Hasta La Ideas

Local artists inspire guests with interactive works

It’s hard to turn down an invitation to experience a few days in Beijing while staying at one of its hippest hotels, so when the Opposite House extended an invitation to visit we jumped at the opportunity. The hotel, along with its sister hotel Upper House in Hong Kong, strives to present a uniquely local experience wrapped in service with style, and perfectly suited to hyper-travelers like us. While certainly impressed by little details like in-room check-in and free mini-bars, the biggest surprise came in the form of the hotels’ art programs, particularly the constantly rotating artist program at Opposite House.

Hotel art is notoriously subpar, typically taking the form of cheap prints hung without much thought. Not so at the Opposite House, where the offerings significantly transcend what we’ve typically seen. While the space is filled with excellent art from a range of Chinese artists, the hotel takes it a step further by hosting artists for three-month installation periods, customized by each artist, in the hotel’s massive central forecourt. The hotel is tapped into China’s contemporary artistic core, acting as a host to both established and up-and-coming artists of the city’s prolific talent pool.

Approaching the emerald glass exterior of the Opposite House, the modernist styling blends seamlessly with surrounding bamboo gardens. A large atrium fills the interior while the front faces a traditional courtyard-style home, giving the hotel its witty name. The hotel spares no expense for luxury, and offers a number of bars (Punk and Mesh) and restaurants (the casual Village Cafe, the upscale Asian Bei, and my favorite, Sureño, with its Mediterranean menu).

Opposite House works with the local Red Gate Gallery to create its shows, selecting mainly Beijing-based artists. The hotel keeps the content of these exhibitions as diverse as the interests of the artists themselves. During my visit, I was fortunate enough to witness “Through My Eyes” from Mo Yi and got a preview of “I-Ching,” an installation of sculptures by Huang Rui inspired by the the eponymous book, known in English as “The Book of Changes.”

“Through My Eyes,” is an ever-expanding collection of photographed eyes that blurs the line between artist and audience. Participants pose for a photograph taken by the artist. Two prints are made: one the participant keeps and the second becomes part of the evolving installation, with inscriptions written in the borders by the subjects. While exploring the collection, I opted to be photographed and join the ranks of Mo’s subjects.

“I-Ching” features 64 phrases from the book of changes, inscribed on black and white umbrellas for an installation with both active and passive elements. When the artist is not present, viewers enjoy sculptural groupings of the umbrellas. When the artist is in the hotel, people are invited to stand with the umbrellas and the artist in a circle decorated with the yin yang symbol and to have a one-on-one exchange with the artist, which may be spoken or silent depending on the artist’s desire. While superstitious westerners may be quick to forewarn the dangers of umbrellas indoors, Huang’s show was a hit amongst participating guests.

I-Ching is currently on display, and is open to the public through March 2012. Previous artist exhibitions have included Chen Wenling’s sculptural series “Red Memory,” Li Xiaoling’s clothing-inspired “Enhance the Beauty” and a bespoke postcard collection from various students at Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Opposite House

11号 Sanlitun Road

Chaoyang, Beijing, China, 100027

Photos by Opposite House and Evan Orensten

Cinematic influences pervade the annual photo fair

Photo LA was sprawled across the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium with as much bustle as the city itself. Wandering through the labyrinth of pop-up exhibitors, those that stood out most conveyed a strong cinematic narrative with a sense of humor.

Pulp Art Book marks a collaboration between photographer Neil Krug and model Joni Harbeck. The collection of serial adventures is set against fictional landscapes of pulp cinema. The primal COYOTE episode chronicles the rugged existence of a hunter in the desert, while BONNIE follows the final minutes of a girl-gone-bad during a shootout.

In his Skeletons in the Closet Klaus Pichler ameliorates the dusty archives of Vienna’s Museum of Natural History with austere yet personality-loaded behind-the scenes-photographs. The stuffed animals become characters, or as Pichler puts it, “they are full of life, but dead nonetheless.”

Glen Wexler’s large-format Improbable Realities weave awe-inspiring fantasy narratives. Wexler’s attention to whimsical details is realized by his team of top-notch feature film motion graphics experts.

Atlantic Garden by Ulu Braun conjures a seemingly infinite, psychedelic video collage. As the camera pans perpetually to the right, Atlantic Garden reveals idyllic scenes from a diverse selection of places and times.

Maria Luisa Morando’s Silver series reveals a vast triptych of over-exposed beach scenes from Southern France. Tired of details, Morando explains that she seeks simplicity in her images. The moody nostalgia of each landscape flows seamlessly into the next, drawing in viewers to lose themselves in the washed out colors, and identify with the obscure figures of beach-goers during magic hour.

We visit the Las Vegas-based painter’s studio and learn about his upcoming projects and gallery show

Drawing inspiration from guitar riffs and heavy beats, Las Vegas-based painter Tim Bavington translates melodies from ear to eye with his vibrant works. As long time supporters of Bavington, we jumped at the chance to stop by his studio on a recent trip to the city of sin. Here we got some insight into his production process and learned more about an upcoming installation project and his next solo show at Los Angeles’ Mark Moore Gallery.

To draw a parallel between music and his art, Bavington sees his creative process as similar to how a musician transforms sheet music into a performance. “I begin with a score or transcript which, on paper at least, seems to suggest strict instructions but becomes something completely different when interpreted.” He describes the actual painting process as “a more intuitive and improvisational than they may appear.”

To reduce waste and toxicity of overspray, Bavington sticks to working with acrylics, although he has sprayed oils, alkyds and auto paints in the past. Although his application style seems more impulsive, the canvas size and portions are much more calculated, “I typically make studies for a work in up to 24 color ways. Then I choose ones that appeal or interest me, for whatever reason. Canvas size and shape is usually related to the math of the composition.”

While being in the studio was a privilege in itself, the true highlight was learning about his latest up-and-coming sculptural work set to be unveiled mid-March 2012. For this project Bavington will translate the musically inspired energy from his paintings into the third dimension on a significantly larger scale.

This singular transition from canvas to steel will culminate with an 80 foot long, 28 foot high installation to be located in the park adjacent to Las Vegas’ new Smith Center for the Performing Arts—which is set to open doors around the same time as Bavington’s installation will be finished.

At this point the project is still in the development stages, with a significant amount of time spent adapting to the new medium and adjusting designs. Unlike his paintings where Bavington may complete a piece in just a few weeks, the mammoth steel rods require months to be painted and assembled.

Coincidentally Bavington will be back once again at the Mark More Gallery in Los Angelas for his sixth solo show “Heart Above Head.” Opening 16 January 2012, the exhibition will present a recent collection of eight new compositions.

Keep an eye on Tim Bavington’s site in the coming months for updates on his upcoming Los Angeles gallery showing and Las Vegas installation opening.

Skeletal sculptures find playful inspiration in grim materials

Like a collection plucked from an old Victorian curiosity cabinet, Suzanne Hagerstrom’s bone sculptures have the unanticipated effect of delighting the macabre corners of our childish minds. Far-removed from the trends and memes of the art world, Hagerstrom has been quietly producing the figurines for decades in pursuit of her own charming obsession. She creates anthropomorphic critters from her imagination, drawing from myths of impossible animals like mermaids, wood sprites and, sometimes, even the jackalope.

Hagerstrom works out of her studio in Sag Harbor, NY, where nature remains her chief inspiration. About the origins of her work, the artist explains, “I turned over stones all the time and collected snails and turtles. I had a garbage can with snake eggs that I watched hatched. I had a magical childhood.” To this day, Hagerstrom sources her material from nature, gathering up bones of long-dead wild animals and domesticated fowl. She fuses the bones with a clay that is baked and painted to match the off-white patina. The hair, she admits, comes from a number of sources not limited to clippings from her dog, a friend’s fur coat and her own locks.

“I love the idea of peering in, the voyeuristic aspect,” says Hagerstrom. While she admits her audience is limited to those with a stomach for morbid representations, it’s hard to deny her creatures are, in their own way, rather cute. They are convincing as well, as Hagerstrom relates, “People do ask, ‘Where did you find this?’ If I’ve painted them correctly, then they do look like living creatures.” She is fascinated by the story of a Fiji Mermaid, a hoax made of fish parts to resemble a real mermaid. “Of course it was found out, but I prefer to believe that, yes, that was a mermaid.”

Hagerstrom’s creativity over the years is truly inspiring. Some of her past work includes a piece called “Leda and the Dead Duck” as well as an autobiographical series that used her own hair to decorate the sculptures. “It is play,” she explains. “It is the best kind of play because it is a meditative play.” Explaining her standards for good art, Hagerstrom admits, “If I’m moved by it and there isn’t a vocabulary for it yet, then that’s something really special. That’s what I want to engage in.”

We initially came across Hagerstrom’s work at her exhibition at artMRKT in the Hamptons last summer. While Hagerstrom doesn’t have any current exhibitions in the works, she did hint at the possibility of an upcoming project that riffs off the Pinocchio tale. Interested buyers should contact Julie Keyes of Keyes Art Projects for pricing and availability.

Complex photographic methods yield stunningly colorful geometries

Jessica Eaton‘s series, “Cubes for Albers and LeWitt” may be highly technical and conceptual, but the end result is dizzyingly beautiful. Based on Joseph Albers’ focus on the “discrepancy between physical fact and psychic effect,” Eaton’s images add “multiple exposures and colored lights” to plain, monochromatic cubes to create enchanting graphics.

The photographer starts with a set of cubes painted only white, black and gray, then shoots them under red, green and blue gels to capture the vibrant final pictures. The reflective value of the cubes controls levels of light and dark, while the layering of the primary colors creates a broad range of hues. One may be shocked to realize that the resulting images, made using only Eaton’s 4×5 camera, have not been digitally manipulated.

Eaton’s work recently appeared on the cover of Art News magazine in “The New Photography,” and she is currently showing at the FOAM museum’s “Talent 2011” show, at the Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal for the 2011 Quebéc Triennial, and at Higher Pictures in New York.