ paintings, repeated imagery is often combined with vivid swathes of color, giving her work an enigmatic visual component that oscillates between abstraction and figuration.”

“Works in the exhibition, including ‘Mama, Monte Carlo’ (2021) and ‘Mama, How Can You See Someone’s Soul?’ (2021) depict figures and motifs that rise to the surface of the canvas, only to dissolve and reappear elsewhere again,” the website further adds. “Lying beneath layers of oil paint are drawings in china marker or ink that are left obscured. Thick layers of impasto and oil are also vigorously applied and scraped in such works, culminating in a layering effect that is often created by chance instances and combinations of accidental gestures.”

Screenshot via Hauser & Wirth

Born in 1968, Rita Ackermann studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary before moving to the United States, where she continued her education at the New York Studio School of Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture. Many consider her to be one of the leading artists of her generation, thanks to her ability to create “opposing impulses of creation and destruction” that “occupy a space between the figurative and the abstract.”

Besides Hauser & Wirth, Ackermann’s work has also been featured in other art galleries – in 2018, her painting “Michael Jackson, On the Wall” was included in an exhibit in London’s National Portrait Gallery. The following year, her piece titled “American Dreams: Classic Cars and Postwar Paintings” was showcased by the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas.

American Dreams: Classic Cars and Postwar Paintings, image via mcnayart.org

Her work has also been part of group shows held at Kunsthalle Basel in Switzerland and The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Ackermann may have been one of the few lucky artists whose pieces fetched hefty price tags at Art Basel Miami Beach; however, this wasn’t the first time that her work was highly sought-after. At the 2019 Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain in Paris, her canvas painting “Mama Nagyika” sold for $165,000.

Image via Hauser & Wirth

Other artworks sold by Hauser & Wirth during the fair included a large mixed-media piece titled “I Want To Be Sure You Love Me!!” Created by the French-American artist Louise Bourgeois in 2008, it was purchased by a European collector for a staggering $1.8 million.

In addition to her one-of-a-kind pieces and the high price tags that they come with, Ackermann is also known for her unique perspective on the art world.

Rita Ackermann, Photo by Tanya & Zhenya Posternak

“I don’t have a persona,” she once told an interviewer. “I believe it is the artist’s core that holds together an oeuvre. The core of the artist is like a vessel, and I’m not possessive of what my paintings deliver. For me, painting is not about egomania. That’s why I get disturbingly critical of myself when I hear my voice explaining or tracking down the process of my work in front of people.”

She added, “When I paint, I’m not thinking – only occasionally do I have a grasp of that state of ‘not thinking’ and I try to write it down. Writing is more exact for something so elusive to describe. For me, it is difficult to speak about the paintings at all. I don’t like to describe what I paint because I cannot; if I could, I wouldn’t paint it.”

With her creativity and remarkable viewpoints, it’s clear that Rita Ackermann is well on her way to becoming one of the art world’s finest painters.

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Modern artists of the 20th century have made immeasurable contributions to the rich, thriving world of exploratory art that we enjoy today. Their bold questions, experiments, and thought-provoking pieces continue to inspire future generations across the globe.

This post is written as an ode to two of the best modern artists that graced the 20th century – Georges Vantongerloo and Max Bill. While these two figures had distinct, occasionally contrasting styles, their friendship remains touching and worth talking about, even in 2022!

At SOA Arts, it’s in our best interests to stay as informed as possible about the art world and its most prominent characters. We’re proud to offer our art and interior design expertise to satisfied customers across the globe!

Modern Artists of the 20th Century

Theo van Doesburg
Counter-Composition VI 1925
Tate

Before we discuss Bill and Vantongerloo in detail, it’s worth touching on the context in which their work flourished. The modern art movement generally refers to the decades in the early 20th century where artists sought to produce art that better represented the hopes and dreams of an industrialized, modern society.

The work was bold, experimental, and often contrarian in its aesthetic and conceptual choices. The Tate Modern (UK) explores the era in a fantastic write-up that can be read here.

The Work of Max Bill

Max Bill in Montagnola, 1974 © Angela Thomas Schmid / 2019, ProLitteris, Zurich. Photo: Angela Thomas

The Swiss artist, ‘polymath’, and designer, Max Bill, is often referred to as the founder of the concrete art movement after hosting the first exhibition of its kind in 1944. The movement sought to bring previously unimagined forms into existence and to represent concepts and objects in a way that was both tangible and ‘sensuous’ in nature.

Max Bill, Ring-based Structures, 1942, White Marble, 39.2 x 39.9 x 39.9 cm / 15 3/8 x 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 inch,

© 2021ProLitteris,Zurich, Image: Max Beale and George Vandengrew Foundation, Hauser & Wirth.

Space-time Continuity

Exhibition Date:

December 16, 2021 -- January 22, 2022

Exhibition Venue:

Strongly influenced by his training at the Bauhaus and his background in mathematics, Bill produced countless paintings and sculptures that incorporated geometric and mathematical concepts with an unrivaled flair for experimentation.

His work can still be enjoyed today in galleries around the world.

The Work of Georges Vantongerloo

Georges Vantongerloo in his studio, Paris, 1951 © Angela Thomas Schmid / 2019, ProLitteris, Zurich. Photo: Reinhart Wolf

Georges Vantongerloo was a sensational painter and sculptor from Antwerp, Belgium. He was seriously injured by a gas attack in the first world war, which meant he was discharged in 1914. His experience during the war, as well as his training and encounters across Europe, contributed to a rich artistic practice that deserves to be memorialized for future generations.

Georges Vantongerloo, Composition émanante de l’ovoïde (Composition from the Ovoid), 1917, Painted mahogany, 16.5 x 6.5 x 6.5 cm / 6 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch

© 2021, ProLitteris, Zurich. Photo: Jon Etter

Vantongerloo’s work focused on abstraction achieved largely through striking paintings and era-defining sculptures. The shapes and linework used by this artist are particularly noteworthy. He also designed bridges, airports, and similar projects that celebrated his love of geometric shapes and experimental concepts.

Their Iconic Friendship

Georges Vantongerloo and Max Bill at the first Athens Sculpture Biennial, September 18, 1965.

Georges Vantongerloo Documents, Bill's House, Chumicon.

Image: Max Bill and Georges Vantongerloo Foundation and Hauser & Wirth. 

Photo: Carmen Martinez

Max Bill and Georges Vantongerloo first met in France in 1918, where they forged a lifelong connection fueled by their mutual love for artistic abstraction and its endless potentialities. Their art made contributions that are still felt to this day.

Max Bill helped to organize countless exhibitions that featured Vantongerloo’s work and continued to vouch for him after his death. This dedication to his friend’s art helped to maintain his reputation and share his experiments with a broader audience.

Georges Vantongerloo

Composition 13478 / 15

A rich correspondence between the two artists reveals the details and nature of their friendship. More information can be found in this great write-up from Hauser & Wirth.

Latest Art Exhibition

Max Bill & George Vantongerloo: Crossover
Exhibition Date:
From January 27 to March 26, 2022
Exhibition Venue:
Hauser Wirth New York 69th Street

Max Bill, Red and Green Emerging from Blue and Yellow, 1970, oil canvas, 120 x 60.5 cm / 47 1/4 x 23 7/8 in.

© 2021, ProLitteris, Zurich. Angela Thomas collection, Chumicon.

Photo: Max Bill and George Vantongerloo Foundation and Hauser & Wirth

Swiss artist Max Bill and Belgian artist Georges Vantongerloo formed a lifelong friendship and corresponded for many years. This allowed them to link their solo independent artistic creations with insights, pushing the boundaries of their work into new aesthetic realms. From January 27, 2022, Hauser Wirth 69th Street in New York will feature “Crossover”,  a tribute to these two artists’ artistic achievements and inspirations.

George Vantongerloo, along with Piet Mondrian, was a central figure in the Dutch De Stijl movement; Max Bill was a student of Bauhaus and was closely linked to the Abstraction-Creation art group founded in Paris in 1933. A selection of 60 paintings and sculptures, and the exhibition highlights the duo’s influential artistic achievements.

SOA Arts

We’re proud to be one of the best contemporary art factories globally. We work from Guangdong, China, and help business owners and collectors worldwide realize their interior design dreams.

Need wholesale art prints? Specially commissioned or curated collections? Something else entirely? Get in touch today, and we’ll be happy to help.

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In the past two years, the trajectory of human life has faced significant challenges, and the same is true in the field of art. After museums and offline exhibitions almost suspend, artists move into larger spaces, using public installations to interact face-to-face with numerous strangers. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything, but love and art will not die, and we can still find some warmth in the corner of the city to work through the crisis and heal the grief together.

1
Urban Sun

Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde, best known for his lighting and large-scale immersive art installations. He recently got a lot of attention with Urban Sun, which uses special lighting that has been scientifically proven to eliminate up to 99.9 percent of viruses in public places, making it safer for the human body. The installation, which resembles an artificial sun and fills an alien atmosphere, now stands above Rotterdam's Famous Erasmus Bridge.

Amid epidemics continue to occur and people are tired of restricted movements, societies now more rely on new solutions to restore social connections and intimacy. This is the core proposition of City Sun's lighting project.

"This is an inspiring project, and people are tired of COVID-19. We need the courage to find new solutions, to be able to safely reach out and rekindle intimacy, and that's what Urban Sun is doing."

Design: Studio Roosegaarde
Art Installation: Urban Sun

2
As Long As the Sun Last

"As Long As the Sun Last" by American conceptual artist Alex Da Corte is on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The bluebird sitting on a crescent moon with a ladder is from Sesame Street and is covered in aluminum feathers that move in the wind as it passes by in a cleverly balanced structure.

Looking at the city, the playful language shows that people are constantly swinging between joy and hesitation under the epidemic. Moving and rotating with the wind also makes people feel their mood is not calm, but the final delicate balance may also indicate that we will keep faith in hope in the ups and downs. Don't sigh! How about just looking at the big cute bird and smiling.

Design: Alex Da Corte
Art Installation: As long as the sun last

3
Suimei

"I wanted to present the landscape described by Ya Changming in the preface to The Abbot: 'The river is flowing and changing. The foam never stops gathering and dispersing. The same is true of people and their homes. "

As part of the Pavilion Tokyo 2021 project, Suimei is a "water Pavilion" that winds its way through Tokyo's Hamori Palace Garden. Suimei describes how beautiful clear water is in the moonlight and the slow water flow represents the connection between past, present and future. Calm waterway, look like a mirror from a distance, reflecting the sky and street scene. Go near, you can carefully observe the gentle flow of water, gazing at the slight waves, forget time, feel peaceful in mind.

Design: Kazuyo Sejima
Art Installation: Suimei

4
A New Now

The clean lines, playful colors and slogan characters make every passer-by quickly lock the focus of their eyes in a piece of cement brick wall, hitting by color, knocking off the gloom and dullness in their brain.

London-based artist Morag Myerscough has created A New Now in her usual bright style, an urban installation on the Pompidou Square in central Paris. This brightly colored geometric shape is not graffiti on a wall but an eight-meter-tall sculpture. "A New Now" sends a constant call to people to pass on that positive attitude to their surroundings.

Design: Morag Myerscough
Art Installation: A New Now

In the face of the pandemic, designers worldwide are redefining the design of public spaces. They use different design languages to depict warmth, nature, hope, healing and power to resolve the negative impact caused by the epidemic, warm families, brighten lives, cheer for the fight against the COVID-19 and bless the world!

All images via Google.

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Aziz Hazara.

PHOTO MAKSIM BELOUSOV/COURTESY THE ARTIST AND PINCHUKARTCENTRE

Last December 8, renowned interdisciplinary artist Aziz Hazara took home the Future Generation Art Prize 2021, an award established by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and given to artists under the age of 35. Besides the distinction, he was also given a total of $100,000 – $40,000 of which will be used to fund his practice.

An additional $20,000 was distributed among Special Prize winners Agata Ingarden from Poland, Mira Lee from South Korea, and Pedro Neves Marques from Portugal.

“Nobody can tell us better about this world than great, especially young, emerging artists,” said Victor Pinchuk, the founder of the PinchukArtCentre and the Future Generation Art Prize. “You are able to express the future of this world much better than politicians can. My belief is that contemporary art is one of the most revolutionary forces in the world. That is why I think your role is so important.”

He added, “You can influence and help us to change this world. We can survive only if we change this crazy world with its very dangerous and unpredictable future.”

Hazara was chosen by an international jury, which consisted of some of the art world’s most influential figures, including Lauren Cornell, the Director of the Graduate Program and Chief Curator at the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College; Elvira Dzangani Ose, the Director of the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona in Spain; and Eugene Tan, the Director of the National Gallery Singapore and the Singapore Art Museum.

Bow Echo, 2019

Image via experimenter.in

Based in Kabul, Afghanistan and Ghent, Belgium, Hazara is known for working across photography, video, sound, language programming, and text to explore power relations, geopolitics, and the panopticon. His work “Bow Echo” (2019) is a multimedia installation spread out across five screens, showing a young Afghan boy climbing mountaintops and playing a plastic bugle. It was previously shown at the 2020 Sydney Biennale.

“The piece holds many paradoxes in a simple scene: the playfulness of childhood, the limitlessness of grief, the conquest of land and territory, and the precarity of the future,” said the international jury in a statement. “In a sense, the piece identifies not only a future-facing tendency in art but a concern for future generations that was shared by many artists in this year’s Future Generation Prize.”

The panel added, “Touching on cinema, performance, and sound, ‘Bow Echo’ offers a striking time-based monument to resilience and hope for a geography that has, for many generations, remained under the pressure of various forms of failed governance. At the same time, the piece shows how artists continue to imagine complex independent ways of existence even amidst conflicts that seem never-ending.”

Aziz Hazara, Bow Echo (Video still), 2019, Duration: 4 min 6 , Five channel HD video, color, sound, Video produced by the Han Nefkens Foundation,

© Aziz Hazara, Courtesy the artist, Han Nefkens Foundation and Fundació Antoni Tàpies

Hazara has previously stated that “Bow Echo” is a response to the resistance of the local Afghan community – especially in Kabul, where he was born. While the city has been plagued by conflict since the U.S. military intervention began in 2001, its situation became even more precarious last August when the Taliban recaptured control. Given this, it isn’t unsurprising that the five-screen multimedia installation resonated with the international jury.

Established in 2009, the Future Generation Art Prize is organized by PinchukArtCentre, a private museum in Kiev, Ukraine. As one of the top awards in the art world, many regard it as predictive of emerging young talent on the verge of an incredible breakthrough.

Image via new.pinchukartcentre.org/en

“This idea of the Future Generation Art Prize came to me in 2008 in the middle of the global financial crisis,” said Victor Pinchuk in his speech at the awards ceremony. “Maybe for you – young artists – it would be useful to know and understand that crisis is a fantastic source of inspiration. Nobody can tell us better about this world than great, especially young, emerging artists. You are able to express the future of this world much better than politicians can.”

The Future Generation Art Prize has previously been won by the British artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye (2012), Carlos Motta of Colombia and Nástio Mosquito of Angola (2014), and the Lithuanian visual artist Emilija Škarnulztė (2019). An exhibition of the short-listed artists for this year’s award will be on show at the PinchukArtCentre until February 27, 2022.

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Image via Pexels

In art news today, there are recent developments at the Louvre Museum that we think are worth talking about. Firstly, renovations in the Salle des Bronzes gallery have been reversed after a long dispute between the Cy Twombly Foundation and the museum. We’ll explore the details on this page.

Secondly, the Louvre recently instated its first-ever female director! Laurence des Cars has been captain of the Louvre’s ship since September. In this post, we’ll discuss her plans for 2022.

At SOA Arts, we like to keep our fingers on the pulse of the art world. This way, we can continue to offer the sensational services you deserve.

Twombly Gallery Renovation Reversed

© Commons Wikimedia

This month, the Cy Twombly Foundation and the Louvre finally reached an agreement regarding renovations in the Salle des Bronzes gallery. An installation by Cy Twombly has been featured in the gallery since 2010.

His foundation sued the Louvre earlier this year, claiming that recent renovations conflicted with the artist’s original vision.

The Original Design

Screenshot via http://www.cytwombly.org/

In 2021, the American artist, Cy Twombly, completed an installation called ‘The Ceiling’ in the Salle des Bronzes gallery. A light blue sky with playful yellow circles adorned the ceiling of the room.

Salient to this discussion is the color of the walls and the rest of the gallery. When Twombly first installed his work, the rest of the room was neutral in color. Simple, understated colors accompanied the blue sky that he had painted.

The Changes and Why They Mattered

Earlier this year, changes to the design of the Salle des Bronzes interior sparked controversy. The walls of the space had been repainted to a burnt-red color. The floor had also been swapped out for parquet.

The artist’s foundation argued that these changes undermined Twombly’s original vision. Initially, the Louvre rejected these appeals, which sparked a lawsuit.

The Result

After a long process of discussions and disagreements, the two institutions have finally reached an agreement. The Louvre has agreed to reverse the changes made to the gallery space, and in return, the Twombly foundation have dropped their lawsuit.

The Louvre’s First Female Director – Laurence des Cars

Laurence des Cars, at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, in March.Credit...Alain Jocard/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

In September 2021, the Louvre welcomed its first-ever female director, Laurence des Cars. This is a landmark decision for the institution; there has never been a female director at the Louvre since its conception in 1793.

Full of hope for the future, des Cars has outlined a few plans for 2022 and beyond.

Exhibitions With Other French Museums

Collaborations between art galleries in France are surprisingly rare. The new director of the Louvre says she’d like to change this fact. In particular, she’d like to work with institutions like the Orsay with collections from after the mid-19th century.

Increased International Partnerships

Sadly, civil unrest and looting in some parts of the world mean that precious art can become lost. Des Cars hope to alleviate some of this problem through increased international partnerships. Partnering with institutions in countries like Sudan, for instance, may help to offer vital support for artworks in dire need of protection.

More Evening Hours

Hoping to attract younger visitors, the new director announced plans to extend the Louvre’s operational hours further into the evening. Des Cars says she wants as many people as possible to “have the pleasure of getting lost in the Louvre”.

These changes would, of course, take current developments with COVID-19 into account.

SOA Arts – Where to Buy Art Prints and More

Looking for art prints, curated pieces, or special commissions? SOA Arts is the answer! We’re a fully equipped Chinese art factory that has everything you need to transform your interiors. Get in touch today!

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On Dec. 9, 2021, Pantone released its color of the year for 2022: Very Peri (Pantone17-3938).

Pantone has chosen blue as its color of the Year five times in the past 20 years.

What, then, shall we expect from Very Peri?

Take a look!

01

Pantone's Color of the Year, What's New?

Pantone, of course, has always preferred blue.

In the past five blue-based annual representative colors, Turquoise Blue is clear, Blue Iris is rich, Serenity is gentle, Classic Blue is deep, Cerulean Blue is peaceful, which have their own features.

The color of 2022, Very Peri, was not chosen from the Pantone color library but a new hue whipped up by the company for the first time.

According to Pantone, Very Peri imbues dreamy purple and energy red with a serene blue tone, projecting a warm, cheerful and energetic attitude. Pantone has kindly come up with a color scheme for your reference.

BALANCING ACT

WELLSPRING

THE STAR OF THE SHOW

AMUSEMENTS

When I first saw Very Peri, the sight of "Monet's special color" came to my mind. Monet used this rich layer of blue and purple to present dense fog and winter snow.

Do you think Very Peri represents what you're looking forward to in 2022?

So why did Pantone make Very Peri the color of the year for 2022?

"We live in a time of radical change," Pantone wrote when it unveiled the logo. He also mentioned creation and change many times in his article.

According to Pantone, Very Peri symbolizes the global spirit of this moment and the transformation we are experiencing.

Our physical and digital lives are converging in a fresh way and will adapt to living with ever more complex rules.

The craze for video games, metaverse concepts, and NTF art will gradually become a part of our daily lives. Their rise is not a flash in the pan but a human vision of life.

Pantone has created new colors also benefited from the digitalization of design, allowing designers to convey their concepts more accurately, expanding the limitations of the past reality.

Very Peri (PANTONE 17-3938 ) shows the diversity of modern life and how the color trends of the digital world are mirrored in the physical world and vice versa.

From its outlook for 2022, it's not hard to see how Pantone has high hopes for Very Peri. Indeed, the combination of purple and red gives blue a softer glow, technological and futuristic feel, appropriately illustrating Pantone's vision of a virtual and digital future for human life.

From shiny metals, gorgeous sheen and high-tech materials to handmade looks and natural fibers, Very Peri can be applied in a wide range of scenarios.

Telling a good story for a product is an essential skill for a modern company. Can Very Peri bear the weight of the zeitgeist delivered by Pantone? The world will be watching.

02

How Does Pantone Choose the Color of the Year?

When got this far, everyone could have a question, how does Pantone choose the color of the year? In terms of the selection process, the investigation and selection cycle of Pantone's annual representative color lasts for nine months, which requires thorough consideration and trend analysis.

To pick a representative color, experts at the Pantone Color Institute search for new elements that influence color change each year.

These new elements cover a wide range of fields, such as film, artistic creation, fashion design, popular tourist attractions, people's recreational life, and even social and economic conditions.

New technologies, materials, textures, and processing effects that affect color will also become critical points of choice. Color, as a basic element of our lives, has been commercially standardized for only 60 years.

Since there was no unified standard for color printing, Party A and Party B had a different understanding of color matching, often failing to meet customer requirements.

As Professor Albers wrote in The Interactive Science of Color, "If someone said 'red' to 50 people on the spot, 50 shades of red would appear in their minds. To be sure, all colors are different."

Thus, a precise universal definition of color became a revolution in waiting. In 1963, Pantone developed a revolutionary color system. The system realizes the accurate blending of color.

For more than 50 years, Pantone has extended its color matching system to various industries, including digital technology, textiles, plastics, construction, and interior decoration and coatings.

Pantone became one of the most authoritative color systems globally, and designers, artists, and manufacturers around the world began to use the "Pantone Standard."

Since 2000, Pantone will roll out the annual representative color every December, and its color of year release has become the industry's spotlight.

In addition to the color of the Year, Pantone also releases a fashion color report, in which color experts select a theme and then choose a color around that theme. The fashion color trend report unveiled every season for the clothing industry includes 10 popular colors and 5 key classic colors.

Such color prediction will bring a new round of shock to the color design in both fashion and industry, which have a vast and extensive influence on manufacturing and consumption.

03

Color Forecasts Will Control Our Choice?

Since Queen Victoria was stunned in a velvet-lavender wedding dress, it sparked the trend for composite colors.

Complex colors followed, and dyeing houses and manufacturers worldwide began to set up color trend forecasting institutions, but their influence was limited to the fashion industry during this period.

It wasn't until the end of the 20th century that the colorful translucent shells of the iMac exploded the color industry in industrial design.

People are beginning to realize that color may determine the success or failure of a product in the market.

Pantone has quantified color, stripped it of mystery and confusion, coded it into standardized products, and made selling color a huge business.

As the business of color forecasting has grown, the track has become increasingly crowded. Besides Pantone, Japan Fashion Color Association(JAFCA), Sico(Canada) and WGSN(UK), all offer expert trend reports for designers.

With the development of the Internet, the ways of predicting color trends are diversified. Tumblr, Pinterest and other design websites also start to predict color trends in their own ways.

Color forecasting helps designers understand and integrate trend information and understand market preferences in preparation for next season's products.

Reading this, you might think that color prediction is controlling our fashion choices.

In fact, the report issued by the color forecasting agency is only a trend. It can not determine the development of fashion, as a reference, will not be accepted wholly by designers and manufacturers.

While they may indirectly influence our choices, they are more likely to perform screening and analysis than the ultimate determiners of trends.

The factors that influence trends are diverse and complex, and the development of the Internet and social media has welcomed more people to create new trends.

The fashion industry and consumers are more closely linked and interact. We are all part of the movement.

Color, the visual wisdom of human beings, brings us collective resonance at different levels, leading the tide of life.

To some extent, color defines our state of life. Perhaps, as Pantone put it, color embodies the spirit of the times, as well as the complex social past.

All images via google.

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The Seattle NFT Museum on First Avenue in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Image via seattlenftmuseum

The world is currently being dominated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a term that refers to digital tokens associated with physical assets that can be sold, bought, and traded. Countless artists have benefitted from this emerging technology, earning thousands of dollars without having to share their profits with museums, galleries, and other middlemen.

“Many digital artists, fed up after years of creating content that generates visits and engagement on Big Tech platforms like Facebook and Instagram while getting almost nothing in return, have lunged headlong into the craze,” said TIME Magazine. “These artists of all kinds – authors, musicians, filmmakers – envision a future in which NFTs transform both their creative process and how the world values art, now that it’s possible to truly ‘own’ and sell digital art for the first time.”

Despite the hype surrounding NFTs, they remain misunderstood, especially by those in the art world. This is why tech entrepreneurs Jennifer Wong and Peter Hamilton are hoping that a physical museum will pave the way for a much greater appreciation for the phenomenon.

Located at 2125 First Avenue in the city’s Belltown neighborhood, the Seattle NFT Museum (SNFTM) will be the first-ever physical space dedicated to the emerging platform. Apart from serving as a gathering place for collectors and enthusiasts, it will also showcase a number of local artists, such as Larva Labs, Tyler Hobbs, Blake Kathryn, and Neon Saltwater.

“The community has this incredible energy and influence that they wield, but there’s something that’s missing, and that’s the physical experience and physical interaction that comes from looking at art together,” said Hamilton in an interview.

“We chose to open a museum versus a gallery because we do care about the museum aspect of it,” Wong added. “We want it to be educational for those who only know the acronym NFT to the deep-level enthusiasts.”

Jennifer Wong and Peter Hamilton, founders of Seattle NFT Museum.

While the main goal of the museum is to make NFTs more accessible to the public, both Hamilton and Wong also aim to bridge the gap between the virtual and the physical. Because of this, QR codes will be scattered throughout the entire building, sending visitors to online portals where they can interact more with the artists.

Frames created by mobile technology company Samsung will also enable curators and artists to choose how a digital piece will be presented to the public.

Image via seattlenftmuseum

The Seattle NFT Museum is a huge contrast to Phosphene, an online portal launched in May 2021 by tech veteran Art Min, in partnership with Kirsten Anderson, the owner of the Roq La Rue Gallery. This online platform curates NFT pieces from “mid-career and impact-oriented artists and musicians.”

Screenshot via Phosphene

“The fidelity and size of displays make space for inspiration that smartphone scrolling can’t provide,” explained Wong. “As powerful as online communities have become, there is little substitute for looking at art, standing next to another person. We need both worlds, and we know there will be so many opportunities to bridge the metaverse with physical experiences in the future.”

To prepare for the launch, Wong is working with local artists to curate pieces for the opening show. Meanwhile, Hamilton is handling their Discord server, where they keep in touch with collector organizations across the country. Both may regard the Seattle NFT Museum as a “fun passion project,” but its huge potential has pushed them to be on the lookout for people to fill out roles in administration, IT, curation, and community management.

Screenshot via Superchief Gallery NFT 

Creating a physical space for digital art isn’t something new. In March 2021, the Superchief NFT Gallery was opened in New York, and similar ones have popped up in Australia and Europe. However, the Seattle NFT Museum will be the first of its kind in the city.

While there are other physical galleries dedicated to NFTs, the Seattle NFT Museum will be the first of its kind in the city.

“The imagination of NFT artists and creators is thrilling,” said Wong. “We wanted to create a space to serve the NFT community while helping put Seattle on the map as a hub for NFT and Blockchain innovation.”

(SNFTM Image)

She added, “We’re not experts and we’re here to learn as much as anyone. That is why we are counting on the feedback and support of NFT enthusiasts to continue growing the vision.”

Set to open its doors on January 14, 2022, the Seattle NFT Museum will feature more than 30 high-fidelity digital screens in both portrait and landscape orientations. Each installation will be linked to its metadata, while visitors can access the artist’s story and explanation through a QR code.

For more information on the Seattle NFT Museum, check out their official website. Those interested in visiting may also start purchasing tickets, which cost $125.

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About Artist
Maurizio Cattelan

Museums League, Maurizio Cattelan, 2018, Museums League

Born in Italy in 1960, Maurizio Cattelan is a renowned artist in the contemporary art scene. He now resides in New York City, where he continues to do solo and group shows. He’s known for controversial works of art as he targets institutions in a playful manner. Cattelan never played by the rules and, in fact, pokes fun at the rules. His work is engaging enough to question the art industry, and we never quite know what he’s going to do next.

About Art Exhibition
The Last Judgment

Maurizio Cattelan, Mini Me (1999), 45×20×23cm, Resin, Rubber, Artificial hair, paint, Clothing.  Image courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art.  

In November 2021, a solo exhibition, The Last Judgment, was set to hit the scene at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, China. The show features work spanning the past few decades of Cattelan’s career. It tackles themes of death, acceptable social norms, and art history. The curation will run from November until February 20, 2022.

Maurizio Cattelan, Not Afraid of Love (2000), 205×312×137cm, Polyester Styrene, Resin, Pigment, Fabric. Image courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art.

The Last Judgment makes viewers look at the big picture of what Cattelan’s been doing for decades - Being playful and teasing society, art, and looking at life with a holistic philosophy. The exhibition is curated by Francesco Bonami and organized by Liu Kaiyun, Edward Guan, Shi Yao, Anna Yang, and Yvonne Lin.

Maurizio Cattelan, Lessico Familiare (1989), screenshot via artsy.net

The exhibition includes 29 artworks that anything from installations to sculptures. Early in his career, Cattelan created Lessico Familiare (1989), featured in The Last Judgment. As one of his first creations, Cattelan utilizes black and white photography to capture a self-portrait making a heart-shaped symbol with his hands. Comedian (2019) is also featured, and this one is simplistic and silly with a banana duct-taped to a wall.

Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian (2019), Banana, Duct tape Size variable, Image courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art.

Cattelan’s work also frequently references pop culture and art history. Untitled (2001) showcases a burglar scene from the classic Italian movie Big Deal on Madonna Street. Untitled (1998) playfully targets the art industry production system as it pushes for commercialization. A mascot dressed as Picasso entertains observers rather than looking at art for what it really is.

Maurizio Cattelan, Untitled 2001, 150×60×40cm Platinum Silicone, natural hair, fiberglass, clothing. Image courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art.

Maurizio Cattelan, Untitled 1998, Ph Caroline Minjolle, Beyeler 2019

The Last Judgment is a dynamic art exhibition with plenty of experimental forms. One of Cattelan’s newer projects, Zhang San (2021), features a sculpture. It’s outfitted as a homeless man in Beijing. The figure is lying on the ground wrapped in a blanket with pigeons resting on their resting body and a shopping cart is loaded with garbage bags and extra clothes nearby.

Maurizio Cattelan, Zhang San (2021), Image courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art.

About His Artwork

Maurizio Cattelan, No (2021), 101×41×43cm, Silicone rubber, natural hair, clothes, boots, paper bag. Image courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art.

No (2021) is another new project where a figure kneeling on the ground with a paper bag shows that humans really don’t know anything about the definition of fate. While visitors may have some fun with Cattelan’s silly nature, they can also expect daunting and more solemn pieces from his newer art.

Maurizio Cattelan, Untitled(2001), 60×85.5×47cm, Stainless Steel, Wood, electric motors, lights, bells, mechanical components. Image courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art.

During a press conference at the exhibition, curator Francesco Bonami summed up the legacy of Cattelan rather well. Bonami mentioned that Cattelan is, of course, an artist but also a prankster, a communicator, and a provocateur. “He does not care about discussing gender, race, nationality, but combines its complexity including fear, happiness, desire, failure, and success to pay attention to each individual”, Bonami stated.

Maurizio Cattelan, Bidibidobidiboo (1996), Squirrel specimen, ceramic, fumei mesa, wood, paint, steel, Image courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art.

Both existing fans of Maurizio Cattelan and new people just discovering his work are in for a treat in the Beijing area. The exhibition is based on Cattelan’s life and his experience as an artist. With 29 works of art, both new and old, the exhibit sums up the provocative philosophy of Cattelan over decades.

Maurizio Cattelan, Eternal Love (1997), 186×120×60cm Donkey skeleton, Dog skeleton, Cat skeleton, Rooster skeleton. Image courtesy UCCA Center for Contemporary Art.

The Italian-born artist is always known for causing stirrups in the world of art. Over the last three decades, Maurizio Cattelan challenged the way that we view art and institutions. He reminds us to question the rules in place and think for ourselves. After all, our creative freedom is one of the most powerful tools that any artist can have.

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Dylan Farrell Design

Dylan Farrell Design is a professional studio dedicated to interior design, furniture design and architecture, located in Paddington, Sydney, Australia, founded by Dylan Farrell in 2016. The studio's goal is to create a one-of-a-kind style for each client, always believing that each client has a unique creative "fingerprint", and this personality has embodied the expression of innovation and imagination in each completed project.

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JUNIPER HOUSE

"I believe that design style is like enjoying food, I don't want to eat pasta every day, I don't want to go without vegetables, and while I'm a vegetarian, I'm not going to give up meat entirely." - Dylan Farrell

Juniper House is a seven-bedroom Australian House located on Sydney's waterfront with exquisite views of nature. The interior decoration of the house has been cleverly stripped and reshaped by Dylan Farrell, arousing rich and bold color resonance, and finally presenting a brand-new look of a home by feat of the perceptual inspiration of ecological nature.

The sculpture in the sitting room is showy but not incongruous, instead, forming a delightful contrast with a hanging picture in nave blue. The handmade orange artwork shows soft but touching power like water through its textures and curves. Warm natural light pours into the house, which makes the texture of the plush seats stand out. Through the bright French windows, the sight of the panoramic view of the charming landscape, and you can feel the dramatic changes that water and sky are of one hue.

The main color of the dining area and kitchen is light green, which is full of natural atmosphere. The designers use artworks with different characteristics in the room to add playful elements to the space. The wall decoration paintings in the dining room are matched with hand-chiseled and burned brass, which provide a perfect foil for the marble table on the side.

Elegant white curtains join the bedroom and cloakroom together. People who stay there will be intoxicated in the space that enriches visual translucency and enjoy the cozy and leisurely atmosphere. In Juniper House, Dylan Farrell can make people feel that the area is full of vitality, can stimulate people's endless imagination and enthusiasm for life. His works are diverting and vivid, expressing captivating visual poetry and rustic personality.

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CONTEMPORARY PERCH

"Our work has a contemporary sense of consciousness and classical binding, while we pay great attention to line proportion, textural detail, spatial rhythm and the interaction of light and air. The close connection of all elements makes our design full of elegance and attitude." - Dylan Farrell

Contemporary Perch stands at a compelling Perch. This beautiful beach house boasts lush gardens and unique harbor views overlooking Sydney's waterfront with stunning views of the rising and setting tides. Dylan Farrell Design has infused the sentiments of nature and the city to create this charming poetic villa.

Clean and advanced building lines and the spiral staircase drive a close dialogue between the artworks, revealing their characteristic materiality and drama by sharing the same dark and light.

When entering the villa, the tranquility, comfortable feeling and rich artistic atmosphere come to you. The walnut floor and white wall also show the modern minimalist atmosphere and style.

Saturated colors and bold textures are written against a white background, linking the space to the whimsical landscape beyond the building's walls. A series of crystal glass doors offer expansive views of the landscape, which include vast landscape that flows towards mountain streams and the coast.

The selection of tonal and furniture conforms to the harmonious scenery of indoor and outdoor, and all the furnishings in the house give consideration to both functionality and artistry. Every artistic style here is released freely in the space.

The kitchen and dining room are located in the same room, and the neutral and calm colors give people a comfortable and cozy feeling. The stone table has exquisite texture, and the concise color matching shows the minimalist tone in the space. The whole area is immersed in a delicate and quite aesthetic atmosphere.

A close dialogue between the dining room and the natural landscape is established through the transparent and bright floor-to-ceiling windows, while the lacquered fireplace walls, which recall the presence of wood in the soil, clash deliciously with the handmade polished and dappled brass fireplace doors.

The low saturation space of the study makes the senior feeling from the inside, showing a deep and majestic charm of spirit, combined with the pleasant seascape outside the window, to create a natural aesthetic sense without modification.

The bedroom ceiling is carved in a microwave shape, and the homeowner to appreciate the building's raw beauty on a majestic and intimate level from the curved top. Dylan Farrell Design creates a perfect residence with art, beauty and life through a minimalist and restrained approach. The overall effect is clearly layered, expressing the studio's yearning for a beautiful poetic life and unique insights.

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ALCHEMY HOUSE

The aim is not to impose a single style on the client. It's about making design more intuitive, more dynamic, and more personal." - Dylan Farrell

Alchemy House is a new Australian family home reminiscent of stately, turn-of-the-century Victorian houses, but with a stylistic twist. Dylan Farrell Design combines the neo-classical details of Paris and the eclecticism of contemporary New York with the glamour of Hollywood's golden age through a high-class approach to create a dramatic light luxurious and elegant mansion.

Bold colors and dramatic curves are the key components of this staircase, macro and subtle, illusory and realistic details are having meticulous expression below the harmony of designers.

The designers created an elegant and comfortable atmosphere between the lines and finishes of the corridor, finding a delicate balance in the open space. Abstract thinking is used in the design to create a sophisticated, stylish and layered interior space through the subtle combination of classical and modern.

The living room is full of saturated color and artistic inspiration, metal chandeliers and irregular tea table legs with high-quality retro texture, colorful suede sofa and elephant paintings add dreamy and elegant color to the space.

The master bedroom has a spacious layout, and the large picture window absorbs natural scenery. The fireplace restoring ancient ways highlights the classic, beautiful charm. The boundary with a clear streamline feeling appears elegant and has style, noble and luxuriant simple sense is sent by inside.

The design of the second bedroom presents a modern and dazzle living vibe. Comfortable living space and work reading area are also set in the bedroom. The room is full of dignity, and the unique space texture gives residents a unique living experience.

The study's design is full of detail. Neuter match color and solemn display show the lasting appeal that gives calm and composed again, and bright light neutralized the spirit charm of dark elegant, diffuse the breath of comfortable and leisurely come.

In this dramatic mansion, Dylan Farrell explores the interest of life and the meaning of living, using classical, contemporary, cultural and architectural languages to create a sense of art and timelessness through the dual communication of material and consciousness.

Dylan Farrell believes that a home is inclusive, and good design also needs to be inclusive. It should not be limited to a certain style. In modern life, everyone has his own unique personality, and eclecticism is the theme of contemporary life.

All images via Dylan Farrell Design 

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