Kustom Kulture

DESIGN///FIRST LOOK: FERRARI ZOBIN CONCEPT

November 18th, 2008

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Close your eyes and imagine it in black-on-black…

Love it or hate it (there’s not much middle ground on this one), Iranian engineer SIAMAK RUHI DEHKORDI’s new FERRARI ZOBIN concept car is a no-holds-barred design statement. A sleek one-seater modeled after the Italian company’s legendary F1 cars, but designed for street use, the car’s “flying wedge” silhouette is distinguished by its most prominent aesthetic feature: a front structure made of a single metal band which props up the headlights and serves as both the front spoiler and the front fenders providing the vehicle a unique “open-wheels” appearance. Design slaves, start saving your pennies now. Word is the red pony bigwigs like it— A lot. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

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POSTED BY J O'Shea/Editor

TOKYO///DESIGN///LOVING THE HONDA PUYO: A CAR WITH NO EDGES THAT GLOWS IN THE DARK

October 7th, 2008

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HONDA’s wondrous soft glow-in-the-dark egg of a concept car with the dirtiest name of all time, the “PUYO,” has been making the car show rounds for a minute now but our fascination remains undiminished. Created entirely without hard edges, inside and out, the new Japanese family commuter pod operates without a steering wheel (a gamer-friendly joystick handles the “directionality”), runs on an advanced hydrogen fuel cell, is enclosed by a totally transparent dome, is surrounded by a silicone “gel body” that literally glows in the dark, and contains an interior that spins a full 360 degrees so that the car never needs to reverse. It also flys and swims underwater. Not really, that doesn’t kick in till the 2011 model. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

NYC///MUST SEE SHOW: DZINE’S “THE BEAUTIFUL STRUGGLE”

September 18th, 2008

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Psychedelic spirituality permeates Dzine’s lowrider-themed exhibition… 

Chicago’s own DZINE took Manhattan by storm when his blinged out tour-de-force solo show, “The Beautiful Struggle” opened to an adoring public at DEITCH PROJECTS‘ new Long Island City space last week. An installation that could easily double as a 50 cent video, the show features a staggering array of vehicular art, psychedelic Buddhist mandala paintings, and multimedia sculptural installations that include a massive mirror-chrome finished “The Truth” lowrider plaque, and a floating diamond-studded DJ turntable. Most captivating in the show are Dzine’s grand homages to West Coast Chicano lowrider culture which come in the form of a fully customized Cadillac Fleetwood with massive airbrushed hood mural; two incredibly tricked out lowrider bikes—one bearing a full soundsystem on its frame; and the most grandiosely altered speedboat ever featuring kandy paint, custom pinstriping and engraving throughout, and a monstrous sound & video system that would put a live concert venue to shame. It’ll take a grand feat and unlimited funds for the artist to top this pinnacle exhibition in the future, but somehow we have no doubts that this Puerto Rican art prince will manage to do just that and then some. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

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POSTED BY J O'Shea/Editor

LONDON///KUSTOM KULTURE///SPOTTED: THE INCREDIBLY RARE FERRARI 456 VENICE STATION WAGON

September 16th, 2008

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The Ferrari you can pick the kids up in…

As if the mass of ridiculously expensive DAMIEN HIRST art baubles inside SOTHEBY’S auction house in London weren’t enough to satiate our optic nerves, this not-for-sale little piece of eye candy just happened to be parked on the street outside to blow our little mind. The automobile in question is the incredibly rare FERRARI 456 VENICE STATION WAGON, a painfully limited-edition vehicle designed and built by Ferrari styling house PININFARINA for the royal family of the SULTANATE OF BRUNEI. Featuring four doors, a proper backseat, a hatchback, and a 20 cm longer wheelbase, this vehicle is similar in size to a BMW 5 series wagon with all the styling and cylindrical ferocity of a dancing horse. This is art on wheels. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

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POSTED BY J O'Shea/Editor

DENVER///KUSTOM KULTURE///ASS, GAS, OR GRASS, NO ONE RIDES IN THE OBAMA VOLVO FOR FREE!

August 29th, 2008

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We really need to meet the owners of the OBAMA VOLVO. They look really, um, politically astute. For them, we might even consider going bio-diesel. Call us…

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POSTED BY J O'Shea/Editor

KUSTOM KULTURE///SNEEK PEEK: DZINE’S NEW LOWRIDER BICYCLE MASTERPIECE…

August 5th, 2008

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Dzine’s new kandy koated three-wheeled dream machine…

Shipping off to Madrid, Spain today for his solo show of new paintings and sculpture at EMILY MURPHY FINE ART in September is DZINE’s latest masterpiece of lowrider bicycle fabrication that must be seen in person to be believed. Dripping with gold and kandy paint, the pedal pusher gets 1,000 times the mileage of a Prius with infinitely more style. Keep an eye out for updates as we draw closer to showtime. Meanwhile, set your eyes to work. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

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POSTED BY J O'Shea/Editor

BROOKLYN///KUSTOM KULTURE///THE NECK FACE “EAT YOUR BABY” VAN RIDES AGAIN…

July 10th, 2008

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A very rare factory paintjob available as an option only on the 1987 GM Handi-Van…

Nothing like a NECK FACEEat Your Baby” van sighting to brighten up an otherwise hot, humid, sunny Brooklyn afternoon…

KUSTOM KULTURE///BMW’s GINA: THE NEW WAY TO SKIN A SHARK…

June 25th, 2008

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POSTED BY J O'Shea/Editor

HAWAII///KUSTOM KULT///DAVE CHOE’S ICE CREAM TRUCK…

June 17th, 2008

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Big Worm’s new whip, steady creepin Hawaiian-style… 

Summer’s here and we at Supertouch can’t think of a better way to celebrate than by patronizing DAVE CHOE’s customized ice cream truck painted in collaboration with EWOK and REVOK. The only catch? You have to fly to Honolulu. Basically, it’s a win-win…

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POSTED BY J O'Shea/Editor

NYC///KUSTOM KULTURE///THE KANDY KOLORED LOVE VAN…

June 12th, 2008

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The look of love on a 100 degree day…

The best thing about being down in the street in NYC is sights like this incredible KANDY KOLORED LOVE VAN heating up the scene in SoHo like it was 1977. When was the last time you saw the robot from Queen’s “News of the World” album romancing a naked hottie beside a magical waterfall or a real stained glass window on a moving vehicle? HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

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POSTED BY J O'Shea/Editor

Exclusive

Features

NEWS///OPENING NITE: SHEPARD FAIREY’S “SUPPLY & DEMAND” AT CINCINNATI CAC BREAKS ATTENDANCE RECORD

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Friday was a big nite in the Midwest when SHEPARD FAIREY’s Ohio installment of his traveling retrospective “Supply & Demand” opened at the CINCINNATI CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER and shattered the institution’s all-time attendance record.

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NYC///ART HYPE///MR BRAINWASH PERFECTS THE ART OF TURD POLISHING WITH THE OPENING OF “ICONS”

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What has to be the final nail in the “Street Art” coffin was driven in last weekend by none other than MR. BRAINWASH (aka: “The Christian Audigier of Street Art”) when he opened his massive, self-produced “Icons” show in a rented space (which, ironically, was once a real art gallery, pre-recession) in the heart of Chelsea. As the subject of Brit Street Art king Banksy’s recent docu-parody film, “Exit Through The Gift Shop,” MBW has been the focus of much hype and speculation as his presence finally seeps into the fairly muddy stream of mainstream consciousness. Last week’s Wall Street Journal article articulated this particularly well:

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FASHION///R.I.P./// DESIGNER ALEXANDER McQUEEN COMMITS SUICIDE IN LONDON

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One of the fashion world’s foremost visionary designers ALEXANDER McQUEEN was found dead today in his London apartment, an apparent suicide just days after the death of his mother, and the suicide of one of his close friends Isabella Blow, who discovered the young designer and helped forge his early career:

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MOCA’S “COLLECTION: THE FIRST THIRTY YEARS” PROVES THE MUSEUM SHOULD BE AROUND FOR 30 MORE

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Despite MOCA’s financial woes of late and near collapse last year amid the chaos of the economic holocaust, the veritable Southland institution seems on to a bright future now, having secured ST buddy JEFFREY DEITCH as its new director (starting June 1) and financial security (for the moment). If ever there was a time to celebrate, it is now. HAVE A LOOK:

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FEATURE///IN THE STUDIO WITH SHEPARD FAIREY AS HE PREPARES FOR DEITCH GALLERY’S CLOSING SHOW

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By now it’s no secret that JEFFREY DEITCH is closing shop in downtown NYC to head West for the sunnier confines of the MoCA Director’s office, starting June 1st. That leaves SHEPARD FAIREY’s upcoming portrait show as the farewell exhibition at one of the city’s most legendary and influential commercial art institutions in the city’s history.

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