Josh Agle is certainly one of the most active and well-known contemporary American artists. Born in Sierra Madre, the artist spent some years of his childhood in Hawaii before returning with his family to California, specifically to Los Angeles.
He began studying economics and architecture at California State University in Long Beach before realising that this was not his path and changing by specialising in graphic design.
It was during this period that he began to sign his name Shag, the combination of the last two letters of his first name and the first two letters of his surname. 

Already during the early years of his career, he began to enjoy some success by creating illustrations for magazines such as Forbes, Time and Entertainment Weekly, working on personal projects and creating covers for local bands.
His breakthrough came in 1995, when he participated in an exhibition with a single painting that sold for $200, attracting the attention of Billy Shire, owner of the famous La Luz de Jesus Gallery. 

Since then, Shag has never stopped working, without setting himself any limits. In recent years, the artist has not only dedicated himself to the creation of his own works, including illustrations, acrylic paintings and silkscreen prints, but has also opened two shops, The Shag Stores, one in Palm Spring and one in Hollywood, and begun to collaborate with various companies, among which we must mention The Walt Disney Company. 

Shag’s works are inspired both by the Tiki culture to which the artist feels very close and by the Californian landscapes, especially those of Palm Spring, which he considers to be a second home.
Thus, with vibrant, bright colours, his paintings and illustrations welcome us into a sunny, carefree world whose style recalls the cartoons of a few years ago. 

We have selected just a few of his works, but to find out more follow him on Instagram. 

StockX, a leading resell company for sneakers, apparel, accessories and collectibles, has announced a multi-year partnership with contemporary artist Daniel Arsham.

With this StockX becomes the official secondary market for the American artist’s work and in addition, the Detroit-based company has created a scholarship fund at the historic The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York called “Daniel Arsham x StockX Next Gen”. 

The fund will help students attending The Cooper Union’s School of Art, of which Arsham was an alumnus, by donating proceeds from the sale of all art prints, the new product category that StockX announced in conjunction with this collaboration.

“Since graduating from The Cooper Union, Daniel has dedicated himself to an enviable artistic endeavor between art, architecture and performance that puts collaboration at its core,” said Laura Sparks, president of The Cooper Union. “Not surprisingly, Daniel is building innovative partnerships like this one to help support other artists. The grants from this fund will change several lives”. 

The Cleveland-based artist will release a series of works that will be available exclusively on StockX, the proceeds of which will be donated to the fund.

“Artists are often left out of the conversation when it comes to compensation, particularly when it comes to the secondary market. This collaboration flips that model on its head and serves as a disruptive force in an otherwise outdated system,” Arsham said of the partnership. “I’m excited to create and release exclusive products that people wouldn’t otherwise have access to, but more than anything else, my work with StockX aims to support the next generation through a fund in arts education that is incredibly innovative”. 

The main objective of this innovative partnership is divided into three areas of focus: supporting the next generation of artists through funding for art education; amplifying the visibility of emerging artists and creating a model for fair compensation for them; and creating a reliable secondary market for Arsham’s work.

“Daniel is a leading contemporary artist and someone who speaks directly to our audience in a meaningful way – there is no one better suited than him to help us build and grow the fine art print category, but also to work in partnership with us to support young creatives,” said Deena Bahri, CMO of StockX. “StockX is an inherently disruptive platform that offers pricing transparency and true visibility into the marketplace. This innovative partnership is another important example of our commitment to rewriting the rules and unlocking access to products that have long been out of reach for many”. 

StockX’s catalog of fine art prints includes more than 350 different prints by over two dozen artists including Takashi Murakami, KAWS, Yoshitomo Nara, Shepard Fairey, Hebru Brantley, Matt Gondek, Madsaki and Futura.

If you want more info about it, we recommend visiting the StockX website.

How many times have we received a package at home and thought there was too much paper? Or that the cardboard used was too much for the object being packed? Yet every time, that cardboard ends up in the trash. After seeing Greg Olijnyk‘s creations you might want to keep it all and replicate one of his works. 

Greg Olijnyk is a graphic designer from Melbourne, Australia, and to get a little change from the 2D illustrations he does all day when he gets home, he turns off his computer and devotes himself to creating 3D sculptures using cardboard packaging.
The brownish colour and distinctive texture have made cardboard Greg’s favourite material. 

When it comes to the subjects of his works, Greg Olijnyk takes inspiration from science fiction stories: his creations are almost always humanoid robots whose mechanisms are painstakingly designed. His creations are almost always humanoid robots whose mechanisms are painstakingly crafted. In fact, the characters built by the Australian designer also have elements that can move thanks to a perfect interplay of joints. 

What makes the sculptures even more special is the inclusion of elements such as glass or small LED lights that make the robots look like they really work. From robots on a replica of a Vespa, to a reinterpretation of the David and Goliath clash, to apartment blocks with illuminated staircases, discover some of Greg Olijnyk’s sculptures below and follow him on Instagram so you don’t miss his next creations. 

The amount of plastic on our planet is a problem we can no longer underestimate or ignore. Recent studies have estimated that by 2050 the volume of plastic in the oceans will exceed that of fish, not to mention the traces of plastic in some foods.
To raise awareness of this issue, artist, designer and filmmaker Robin Frohardt has worked to create The Plastic Bag Store, a small supermarket stocked exclusively with plastic products. 

After collecting a large amount of plastic waste, including packaging, caps and bottles, Robin Frohardt started working with the material, reproducing some of the foods found in grocery shops. Tomatoes, bananas, apples, lemons, but also a fish counter with lobsters and sushi, a meat counter with congealed sausages, not to mention packaged products and drinks of all kinds: everything on display at The Plastic Bag Store is made of plastic. 

In an original and amusing way, the artist wants to shed light on the amount of waste we produce every day and that, especially for plastic, when we throw it away it doesn’t magically disappear, but often persists over time polluting some remote corner of our Planet. 

“The Plastic Bag Store is a visually rich, tactile and humorous experience that hopefully encourages a different way of thinking about the foreverness of plastic, the permanence of the disposable and that there is no ‘away’ when we throw something out.”

Read also: Sparrow Mart, a supermarket entirely made of cloth

The Plastic Bag Store was first presented to the public last year in New York and is currently open at the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA in Los Angeles.