The Emoji Art and Design Show Spotlights the Picassos of Texting

The little emoticons have taken over our lives, revolutionizing the we express ourselves. And now they're taking over the world of art.
10 Emojis We Wish Existed The Emoji Art and Design Show, which is open to the public from Dec. 13 to 14, will feature artists who have used emojis as their muses. The artwork presented will range from digital prints to sculptures to performance art and delve into pop and visual culture.
"This visual form of communication isn’t necessarily new. From cave paintings to hieroglyphics to religious and mythological symbols encoded in traditional painting and sculpture, we’ve been communicating through images since the dawn of mankind," the event's producers explained. "But its dominance in culture today, especially among millennials, seems to indicate a greater shift in our approach to self-expression."
The event will also feature the panel "I Have No Words: Emoji And The New Visual Vernacular" on Dec. 14. Panelists include Fred Benenson, creator of Emoji Dick; Ramsey Nasser, an artist and alumnus of Eyebeam Art+Technology Center; Zoë Salditch, Eyebeam's communications director; and Jenna Wortham, a New York Times technology reporter. The panel will be moderated by Lindsey Weber, an editor at New York Magazine's Vulture.
Check out some of the artists' work below. You can find more at the art show and the Emoji pop-up market at Eyebeam in New York City from Dec. 13 to 14.

Emojis by Kyle M. F. Williams

Shift Key by Maya Ben-Ezer

Transiconmorphosis by Emilio Vavarella Fito Segrera