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Now living in Los Angeles, O'Shea has not entirely given up the less remunerative struggles of being an editor. Post-Juxtapoz, O'Shea has just signed on as editor of Spread ArtCulture, a new quarterly art-and-design magazine from New York, and is lining up his myriad allies to start an art magazine of his own, in which all those careers he's launched in the last decade will be rubbing shoulders with their "official" art-world counterparts. [+/-] more profile.. [+] Japanese profile.. |
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THE WORLD’S ONLY GOOD XMAS MUSIC…
THE REAL SPIRIT OF XMAS…
NYC///STREET LIFE///THE VISUAL LEGACY OF MARVIN FRANKLIN…
A SUBWAY WORKER’S LEGACY, IN ART FORM Writing about Marvin Franklin, the artist whose work is on view at the New York Transit Museum from this week through March, it feels natural to focus on the details of his premature and unsettling death — Mr. Franklin was a 55-year-old subway track worker who was killed by a train in March – and on the profound effect that his passing has had on the friends and family he left behind. (A subsequent review found numerous safety lapses and prompted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to order a series of reforms.) What can get lost is Mr. Franklin’s art itself, which, by all accounts, was one of the major loves of his life. Friends describe him working at an awe-inspiring pace, filling up a 120-page sketchbook about every two weeks. “It was his life. It was the blood that went through his veins,” Mr. Franklin’s wife, Tenley Jones-Franklin, said at the museum on Wednesday. On top of that, colleagues at the Art Students League of New York, where Mr. Franklin studied for the last decade, profess admiration for his ability and work ethic. One, Mark Hagan, whose time at the league overlapped with Mr. Franklin’s, called him “a true folk hero.” For all that, though, the exhibit at the transit museum is the first show ever dedicated to Mr. Franklin’s art. Part of that, no doubt, is the result of his belief, expressed to several people, that he was not ready for such a recognition. But it is also, some of Mr. Franklin’s friends say, a hint at the politics involved in New York’s art scene, and a sign of the difficulties of an artist following his own muse can face getting noticed. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING…
WOW FACTOR///SOMETIMES CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY…
BETHLEHEM///STREET LIFE///BANKSY RUBBED OUT & BORN AGAIN…
Tis the season to give thanx, or in BANKSY’s case, tanks (sorry, we know, we know). After several pieces by the UK’s most wanted bomber in and around the Palestinian separation wall got rubbed out, Mr Mysterious posted a few new parking notices around town…
XMAS SHOPPING///KEHINDE WILEY & JEFF KOONS x TARGET…
Just when you were sure every company in the world and their mother had an official collaborative “Artist Series” in place, mega discount retailer TARGET steps up to the plate to prove you right with their new run of limited-edition beach towels featuring original artwork by none other than KEHINDE WILEY and JEFF KOONS. Available only at the company’s online shop for a mere $50 each, the textiles are the surest way of establishing your status as an elite member of the art community while otherwise scantily clad and stripped of other signifying possessions such as T-shirts and sneakers. Oh yeah, and that IS the same graphic Koons licensed to Supreme and at least three other companies for their “limited-edition artist series” products this year…
NETHERLANDS///OS GEMEOS’ FLOWER GARDEN…
Identical twin artists Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, aka: OS GEMEOS, have created their largest-ever European exhibit for their incredible new show, “The Flowers in This Garden Were Planted by My Grandparents,” that debuted at the MUSEUM HET DOMEIN in the Netherlands in November. Filling the cavernous space with monumental sculptures, interactive audio exhibits, a stage for Brasilian musician Siba Veloso (who performed at the show’s opening), and copious amounts of their unmistakable spray-painted fantasy imagery, the boys from Sao Paulo awed the locals with the kind of show-of-force they’ve become known for in recent years. With a fast-approaching closing date of January 6th, lucky travelers have a few weeks left to catch a glimpse. In the meantime, HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
TOKYO///INSIDE MADSAKI’S ART MAZE…
The enigmatic Japanese graphic artist and designer known only as MADSAKI has translated his trademark sharp-edged graphic patterns into a massive two-toned, Richard Serra-esque walk through art sculpture luridly titled “A.D.I.D.A.S” (All Day I Dream About Sunsex), in honor of the corporate patron that sponsored the installation. Constructed inside the concrete bunker-like floorplan of the old Maguro Rice Factory in Tokyo, Madsaki’s angular art maze winds around the existing concrete pillars, forming a three-dimensional incarnation of one of his geometric patterns, and providing one of the city’s most unusual art shows of 2007. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
HONG KONG///LAST LOOK///TERRY RICHARDSON x MICHAEL LAU…
At a time when the artist collaboration game has run out of steam, leave it to rogue photographer TERRY RICHARDSON to flip the script and breathe new life into the concept as he did so amazingly with artist and toymaker MICHAEL LAU this month at DIESEL’s BRAVE GALLERY in Hong Kong. After being invited by the Italian fashion brand to travel to Brasil to photograph the local “wildlife,” in spring of this year, Richardson invited Lau to add his spin to the Terry myth when the resulting collection of photographs traveled to Lau’s native Hong Kong for their grand unveiling. The result was easily the greatest “interactive” toy ever created when Lau fabricated a larger-than-life, anatomically correct, fully-articulated action figure of our man with the golden Yashica to display as the exhibit’s showstopping centerpiece alongside several of his own large-scale paintings and a series of illustrations of the goggled photographer (which have been published as a limited-edition book available only at the exhibition). Why can’t all art shows be this cool???…
THE BOOK:
XMAS SHOPPING///SKULLPHONE’S TREE BLING…
For those desperate last-minute Christmas shoppers still trying to come up with the perfect gift for the freak that has everything comes this blinged-out tree bauble from Supertouch buddy SKULLPHONE. Available in bronze, gold, platinum, and diamond finishes, these blown-glass ornaments are guaranteed to be freshest addition to any self-respecting hipster’s tree. Available online for $32 at Skullphone.com or in person in LA at the MoCA and OCMA gift shops…
FASHIONISTA///DRx -x- SOPHNET = EMERGENCY MEDICAL DIVISION…
Expanding his ongoing collaboration with A-list Japanese street couture clothier SOPHNET, Supertouch’s own DARREN “DR” ROMANELLI has just announced the release of his new “Emergency Medical Division” line featuring wicked graphics and military-themed garments set to hit Tokyo in early 2008. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
FEATURE///AN INTERVIEW WITH SAM FLORES…
As the finale of SAM FLORES’ new solo show “Senso to Heiwa” (War & Peace) at Philadelphia’s LINEAGE GALLERY draws near, we take a moment to catch up with one of San Francisco’s brightest artists for a closer look at the method to his madness. READ ON: Read the rest of this entry »
SOUNDS///FIRST LOOK///BIRTH OF LUPE FIASCO’S “THE COOL”…
Upcoming Supertouch blogger and Chi-town’s favorite young gun LUPE FIASCO drops his epic new concept album, “The Cool” today. Featuring art direction and styling by NATHAN CABRERA and DARREN “DR” ROMANELLI, the album packaging visualizes some of the album’s operatic story lines, while Romanelli’s newly designed tour jacket series produced by London style house MAHARISHI will keep Mr Fiasco fresh-to-death on stages worldwide throughout 2008. And just to add gas to the fire, the LA TIMES has just published an in-depth article on the collaboration. PEEP GAME: Read the rest of this entry »
DENMARK///POP LIFE///ESPO AT V1 GALLERY…
On the eve of ESPO’s (aka: Stephen Powers) closing party for his first European solo show, “Sleep and Repeat” at the very happening V1 GALLERY in Copenhagen, Denmark, we offer a quick flashback to the exhibit’s inagural nite in November when Philly’s native son first broke the ice. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
TRAVELOGUE///KELSEY BROOKES IN PALESTINE…
Somewhere in-between his many world tours, artist & surfer KELSEY BROOKES somehow finds time to make art. He’s just returned from a weeklong trip to Bethlehem to participate in the annual SANTA’S GHETTO charity art auction and he brought us this report: Read the rest of this entry »
BAR”THHHH”ELONA///PARRA’S POP MART…
One of our favorite Pop confectioners, the loopy Dutch artist known only as PARRA has just debuted a small show of new work, the oddly-titled “The Of Best” at Barcelona Pop Culture hotspot, VALLERY. In the words of our boy himself: “Slightly off balance, slightly off key, slightly crooked, barely readable, barely sane, lots of blues, lots of pinks, lots of blacks, floating letters, naked girls, dressed girls, odd creatures, men with beaks, shoes that talk, inspired by daytime TV, inspired by nighttime TV, inspired by listening to music, inspired by making music, falling on his face skateboarding, falling on his face partying, breaking his brain filtering garbage, breaking his hand drawing. What can I say… it’s ‘The Of Best’ from Parra.” HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
FILM///LOOKING PRETTY GOOD…
MIA IN MAIMI///THE FINAL RECAP///BEST IN SHOW…
Yeah, yeah, we know, ART BASEL ended over a week ago, but if you had the kinda time we did down there, you’d just be getting around to putting up your final recap too. After speedwalking through almost 15 different shows, we’ve got a quick lookback on some of the pieces that caught our eye most. Some of the names might be missing, but after seven days of art, it all just started to blur together. One thing we can say about the art trade show that is Basel, it was far and away the best one yet HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
BETHLEHEM///ART CRIMES///SWOON & RON ENGLISH IN SANTA’S GHETTO…
As we previously reported, some of the world’s preeminent street artists are currently doing tours of duty in the holy land of Bethlehem, decorating the separation wall in the war-torn region of Palestine as part of this year’s SANTA’S GHETTO art auction also being held in the city. Supertouch blogger RON ENGLISH and SWOON just finished up a weeklong session and lived to tell the tale. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
NYC///CHRISTMAS SHOPPING///WK INTERACT’S PAPER TIGER…
Fans of street art saboteur and Supertouch blogger WK INTERACT who couldn’t get out to Brooklyn for his new show at ESPEIS ARCHETYPE GALLERY this month can still take home a piece of the show with this newly-released print. Available for $300 in a strict edition of 100 pieces, each lithograph is signed and numbered by the mad Frenchman himself and is guaranteed not to spontaneously combust…
NYC///SATURDAY NITE ART CRAWL: TOBIN YELLAND AT FUSE GALLERY
Downtown denizens looking for a nite of art need look no further than TOBIN YELLAND’s group photography show, “Homies” opening tonite at FUSE GALLERY and featuring the work of PER BILLGREN, ANGELA BOATWRIGHT, CHERYL DUNN, LEIGH LE DARE, DENNIS MCGRATH, JON MCGRATH, ARI MARCOPOULOS, CARISSA PELLETERI, RAY POTES, MICKEY REYES, VANESSA SALLE, IVORY SERRA, JULIEN STRANGER, and GARY VAN DE GRIEK. The party kicks off Read the rest of this entry »
NYC///ONE WEEK AT LIT LOUNGE…
Lower East Side hotspot LIT LOUNGE is a mecca for downtown debauchery in the frigid ice storm that is a NYC winter. ERIK FOSS (aka: Stuntboy) takes us on a tour of recent events… Read the rest of this entry »
NYC///POP LIFE///RYAN McGINLEY IN THE GUGGENHEIM SPIRAL…
The blue blood flowed like wine at the GUGGENHEIM last nite when photographer and white-hot downtown art star RYAN McGINLEY was honored at the institution’s annual Chloe-sponsored Young Collectors Council Artist’s Ball. It was a Page Six affair all-around with a guest A-list of downtown hipsters and shakers in attendance—looking fabulous for fabulosity’s sake—all of whom seemed gloriously oblivious to the real purpose of the nite’s festivities: honoring McGinley’s prodigious body of work and raising funds to acquire works by emerging artists for the museum’s permanent collection. BLONDE REDHEAD provided the background music while the would-be debutantes Read the rest of this entry »
MIA IN MIAMI///THE RECAP///STUNTBOY’S ART BASEL…
After a few lost weeks in the NYC club scene, Supertouch’s own STUNTBOY (aka: Erik Foss) resurfaced at this year’s ART BASEL to raise some L.E.S. hell in the sub-tropics. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
MIA IN MIAMI///THE RECAP///SKIN DEEP…
One of the more offbeat experiences of last week’s ART BASEL fiasco was “As Long As It Lasts,” a pop-up tattoo parlor in Miami’s burgeoning Design District featuring “limited edition” tattoo designs by KAWS, JUERGEN MEYER H., VITO ACCONCI, TORD BOONTJE and ANDREW ALLENSON, 5.5 DESIGNERS, YVES BEHAR, HELLA JONGERIUS, and LAWRENCE WEINER. Organized as an exercise in performance art and literal branding by cultural provocateurs TOBIAS WONG, JOSEE LEPAGE, and ARIC CHEN, the exercise drew a slew of eager “collectors,” including KAWS fanatic RONNIE K. PIROVINO, whose 7″ tall green Chum tatt can be seen here. The best part? Every tattoo came Read the rest of this entry »
MIA IN MIAMI///THE RECAP///NIKE’S LATE NITE “RE-RUN”…
In their first go-round at ART BASEL, the heads at NIKE, in association with the NADA art fair and ANP QUARTERLY magazine, hit a hipster homerun last Friday nite with their 1970s retro running-themed “RE-RUN” exhibition and party at the Paris Theater in South Beach. Featuring a maze-like buildout of vintage and amazingly politically incorrect promo materials, graphics, and archival footwear alongside new imagery from artists SCOTT CAMPBELL, TRACY NAKAYAMA, DAN MONICK, ANDREW JEFFREY WRIGHT, KIME BUZZELLI, STEVEN HARRINGTON, KEITH SCHARWATH, JESSE SPEARS, E-ROCK, MIKE PARE, JO RATCLIFF, and ALEXIS ROSS, the gig went off like a well-oiled art machine despite the capacity crowd of mostly L.E.S. hipsters and a queue running round the block for the better part of the nite. Live performances by art rockers GANG GANG DANCE, SOILED MATTRESS AND THE SPRINGS, WHITE WILLIAMS, CAR CLUTCH, and DJ FREE SIMON were on tap to keep the jaded tastemakers on their feet. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
MIA IN MIAMI///THE RECAP///ART IN THE AIRPORT…
We gotta hand it to Ft. Lauderdale, after a week of blowing our retinas out at the 20+ fairs that now make up ART BASEL, one of the coolest art installations we saw was at the Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International airport on our way outta Dodge (Basel vets know better than to fly in and out of Miami airport). “Vendor with Walkman,” an incredibly life-like sculpture of a homeless-looking man and his miscellaneous belongings by local artist DUANE HANSON pretty much sums up the weirdness that is Florida in general. Throw in the fact that this piece was enclosed in its own seemingly hermetically-sealed “glass walled “waiting room” next to the airport security line and the strangeness level just skyrockets. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
FREE S#*T///”AMERICAN ZEPPELIN”…
Yeah, the fastest way on earth to make your name in Hip Hop is to mash up JAY-Z with some classic rock a-la Dangermouse, but Brit DJ DOC ROK’s illegal melding of Jay’s new “American Gangster” record with LED ZEPPELIN’s back catalogue makes for a pretty fresh update. Plus, it’s free just click HERE…
MIA IN MIAMI///THE RECAP///ESPO SETS UP SHOP @ DEITCH PROJECTS…
One of ART BASEL’s aesthetic highlights was our boy ESPO’s (aka: Stephen Powers) large-scale storefront installation at DEITCH PROJECTS’ annual throwdown in Miami’s Design District this past Saturday nite. Featuring the artist’s trademark faux signage and a comfy art lounge for road-weary hipsters, the exhibit was one of the must-see walk-throughs of a very art-crowded week. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
MIA IN MIAMI///THE RECAP///STREET LIFE…
MIA IN MIAMI///THE RECAP///ART BASEL’S FIREY FINALE…
After a week of relatively incident-free revelry at ART BASEL in Miami last week, the fair saw its first casualty when newly-inagurated underground art outlet HAROLD GOLEN GALLERY was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of Monday, December 10. Located in Miami’s Wynwood Art District, the gallery—which had only been open for three weeks—saw its entire inventory destroyed or damaged by fire after a high flying advertising balloon tethered to the gallery’s roof rubbed up against power lines and caused a short in the building’s electrical system, according to Miami firefighters. It’s estimated that over $100,000 in work by TIM BISKUP, MARS ONE, RON ENGLISH, GARY BASEMAN, and NIAGARA was damaged by the flames. Most affected, however, was painter SKOT OLSEN, whose entire new solo show was destroyed in the blaze. Keep an eye on Haroldgolengallery.com and Supertouch for updates…
MIA IN MIAMI///GOODBYE ART BASEL…
At long last, the week of full-on debauchery that is ART BASEL has wound down, and it’s back to the sunny—and only slightly less scummy—confines of LA. Keep yer eyes peeled for a couple more recaps of the week’s visual highlights on the way…
POLITIKS///EVERLAST’S “LETTERS HOME FROM THE GARDEN OF STONE”…
Supertouch’s own dissident-at-large, EVERLAST just dropped the video for his new anti-war single, “Letters Home From the Garden of Stone,” and an incredible new personal website, Martyr-inc.com. Keep an eye out for his new solo record, “Love, War, and the Ghost of Whitey Ford” ready to drop in early 2008 and guaranteed to be packing more than a few sonic surprises…
LONDON MASSIVE///ROCK OF AGES///LIKE A LED BALLOON…
“Absolute insanity” begins to sum up the LED ZEPPELIN two-plus hour reunion concert that just wrapped at London’s O2 Arena. Our lucky Supertouch correspondents in attendance all attest to having witnessed god on stage (bastards!). Pray for a reunion tour (after all, 20 MILLION people tried to grab the 20,000 seats for this show)… SET LIST: Good Times Bad Times, Ramble On, Black Dog, In My Time Of Dying, For Your Life, Trampled Under Foot, Nobody’s Fault But Mine, No Quarter, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Dazed And Confused (10+ minutes), Stairway To Heaven, The Song Remains The Same, Misty Mountain Hop, Kashmir (10+ minutes), Whole Lotta Love, Rock And Roll …
MIA IN MIAMI///”ALL I HAVE IN THIS WORLD”…
Gotta hand it to French artist CLAUDE LÉVÊQUE. His “Scarface” installation out front of the Fillmore Theater, next door to the main ART BASEL convention center was one of the coolest features of this year’s unusually off-the-hook fair…
MIA IN MIAMI///BARRY McGEE AT ART BASEL…
Our boy in San Francisco was well represented at this year’s ART BASEL over the course of several art galleries, art fairs, and even eras of his art career. Here’s a look at some of the best…
MIA IN MIAMI///WTF? FILES///PAUL McCARTHY’S CHOCOLATE FACTORY…
Wild card performance & multimedia artist PAUL McCARTHY upped the freak factor at this year’s ART BASEL with his massive “Santa with Butt Plug” chocolate factory installation. Long a fan of employing viscous foodstuffs (ketchup, chocolate syrup, etc) in his avant-garde work, the LA-based artist expanded upon his original bronze sculpture of the same name that made its debut at this year’s Basel fair in Switzerland by creating an edible edition (using Guittard premium chocolate, no less) of the holiday icon available for Read the rest of this entry »
MIA IN MIAMI///DOWN ON THE STREET…
The REAL art scene in Miami is in the incredible neighborhoods that surround the lush, disgustitude that is the tourist strip of South Beach…
MIA IN MIAMI///THE VOLUPTUOUS HORROR OF KAREN BLACK…
Legendary NYC performance artist KEMBRA PFAHLER and her traveling freakshow of painted ladies known as THE VOLUPTUOUS HORROR OF KAREN BLACK brought the crazy back to Miami this Wednesday nite when the band took to the stage at DEITCH PROJECTS‘ annual poolside throwdown at the swank Raleigh Hotel in South Beach. Luckily, Supertouch blogger TIM BISKUP is nice with a Leica. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
MIA IN MIAMI///MARK RYDEN, TIM BISKUP, & RON ENGLISH HIT THE GOLDRUSH…
A-RON “The Downtown Don” brought a dirty dose of the Lower East Side to South Beach when his “Black Daddy” party went down at one of the city’s most highbrow venues: the GOLDRUSH GENTLEMAN’S CLUB on Thursday nite. Keeping their cameras in their pockets, revelers MARK RYDEN, TIM BISKUP, and RON ENGLISH instead chose to capture images of the nite’s “proceedings” in their sketchbooks. HAVE A LOOK: MARK RYDEN:
RON ENGLISH: TIM BISKUP:
MIA IN MIAMI///REAL “ART”…
Supertouch blogger SCOTT CAMPBELL sniffed out the best piece of art NOT in an art fair at Basel Miami this week when he found this to-die-for kustom early ’70s Impala 2 door hardtop. Featuring an ice blue paintjob, snowflake filled flames, monster rims, and a trunk mural attesting to its owner’s profession, this ice sled should be parked smack dab in the center of next year’s convention center…
MIA IN MIAMI///INSIDE THE FAME COLLECTIVE…
LINEAGE GALLERY director JOSH LINER took it upon himself to bring some of the brightest lights in the art underworld to BASEL this year with his FAME COLLECTIVE installation in a stunning five story South Beach mansion. Featuring new work by GLENN BARR, RON ENGLISH, CRASH, JEREMY FISH, MATZU MTP, STASH & FUTURA, GREG “CRAOLA” SIMKINS, SAM FLORES, KENJI HIRATA, KRIS KUKSI, CHRIS MARS, KORALIE, MARS-1, AIKO NAKAGAWA, MARK DEAN VECA, DAVE WHITE, AMY SOL, SHAWN BARBER, and CHRIS MENDOZA to name a few, the show was a tour de force and a virtual who’s who of the young “Juxtapoz art world.” HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
MIA IN MIAMI///THE STOOGES PLAY ART BASEL…
ART BASEL officially became the most legendary art event of 2007 when THE STOOGES appeared live on the festival’s beachfront stage last nite to bring a bit of Detroit hate to the Sunshine State. “Epic” begins to describe the evening…
MIA IN MIAMI///ART BASEL MADNESS…
Been running hard in Miami this week at ART BASEL with a certain iconic world-class cyclist with an impeccable eye for fine art. Needless to say, there’s better things to do than turn on the computer. Stay tuned for more coverage from the oceanfront circus that is the US art world’s biggest day out as the week goes on. More soon…
MIA IN MIAMI///MARK RYDEN AT ART BASEL…
Supertouch’s own MARK RYDEN debuted an incredible new large-scale six-figure masterpiece titled “Yoshi” at ART BASEL this year with LA’s MICHAEL KOHN GALLERY. For those collectors too timid to cash in their 401K plans getting closer to a Ryden original just got a little easier with PRESSURE PRINTING’s new limited edition framed print of Ryden’s “Madonna & Karl.” Click HERE for more details…
MIA IN MIAMI///THE BEST THING ABOUT ART BASEL…
NYC///RON ENGLISH ON THE LOOSE…
NYC got another dose of “Popaganda” when Supertouch’s RON ENGLISH debuted his latest massive show of over 40 new paintings at Manhattan’s OPERA GALLERY last week. Along for the ride was his iconic symbol of a fast food nation gone wrong in all 7′ of his redheaded, deep-fried, clown-shoed glory. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
BETHLEHEM///BANKSY DOES CHRISTMAS…
In celebration of the holiday season, British provocateur-at-large, SIR BANKSY has added his touch to the security wall separating Jerusalem & Palestine as part of this year’s annual pop-up SANTA’S GHETTO art shop which is set to open soon in the holiday motherland of Bethlehem as one of the most poignant shows of the year with incredibly high-quality work to spare. Featuring new works for sale by “street artists” BANKSY, SWOON, RON ENGLIGH, AIKO, BAST, LUCY MAC, KELSEY BROOKS, PAUL INSECT, GEE VAUCHER, ANTHONY MICALLEF, JONATHAN YEO, CONOR HARRINGTON, BLU, ERIC THE DOG, and 3D, among others, the show will benefit local needy children with 100% of profits being distributed to local non-governmental run, non-denominational charities. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
BROOKLYN///ART CRIMES///WK INTERACT AT ESPEIS ARCHETYPE…
Supertouch blogger WK INTERACT dropped a bomb on the New York art scene when his incredible show of new work, “The Trail” debuted last weekend at Brooklyn’s hotspot gallery, ESPEIS ARCHETYPE. Featuring dozens of new works, his biggest ever NY exhibit showcased an amazing array of paintings and sculptures including a large-scale multimedia piece incorporating a crashed motorcycle, and a mind-blowing series of explosives-laden skateboards guaranteed to get you stopped by Homeland Security. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
GRENADA///COOL SHITE///THE UNDERWATER SCULPTURE GARDEN…
As if you ever needed more coaxing to get into the waters of the Caribbean, artist JASON TAYLOR has made the island of Grenada a mecca for snorkeling art lovers with his unique underwater sculpture garden, the first of its kind in the world. Covering an area of several hundred square feet just off the island’s southern coast, the “gallery” features hundreds of carefully placed objects and human forms created by Taylor (with the permission of the government) that coexist with the island’s natural reef systems without interfering with their function or damaging their structures. Since debuting last year the site has proven to be a magnet for divers who have flocked to the site by the thousands. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »
NEWSROOM///DOWNTOWN’S BIG MOMENT…
Last week’s grand opening of the venerated NEW MUSEUM on one of NYC’s most historically disheveled thoroughfares, Bowery, is a window on the future of the Apple’s Lower East Side. HOLLAND COTTER sheds some light on the shape of things to come in this week’s NY TIMES:
AN UPBEAT MOMENT FOR A DOWNTRODDEN AREA The inaugural festivities of the new New Museum of Contemporary Art kick off today at noon and continue for a celebratory 30 admission-free hours. Just east and south of the museum’s Bowery site, some two dozen galleries, many of them recent arrivals, are open for business. This is an upbeat moment for a part of town that has seen its share of hard times, and lots of people are cheering. But at least a few have a more skeptical take: Here comes the art, there goes the neighborhood. Actually, this has been the situation since the East Village art boom of the 1980s, the last time Manhattan had anything like an alternative art universe, a neighborhood where artists and dealers — themselves often artists — lived, worked, showed, shopped and danced at night. But once art made the neighborhood chic, limousines were idling outside the storefront galleries. Real estate soared. Artists moved. The Lower East Side just south of the East Village — roughly between Houston and Canal Streets east of Bowery — remained a bargain for a while and kept its Latino-Chinese-punk cultural mix. Galleries came and went; a few exhibition spaces — ABC No Rio, Gallery 128, the Asian American Arts Center, the Henry Street Settlement, the Educational Alliance — are still there. But this was never a gallery-intensive scene. Things are changing fast. In the last few years several new galleries have put down roots. Canada, Cucchifritos, FusionArts, Participant Inc., Reena Spaulings and Rivington Arms led the way, later joined by Miguel Abreu Gallery and the artist-run Orchard; more recently James Fuentes, Fruit and Flower Deli, Smith-Stewart, Sunday, Eleven Rivington and Thierry Goldberg have opened.
NYC///GHOSTS OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE…
With the majority of young artists and galleries leaving the former art motherland of Manhattan for the cheaper rents of Brooklyn, it’s nice to see that one of our favorite galleries, 31 GRAND, has reversed that trend by resettling in new digs on the city’s lower east side. Always one of Brooklyn’s brightest lights on the gallery scene, 31G is now lighting up one of the Apple’s fastest-gentrifying neighborhoods with eclectic shows like their current group exhibit, “Just a Ghostly Paper Sigh,” featuring new works on paper by an impressive array of upstarts including BARNABY WHITFIELD, AFRUZ AMIGHI, ANNIE AUBE, TAYLOR BALDWIN, REBECCA CHAMBERLAIN, MIKE COCKRILL, MAGALIE GUÉRIN, JASON CLAY LEWIS, JASON COLE MAGER, GINA MAGID, JASMINE PASQUILL, and KIMI WEART. For those who missed the opening a few weeks back, the show remains on display until December 22. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry » |
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