The Enigma of Mark Rothko – Brief History of a Mysterious ArtistHistoric Dalai Lama Sale at Bonhams Breaks Records with Krishna Kanwal’s Watercolors and Sir Basil Gould’s ArchiveJACK OF THE DUST: Exclusive Interview with Andy Firth – Part 2 | The ArtistSotheby’s Successful NFT Auction of ‘MetaSkull’ Collection Brought Over $665K for Famed Contemporary Artist Jacky Tsai
Pompadour-Linked Oeben Commodes Fetch €229,000 at BonhamsRussian Silver Shines as Ovchinnikov’s Enamel Casket Fetches €356,000Russian Art Soars: Aivazovsky’s View of Capri Sells for €825,900Masamune-Lineage Wakizashi Sells for £83,700 as Bonhams’ Peter Yorke Collection Sells OutYi Ming’s Dawning Sells for £384,500 at Bonhams LondonRare Tang Ying Brushpot Sells for £538,100 at BonhamsMaurice Leloir’s Four Historical Scenes Sell for €128,600 at BonhamsJacob Jordaens’s Portrait of His Wife Sells for €154,200 at BonhamsRenaissance Portrait Attributed to Conrad Faber Sells for €295,000 at BonhamsJodi the Nanotyrannus Sells for US$47.3 Million at Sotheby’sQianlong Emperor’s Jewel-Encrusted Gold Ewer Sells for US$7.11 Million at Christie’sHockney’s €282,200 Print Leads Warhol and Banksy in €1.06 Million Bonhams SaleMV Agusta Sells for $1.3 Million, Setting an Italian Motorcycle Auction RecordEnigma Machine Sells for £203,600 at Bonhams: Inside the 1941 Cipher DeviceUzo Egonu’s Will Knowledge Safeguard Freedom I Sets Auction Record at £198,900

Word Art

Expressionism as Lived Experience: Questioning Universality with Sasha Ryabchik

By on
Painting by Sasha Ryabchik with sweeping white strokes and bright accents on dark blue, reading “You make me feel like…”

Ryabchik’s work presumes that viewers will recognize emotions signaled through gesture—emotions they know, have felt or expect to feel. Yet emotion isn’t pre-linguistic or universal; it’s culturally coded, variable, historically situated. Here the assumption of universality encounters its limit. When Ryabchik presents spontaneous hieroglyphic signs as parallels to incomprehensible psychic processes, the correspondence is conceptually neat but ultimately simplifying. It substitutes metaphorical equivalence for substantive engagement with how meaning is actually constructed and received.

The Glowing Cathedral: Where Bacteria, Invisible Ink and Light Become Scripture

By on
Blue-white light trails arc across a plaza before a monument illuminated in green at night, from Heliografías de la memoria.

Step inside a centuries-old church where the walls glow, breathe, and transform before your eyes. In Inscriptions, Mexican artist Said Dokins turns sacred architecture into a living laboratory, blending invisible ink, bioluminescent pigments, and colonies of bacteria to question how memory, power, and presence are written into the urban landscape. Each piece—whether a luminous photograph traced in darkness or a petri dish of living microorganisms—invites viewers to witness writing as a biological and political act. In this fusion of art, science, and resistance, the city’s erased histories pulse back to life beneath the light.

Redefining Language: How WordCraft is Transforming Words into Digital Art

By on • ( 1 Comment )
Cropped WordCraft logo with “the next evolution in language” over a teal background with handprints and stars.

The concept is simple yet revolutionary: users can create, mint, and exchange “word coins”—tokens tied to unique words or phrases. These word coins, much like digital art or NFTs, hold value and can be bought, sold, or exchanged in a transparent, decentralized marketplace. But WordCraft’s mission extends beyond mere speculation. At its core is the belief that language, as a living and evolving entity, deserves to be immortalized and commodified in a way that reflects its cultural significance.

The 100gallery Launches Innovative Platform that Democratizes Digital Art, Prints, and NFTs

By on • ( 2 Comments )
100gallery digital grid design labelled Coca-Cola.

The 100gallery project is proud to announce its innovative platform, inviting individuals from all walks of life to participate in the creation and ownership of unique artworks, prints, and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Breaking barriers in the art world, The 100gallery transforms words, sentences, numbers, and characters into captivating digital abstract images, all housed within a mesmerizing 10 x 10 color-coded grid. This platform is highly appealing not only to professional digital artists but especially to regular folks who wish to create their own unique prints and, especially, NFTs.

HOLLYWOOD BY MATEO BLANCO – Celebrating 100 Years of the Original Marker for La La Land 

By on • ( 3 Comments )
A person in a black shirt stands beside Mateo Blanco's Hollywood word artwork.

Mateo Blanco, a Colombian American artist who lives in Miami, has had a longtime interest in expressing the lure of Hollywood. He has explored the power of the image and fame in his highly original portraits of  iconic screen sirens like Jennifer Lawrence, whose portrait he recreated using peanuts, Madonna, Dolly Parton and many Marvel superheroes, Avatar characters  as well as beloved Star War characters.

In his latest piece, HOLLYWOOD BY MATEO BLANCO, we can see how the stark white background gives power to the image: white, the color of Marilyn Monroe’s dress; white, the color of the lights that shine and make movies possible; white, the first word uttered when the director begins to shoot; white, the color of the gleaming smiles, the diamonds, the very screen on which all our dreams and movies are projected.

Exclusive Interview with Shantell Martin – Part 2 | Be Yourself

By on • ( 1 Comment )
Shantell Martin wearing an illustrated white jacket in front of a wall of words.

“I do everything at my own pace and on my own terms. I’m focused on things that I want to do that are fun and playful and pushing myself and my work in an interesting and creative way.”

Shantell Martin is a visual artist, intuitive philosopher, cultural facilitator, teacher, choreographer, songwriter, performer, and more. Her practice continuously pushes the boundaries of creative expression through thoughtful, innovative collaborations with artists, cultural institutions such as The Whitney Museum Shop, NYC;  Denver Art Museum, Pulitzer Prize-winning performance artist Kendrick Lamar, acclaimed designer Kelly Wearstler, The Boston Ballet, and brands such as The North Face, Google Creative Labs, and B&B Italia.

Said Dokins’ light installation ‘Refraktur’ dazzles audience at the 2022 Querétaro Experimental International Public Art Festival in Mexico | VIDEO

By on • ( 3 Comments )
Refraktur glowing blue beside an illuminated bell tower at dusk.

Throughout the summer months of June until September, Mexican contemporary artist Said Dokins presents ‘Refraktur’ as part of the Querétaro Experimental International Public Art Festival.

The festival will show the work of over 200 artists across a wide range of disciplines, including music, theatre, dance, performance and sculpture. 

‘Refraktur’ is a site-specific installation built out of glass, metal, reflexive materials and LEDs that will be placed on the Madero boulevard in the center of the Mexican city of Queretaro.

Exclusive Interview with Shantell Martin – Part 1 | Bold Lines

By on • ( 3 Comments )
Shantell Martin against a background of her black line drawings.

“My art style is playful, it’s bold, it’s confident, it’s minimal, and it’s full of meaningful and powerful messages.”

Shantell Martin is a visual artist, intuitive philosopher, cultural facilitator, teacher, choreographer, songwriter, performer, and more.

Her practice continuously pushes the boundaries of creative expression through thoughtful, innovative collaborations with artists, cultural institutions such as The Whitney Museum Shop, NYC; Denver Art Museum, Pulitzer Prize-winning performance artist Kendrick Lamar, acclaimed designer Kelly Wearstler, The Boston Ballet, and brands such as The North Face, Google Creative Labs, and B&B Italia.

This is Part 1 of our exclusive interview with Shantell.

Japan – NUTS ART WORKS Exhibition: Works Speak Eloquently Than Lips!!!

By on
NUTS ART WORKS exhibition graphic with a sign painter, tiger head and bold black-and-yellow lettering.

SAI is pleased to present ‘WORKS SPEAK ELOQUENTLY THAN LIPS!!!’ an exhibition by NUTS ART WORKS, a craftsman known for producing store signs and graphics for fashion brands such as SUPREME, taking place from Friday 11th February to Sunday 27th February 2022.

Naoto Hinai, the artisan behind NUTS ARTWORKS, has been fascinated with vintage American culture since childhood and has worked as a self-taught hand-painted sign maker since 1996. With every step of the production process created by hand, Hinai’ s level of craftsmanship has earned him the trust of Tokyo’ s Harajuku cultural scene, as well as brands and stores in various industries. Throughout his career, he has created shop signs and graphics for leading brands, including SUPREME, NEIGHBORHOOD, Ralph Lauren, and UNIQLO.