Tattoo Book

A wide look at aesthetics in contemporary tattooing and the art form's global history

It’s estimated that one in four Americans has at least one tattoo. Once associated with criminality (at least in certain cultures), tattoos have become overwhelmingly common. This is not new news. Taking a deeper look into the phenomenon, contemporary tattooing and the art form’s more global beginnings is “Tattoo,” a new book published to accompany an exhibition at Paris’ Musée du Quai Branly. While there …

Omar Ba’s State of Emergency

The Senegalese artist's striking pieces are beautiful, but deceptively dark

The vibrant, precise color combinations and elaborate detailing in artist Omar Ba’s paintings, on show now at London’s Hales Gallery, sometimes make them reminiscent of illustrations for a beautiful children’s book. But as you draw closer, the sinister underside of the images starts to reveal itself—the reflections in a man’s sunglasses depict tanks and a helicopter, the marionette hands that control soldiers and weapons bear …

Monika Sosnowska’s 110-Foot-Long TOWER

A singular large-scale sculpture inspired by the architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Within the vast exhibition space found at Hauser & Wirth‘s Chelsea location, a single piece forcefully occupies the floor: “Tower.” Crafted from steel and painted a powerful black, the imposing sculpture delivers an architectural, skeletal sensory assault as it lays stretched across the ground. The artist behind the work, Monika Sosnowska, drew inspiration from the masterful works of German architect and designer Ludwig Mies van …