Gah!!! I’m not sure how many people know this, but the work of Canadian artist Ben Skinner was pretty much the reason I started The Jealous Curator. And he’s done it again. I’m jealous. These pieces are from his latest show, and they took my breath away when I saw them. Simple, every day objects silhouetted perfectly in gold leaf on black lacquered panels. So simple, and oh so stunning.

I am so happy to say that I wrote about Ben for the first time almost four years ago, and since then we have become good friends, and we even did a show together in 2011. But wait… there’s more! His latest text piece, made of a single row of candy sprinkles {which he placed one by one with tweezers, using a syringe to apply the glue}:

Yep, I will always be jealous {in a good way!} of my friend Ben. My crazy, crazy, crazy friend, Ben {a single row of candy sprinkles?!?!}

So, you all know how I feel about found image collage, right? If you’re unsure… I love it. LOVE IT! And the work of American artist Adrienne Slane is no exception – imagine how excited I was when these lovely little snipped n’ glued beauties arrived in my inbox?! Sigh. They make me want to flip through a whole stack of  natural history journals… with my scissors.

Yum. These are the layered, colorful, beautifully composed mixed media paintings of Austin based artist Xochi Solis.

Ok, I have been sitting here for about twenty minutes trying to figure out a way to say that they remind me the most beautiful, artsy, inner-workings… of sandwiches. How do I say that without totally offending Xochi! It’s meant as a compliment… I love sandwiches. And I love this work, especially when you see it in place, applied directly to a wall!!!

Yep, gorgeously delicious!

{via curate1k’s pinterest board}

Gah! So simple, so amazing! Damn, I wish I thought of that! You know who did?  Toronto based artist Cathy Daley. If you happen to be in LA in January, you can see some of her new work {oil pastel drawings, on vellum} at Edward Cella Art + Architecture. The show opens on January 5th, and runs until February 23 2013. Here’s a lovely little sneak peek:

♥

So, you’ve all seen this, right?

Of course you have! This installation {made of crayons!!!} is titled “Wildfire” and was all over the interweb awhile back. The artist responsible for this beautiful work … American artist Herb Williams. Now, his crayon-assembling talent doesn’t end there. He also made these:

Bunnies and lions, oh my! And now you can see some of his newest work. He has a show that opens this Saturday, December 1st at The Rymer Gallery in Nashville. What can you expect? A giant tree made of crayons? Yep:

The show is titled Call of the Wild, and will run until January 26, 2013.

Be still my beating heart! This is the text-based work of American artist Doug Aitken, and I love every single piece. A mirrored NOW, SEX that is actually growing, and neon dreams for 99 cents. Yep, I love it all. The…

I wonder if the mother of Ryan and Trevor Oakes imagined that this is what her twin boys would do when she told them to ‘go play’. Clearly she forgot to mention that  whole “don’t play with matches” thing… and I’m so glad, because look what they made! Wow.

{via junkculture}

Oh! I cannot believe I missed this just by a few days! “GOOD LUCK WITH THAT” was an amazing show {that just came down a week ago – sorry!} by American artist Trey Speegle, at Benrimon Contemporary in New York. I’ve only shown a fraction of the amazing work that was included… although, I was tempted to show it all! Here’s a little peek:

Gah! Paint by numbers on mirror?! Paint cans that promise a better future? YES!!! Oh, and then there are these numeric gems:

… and these:

Sigh. This entire show makes me want to run {not walk} to my studio, lock myself in, and just make stuff for days… hm, maybe I’ll start with a paint-by-number kit!

Oh! Look what arrived in my inbox a few days ago… sponge popsicles! They are the work of PUTPUT – a Swiss/Danish artist group established in 2011, and based in Copenhagen. They make, and then photograph some pretty fantastic things… like those sponge popsicles, of course, and these perfectly cut cinderblocks made from pink foam:

Yep. Jealous.

So, you know how I don’t really like having my photo taken, right? Well, I would have no problem being added to UK based artist Alma Haser’s “Cosmic Surgery” series! I absolutely LOVE this collage meets portrait thing she’s got going on here. Alma, if you read this… let’s talk!

{via The Artful Desperado}