Currently viewing the tag: "exhibitions"
Instinctual layered paintings driven by process
As soon as you enter Puerto Rican artist Angel Otero's Brooklyn work loft, the intense smell of paint nearly stops you at the door. Shelves housing copious tubes of oil paint and rows of Montana spray cans lining the back walls allude to the strong odor, but it's the stacks of work drying on wooden pallets surrounding the space that are really the culprit. But the extraordinary aroma is actually the upshot to Otero's distinct artistic technique, one which involves an extensive process of building up layers of paint on plexiglass before methodically scraping them off.
"I've always been intrigued by process," says Otero. The artist, who received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, typically allows materials to inform his work. While there is substance to his paintings, he's not driven by the challenge of depicting a personal narrative. Instead his work reflects his ambition in taking painting to another level and his ability to work successfully off of sheer impulse.
"The process kind of starts with usually me painting on plexiglass," he says. "After I do the painting, I cover it with more oil paint, the whole thing. And then I do more layers of oil paint. Then eventually it goes to the floor and I cover it with a black color, a pigment of oil paint. The pigment of black is the most rubberish one. Pigments come from rocks, so that means they are all different types of materials which dry differently toward the different oil mediums. Black is the one that when it's dry, stays the most malleable. So the last layer of all the paintings I do, I cover with black—a thick layer of black—and then they go to dry.
Otero initially came to this process by recycling paint as a way of saving money and resources while he was in school. He would scrape the paint off works he was dissatisfied with and add it to a growing mountain of remnant oil paint. Eventually, he started to form the clumps into flower shapes and spray paint them silver, which on the canvas created the illusion of working with tin foil. "From there it developed slowly, in some way," he explains. "But it felt good because I was using a material that I wanted—oil paint—and at the same time I had found a great process that is pretty unique, and whatever I do, people are going to be more attracted toward 'how did you do it' rather than 'what is it about'?"
While this was an important stylistic shift for Otero, it also laid the foundation for what would become his signature technique of creating oil skins on glass. After his mountain of dried paint diminished, he began putting paint in glasses to dry. He noticed, when reusing the glasses for the first time, that some of them were stained from the paint before it. "When I scraped that second layer, I noticed that it transferred the stains. I was like, 'oh shit, I could paint on glass, cover it with paint and then scrape it, and I would have a full sheet of paint that would have the painting that I did'", he reveals.
After several experiments Otero found specific types of oil paint that he could combine that would give him the tactile surface he desired, and one that would last for a long time. Once that process of strategically scraping layers of paint off of glass inch by inch using doctor blades was in place, he was able to begin playing with the leather-like layer of dried paint. After applying a thick layer of epoxy to a canvas, Otero and his two-person team would transfer the heavy skin to the canvas and begin folding in loose wrinkles.
Although his style is certainly contemporary, Otero is interested in experimenting with compositions that contrast the old with the new. He will recreate a work by French classicist Nicolas Poussin, painting it to detailed perfection on glass. Then he covers the painting in more oil paint that "will eventually be the background", lets it dry, possibly repeats this step and then begins scraping the skin off the glass in a way that exposes the various layers at different points in the composition. In this way, the painting becomes almost like a print or a collage.
Otero's approach has been attracting attention since his days at art school. Having honed his technique with confidence, he is able to keep experimenting—both with painting and his second love, sculpture—producing works that are meaningful in both appearance and form.
His latest body of work will soon be on display at Istanbul '74, his first solo show in the Turkish metropolis. The exhibition, put on in partnership with NYC's Lehmann Maupin Gallery, opens 23 February 2012 and runs through 17 March 2012.
Photos by BHP. See more images of Otero's studio in the slideshow below.
A new show curated by Sarah Schmerler sheds light on the luster of four artists' work
In the forthcoming group show "Gʉilty / (NOT) Guilty," art critic and curator Sarah Schmerler brings together four talented artists for a cohesive display of works surrounding the play on words that the title implies. Turning guilt instead into a word synonymous with a gold surface, the exhibition explores the luster of an artist's work in economic downtime and questions what makes a piece of art attractive in the eyes of society. Or, as Schmerler explains in her curatorial statement for the show, "I think of this show as my own kind of illustrated 'Fuck U'."
Originally debuting in May 2011 on Schmerler's virtual exhibition space 45projects (which she curates with the industrious design director Paulius Nosokas), the physical manifestation of "Gʉilty" on view at Brooklyn's Norte Maar will keep the same foursome on roster, a group of established yet emerging artists Schmerler says have been "hiding in plain sight." The lineup includes Ellen Letcher, Francesco Masci, Alfred Steiner and Pablo Tauler, who will each show the works included in the online version as well as new pieces.
In his spare time, copyright lawyer Alfred Steiner creates works that Schmerler considers "visually arresting" in their own right, but at the same time reflect a fascinating narrative. Steiner beautifully entwines various body parts like eyeballs, noses and even muscle tissue to create impeccably rendered silhouettes that transform the sum of its parts into an incredible whole.
NYC-based Chilean artist Pablo Tauler uses just a ballpoint pen for his meticulously drawn illustrations on display at Norte Maar, which turn ethereal scenes and abstract forms into bold, large-scale works of art. The airy depictions he presents for Gʉilty / (NOT) Guilty are only a small facet of his work, which spans painting, digital photography and video.
Schmerler describes Francesco Masci as a classic Renaissance artist who can really paint, but one with no misgivings about crossing boundaries. In addition to his Twitter-inspired portraiture, Masci will show his 2009 "Totem" series, comprised of images created from hundreds of digital files procured through Google searches and stacked to make a wildly emblematic statement on modern obsessions. Masci's formal training allows him to move seamlessly between subjects and styles, executing his work with a fresh perspective for his medium.
Ellen Letcher cuts and pastes in the physical realm, arranging images pulled from periodicals and magazines into perceptive collages adhered together with paint. The slightly ominous subject matter only backs up already engrossing compositions that toe the line between fact and fiction.
Gʉilty / (NOT) Guilty opens 1st January 2012 at Norte Maar with a Champagne brunch to celebrate, and will run through the end of the month. Check out the online catalog—created by Nosokas, who will also have a few works on display concurrently at Norte Maar—for more on the show and the four New York-based artists it champions.
Norte Maar
83 Wyckoff Avenue, #1B
Brooklyn, NY
11237
+1.646.361.8512
Life lessons from legendary photographer Mick Rock on the eve of his New York exhibition
Mick Rock is probably not the first name that pops to mind if you're thinking about seeking some career advice. Dubbed the world over as "the man who shot the Seventies," Rock is known as much for his own rock star reputation—he claims his biggest achievement is that he's still standing—as he is for the photographs he took of countless lead singers and wayward musicians during the indelible era of punk. While that might be the timeframe that catapulted his wild success, Rock has endured through it all and continues to be one of the most sought-after lensmen in the music industry today, shooting everyone from Lady Gaga to Tommy Lee.
However, when we caught up with the man himself to discuss the opening of his NYC exhibition at the W Downtown—aptly titled "Rocked"—the legendary photographer inadvertently shed some light on the keys to remaining so relevant over the years. Describing himself as "some leftover from a forgotten era, way before rock 'n' roll ever showed up," his surprisingly humble attitude sends an even more powerful message.
One of the most valuable snippets of wisdom we gleaned from the conversation sums up the passion that Rock's portraits exude. He sagely imparts, "Follow your obsession, because at worst you'll build up a collection. Down the road that collection could have a value. You might make piss-all money right now, but one day you might make a bundle." Rock's obsession found him touring with bands like Thin Lizzy, be-friending Syd Barrett and becoming David Bowie's official photographer. His personal relationships with the bands undoubtedly played a part in his success, but for Rock it's as simple as this: "I like to shoot, it's good for my psyche, it's good for my fucking soul."
For a fan of music in general, photographing any budding musician can still be an exciting moment, but it's not their actual tunes that pique Rock's curiosity. "I'm not looking for the truth, or reality, I'm interested in their aura, what the music gives off, and what their consciousness gives off as performing agents, as artists." Despite his genuine ability to connect on a creative level, occasionally paying the bills is also a factor. Another lesson Rock offers is essentially to learn the dance but don't sell out.
Likening himself to an "uptown prostitute" at times, he extends this insight: "As like any great hooker, if you pay her enough money she will be in love with you for a certain amount of time. Well, I can be in love with you." The magic he seems to impart while shooting, the work he allows himself to take, all of this boils down to a man who knows his craft extremely well. Claiming his rich career was in no way built by design, he also claims you have to study your profession and be willing to compromise.
Arguably a huge part of what allows Rock to transcend time is his ability to go with the flow. He doesn't totally even completely understand his own celebrity, but rather than become reclusive or keep his surplus of unpublished photos to himself, he rolls with the hand life continues to deal him. Slightly puzzled at the recent French Vogue feature on his oeuvre, he embraces his "ghosts of yore" and says poetically, "The past has paved the way for me to come again."
In addition to the traveling exhibition on view at the W, for which he specifically shot Janelle Monae, Theophilus London and several other contemporary stars, Rock plans to publish a set of limited-edition books that will unearth archived photos. First will be a dedicated book on Thin Lizzy (for which he's chosen to get the approval of Phil Lynott's daughter Sarah before publishing), followed by a book with Lou Reed called "Believe It or Not: Transformer" and finally a book on the godfather of punk rock, the iconic Iggy Pop. In the 1970s, there wasn't an abundance of outlets like today's blog-fueled industry, so for Rock, this is a chance to "get all these pictures out there that people haven't seen."
"Rocked" will be on view through 29 December 2011 at the W Downtown before moving on to W Hotels in Washington, D.C. and Seattle.
A conceptual artist's first solo show explores the duality of human nature using hairnets, fish hooks and more
Rubber dairy hoses, human hair, fish hooks and other oddities serve as standard materials for Manchester-based artist Susie MacMurray, who explores the human condition with a beautifully eerie approach. Curious about life's delicate balance, MacMurray explains she is fascinated by "how amazing and successful we are" and yet how "fragile and weak" we can be, and her unsettling compositions and shapes poetically express this duality.
MacMurray often experiments with concepts in her studio, but much of her work is site-specific, making her current London exhibition at Agnew's Gallery the first to encompass a range of her talents in one location. "The Eyes of the Skin" showcases various drawings, sculptures and large-scale installations which give physical form and emotional context to her questions about seduction and repulsion.
The symmetry in her work serve as a metaphorical seesaw, representing the ability we have as humans to easily shift from one point to another, from calm to chaos. It's this type of tension that captivates MacMurray, and from her thoughtful nature comes meaningful, striking work. Household gloves turned inside out, hairnets and Saran wrap are transformed to make ethereal statements about what it means to celebrate life when death is an inevitable outcome.
Her painstaking production methods and theatrical executions mark the upshot of her former career as a professional bassoonist, during which she gleaned insight on the importance of creating a piece that reaches people viscerally, not just as an intellectual narrative. In an effort to explore her own concepts instead of following the lead of a conductor, MacMurray retrained as an artist and struck out on her own in 2001.
Ten years later, MacMurray's oeuvre contains an impressive array of works that turn banal objects into elegant displays of thought. "The Eyes of the Skin" is on view at Agnew's Gallery from 09 November through 04 December 2011. Those in London can also check out her piece entitled "Widow"—an evening gown made of black leather and nearly 100 pounds of dressmakers pins—at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the group exhibition "Power of Making" through 02 January 2012.
A Brooklyn artist depicts mad scientist machines in his first solo show in San Francisco
So intricately drawn they are seemingly plucked straight from the imagination of a mad scientist, artist Justin Amrhein's works will give you a pretty good idea of wha that might look like. Currently on view in a solo show dubbed "Schema", Amrhein's illustrations precisely map the interiors of complicated imaginary machines, contrasting strong parallel lines and sharply angled corners with organically-shaped valves and snaking cables. With the occasional splash of color, the overall muted color palette balances out the elaborate show of lines.
Whether the subject is as organic as a praying mantis, as threatening as a nuclear weapon, or as exotic as a futuristic device conjured up by the artist's imagination, each drawing brings to light those hidden workings underneath the surface that tend to escape our notice.
"Schema" is on display at San Francisco's Michael Rosenthal Gallery through 30 July 2011.
Moody sculptural paintings by an emerging NYC artist
Stark yet colorful works that fall somewhere between painting and sculpture, NYC-based artist Eli Ping's practice is a study of unexpected tension in form, subject and tone. Ping says he's "ultimately interested in materials and process, and accomplishing a form that conveys energetic resonance to the viewer," a feat accomplished by keeping spontaneity alive in otherwise highly-considered compositions.
This ruminative approach to art-making shows up in his current solo exhibition at NYC's Susan Inglett Gallery, but also signals a shift. Where he previously worked heavily with resins, Ping found that their toxicity was a "major impediment to accomplishing intimacy" with his materials and switched to applying paint-soaked cotton to canvas.
The resulting fluid shapes have a sense of order without appearing overly worked—a tipping point for Ping. If a piece becomes too "fussy," he will often flip it over or turn it upside down, a technique borrowed from Impressionism. Ping explains, "they would often paint over an entire area, some people would say that is a waste of energy but even if it's not visible, it still informs the work."
A painting resembling a classic Rorschach test clearly illustrates Ping's labor between intention and impulse. While symmetry abounds, he likens the unbalanced composition's structure to that of nature. Repetition develops organically without feeling forced, the result of a process that, like contemporaries such as designer Maarten Baas, lets ideas evolve over time.
A photo of a church steeple shot through a drinking glass several years ago, now appears as a "stretched from the top" form in some of his sculptural pieces. Ping stresses that he doesn't set out to replicate what he sees, adding "I have a sense of what qualities I aspire to, usually in response to a feeling of lack in a previous piece. Any pre-envisioning doesn't go farther than that."
Looking to the future however, Ping says his work will fall more in line with his simplified lifestyle. Moving forward he will create pieces that, unlike his current complex and often quite fragile works, need not "to be handled with kid gloves" and can instead become a part of a person's life, rather than just hung on a wall.
Eli Ping's third solo exhibition runs through 4 June 2011 at Susan Inglett Gallery.
Six designs from the 2011 NY Auto Show we'd love to see in production
Concept cars serve two purposes: To create an allure and desire for a brand and to explore style and technology innovations that influence a maker's range of cars in a more accessible time frame. Most of these cars had their debut at other recent shows, but all are alluring and insightful in how they will influence upcoming models.
Saab's PhoeniX combines a sleek sports body with a highly engineered, efficient propulsion system. The all-wheel drive hybrid sports a 200hp, 1.6-litre turbo engine to power the front wheels while the rear is powered by an electrically driven axle. Its sexy lines are an insight into design director Jason Castriota's vision for the brand we're all hoping makes its way into upcoming cars. It's camera-driven rear view mirrors and super-slick butterfly doors provide an accessible yet futuristic feel.
It's always exciting when a company reinvents a classic. Volkswagen revisits its iconic microbus model with their Bulli concept, a six-seater driven by an electric motor with a 186-mile range. Further enabling drivers to leverage their devices instead of being tied to a car's tech, the infotainment system is driven by an iPad. VW says this flexible beauty is headed for production in 2014.
Striking lines and a sleek design come together in this nontraditional concept of the age-old touring sedan. The Lexus LF-Gh is probably the boldest hybrid of recent times. Designed for the low emission standards of the future and the style, performance and efficiency demands of today.
Scion's FRS-8 is based on a platform that Toyota used for its recently introduced FT-86 II concept and that will power the rear-wheel drive Subaru Boxer when it goes into production in 2012. Scion's take is our favorite, and one we'd love to see go into production.
Designed specifically for city dwellers, Cadillac's Urban concept seats four and is driven by a 1.0-liter three cylinder engine. The compact package and use of electric assist technology gets this vehicle an estimated 56mpg in the city, and despite its small size it comfortably surrounds you in Cadillac luxury.
One of the few cars unveiled at the show, the A-class concept maintains its Mercedes-Benz DNA and infuses it with a welcome youthful twist. In addition to its sporty and sleek design the car features a new turbocharged 4 cylinder engine, a dual clutch transmission, advanced collision protection and braking systems.
A Parisian photographer's objective take on small towns in a dual retrospective
by Isabelle Doal
Upon first glance Eric Tabuchi's photographs merely feature disgraceful gas stations lost in no man's land, Chinese restaurants in improbable settings and skate parks where dull gray tones consume the entire landscape. His subjects seem like superfluous outcasts with to no real place in in the world. His curiosity instead explores the metaphorical confines of belonging to nature, by portraying these humble, fading buildings and objects he reveals realities about our surroundings with new eyes—as a foreigner would do—showing how the outskirts may tell something about the center.
Influenced by the works of Bernd and Hilla Becher, a German photography duo known for their depictions of industrial buildings as typology, Tabuchi—who formally studied sociology—draws attention to the tiny signs located in the margin of normality. He demonstrates how eventually, if not on purpose, things end up looking like each other through instinctive use of the same symbols and aesthetic.
An echo to each photo's outstanding simplicity and stark surroundings, the neutral positioning of his subjects tells about Tabuchi's point of view and approach, which is to remain objective and refrain from creating any amount of melancholy within the picture. He feels the best place for a picture is in a magazine, where it is printed, seen and thrown away. For Tabuchi, pictures are nothing but common everyday life items.
As a delayed secondary effect, the loneliness of these oft-abandoned remnants reaches the observer with their familiar shapes, like how going back home would do. For that reason, when Tabuchi exhibits his photos he always tries to merge them among other objects and forms so that it, as an overall picture, makes a new landscape and in the end a new picture.
The French photographer is also known for his books—most notably for "Alphabet Truck" and his interpretation of Ed Ruscha's "Twentysix Gasoline Stations." With both books and all of his works, Tabuchi did extensive traveling, documenting what looks a lot like America but is actually all shot "within a 250-km radius from Paris."
Tabuchi's extensive repertoire is on view at two galleries in Strasbourg, France. Creating one unified retrospective, "Mini Golf" opens at La Chambre 11 March 2011 and runs through 8 May 2011 while "Indoor Land" is currently on display at Le Maillon and runs through 29 April 2011.
A Parisian photographer's objective take on small towns in a dual retrospective
by Isabelle Doal
Upon first glance Eric Tabuchi's photographs merely feature disgraceful gas stations lost in no man's land, Chinese restaurants in improbable settings and skate parks where dull gray tones consume the entire landscape. His subjects seem like superfluous outcasts with to no real place in in the world. His curiosity instead explores the metaphorical confines of belonging to nature, by portraying these humble, fading buildings and objects he reveals realities about our surroundings with new eyes—as a foreigner would do—showing how the outskirts may tell something about the center.
Influenced by the works of Bernd and Hilla Becher, a German photography duo known for their depictions of industrial buildings as typology, Tabuchi—who formally studied sociology—draws attention to the tiny signs located in the margin of normality. He demonstrates how eventually, if not on purpose, things end up looking like each other through instinctive use of the same symbols and aesthetic.
An echo to each photo's outstanding simplicity and stark surroundings, the neutral positioning of his subjects tells about Tabuchi's point of view and approach, which is to remain objective and refrain from creating any amount of melancholy within the picture. He feels the best place for a picture is in a magazine, where it is printed, seen and thrown away. For Tabuchi, pictures are nothing but common everyday life items.
As a delayed secondary effect, the loneliness of these oft-abandoned remnants reaches the observer with their familiar shapes, like how going back home would do. For that reason, when Tabuchi exhibits his photos he always tries to merge them among other objects and forms so that it, as an overall picture, makes a new landscape and in the end a new picture.
The French photographer is also known for his books—most notably for "Alphabet Truck" and his interpretation of Ed Ruscha's "Twentysix Gasoline Stations." With both books and all of his works, Tabuchi did extensive traveling, documenting what looks a lot like America but is actually all shot "within a 250-km radius from Paris."
Tabuchi's extensive repertoire is on view at two galleries in Strasbourg, France. Creating one unified retrospective, "Mini Golf" opens at La Chambre 11 March 2011 and runs through 8 May 2011 while "Indoor Land" is currently on display at Le Maillon and runs through 29 April 2011.
Best-yet cases for iPads and iPhones, auto-tattoos, Slinkachu's new work and more in our weekly web round-up
1. Concrete Ocean
Concrete Ocean, a solo exhibition of London-based artist Slinkachu's miniature installations, continues to explore themes that "reflect the loneliness and melancholy of living in a big city."
2. Traumgedanken
Budding designer Maria Fischer's thesis project on dreams, Traumgedanken, uses string to weave together literary, philosophical, psychological and scientific texts for a tangible interpretation of how "pieces of reality are assembled to build a story."
3. Auto Ink
Artist Chris Eckert put together Auto Ink, an interactive sculpture consisting of an automated tattooing machine. If you dare to insert your arm and flip the switch, the machine will automatically assign you a religion and needle a symbol associated with it into your skin.
4. IPad 2 Smart Cover
Sure the new iPad ushers in just enough bells and whistles to rev up sales again, but we think the way the slim all-in-one cover remedies some of the device's biggest form-factor problems is the real step forward.
5. Non-Sign II
Reduced to negative space framed by a haze of blackened stainless steel sticks, this poetic vision of a billboard by Seattle's artsiest architects Lead Pencil Studio continues to make the Internet rounds for good reason.
6. Brit Insurance Design Awards 2011
Phaidon shows highlights from the fourth annual Brit Insurance Design Awards, a culling of the design world's best additions in the categories of architecture, fashion, furniture, graphics, interactive, product and transport. Flipboard took home the Interactive Award this year, and the highly-addictive game Angry Birds got a nod for its entertaining design.
7. TCase
LifeProof's iPhone 4 Tcase is perfect for the techie adventurer. Designed to be super shock-, water- and dirt-resistant, the case can withstand falls from nearly seven feet and can survive the same depth underwater. While you can't talk while swimming, an attachment connects headphones through a water seal so you can sing along to Adele in the tub without worrying about trying to save your device with rice.
8. Secret Stash Project
If you missed this when it made the web rounds the first time, this pretty video outlines design student Yiting Cheng's "Secret Stash Project". Chang takes everyday objects and modifies them to conceal anything from cash to a laptop, essentially hiding everything in plain sight with secret compartments meshing seamlessly into the environment.
Personal submarines, Scott Campbell's tattoo art, and "guess who" sunglasses in this week's best of the web
3. Jeremy Scott and Linda Farrow Sunglasses
1. NYFW: Polka-Dot Buildings
In honor of fashion week, Architizer's street photographer snaps two New York building with polka-dotted facades.
2. En Selle Marcel
"Superior bicycles and timeless vintage accessories" sell at En Selle Marcel, Paris' new luxury concept dedicated to highlighting the raw beauty of well-crafted bicycles. Stocking limited editions, special collaborations and high-caliber bikes, hopefully they will also supply the world's best locks.
3. Jeremy Scott and Linda Farrow Sunglasses
For his latest line of Linda Farrow sunglasses, British fashion designer Jeremy Scott includes a series of impish pairs that make life into a permanent game of peek-a-boo.
4. Noblesse Oblige
Tattoo artist Scott Campbell opens OHWOW's new L.A. gallery with an exhibition of his latest works. Called Noblesse Oblige, the collection includes 3D carvings and sculptures created from uncut sheets of dollars sourced directly from the U.S. Mint.
5. Greplin Search Bar
Greplin, a new search utility, doesn't scan the web to find you the best deal on Panama Jack flip flops, but rather works as a personal search engine for all the data you keep floating in the great cloud. Give Greplin access to your Facebook, Gmail, Twitter or any number of other online services, and it presents you with a Google-like search box to browse all the data you have locked away online.
6. Ego Personal Submarine
If you get jealous watching handsome, aging scientists climb into tiny glass orbs to descend to the greatest depths of the ocean, then the Ego might just be for you. Produced by Raonhaje, the Ego is a pontoon-like seacraft with a glass-encased viewing station below deck so you can lounge under water and enjoy the sights of the blue deep.
7. DIY Photorealistic Pouches
The great folks over at Photojojo have published an easy-to-use guide detailing how to construct your own photorealistic pouches. Follow these steps and you can make a cassette tape case to tote your iPod or Nintendo controller change purses.
8. Jersey Shore Infographic
Online Schools developed an infographic outlining the salaries of your favorite Jersey Shore cast members. From vodka sponsorships to book deals, the kids from the Tristate are cleaning up. Don't look if you don't appreciate unconventional talent.
Artist Michael Riedel's first introspective show reinterprets source code as textual printed matter
A man seemingly obsessed with extraction, abstraction and repetition, Michael Riedel takes printed matter and toys with it until most sense is lost. With an almost "Matrix" style of approach, Riedel uses text to "write with writing," a technique in which he excerpts the works of others in order to make his own statement. His current work—on display at the David Zwirner gallery in an exhibition titled "The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog"—finally sees Riedel use himself as his subject.
Culling HTML code from websites that feature Riedel (mostly MoMA and David Zwirner), the Frankfurt-based artist created massive linear collages by copying and pasting the text in InDesign. By layering and turning the text, the arrangement appears nonsensical at first glance, but there is a clear pattern defined on each canvas. There is also seemingly a theme for each of the silk-screened "poster paintings," with individual keyboard commands like "click," "print," "color" and "alt" highlighted in bold type.
Hung against a wallpaper backdrop of even more black-and-white code, the canvases are accented by colorful circles—a new foray for Riedel. The color not only helps to balance out the web of text, but with their geometric pie-like structure they also seem like the spinning beach ball Mac users encounter when their computer is processing.
A pangram used to test typewriters and keyboards, here "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" underlines the detached relationship Riedel found between text, canvas, paper, and architecture.
The exhibition opens today and runs through 19 March 2011 at David Zwirner gallery, where he will also be signing his catalogs on 5 March 2011 from 4-6pm.
Suit shopping with Retna on the eve of his Hallelujah World Tour
Behind gate 37E on Washington Street lies a warehouse with a Buick Regal parked inside. Photographers are snapping away, laptops are out, and well-dressed critics buzz throughout the space. This was the scene when I visited "Breaking Bread," the first stop on Retna's three-continent-spanning Hallelujah Tour on the day before its opening.
Sponsored by VistaJet and Bombardier, the tour will see the L.A. graffiti legend spend the better part of the next year on the road, painting all original material in NYC, Hong Kong and London—and with a just-announced surprise show in Venice along the way. The series of shows comes on the heels of Retna's successful solo show at L.A.'s New Image Art gallery, where powerhouse Museum of Contemporary Art director Jeffery Deitch compared Retna to Keith Haring, positioning it as "one of the most exciting exhibitions that I have seen this year."
For someone arguably at the peak of his career, Retna speaks casually about the worldwide tour, describing how the origins of the show started with a studio visit from the concept's impresarios Andy Valmorbida and Vlad Restoin Roitfeld. "I thought it was cool, I was down with the cities. Then the sponsors came in and they wanted to put the ad on the plane digitally. I was like, 'Nah, if my work's gonna be out there it's gonna be real, I don't photoshop shit. If you want my work on that plane it's going to be one 100% real.' So now they're locking down some super hanger so I can paint in it."
If this newfound big league is unexpected or overwhelming, Retna doesn't show it. "You know that's why I still listen to the same music as I did back then. I'm still that same kid trying to get up on walls chasing the dream. When I was young I didn't know what it was, but now that I'm here I guess this is the dream, I'm living it now." Just after Retna shares these insights, a scruffy group of men who could be Hell's Angels approach us. "You really out did yourself this time bro, looks great."
The man clamps my hand, "Haze, good to meet you. This is my girl Rosie." As in Perez, and Haze himself is one of graffiti's inventors. Our corner of the room starts to fill up with members of Retna's MSK crew, making it feel like a celebration. And there's a lot to celebrate, not only Retna but the culture he represents—a kid from the gang-infested streets of L.A. who desperately wanted to join a gang at 13 but was told to focus on art instead. "You know they didn't do that for just anybody," he recalls. "They told me you can chill with us, you can smoke with us, you can paint our walls, but you ain't a gangbanger."
Retna introduces me to Revok1, who was recently arrested in Australia in what was called "the vandal vacation." Revok1 explains, "Something like 10,000 kids went out to Melbourne from all over the country when they heard what was going down. They painted like 70% of all of the trains. The mayor came out and declared a state of emergency and called it a disgrace."
Retna asks if we should continue the interview at a bar so he can relax, but before we can decide where, two enthusiastic assistants corner us saying, "This dinner is a huge deal! It's like $100,000 a plate, and they're auctioning off your painting. Bill Clinton is going to be there." Retna, seemingly unaffected, is more interested in rounding up his friends for a quiet night downtown somewhere. After some back and forth with the assistants, it's decided that his presence is required as an ambassador of "street art" culture. This is his world now whether he likes it or not. "I'm not a street artist dude, I mean, they can't do what we do. I'm a graf writer. I always have been. Graf writers were getting gallery shows since the '80s. This isn't new, they just like that tag because it's safe."
With no suit on hand for the black tie event, we begin shopping through Soho, punctuated by "Fear and Loathing" moments, like Retna walking around Hugo Boss shirtless. The manicured men standing at attention find his antics less than amusing, even scoffing at his lack of interest in their style.
With the same courage he showed when he faced jail time and the same unflagging desire to paint, Retna does it all for the culture now so warmly embraced by high society. Before he disappears into the crowds of Soho, he turns with eyes open hugging the sky, "not bad for a lil nigga from the hood!"
Kicking off the Hallelujah Tour, "Breaking Bread" opens 10 February 2010 and runs through 21 February 2010 before moving on to its next port.
Artist Agathe Snow teams up with Mykita on a pair of "monumental" sunglasses for her Guggenheim Berlin show
Aliens might've constructed Egyptian pyramids (or it could be the more likely story of slave labor), but the more urgent question according to artist Agathe Snow is our relationship to these towering structures. She takes up the question in her current show, an homage to monuments at the Guggenheim Berlin dubbed "All Access World." Corsica-born, NYC-based Snow has already made a name for herself with artfully messy sculptural works and a penchant for interactive art, with this show exploring "a more democratic approach to monument ownership and distribution." Filled with an array of mobile sculptures, large-scale wall collages, video works and more, the exhibit examines the identifying factors that bind people to places.
Accompanying the monumental mixed-media works, a pair of sunglasses designed by Snow and Berlin-based framemaker Mykita plays off the theme with subtle references to iconic landmarks. The neon pink- and black-hued shades feature a handpainted silhouette of either Manhattan's skyline or the Pyramids of Giza, applied so finely to the inner side of the lenses in gold that the wearer barely notices.
The sunglasses, limited to an edition of 200, play off Snow's idea that visually omnipresent monuments should be "available as products" sold through her fictional company All Access World. Snow explains in an interview with Deutsche Guggenheim magazine, "Monuments are a contradiction. Things that depend on the act of remembering cannot be static. How can you be of a moment in history yet speak of timelessness?" Nailing the point home, the Mykita model that Snow chose for the project (called Cyrus) riffs off the classic Clubmaster style that everyone from JFK to surfers has sported.
Assembled entirely by hand at the Mykita workshop, each pair is individually numbered on the temple and comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by Snow. They sell from Museum Shop of the Deutsche Guggenheim (and within the next few weeks at Mykita stores and other dealers) for €370 each.
Wes Lang's personal possessions show off his sentimental side in a new exhibit at Partners and Spade
From Jesse James to Capone, the American outlaw has long held a place in the popular imagination. For insight on today's rebel, artist Wes Lang sheds unique light on how the archetype fits into the modern world. With works in MoMA's permanent collection and a host of international exhibitions under his weathered "Keep On Fuckin" leather belt, Lang's talent is as strong as his opinions on America's past and future. To take a closer look at the man behind the sentimentally subversive paintings and drawings, as Partners & Spade has done with their exhibit of Lang's personal objects, is to peer into a particular
While overall Lang's possessions don't differ much from any backwoods badboy's—a silver dagger with a voluptuous naked lady handle, a middle finger statuette or a mounted roach collection—items like his rawhide packs of rolled up leather cigarettes show his meticulous dedication to any concept he creates.
Citing Basquiat as a major influence, Lang's studious perfection also comes through in his highly-detailed, collage-like oil paintings and sketches. Montages of the kind of images typically airbrushed on the side of a Harley or its owner's jacket breathe new life into these subjects with their meaningfully irreverent statements next to each image.
Covered in ink himself, fittingly much of Lang's work would make an ideal tattoo. Along with his friend, tattoist Scott Campbell, the two make a case for tattooing as a legitimate artform. As part of the Partners & Spade show, called "Staring At Empty Pages," Lang will be on hand 20 November 2010 giving tattoos from a pre-drawn selection of custom flash art.
Full of angst and passion, Lang's work comes from a deep source. As Partners & Spade's Andrew Post explains, Lang had a close relationship with his former math teacher who recently passed away. A massive Grateful Dead fan, on display is his math teacher's leather briefcase swathed in Dead stickers and friendship bracelets he collected from the 250 shows he attended as well as an extensive collection of tapes he left to Lang.
"Staring At Empty Pages" is on view through 6 December 2010 weekends only or by appointment through the week at the Partners & Spade studio.
Photography great Mick Rock's new book and exhibition
by Matt Spangler
Photo books flaunting the great faces of rock 'n' roll sometimes seem to outnumber the actual musicians presently vying for their shot. But when one of the last legendary lensmen like Mick Rock takes up the pages, the pictures are worthy of that precious space on your coffee table.
The idea of rock photography itself, following the Internet's democratization of the photographer's star status, will never quite be the same. Rock is among the last of the classic rock photographers, with contemporaries like Danny Clinch, whose own stardom is intrinsically linked to the bands he shot. Arguably the modern-day nightlife photogs Mark "Cobrasnake" Hunter, Last Night's Party and Nicky Digital carry the torch down the path blazed by Rock, but aren't likely to wield the same genre-defining influence as Rock has on the American perception of music.
Celebrated as "The Man Who Shot the '70s," his images help visualize what we know today as rock 'n' roll. A portrait of an unknown David Bowie launched Rock's career in 1972 and he since spent the next four decades capturing the who's who of rock royalty. With a special mix of talent and right-place-at-the-right-time, his career was established.
"London in the late sixties and early seventies was a hotbed of creative interchange. The prevalent hippie philosophy united all manner of artists, musicians, filmmakers, models, designers, actors, writers, and photographers into a unique and fertile community. My timing was excellent. Curiosity and circumstance drew me into the flame of rock 'n' roll." said Rock. The exhibition "Rock: Music" on view at NYC's Morrison Hotel Gallery—aptly located in the former CBGB space—coincides with the launch of Rock's new book, "Exposed: The Faces of Rock 'n' Roll." The exhibition features large format prints of some of the most distinctive music portraits of all time, including rare photographs from sessions with Syd Barrett, Iggy Pop and Bryan Ferry and video art from Dean Holtermann.
"Exposed: The Faces of Rock 'n' Roll" is Rock's latest book and is a retrospective that includes 200 previously unseen and unpublished images from over 40 years of work. It includes images of '70s legends David Bowie, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Blondie, Queen, Iggy Pop, the Sex Pistols, Andy Warhol, Rocky Horror and more mixed with the new guard of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Killers and Lady Gaga with a sprinkling of multi-genre heavyweights like Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys and Kate Moss.
Soon following the New York opening, the exhibition will move to London at the Idea Generation Gallery and runs concurrently until mid-January 2011. Fitting for a man who helped define the connection between the two cities, with music being one of the relationships defining characteristics. With British bands Radiohead, Coldplay and 2010 Coachella headliners The Gorillaz still serving as stadium selling forces in America, the British invasion defined by the Beatles, Bowie, and partially Mick Rock seems stronger then ever.
As the pages of his book, the party to launch the exhibition was filled with a diverse mix of rockers and artists like Andy Rourke and Harif Guzman. Watching Rock in the pit of the concert shooting with his digital camera, he didn't let his legend restrict his unbridled enthusiasm for English rocker Adam Green as he snapped flashy pics of the pretty young things with a smile on his face. If anything it reveals the secret of many great photographers—most of his famous subjects are his friends.
"Exposed: The Faces of Rock 'n' Roll" sells online from Chronicle Books and Amazon.
Multi-account ATM cards, A.P.C. quilts, mini macaroons and more in our look at the week on the web
1. Minifood and Modular Dollhouses
From tiny boxes of Laudurée macaroons to finely-detailed salmon steaks, architect Stéphanie Kilgast’s miniatures are Lilliputian works of wonder.
2. In Search of the Miraculous or One Thing Leads to Another
In Search of the Miraculous or One Thing Leads to Another" explores esteemed designer Milton Glaser's sources of inspiration and how a single source can inspire a range of very different, though intrinsically-related, work. The show's currently on view at AIGA's New York City Gallery.
3. Roberu iPhone Case Natural
Another Something just updated their Another Shop, adding three key products—The Royal Treatment shoe polish along with a handmade leather camera strap and iPhone case from esteemed Japanese label Roberu.
4. IDEO's Future of the Book
Design and innovation consultants IDEO explore the future of the book in their video about three new concepts, Nelson, Coupland and Alice. The experimental concepts explore how technology can influence the way we interact with books through discussion, social networking and constructing a community around the content.
5. Chromeo-poo
The PICNIC Festival just wrapped up in Amsterdam (stay tuned for our highlights next week) and Core77 picked up Alexander Daisy Ginsberg's conceptual presentation on E.Chromi. The color-changing pigment could be used to alert you of disease.
6. Milk Carton Castle
Spanish architect students claimed the Guiness Book of Record for largest sculpture built out of recyclable materials with a large-scale milk carton castle. With school children helping to collect and donate 50,000 milk cartons, the tower stands at 29 meters (about 95 feet) long, 14.07 meters (46 feet) wide and seven meters (almost 23 feet) high.
7. FollowUpThen
With the onslaught of email in our daily lives, it's easy for messages that need your reply to get buried or for responses you're waiting on to become forgotten. By simply cc'ing or bcc'ing a time interval at followupthen.com (e.g. 2days@followupthen.com) you or both parties are sent a friendly reminder if the anticipated reply hasn't been sent within the specified period.
8. A.P.C. Quilt Project
Selectism announced that Jessica Ogden's quilt collaboration with A.P.C.'s Jean Touitou will be hitting stores later this month. Seven different designs will be reproduced in runs of 30, each using materials from the extensive A.P.C. archive.
9. Sperone Westwater Gallery
Of the many architectural marvels of the new Foster + Partners-designed Sperone Westwater building, the 12' x 20' "moving gallery" is perhaps the most clever. The giant elevator adds dynamic space for showing art and the shaft both shades the art and cuts down on heat gain.
10. See the Leaves Video
Adding yet another nude music video to their eclectic collection, The Flaming Lips release their latest music video, See the Leaves (from the Embryonic album), featuring a nude girl walking through everyday life scenarios after she drinks from a stream released from a giant vulva-like ball.
11. MultiAccount and Hidden Credit Cards
Dyamics Inc. gives a short presentation outlining two of their new products directed at debit and credit card customers. So far they have rolled out the MultiAccount and the Hidden which requires the user to type in a PIN code to reveal the number on the card and activate the magnetic strip.
12. You Are the City
Petra Kempf's You Are the City is difficult to classify. Not quite a book, the set of 22 individual cells each feature a breakdown of the different forces that make the modern city tick, from bus lines to immigration patterns. There's a charm in the non-linearity and simple, colorful illustrations that should appeal to more than just architects, urban planners, and hardcore nerds.
With new murals in downtown Manhattan and the Bronx, a pop-up store in the works, a project with City Kids, and new limited edition prints, the events surrounding Shepard Fairey's upcoming solo show "May Day" almost amount to more of a city-wide residency. But the internationally-acclaimed artist, whose last major exhibit was a touring museum retrospective and whose Obama poster was one of the most iconic images of the historic campaign, big is nothing new. While Fairey's fame naturally invites criticism, the show (opening 1 May 2010 at Deitch, and closing the NYC institution) is a reminder of exactly what makes the prolific artist such an important generational voice.
Filled with portraits of cultural and political heroes and images addressing various social issues—all depicted in Fairey's propaganda-poster-meets-street-art style—his work's strength lies in its direct Warholian style and unapologetic messages. From his original Obey stickers to his ongoing commitment to human rights, environmentalism, and other pressing issues of our time, Fairey's art practice has always been about the power of words and images to effect change.
As Antonino D'Ambrosio writes in his essay for the book that will accompany the show, the image of Clash guitarist and lead singer Joe Strummer (a CH exclusive and the first produced for this series) represents a figure like Fairey himself, who D'Ambrosio calls, "a creative-activist who is always FOR and never against. He is about PRODUCING not reducing. He wishes to go FORWARD not fall backward."
May Day runs through 29 May 2010.
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