The Artists Behind Mexico City’s Hand-Painted Signs

Battling developments in technology, the artists behind Mexico City’s hand-painted signs—advertisements, directions, concert bills and more—stuck with their craft. Not only is it visually pleasing, it lasts longer, too. Acrylic on tarps fades in a year and vinyl fades in five—whereas a painted wall can last almost a decade. Most of the men adhere to strict rules on domain and paint from memory—the dozens of …

Congolese Comic Book Artist Kiyindou Yamakasi’s Mythological Inspirations

Free to read online, Kiyindou Yamakasi’s Little Little Orishas comic book series addresses class issues, bullying and resilience in the face of opposition. Rather than seek out Japanese and American comic books for inspiration, as he did with previous work, Yamakasi looked toward Yoruba spirituality and mythology for the series and its characters. Raised in Brazzaville, Yamakasi earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Motion Pictures from …

Studio Visit: Ceramicist Yuko Nishikawa

Combining ceramics and light design, artworks that are both delicate and occupying

Inside Japan-born Yuko Nishikawa‘s industrial Brooklyn, New York studio, which she’s aptly named “Forest,” there are hundreds of ceramic pieces in varying stages. Some, which are nearly complete, rest on a long wooden table made from scrap materials from other studios within the building. Others, which are set to be fired, painted, tossed or archived, sit on shelves and hang. She moved to the US …