Author Archives: Niall Anderson

In conjunction with the exhibition, Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo, the Japanese American National Museum have collaborated with Frank Kozik for his latest custom show entitled ‘Year of the Labbit’. Featuring a host of painters and illustrators including Catherine Brooks, egg scissors, Joel Nakamura and Mike Shinoda, the exhibition uses Kozik’s iconicContinue reading “Frank Kozik’s Year of the Labbit Custom Show”

Famed for their beautiful but extremely limited hand-cast art toys, Itokin Park are preparing for the next installment of their successful Workshop of the Handmade Oven Clay!, to be held at the Switcheroo Institute of Lower Learning, Pasadena, next month. Itokin Park will be creating an army of their latest Crab Head toys, revealing tipsContinue reading “Itokin Park’s Workshop of the Handmade Oven Clay!”

Up and coming illustrator A.J.Hateley has been working on a new project entitled ’30 Days of Videogames’, blending the style of classical literature’s cover art with some of gaming’s most influential releases. The self confessed nerd is releasing a new image everyday for a month through her blog, Wilderness As A Girl, with all artworksContinue reading “30 Days of Videogames”

Gaining a reputation for their high concept architecture, G.O.Y.A (Group of Young Architects) have designed a kindergarten that can be appreciated by children and parents alike. The stunning timber and steel based structure has large floor-to-ceiling windows, rubberised paving, integrated play areas and sliding walls that can be easily moved to create larger/smaller spaces whenContinue reading “G.O.Y.A’s Contemporary Kindergarten Project”

Japan/Australian based duo Cupco have collaborated with the Mishka gallery, Broklyn, for their aptly titled penultimate show, ‘Last Gasp’. The exhibition features a huge collection of hand stitched dolls in Cupco’s endearing, yet slightly disturbing style, blending the bold character design of Saturday morning cartoons with the surreal undertones of Gary Baseman’s twisted ‘JapanLA’ artContinue reading “Cupco’s ‘Last Gasp’ @Mishka NYC”

Up and coming Philippine artist Bjorn Calleja is preparing for his latest exhibition, The Color Bringer, opening this Sunday (June 26th) at the Secret Fresh Gallery, Manila. Known for his disturbing yet strangely alluring characters, Calleja will also be releasing ‘The Color Bringer’ in toy form. Limited to a run of only 20 pieces, theContinue reading “Bjorn Calleja’s The Color Bringer”

Gaining notoriety amongst the art toy world with their superb ‘Jura’ resin sculpt, Planet Domu is set to release it’s latest creation, ‘Baby Gaman’ this Thursday (June 23rd). Available through the Planet Domu / Big Cartel’s site, the first edition of this beautiful hand cast figure comes in Jura Rainforest’s vibrant grassy colours, with aContinue reading “Planet Domu’s Baby Gaman Ready to Drop”

Celebrating the Apocalypse Now cover of their latest issue, Little White Lies is hosting an exhibition of commissioned works from iconic artists and illustrators including Michael Gillette, Von, Joe Wilson and We Buy Your Kids. Inspired by films from one of cinema’s golden eras of aesthetic, the 1970’s, the artworks have been created to closelyContinue reading “LWL70 @the Kemistry Gallery”

In it’s 3rd year running, 1800 Tequila’s design series is back with it’s strongest line-up of artists yet. Tasked with creating designs for the iconic 1800 Tequila bottle, Gary Baseman, Tristan Eaton (of Kidrobot), Yuko Shimizo, Tess One, Ray Smith and Alex Hank were given the Lucha Libre theme as inspiration for their charming creations.Continue reading “1800 Tequila’s Limited 3rd Edition ‘Lucha Libre’ Bottle Designs”

Praised for his illustration work on the now infamous Supersize Me documentary, Ron English has been illustrating the harmful effects of global industries and corporations through his satirical character design for years, building him a tremendous amount of respect amongst the design community. English is now set to unleash his first exhibition in Japan, callingContinue reading “Popaganda in Japan: New Works by Ron English and Friends”

Formed by legendary art toy house Kidrobot, the Kidrobot Black offshoot has grown strength by strength with each release, with collaborations from Jeff Soto, SSUR and Gary Baseman selling out within minutes. Black was created as a platform for artists to truly express themselves; without the constraints of working in colour, the form and detailContinue reading “Kidrobot Black Reveals The Goddess by Doze”

France’s most infamous street artist, Invader, has returned to Paris to celebrate his 1000th Space Invader mosaic on the city’s streets. Invader’s 2-bit designs have graced over 5o cities world wide over the last 6 years, garnering the artist a huge amount of attention across the urban art world. Invader 1000, an exhibition at LaContinue reading “Invader 1000 Touches Down in Paris”

Celebrating the long standing relationship between two of black music’s most respected stars, The R&R Gallery will be hosting the Willie & Snoop group art show, opening June 27th. Featuring a wide variety of works from R&R regulars including Dave Frey, Mr Frivolous and Jesse Williams (pictured), the opening reception is set for next FridayContinue reading “Willie & Snoop @The R&R”

Illustrator James Jarvis’ art toy company Amos will be opening it’s new online store this weekend (June 18th). Following the success of previous workshop projects in both Japan and London, the Online Miniature Plastic Workshop will be offering a wide selection of art works and toys, including the limited Caleb’s Adventures in Wonderclean comic book,Continue reading “The Amos Online Miniature Plastic Workshop”

Artist Jason Freeny and his Moist Production company have worked on several illustration projects for the likes of Heavy Metal, Juxtapoz, Erotica, Penthouse and Time Out, but it’s his skill in sculpting that’s really pricking the ears of the urban art elite. Based on his ‘Dissected’ CGI renderings of iconic cartoon characters, Freeny uses theContinue reading “The Dissected Works of Jason Freeny”

Opening at the beginning of this month, the Kittens and Icecream exhibition marked the 5th anniversary of the JapanLA Gallery, Los Angeles. Founded to promote the fusion between contemporary East and West illustration, JapanLA’s latest exhibition features works from some of it’s most prolific artists including Luke Chueh, Gary Baseman and Buff Monster. In keepingContinue reading “Kittens and Icecream: JapanLA’s 5th Anniversary Exhibition”

With rumours flying around for some time now, images of the collaboration between Swatch and art toy house Kidrobot have finally emerged. Featuring a 20″ Kozik Dunny, 8 3″ Dunnys and 8 matching Swatch watches, the limited edition collectors piece is housed in a foam lined metal case, with the price for the set estimatedContinue reading “Swatch x Kidrobot Collectors Set Revealed”

In collaboration with Sub-Urban Vinyl, Joe Scarano will be exhibiting his latest works at the Dead Enders show, opening June 25th. The New York based artist, increasingly renowned for his dead-pan characters and pastel dreamscapes, has created a wide variety of both paintings and custom toys for his eagerly awaited first major solo exhibition. DeadContinue reading “Dead Enders: New Works by Joe Scarano”

Officially opening tomorrow night (June 10th), Age of Uncertainty is the latest group exhibition from artists Chester Huang, Daniel Yu, K.C Gan, Sarah Choo and Zxerokool. Exploring issues such as childhood influence, the finality of death and the cultural exchange of East-West design, Age of Uncertainty features a wide variety of mixed media including “apocalypticContinue reading “The Age of Uncertainty @Chan Hampe”

Writer and illustrator Ken Tanaka is set to release his latest work at the LeBasse Projects Gallery this Friday. The solo exhibition entitled ‘Everyone Dies’ is set to feature original art from Tanaka, along with the launch and signing of his new book. Intended as a children’s book for grown ups, Everyone Dies’ use ofContinue reading “Everyone Dies- A Children’s Book for Grown Ups”