is full of craft FEB R U ARY 2 0 1 6
72 HEDONISTIC
POP
Quipping his paintbrush to make sense of the vivid, cynical paradise happening in his head, contemporary artist Pow Martinez packs his art with a punch of pop.
86
By Janroe Cabiles
74 STRANGER
THAN FICTION
Layering on a fantastical element to anything she puts to canvas, traditional oil painter Ku Romillo gives a semi-photorealistic treat to her subjects, whether fairy or foe. By Janroe Cabiles
76 LITTLE
DARLINGS
Illustrator Polly Nor traces the vulnerable and unabashedly sexual shedemon, taking her pastel palette and portraying the pure and promiscuous truth of the modern girl. By Janroe Cabiles
By Denise Mallabo
92
DRAWING ATTENTION
French artist Jean Jullien knows the right strokes to make you smile. With a brush pen in hand and his wit intact, the artist eases us into his world and his mind with his quick sketches. Serving as an honest window into our society, his daily visual commentaries crack a laugh in the worldwide population of the Internet. By Pola Beronilla
HEAVY HITTER
78
70
PERMANENT MARK
With guns tattooed on both sides of his neck, New York City-based tattoo artist Keith “Bang Bang” McCurdy lives and breathes his passion. Leaving his mark on big celebs likes of Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Rita Ora, Cara Delevingne, Katy Perry, Adele, and LeBron James, Bang Bang is shooting for the stars.
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GEEK MYTHOLOGY
Spearheading a postmodern art movement called “superflat,” Japanese pop art king Takashi Murakami is the man, the myth, the legend. As he is now haunted by the patience and prudence of 500 enlightened followers of Buddha for his latest exhibit in his homeland, we get to see “The 500 Arhats” of Takashi Murakami.
99 DIRECTORY STATUS INVADES 100 SCHOOL FOR COOL
Channeling an old cool at young age, artist and fashion blogger Martine Velasco dabbles in doodles, shoots film, and travels the world in her own brand of style.
By Pola Beronilla
100
about the cover Exuding grandeur in the glitz of his silver suit and subtly rimmed specs, Japanese pop art king Takashi Murakami bares his art as he returns to his homeland to exhibit his 100-meter-long and 3-meter-high mega-painting at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo.
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