There’s been a whole lot of art around lately. The wonderfully vibrant new Barry McGee exhibit just opened at BAM/PFA, the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens just installed a voluminous, though slightly controversial art piece comprised of glass tubes from Solyndra and I recently made a pile of dust near my bed into the shape of Pac-Man. But, no matter how much artistic spirit there is in the air, there’s still someone missing — that most prominent of artists (pronounced: artistes with obnoxious french accent). You got it. Tom Hanks.

Thankfully, someone has come to the rescue. No longer do we have to persist in a world where Tom Hanks’ beautiful mug is missing from every possible vantage point. Because now, there is Hanksy. Of course, everyone is aware of the famed British street artist Banksy. His subversive images of rats, boys with machine guns or royals with Ziggy Stardust makeup have become world renown and now, mainstream. Simply put, Hanksy, in the artist’s own words from an interview with The Awl, takes “iconic images from the UK street artist Banksy and mash(es) it up with a reference from Academy Award winning actor, Tom Hanks.” Not to mention, there’s also some choice paintings of Will Ferrell, Ryan Gosling and Ted Danson. Suffice to it say, Hanksy is getting pretty BIG with his hilarious pop culture parodies. Check out the tumblr for more Hanksy gold: http://tomhanksy.tumblr.com/

Images courtesy: Hanksy