Art Comments

Art Basel 42, Interview with artist Jimmy Raskin

2011-06-15T18:52:00.005-04:00

written by Peter Duhon in Basel, Switzerland

Art Comments caught up with New York based artist and author, Jimmy Raskin, during the biggest art week of the summer, at Art Basel in their section devoted to important, mid-career artists, Art Statements. Raskin's work is being presented by the Miguel Abreu Gallery from New York.

Known for seductive confessions that expand the notion of confession and the work, similarly his art practice isn't restricted to critique alone, rather, it combines scholarly rigor with imaginative productive fantasy that captivates without appearing sentimental or too romantic.

Jimmy Raskin is an artist we 'bookmarked' awhile ago as someone to keep an eye on, so we were truly delighted to speak with him. His relaxed demeanor, coupled with his intellectual breadth were not overbearing but served as an example of what makes Art Basel a key event for curators, dealers, collectors and artists.

Art Comments: Your work looks great in the booth, did you create the work specifically for the space and this exhibition?

Jimmy Raskin: I think that most artists here do that, you have to submit a proposal 6 months in advance and you have to stick pretty close to what you propose. So I think that for something like Statements, artists pretty much have something in mind or make something specific for this project. The work here in Statements comes from work that I've had going on for a bit but I definitely made it for this exhibition.

AC: The press release for your presentation, The Burden of Display (The Return of the Drunken Boat), states, "Raskin posits that one must acknowledge these two crucial events - Arthur Rimbaud's epic Le Bateau Ivre (The Drunken Boat) and Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra - of cultural history in order to strive toward the new artwork, and the new artist; a poetic spirit seeking to trumpet the sublime." Is this a form of a manifesto for you?

JR: It's interesting, this has been a kind of healthy debate that I've had with the gallery: one doesn't need to know these texts to get the work. They've activated the sculptures as an electric charge you might say but they're definitely functional without having to know those texts. With that said, you mentioned manifesto, they have that function because for me they act as essential doctrines more than manifestos. Because they both have in common that they test the poets relevancy as a kind of transitional figure or mode of expression. So for Nietzsche, it's specifically focused that the new being is combined with a poet and philosopher, and after the destruction of meaning based on non-meaning the poet becomes all the more relevant but the poetry more than the poet, meaning that Nietzsche very carefully through the story of Zarathustra critiques the vanity and false beliefs of poets in order to take on poetry in service of philosophy.

So what I've always been interested in is the poet as a sort of martyr figure in my work long before I even investigated Zarathustra. But I found it most potent in the prologue of Zarathustra that he goes through his own kind of lesson in the prologue where he was still too much a poet, he was still a bit too much on the side of nostalgia and the belief in the performance of poetry that kind of blinded him from foreseeing a critique by the audience. In the prologue I always see that as the last ground of this kind of more classic flamboyant poet who is not controlled by the philosopher or controlled by critical distance. That kind of flamboyant naiveté and vanity is kind of there. I did a lot of work on Zarathustra through my art, and through lectures, sort of like going back and making sure we understand the sort of martyr position of the poet that he critiques.

With Rimbaud, specifically, he's a dual figure of critique and inspiration in the sense that in his youthful kind of zeal, he believed in the poet as voyeur and as a seer in a kind of flamboyant belief of the poets function that way. On the other hand, he is sort of a precursor to semiotics in the sense that language became the focus itself and that the author moves into the background, but for every move he made to have a tension on language itself, he inserted a kind of lines vanity in his writing. So it is almost like the last call for the author before the author is destroyed.

For this show in particular, I bring back Rimbaud's The Drunken Boat poem which was created just before prose was really taken on, the structure poem just before the openness of prose. So I'm kind of bringing us back to that moment just before breaking through.

Jimmy Raskin, Miguel Abreu Gallery at Art Basel Statements

AC: There's a character you've created who is in this exhibition, Pinn, someone you've been working with for several years now. Has Pinn matured or grown throughout the years?

JR: No, as you can see, he's passed out, sleeping underneath the display case. But what he has gone through is like that stone that has been on the beach for awhile that gets smoothed over, simplified, and purified. He began as a rendering cartoon of what the poet performer might look like as a diagram but also there's always a fight between the diagram as a function and the cartoon that it becomes when it is not watching itself it gets its own legs and becomes flamboyant and exaggerates. So Pinn is sort of like the diagram that's been trapped in a cartoon. He represents a possibility of meaning and he is sort of there waiting to be filled. He's been consistent that way for a long time.

AC: Could tell us about the upcoming book, On Becoming an Ass: Jimmy Raskin's Poetics of the Misfire?

JR: That's a fun book, and what's interesting about it is that it is written by someone I've known for many years, a fantastic artist named David Colosi. We have a relationship over the years related to text, he's a writer and an amazing poet, and we've read together as long as 20 years ago. He sprung this book on me that I didn't know he was writing and the premise of the book is that he has documented crucial mistakes that I've made in my writings for over 20 years which are both grammatical and the wrong interpretations of other writers. But he calls them the right kind of mistakes. Meaning that the mistakes are aspects of leaping, a bit prematurely in some cases but cleverly, he is able to talk about my work through these errors. Which I realize that if anyone reads it, it is not a humiliating thing the way he cites them. For example, he references other errors that writers have made that they've learned to keep. There's the famous one with Heidegger where instead of saying, "think your way into being" he says, "thing your way into being". And it is hard to argue whether or not he kept it and then worked with it or it was just a mistake.

What he specifically writes about is a book that I wrote called The Poet, The Poltergeist &The Hollow Tree where I theorize that a character from Nietzsche's Zarathustra escapes through Pinocchio because there's a connection where a central metaphor in the beginning of the book is this tightrope walker that's the first metaphor used by Zarathustra publicly in front of an audience. The tightrope walker dies and instead of burying him he put's him into a hollow tree. And I theorize that this is the spirit that became Pinocchio as a way for this metaphor to become a real boy and to be buried appropriately.

Colosi diggs into my theory and disproves it because of the time of the two stories. But then again, he also says that the artist has creative freedom.

AC: Thank you for your time and the interview.

Report: Art Fair Hong Kong 2011

2011-06-10T14:51:00.000-04:00

ART HK 26^th- 29^th May 2011

They came, they saw, yet they didn't buy much

written by Bharti Lalwani

HK Art Fair returned with its fourth edition firmly establishing itself as one of the world's premier art fairs. What was different this year was that the fair was split into two floors - The lower level for established galleries while the upper floor was reserved for Art Futures (younger galleries) and a new feature Asia One where Asian galleries could exhibit solo shows by emerging artists, allowing for more breathing space for artworks as well as between booths unlike last year when, on the day of the Vernissage, you couldn't move two feet without hearing the sound of breaking champagne flutes! New participants this year were Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Blum & Poe, Peter Nagy's Nature Morte from Delhi and Vitamin Creative Space from Hong Kong.

Blue chip galleries this year took a risk by bringing in a variety of works by recognizable artists - White Cube, instead of solely focusing on works by Damien Hirst or Tracy Emin, brought a good selection of other artists such as Jake and Dinos Chapman's Hellscape Dass Kapital ist Kaput? Ja? Nein! Dummkopf! (2008) which surprisingly sold to an Asian collector for £525,000 and Hauser & Wirth from London which sold Bharti Kher’s An eye for an eye, (2011) to a Beijing-based collector for US$265,000. Note that all sales figures mentioned are from ART HK's post fair press release where there is no mention of a Warhol sale, surprisingly. Speaking of Warhol, I spotted Jose Mugrabi (reportedly the biggest individual collector of works by Andy Warhol) at a NY gallery's booth. The main floor on the whole felt dull, empty even, and the sales seemed slow in comparison to the upper section Asia One and Art Features where works were not only affordable but also more experimental, edgy, uninhibited and apparently “fun” judging by the number of families out with kids to explore art! But here's the thing, for an art fair in Asia, who do you think will make better sales- the overseas gallery selling Venessa Beecroft, Olafur Eliasson or Yinka Shonibare or the Asian gallery selling Chinese or Indonesian artists such as Liu Wei, Yan Pei-Ming, Fx Harsono or Heri Dono, whose representatives can speak at least Cantonese or Bahasa? After all, why should a Chinese or a Southeast Asian collector buy Tracy Emin, for instance, when her work has absolutely no resonance with this particular audience?

L & M's (NY) Francois Renet explained his decision for bringing in heavy-weight works which would be new and unfamiliar to the Asian audience such as a 1961 soft sculpture by Claes Oldenburg as well as a Jeff Koons Walrus Trash can which went unsold (his Orange Monkey Train painting did sell to an Asian buyer for USD 3.5 million). Basically L&M and many other galleries are in agreement with fair director Magnus Renfrew that the primary focus is not on making “blockbuster sales” but instead on educating the diverse audiences many of whom are treading towards an art fair for the first time. The fair then becomes a hub for an exchange of ideas and not just about “Asian Audience” learning about “western artists” but the other way round as well.

As we all know now Art Basel has bought into Art Hk (which has bought into India Art Summit-now India Art Fair) so it will be extremely interesting to watch the eastern hemisphere with 2012 kicking off with former Basel head Rudolph Lorenzo's Art Stage Singapore (or A.S.S) 12-15^th January, then India 25-29^th of the same month followed by Hong Kong 2-5^th February. But before you think “fair fatigue”, get this- Lorenzo was at Art Hk to assure potentially interested galleries that he would be willing to change the dates around as its too close to India and HK, while I have it on good authority that Magnus will keep the May dates as businesses will be shut during the Chinese New Year for the entire month starting end of Jan 2012! Unless I'm completely wrong and Art HK maintains its Feb dates on the presumption that the locals will forgo their lunar holidays just because there's an art fair in town!

No Proud Scars, Please

2011-05-20T09:33:00.001-04:00

PRESS RELEASE:

Spattered Columns is pleased to announce No Proud Scars, Please—an exhibition curated by Peter Duhon. Its title taken from the metaphysical thriller, Possessions, written by prominent psychoanalyst, critic, Julia Kristeva, psychoanalyst, critic, and Professor Emeritus at the University de Paris VII. Kristeva is internationally recognized for innovative explorations in her groundbreaking and immensely influential texts such as Revolution in Poetic Language and Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection.

In her novel, Possessions, Kristeva details the gruesome discovery of the decapitated body of a close friend to the heroine Stephanie Delacour, who sets out to discover the murderer. The journey that ensues opens a conceptual terrain that eschews crippling and unproductive nostalgia—a journey that is both publicly and privately sociopolitical.

The five artists selected for this exhibition work with wide-ranging materials and concepts, some of which intersect with themes explored by Kristeva in her novel. The exhibition includes work by Gilad Ratman (video), Andres Laracuente (sculpture), Julian Lorber (painting), Carlos Charlie Perez (photography and video), Nikki Schiro (painting), and Don Edler (sculpture). No Proud Scars, Please is an exhibition that seeks to engage critically with time, history, memory and loss by privileging a spirit of Nietzschean affirmation with works of art that provoke productive multiplicity.

The opening reception for No Proud Scars, Please will take place from 6pm-8pm on Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at Spattered Columns, 491 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, New York 10012. The show will run until June 29, 2011.

Spattered Columns is a program of Art Connects New York, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to enrich the lives of all New Yorkers by making original visual artwork more readily available in non-traditional settings.

For more information on No Proud Scars, Please at Spattered Columns/Art Connects New York, please contact Ginger Shulick at gingers{at}artconnectsnewyork.org.

Artist Profile: Gabriel Kuri

2011-03-28T18:37:00.000-04:00

Commissioned Artist for the Armory Show 2011,

Gabriel Kuri

By Dianne Bowen

Mexican-born, Belgium-based artist Gabriel Kuri, whose work has been widely shown in important international group shows, including the 5th Berlin Biennal (2008); Brave New Worlds at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2007) and at Colección Jumex, Ecatepec, Mexico (2008); and Unmonumental at New Museum, New York (2007) was selected to be the commissioned artist this year for The Armory Show. Recent and upcoming shows include Gabriel Kuri-Soft Information in Your Hard Facts at Museion, Bolzano; Join the Dots and Make a Point at Kunstverein Freiburg, Freiburg, traveling to Bielefelder Kunstverein, Bielefeld; and Gabriel Kuri: Nobody needs to know the price of your Saab at The Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston, traveling to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Kuri’s work was featured in all its printed matter including the official Jack Spade limited edition canvas bag with his image of a purchase receipt. His works were also on view in the booth shared by Franco Noero and Esther Schipper.

Gabriel Kuri

Untitled 2007

Gabriel Kuri’s consequential sculptures and collages are made from combining everyday found or purchased remains with marble, steel and other incongruous materials. These unexpected poetic combinations question the meanings of the materials and their possibilities for interpretation, addressing concepts such as hard and soft, assumption of fact, value and procession. In his piece, Untitled, 2007, several silhouettes of indigenous women carrying baskets or pots on their heads with ticket stubs collaged above the baskets, the silhouette of a man in the background ahead of them against a blue evening sky. The stubs appear as signifiers of value to both the contents and the people. Questioning our responsibility and participation both as a society and individually within these value systems. The man’s ambiguous intentions held in his gate, thin legs and somewhat distended belly. The images hold many interpretations layers of implications quietly unfold.

Titles are very important in Kuri’s work as he stated in a recent talk at the Armory with Richard Flood, New Museum Director of Special Projects and Curator at Large. In this case, the piece being Untitled, maybe a chilling statement of our disregard for populations of people or simply the title would interfere with the work. In either case with Kuri’s work, details matter, always leaving me to consider, Why?

I was fortunate to attend a candid discussion, In Conversation: Richard Flood and Gabriel Kuri organized by Stamatina Gregory for the Open Forum Events presented by Dublin Contemporary. Richard Flood, (New Museum Director of Special Projects and Curator at Large), including several similar prestigious positions, including Chief Curator at the Walker Art Center. While at the Walker, he curated solo exhibitions with Sigmar Polke, Matthew Barney, and Robert Gober. Among his group exhibitions are ‘Brilliant! New Art from London’ and ‘Zero to Infinity: Arte Povera, 1962-1972’ (with Frances Morris, Tate Modern).

Gabriel Kuri

Untitled (doy fe /by my will), 1998

Cast fiberglass, painted metal and glass vitrine, light

55 1/8 x 55 1/8 x 39 3/8 inches

Collection of Alma Colectiva, Guadalajara

Directing their conversation with seasoned eloquence, he began with a brief introduction describing their long standing association and his admiration for Gabriel Kuri’s work. Presenting a slide show of his work from various years, Kuri began with the image of a painting that would later result in the work, “Doy Fe, 1999”, a flood light pointed downward onto a large fiberglass pork rind. “The title when translated means by my will or I attest to notarize. It’s a phrase used by a certain hierarchy. A declaration of something is happening. Language, the titles are very important.”

Kuri also discussed his work at the 5th Berlin Biennale “Items in Care of Items, 2008”, painted metal sculpture (4 parts), magnetic numbering system. Kuri explained, “First I had to completely empty the space of everything all references and associations to start with a clean space. This was very important.” The metal works are placed in center of the museum space. The public was directed to use the numbered magnets to check their items on the work. The act itself addresses identity, possession and ownership. The public becomes an active collaborator forming the work through repetitive engagement with each encounter.

Gabriel Kuri,

Items in Care of Items (2008)

Painted metal sculpture (4 parts), magnetic numbering system.

Views at 5th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art

Richard Flood suggested and I would agree, that Gabriel Kuri’s art interacts with the public in the manner of congenial gesture, that of a handshake. This is quite a risky move by the artist with a fickle participant subject to change in a moments notice. Kuri stated during their conversation, “Sculpture is something that happens, it doesn’t simply rest there but is able to do something. Material is important but how meaning is constructed is most important. What does material mean? I’m looking at material, shape and the semantic implications.”

Richard Flood elicited a great response from Kuri when he stated, “your body of work overall seems related to an economy of melancholy, is that something you feel too?” Without hesitation, Kuri smiled and responded, “Well Richard, I am Mexican after all so I can see that.”

Gabriel Kuri’s work challenges us to look profoundly past our preconceptions of what we think we see or know. In the current global situation, nothing is what it appears, we must pay attention and question everything making his work significantly important now and as we look back examining history and discarded or forgotten stories.

Introducing myself at the end of the discussion his demeanor was similar to his work, serious with a hint of humor. Gabriel Kuri’s thoughtful observations provokes the viewer to open their eyes to the larger implications, meanings and interactions of everyday materials if we stop for a moment to notice.

Indian Art Summit 2011

2011-01-24T13:41:00.001-05:00

Successful Art Fair in Delhi
written by Sonia Bhalla in Delhi

This was the 3rd year of the Indian Art Summit and by the looks of the huge crowd, it seems Delhi had another successful year and the Indian art market continues to prove its significance. Of course there were galleries from all over the world showing their prized works of art from acclaimed artists, but I do admit I was somewhat bias (as I, myself am Indian) and focused on what the Indian galleries had to offer. One often relates India to bright, happy and vibrant colors. But what struck me the most is that a lot of Indian artists are not necessarily going with this stereotypical perception. I saw quite the opposite of bright and happy and was pleasantly surprised by the subdued and more monochromatic tones.

“Home We Left” – Prasenjit Sengupta

“Guardian and the Garden” – Mahesh Baliga
(I think the grey tones depict the serene environment of the garden and seeing that the guardian is older and the way he is standing in the garden somehow suggests the amount of work and love that has gone into his garden)

I am sure next year the Indian Art Summit will be even bigger and even better as it has every year in the past 3 years that the summit has existed. I think a lot of the international galleries that were showcased at the summit for the first time, will be coming back and a lot more galleries will follow suit. India has major buying power and through this summit, art has become more accessible for the new or established collector.

Exhibition Short Review, The Force of Absence

2010-11-29T05:30:00.005-05:00

Gladstone Gallery, Ugo Rondinone, "nude" November 6 through December 23, 2010

Solo exhibition of Ugo Rondinone, an exhibition that continues his exploration of meaning created through and in subjectivity but maps out an extended terrain through figuration and life sized sculptures that are solemnly morbid.

In this show the Swiss Artist extends his conceptual concerns beyond the ironic and optimistic gestures (works that come to mind, 'Hell, yes!' planted on top of the New Museum', and his clown series) featured in some of his past work. His new work and its context within the space of the Gladstone gallery forcefully creates a mediative space, an interval, an interval affirmed by a certain measure of absence keenly felt by the spectator.

Required attendance for those familiar or new to his work. Click here for Exhibition Link.

AC Weekly Calendar

2010-11-01T06:00:00.004-04:00

Barnes & Noble R. Crumb, 11/1/2010 7pm
R. Comb, known as the father of the underground comix, joins daughter Sophie in conversation with Bob Weil about the release of her new book, Sophie Crumb: Evolution of a Crazy Artist. http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/67089

Fashion Institute of Technology, Nayland Blake 11/2/2010 130pm - 230pm
Artist, writer, curator, and Chair of the ICP - Bard Program in Advanced Photographic Studies, Nayland Blake, speaks about his work where he addresses issues of his own racially mixed background, sexual identity, and body identity. http://blog.fitnyc.edu/artspeak/category/events/

92nd st Y, Anselm Kiefer 11/2/2010 8pm
German Artist Anselm Kiefer, former student of Joseph Beuys, has built a diverse body of work over the past 40 years that interrogates and critiques German history, particularly the current impact of the former Third Reich. http://www.92y.org/shop/event_detail.asp?category=Lectures+and+Conversations888All+Lectures888&productid=T-AA5DL06

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, Paul Chan 12/1/2010 6pm-8pm
Paul Chan discusses the process of his collaboration with the Classical Theatre of Harlem and Creative Time to put on Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He will also show clips from the performance and speak about about the installation of the Godot archive at MoMA. http://www.utsnyc.edu/unionforum

Guggenheim, Rob Pruitt 12/8/2010 7pm
Rob Pruitt, notorious for reemerging in the art world with a gallery show that featured a line of cocaine sprawled across a gallery floor, will host the Guggenheim's second Annual Art Awards. http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/calendar-and-events?option=com_calendar&task=showevent&mt=1291788000&mh=&aid=3627

2010-07-14T03:59:00.003-04:00

Philosophy of Motion Pictures Part II

"What is at stake, first of all, is an adventure
of vision, a conversion of the way of putting questions to any object
posed before us...." Derrida, Force and Signification

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Art Comments is delighted to announce our participation with the BHQFU this summer. The Bruce High Quality Foundation University is continuing its education free-for-all with an exciting summer semester.

We invite you to join us tonight for our first class of the summer, Philosophy of Motion Pictures Part II, Wednesdays from 7:00 – 10:00PM. Doors open at 6:30pm.

Simply send us an email or fill out the form provided by the link on the syllabus if you would like to join us.

In a relaxed environment tonight, we will discuss the syllabus, class policies, and screen Danny Boyle's Sunshine. Feel free to bring snacks and drinks along.

Peter Duhon, director of Art Comments, and Mary Gagler are participating by curating a series of experimental workshops utilizing the provocative site of contemporary art, films and texts for rigorous discussions confronting and contesting hegemonic notions of representation, identity, authorship, and binary logic.

All BHQFU classes are free and open to the public. For details concerning the film course and other courses, click here. The school is sponsored by Creative Time.

Syllabus Information

Location: 225 West Broadway, NYC 10013 (located near the 1 train, Franklin Street stop, or A train, Canal Street)

6th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, AC Update

2010-06-12T17:41:00.006-04:00

DAY ONE

what is waiting out there

4 out of 6 venues visited. Great show thus far, well worth the trip from NYC. Not including the fact that my path crossed with Nicholas Serota at 3 venues. No, I didn't witness anyone asking for an autograph from the said director of the Tate. Can't say that I wasn't tempted, nonetheless, when my path intersects with the likes of Nicholas Serota or when I find myself shoulder to shoulder with Larry Gagosian at 3am in Miami, the binary aspect of myself (something that I consciously attempt to resist) concludes that my journey is well worth the effort and deemed successful.

Nevertheless, what I most enjoy is the force felt while viewing and engaging with a tightly curated exbhibition that compels thought. That force that ignites one to consider components of the social, personal, and public that are often violently suppressed or blatantly ignored by institutions that unscrupulously preach and promote deceptive images of neutrality, peace, and justice. A force that invites the reconsideration of 'common' beliefs that rest on a sacred pedestal, and quite frankly, need shattering.

Thankfully, many of the art works in the 6th Berlin Biennale successfully curated by Kathrin Rhomberg and her team confront this crisis contemporaneously. One of my favorites, a video produced by Andrey Kuzkin does precisely that. A video of someone literally scrubbing away at representation as posited by many within the publishing and fashion industry.

This video of a performance by the artist who dons health-care green plastic gloves is using some form of dissolvent, caustic acetone, to erase the front covers of several highly circulated fashion magazines. This erasing is poetically productive, it at once confronts and erases reductive, and deceptive modes of representation, while evoking a more powerful and affirmative notion, difference in action.

It is as if our dear artist is perhaps representing something else, at some level represent those excluded, on the margins, those outside the fringes, who are proudly inhabiting their singularity while taking much needed action, which we must remember, this act presupposes an acknowledgement of what's at stake, this isn't blind resistance.

This affirmative gesture of resistance, an opening, an act from and by Otherness, playing the game by dictating and questioning the paradigm from outside the domain but reaching in it and erasing the illusion of unattainable and fabricated representation as purported by the powers that be, calling into question both the pedestal and what's on it. Propelling into crisis a frighteningly complex and restricted system built on fashionable closure that embraces difference only on the conditions of profit and political approval (there are exceptions but we must admit they are rare).

I have more to say about this great work, appropriately titled Resistance, and others, and will update this post later providing more commentary.

Artist Lecture Series | Keren Cytter | Feb 4

2010-02-04T13:53:00.002-05:00

Artist Lecture Series: Keren Cytter

Artist Reception: 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Lecture and interview: 7:30pm - 8:30pm Feb 4, 2010

Artists Talk On Art is delighted to host provocative Israeli artist Keren Cytter tonight as part of our Artist Lecture Series. Keren's artistic practice confronts and challenges representations of social realities, creating a veritable field of mutated plurality, meaning, signification and pleasure.

'Keren Cytter's videos have a distinctly literary flavour. Although her medium is tape and she makes countless references to cinematic and televised forms, her scripts often involve long soliloquies and multiple voice-overs that would seem more comfortable unravelling over the pages of a novel. The subject matter of her work is the stuff of relationships loss, loving, longing, friendship, betrayal much of it culled from her own or her friends lives.' - frieze.com

Keren Cytter has had solo exhibitions at CCA Center for Contemporary Art, Kitakyushu (2009), Witte de With, Rotterdam (2008), and MUMOK, Vienna (2007).

Her work was included in the New Museum's landmark exhibition The Generational: Younger Than Jesus, and the 53rd Venice Biennale curated by Daniel Birnbaum.

REVISED: Press Release | Artist Lectures | Winter & Spring 2010 Schedule

2010-01-26T18:12:00.002-05:00

The James Wines lecture has been rescheduled for April 1, 2010, an interview session with Molly Barnes will take place this Thursday instead at the Soho20 Chelsea gallery, located at 547 West 27th St. between 10th and 11th avenue.

Here at Artists Talk On Art we are delighted to announce our Winter and Spring program for 2010. This season, all of our events take place at Soho20 Chelsea here in New York on various Thursday evenings:

Artist Lecture Series: Molly Barnes
Artist Lecture Series: Keren Cytter
ATOA Film Screening: Nancy Spero
Film Club: Claude Charbrol's The BridesMaid
Artist Lecture Series: John Newsom
Artist Lecture Series: Ester Partegàs

All the best,
Peter Duhon
Director of Programming

Artist Lecture Series: Molly Barnes

Renown art dealer, west coast radio talk-show personality, and author, Molly Barnes will be interviewed by Susan Eley, director of Susan Eley Fine Art. Molly has written three books, hosts art talks at the Roger Smith Hotel, and served as ATOA's Program director for several years. She is also responsible for discovering such great art talents as John Baldessari, Robert Cottingham, and Mark Kostabi. She will discuss the many aspects of her life in the world of art.

Artist Lecture Series: Keren Cytter

7:30pm - 9pm February 4, 2010

'Keren Cytter's videos have a distinctly literary flavour. Although her medium is tape and she makes countless references to cinematic and televised forms, her scripts often involve long soliloquies and multiple voice-overs that would seem more comfortable unravelling over the pages of a novel. The subject matter of her work is the stuff of relationships – loss, loving, longing, friendship, betrayal – much of it culled from her own or her friends' lives.' - frieze.com

Keren Cytter has had solo exhibitions at CCA Center for Contemporary Art, Kitakyushu (2009), Witte de With, Rotterdam (2008), and MUMOK, Vienna (2007). Her work was included in the New Museum's landmark exhibition The Generational: Younger Than Jesus, and the 53rd Venice Biennale curated by Daniel Birnbaum.

Conversation will ensue after artist talk with ATOA's Director of Programming, Peter Duhon, followed by questions and answer session with audience.

RSVP suggested: RSVP
Soho20 Chelsea Gallery, 547 West 27th St., Suite 301, New York, NY 10001

Suggested donation:
7 General Public
3 Artists and students

ATOA FILM SCREENING: Nancy Spero

7pm - 9pm Februrary 11, 2010

ATOA will present video footage culled from its archive of a talk presented by Nancy Spero.

"Nancy Spero, an American artist and feminist whose tough, exquisite figurative art addressed the realities of political violence." NY TIMES

RSVP suggested: RSVP
Soho20 Chelsea Gallery, 547 West 27th St., Suite 301, New York, NY 10001

Suggested donation:
7 General Public
3 Artists and students

FILM CLUB: Claude Chabrol's 'The Bridesmaid'

7pm - 9pm Februrary 18, 2010

"The deliciously twisted world of Claude Chabrol turns on a different axis from our own, though a closer look always suggests discomfiting similarities... The mystery of empathy pervades Mr. Chabrol's work, which is full of sociopaths, some charming, others not." - NY Times

RSVP suggested: RSVP
Soho20 Chelsea Gallery, 547 West 27th St., Suite 301, New York, NY 10001

Suggested donation:
7 General Public
3 Artists and students

Artist Lecture Series: John Newsom

7pm - 9pm February 25, 2010

'Valentines from a violent world, John Newsom's paintings and works on paper, which draw on sources such as natural history displays and antique field guides, are laced with dangerous beauty. Meticulously rendered bats and insects materialize amid branches, vines and fleshy blossoms, while myriad birds of prey tear at carrion or snatch up smaller creatures.' - Frieze

Born in 1970 in Kansas, Newsom earned his BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design and his MFA at New York University. Since his debut in the early 90s, Newsom's work has been displayed in 15 solo exhibitions, including recent shows in New York and Milan, Italy. His work has been included in over 50 group exhibitions, including shows at the Guggenheim. - Patrick Painter Inc

Conversation will ensue after artist talk with ATOA's Director of Programming, Peter Duhon, followed by questions and answer session with audience.

RSVP suggested: RSVP
Soho20 Chelsea Gallery, 547 West 27th St., Suite 301, New York, NY 10001

Suggested donation:
7 General Public
3 Artists and students

Artist Lecture Series: Ester Partegàs

7:30pm - 9pm March 18, 2010

The body and mind of the contemporary city has incorporated buzz words, logos, marketing percentages, random data and product placement in its ever-hardening landscape of regulated experience. For me, producing work is an attempt to rescue the 'everyday' in all its versatility and conflicting meanings." Ester Partegàs, Flash Art

RSVP suggested: RSVP
Soho20 Chelsea Gallery, 547 West 27th St., Suite 301, New York, NY 10001

Suggested donation:
7 General Public
3 Artists and students

Art Comments is a signifying, discursive practice that functions internationally as an apparatus within the realm commonly referred to as the contemporary art world. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please email us.

Message from the Art Comments Team

2009-12-30T17:59:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!

courtesy gavinbrown.biz
Spencer Sweeney
Untitled
2006
colored pencil on paper
12 x 9 inches

Inaugural 'Institute of Museum Ethics' Graduate Biennial

2009-11-25T22:43:00.001-05:00

Considering "New Directions in Museum Ethics" Graduate Student Conference

written by Sophie Landres in New York

If etiquette is breached when one deviates from current customs, ethical crises occur when there is a deviation from tradition. Museums, which are charged with the responsibility of preserving traditions as well as their deviated forms, encounter crisis with regularity. Performing as conservationists and historic stewards on one hand, while abjuring their colonial heritage and maintaining their contemporaneity on the other, art institutions struggle to uphold higher standards of moral conduct than the corporate models they follow or the private collectors on which they depend.

Organizations such as the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) have created codes of ethics stipulating what constitutes ethical behavior. But in exchange for representing our past, reflecting the present and determining how we will be remembered in the future, we regard museums as more than mere law-abiding institutions. They are our cultural paragons. In an attempt to satisfy professional standards and the tacit demand for apotheosis, extensive research has been devoted to the subject of museum ethics.

On November 14th, The Institute of Museum Ethics held its inaugural Biennial Graduate Student Conference: "New Directions in Museum Ethics" at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. Topics ranged from the administrative (such as archiving digital media, deaccession and fundraising) to the more existential functions of museums as they encounter new aesthetic precedents and ruptures in the paradigm.

Materiality, Immateriality and Authorship

Many of the Seton Hall speakers addressed how technology increasingly mediates the fabric, presentation and subject of art. Most museums currently utilize various types of social media for information sharing, audience engagement, publicity and outreach. Allowing their collections to function as interactive media is a realization of Marshall McLuhan's 1959 presage that "the spectator or reader must now be cocreator." Once information is in the public domain, it is allocated for public use and subject to public commentary. Unfortunately, the democratic intentions are often compromised by the lack of fact-checking and anonymity, and the discourse tends to become surrounded by blogosphere flippancy, dilettantism and aggression.

Amelia Wong delivered an exemplary paper describing how the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum faced conflicting responsibilities to the public when Holocaust deniers used one of their YouTube postings as an opportunity to publish insulting messages that spread hate as well as misinformation. Decidedly anti-censorship, the museum had enjoyed the dialog and documented argumentation possible through its remediation. But relinquishing control over their media left it vulnerable to historic sabotage and its integrity as a memorial was jeopardized because of it.

Opting out of remediation will ensure a museum's obsolescence. Moreover, ontological debate has determined that history benefits (if not requires) multiple perspectives. Yet the internet proves time and again that a multiplicity of voices does not guarantee historic accuracy. What then is a museum's right (or responsibility) to singular authorship?

More familiar contests over ownership and claims to intellectual property arise over the persistent materiality of objects and immateriality of images. Though ownership and authenticity are deemed postmodern issues that many contemporary artists and critics have moved beyond, ethicists remain sorting out the titles, documentation, and non-archival material left in conceptualism's wake. Appropriation disputes (such as the source of Shepard Fairey's Barack Obama campaign poster, which was discussed by the art and entertainment attorney, Walter G. Lehmann) are often determined by litigation. These cases set precedents that if undermined, may go on to adversely effect provenance law, thereby granting allowances for illicitly procured art. Here, a generosity of free usage is cut to condemn what happens when other things are taken without permission.

Authorship and Authority

Ethics become even messier when legal codes contradict. For example, when the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 protects artists' intent and the AAM decrees that museums have a responsibility to preserve art, who determines what is to be done with collections of intentionally ephemeral art work? And if pieces are replaced (think: the formaldehyde shark in Damien Hirst's The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living,) can it still be considered "an original?" The infinite reproducibility of digital media similarly confounds the codes as well as inventory catalogues and determinants of value. "Since the historical testimony rests on the authenticity, the former, too, is jeopardized by reproduction when substantive duration ceases to matter," wrote Walter Benjamin in The Work of Art and Mechanical Reproduction, "And what is really jeopardized when the historical testimony is affected is the authority of the object." For whom the conference repeatedly referred to as "stakeholders," this reconfiguration is a source of great anxiety.

Evidence that issues of ownership and authority remain unsettled is perhaps most visible through the lens of post-colonialist politics. The repatriation of ill-begotten artifacts and the equally illicit insistence of western culture upon "developing" nations, involves (as speaker Lydie Diakhaté explained) complicated acts of philanthropy, paternalism and continued exploitation. Whether multiculturalism will be able to outrun colonial legacies and keep up with geopolitics depends on how entitlement claims will be redistributed and universalized. Chelsea Haines offered New Orleans's post-Katrina Prospect 1 biennial as a model- less for exhibition design, than for how to rebuild communities and create discursive spaces in neglected parts of society. It is fair to ask for museums to be responsive to their communities but ambitious to assume they can act as trustworthy agents for social change. A reasonable compromise might lay somewhere between performing as repositories of social meanings and envoys of critical analysis (at their apogee.)

Market Forces and the Ethics of Compromise

Business decisions inevitably engender conflict of interests in which museums must compromise romantic intentions with the tremendous amount of power and money that surrounds their position. The New Museum of Contemporary Art's recent imbroglio involving the exhibition of a museum trustee's collection demonstrates how their very programming is an act of judgment and undeniable mediator of the art market. Yet despite their heft in the market, they are also public minions, enlisted to serve the enigmatic "collective good." To some that prohibits their freedom to break from trusted convention and challenge orthodoxy; to others, that gives them the green light. If objectivity is a requisite for safeguarding objects, museums must refrain from curation that Peter Brown lamented often comes across as an "academic, postmodern indulgence." But if art institutions are also dealers of dialectics, they cannot curb their subjectivity from fear of debate or audience alienation.

The pedagogical concern is that ethical solutions exist in theory, but not in the professional world. To be intellectually progressive (yet accommodating to mass interests,) research centers (as well as flashy tourist destinations,) arbiters of good taste (but not snobbish about it,) and didactic (while entertaining,) museums struggle to monitor their internal actions, let alone their presence outside gallery walls and in the minds of society. For legal claims over intellectual property, moral claims over stewardship, and political claims over nationhood to tangibly coexist, contemporary ethicists point to the recognition of parallel contexts.

AAM and ICOM codes amend themselves at Sisyphean rates, redefining and standardizing as the rest of the world diversifies, rejects judgment and avoids materiality. Though these valuable regulators keep museums in check, post-colonialism and the remediation of information require control sharing, not tightening. New codes must be broad and provisional. Allowances should favor authenticity that is in the service of meaning, ownership that is contingent on public access and authority that is never absolute. Habits to the contrary may be deeply ingrained in institutional structures, but global movements toward dissolving information barriers, dematerializing art forms and decentralizing localities break too many rules to keep enforcing.

Artist Lecture: Robert Lazzarini | School of Visual Arts, New York

2009-11-17T22:21:00.005-05:00

Artist Lecture: Robert Lazzarini

7pm - 9pm November 20, 2009

Art Comments is delighted to announce that Robert Lazzarini, a contemporary artist based in New York, and whose work was recently featured at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in a solo exhibition this past summer, will present a lecture focusing on his new work at the School of Visual Arts this Friday.

Robert Lazzarini's practice comprises the distortion and activation of both space and objects, which subvert normative perspective, Cartesian notions of perception and time, often through the vehicle of meticulously fabricated objects and carefully activated environments. Not surprisingly, The New York Times recently wrote, "one of America’s most exciting young artists." Robert Lazzarini will give a presentation based on his work, followed by a conversation with Peter Duhon (Director of programming, ATOA, and Director of Art Comments), and Q&A with audience.

Relevant links:

Deitch Projects

RSVP Suggested: Click Here

The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street, NYC, in the Amphitheater
Directions

Suggested donation:
$7 General Public
$3 Artists and students, Free for SVA students and faculty

Discussion is organized by the New York based non-profit Artists Talk On Art. Art Comments is a signifying, discursive practice that functions internationally as an apparatus within the realm commonly referred to as the contemporary art world.

Art in General | Benefit Party | Oct. 17th

2009-10-04T22:16:00.003-04:00

Art Comments is delighted to lend our support to a wonderful, expansive, and international contemporary arts program such as Art in General. The said benefit party will help support their program which serves as a beacon for contemporary discourse centered on provocative artistic practices. I hope everyone can participate and support AiG in some fashion. Please see information pertaining to their party below. Apologies for any cross-postings.

Underground Up

Art in General’s 2nd Annual Saturday Night Party

Saturday, October 17, 2009, 8pm to 11pm
87 Lafayette Street, New York NY 10013

Art in General will offer audiences and art patrons a one-time opportunity to view unique
new works by graffiti and street artists Cake, Cern, and Chris Stain at its 2nd Annual
Saturday Night party, Underground Up, on October 17th from 8-11 pm. As part of a
fundraiser for the nonprofit that supports emerging artists with the production and
presentation of new work, the artists have been asked to create unique pieces on the day
of the event for the walls of an old firehouse on Lafayette Street. To be fully realized, the
works will require participation by attendees who will also enjoy complimentary beer,
wine, cocktails, music, and dancing.

The event will offer art enthusiasts with a desire to support the arts an opportunity to do so outside the pricey sit-down gala format. With Art in General's line-up of artists, open bar and music, and its history of organizing great events, the party is sure to be worth the $100 donation.

The event poses a significant challenge for the artists – creating a new work in under eight hours – a task that remains in line with Art in General’s tradition of presenting unconventional and experimental new work.

To rsvp for this event and purchase tickets, please visit http://www.artingeneral.org/events/957.

TONIGHT: Aporias of Perfection | Panel Discussion

2009-10-02T17:36:00.002-04:00

Christian de Vietri
Zero
2008-2009
acrylic polymer, vinyl paint
71 x 43 x 32 inches

Aporias of Perfection
7pm - 9pm October 2nd, 2009
The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street, NYC, in the Amphitheater

Art Comments is delighted to present a panel discussion tonight, Aporias of Perfection. Discourse situated simultaneously between and underneath debated notions of theory, practice and praxis, discourse which facilitates an epistemological 'uprooting' (Hinausgerissenwerden) exerting a potentiality of heterogeneous discovery while avoiding any false pretense of a grand narrative or finite totality.

Please click here for curatorial statement for 'Aporias of Perfection' written by Lukas Baden.

Moderator: Lukas Baden (GER, Curator, Ferenbal Gurbruestation), Darren Bader (NYC based Artist, Writer, Curator), Glen Baldridge (NYC based Printmaker and Artist), Christian Ertel (GER, Artist), Christian de Vietri (AU, Artist), Shana Moulton (NYC based Artist)

RSVP RECOMMEND: rsvp@artcomments.com
The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street, NYC, in the Amphitheater
Directions

Suggested donation:
$7 General Public
$3 Artists and students, Free for SVA students and faculty

CURATORIAL STATEMENT:

“No good work whatever can be perfect, and the demand for perfection is always a sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art.” (John Ruskin)

This panel attempts to examine the idea of ‘perfection’ as it is embraced or rejected in the practice of contemporary artists. The topic is related to technical skill and craft versus a deliberate renunciation of these. The artwork as a contained entity with a distinguishable form has been questioned since the inception of Modernism when impressionists were accused to paint merely in stains.

Conceptual art’s progression towards a “dematerialization” of the object has offered the leverage to deepen the cleavage between artistic approaches that pursue a labor oriented mode of production and others that use a minimal effort in the creation of the object. In fact, this panel is centered at a notion of perfection that aims at the enchantment of form and material, while simultaneously acknowledging the limits that are implicit in the processes of rendering an idea or applying a technique.

The failure or plain impossibility of either an artistic or philosophical endeavour to get closer to the idea itself in both visual and spiritual terms is alluded to by the term “aporia” in the title for the panel. In order to provide a creative opposition of terms, the moderation is based on the contrast of “perfection” and “deskilling”, or, drawing on more musical terms, “pop” and “punk.”

The polemic presupposition for the panels discussion is a presumed development in artistic practice away from completion or ostensibly accomplished practice to more interventionist strategies and esoteric presences, thus allowing for the aesthetics of a 'New Poor,' a new form of arte povera, to develop, independent of the current recession.

In yet another set of a binary opposition, this panel seeks to find out when or where the actual turn happened from where attitudes become form (Harald Szeemann, 1969) to where forms become attitudes (Massimiliano Gioni, 2009).

Lecture | Janaina Tschäpe | Contingent Space: Myth, Fantasy, and Time

2009-09-22T10:31:00.003-04:00

Janaina Tschäpe
Dragoon Moon II
From the series Dragoons, 2008
Ed of 6
C-print
40 x 50 in

Art Comments is delighted to invite everyone to a lecture presented by contemporary artist Janaina Tschäpe, 'Contingent Space: Myth, Fantasy, and Time,' this Friday, September 25, at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Since 1997, Janaina Tschäpe has employed the female body as her muse, creating universes of polymorphous landscapes, embryonic forms and ambiguous characters. Tschäpe’s drawings, photographs, films and installations seek to give form to the trance of art making, portraying not a dream world, but the sensation of being in one.

Pertaining to the work of the New York based Brazilian and German artist, Frieze aptly wrote, "Janaina Tschäpe shares her forename with a Brazilian water goddess, and, not coincidentally, her photographs and performances-to-video feature sumptuously organic, watery, distorted female figure." Janaina Tschäpe deftly exploits and subverts notions of identity and reality in her work, often referencing primitive beauty, hybridity, and alterity which at times confront, embrace, and recasts the envelopment of nature and abjection.

Janaina Tschäpe will give a presentation concerning her œuvre, sharing some of her photographs and performance-to-video pieces with the audience followed by a conversation with Peter Duhon (Director of Programming, ATOA, and Art Comments), and a Q&A session with the audience.

Janaina Tschäpe is represented by Galerie Catherine Bastide (Brussels Belgium), Galeria Fortes Vilaca (São Paulo Brasil), and Sikkema Jenkins & Co (NY, New York).

Janaina Tschäpe is also participating in the ICP Triennial this year in New York.

Janaina Tschäpe | Contingent Space: Myth, Fantasy, and Time
7pm - 9pm September 25th, 2009
The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street (between 2nd and 3rd avenue), NYC, in the Amphitheater

RSVP RECOMMEND: Click Here to RSVP
Click here for directions

Janaina Tschäpe's website.

$7 Suggested donation for general public.
$3 Artists and students, free for SVA students and faculty.

Discussion is organized by the New York based non-profit Artists Talk On Art. Art Comments is a signifying, discursive practice that functions internationally as an apparatus within the realm commonly referred to as the contemporary art world.

The Non-speaking Blind Man

2009-09-12T21:26:00.002-04:00

NY - 303 GALLERY- HANS-PETER FELDMAN

I just spoke with Hans-Peter Feldman, according to him the blind man doesn't speak apparently. I asked him if he had any speaking engagements while here in NY, he's leaving tomorrow but doesn't believe in speaking engagements, only objects. Hans-Peter Feldman, perhaps the title Saint is applicable now, said that in the beginning humans could only see long before we could speak. I mean, just when I thought I had been to the mountain top and back. Yes, conversations with the apostles are always neatly situated on, obsessively concerned with or assertively opposed to the word. Sauserre and Peirce would be proud. A trip to Germany is in order to finish our conversation.

Theory and Practice: Aporias of Perfection

2009-09-10T06:02:00.004-04:00

Christian de Vietri
Zero
2008-2009
acrylic polymer, vinyl paint
71 x 43 x 32 inches

Theory and Practice: Aporias of Perfection
7pm - 9pm October 2, 2009
The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street, NYC, in the Amphitheater

“No good work whatever can be perfect, and the demand for perfection is always a sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art.” (John Ruskin)

RSVP RECOMMEND: rsvp@artcomments.com
The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street, NYC, in the Amphitheater
Directions

$7 General Public
$3 Artists and students, Free for SVA students and faculty

Discussion is organized by the New York based non-profit Artists Talk On Art. Art Comments is a signifying, discursive practice that functions internationally as an apparatus within the realm commonly referred to as the contemporary art world.

Artist in Conversation: Robert Lazzarini

2009-09-07T06:30:00.009-04:00

Robert Lazzarini, who exhibits with Deitch Projects in New York, and whose work was recently presented at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, challenges normative perspective and perception via pictorial distortion and reconfiguration which demands for the spectator to reexamine their notion of spatial potentiality, and the shift of meaning that occurs with all objects through the experience, often violent, and decay thrusted upon them. Not surprisingly, The New York Times recently wrote, "one of America’s most exciting young artists." Robert Lazzarini will give a presentation based on his work, followed by a conversation with Peter Duhon (Director of programming, ATOA, and Director of Art Comments), and Q&A with audience.

7pm - 9pm November 20th, 2009

RSVP: atoarsvp@gmail.com
The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street, NYC, in the Amphitheater
Directions

$7 General Public
$3 Artists and students, Free for SVA students and faculty

Past Dreams and Future Visions: The South Bronx art scene in the 21st Century

2009-08-31T06:30:00.003-04:00

The Bronx art scene has emerged, submerged and changed many times over the last 30 years. Each time it has been a model for coordinated community artistic efforts ripe with great art, beauty and expression and not surprisingly coupled with the infighting and rivalries associated with any family. Past dreams and future visions exemplified by select consortium of artists, alongside with what makes an art scene grow, coalesce, dissolve and survive. An effort will be made to reveal the general aesthetic trends that have come from this often forgotten Borough of New York.

Moderator: Barry Kostrinsky, Founder of Haven Arts, a Municipal Arts Society's recipient of a certificate of merit in 2006, Barry is an artist, curator, collector and supporter of the South Bronx arts scene.
Panelists: Joe Lewis (Dean of Alfred University's School of Art and Design), John Ahearm(Artist), Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz (Artist, Curator), Tim Rollins (Professor at SVA and recently exhibited at the 53rd Venice Biennale), Holly Block (Director of Bronx Museum)

7pm - 9pm October 9th, 2009

RSVP: atoarsvp@gmail.com
The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street, NYC, in the Amphitheater
Directions

$7 General Public
$3 Artists and students, Free for SVA students and faculty

Artist in Conversation: Janaina Tschäpe | September 25th | School of Visual Arts

2009-08-24T05:55:00.007-04:00

Janaina Tschäpe

Untitled (Primer plano de mujer rubia arrollada e impactada contra un poste,

en avenida Chapultepec, Ciudad de Mexico), 1979

C-print , 20 x 24"

Edition of 15

Artist in Conversation: Janaina Tschäpe

7pm - 9pm September 25th, 2009

The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street, NYC, in the Amphitheater

Since 1997, Janaina Tschäpe has employed the female body as her muse, creating universes of polymorphous landscapes, embryonic forms and ambiguous characters. Tschäpe’s drawings, photographs, films and installations seek to give form to the trance of art making, portraying not a dream world, but the sensation of being in one.

New York based Brazilian and German artist, "Janaina Tschäpe shares her forename with a Brazilian water goddess, and, not coincidentally, her photographs and performances-to-video feature sumptuously organic, watery, distorted female figures," writes Frieze. Janaina Tschäpe deftly exploits and subverts notions of identity and reality in her work. Janaina Tschäpe will give a presentation concerning her work, followed by a conversation with Peter Duhon (Director of Programming, ATOA, and Director of Art Comments), and Q&A with audience.

RSVP RECOMMEND: RSVP

The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street, NYC, in the Amphitheater

Directions

$7 General Public
$3 Artists and students, Free for SVA students and faculty

Discussion is organized by the New York based non-profit Artists Talk On Art.

Post-Crisis Aesthetics | Panel Discussion | September 18 | SVA

2009-08-20T06:01:00.002-04:00

Enrique Metinides
Untitled (Primer plano de mujer rubia arrollada e impactada contra un poste,
en avenida Chapultepec, Ciudad de Mexico),
1979 C-print , 20 x 24"
Edition of 15
Courtesy Anton Kern Gallery

POST-CRISIS AESTHETICS
7pm - 9pm September 18th, 2009
The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street, NYC, in the Amphitheater

Panelists explore how the economic crisis has affected art, its production and display. Are we experiencing a paradigm shift, and if so, what is the impact? Has the collapse emancipated or restrained the production of art?

Richard Flood (Chief Curator of the New Museum), Josh Baer (Writer and Art Adviser, Baerfax Newsletter), Anton Kern (Gallerist, Anton Kern Gallery), Alexandra Peers (Writer, New York Magazine and Wall Street Journal)
Moderator: Peter Duhon (Director of Programming, ATOA, Art Comments)

RSVP RECOMMEND: rsvp@artcomments.com
The School of Visual Arts (SVA), 209 East 23rd Street, NYC, in the Amphitheater
Directions

$7 General Public
$3 Artists and students, Free for SVA students and faculty

Press Release: Artist Talks and Panels, Fall 2009 Program

2009-08-07T06:32:00.003-04:00

Art Comments is pleased to announce our collaboration with the New York based not-for profit, Artist Talk on Art, an organization committed to contemporary discourse since 1975. Below you will find their official release with detailed information concerning the fall schedule:

ATOA, a New York based non-profit dedicated to discursive and aesthetic dialog, is delighted to announce our Fall program for 2009, a diverse range of contemporary art panel discussions and lectures all focused with an intentionality to intensify thought, and serve as a generator of multiplicities. This season, all of our events occur at the School of Visual Arts here in New York on various Friday evenings:

Post-Crisis Aesthetics
Artist in Conversation: Janaina Tschäpe
Discourse and Practice: Aporias of Perfection
Past Dreams and Future Visions: The South Bronx art scene in the 21st Century
Theory and Practice: Encaustic Painting Today
She: Visions of Women by Taiwanese Artists
Artist in Conversation: Robert Lazzarini
NY Portraits: Artists with Disabilities
Super-Craft: The New Insider Folk Art

For more information, please visit: ATOA Fall Schedule.

Resistance of Frieze: Offers Refusal to Apprentice Show

2009-07-30T01:21:00.004-04:00

Revolt, She Said

written by Peter H. Duhon Jr. in New York

Thankfully, London's Frieze Art Fair said no to the reality TV show The Apprentice. The Guardian's coverage of the refusal, quite biased against Frieze one must all admit in this article, reports that the TV show wanted to have a reality contest amongst dealers to see who could sell the most work at the fair. Rather seriously, that is akin to offering to film someone while they are in the shower, and posting the resulting footage on ABC here in the U.S. or BBC in the U.K. Hell no, shouts the blind man.

Of course, many would argue why not? But assertively, Frieze offers the appropriate word to The Apprentice, that statement that Freud suggested as the word which signifies the stance of adulthood, the word that gives birth to it, the word that postures it: no. Yes, in fact, the blind man can see through the trees, beyond them, revealing the ignorance, the absurdity of the instigator, revealing the brazen motives of the iniquitous beast.

I've always lauded Frieze as one of the most important contemporary art events of year and with this bold decision, Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp (founders and active decision makers at Frieze, respectively) do not disappoint.

Those accustomed to, and seduced by the culture of the spectacle are perhaps puzzled by the refusal, but my personal hope is that by their decision to resist this mindless, frivolous forbidden fruit of contemporary culture (to say that reality TV shows present distorted and manufactured reality is an understatement, no apologizes), if you will, those unaware of the significance of Frieze and it's distinguished difference will perhaps investigate further why Frieze exists as a beacon of provocative thought and discourse today. Yes, open that book, hop on that plane, book that ticket, and visit Frieze. No cameras allowed, please.

Verfall: Decadence and Decay- at 150 Bay Street in Staten Island, NY.

2009-07-26T15:18:00.008-04:00

written by Don Porcella in New York City

Verfall: Decadence and Decay
Curated by Ginger Shulick
07/25/2009 - 08/28/2009.

Exhibiting Artists:

Mikhael Antone, NYC
Brendan Coyle, NYC
Christopher Frederick, NYC
Michelle Sciumbato Keller, Nashville
Scott Lewis, New Jersey
Reggie Manning, Milwaukee
Keren Moscovitch, NYC
Mona Oman, NYC

Studio 150
150 Bay Street
Staten Island, NY 10301

Verfall: Decadence and Decay

The 18th century view of language is largely based on the concept of “decadence and decay”, words which are synonymous in many languages, including German (verfall). This exhibition focuses on decadent yet banalized behaviors – smoking, excessive drinking, over-eating, sexual promiscuity – and examines whether these over-indulgences are just another part of living a contemporary existence. However, these decadent lifestyles can lead to physical and moral decay and ultimately, death. Installations by Brendan Coyle and Mikhael Antone deal with fatality itself, and question viewers’ responses to and fascination with the everyday occurrence of death. Coyle’s sculpture “Candy Corpse” will simultaneously address death and decay; this installation will be altered throughout the course of the show as the materials respond to temperature and climate changes, but will never fully decay.

The opening will be on Saturday, July 25th from 7pm-12am, and will be open for regular hours Thursdays and Fridays 5pm-9pm, Saturdays 12pm-8pm, and Sundays, 12pm-5pm through the close of the show. Studio 150 is located at 150 Bay Street in Staten Island, NY. Take the Staten Island Ferry in downtown Manhattan. The boat ride is 25 minutes. Then walk 5 minutes to 150 Bay Street from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

Curator Ginger Shulick in front of a wall painting by Reggie Manning an artist from Milwaukee, WI

This exhibition in Staten Island is very important because it is another significant moment in the continued evolution of the Staten Island Art Scene. Verfall: Decadence and Decay curated by Ginger Shulick, brings together artists from Staten Island and artists from other parts of the country. Given the importance of the show, I was very impressed with the variety and dedication each artist represented in their work. I thought all the art in the show was extremely provocative and alluring.

A fantastic piece of art by Scott Lewis, New Jersey. He is currently having a solo show at The Puck Building in NYC.

Brendan Coyle's magnificent "Candy Corpe" made out of candy lying in dirt. I was very impressed with Brendan's Candy Corpse (see www.candycorpse.com which allows people to participate in the ongoing project). Coyle put a lot of time and effort into handcrafting his corpse and integrated that into a decaying mound of dirt. During the opening, the corpse sinks ever so slowly into the ground. Go see it!!!

Studio 150
150 Bay Street
Staten Island, NY 10301

The Staten Island Art Scene has many interesting and talented artists living and working in the borough. Many of those artists came to the opening last night and I tried to take photos of as many of them as possible. There are many more artists who are doing interesting work here and it is worth coming to "the island" and meeting these exciting artists.

Tattfoo, an artist living in Staten Island was there taking photos of the Candy Corpse. Tattfoo is having an exhibition at The Bronx River Arts Center in the Bronx. see www.tattfoo.com/

Stephen Lapcevic and his wife - Lapcevic is an animation artist living in Staten Island. see www.youtube.com/user/StevenLapcevic

Brendan Coyle and Amanda Curtis are artists living in Staten Island and they also operate The Assembly Room, a gallery in Staten Island, NY. see www.myspace.com/assemblyroom

Leo Kesting Gallery Presents: Ray Sell : Ya Gotta Be Tough

2009-07-19T17:01:00.006-04:00

written by Don Porcella in New York City

Leo Kesting Gallery Presents:
Ray Sell : Ya Gotta Be Tough
July 9 – August 2, 2009

Ray Sell : Ya Gotta Be Tough - installation photo

Limelight, 12" x 12", mixed media on canvas, Ray Sell

Hold Your Horses
Mixed Media Sculpture, 10 x 21 x 7", Ray Sell

Ray Sell : Ya Gotta Be Tough - installation photo

Easy Target, mixed media sculpture, 45" x 18" x 20", Ray Sell

Leo Kesting Gallery Presents: Ray Sell: Ya Gotta Be Tough is a mixed media and collage exhibition. What I think makes it sucessfull is the use of mixed media and the three dimensionality of the collage mixed media process. The work by Ray Sell at Leo Kesting Gallery is pushing collage, through the use of mixed media, in a different direction than most 2 dimensional collage based works. I appreciate the painted parts of his work and I think for the price these have a lot of time invested value in each piece. Most of the work has already sold in the two weeks the show has been open but there are many more gems still available at very reasonable prices.

Leo Kesting Gallery is located at the southern end of the New High Line Park at Ganesvoort St. in the Meat Packing District of Manhattan.. Full of trendy boutiques and restaurants this area is ripe with vacationing europeans and a swanky upper crust crowd. Leo Kesting Gallery provides a ground floor art experience in this vibrant section of Manhattan.

Anyone walking into the gallery is met by Johnny Leo and David Kesting two very likable and enthusiastic art gallery owners. Johnny Leo and David Kesting are doing something really special by providing a lot of these artists their first major solo show in New York City. Leo Kesting Gallery is very committed to introducing these talented artists and helping develop them into art stars. They work hand in hand with their artists and they expect their artists to be professional. Check out Ray Sell's latest works and meet the people at this great ground floor gallery.

ALSO > Leo Kesting Gallery presents:
FOUNTAIN ART FAIR in Miami and New York
2505 North Miami Ave - Fountain Miami Dec 3 - 6, 2009
Pier 66 the West Side Highway - Fountain New York March 4 - 7, 2010
http://fountainexhibit.com/blog/

Tue - Sat from 11:00 am until 7:00 pm Sun & Mon 1– 6pm
Admission is free to the public
phone: 917-650-3760
http://www.leokesting.com

Low Blow: And Other Species of Confusion

2009-06-29T15:58:00.014-04:00

written by Anne Marie D. Lee in NYC

It begins with a room by Kristen Schiele featuring a dilapidated dollhouse turned French brothel—or wherever it is that B-movie vampire lesbians are normally housed. Schiele adeptly plays with texture, colors and patterns to create a tawdry atmosphere of faded beauty and morbid lust. That’s the first of many scenes of iniquity you will come across in Low Blow: And Other Species of Confusion.

A brash and witty exhibition, Low Blow features works by a group of 18 bold artists, many of whom seem to share in common a fetish for anodyne portrayals of lewd subject matter. Take for instance Ashley Hope whose impeccably girlish depictions of crime scenes bring to mind something along the lines of Mary Engelbreit meets Law & Order SVU. Then there’s Barnaby Whitfield, master pastel artist of the languorously maniacal. In his baroque world, golden bubbles of urine delicately float amidst pink flamingos and blue cake. Topping the list of contradictory forms of design and content are Benji Whalen’s stuffed-cotton arms with embroidered tattoos. In addition to the inherent irony of tattoo embroidery, there is the added dichotomy of themes. One arm bears a colorful rendering of a naked woman riding a tiger emerging from dense green jungle foliage and the other a black embroidery of the “Road to Calvary”. Equally audacious is Don Porcella’s weird encounter of the pipe-cleaner kind titled “Nature Boy: The Naked Beekeeper with Split Personality.”

Looking at Tracey Snelling’s miniaturized strip club, complete with lurid details—a desolate parking lot and glowing marquee promoting “World Class Topless Girls” on the outside and loud music, little red vinyl chairs, strip poles and video of dancers inside—is like looking through a rear view mirror at a cultural relic fading out of view. The tiny scale of Snelling’s work, like the dollhouse contained in Sheile’s, disarms the seedy setting of any potency so that it may be appreciated as a bygone aesthetic, pondered as an allegory or viewed simply as a cultural emblem. But perhaps the most attention-grabbing statement of this exhibition is Tom Sanford’s giant adult-movie poster of “Client 9” featuring Eliot Spitzer. A reminder that life often imitates art, even in its low forms.

Artful and daring, Low Blow is worth a peek.

LOW BLOW: And Other Species of Confusion

STEFAN STUX GALLERY
June 18 – July 17, 2009
530 West 25 Street, New York
www.stuxgallery.com

Curated by
Aaron Johnson and Stefan Stux

Artists
Scott Anderson | Brent Birnbaum | Miki Carmi | Claudia Hart | Ashley Hope | Aaron Johnson | Reena Saini Kallat | Tracey Moffat | Shimon Okshteyn | Dennis Oppenheim | Don Porcella | Tom Sanford | Kristen Schiele | Christoph Schmidberger | Tracey Snelling | Lydia Venieri | Benji Whalen | Barnaby Whitfield

No Longer Empty!

2009-06-24T14:00:00.006-04:00

written by Don Porcella in New York City.

I attended the opening of No Longer Empty (in two storefronts at 222 w 23rd St NY NY next to the Chelsea Hotel)) in New York City June 18th, 2009. I was greeted by Manon Slome, former head curator at Chelsea Art Museum. She and others have started a great organization that provides exhibition space in vacant storefronts throughout New York City (see http://www.nolongerempty.com/).

Manon was nice enough to personally escort me through the whole exhibition. No Longer Empty utilizes vacant spaces by exhibiting challenging and provocative art. Two storefronts were used by the artists as their exhibition space. Several artists are in each store and the art is aware of its surroundings. There are 5 large poster sized photos of artists from the Chelsea Hotel paying homage to the rich artistic tradition and history of The Chelsea Hotel. There is also a tape installation by an artist from The Chelsea Hotel in one of the storefronts.

A neon artist uses the window of one of the storefronts to change our perception of language by providing a different context for storefront signage.

Michael Bevilacqua curates a groups af artists in what was formerly a fish and tackle shop. The artists incorporate the former fish and tackle business into the exhibition by utilizing some of the features from the original shop including the pegboard.

NO LONGER EMPTY - revitalizing space : unlocking creativity

NO LONGER EMPTY is a group of curators and artists who
present thought provoking exhibits in empty store fronts.

Their first exhibit is at the storefronts at the
Hotel Chelsea
Opening June 18 6pm - 9pm
222 w 23rd st NY NY
June 19 - July 18 Wed - Sat 11am - 6pm

Curated by
Manon Slome and Asher Remy-Toledo with Julian Navarro, Ivan Saragusti, Felicity Faulkner, Yasaman Hoorazar, Molly Ryan, Nunu Hung.

Artists
Guido Albi-Marin | Joseph Aloi | Rita Barros | Sam Bassett | Michael Bevilacqua | Alina and Jeff Bliumis | Scott Campbell | Tara de la Garza | Kate Gilmore | Noel Hennessy | Michael Mandiberg | Cheonwook Park | Diana Puntar | Bruce Richards | Raimundo Rubio | Linda and Lothar Troeller | Dani Tull | Marnie Weber.

Art Basel 40 2009 Shortlist

2009-06-10T07:45:00.004-04:00

AC Art Basel Shortlist 2009: Sudarshan Shetty

Venice Biennale 2009

2009-06-05T12:05:00.004-04:00

Making Worlds

So far, quite an amazing and massive exhibition. Check back regularly for various updates across the web2.0 channels, I will post various comments, pictures and videos on Facebook, twitter, flickr, and here. If you would like to subscribe to all of the various updates, email artcommentsinfo@gmail.com.

My notebook computer's battery died beyond any hope of repair. So not exactly sure how I will post anything but I will figure something out.

from venice,

peter

AC Screening and discussion: Jean-Luc Godard Film

2009-06-01T08:43:00.002-04:00

Art Comments Hosts Its First Screening and Q&A

written by Anne Marie D. Lee in New York

A posh group of art world insiders turned up for an engaging evening of cinema and dialogue last Tuesday night, at the luxurious Tribeca Grand Hotel in NYC, popcorn included. In celebration of 50 years since the start of the French New Wave era, Art Comments presented a screening and discussion of Jean-Luc Godard's "In Praise of Love". Released in 2001, Godard's film of densely articulate imagery, lumbering pace and sharply opinionated dialogue exemplifies the experimental form and freethinking spirit of this revered cinematic movement. It is also a tribute to Godard's mastery over the cinematic medium, obtaining from it a stylistic malleability that feels as bold and new today as in the early 60s.

Enhancing the film-viewing experience was a brief though engaging Q&A that analyzed the film through the lens of contemporary discourse with Jonathan T.D. Niel, contributor for Art Review magazine and Peter Duhon, director of Art Comments, that also included several provocative questions and statements from the audience. Conversation continued at the hotel bar, where the valiant evening came to an end at around 10:00pm.

Judging by the attendance and the lively conversations that ensued after the screening in the lounge, it was a successful inaugural event that hopefully, says Duhon, "Will serve as an apparatus for further events that facilitate dialogue centered within the discourse of contemporary artistic practice today."

Francis Bacon at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

2009-05-21T04:15:00.001-04:00

A Painter for Our Times, Francis Bacon Arrives at the Met

written by Anne Marie D. Lee in New York

Most artists are deliberately abstruse when it comes to expressing their thoughts, filling the canvas with impenetrable abstractions or hidden symbolism. Not Francis Bacon. As an exiting observer remarked on her way out of this grimly exhilarating show now open at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, “He has something to say, and he’s saying it!”

On display for the viewing public from now until August 16^th, Francis Bacon: A Century Retrospective presents some 65 paintings of unapologetic intensity. Commemorating the centennial of the birth of Francis Bacon, who died in 1992, it is the first museum exhibition in New York dedicated to his work. And what a dramatic show it is.

Perhaps in more peaceful times, the impact of Bacon's blurred, pummeled faces and wide-mouth screams of man and beast could be received on a purely philosophical level, as acutely vivid allegories of existential angst. But in the context of today’s times, the juxtaposition of man and meat is all-too revolting, and the sight of nude biomorphic figures weirdly perched on pedestal or table all-too disturbing and real. It is art that speaks to, or more so howls at, the conditions of our own fear-ridden world, where violence and brutality have so savagely dehumanized the experience of life.

Francis Bacon (British, 1909–1992)
Painting, 1946
Oil and pastel on linen; 77 7/8 x 52 in. (197.8 x 132.1 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York

In one of a series of paintings called the Man in Blue, a businessman stares watchfully from the canvas--his face, a grotesque pallor of sickly phosphorescence, caged in vertical shadows and equipped with biting teeth. How easy it is to see in this sordid portrait study, and others like it, reflections of the unremorseful greed of bankers and CEOs, those for whom the heart is just another piece of meat.

In a previous room, Francis Bacon is quoted in a wall text as having once said, “I remember looking at dog shit on the pavement and I suddenly realized, there it is—this is what life is like.” Indeed the artist's work seethes with the anger of a damaged man, imprisoned within a world filled with physical pain and mental anguish. A world of shit, in other words. And remarkably like our own.

Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective
May 20, 2009–August 16, 2009
Special Exhibition Galleries, 2nd floor
MET WEBSITE

Jean-Luc Godard's Film "In Praise of Love" | May 26

2009-05-13T21:53:00.001-04:00

Jean-Luc Godard's film, 'In Praise of Love'

Tuesday May 26
Location: Tribeca Grand Hotel, Grand Screen
Screening at 6:30pm
Conversation and Q&A immediately following film.
Chair: Peter Duhon (Director, Art Comments)
Guest Panelist: Jonathan T.D. Neil (Art critic, curator and educator)
Reception in Lounge: 9pm - 10pm

Art Comments is pleased to announce a rare screening of a significant film within the oeuvre of Swiss and French director Jean-Luc Godard, 'In Praise of Love,' at Tribeca Grand Hotel's intimate theater, the Grand Screen, here in New York on the evening of May 26, to celebrate 50 years of French New Wave Cinema.

In this film, shot in Paris and released in 2001, Godard deftly deconstructs and challenges sacred yet unstable notions of history, memory and love with a lyrical depiction of their affects on human consciousness, past and present.

Drinks from lounge and bar can be enjoyed while watching film in theater.

This is an inaugural event of screenings, lectures and panel discussions curated by Art Comments at the Tribeca Grand Hotel New York and all donations from this event will help facilitate the continuance of the aforementioned.

Please rsvp by emailing tribeca.nyc@artcomments.com.

When:
Tuesday May 26, 2009 6:30pm - 10pm
Where:
Tribeca Grand Hotel, New York
2 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10013
Theater Downstairs
Suggested Donation:
$10 General Public
$3 Artists and Students

Organized by:
www.artcomments.com

NEXT ART FAIR 2009 Chicago, Illinois

2009-05-06T11:14:00.009-04:00

written by Don Porcella on assignment in Chicago

This fair was well attended and many galleries that I talked to were selling artwork. There was a gallery from Oakland, CA that was rumored to have sold out their booth, but they notoriously have a lower price point for their emerging artists. There was an excitement and a buzz about the fair signaling that the art market is alive and well. The opening night preview on Thursday was packed and the free drinks sure helped the energy. There were less galleries than last year but that offered a more manageable number of galleries and a less overwhelming experience than last year. The West Collection displayed their 2009 West Prize winners and announced next years opportunities. All in all I really enjoyed this years' NEXT ART FAIR. I think the organizers did a great job of putting together a really interesting art fair at a time when everyone was unsure of what to expect. I am going back to this fair next year.

Mark Wolfe and Katie Torn discussing Alika Cooper's art at Mark Wolfe Contemporary Booth from San Francisco, CA. Mark had several artists that I was excited about including Jacob Tillman.

Richard Haden creates these fantastic objects out of wood at The Dorsch Gallery from Miami, FL.

Richard Haden creates these fantastic objects out of wood at The Dorsch Gallery from Miami, FL.

This is a collaborative team that seemed to have art everywhere at the fair.

Kate Clark at Clair Oliver stole the show.

Artifice of Abjection: Steve McQueen's film 'Hunger'

2009-04-12T20:26:00.001-04:00

This Friday, April 17, Art Comments and the non-profit organization Artist Talk on Art are hosting a film and discussion event. The night will begin with a viewing of British Turner Prize winner Steve McQueen's recent award winning film 'Hunger' at the School of Visual Arts here in New York. Steve McQueen won the Caméra d'Or at Cannes last year for this film.

"Hunger follows life in the Maze Prison, Northern Ireland shortly before and during the infamous 1981 IRA hunger strike led by Bobby Sands. With an epic eye for detail, the film provides a timely exploration of the final act of desperation, when the human body is the last and ultimate resource for protest."

7:00pm: 'Hunger'

8:30pm: Remarks and Q&A session

This is the last event of the season at the School of Visual Arts for ATOA. RSVP and send any questions to info@artcomments.com.

When:

April 17, 2009 7pm - 9pm

Where:

The School of Visual Arts (SVA)

209 East 23rd Street, NYC

in the Amphitheater

Donation:

$7 General Public

$3 Artists and students

www.artcomments.com

53rd Venice Biennale Press Conference

2009-03-31T19:31:00.001-04:00

Press Conference at Italian Cultural Institute in New York

A press conference and celebration concerning the upcoming Venice Biennale occurred yesterday morning at the Italian Cultural Institute with it's director Renato Miracco, along with Paolo Baratta, president of the Biennale, and this year's curator/director Daniel Birnbaum all in attendance. Mr. Baratta and Mr. Birnbaum both commented on the upcoming event, and answered questions from attendees.

Alexandra Peers wrote a great, must-read blog entry covering the event for the New Yorker.

Here at Art Comments, we attempted to provide minute by minute coverage on Twitter. Artcomments is the user name on twitter.com if you would like to follow our twitter updates concerning contemporary art and related events.

Gallery Review: Michaël Borreman at David Zwirner Gallery

2009-03-24T03:31:00.008-04:00

Michaël Borremans Taking Turns

written by peter duhon in new york

Belgium artist, Michaël Borreman's 'Taking Turns,' currently at David Zwirner's gallery in Chelsea, discreetly jettisons conventionally enacted societal codes of identity and challenges social constructs by presenting psychologically paralyzed subjects in a variety of sparse, empty settings.

Solely occupying the first room in the exhibition, is an enormous, 15 feet in height, 35mm film projector showing a loop of 'The Storm.' In this film, three men, black, all wearing white/ivory suits, sit in an empty room that betrays a resemblance to a prison cell. A ghastly holding cell, empty with the exception of the sitting men, who are mysterious, drone like in appearance, and death like in behavior. Where have these men been? Where are they headed? Even the most implicit, gestural suggestion of an answer is withheld from the viewer, instead, there are three black men, dressed in white, sitting in chairs, lacking the apparent desire or strength to even gaze at the each other. After watching for several seconds, the lack of individuality among these men becomes horrifyingly apparent, a Kristevan lost subject without a desire for an object, despite the tailored, bespoke suits, and the ensuing result is a suspension of certainty for the viewer since the engaged beholder of the film suddenly questions oneself that as they watch, they are perhaps participating in the subjugation of the subjected. The subject without an "I", void of desire and stripped of ego, whom in effect, are a signifier of a group that is subjected but the question disturbingly remains for this film: subjected by whom and for what?

The Storm, 2006
35 mm film: 1:07 min. (continuous
loop); color, silent
Large projection

Michaël Borreman doesn't fall into the trap of providing bland, cliche answers but demystifies a construct with his own construct, a construct that demands attentive engagement and he doesn't disappoint. A construct that intrinsically denies pictorial screaming or speaking to gain the attention of the viewer.

The second gallery of the exhibition includes paintings and videos by Michaël Borremans. One of which is a video titled 'Taking Turns,' bearing the same name as the exhibition. The obvious linkage to surrealism in this work is a witty stroke by Michaël Borremans that allows a discourse of intertexuality among recent sources such as the early 20th century avant-garde practices and even the turn of the century Ford factory worker but also initiates a conversation and comparison within his own show. This particular video is topologically oppositional to the projection film in the other room which was discussed earlier. Instead of the austere black male subjects wearing ivory suits, quietly suffering without any movement, without the dignity of recognizing self and the situational Other, the subjects in this video are female, white, wearing black suits, dead-pannedly interacting with each other by literally turning or being turned by the other that eventually ends in a rather clever trompe-l'oeil that offers a unsuspected climax that perversely discomforts the assumed realities of the viewer regarding the video.

Interestingly enough, by excluding even the slightest hint of orality in the work presented in this exhibition, Mr. Borremans brilliantly creates suspense through a tempered monologic quality that uncanningly exists through a freezing of temporality and displacement of space.

The dominant centrifugal quality of the show is achieved by defamiliarizing (the Russian ostraneniye) established conventions and codes of identity, which situates the work in a mysterious plane between the unconscious and language where subject and beholder alike surrender control.

All of the paintings and the three videos in this exhibition occupy a spatiality where anticipation and suspense are masterfully juxtaposed within a frame, a frame that posits serious questions concerning social practices and processes by ingeniously examining the subject without, and the ritualized subject. An artist and a exhibition not to miss.

David Zwirner Gallery

India's Art Market and The Global Economy

2009-03-20T17:31:00.007-04:00

Don Porcella, a writer for Art Comments, conducted an interview with Meenakshi Thirukode, Independent Curator and Gallery Manager for the Guild Art Gallery and Art Critic for The Hindu (see www.meensonindianart.blogspot.com). Don met Meenakshi at the Armory New York Art Fairs March 2009. Don included two images of an art piece by a contemporary Indian artist from the Guild Art Gallery Booth that Meenakshi represented at the Art Fair.

Don Porcella: Can you please introduce yourself to our readers

Meenakshi Thirukode: I work as an Independent Curator with two projects coming up - one in NYC and the other in Cochin, India. Im a critic focusing on Contemporary Indian Art for a newspaper back home in India - The Hindu. Im also contributing to an online artjournal - artconcerns.com apart from working on other soon to be launched writing projects! I am based out of NYC and work with The Guild Art Gallery. I moved to NYC from India in 2006 to do my Masters at Christies New York. I work with The South Asian Womens Creative Collective (SAWCC) and am on their Board of Directors.

Don Porcella: What is your role at The Guild Art Gallery

Meenakshi Thirukode: Besides being the Manager, I am working on some Curatorial projects for the gallery at the moment.

Don Porcella: What can you tell us about India's role in the international global contemporary art market?

Meenakshi Thirukode: Well the attention for Indian Contemporaray Art started and did remain for a long time at the secondary market. A particular work by a well known Modern Painter Tyeb Mehta set an auction record by going for about 1.5 million which had never happened in this market before. So it was a huge deal. And it was bought by an Indian, so the enthusiasm and attention it spurred set the wheels in motion for what happened after that. Economics has a lot to do with how emerging markets work within the art market. India and China were growing economies - there was more disposable income in the hands of a lot of Indians. I mean India is a vast country with a population thats second largest to China but still the country was booming and you had a new player in the art market - The speculator. There was a lot of activity with art funds, and hedge funds. The biggest thing that took place was art being seen and sold/bought as an investment. The thing is that most people saw art as a way to make money which wasn't going to help the market long term - you see the repercussions now to a certain extent. Some artists got too lazy or greedy and markets got inflated. I mean now with the kind of economic situation we see ourselves in emerging markets do feel the pinch. There are some institutions, artists and individuals who didnt take that route. Its good to know there are good people without selfish interests and those are the ones who will survive in the long run. And you work with them and personally I think it is my responsibility to be a part of sustaining and encouraging quality art to be produced and presented to the rest of the world to whatever extent I can. I mean I obviously am attached to the idea of doing something for art from my country. And doing so by saying - Hey Its not a "niche" market. Its just contemporary art from another country thats not america or europe but just as relevant and important to the larger art community.

The mass perception in India is to associate doing well at auctions to being a great artist. Thats because thats what is fed to them by the media and no one seems to do much about it. I dont want to be the one who had an opportunity to do something but didnt. So atleast to whatever extent I can grow as a writer and curator through my experiences I will do it. I know its not easy because its not all black and white you know. Most importantly if Im being given a platform to curate, write then I will work hard on it. I think all that easy quick money made people lazy. You cant do that. Again its not as if there is no quality work or good artists from India. There are some but you cant get into art because you want to make millions or break record prices.

Don Porcella: Who collects artists from India?

Meenakshi Thirukode: There are some Indian collectors who have been collecting for a very long time. Before the mad frenzy that started from 2001 to a few months ago. Some Western Collectors too. European collectors seem pretty interested in Indian art too - and not just the big names.

Don Porcella: Please share your thoughts on the global art market and how the global recession will enrich the market? I am interested in your thoughts about Asia too. I know US art collectors who are buying Chinese, Japanese, Korean Indian and Middle Eastern Art. I am interested in your views on why this is happening and will it last?

Meenakshi Thirukode: Its interesting that you already state that the global recession will enrich the art world! I think some people still want to continue to manipulate the market but its really not going to work. More importantly, there are opportunities for doing well curated shows and for artists to concentrate on their art. The speculators arent going to do much in a market like this. So those who have been collecting with a passion and eye for good quality art will still buy. I mean its not like they need to buy the most expensive piece out there. True collectors buy art because they are drawn to the work and will put in their money if they love something. That doesn't change and yes it is a buyers market these days so they could get good deals but their intentions are true if you know what I mean. Its not to create inflated markets. I know young artists who are selling their work to some interesting collectors, I know a collector or two who tell me about wonderful pieces they just bought! so you know the buying is not going to just stop. hopefully its going to be a healthy thing for the Art world and for markets like India.

Armory Week 2009: Photos from Volta VIP Party

2009-03-14T01:28:00.003-04:00

Images and Pictures from Volta New York Party at Tribeca Grand Hotel 2009

Armory Week 2009: Photos from Volta

2009-03-08T17:31:00.002-04:00

Images and Pictures from Volta New York 2009

Armory Week 2009: Volta Art Fair

2009-03-07T15:39:00.002-05:00

Volta NY Art Fair Review

written by Nikki Schiro in New York

At a panel discussion titled International Art fairs (moderated by Art Comments last year at the School of Visual Arts in NY), AC's favorite art critic from WSJ, Portfolio Magazine, and Newyorker.com, Alexandra Peers recommended at the end of her lecture that, unless you are a collector or it is your job, you should limit yourself to a few fairs instead of trying to see them all. I urge everyone to add Volta to their bi-annual "must see" selection of art fairs.

Volta was originally founded in the year 2005 in Basel, Switzerland, and coincides annually in June with the behemoth of all contemporary art fairs, ART BASEL. Volta also created a unique type of fair to coincide with the Armory Show here in New York, it premiered here last year with much critical acclaim and positive press from pundits and press alike. The Volta mandate is “to create a tightly-focused, curated event that is a place for discovery and a showcase for current art production.” Their concept of curating and exhibiting exclusive solo projects makes the fair seem more like boutique exhibitions as opposed to traditional trade show booths, which, of course, is the intention.

There is really so much good stuff here, but I am only going to highlight a few. I implore you to go and have a look for yourself before it ends. Here's my personal observations.

Erica Eyres, Rokeby, UK, exhibited pencil drawings and a video piece. Her figures have distorted structural form but entail just enough realism to make them creepy and effective, not to mention they have a sense of humor. The video piece shared similar characteristics. The work drew me in, and I think, was well done.

Troels Carlsen’s Age of Anxiety presentation at V1 gallery, Copenhagen, was a space covered with 2d and 3d fragments of what appeared to be an anthropological lucid dreamland. Evolution, anatomy, and history merge here, in different quirky and seemingly symbolic combinations, often implying fragments of history or a narrative. The colors, surfaces, and loaded/associative imagery lend an old artifact quality to the art works, which seem to be about investigation and discovery. As an engaged viewer in that booth, packed with countless pieces, I was all about discovering each piece, with great delight.

Margarita Cabrera, born in Mexico and moved to the US as a child, creates work that explores identity issues of being Mexican in America. Here, filling Walter Maciel’s space, were clay sculptures of traditional tools of the land from northern Mexico, where her grandfather lives. The monochromatic earth-colored tools were then covered with small clay flowers, butterflies, birds and other symbols from Mexican folk art. The pieces are then glazed with Mexican doll face. There was also a life size tractor that went with this series, but apparently was too large for the space. Previously, Cabrera was working with vinyl and soft materials, in one exhibition she had created a desert plant out of patrol uniforms, using patches as flowers (really amazingly done) and re-created a life sized Hummer which is often used for border patrol, to scout the deserts for people crossing, and ironically, it’s parts are made in Mexico.

Another one of my favorite booths by the Israeli artist Zvika Kantor, curated by Dagmar De Pooter, Belgium. The bottom of a giant plunger extruded from the wall, encases a still life of glossy shrimp and cheese; animated found-object constructions stagger about the space, referencing figurative forms with their names, disposition, and some, personified by their verticality. Strange juxtapositions really beg the viewer to bring his or her own meaning to them. Personally, I realized them as fantastical creatures that at any moment could come to life like a character from the Never Ending Story. I appreciated the details, and that there are hidden treasures to be found if you give one enough time. One such instance Pelican, where the pelican’s made out of pieces of cardboard from pizza/pie containers, it doubles as a human skull from behind. The pieces were larger than life, but, in comparison to other work by Kantor, which is usually gigantic, this work is, relatively, small.

Gordon Cheung’s paintings, over at Adler Gallery, seduced me in for a closer look, with their strange materiality and qualities. Varying transparent layers exposed stock quotes and other elements from the Financial Times, used to create both negative and positive space and form in the paintings. The paintings, of sublime landscapes and severe animal heads, warrant fear and anxiety; an experiential relationship to the instability of the market and what those quotes represent. My first question, in regard to the current financial state and everyone’s hyper-awareness of it: when did he start doing this? Apparently, Mr. Cheung’s been doing this since about 2000. Nonetheless, with the financial crisis on all of our minds, this work couldn’t have seemed more relevant, consequentially, to the times.

At Riccardo Crespi, Milan, the entire booth was utilized to support the complexity and integrity of Lisi Raskin’s work. Raskin’s work often plays with this fear and awe generated from the good, bad and ugly possibilities and actualities of scientific development and technological advancement. Her work, a kin to another trend I’ve been noticing, both lures and insists you come in for a closer look, appearing harmless and fun if only for a moment before the potential of these little sculptures to become animated and destructive freak you out. Here at Volta, she exhibited a selection of constructed sculptures that’s shape and materials associate them to rockets and or explosives. She also showed some drawings that look like scientific/topographical mapping.

I have been seeing a lot of attempts to bring together figurative (realism) and non-representational methods, a trend throughout the fairs and some recent shows. Of most of what I seen, many are just that, attempts, while others manage to find, within their own language, a means to successfully accomplish this. Here at Volta, there are examples of the latter. I thought Patrick Cierpka, at Jarmuschek+Partner, Germany, was successful at doing this. The figurative parts are well integrated into a space created by the non-representational shapes and colors. The paintings were fluid, and the figures, though painted well and distinct, became forms symbolic of people, devoid of any real character, abstract, if you will. Ian Davis’ paintings, at Leslie Tonkonow, were macro views of ordered, tiny figures, sometimes hundreds of them, acting in an environment. From a distance, the paintings become quite abstract, and I thought it was an interesting and fresh way to deal with the figure in painting.

Pesce Khete at The Flat--Massimo Carasi has figured out, I believe, how to create his own voice with an abstract-expressionistic way of working, which is not easy to do these days. His booth also included a hanging pine tree that seemed to be shedding leaves onto a pillow on the floor, creating an obstacle in the space that sort of interacted with an obstructive curtain affront a drawing on the wall. His fleshy figures and interactive plant life seemed visually bound into forms by their marks and color. The figures in space are dynamic and fluid throughout multiple sheets of paper that are jointed together by tape, a significant part of his process. The background, or negative space, is the paper. Expressionism done well looks easy and satisfying to do, and often inspires people to want to pick up a brush and let go, myself included. What Mr. Khete is doing, I think, is not so easy, and I commend him.

Another figurative painter that used paint well, and sometimes abstractly was Christian Curiel from Galerie Baumet Sultana, Paris. His colors were bright, fresh and unusually put together. You seem to think you know what you are looking at when you first approach it as a representational composition, but the colors, paint and form begin to work on you abstractly, and you are sucked in to new discoveries. He has also successfully, in my opinion, merged words into the visual language of his large works on paper.

Nearby at Nicholas Robinson Gallery you’ll find Machiko Edmondson’s paintings, which you must see live to a) appreciate, in full, the experiential quality of her work, and b) to marvel, up close, at the quality of Edmondson’s painting. The photo realistic close up of faces are incredibly mesmerizing, and while, again, you think you know what you are looking at, troublesome uncertainty brews within you. By then it’s too late, you are sucked into Edmondson’s world of desire and obsession. I interviewed Edmondson on Art Comments this week; check it out for some more info on the artist.

Regina Jose Galindo seemed to be investigating torture, by inflicting it upon herself. She documents her tests and the Prometo Gallery, Milan, is exhibiting relics from these projects, as well as stills and a video piece.

Making really small work to bring in the viewer close, I find, in most cases, seems to serve a gimmick more than serve the work itself. An exception to this are the super small, profound, meticulous and nostalgic paintings of Mike Bayne, which brought me in real close and held me there for real long. I wanted one of his houses so bad…I thought about putting it in my pocket and running (they are that small)!

Kaoru Katayama’s video pieces, at T-20 Murcia, Spain, were great; my favorite of the three was Hard Labor. Sterling Allen’s collective installation of colorful constructed creatures, reconditioned out of everything from buttons to wigs and stuffed animals, were awesome (Art Palace). And, in the same kind of creative, constructive light, were the puppets by Heather & Ivan Morison at Danielle Arnaud Contemporary Art, where I got to witness a performance piece/puppet show at 7pm. Charlie White’s captivating photos, prints and video piece, brought together by bubble gum pink wall were also enjoyable.

Rina Castelnuovo’s juxtaposition of war and life is impactful, at Arohea Meislin Gallery. Two of my favorites from the Israeli artist were Kibbutz Nahal Oz, Israel, detailing a bride, in a pristine white wedding dress, colorful bouquet, setting sun, in front of a tank in what looks like a war zone; the other, two boys, maybe Palestinian, running and playing like kids do, in a what looks like a war stripped landscape, one boy with butterfly wings on his back. Miguel Angel Madrigal’s sculptural installations at galleria Enrique Guerrero; Jason Lazarus’ photograph, Looking at the Back of an Ad Reinhardt; Alejandro Diaz’s shrewd humor was much appreciated at The Happy Lion; Paul Hammer’s autobiographical body-psyche paintings at Sammlung Philara, Vicky Wright at Josh Lilley….I feel a little bit like it’s the end of the speech at the academy awards, and the music is playing, but I want to keep going, mentioning more people….

ok, one more…Volta’s special project, [Im]Perfect Articles, Noah Singer and Mike Andrews, has supported the emerging artists they adore by exposing original art work on limited edition T-shirts (editions of 20-50). They are affordable, they support living artists, and they look great! Both Pesce Khete and Troels Carlsen, mentioned above, are exhibiting T-Shirts here, along with many other artists.

For those pieces I have mentioned, along with others I thought were great but didn't get to mention, I have included reference photos in the AC Photo Album for Volta: Pictures of Volta Link.

Go see Volta! It’s worth your time.

Armory Week 2009: Fountain

2009-03-07T12:34:00.002-05:00

Fountain Art Fair 2009

Interview with Founder: John Leo of Leo Kesting Gallery

written by Nikki Schiro in New York

NS: Whose idea was it anyway? Tell us a little bit about how Fountain came to be.
JL: In 2005 David Kesting, Lincoln Capla and I went to Miami to check out Art Basel. While there we explored all of the exhibitions and found that there was something lacking. There was no presence of smaller independent galleries. When we returned to New York we immediately started working on a project for the upcoming Armory Show. We found a space and collaborated with McCaig Welles gallery and Front Room for the first Fountain exhibition in 2006.

NS: Why you believe it’s getting so much attention?
JL: Fountain separates itself in that it is more of a collaborative effort than the traditional art fairs. When you visit, the entire exhibition feeld like one big installation. There are only slight separations between the galleries and the spaces are much larger than booth style fairs. Also, fountain stands out as a supporter of young independent galleries.

NS: How do you suspect the New York Fountain will differ from its Miami counterpart this year?
JL: Bigger Faster Stronger. In the last 10 years, over 158 International Art Fairs emerged. Currently, faced witha financial crisis that extends beyond us into global territory, we also find that with reallocation of wealth, art has taken a public hit (hard hit).

NS: What do you speculate will change, regarding International Art Fairs, over the next 10 years to come?
JL: I think that there will be fewer fairs and the large ones like Armory and Art Basel will keep going strong, but there needs to be a return to the gallery. Small galleries are closing every day forced into closure by the fairs. Galleries cannot maintain overhead on their spaces and cannot afford not to do art fairs and miss opportunities to expose their artists to a larger audience. Here in lies the dilemma.

Website: Fountain Art Fair

Armory Week 2009: Photos From Fountain

2009-03-06T22:27:00.003-05:00

Photo Gallery: Fountain Art Fair Pictures

Armory Week 2009: Photos from Scope

2009-03-06T14:11:00.004-05:00

Photo Gallery: Scope Art Fair Pictures

Armory Week 2009: Fountain Art Fair Review

2009-03-06T13:37:00.001-05:00

Fountain Art Fair 2009
Art Fair review

written by Nikki Schiro in New York

So, when I was waiting for the never-ending light to cross the west side highway, I took a gander west, and in the distance my destination revealed itself, a bright yellow circus-like tent waving softly in the wind, on it read Fountain. Let me begin with an "I 'heart' fountain". Fountain is a fair that is pro-artists. Perhaps there in lies my bias. Literally built from wall to wall by John Leo and David Kesting of Leo Kesting Gallery, with the help of a few artist friends, this fair is quite unlike any of the others, just from the start. Each of those artists that gave a hand were given access to the downstairs area of the boat/barge, a very charming space, one of them referred to it as the lounge, where they exhibited some of their own work independently (cool!).

What's more, Glow Lab Gallery donated half of their space to the Swoon Boat project fundraising team, who were there today finishing up installing prints and artwork donated to help raise money for their new project, Miss Europe Armada (www.swimmingcities.org, also see www.missrockaway.org)There were nine galleries there, or so. I recommend checking this fair out, just for the freshness of it, the antithesis in some ways of the "art fair" as you know it.

Glow Lab's Beka Goedde had a few works up, layered upon layer of materials that spawned really interesting paintings. She's also got a solo-show opening up at the gallery this weekend. Glow Lab had two walls of works on paper that I enjoyed to looking at, and affordable (a lot of the labels in fountain, I noticed, had prices on them).

One thing that stands out in my mind was 2 little drawings on postcards from the should-have-been-land marked meat packing district staple Florent, a restaurant that closed this year. There were more interesting drawings, but I liked the idea of that postcard acting as a piece of history, with the sketch, a moment, a memory, preserved "just so", in that little frame.

Definition Gallery, from Baltimore, with a great selection of affordable work, was also selling very affordable limited-edition prints of paintings ($75-$100). My favorites from this gallery were the creative, colorful paintings of Chris Ryniak and Dan May. Outstanding.

McCaig Welles's gave their space over to Greg Haberny who transformed it into another world with his very ambitious installation, "The Donkey Party Game". There was so much to look at in there, there was no way I could take it all in and not miss anything…not even if I stayed there for hours. Adding to it, nearing the back end of the barge, was motion from the waves beneath, creating a drunken off-balanced feeling. I recognized Mr. Haberny, after seeing a little clip of him on NY1 repeatedly during the day. We spoke briefly about the boat moving. He chuckled, recalling the installation process on an 8 foot ladder with the boat rocking beneath him (yikes!) Well, it was worth it, Haberny.

At the back end of the boat was Stuart Shepherd Gallery, from New Zealand. Here I had the pleasure of having a really lovely conversation with Mr. Shepherd. Mr. Shepherd's gallery primarily features self-taught artists, but his goal has been to integrate both trained and untrained artists. He is soon to curate a show in Paris doing just that. Mr. Shepherd's compassion for these artists just blew me away. He himself makes an effort to get these self-taught artists recognized by the government so they can be funded, as they have trouble proving they are artists because they lack the kind of track record that comes with school, etc. (Wait, let's pause here for a moment…can you imagine New Zealand! Supporting their artists! Can we get some of that inspiration up in the US? I "heart" New Zealand, baby!) James Robinson, the only trained artist in Stuart Shepherd's lot, exhibited obsessive, diarist collages that I thought were truly terrific.

With a background in social work, Mr. Shepherd discovered Martin Thompson in devastating conditions, privately and obsessively making mind-blowing, intricate drawings and cut outs on graph paper. You wouldn't believe this artist hadn't studied modernism, or was untrained. I believe the Folk Art Museum acquired Mr. Thompson's work, and being the only artist from New Zealand in their collection, New Zealand has come to recognize him as an artist, no doubt. After finding Martin Thompson in the conditions he was in, Mr. Shepherd thought about how many other artists were out there in similar situations, so he began and executed a tremendous project in an effort to find them. Mr. Stuart Shepherd may soon release a book about the artists he found in this project, "Self-Taught and Visionary Art in New Zealand."

At Leo Kesting, I saw lots of cool stuff. My favorites were by artist Jason Douglas Griffin, the bright colorful wall of paintings by artist Brian Leo (also having a solo-show, opening this weekend), one of Ray Sell's pieces with the playboy bunny girls imposed on a group of men, who by association became "playboys." Donna Cleary's black and white figures were gorgeous, touching, and Johnny Fenix's work was quirky and colorful.

At Vagabond Schmarotzer Gallery, I liked one piece by Hiroyuki Nakamura, where the figure had his balls plopped on the table. Nakamura started painting in 2004, I looking forward to seeing his work in 5 more years, if looks this good already! Also, I liked some of the paintings by Andrew Hezuinsy; goppy oil paint abstracted figures set against textiles that he's collected from around the world. These fabrics run off the canvas in an interesting way.

Ad Hoc Art, from Bushwick, hosted a gigantic installation by Peripheral Media Projects. I saw them there today installing, it looked pretty close to completion, and pretty cool.

Downstairs, in the independent artist lounge, I really liked "Steak Knives", a funny figurative painting by Joe Heaps Nelson, and some of the work by Dave Tree and Sergio Coyote.

Next door, on the Boat, Sound Walk premiered Kill The Ego, New York Recordings 1998-2008, a motion painting film by Rostarr, directed by Jim Helton and Ron Patane. The piece was great, loved the whole experience of walking in that boat, discovering the film downstairs, having a seat and watching it in that ambiance. After I watched the film, which, did I mention already (?), was great, I walked up a staircase I hadn't come down, to discover paintings around the boat. There were some lovely little abstract paintings I really, really liked. I also noticed more work by artist Dave Tree that I had seen before, but this environment had given it a new context, and it was exciting to see there. What a spectacular space.

These dealers built the venue with their own hands, donated space to help fund artist's projects, had gone to great lengths to support their artist… Stupendous! I love it! The works here were definitely on the smaller side, more affordable, overall, and the fair itself was defiantly edgier and so very much fun to visit.

Armory Week 2009 Review: Scope Art Fair

2009-03-05T17:04:00.001-05:00

Scope Art Fair 2009
Art Fair review

written by Nikki Schiro in New York

There is a bit of pleasure aroused when the little nerd-girl inside is approached by a mean-girl who is suddenly in desperate need for a friend… the same mean-girl that last year had overlooked or shunned me because she'd asserted I wasn't worth her time. That pleasure lasts about a split second before a wave of distressing confusion washes over me, and then a sad moment of realization. Friendly dealers were not the only unsettling indicator that things have changed. I actually saw red dot "sold" stickers (when was the last time I saw those?). There was a noticeable abundance of sexually orientated work, mostly photography and some painting, that wasn't critical enough to warrant being glorified as contemporary art; clearly there for a sale. The work in general was less edgey, smaller, and relatively more affordable than before. Some gallerists overemphasized, in their pitch, that an artist "is selling", while others asked me point blank off the record "how is the fair? Are people selling?" There was a whole lot of bluffing and buffing going on, a lot of effort to create a sense that the art market is prevailing. Oh, how I wish that were true in a terrible way—and I don't blame them for trying, for what is the alternative?
Overall, however, the fair hadn't changed as drastically as I'd imagined it could. I will say, overall, the art itself was stronger last year.
Trends from Fair
Some trends were 3d paintings, figurative-abstraction, and sex.
Of the sexy art, some was interesting, fun and or clever, as opposed to its soft porn counterparts. I liked Chinese artist Liu Yan, at Eli Klein's Booth. Two large works on Xuan and old Chinese book paper, one of which titled The Man World, were interesting to me. Immediately I thought about an artist I went to school with, Tom Sanford, who kind of did something similar, implanting pop culture icons into medieval type compositions. I wondered if Yan's work seemed fresh merely because I am a westerner and less familiar with the formal aspects of older Chinese art. Urban Grünfelder's sculptures and paintings were fun, and some of the art at Jonathan Shorr Gallery was entertaining. Three little paintings detailing a woman being aggressed by men could seem offensive, but to me, I thought they were powerful, sexy, in fact.
I saw a lot of figurative-abstraction attempts. Sculptural images obstructed dog-like animals, popped up in more than one place.
There were also lots of paintings that attempted to do this. Among the most successful, I found the portraits of Karim Hamid, at dFaulken gallery, to be great. He creates an interesting space in his paintings, and his mixing of abstraction with just enough representation generates specific portraits of themes and individuals, such as what seemed to be a "girls one wild" series and, a painting of Chuck Close, which I liked very much.
An artist called Evol, at Wilde Gallery, made outstanding paintings of buildings using a realistic painting technique on cardboard or tile/architectural piece. These pieces were terrific. The material that he had painted on, combined with the illusionism, really gave the effect of a building surface.
Jang Seunghyo, at Gallery Sun Contemporary had these wild, 3d photo compilations, he uses thousands of his own photos to create them. I have a photo of the figurative piece, but the more abstract work is even stronger. I am excited to see where his work will go.
David B Smith Gallery featured artist Gregory Euclide, whose multi media plexi pieces were truly one of the most unique things I saw there.
I mentioned earlier that prices seemed to be relatively more affordable. One gallery had actually posted a sign (photo in download box), detailing the deflation of Chinese art and this "unique, rare buying opportunity" in large red letters, addressed to collectors. Over at The Shooting Gallery, however, there was a piece by Erik Foss, cardboard and condom compilation of the American flag. The cardboard was an amalgam of homeless beggar signs, the condoms made the stars (photos on the right, in the" downloads" box). I thought the piece was interesting, but almost fell over when I saw it was priced at $20,000.
Worth checking out:
Ryan Wolfe's Branching Systems; Juan Francisco Casas's beautifully rendered pen drawings at Galeria Fernando Pradilla; Yuliya Lamina, at Dam, Stuhltrager & Frants Gallery; The Creative Thrift Shop, Brooklyn, had a fun spoof on American Apparel ads, Carolyn Salas and Adam Parker Smith's collaborative piece at the entry of Lila Freedland booth. Freedland's booth was a great element to the fair; there was a funhouse quality to the whole thing. In the main room, there was a projected light/image performance piece that seemed to be conducting a group of live musicians stationed below it, as if in a pit. In that room were walls full of prints and small works, featuring two from artist Emily Noelle Lambert. The room was very crowded and dim. I'd like to go back and have a second look at the wall work.
One would think such deteriorating economic conditions would have had more of a profound effect on the fairs. To an unsuspecting eye, one might think things aren't nearly as bad as statistics say. Perhaps this is the best sales strategy.

Armory Week 2009: Artist Interview

2009-03-03T23:19:00.008-05:00

Volta Art Fair 2009
Interview with Featured Artist: Machiko Edmondson

Nikki Schiro interviews Machiko Edmondson in New York

NS: In one of my all time favorite movies, The Silence of the Lambs, Thomas Harris’ Jame Gumb/Buffalo Bill’s ruthless desire to be a woman has him killing obese women and using their skin to make a woman-suite to wear. The character refers to the victims as “things”, completely devoid of emotion, and becomes obsessed with the idea of metamorphism. In a less criminal way, isn’t there something undoubtedly sociopathic or at least maddening about obsessive desire? How does this relate to your work and or process?
EM: Obsession is never sane, right??? Hahaha. But, being an obsessive person, I'm fascinated with other people and society's obsessions in various forms. I guess there are 2 'strains' of obsessive-ness I bring into my paintings: Obsessive process of hunting for the 'right' image which signifies the 'unattainable desire'. Obsessive process of painting itself to achieve that unattainable 'perfection'.

NS: How separate are you from your art?
EM: Do I not think about 'Art' and 'Art as what I do' every minute of my waking life? Well, almost....

NS: What is your ultimate aspiration as a painter?
EM: Ummmm. Still working that out....

NS: How are you trying to affect people and contemporary discourse with your art?
EM: To question the notion of desire and desirability. And to give them a bit of jitters. ;-) My paintings are a bit like 'decoys' really. Having 'lure' them with iconic yet somewhat cliched images of 'desire'(fashion/music) industry, the viewers may be quite at ease with thinking that they know what they are looking at... But really, this aspirational perfection will soon evaporate giving way to anxiety and obsession that assert these paintings as paintings.

NS: Do you believe art must have a relationship to the rest of the world?
EM: Yes. I don't see how else you can make art... At lease for me, that is.

NS: Where do you locate yourself in the contemporary art world, in an art historical sense?
EM: I appropriate, signify and allude... Also, I'm very much concerned about the semantic spatiality where my work might occupy... So where would that be? I guess I just see myself being in this all embracing /emgulpingsoup of Postmodernism.
NS: Can you tell us a little bit about the work you will be exhibiting at Volta.
EM: At this point, I'm not sure which ones are to be displayed... But they are all works made in the last year ( or 2...) which were made in London studio before my 'big-finally-taken-the-plunge' relocation to NY!

AC: John Baldassari once said that painting was dead. But thankfully, your work lives provocatively outside the realm of death, lurking in a space situated past a post hyper-real. How has that iconic statement by JB informed or opposed your work?
EM: Oh gosh! Our generation of painting students ( (late 80-mid 90') suffered so so much from this 'Painting is dead' statement. You won't believe it now! We all had huge hang-ups! So much so that it was so much harder to be a painter (particularly at places like Goldsmiths MA) and we always felt that we had to justify and legitimize the fact we are using such an antiquated and moribund medium.

For more information regarding the art fair Volta, please visit: http://ny.voltashow.com/.

AC Shortlist: February Exhibitions

2009-02-24T21:29:00.002-05:00

GALLERY RECOMMENDATIONS

written by Nikki Schiro in New York

Katerina Lanfranco investigates the conceptual space where the unknowns of deep sea and outer-space meet. She offers us a tangible, ordered glimpse into that space/her world, using Larger-than-life paper cutouts, three dimensional sculptures of glass and fabric, as well as oil painting "vignettes." Katerina Lanfranco website.
Jan Frank appropriates and incessantly utilizes Phillip Guston's portrayal of Richard Nixon, a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, for the bulk of the work in this exhibition. The large paintings each render their own spiritual harmony and order while maintaining a quirky edge--perhaps generated from Frank's own relationship with "Nixon." The wall of the smaller works is one of my favorites. It includes Frank's "nudes" and as well as a selection of smaller "Kissinger" works painted, often, with brilliant, saturated color on top of "body work" ad spreads from the Village Voice. Reference website.

Exhibition Preview: REGIFT

2009-02-17T23:44:00.001-05:00

written by james stevens in new york

Tomorrow night at the Swiss Institute, an opening reception of a group show curated by John Miller that will examine the nexus among autonomous art and gift exchange. The object for the subject from a subject, an exchange which often denotes altruistic intentions and maintains precious familial boundaries but invariably a social function that is inherently problematic with various subversive elements stemming from the self, the Other, or commercial forces.

A few of the artists contributing work for the show are: BARBARA BLOOM, SOPHIE CALLE, TRISHA DONNELLY, SAM DURANT, MARIA EICHHORN, SYLVIE FLEURY, FELIX GONZALEZ-TORRES, DAN GRAHAM, RENÉE GREEN, MIKE KELLEY

Opening Reception: Tuesday, Feb 17 2009, 6–8 PM

SWISS INSTITUTE / CONTEMPORARY ART

495 BROADWAY / 3RD FLOOR

NEW YORK / NY 10012

TEL (212) 925-2035

WWW.SWISSINSTITUTE.NET

Sam Gibbons at Claire Oliver Gallery New York

2009-02-13T11:54:00.006-05:00

Sam Gibbons at Claire Oliver Gallery New York
513 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10001 / Tel: 212.929.5949

Reviewed by Don Porcella in New York City

Totem
Acrylic on Carved Wood Panel
35 x 35 x 2 inches

I went to the opening of Sam Gibbons at Claire Oliver Gallery in New York last night. The paintings are rich in color and expertly painted. They are loose and tight all at once and they show wonderful creativity and passion for this particular style of painting. I have seen Sam since he started this way of painting and I am really impressed with this show.

Sam Gibbons creativity with the image is the aspect of these paintings that impressed me the most. I love the way the shapes represent and make abstract so that the final image is very complicated and intriguing.

http://www.claireoliver.com/current.html

Strung up on Dead Tree
Acrylic on Carved Wood Panel
60 x 48 x 2 inches

These paintings are masterpieces because of the depth, painting ability, creativity and color they possess. Chaos and Order are battling each other in these paintings and it is the viewer who deciphers the winner in each. All these paintings are winners and I also love the monochromatic paintings and the silver reflecting paint - both nice surprises. Go see this show, it is worth your time.

XL (detail)
Acrylic on Carved Wood Panel
62 x 48 x 2 inches

Sam Gibbons at Claire Oliver Gallery New York
513 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10001 / Tel: 212.929.5949

AC Shortlist: Exhibitions

2009-01-14T05:20:00.002-05:00

Gallery Recommendations

Eating at the Elbows, Our Teeth Will be More Quiet, Jonathan Hartshorn at Galerie Bertrand @ Gruner. New York based artist infamously known for his participation in a recent show inside of MoMA's 5th floor bathroom, is presenting work that explores the existential spatiality situated between the there, then, now, how and where. Delightful. More Info: www.bertrand-gruner.com. Geneva, Switzerland, January 15th - February 14th, 2009.
OUTLINE, curated by Christopher Smith at Serrano Contemporary. An exhibition of drawings which will appeal to those with a tactile yearning for visceral stimulus from the technical flair of emerging artists. Info: Serrano Contemporary. New York, NY, USA, January 15th - February 14th, 2009.
New Paintings by Peter Doig at Gavin Brown Enterprise. Peter Doig's first solo exhibition of new paintings in almost 10 years. More info: Gavin Brown Enterprise. New York, NY, USA January 15th - February 21st, 2009.

KITTY, Andres Laracuente, Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, and John Patrick Walsh 3 at Jane Kim/Thrust Projects. A collaboration of sculpture, photography, and works on paper by interdisciplinary artists who explore the notion of the art object as explicitly dynamic through witnessed practice. More info: www.thrustprojects.com. New York, NY, USA January 16th - February 22nd, 2009.

Online and Offline: Juried Competition

2009-01-12T09:26:00.001-05:00

The online contemporary art website myartspace.com recently launched a juried competition with jurors from the Tate Modern (Vanessa DesClaux), The Hayward Gallery (Tom Morton), and the Barbican Gallery (Francesco Manacorda). The top 3 winners will have their work represented this summer at the Scream Gallery, the week of June 22.

The online social networking space for contemporary art has heated up recently with various new entrants such as artlog.com, saatchi-gallery.co.uk, to name a few, but a clear leader amongst the pool of art websites has yet to emerge as a relevant online destination with features distinctly better than their competitors.

AC Shortlist: Exhibitions

2009-01-08T18:25:00.001-05:00

Recommendations in Chelsea:

Nancy Spero at Galerie Lelong, Un Coup de Dent, New York, NY, Jan - Feb 21, 2009
Janet Biggs at Claire Oliver, Vanishing Point, New York, NY, Jan 8 - Feb 7, 2009
Araki at Anton Kern Gallery, 1960s Photographs, New York, NY, Jan 8 - Feb 7, 2009

Walk Throughs by Siegel, Kessler, Davis, Butler O'Neil, Ammirati and Pissaro - Hunter MFA Thesis Exhibition

2009-01-07T11:24:00.004-05:00

Hunter College Art History professors Katy Siegel and Joachim Pissaro will each moderate gallery walk-throughs of the Hunter College Fall MFA Thesis Exhibition. Each walk-through will discuss work in the thesis show and will be followed by a small reception.

January 10th, 3pm:
Prof. Katy Siegel (artforum contributor), artist Jon Kessler, Ben Davis (Artnet)

January 17th, 3pm:
Prof. Joachim Pissaro (curator), Lauren Butler-O'neil (Artforum.com) , critic Domenick Ammirati

Hunter College Fall MFA Thesis Exhibition
Times Square Gallery
450 41st St. (Between 9th and 10th Ave.)
December 17, 2008 - January 17, 2009
www.huntermfathesis.org (see a preview of the artists in the thesis show)

Guggenheim Museum: 24 hour Wheel

2009-01-06T12:37:00.001-05:00

24 Hour Lecture Series

written by James Stevens in New York

Starting tonight at 6pm and concluding tomorrow at 6pm, the Guggenheim museum will present a 24-hour cocktail of interviews, lectures, panel discussions and performances. Here's the link to their website for more information: 24hr Lecture Series.

Participants will include:

"Vito Acconci, David Albert, Julieta Aranda, Kevin Birth, Katherine Brinson, Angela Bulloch, Simon Critchley, Drew Daniel, Verne Dawson, Lisa Dennison, Luke DuBois, Li Edelkoort, Eiko and Koma, Makram El-Kadi, Michael Evans, Douglas Futuyma, Liam Gillick, Andrew Ginzel and Kristin Jones, David Grubb, Amy Herzog, Paul Horwich, Tehching Hsieh, Helen Hsu, Florian Idenburg, Chrissie Iles, Marc Kushner with Matthias Hollwich, Sanford Kwinter, Thomas Leeser, Joseph LeSauter, Nate Lowman, Ronald Mallet, Patrick McCarthy, Richard McGuire, Don Melnick, Shamim Momin, Alexandra Munroe, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Philippe Parreno, Nicholas Rennie, Matthew Ritchie, Danny Rubin, Saskia Sassen, Ted Sider, Slowfood USA, Agathe Snow, Nancy Spector, David van der Leer, Marianne Weems, Lawrence Weiner, Robert Weston (with Paul Stephens), Lebbeus Woods, Nate Wooley, and Joan Young."

Covent Garden Review: 2008

2009-01-05T07:59:00.001-05:00

Sam Taylor-Woods, Sigh
written by Ashley Eldridge-Ford in London

To what extent Sam Taylor-Woods photographic series, Ghosts, inspired by Emilly Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights, is based upon the turbulent love stories in said novel that are representative of her own marriage's dissipation remains to be seen. The ground-floor show in Covent Garden contained photographs by renown photographer and video artist taken on the Yorkshire moors. The photographic scenes are meant to be expressive of the novel's brutal take on the themes of desire, thwarted love and suffering. These are chilly, wintry landscapes reminiscent of Dutch 17th century landscape painting - the tilt of long grasses and leafless trees bowing to a strong incessant winds; the silvery gold shimmer of sunshine breaking through the moody clouds to caress the grasses and unmoving cold stone. This reference to the work of the Old Masters is not unusual for her (A Little Death, 2002; Still Life, 2001). Minus two or so, these photographs contain nothing that professes to be anything more than hastily taken snapshots that are chosen for their superiority over the remaining shots. This is not what makes a trip to the gallery worthwhile.

What does justify a visit to Covent Garden however is downstairs. Here, Taylor-Wood presents Sigh, a large-scale multi-screen video installation made in collaboration with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The musicians and the singular composer are divided by the function of their instruments - strings, wind, percussion - per screen. Flautists prepare their instruments for play at the indication of the conductor, and they come in on cue - heads beating time - lips pursed, cheeks controlling the expulsion of air, brows furrowed, intense concentration on their faces. Violinists' arms hold steady their violins and move their bows rhythmically across the strings, their feet tapping time. Drums are beaten. Trumpets blown. But - and here is the beauty of the piece - there are no instruments in this orchestra. The musical score was commissioned from composer Anne Dudley and it soars and moves sweetly from one screen to the next - from one ensemble of musicians to the next. The setting is an empty run-down studio and the musicians are dressed in casual attire. The composer, at the front of the room, solitary, controls the musicians performing a private tai-chi-esque sequence of movements. The power of the piece is not only in the music but also in the performance of the musicians who have been stripped of definition without their instruments. Their concentration and intensity in creating this performance - of perfomance itself as art - is stirring.

Until Wednesday 5 November, two more bodies of Taylor-Wood's new work can be seen at No. 1 The Piazza in Covent Garden.

Hunter Thesis Exhibition is on December 17, 2008 from 6-8 PM

2008-12-17T12:14:00.001-05:00

Hunter Thesis Exhibition is on December 17, 2008 from 6-8 PM in New York City

Location: 450 West 41st Street , between 9th and 10th avenues in Manhattan

Fountain Art Fair - Miami Art Basel 2008

2008-12-09T16:42:00.011-05:00

Fountain Art Fair
by Don Porcella

Fountain Art Fair revealed a gritty, exciting side of the art world that is young, emerging and innovative. It was a very lively fair with artists talking to all sorts of people from buyers to galleries. Largely consisting of emerging artists, this fair included small galleries, curators and artists from New York City.

Succulent Girl Friday (double click on next image for details)

My friend, Tracey Snelling an artist from Oakland, CA (showing at Pan American in Miami) stopped by Fountain Art Fair just in time to witness and donate to a performance.
Tracey in the larger installation which included the performance above. I can't remember the name of the artist who created this installation at Fountain, but I like the ambition in this work.

I love these paintings of women beating pro wrestlers. They both empower and make ridiculous.

Brian Leo, an artist in the Fountain Art Fair originally from New Jersey blew me away!!!! I love the way that color unifies his art so that he has more variety and flexibility with what he decides to paint. What I like most about Brian's art is the creativity he shows in every piece. No two paintings are exactly alike but collectively they represent only the tip of Brian's creative genius.
I love a lot of the individual paintings and the majority of them seem to be on canvas.
He had a buzz about his installation.

The artist, Brian Leo, in front of skeletor transformer? (I think that's what he called it). He has great reasons for making each painting and each idea is creative, different and fresh.

Scope Art Fair at Miami Art Basel 2008

2008-12-09T16:08:00.009-05:00

Scope Art Fair at Miami Art Basel 2008
by Don Porcella

There is a high level of craft and craftmanship evident in the art fairs this year in Miami. Especially at Scope, where several galleries including Dorsch Gallery from Miami remarked that well crafted art was selling. This "painting" blew me away. I didn't think much of it until I left the fair and then I couldn't stop thinking about it. It is primarily made out of show laces of different colors with a faucet coming off the painting and onto the wall. Brilliant!

This artist was with ADA GALLERY at Scope New York in March. ADA Gallery is from Richmond, VA (www.adagallery.com/) and also has the best art at the SCOPE Fairs. The owner, John is an awesome gallerist who continues to build on his strong reputation at SCOPE.
ada GALLERY was the gallery that sold to Lance Armstrong.
This sculpture is made out of wood and is a tour de force of wood craftmanship. The sculpture reads like a manual on all the possible things you can make with wood. The alluvial fan-like shapes on the back of the sculpture are in some places paper thin and hard to believe it is made out of wood.

ADA Gallery from Richmond, Virginia continues to build on a strong reputation at the Scope Art Fairs.

"Friends With You", Funhouse at Scope Art Fair - Miami Art Basel 2008

2008-12-09T15:44:00.005-05:00

Funhouse at Scope Art Fair
by Don Porcella

Scope Miami allowed Friends With You to take over one whole corner of their art fair and install a wonderful, fun and interactive art installation. I think this is part of the reason Scope was such a fun and exciting art fair.

Artist, Carly Haffner, is seen inside one of the "Friends With You" modules which is very interactive and silly.

Inside this room viewers collide with the characters made out of vinyl

"Friends With You" enlisted the support of many local art students including students from New World High School in downtown, Miami. Scope apparently gave them a lot of freedom and an unlimited budget to complete the installation which is made out of vinyl and wood characters.

Who knew art could be so much fun. But is it art? Or is it just a mall inspired playland for kids? I saw plenty of older kids playing in the fun land and the context created a welcome and fun diversion whether you thought it was good art or not.

Fun in the Sun at Miami Art Basel 2008

2008-12-09T02:02:00.003-05:00

Fun in the Sun at Miami Art Basel 2008
by Don Porcella

I went to Miami and visited the 2008 Miami Art Basel Art Fairs. It was an amazing experience to be in Miami and to get a first hand account of the art market. As has already been reported, The Art World is NOT Dead, Whew!!!!! It is alive and well. And as my gallery told me, "If you make good art, people will buy it no matter what the economy is like"

The Art Market is not dead, but it has slowed down. Seeing the art market come back to earth after the last few years offers collectors and viewers an easy pace to see and buy art. I went to several fairs including Art Basel, Scope, Fountain, Gen Art and Art Miami. Each fair had its own personality and SCOPE seemed to stand out the most to me. It had the most red dots (quite a few, actually) that I saw at any art fair. It had really good interesting work by artists who are not priced out of the market.

I was really impressed with the quality of work at all the art fairs. It seemed that maybe the good pieces had not sold in this economy and were being shown at the fairs. I heard that collectors were asking for 30 - 40% discounts, but that seemed just crazy hearsay. Most galleries, I mentioned this to laughed at that big of a discount and said they wouldn't sell any art for that big a discount.

The Art Newspaper said there we certain collectors including Jean Pigozzi who seemed to be targeting certain artists and art works like the artists from Takashi Murakami's Geisei Art Fair.

All in all, if the work was exceptional and affordable it seemed to be selling. Some collectors were fulfilling their wish lists buying and being able to get what they wanted and what they were looking for specifically. This was a great time for anyone with money to pick up some great deals where cash is king. Go market, go!!!!!

New York Art Fair Review: Pinta

2008-12-01T09:12:00.002-05:00

written by Nikki Schiro in New York

Pinta is a new Latin American Art Fair, claiming to exhibit the best of Latin American Modern and Contemporary Art. A selection of galleries from the US, Latin America and Europe are chosen to exhibit "museum-quality" works. Yes Ashley, referring to your piece on "A Turn in Taste, Part I" things are, with out a doubt, defiantly shifting towards a safer sale, and "quality" work. Everything here seemed to be quite finished, polished, framed and/or object-like ready-to-sell. This kind of presentation, was reminiscent of a museum, adding to that affect was an unusual abundance of Opp-art, which I don't recall seeing recently anywhere but museums.

There was plenty of art from the 60's-80's as well as some Contemporary work. I realize this fair was created for, with a double emphasis, the sale, not for the benefit of us artist and art-loving looky-loos, however, to tell me that this is the "best" of Latin American contemporary and modern art and expect me to believe that is just offensive! It's speculated that collectors are going "safe", and safe is what this fair, overall, was.

There were some goodies, however, as in any case.

Ana de la Cueva's piece, titled Billings, was funny and interesting piece using silk embroideries on cotton undies, attached to canvas using traditional embroidery hoops. As you approach the piece, you will find tiny embroidered traces on some that depict either menstruation or discharge, along with the corresponding lunar phase for each of the 28 undies.The lunar phase is detailed in the top right corner of each pair of undies, kind of reminiscent of "days of the week" underwear for kids. This piece talks about the most natural method of birth control identified by Dr. Billings, a method that uses body temperature and the appearance of vaginal discharge to monitor a woman's fertility. The four sexy undies are to illustrate the four days a woman ovulates and gets higher libido levels. This method is strongly used by observant Catholic women. Ana's work usually has a political drive and an autobiographical undertone. This piece supposedly was inspired by the Palin nomination, and the related propaganda that surfaced in the media.

Nicola Castantino, exhibiting at Galeria Sicart, Barcelona, showed some seriously psychologically charged photographs, films and sculptural objects. The work for me married Cindy Sherman and Caravaggio and birthed something of its own, that was especially intriguing for me. Castantino photographs herself in scenarios. Her backdrops, props and vignette stages are completely seductive; lush colors, materials, fabrics, blood; dramatic lighting spills onto bodies. We could be looking at a madd-scientist's work space, something more disturbing like murder or crime scenes--but surreal, at times sociopathic. Or perhaps it's set to be in the darker side of the mind. Nicola sets herself up as the subject in the experiential narratives; embracing, duplicating, submerged; she is the dead, the grieving, the patient, the doctor, creepy and strikingly beautiful in that Caravaggio-esc way.

There was some Opp-art that was lovely to look, even ones are in actuality difficult to look at. It was fun to be lured over in an effort to decipher what was creating the effects, be it just the effects of color and line, or at times three dimensional attributes. One great piece was by Jesus Rafael Soto, a painting with three dimensional effects, pin stripes and colored squares came to life and fluttered and warped in your eyes.

Gererd Ellis at the Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery, Santo Domingo, had some beautiful mixed media works on canvas. I particularly liked Haunted Boy, where there is a composition of a boy and a fish on background meticulously mimicking the lines a notebook pad. The guts of the boy and fish emerge and retract into hauntingly painted bodies. I like the way he's handled and merged the materials and rendering.

Some humor happening at Y Gallery. Dulce Pinzon's photos of an ordinary man, doing ordinary activities, dressed in different super hero costumes were fun and lighthearted. Jorge Gonzales San Miguel's penis-head drawings were hilarious. Although there were other fallacies creeping up in other parts of the fair as literally, San Miguel stands out in that he's created a world out of them; even the animals have penis-head heads. There are men and women, bodybuilder competitions, politicians.

Hugo Lugo's imaginative pieces, at Ginocchio gallery, celebrate notebook doodles. Like Ellis's Haunted Boy, he's also painting on lines to create a notebook effect backdrop (is there a trend here?) for his characters and scenarios, on paper and canvas.

Nelson Leirner, at Porto Alegre, had a map of the world created using Minnie and Mickey Mouse heads on top of a backdrop of American flags.

It was twenty dollars for admission, which I found pricey for the size of the venue and what I got out of it. I was also disappointed because I felt there wasn't anything much particularly Latin about this exhibition, apart from the Spanish and Portuguese language in the air, and the names of the artists. maybe this is where the worlds heading, but are we already there? Is this the best of Latin American Modern and Contemporary Art? I agree with Ashley in "A Turn in Taste, Part 1" that it is exciting and inspiring to see stuff that is actually made well and can communicate on it's own, without a statement or dealer. Even if some of the stuff had less character today, I took pleasure in seeing things were crafted, less about being made by money and more made by skill/hand/technique, particularly in the contemporary art.

What I am hoping for is that the economic crisis and its effects will necessitate a cleansing of the Art World, as it did for the US government. The rise in buyers and subsequent rise in international art fairs restored power to the dealer over the last decade. Bad for Art. As things cool considerably on the buyer side, we find Pinta, an art fair designed to synchronize with Christies and Sotherbies, "riding the waves" of the auction houses hoping to make sales easier. It's smart, but telling. With Damian Hirst going straight to auction without his dealer (which happens to be one of the biggest in the art world), and Lebowitz now being exclusively represented by an auction house, I am wondering, are we witnessing a paradigm shift? Is the auction house reclaiming power from the dealer? On the surface, it seems that might be better for Art, but will it?

Hamburger Bahnhof - Richard Jackson, Deer Beer

2008-11-17T16:44:00.001-05:00

Hamburger Bahnhof - Andy Warhol, Martin Kippenberger,

2008-11-17T15:56:00.006-05:00

I went to Berlin, Germany Nov 4th through Nov 11th, 2009 to give a lecture about my art at a show of my work in Berlin. While I was there I had a chance to visit the Hamburger Bahnhof - see http://www.hamburgerbahnhof.de

After a lengthy reconstruction by architect Josef Paul Kleihues, the Hamburger Bahnhof reopened on 2 November 1996 as the "Museum für Gegenwart" (Museum for Contemporary Art).

the building is rendered even more striking by an ingenious dichromatic installation, designed by American artist Dan Flavin, which bathes both the main façade loggia and the transitions leading to the wings of the cours d'honneur in blue and green neon light. Particularly at night, Flavin's last work (whose completion he unfortunately did not live to see) is visible from afar, and has come to be seen as the museum's trademark. ( http://www.hamburgerbahnhof.de)

Andy Warhol

Cult of the Artist: Celebrities. Andy Warhol and the Stars

Sammlung Marx and Works on Loan
3 October 2008 - 11 January 2009

Martin Kippenberger

Cult of the Artist: "I can't just slice off an ear every day". Deconstructing the Myth of the Artist.

Works from the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection in the Hamburger Bahnhof, the Collections of the National Museums in Berlin and Other Collections
3 October 2008 - 22 February 2009

The image and the idea of the autonomous, creative artistic genius was subjected to a variety of attacks by the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century. Since the 1960s, many artists have taken critiques of the heroic image of the artist even further, often radically questioning a conception of art that is oriented toward the autonomous work. (http://www.hamburgerbahnhof.de/exhibition.php?id=16161&lang=en)

In this installation Kippenberger has had his assitants make his paintings, then photograph them and then destroy the paintings. The installation includes the destroyed paintings in the hand made dumpster. The work questions the artist as the master of ideas and technique.

Philips de Pury Announces Representation of Leibovitz

2008-11-10T07:45:00.001-05:00

Art Market Review: Auction house represents living, bluechip artist
written by Ashley Elderidge-Ford in London

The news circulating at Frieze Art Fair that Phillips de Pury had been bought by the Russian Mercury Group was superseded somewhat by the news that Phillips has announced its exclusive international representation of the work of photographer, Annie Leibovitz. This is by no means the first time that the auction house - now defining itself as a contemporary art company - is to exhibit and sell primary market works of art but it will be the first time that an auction house has announced that it is to officially represent an artist.

Sotheby's September sales of the work of Damien Hirst was potentially the prod that inspired Phillips' move with Leibovitz. Sotheby's broke new ground in this venture by selling primary market works directly without the intervention (and commission) of a dealer. This allowed for Hirst to pocket the proceeds directly as the seller minus the auction house's commission fee. The difference in the customary artist-dealer 50% commission must have been sufficiently large to warrant Hirst jilting both of his dealers, Larry Gagosian and Jay Joplin. If nothing else, this sale - the possible last hurrah in the art market's bubble for the time being - has influenced the way in which auction houses will run their business in the future. Previously, there had been an unwritten understanding that new works of art were the commodity of dealers with a two to five year embargo before works could be sold at auction. No longer beholden to the traditional practice of secondary market dealing, auction houses can now step into the art market as primary market dealers for living artists.

This announcement by Phillips de Pury, is not as surprising as it may at first seem. It is not only these two auction houses who have taken this step. Christie's - owned by luxury retail group Artemis S.A. - expanded into the primary market by purchasing contemporary art gallery Haunch of Venison in 2007. Phillips' representation of Leibovtiz, as well as the previous moves of Sotheby's and Christie's, does beg the question as to what the future will be for galleries and dealers. Leibovitz's New York dealer, Edwynn Houk, must be wondering the same thing.

Frieze Week 2008: Haunch of Venison

2008-10-22T23:02:00.001-04:00

Haunch of Venison: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
written by Ashley Elridge-Ford in London

Haunch of Venison was packed last night, both inside and out, despite the drizzle that always starts to build up to heavy downpours the weekend of Frieze. The work of Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, a Mexican-Canadian artist, is his first solo show in London. Lozano-Hemmer has a busy few months in London and this exhibition is testament to all of the projects he is working on here in London, as well as elsewhere. Making our way into the gallery on the ground floor are two works that are best viewed within a quieter room. We went straight upstairs to the first floor with the intention of returning later after rush hour. Ascending to the top of the stairs to the right hand side are two large black plasma screens. As you move to stand before it, a hand lifts like a flower shoot, the palm upheld. As you move from one side to the other, the hand detects your presence, and that of those around you, and turns to follow your progression like a sunflower following the sun.

Due to the number of people, there were several of these hands on screen, each rotating as their movements were detected. Glories of Accounting, 2005, is meant to signify restriction and inclusion and is supposed to feel slightly sinister. There is something curious about the open palm following your path from one side of one screen to the end of the other, as though the hands take on a Big Brother personality - a watchfulness - and its placement at the top of the stairs is well chosen.

Glories of Accounting, image: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

I turn away still uncertain as to the meaning behind the title and hope that the press release will illluminate me further, which sadly, it does not. Turning left into the gallery the farthest longest wall is covered by a network of light tubes that curve and meander their way across the length of the wall, each side completed by the tubes entering an intercom hung either side, comprising the work Less Than Three, 2008. As one visitor speaks into one intercom and hastily runs to the other one to see if he can hear himself or strategically places a friend at one end whom he can bellow at, they are disappointed to discover no instant communication carried between the two. It is only when I place myself at one end, curious to press the silent what-would-be doorbell, that one of the previous participants' sentence is broadcast through the intercom speaker. Pressing this doorbell or buzzer, let's call it, causes a nonsequential flashing of light through various of the tubes in no particular directed movement. This random flashing of tubes highlights the possible paths through which communications between intercomes can pass and is very much referential to what takes place in communication daily.

Continuing upstairs to the second floor one ascends into a darkened room that glows with hundreds of minimized headshots from reporters and presenters speaking in a quilt of colour, movement and the soft burble of sound. Reporters Without Borders, 2008, has been comprised from a database of over 1600 video clips and arranged split on the same wall according to distinctions such as Male/Female or Mexican/US or Light-skinned/Dark-skinned. It is visually stunning and hypnotic, like watching the television merely to see movement and hear sound but taking in nothing of consequence. However, the piece becomes more clever because infra-red sensors detect the presence of the viewers standing or moving before the piece and where they are, the faces on screen move and talk animatedly. Where viewers remain stationary for some time or where people are not, the faces freeze. There is therefore an ebb and flow of movement constantly taking place across the screens.

Reporters Without Borders, image, artist: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

The weakest pieces in the exhibition is Airport Cluster Plot, 2001, that overlays thirty-five international airports' floor plans. It is meant to suggest the 'accelerated movement and hyper-activity of the contemporary global condition', however, after all of the clever, responsive and technologically playful pieces throughout the remainder of the exhibition, this piece is static and disappointing because of it. Continuing past it, we enter the final room in which is Pulse Tank, 2008. The room is darkened and a table stands in the centre, a perspex box containing a pool of water is its table top. Four piped tubes dip their nozzles into the water. When you place your finger within the nozzle, your heartbeat is translated into robotic solenoids - or rather - your heartbeat causes a pulse to ripple the surface of the water. This movement of the water rippling is reflected onto the ceiling above left and onto the floor below and they are beautiful ethereal effects that would make stunning artworks on their own.

Pulse Tank, 2008, image, artist: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

We return downstairs to the ground floor to see Alpha Blend, Shadow Box 7, 2008, and Microphone, 2008. The former contains a hidden camera that records in four quadrants an image of the viewer as they pass by or stand before the piece, and merges this record with images of people who have passed beforehand. As with his other pieces in this exhibition, and his work predominantly as a whole, this work requires the presence and movement of a subject to bring it and its capacity to life. Alongside this is Microphone: a white circular spotlight is aimed at the wall where the shadow from the vintage microphone is elegantly silhouetted. As a viewer you are instantly drawn to the inviting openess of the microphone laid out for you. Like a parrot, the microphone squawks back at you the recording of a previous participant and saves your own input for another unsuspecting visitor.

The exhibition was excellent; playful, thought-provoking and engaging. Lozano-Hemmer's ideas are fresh and insightful. I very much look forward to seeing his exhibition, Frequency and Volume, at the Barbican's Curve Gallery (until 18 January 2009) and Under Scan on the northern terrrace of Trafalgar Square (14 - 23 November).

The Haunch of Venison after party in celebration of Lozano-Hemmer at the Bloomsbury Ballroom afterwards was fantastic. Inspiration from Less Than Three, in the guise of neon blue tubing, welcomed the guests into the party rooms where they were greeted with an array of experimental cocktails and canapes served by waitresses in bicycle helmets delivering pizza box trays with an assortment of nibbles, including pizza, to the hungry guests. Needless to say, it was a fun night.

Frieze Week 2008: A Turn in Taste, Part II

2008-10-19T10:31:00.001-04:00

Frieze Week 2008: The Future Can Wait
written by Ashley Elridge-Ford in London

The Future Can Wait

The Truman Brewery is well worth the visit. I knew I was heading in the right direction when a Frieze VIP silver Mercedes cruised past me. How incongruous it looked surrounded by the markets of Brick Lane. The Truman Brewery is home this Frieze Week to Kounter Kulture, The Future Can Wait and the Saatchi Channel 4 New Sensations.

The Future can wait is running for the second year thanks to the hard work and dedication over the last decade of Simon Romney and Xavier Ellis. A stark wide open light space is reached upon ascending the stairs from the street below. The sound piece of Miranda Whall keeps the visitor company during the ascent. Her soundscape is a series of whispered confessions that start with the words, "Is it OK...?" and are the kind of guilty secrets that we all harbour. It is very enjoyable.

There is a relaxed atmosphere to this fair although I would be hesitant to call it that. It was more of an exhibition of works that are being hosted parallel to Frieze that should in fairness to the visiting public be classified a little more accurately. The same goes for Kounter Kulture. What, one might ask, is it that defines a fair from an exhibition? I would argue that it is a series of galleries showing the work of their artists under one roof. These two 'fairs' merely show a selection of artists' work. There is a big difference. I think they are both worth visiting but it is a misconception to consider them as art fairs. Other artists work to note:

Emma Bennett's The Dust Covers Everything, 2007, a beautiful still life. She is also being shown at Scope at Charlie Smith Gallery, London.

Kim Rugg's newspaper collages that are also being shown at Scope at Nettie Horn.

Kate McCgwire's Heave, 2008, comprised and composed of pigeon feathers that seem to pour out of the wall like a gushing of water.

Helen Dowling's video piece Breaker, 2008, that is moving and powerful.

Angela Bartram's rather nauseating video piece Licking Dogs, 2007.

Monica Ursina Jager's Never Talk to Strangers, 2008, and Non Grata, 2007.

Andrea Gregson's Headspace, 2006, a surprising intimate little world that reminds me of the toilets at Sketch, Mayfair.

Kounter Kulture

Kounter Kulture, around the corner and at the back of The Future Can Wait, had a completely different feel. It is the first time the 'fair' has been hosted in London and they have an edgy funky feel that The Future Can Wait does not. As I walked in I was told that all guests had to leave by five thirty because of a "celebrity party". That gave me ten minutes. As I completed my short trip up the stairs, I wondered what on earth a celebrity party was and why anyone would call it that? Just as well the exhibition was small but - and I emphasise this – it is totally worth the visit. There was a strength in painting throughout the show. The works are innovative, refreshing, colourful and playful. Once again, a plethora of Chinese artists whose works are of the same high calibre as those on show at Scope. There are many on my To-Watch and Wish-List. Some of the highlights are:

Chen Qiuchi, Tank No. 2, 2008.

Piao Guangxie, entitled 2007 #18, 2007.

Liu Xin Tao's Collapse Night, 2007 No. 20 and Collapse Night 2008 No. 4.

Charlotte Latchum, Untitled 2008.

The photographic work of Rob Carter that unfortunately, due to the stark overhead lighting, I was not able to capture well on my camera. His photographs are seascapes that have been seen before in other notable artists' photographic works but there is an enhancement of colour in these that has not been seen before.

The very Lichtenstein with a dark twist in the collage and painted works by Hush.

I then happened into the Saatchi Channel 4 New Sensations exhibition where the photographic portraits works of Matthew Robert-Hughes is well worth noting.

Back into Kounter Kulture...

The saccharine and rather frightening paintings by Laurie Hogin, most of which had sold.

The paintings of Bai Tao.

Frieze Week 2008: A Turn in Taste, Part I

2008-10-19T09:56:00.001-04:00

Frieze Week 2008: Zoo Art Fair
written by Ashley Elridge-Ford in London

Ah, the Zoo Art Fair. Firstly, let me say, that I am relieved that due to Haunch of Venison's relocation to the Museum of Mankind that Zoo will need to look for a new space. It is cramped, confusing and not a good venue for viewing as much art at as many galleries as it is prone to. After having seen Scope the previous day, I thought that a good portion of the artwork on display at Zoo was infantile and of graduate student level. Scope, on the other hand, had works of a mature, professional level that seemed aimed at appealing to the discerning, international collector. The work at Zoo is questionably so. It reminds me of being the platform for much of the work that ends up on display at Frieze in the smaller more experimental galleries.

The problem, or perhaps finally, the recognition this year, is that collectors are going for safer bets. This is, in my opinion a good thing but also an interesting one because it seems as though there is a turn in taste. This turn in taste is one that is also utterly apparent at each of the fairs I have been to – from Frieze, Scope, Zoo to Kounter Kulture and The Future Can Wait – many artists have drawn on past masters, past iconic paintings, past styles and subject matter: stark traditional still lives with a contemporary twist; small hunting scenes with a surrealistic addition that speaks of contemporaneity; Victorian Gothic taxidermy. It has been fascinating to see these cropping up.

Have we reached the end of experimentation? Are we reaching an hiatus where artists have fulfilled the zeitgeist stockpile of shock-value useless junk they submit as 'Art'. Pieces that will not be remembered in five or even ten years time? Is it the time in which artists will take a pause, look back and draw once more upon the art historical canon from which they will emerge in a year or two with a new refreshing oeuvre of work? Are collectors' tastes also changing?

With a return to more at-home values through the bursting bubble of capitalism as egg on the face of us all, will collectors' tastes be satiated and soothed by this return to more traditional or conventional works of art? And by this I mean that there is finally a thread that links the art of the past with the art of today skillfully and with talent rather than conceptually and without artistic merit. The pieces that have caught my attention this week seem indicative of this – dare I call it what I am about to? – trend and yet they are by no means in the majority.

It has thrilled me nonetheless to see familiar scenes, styles, genres, peering out at me from walls as diverse as Lord's Cricket Ground, Caruso St John's tent to the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane. Next week I will submit a piece focused solely on this – I shall use the word again – trend. In the interim, please see below the highlights from Zoo, Kounter Kulture and The Future Can Wait.

Zoo Art Fair

Shezad Dawood, The Waste Land, 2008, comprised of animal skulls sporting the inscription for the Hindu sacred symbol representing the sound of Om the essence of the entire universe. Paradise Row, London [C3].

MOT International, London, featuring the neon work of Ulrich Strothjohann [D24].

The paintings by Israeli artist, Nogah Engler, that hark back to Leonardo da Vinci's roughly painted landscapes and Madonna's. Ritter/Zamet, London [D36].

Xanada T1+2, London, is showing a truly interesting amalgam of artists' work. Most notable was that of Polly Morgan, called Under Study, 2008, a pigeon placed lying on its side staring away from its reflection with dead eyes as the shadow it throws onto the mirrored glass below it changes shade every few seconds. The other was that of Zatorski and Zatroski called Knot, 2007. The piece is of a swan that had the misfortune of flying into a bridge close to where the artists live on the river. They found it dead and put it in their freezer whilst deciding what to do with it. Placed high upon a plinth, it's neck knotted, is the result [E44].

The carefully chosen etchings by Troels Carlsen that have been painted over with light-hearted frivolity that give the rather Gothic originals a sinister feel at V1 Gallery, Copenhagen. Reminiscent of Jake and Dinos Chapman's Goya series. His other similar piece is dark but amusing [F57].

The beautiful and stark photographic work of Penny Klepuszewska whose mise-en-scène remind me Vermeer's paintings in their smoothness, light and suggestivity. The photographs are of keepsakes and mementos kept my inhabitants of an retirement home residents. ROOM, London [F51].

Monument 1, 03 by Zsolt Bodoni at fa projects, London [A14].

FRIEZE 2008: SCOPE Art Fair

2008-10-18T04:23:00.004-04:00

SCOPE Art Fair Review
written by Ashley Elridge-Ford in London

I returned to Frieze yesterday early afternoon to walk a friend of mine around and it was great to see that there was new work on show; some pieces had perhaps sold but also I know that some gallerists had determined to alternate their display. Could this possibly be their way of not letting on to what has or hasn't sold by doing so? A chosen curated changing display is as indicative of sales as a changing display to fill holes as collectors walk away with their purchased artworks. Or perhaps I am being too cynical. After Frieze we went to Scope Art Fair at Lord's Cricket Ground. This is a slightly bizarre place to host an art fair but the interior of the venue is the nicest I have seen of Scope's venues so far. It looks professional, smart and very well organised.

I have discovered that my taste in art is very much more of a conservative nature - predominantly more and more it is painting that catches my attention - and Scope is full of it. I think that the standard of artists showing at Scope this year is high. Each gallery offers something that is worth stopping and looking at. It is not overwhelming large, packed or crammed full of art. There is a more curated feel to the stands and the fair as a whole. It looks as though Scope has grown up and is the better for it. There is a plethora of artists from China and their work is strong. The artists and work that caught my attention are the following:

Carrie Reichardt's glazed ceramic coated spray cans with a variety of designs on each from Victorian floral to skull and bones Gothic. There are slogans across a couple of them such as 'War is Peace' and 'Fuck the Law ... I Want Justice'. At Forster, London [102].
An Doan's Gerhard Richter-esque paintings - Emirates and Nightspace at Galleri A, Oslo [104].
The playful Tim Burton-like three dimensional sculptural work of Liz McGrath at Iguapop Gallery, Barcelona. Specifically a Manga-looking porcupine with a transparent midriff in which a late nineteenth century man and woman reside in a caravan [107].
The tongue in cheek sculptural busts of Charles Robb at Hous Projects. Robb takes the mickey out of a traditionally very serious medium for portraying dignity and decorum at Hous Projects, New York [124].
Noted photographer Hendrik Kersten's images of Vermeer-like women with plastic bags placed upon their heads emulating silks wraps at Dean Project, Long Island City [125].
The beautiful ink on white paper drawings built up using the repetition of one work. Shadow is created by overwriting letters from the word repeatedly using a rubber stamp. These are the work of Yoo Seungho and the word is Yodeleheeyoo! The effect is one from traditional Japanese or Chinese landscapes. Miki Wick Kim Contemporary Art, Zurich [122].
This theme of stamped repetition is also noteworthy in the work of Daniel Rapley's ink on paper nudes built up through the stamped repetition of the 3 March 2006. London's Vertigo Gallery [127].
Liu Fei's Foreigners Who Influenced Me, a Scope Special Project and so-called Cinema Installation; a florescent lit interior as viewed through Lucio Fontano slashed material.
Daniel Glaser and Magdalena Kunz's Voices II, 2008, a similar version of which - if not the same - was shown at Scope, Basel, from Gagliardi Art System, Toronto.
The slick photographic work by eccentric artist Dorothy M. Yoon who believes Angels direct her art and in some respects her career. Not so unlikely considering some people believe God directs them to rule a nation or declare war on other countries.
Of note at Andres James Art, Shanghai, is Venus [132] that reminds me a little of the juicy colourful hper-real work of Wang Qingsong.
Xu Weixin's large-scale painted portraits are striking and stunning. ChinaSquare, New York [109].
Kimi Sakaki's painting Help Me, 2007, at Gallery Terra Tokyo [134].
The delicate paintings of Lee Hyun-Young at art company Misool Sidae, Seoul [137].
The painting selection at Polan-Hardouin, Paris, is excellent. Of note are Humberto Poblete-Bustamante and Fred Kleinberg.

Scope is definitely worth a visit this year.

FRIEZE WEEK 2008: Camden Arts Center

2008-10-17T14:28:00.000-04:00

Heading out to the Camden Arts Center. We have more coverage of Frieze Week forthcoming: Scope and Zoo Art fairs, Haunch of Venison, and Julian Opie at Lisson gallery.

Sent from my Nokia phone

Frieze 2008: Jenny Seville

2008-10-16T11:58:00.002-04:00

Jenny Seville, Bleach

FRIEZE 2008: Review of Frieze

2008-10-16T05:46:00.001-04:00

FRIEZE ART FAIR 2008
written by Ashley Eldridge-ford in London

I had fully intended to spend a few hours at Frieze and then move on to The Future Can Wait art fair at Truman Brewery but I found myself at Frieze for seven and a half hours instead. The Frieze Art Fair is extremely enjoyable this year. There is less of a claustrophobic, panicked feeling to it. This is partly due to the design and layout by Caruso St John Architects who have lifted the height of the ceiling of the fair, amongst other things, to give the marquee an openness that has been lacking before, even if it makes the lighting a little starker than usual. The less panicked feeling might also be due to a downturn in sales. Dealers who normally have no time to talk and exude an air of extreme stress that is infectious during the VIP preview were relaxed and willing to have a chat with anyone who approached them on their stand. One interesting thing to note is the lack of little florescent orange stickers that usually tell if a work has been sold, which this year seem to have been banned so that the visiting public cannot tell how few pieces have sold.

The entire atmosphere was different to all of the previous Frieze Art Fairs. I thought that the quality of art has developed and there are certain ideas or motifs that are repeated by a few artists that crop up throughout the fair – like multiple sized framed images distributed across a wall; signed and autographed celebrity photographs; a reinterpretation or a harking back to the subject matter and stylistic techniques of some of the 'old masters' in the history of art: Pointilism; classical 18th century American landscape; miniature Persian painting; formal 17th century Dutch portraiture; Ruben-esque classical scene; Post-World War II thick-painted figurative works. It is a pleasure to take one's time and look closely at each stand, there is certainly a more conducive atmosphere to do so this year. The artists whose work stood out for me are not all contemporary hot shots but their work caught my attention and with so much to look at and choose from, they are worth noting for that alone: they are worth stopping to consider.

Lorna Simpson, Photo Book, 2008, Salon 94, New York [B13]. One hundred and fifty found black and white portrait photographs from the 1940s bought on eBay.

Lorna Simpson, Photo Book

Henrik Olesen's work on Kinship, Cross-Dressing, Pedestry, Lesbianity, Homosexuality, looking at, and highlighting, works of art and texts from the past from those involved in the Arts. At the Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Cologne [C4].

Henrik Olesen

Thomas Hirschhorn's Vitrine murale (Goya), 2007, the piece entitled with 'Portraits of Despair 'above famous works by the artist Goya and an assemblage of heads and other such paraphernalia that could come as much for Goya's work as from the Chapman Brothers'. Galerie Chantal Crousel [D3].

Thomas Hirschhorn's Vitrine murale (Goya)

Richard Prince's All The Best, 2000, 12 C-Print headshots signed by various stars from Cameron Diaz to Katie Holmes. Also, David LaChapelle's Children's Bacchanal, 2008. Both at the Jablonka Galerie, Cologne [D2].
Very similarly and hence worth noting at Casey Kaplan opposite is Jonathan Monk's Anyone, whose anyone? 1998, 21 found signed celebrity headshots [C2].
Washington Sex (Stuart/Brown), 2008, by Glenn Brown at Patrick Painter Inc., Los Angeles [D1].
Ruby Neri's work is worth mentioning at David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles [E6].

Stelios Faitakis' two large-scale contemporary Persian miniature-esque paintings of contemporary culture: an entwined couple sit facing away from each other on their mobile phones, gun wars take place around them. The Breeder, Athens [E17].

Frieze Projects commission by Norma Jeane for The Straight Story, a performance based installation, inviting the public to sit within the transparent cubicles and smoke a cigarette or take a cup of water whilst watching with muted sound the crowds walking past. Strangely, those inside were less inclined to look out than to focus their attention on one fixed point and smoke as though oblivious to their surroundings [P13 square between F23 and F24, F25 and F26].

Norma Jeane for The Straight Story

The exquisitely made cream figurative sculptures in silk by Lin Tianmiao, Mothers! series, 2008 at Long March Space, Beijing [E23].

Magical Artroom, Tokyo, was the second only gallery in which I overhead a couple wanting to buy one of the pieces, that of Daisuke Ohba called Uroboros (woods), 2008. An Impressionist or Pointillist-esque piece that looks quite monochrome from afar but is colourful in metallic hues when one steps up close. Also of note here are the photographs of blown fuses that are colourful explosions by Hitoshi Kuriyama called :. 0=1 – traces of light, 2008 [F34].

Christ as the Light of the World I and II, 2008 by William Daniels at the Vilma Gold Gallery, London, was the second piece I overhead being discussed for purchase [G22].

Casa Triângulo, San Paolo, showing the polka dot hole Old Master reminiscent work of Albano Afonso [F25].

Always a delight to see the work of Richard Wathen at Max Wigram, London [G18].

A playful fascinating table at Lehmann Maupin, New York, by Do Ho Suh, in which thousands of little colourful figures sandwiched between two sheets of glass push and hold up the top sheet. It was receiving considerable attention [F17].

I had been talking about Grayson Perry's maps to a friend earlier this week and I was therefore very pleased to see a version of it, Map of Nowhere, 2008, at Victoria Miro Gallery, London [G5]. Always interesting to look closely and see the humour in these maps.

The captivating work of Israeli artist Yehudit Sasportas at Eigen+Art [F5]. They like only a handful of other galleries have dedicated their main showing space to a single artist (another was Jacob Holding at Team Gallery, New York [G21]).

Two stormy works by Carla Klein Untitled, 2008, at Annet Gelink Gallery, Austria [G3].

FRIEZE WEEK 2008: AFFECTED BY FINANICIAL CRISIS?

2008-10-16T02:38:00.001-04:00

Meltdown looming for Frieze?
written by peter duhon in london

Will the parlous global financial crisis dampen Frieze Week? No. Will it affect FW in any way? Irrefutably yes. In fact, it already has but that's another blog post entirely which will be addressed in the future.

The better and more intriguing question during this year's Frieze and beyond is which artist will seize the moment by creating something or a situation that provokes global artistic thought on par with the original FRIEZE exhibition curated by Mr. Damien Hirst some 20 years ago that was actually facilitated by the capricious nature of the art market and economy at that time.

Yesterday, our London correspondent attended the preview for Frieze, so visit again for her report. Throughout the week we will continue to provide coverage of Frieze, the satellite fairs and art openings here in London.