Biblioteca Vasconcelos

by Laura Neilson Mexico City's recently reopened Biblioteca Vasconcelos is an outstanding example of a contemporary digital-age library, not to mention a significant display of Mexico's modern architectural movement. The $100 million undertaking was designed by Mexican architect Alberto Kalach, who beat out more than 500 other proposals from worldwide firms with his concept of the library as the "great ark" of knowledge. Dedicated to …

Flip: Seiva Bruta

by Ariston Anderson Felipe "Flip" Yung has been painting in the streets and in the galleries of Brazil, Europe and the U.S. for over a decade as part of notorious art collective Famiglia Baglione. The Carmichael Gallery in L.A. is presenting his first West coast solo show, Seiva Bruta. Flip, while working on the streets, interprets a more natural world. He paints an earth-toned palette …

Shen Jingdong

by Ariston Anderson One can't help but smile at artist Shen Jingdong's take on propaganda, as his happy, larger-than-life characters fill up his canvases with bright colors and round, easy shapes. But, the artist, born in China in 1965 and having served in the Nanjing Military for sixteen years, takes his inspiration from real life. By painting soldiers as plastic toys with plastic emotions, he's …