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Marina Abramović, often hailed as the "grandmother of performance art," is as renowned for her artistic innovations as she is for the controversies that have surrounded her career. Over more than five decades, she has carved out an indelible place in contemporary art, testing the boundaries between artist and audience, between body and spirit. Yet, Abramović remains a polarizing figure — revered by some, reviled by others, and misunderstood by many. Her legacy stands at the crossroads of brilliance, scandal, and an intense preoccupation with self, creating three distinct faces that frame her public persona: the artist, the spiritual mystic, and the egoist — each defining a different aspect of her legacy.

In 2019, Maurizio Cattelan shocked the art world with The Comedian, a conceptual piece consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall, which sold for $120,000 at Art Basel. It was heralded by some as an audacious statement about consumerism and the absurdity of the art market. But to others—especially traditional artists who dedicate years honing their craft—it was an insult.

In a dimly lit cave in what is now France, prehistoric hands painted vivid scenes of bison, horses, and human figures onto rough stone walls. These scenes, dating back 40,000 years, are the earliest evidence we have of human creativity and expression. What is striking is that these paintings predate the development of agriculture by tens of thousands of years, suggesting that, even before we mastered the art of cultivating food, we prioritized creating art. This priority signals a profound truth about humanity: creativity and art are essential to our very survival and identity as a species.

In The Menu, the suspenseful comedy-thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy, viewers are whisked into the high-stakes world of fine dining, where elitism, artistic pretension, and obsession with prestige blend into a deadly recipe. But beneath the surface of this culinary thriller lies an unexpected parallel with another corner of high society: the contemporary art world. As the film pokes fun at the excesses of the restaurant scene, it inadvertently serves up a satirical dish just as palatable for art lovers and art cynics alike.

We’ve all been there, it’s late at night, you’re in your studio space ready to capture all of your brilliant ideas but you can’t seem to put anything on the blank page or canvas in front of you. Artists block is something that happens to even the most experienced professionals. Whether you’re an artist, writer, musician or dancer, overcoming a creative block can feel like climbing Mount Everest.

Fortunately, there are science backed methods you can use to overcome the creative hurdles in your life. I’ve done the research for you so you don’t have to search yourself! Here are five suggestions for overcoming creative blocks in your life.

For many artists the words “time management” sounds restrictive, corporate, un-creative and so lacking in any understanding of what you as an artist actually do. Yet, somehow you feel overwhelmed because there’s just so much to do. 

You ask yourself if you’re really creating as much as you should be, if your art might get more traction if you had more time to work on it or if there’s a way to feel less burnt out at the end of the day. If you’ve asked yourself any of these questions you’re definitely not alone. Managing expectations, structuring your daily life around regular art-time and feeling satisfied with these choices are struggles for many artists. 

Blxck Studios proudly presents Longing for Truth, an online group show inspired by an era of increasingly elusive verity.

In a world of endless information at our fingertips, truth and lies blend together creating convoluted stories that challenge our belief systems. To combat this inevitable aspect of our society, artists offer forms of insightful reality, creating works of cathartic expression, reflecting the personal and societal truths present in our lives. "Longing for Truth" is a group show dedicated to getting to the heart of issues which tap into the innate feelings and root emotions that connects humanity. 

Recently I had the pleasure of chatting with artist Marisa Aragon Ware. I have been following Marisa’s work for quite some time and through the years I have been consistently fascinated and inspired by her visual narratives and beautiful imagery. Located in Colorado, USA, she expressed to me during our conversation that she feels very fortunate to be able to surround herself in the beautiful scenic landscape as it is often her key source of inspiration. Naturally, the centre themes surrounding her work involve life and nature in which Marisa is able to showcase the delicate and arguably essential balance between the two in a very unique way, highlighting both her technical skill and her conceptual abilities. As a paper sculptor and illustrator, Marisa’s work captures the magic of the natural world in ways that are distinctively her own and she is able to share her message in careful detail; turning two dimensional paper into three dimensional works of art.