First Container: Collision Works Story Box

Help kickstart a community-driven shipping container center in Detroit's Eastern Market

We’ve seen several creative applications for shipping containers in the past, and the fact remains that these steel structures are unparalleled in terms of durability and availability for a recycled building material. Friend of CH Shel Kimen has been hard at work in an effort to open Collision Works, a 36-room boutique hotel and creative space that will be located in Detroit’s Eastern Market. The …

Art Paris Art Fair 2013

Identity obscuring portraits, "Half Drags" and lost-and-found family trees in our look at the contemporary fair

Held at the beautifully historic Grand Palais, the 2013 edition of the Art Paris Art Fair seemed fixated on distorting reference points, by playing with illusions and optical tricks. Among the group of 144 international galleries we encountered work featuring blurred, masked and obstructed faces in generally uncomfortable settings, giving off a disorienting and macabre vibe throughout. Aurore Valade Italian gallery Gagliardi Art System presented …

Mark Ryden: The Gay 90’s

The Pop-Surrealist returns with a series of illustrations highlighting turn-of-century problems

Pop-Surrealist Mark Ryden introduced his creepily precious characters to the contemporary art world in the 1980s to wide acclaim, and in his sixth book, “Mark Ryden: The Gay 90’s,” the artist returns to his signature doll-like figures, using them to explore the conflict of ideals around the end of the 1800s. In this book, the artist’s provocative sketches, sculptures and paintings toy with our preconceptions …