Lucian Wintrich, from the series “Twinks4Trump.”
- Uh, Williamsburg gallery Boiler | Pierogi almost ended up hosting #DaddyWillSaveUs, a “Twinks4Trump” art show featuring homoerotic photos of young men in “Make America Great Again” hats by Lucian Wintrich. The exhibition also somehow includes a veritable “who’s who” of assholes from gay white supremacist Milo Yiannopoulos to predatory capitalist Martin Shkreli. What do those two have to do with art? The whole thing is confusing and sounds unreal, which is why the Boiler | Pierogi people agreed to do it in the first place—they assumed it had to be a parody. [artnet News]
- Twyla, a little-known website that produces limited edition prints has raised 19 million in VC funding. What is it about this website that has investors believing it’s worth this much money? They have curators! Their site allows search by theme, color, and size! The work comes with a custom frame! OoooOOOOooooh! This smacks of Color, the app that did nothing, but whose founders somehow raised 41 million in VC money. The company failed. [VentureBeat]
- Soldiers in Ukraine located 24 stolen Dutch paintings, but refused to turn them over because the finders fee was not large enough. Eventually, five of these paintings made their way to the Ukraine government, which has returned them to their home in the Westfries Museum, located in the Dutch maritime town of Hoorn. [CNN]
- A collection of tweets in which Donald Trump berates architecture critics who have been critical of his buildings. [Curbed]
- Art in Odd Places returns today, this year focusing on race and taking place on the entirety of 14th Street. The outdoor art show is free and features pieces such as a dress from Dominique Paul that changes colors based on context. As she walks from one end of the street to another, the electronics in the dress react to the block’s median income. Art in Odd Places wraps up Sunday. [The Art Newspaper]
- Bryan Zanisnik’s multiple busts of Christopher Walken at Socrates Sculpture Park have been understandably popular. [Lonely Planet]
- The estate of the infamous junky, and art world royalty artist Dash Snow has sued McDonalds for their unauthorized use of one of his graffiti tags in their new graffiti-themed restaurants. The suit says that the use could not be more antithetical to Snow’s anti-capitalist beliefs. To which we say, sure, but this stuff lives on the sides of buildings and is thus made freely available to the people. If McDonald’s wants to use the tag in their locations, they should be free to do so. Besides, there is an argument to be made that showcasing the work of a known artist and drug addict is perhaps a bit subversive. (It’s probably worth noting that we don’t buy this particular argument.) [Hyperallergic]
- Related: in this video, London street artist Strik prepares for a mural (which is nothing to write home about) by walking around Shoreditch and talking to residents about the wave of hypergentrification crashing through the neighborhood. [The Guardian]
- Who can afford to be a starving artist? Unsurprisingly, research points to a class divide, where children from middle-class and affluent families are more likely to pursue an art career, likely because they’re less concerned about the economic risks. [Createquity]
