Illustrator Andy Espinoza

by Lost At E Minor

Florida-based artist, Andy Espinoza, studies at the Ringling College of Art and Design, majoring in Illustration. His paintings are beautifully conceptualized, rich in narrative and technically impressive. Of his work, he says, "I see each human figure as a unique challenge. I am coaxed to find the unique relationship between the shapes and tones that give the particular subject its subtle appeal and unrepeatable vitality. My paintings are not photographic representations of my subjects, but rather are my elaboration of what I find to be of value in them."

Mr.: Nobody Dies

by Brian Fichtner

Currently on view at Lehmann Maupin in New York, Japanese artist and Kaikai Kiki collaborator Mr. is presenting his first foray into film with "Nobody Dies," a 35-minute short about a group of adolescent Japanese girls who partake in a paintball riddled war game of capture-the-flag.

Carefully toeing the line between perversion and commentary, the film is a continuation of the artist's investigation into the Otaku subculture and its fetishization of kawaii, or cuteness. Roughly half the film documents the everyday lives of these young girls while the second act features the group costumed in neon camo-garb (also designed by Mr.) and taking their game a little too literally. Throughout the film, the camera lingers suggestively on the girls, like the eyes of a shut-in comic geek, making for an altogether uncomfortable viewing. Which is likely the point.

"Nobody Dies," which was inspired by Mr.'s 2007 painting "It hurts when it hits bare skin," is supported by works on paper, the large-scale painting "Gothca-Gotcha" (above, click for detail), and his first works in photography (top). The monumental "Gothca-Gotcha" is a delight to behold, its multi-colored surface calling to mind a giant gumball machine. Perhaps this sentiment is not too far off the mark. The painting, as the press materials explain, "reflects a pastime of Japanese misfits. Crowds gather in the Akihabara (Akiba) neighborhood around toy dispensers similar to those found in American supermarkets in hopes of winning coveted prizes. Never knowing exactly what item will emerge, they cheer “gotcha-gotcha”, the sound that the machine makes as it is dispensing the toy."

Nobody Dies
Through 21 February 2009
Lehmann Maupin
201 Chrystie Street
New York, NY 10002 map
tel +1 212 254 0054

Full caption info after the jump.

FourTrack iPhone Application

by Karen Day

For the inner composer in you, Sonoma Wire Works created a new iPhone application that allows you to record music anywhere. The process is as easy as sliding the record button to the right, belting out lyrics and hitting the stop button. With its clever interface, the four-track recorder allows you to execute a full harmony by recording one track while listening to the other three, and the WiFi compatibility makes it so you to upload your jam to any computer in WAV format in just about five minutes. Revolutionizing portable music production, FourTrack is a guaranteed hit.

You can purchase the application through the iTunes store for $10.

Portland's Clinton Condominiums

by CH Contributor

by Russ Lowe

Emerging from a veritable seedbed of interesting architectural endeavors, one of Portland's latest and most compelling building projects is as much a study in anatomy as it is in design. A community-focused and environmentally conscious new development, Clinton Condominiums unites spectacular design with ergonomic construction.

The sophomore release from celebrated mixed-use developer Randy Rapaport takes its name from one of the Southeast quadrant's most beloved neighborhoods, where one can meander a one-block tract and find everything from foreign cult films to offbeat wine-bars.

Designed by Portland-based Holst Architecture, the building is clad in an already oxidized Cor-ten steel hull that grows stronger as it seasons and inlaid with a facade of air-colored glass monoliths, the structure is redolent of some hulking organic ark. The sparse interior combines black walnut, svelte steel fixtures and vast amounts of natural light for a sort of newfangled urban sanctum.

Retail proprietors were quick to snatch up the ground-level, currently occupied by a gourmet bakery and an acclaimed family yoga studio, coincidentally positioned squarely at the heart of the building.

Residential units range from sub-1000 square foot one bed/one bath studios priced in the mid-200s, to nearly 1500 square foot two bed/two bath condos that squeak in under 500K.

Electrohype 2008

by Jacob Resneck

A biennial of a slightly different sort, Electrohype is an exhibition of computer-based art featuring 10 artists from six countries.

The fifth such exhibit in a decade, this year's theme touches upon the rhythmic aesthetic of machines working toward a singular purpose. There promises a lot of whirring, buzzing with lights flashing in a way that seeks to challenge how we perceive time and space.

“We have chosen works that in a unique way are complex in their own small universes—and makes us think about what we often takes as given,” says exhibit director Anna Kindvall, an artist in her own right.

Electrohype 2008
Through 25 January 2008
Drottninggatan 6A
212 11 Malmö
Sweden
Tel: +46 (0)40 18 26 90