Pen & Surface: Tuesday Bassen

Today’s artists often build their presence with viral installations or Instagrammable work. They might even take their craft the traditional route with increasingly publicized and progressively larger gallery shows. Los Angeles-based illustrator, Tuesday Bassen, has gone completely against convention by opening a store in LA. Called Friend Mart, the space is making her pastel-colored, feel-good social commentary accessible to the masses (no pretentious art curators involved) on everything from pins to T-shirts to home goods. The store itself is almost as unconventional as Tuesday’s decision to open it in the first place. While many other brands are playing it safe with an online-only presence, Friend Mart is located on a quiet block of LA’s Chinatown neighborhood, away from the trends of glitzier neighborhoods but still welcoming those who seek it out, with bright hues and good vibes.

For the second installment of our Pen & Surface artist series, we spoke with Tuesday from her combination studio and fulfillment center, where a handful of quiet associates run her online operations. Tuesday explains that her art is meant to inspire and empower young women, and in the future she hopes to be able to use Friend Mart as a platform to help emerging talent and host events for the art community.

Watch the complete video above to see Tuesday do a digital rendition of the HYPEBEAST logo and hear more about her work, then hit up the Surface website for more information.