Yoshitomo Nara is one of Japan’s most well-known artists. His cartoon-like paintings, drawings and sculptures are deceptively simple, depicting children in a variety of activities who wear expressions of contempt. Nara’s influences are derived from eastern and western pop culture, and the artist attended the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts in Japan and Kunstakademie Dusseldorf in Germany. Now, Nara’s imagery and illustrations can be found internationally on a variety of commercial products and in prominent galleries. In 2006, the artist exhibited with Stephen Friedman Gallery in London and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanawawa, Japan. Nara has also exhibited in the U.S. with the Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York City and Blum and Poe in Los Angeles. In addition, Nara has produced several custom toys and published numerous books, including “Lullaby Supermarket” and “Over the Rainbow”, both released in 2005.

New Media Artist Tivon Rice is currently featured in a group exhibition with Lawrimore Project in Seattle. Lawrimore will exhibit new sculpture and installation by the artist again in March-April of this year, and last year they featured his work in the Aqua Art Miami art fair. An MFA graduate from the University of Washington, Rice creates work that explores how traditional methods of learning are influenced by mass media and digital technology. The artist embraces the potential of digital media as a social vehicle and experiments with both video and sculptural objects to examine visual perception and mass critical analysis. In 2006, the artist received a Trust Fellowship from the Joan Mitchell Foundation and exhibited “The History of Television: 1974-2006″ with Gallery 4Culture in Seattle. In 2007, Rice will be featured in an exhibition with the Art Institute of Portland in Portland Oregon.

Gallery 4culture, part of a public development authority in Seattle, is currently presenting a new exhibition titled “Landing” from University of Washington graduate Eric Eley. The artist has created a series of work that investigates space through the visual language of physics and cartography. The works are produced in the form of resin-coated drawings and linear sculptures, which push the boundaries of perspective, scale and form. In 2006, Eley exhibited “Intricate Matter” with Hedreen Gallery and “Small Expanse” with Kolva-Sullivan Gallery, both in Seattle. The artist completed a Taunt Fellowship and artist residency from the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana (2001), and was featured in an article in the Seattle Post in 2006.

Artist Trenton Doyle Hancock has created an ongoing saga told through the perspective of his “Mound” characters. Each work is a part of a large narrative that presents the lives of these creatures from birth to eventual death. The characters are largely an autobiographical representation of Hancock’s life and have been in development since the artist was in fourth grade. Hancock uses his own experiences manifested into these alter-egos as a way to investigate larger social and political issues. The often surreal and crude works are created from a multitude of materials, including, paint, trash, leftovers, chewed gum and felt. The artist is a graduate of Tyler School of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia and is perhaps the youngest artist ever included in the Whitney Biennial, where he exhibited at age 26 in 2000. Opening Feb. 10, Hancock will exhibit “The Wayward Thinker,” at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland, which will then travel to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The artist was featured on Season 2 of the Art: 21 series and this past April was reviewed by The New York Times for an exhibition with the James Cohan Gallery in New York City.

Austrian artist Erwin Wurm currently has an exhibition titled “I Love My Time, I Don’t Like My Time” at the Frye Museum in Seattle, Washington. The exhibition features work from the ’90s to 2006. Wurm’s humorous work has a reputation for challenging the traditional notions of sculpture. His works are often exhibited in the form of photographic documentation of temporary sculptures created with the interaction of a participant. The image above is from a series titled “Instructions on How to Be Politically Incorrect,” which depict scenarios of personal invasion as individuals search for bombs in humorous and unlikely places. Other works include “One Minute Sculptures” in which viewers follow the artist’s instructions by combining their own body with common objects to create temporary sculptures. Wurm has shown internationally with more than eight exhibitions in 2006, including works with MUMOK in Vienna, Austria (on view now) and the CAPC Musee d’art Contemporain in Bordeaux, France. In 2005, the artist was reviewed by both Artforum (January) and Flash Art Magazine (January-Febuary). Wurm continues to live and work in Vienna and New York.

On Jan. 26, the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo will present new work by Adriana Varejao. Much of the Brazilian artist’s work investigates the rich and complex history of her country. While living and working in Rio de Janeiro, the artist uses images of tiles, tattoos and porcelain, all imported to Brazil, and additionally references the body and medicine to point to a sense of cultural contamination. Within these works the effects of colonialism on Brazilian culture act as a metaphor for the modern world. Last year, the artist was featured in the exhibition with the ARS 06 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, Finland, and participated in the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art in Liverpool, England. The image above is from an installation at the Cartier Foundation in Paris (2005), and a series of paintings titled “Sauna” was exhibited with the Victoria Miro Gallery in London (2004). In 2002, Takano Editora Grafica released a book titled “Adriana Varejao” that spans the artist’s career.

“Cloudy with a Chance of Apocalypse” is a new exhibition by painter Caleb Weintraub currently on display at Jack the Pelican Presents in Brooklyn. This exhibition is characteristic of Weintraub’s hyper-violent apocalyptic scenes where children rise together and take control. In these new works, the children venture into surreal landscapes to seek and kill any remaining adults, while parading around in plastic cartoon character masks. Weintraub’s paintings are saturated with information and describe a world where morals have fallen and children act without consequence. This month, the artist exhibited in a group exhibition titled “Contemporary Imaginings” at the Mobile Museum of Art in Alabama, closing January 7. Past exhibitions include “…With the Bathwater” at Projects Gallery in Philadelphia (2006) and “Pop goes the Apocalypse” at Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston, S.C. (2005). Weintraub has participated in several artist residencies including The Contemporary Artists Center in North Adams, Mass., and the Santa Fe Art Institute.