Artist Adel Yazdi has transformed his neighborhood in Shiraz, southern Iran, into a vibrant cultural hub through his paintings and carved relief faces on crumbling walls. The neighborhood, Narenjestan, was once dilapidated but is now adorned with intricate designs and bright colors reminiscent of Surrealism. Yazdi's artwork includes the face of Scheherazade from "One Thousand and One Nights" and has become a social media sensation and tourist attraction. His workshop in a century-old building features traditional Persian architecture and is filled with artifacts and sculptures, drawing visitors such as engineer Maedah who compares it to other historical sites in Shiraz. Yazdi's inspiration comes from the Pompidou Centre in Paris and he hopes his efforts will turn Shiraz's alleyways into a vibrant cultural center.
Yazdi, a 40-year-old artist in Shiraz, has revitalized the city's old neighborhood of Narenjestan by transforming its dilapidated walls into vibrant murals. The artwork features intricate designs and patterns, including an image of Scheherazade from "One Thousand and One Nights", and has become a social media sensation and tourist attraction. Yazdi's workshop, located in a century-old building with traditional Persian architecture, is filled with artifacts and sculptures, and includes a room with 14,000 finger sculptures on the ceiling inspired by an Islamic fable. His work aims to turn Shiraz's alleyways into a vibrant cultural center, drawing inspiration from the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
https://www.rawstory.com/iran-artist-s-vision-for-culture-hub-enlivens-rustic-district-iran/The DF Art Agency marked the end of a notable year with an art exhibition featuring trompe l'oeil artworks by Padua, showcasing their signature technique that blends deception and emotional candor.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/01/03/tmt-newswire/df-art-agency-ends-international-projects-with-paduas-succes/2029469The digital art market is expanding to include cryptocurrencies, with the use of Bitcoin as a form of payment becoming increasingly popular. The artist known as "Plastikman" has sold his artwork for $1 million in cryptocurrency, specifically in Bitcoin. This sale marks one of the first times that an artwork has been sold for such a high price using digital currency.
https://reason.com/2025/01/02/photo-the-disappearing-satoshi-nakamoto-statue/The Museum of Prague is hosting two exhibitions from January 10-February 10 and January 15-February 9, respectively. The first exhibition features works by master swordsman Matsuba Ichiro, a "Living National Treasure," and Japanese artist Mari Kučera's calligraphy demonstrations at the Calab Hall in Clam-Gallas Palace. The second exhibition, "Mark Florian: Sagrada Familia – Architecture of Light", showcases photographs by Mark Florian that explore the concept of light in Antoni Gaudí's architecture, specifically the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona.
https://www.expats.cz/czech-news/article/10-art-exhibitions-you-won-t-want-to-miss-in-prague-this-yearThe Frist Art Museum in Nashville will host an exhibition called "Farm to Table" featuring 50 Impressionist artworks that explore themes of food, class, conflict and conquest. The exhibit includes paintings by artists such as Charles-Émile Jacque, Victor Gabriel Gilbert, Camille Pissarro, and Eugène Alexis Girardet, which depict scenes of markets, gardens, farmers and gastronomes. According to Mark Scala, the chief curator at the Frist Art Museum, food is a universal human obsession that connects people from all walks of life and serves as a "portal" for exploring deeper social issues.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/feast-your-eyes-paintings-food-impressionist-era-180985635/Ksenia Knapova, a Ukrainian artist, shared her experiences in Ukraine with an Ukrinform correspondent in Austria. She discussed her journey to the front-line city of Kharkiv and expressed admiration for its residents' resilience. Knapova also spoke about European fatigue towards the war, emphasizing the need for continued support for Ukraine. She highlighted the significance of art in the nation's survival and advocated for showcasing Ukraine's cultural identity globally.
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/3943584-adela-knapova-czech-journalist-and-writer.htmlProfessor Mei Jianping, a finance professor at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing, has launched three art indices that track price trends and sentiment in China's art market. The MM Global Impressionist Price Index and the MM Global Contemporary Art Price Index are based on auction data from leading houses such as Sotheby's, Christie's, and Phillips across major global markets. According to the 2024 MM Chinese Art Index, Chinese art has outperformed global art trends with a compound annual growth rate of 9.3% since 2000, despite a market contraction in 2024. The index also highlights key artists such as Zao Wou-Ki and Wu Guanzhong whose works exhibit exceptional market liquidity.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ckgsb-professor-mei-jianping-launches-global-indices-tracking-impressionist-contemporary-and-chinese-art-markets-302340317.htmlThe M+ museum of visual culture in Hong Kong is set to unveil an exhibition featuring over 60 works by Pablo Picasso, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. The exhibition, titled "Picasso for Asia: A Conversation", will be on display from March to July 2025 and will include a piece called "The Acrobat" (1930) in its collection.
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3292475/11-hong-kong-art-exhibitions-coming-2025-including-picasso-renoir-and-cezanne-shows?module=top_story&pgtype=section