This year’s annual off-site Lazarides exhibition is brutal by name and by nature; hosted in a derelict modernist building in central London. The basement of 180 Strand has reached a state of dilapidation that requires navigating…
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by LinYee Yuan Rough quarry granite, matte steel and a highly polished copper mirror are the elements that make up one of the most visible design objects at this year’s London Design Festival. The sculptural Copper…
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by Gavin Lucas Graphic artist James Joyce—not to be confused with the deceased Irish avant-garde writer—is well known for his bright and colorful—but always reductive—graphic and typographic artwork. He’s a regular contributor to publications such as…
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An artist-curated group show redefines contemporary Realism
The first in a series of artist-curated exhibitions at NYC’s Joshua Liner Gallery, “Resolve” gathers together the peers and influencing figures of the highly skilled painter Tony Curanaj. Each of the 25 contemporary artists included in the group show is classically trained and collectively they demonstrate the diversity of Realism.
“Resolve” explores the human experience artists have with a subject, and the truth in their observations. “Great art expresses life,” says Curanaj, who is more interested in works that convey a person’s sensitivities than those that are focused on the medium, or, as he puts it, “art about art.”
Considered experts of their craft, the artists, which include one photographer, two sculptors and 22 painters, have become completely involved in creating work that reflects their distinct technical prowess. Curanaj aims to show the sincerity and beauty of work made by the hand of a skilled artist. “When you’re painting from life, it’s like a high-wire net with nothing underneath you,” he says. “You could fuck it up at any point.”
The show also makes a different argument about the idea of conceptualism, a term Curanaj believes has been misused for years—especially as it relates to Realism versus abstract art. “There’s a misconception that Realism isn’t conceptual,” he says. “I think Realism is of the highest, utmost conceptual ideas because you’re continuously conceptualizing what’s in front of you and putting it down as notes and feelings, trying to depict what is life, what is reality.” He also feels that the more deeply profound an idea, the more specific the depiction should be. The artist should have a very clear solution for the concept in order to fully get the idea across and relate to the viewer.
The show’s title refers to each artist’s unwavering creative direction and continuous refinement of their craft. Each notable in their own right, alongside Curanaj, the group includes Graydon Parrish, Jeremy Mann, Jefferson Hayman, Kim Cogan, Lee Misenheimer, Shawn Barber, Kris Kuksi and Jacob A. Pfeiffer.
On view for just one month, “Resolve” opens at NYC’s Joshua Liner Gallery on 26 January and runs through 25 February 2012.
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
Vancouver designers put their process on display
In conjunction with Vancouver’s Interior Design Show West last week, local design firm Burnkit launched Prototypes, showcasing the process of a group of notable Vancouver-based designers. The smartly-curated exhibit, impeccably staged within Burnkit’s hip studio, was touted as the first event of its kind in North America to explore the unique role of prototypes in designing and building products.
Bensen founder and featured designer Niels Bendtsen offered insight into prototyping as part of concept development. “Although people may be aware of prototyping as a way to try out new ideas,” he explained, “they often forget, or aren’t aware of, the industrial aspect of industrial design.”
He went on to clarify that while it’s interesting to explore how a new piece will look and function, the step “is essential to resolving the huge number of hidden details and problems in order to be ready for mass production.” He adds that these details, “are often as fascinating and beautiful as the finished product itself.”
Highlights of the show included Bendtsen’s own prototype for the evolution of a chair design, as well as
Omer Arbel‘s stunning sand-cast copper and sand-cast iron
bowls .
OHWOW’s group show reflecting the American mood of the past decade
As its name suggests, OHWOW’s “Post 9-11” show presents work by nine New York-based artists whose pieces are evocative of the mixed American mood following the attacks on that day in September 2001. While none of the work addresses the pivotal event explicitly, the curators explain that the exhibition “title puts a time stamp on this particular decade and marks a turning point for this group of artists.”
Of course, there’s also a mix of self-seriousness and an ironic tone here preventing too deep a read of the title. More than anything, the collaboration of these artists and friends—Dan Colen, Terence Koh, Hanna Liden, Nate Lowman, Adam McEwen, Ryan McGinley, Agathe Snow, Dash Snow and Aaron Young—speaks to their bond and an inherent “interconnectedness of the work,” united by place and time despite their distinct forms of expression.
One work in particular, the late Dash Snow’s digital color print, “Untitled,” (above, 2008, courtesy of the Dash Snow Estate) conceptually anchors the artists’ shared histories as lived on the streets of the city. The image of a mysterious, vomit-like splatter on pavement that seems as chaotic and repulsive as the actual events of 9-11. While the piece, both unapologetic and defiant, accounts for one end of the exhibition’s spectrum as a “visual memoir of a defining era,” it also introduces the tragedy of Dash’s untimely death, a moment that now unavoidably also defines the era and group.
The show opens at OHWOW’s Los Angeles gallery with a reception on Thursday evening, 30 June 2011, and will run until 27 August 2011.
Pictured, top row from L-R: Aaron Young, “HOME” (2011), courtesy of Bortolami; Dan Colen,“Blop!” (2011), courtesy Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Robert McKeever. Above: Ryan McGinley, “Tom (Golden Tunnel)” (2010), image courtesy Team Gallery and the artist.
California dreaming in a group show featuring Los Angeles photographers
The American Dream is familiar enough territory, but what of the allure of the West? The group show “A Place in the Sun: Picturing California” highlights Los Angeles photographers, some native and others transplants, who explore the Caliifornia dream.
Images cast a collective portrait of the Golden State as a place where promises are alternately fulfilled, deferred and denied—a vision that’s not too far off from the reality of the U.S. What defines the work of these talents (among them Sam Comen, Emily Shur, Alex Tehrani, Katrina Dickson, J. Wesley Brown and Chad Ress) ;is a shared distinct sensibility. Their approach lies in the beauty and awkwardness of trying to feel at home in a vast region founded on prosperity— not to mention the photographers’ commercial gigs.
“Here in L.A., at the locus of the entertainment industry, crisp lighting and saturated colors elevate celebrities to icons,” Comen explains. “It’s in this context that I apply those same photographic motifs to everyday people in the environments that define them, holding them up, casting them as lead characters.”
Comen shares a fascination many artists feel about their personal stomping grounds. “Though I love making work afar in the field, I’m endlessly interested in my hometown of L.A., and feel like this city holds a lifetime of stories for me to tell through pictures.”
The show opens today and runs through 6 May 2011 at Hi-Lite Studio and Project Space.
Design celebrates life in an exhibit benefitting cutting-edge cancer care
After the British design curator Max Fraser lost his mother to cancer a few years ago, he vowed to do something to help others fight the disease; the Joy of Living project is his contribution. Design-focused through and through, the project raises money for the architect-designed retreats Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres and brings together an impressive collection of the best of British design talent.
Over 100 designers—including stars such as Terence Conran, Tom Dixon, Barber Osgerby, John Pawson, Tomoko Azumi, Stuart Haygarth and Michael Marriott— each submitted an artwork on a piece of A4 graph paper that responds in some way to the title of the show. The resulting eclectic range of creative responses all sell for £250, but buyers won’t know who’s behind the work they’ve bought until after their transaction takes place. Max says this anonymous element to the show reflects “the democratic values at the core of Maggie’s philosophy” and ensures that supporters are buying a piece “to which they have a true emotional response.”
But given that this exhibition shows off the best of the design world, naturally an element of competitiveness is involved. Adding a little extra incentive to the proceedings are two prizes, one for the best art work, as judged by a design jury, and one for the most popular artwork, as judged by the public. Winners will be awarded £1000 and £500 respectively.
Max Fraser is aiming to raise a whopping £50,000 for Maggie’s through the Joy of Living project. You can follow his progress on Twitter,
@JoyOfLiving2011, and visit the exhibit through 21 March 2011.
We love the upbeat nature of this amazing fundraising effort that celebrates creative life rather than mourning death. Max quotes charity founder Maggie Keswick Jencks when talking about the inspiration for this project, “Above all what matters is not to lose the joy of living in the fear of dying.”
Exploring the limits of greyscale in a group show
With a mission of reinvigorating Chelsea’s once youthful and vibrant art scene, Mallick Williams (daughter-in-law of actor Robin Williams) launched Mallick Williams & Co. in November of 2010. In the short time since opening, the upstart has already drawn attention for its ability to connect big-name artists to high-profile young collectors and shows no signs of stopping with their first official gallery show, cleverly titled “Hueless,” opening tomorrow.
An exploration of the possibilities of grey scale, “Mallick Williams & Co. carefully curated pieces from both artists who normally work in black and white (in mediums such as graphite, charcoal, paper cut and photography) alongside work from artists who are stepping out of their traditional colorful palette to create something uniquely hueless.” At the core of the group show is a roster of heavyweight street artists, including Shepard Fairey, Eric Haze, Skullphone and Russel Young. These more established artists will show alongside lesser-known talents like Marissa Textor and Sam Ske.
Young’s piece, “Fifteen Minutes With You; Well I Wouldn’t Say No”, consisting of acrylic paint enamel and diamond dust screen-printed onto linen, creates an ethereal manifestation of a memory without falling into the abstract (pictured below left). Another portrait, “Drawn Face V” (above left) by Dirk Dzimirsky aims to “not only portray the physical attributes, but more importantly the subjects inner presence of life. I chose drawing over painting as this allows me to create many layers over layers of lines and dots which react to each other in order to create a vibrant texture with directions and movement.”
On the darker side thematically, Marissa Textor’s piece “An Outlet for Pent up Forces,” (also graphite on paper, like Dzimirsky’s) breathtakingly depicts volcanic rock in photorealistic detail. Nicholas Forker takes on a “shattered sense of community in the face of capitalist driven isolation” with a greyscale drawing representing an artist informed by a globalized marketplace of ideas.
“Hueless” runs through 15 April 2011. Visit the Mallick Williams & Co. website for the full list of artists.
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