Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica is pleased to present, Melting Into The Floor, a solo exhibition of new works by Oakland based artist, Brendan Monroe. The show will consist of a body of paintings on paper and a number of sculptures in wood. Monroe's science, almost medical inspired works have seen the pages of our magazine numerous times over the past 5 years, and this new body of work will open at Heller on May 18, 2013.

This morning we take a look at the paintings of Washington DC-based artist Eric Thor Sandberg. We're not sure if his middle name is a nickname or if it was given to him by awesome parents. Either way, we like it. Speaking about his work in Surface magazine, Eric says, "I joke and say that I paint naked people doing horrible things to each other. But the real answer is that my paintings are little allegories, sometimes that relate to my life, other times that are random. I'm not really into weird, horrible things."  

With assistance from Namaz and a lift, Liqen painted this incredibly dark, highly detailed mural for a local street art festival in Chichester, U.K. We are curious as to how long it will take for someone to complain about the “negative imagery” and organize a group of people to get it painted over. You know it is inevitable with work like this, but we hope we are wrong.

Brooklyn-based artist Jose Suris IV created these awesome masks and sculptures out of paper! Despite looking like real fur, the animals were constructed out of paper, Styrofoam, wirefoam, and paperclay. Suris hangs his sculpted creatures and masks on displays just like a taxidermist. His inspiration? Pretty much everything: Internet videos, cartoons, Zelda, Pokémon’s Evee, stories...

Some pretty trippy stuff happens when you add mystery substances to water in a speaker... Media artists Sven Meyer & Kim Porksen latest Sonic Water installation sees water in small containers act as flexible 3D sculptures that "translate sounds into kinetic imagery through the use of light and speakers. The water containers produce wave patterns that "react like forces of nature, reproducing identical vibrational patterns found in the tones of the solar system." Woah.

We are enjoying the paintings of Singaporean artist Ruben Pang this morning. Pan describes his paintings as "projections of his psyche, which reflect on notions of prospect, arrival, and transformation." His process evolves and gradually builds up with each brushstroke and layering of paint.

Generally funerals in Japan are a black and white affair, with any color or deviation considered disrespectful. I&S BBDO, a Tokyo-based ad agency was commissioned by Nishinihon Tenrei funeral home to create an unconventional ad. And that they did! "Creative director Mari Nishimura decided to create a real-size human skeleton made from pressed flowers."

One of our favorite artists we saw this weekend in NYC for Frieze and surrounding fairs was Fay Ku at the Eight Modern booth in Pulse. Eight Modern, based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, had a few strong pieces from the Taiwan-born Ku, who has built a body of work on paper that "recalls the callousness and lack of empathy of children, who have not yet learned the customs and niceties adults use to mask society's true savagery."

Needles and Pens is currently having their 10-year anniversary show at the Luggage Store in San Francisco. We stopped by on Friday night for the opening reception of the massive group show, featuring over 70 participating artists, a book release, and live bands! Party! The show will be on display through June 8th so if you are lucky enough to be in the bay area, we recommend you check it out!

On Friday night, we stopped by the opening of famed Japanese artist and Juxtapoz cover artist, Yoshitomo Nara's newest body of work at Pace Gallery. Featuring his iconic girl characters, presented in sculpture, painting, and sketches, all spaced wonderfully in three large rooms, Nara continues to be one of the most appreciated contemporary artist in the world.