Toronto based artist Tristam Lansdowne creates delicate images with a strong meaning. His work juxtaposes 19th century Romantic ruin and the urban setting to show how little he believes humans have progressed in the past 200 years. Lansdowne says his paintings focus on “ideas of permanence and function inherent in our constructed environments.” The small images on the vast blank background create a sense of isolation without being kitsch. To see more of his work, take a look at his website.

The man, the myth, the legend, Banksy made his recent attempt on staining public property by producing “Ikea Punk.” Banksy has produced some of the most controversial pieces of street art during the past five years. His latest jab was against furniture staple Ikea. The “Ikea Punk” is located somewhere in Europe but word of the exact location is not known at the moment. Read the rest of the post for more images.

We were recently emailed by Ivan Cazzola who introduced us to his great portrait images. His work which is subjected to photography and focuses on portraits of friends and things that he finds interesting. “With his shots he has explored different worlds, from the closer and autobiographical reality of friend’s shots to models, artists, rock bands, cinema stars, gipsys and gangastars, posh ladyes, whores and transexuals.” Ivan has been able to explore different avenues of the fashion world by shooting for publications based in New York, London and Italy.

Currently based in the art epicenter of Europe – Berlin, Siggi Eggertsson has experimented with several different mediums over the past few years. His latest production entitled “A Growing Pile of Work” was presented recently on Vimeo. Siggi created a collaboration of works and piled them on top of each other which helped produce this really neat video. The video consists of over 400 images all of them illustrated by Siggi between the years of 2003-2009. “After painful days in After Effects, fighting with all those 400 layers (and nearly killing my computer), the video was complete.”

The recent induction of Hall of Fame basketball player Michael Jordan, marks a very pivotal point in the NBA legends career. He currently holds some of the most notable records in the NBA and is recognized as one of the premiere athletes during our lifetime. This print series is expected to go on sale starting Thursday, Sept. 17th. The initial offering consisting of just the high-end, 26” x 36” silk-screened master prints signed by both Jordan and Fairey (limited to 50 versions each) for $4,499.99 collectively. For anyone who purchases the three-part master print series, they will receive the same edition number in the limited-to-50 series for each print (UNC, Bulls and the HOF induction). Additionally, on Sept 17th the three-part sets signed by Fairey-only, which also measure 26” wide x 36” high and are limited to 123 apiece, go on sale for $1,349.99 collectively. On Sept 22nd, individual versions of the dual-signed master prints will go on sale for $1,499.99 each, with the Fairey-only signed versions also being made available for $499.99 apiece. Lastly, on Tuesday, Sept. 29, an 18” wide x 24” high Fairey-signed print that’s limited to 523 will be made available. Complete sets of the three single-signed, 18″ x 24″ prints will retail for $215.99 each with individual pieces listed for $79.99.” Make sure you head over to the Obey Giant website to purchase these great pieces.

Two of Gradient Magazine’s favorite artists got together at this years Nuart Festival in Norway, David Choe and Logan Hicks were some of the many artists participating in the festivities. The long time friends gathered to produce some outstanding street art murals for this unique festival. Logan Hicks compiled this cool stop motion video of David Choe’s work. It is worth checking out!

Artist Allison Schulnik uses her gentle hands to produce some of the most amazing oil paintings we have seen in some time. Her imagination and fine craftsmanship, allow for the production of some very timely pieces that recreate images hidden within her creative palate. Art blog Fecal Face, sat down with the thirty one year old Los Angeles based artist to discuss how she produces these amazing works, inspirations and future endeavors. She also mentions of a very exciting solo show that is scheduled for Jan 9th,2010 that will take place at the Mark Moore Gallery in Los Angeles.

In honor of one of the best athletes of all time Michael Jordan, street artist Shepard Fairey has produced this very special screen printed poster of the great one slam dunking. This particular piece is meant to commemorate the official induction of Michael Jordan into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Fairey took interest into this particular event and has put his artistic touch on this screen printed piece.