A Separate Reality: New Paintings of Dystopian Worlds by Alex Andreev

3D Illusion Drawings by Ramon Bruin illustration All photos courtesy S. Morita Japan is a country full of amazing art. Some of it is housed within museums and galleries while others are right underneath our feet. I’m talking, of course, about Japan’s peculiar obsession with manhole covers. Just about anywhere in the country you can find stylized manhole covers, each more beautiful and intricate than the next. As to why this phenomenon developed, signs point to a high-ranking bureaucrat in the construction ministry who, in 1985, came up with the idea of allowing municipalities to design their own manhole covers. Thanks to a few design contests and subsequent publications, the manhole craze took off and municipalities were soon competing with each other to see who could come up with the best designs. You can see hundreds more of Morita’s photos right here. Update: Remo Camerota has an entire book on the design of Japanese manhole covers, aptly titled Drainspotting.

Zach Johnsen: Acid Over Easy I’m loving these explosively colorful graphite and watercolor pieces by Portland-based artist Zach Johnsen from his series entitled Acid Over Easy. Nico Delort’s Epic Ink and Scratchboard Illustrations Offer an Intriguing Glimpse into Unknown Stories Artist Nicolas Delort lives and works in the suburbs of Paris where he creates evocative and imposing illustrations using ink and scratchboard. Each piece represents a moment from an unknown narrative leaving me filled with questions in the same way Chris van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick leaves you curious of the circumstances behind each image. Delort is officially represented by Shannon Associates where you can see much more of his work and hopefully hire him to illustrate a graphic novel that I will wait in line to purchase. You can also follow him on Tumblr. (via behance) Update: An earlier version of this post referred to these illustrations as being “Unknown Narratives” which is not entirely true.

Archetypes iPhone Wallpapers by Attitude Creative A wonderful set of illustrations by Attitude Creative which are available now as iPhone wallpapers and will eventually be produced as posters, shirts, and bags. “Archetypes is a personal project reflecting our love of space, animals and psychology. Using geometric shapes and illustrations of animals we’ve created interpretations of different animal archetypes.” (via behance) Dramatically Blurred Oil Paintings by Valerio D’Ospina I’m really enjoying the perspective and mood in these oil paintings by Valerio D’Ospina. Born in southern Italy but now living and working in Pennsylvania the artist paints gritty scenes from industry including ship yards, trains, and factories as well as broad “urbanscapes” that are captured from a dramatic, almost blurred perspective. His most recent solo show was at Hall Spassov Gallery back in October.

Illustrations by Budi Satria Kwan A number of splendid illustrations by Singapore-based designer and illustrator Budi Satria Kwan. Available as prints on Society6. (via 2headedsnake) Cesar Del Valle’s Illustrations Interact with their Physical Surroundings Columbian illustrator Cesar Del Valle‘s drawings are so detailed they could practically be photographs and if the illustrations weren’t realistic enough he then has them interact with the physical world they find themselves in. A figure delicately balances on a pencil protruding from a wall or a girl balances on an actual string affixed to the canvas. I have a feeling his artwork would make an even greater impression seeing it firsthand, but regardless this is truly remarkable stuff. (via behance)

Portraits Drawn with Tea, Vodka, Whiskey and Ink by Carne Griffiths UK-based illustrator Carne Griffiths creates these striking portraits with uncommon mediums such as tea brandy, vodka, whiskey, graphite and calligraphy ink. His drawings most frequently explore human and floral forms, as says he’s “fascinated by the flow of line and the ‘invisible lines’ that connect us to the natural world.” The four pieces above are part of a limited edition postcard set just released by Griffiths, each of which comes in a fancy custom-illustrated, wax-sealed envelope. He also has a solo show at Ink-d Gallery in Brighton that closes this Saturday. (via behance)