art posts

Painting, sculpture, design, and more! Join us in welcoming three incredible artists into the AOL Artists program. David Ellis, Jen Stark, and Tomokazu Matsuyama have created five new canvases which debuted today on AOL.com.

David Ellis, a New York-based artist, is known for his kinetic installations that draw inspiration from his background in music. Most recently, his motion painting, Paint on Trucks in a World in Need of Love, was exhibited at the MoMA in New York. Jen Stark, based in Los Angeles, creates complex and colorful sculptures out of precisely cut paper. Her work is in the permanent collection at the Miami MoCA. Jen has also had solo exhibitions at renowned art spaces such as LMAK Projects in New York and Martha Otero Gallery in Los Angeles. Tomokazu Matsuyama, born in Tokyo and currently based in New York, is known for his mystical paintings and installations. He has exhibited across the world, from Dubai to Los Angeles. His most recent solo exhibition was at Mark Moore Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.

We are ecstatic to have these three artists join our community! Make one of their canvases your background on AOL.com today. Click for Beams, Fire, Hole, Stratum or Pink Rain.

Three fantastic artists join the AOL Artists community with five new canvases aol.it/QKn4w3 via @aolartists

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) September 28, 2012

After the recent relaunch of AOLArtists.com, the Tumblr community invited the site to become a featured blog in the Art section of its new Blog Spotlight. Other featured blogs include The Whitney Museum of American Art, Creative Time, SFMoMA, and more. So far, we've made a lot of new friends with a 375 percent boost in new followers.

AOLArtists.com relaunched this past Wednesday with a new design, offering increased interactivity and a more intuitive user experience. The new site prominently displays posts from the AOL Artists Twitter and Tumblr directly on the homepage, enticing visitors to engage with AOL Artists socially.

What is "AOL Artists"? The AOL Artists program collaborates with creatives from around the world to create original works of art for AOL. Aimed at making art accessible to a wide audience, the program's involvement in the creative community extends beyond traditional commissioning. Public art installations, charitable murals, grants, conferences, and media coverage for local artists and art communities have been powerful extensions of the program and AOL's support of the arts.

Interested in learning more? Check out AOLArtist.com's Tumblr, visit AOLArtists.com, or follow @AOLArtists on Twitter. We'd love to hear from you!

From April to May this year, AOL ran a competition on the Behance network, tapping its incredible collective of creatives. Five finalists were selected and given the opportunity to present story boards to AOL. After much deliberation, "Rezeption" was selected as the next Motion Canvas, and creator Roman Ruetten was named the winner. Roman is a New York-based artist who grew up in Cologne, Germany. He, and his artwork, are currently showcased on the newly designed AOLArtists.com, which also launched today.

The new AOLArtists.com, designed by two of our top designers, Justin Michael Smith and Stephen Meszaros, features over 200 of AOL's canvases in a variety of mediums, and over 1,000 images of artwork. The site aims to make art accessible to a wider audience, allowing users to engage with AOL's canvases and the artists that have created them. An optimized search allows you to find artists, artworks, and initiatives, by color, medium, artist name, and canvas name. Additional features include pages for each curated collection, a sort-by-color functionality, and easier access to AOL Artists' initiatives, Rainbow City, the Seven on Seven conference, and more.

AOL Artists actively commissions artists from around the world to create the visual identity for the AOL brand. To date, 114 artists have been commissioned to create 282 canvases for AOL. Additionally, the program's involvement in the creative community extends beyond traditional commissioning and into the public sector. Public art installations, charitable murals, grants, conferences, and media coverage for local artists and art communities have been powerful extensions of the program and AOL's support of the arts.

Find out more by visiting AOLArtists.com

Join us as we welcome Alex Paik and Gilles & Cecilie into the AOL Artists program with six new canvases: Breeze, Kite, Paper Tower, Rock, Two Birds, and Drips. Alex Paik is a New York-based artist who was discovered by AOL at the Pulse Miami Art Fair in December 2011. His work is created with gouache, marker and colored pencil on carefully cut paper. Gilles & Cecilie are a French and Norwegian duo, based between New York and London. Their work ranges from murals, videos, and fine art to client-based illustrations and educational workshops. We are thrilled to add such dynamic works of art to AOL's permanent canvas collection.

Want to make one of the new canvases your background on AOL.com? Click Breeze, Kite, Paper Tower, Rock, Two Birds, or Drips. Additionally, make sure to visit the Huffington Post Arts Tumblr today at 12 PM ET, for your chance to win a print of one of these exciting new canvases!

.@AOLArtists Launch New Summer Canvases aol.it/NCwSIN

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) July 13, 2012

AOL actively empowers the creative community by commissioning artists from around the world to create the visual identity of the AOL brand. Over 90 painters, illustrators, videographers, sculptors, photographers and multi-media artists have worked with AOL and become members of the AOL Artists community.

With the spirit of creativity in mind, AOL is on the hunt for the next top talent in motion graphics! Through a partnership with Behance, AOL will run a month long competition on the Behance network, tapping into the company's incredible database of creatives. From March 28 to April 28, the competition will run across Behance's digital platform, encouraging Behance users to submit past work to showcase their expertise in the motion graphics field. Up to five finalists will be selected, who will then be given the opportunity to present their creative vision for the motion works, and if then selected, will create AOL's next motion canvases.

The Motion Graphics Competition is being judged by Maureen Sullivan, VP of Brand, Marketing, and Communications, AOL; Nikki Macaluso, Curator, AOL Artists, AOL; and Matias Corea, Co-founder & Chief Designer, Behance.

The Behance Network is the leading online platform to showcase and discover creative work. Creative professionals update their work in one place to broadcast it widely and efficiently. Companies explore the work and access talent on a global scale.

Behance Quote, Alex Krug, Vice President:
"We're thrilled to partner with AOL, a long time supporter of the creative community. Our 'no spec' competition will give Motion Graphics artists an opportunity to work with one of the world's most recognizable brands. Our goal at Behance is to match the best talent with the right opportunity, and there's no one better to partner with in this pursuit than AOL."

Behance Quote, Matias Corea, Co-founder & Chief Designer:
"I'm impressed with the level of recognition that the AOL Artists program has brought to the creative community. I think the AOL Artists program and Behance are perfectly aligned in our efforts to empower creatives in any way we can. "

AOL Quote, Nikki Macaluso:
"Partnering with Behance is a perfect fit for our AOL Artists program. Behance's incredible technology has attracted amazing and talented artists and creatives, and we are excited to engage this world-class community with our AOL Artists initiatives."