Cool Hunting

Bill McMullen: Hype, Hustle, Rip-Off
Bill McMullen is so — I hate to use the word — creative. Widely known as one of the Beastie Boys' graphic designers (we're talking "Hello Nasty" and beyond here), he is also well known for his limited edition "action" figures which were sold at Kidrobot while they lasted. Some people remember the sick designs he did for the seminal skate store, SWISHNYC, while others...

It Is What It is: Conversations About Iraq
Take a moment to think about it, have you ever spoken with an Iraqi or Iraq vet? Addressing the fact that most of us have at least a few questions or curiosities about Iraq and that the country continues to feel foreign to even the most well-informed, "It Is What It Is: Conversations about Iraq," is a recent commission by Turner Prize-winning British artist...

Chris Stain: Out on the Roof Counting Pigeons
by Ariston Anderson In Chris Stain's first solo show, he brings a gritty New York rooftop to L.A.'s Carmichael Gallery, complete with a live pigeon coop. The Baltimore native builds his vision of inner city life through large-scale stencil installation as well as found objects. Stain comments, "my work explores the emotional and physical struggle of growing up in an urban environment. Through hand-cut stencils...

Asgar/Gabriel: Bucolica Obscura
Since 2005, the young Vienna-based artists Daryoush Asgar and Elisabeth Gabriel of Asgar/Gabriel, have been collaborating on a radically contemporary form of figurative painting. Drawing upon historical movements such as baroque, pop art, and abstract expressionism, while referencing contemporary developments in graffiti and photo-realism, the duo create intricately layered canvases in which linear narrative falls prey to the chaos of our image saturated times....