Archive for the 'Events' Category
Saturday, February 27th, 2010
Big Week for Fairey Amidst Growing Controversy
Art of Elysium’s 2010 Heaven Gala (Image via Art of Elysium)
It wouldn’t be a week without some sort of news from the Shepard Fairey camp, and this one is jam packed.
Fairey was named Visionary of the Year and lent design and decoration to children’s charity The Art of Elysium’s 2010 Annual Heaven Gala (pictured above). Fairey is participating in their annual benefit auction, and has donated several items to the fundraising event. The most exciting lot is a personal portrait sitting with the artist. The winning bidder will be entitled to a visit with Fairey for a photo shoot, which the artist will use to create a one of a kind 30″ X 44″ mixed media canvas. The prize is valued at $30-$40,000 for the in person sitting and final artwork (or $20-$30,000 if photos are sent). Other lots include unique 40″ x 60″ canvas depicting his Burmese Monk image, estimated at $20,000, and a rather quirky one of a kind collaged 7 foot lamp, valued at $7,500 (both pictured below). Both the portrait sitting and Burmese Monk can be bid on live via CharityBuzz until March 4, 12pm EST. If interested in the lamp, download an absentee bid form here
The opening of the third and final stop of his museum retrospective, Supply and Demand, set record attendance numbers at the Cincinatti Contemporary Arts Center this past week. Naturally, while in town, Fairey and crew were also out making their mark on the streets. (Lots more photos of the exhibition preparation, opening celebration, and outdoor campaign at the end of this post.)
(All museum and street images via Obey Clothing)
Next, Fairey’s design firm, Studio Number One, has lent their hand to titling sequences for the new Basquiat feature film, which can be seen in the trailer below.
Finally, the controversy over Fairey’s Obama portrait continues. The artist is now the subject of a federal grand jury criminal probe. Authorities are investigating whether Fairey violated federal laws prohibiting evidence tampering and perjury in connection to his copyright battle with the Associated Press. In October the artist released a public statement admitting, “in an attempt to conceal my mistake I submitted false images and deleted other images.” As noted by Copyrights and Campaigns, the criminal investigation hinges on whether or not Fairey (along with his wife) violated 18 U.S.C. §§ 1512(c)and 1621. Section 1512 makes it a crime to “alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an object with intent to impair the integrity or availability of the object for use in an official proceeding,” while section 1621 declares that any person who “willfully subscribes as true any material matter which he does not believe to be true…is guilty of perjury and shall, except as otherwise expressly provided by law, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.”
Fairey has filed an injunction hoping to postpone the civil suit with AP. The injunction argues
“Plaintiffs submit that there is a compelling case for postponement. Mr. Fairey is now the subject of a criminal investigation…It appears that the AP is, at minimum, encouraging and supporting that criminal investigation. Mr. Fairey’s criminal defense counsel believes that a deposition at this time would prejudice him and impair council’s ability to properly represent Mr. Fairey. Therefor, if a deposition does take place while the criminal investigation is pending, counsel would advise Mr. Fairey to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.”
While we here at TAC have supported Shepard’s fair use claims in creating his Obama portrait (which now sits in the National Portrait Gallery), we will wait for the facts to further develop before weighing in on the separate criminal investigation, and confine our comments to reporting the findings as they emerge.
Read on for more pictures from Cincinnati opening night and installation Read the rest of this entry »
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
McGee + HuskMitNavn to Exhibit Together
Barry McGee will be exhibiting under his Lydia Fong monker at Alice Gallery (Brussels, Belgium), alongside Danish artist HuskMitNavn (Remember My Name). While both are known for their work in street and fine art settings, The Last Night marks the first collaboration for the artists. The joint exhibition opens March 25.
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Ed Templeton Rising
Internationally recognized for his painting, drawing, sculpture, and photography, skate-icon and artist Ed Templeton has several significant projects in the works.
Most immediately, Templeton opens a new photo exhibit at Roberts + Tilton (Los Angeles) this Friday, Feb. 26. The works on display are culled from the artist’s personal archives, and were shot spontaneously from the inside of cars over a span of 15 years. Speaking of the project, Templeton says, “I never went out driving just to shoot pictures. Each one of these was shot going from point A to point B for some other reason, organically; they represent the in-between. Most of it is from my frequent visits to LA from my home in Huntington Beach, 1 hours’ drive south. But there is also a lot from taxi rides in Paris, Moscow, London, Barcelona, and St Petersburg.”
Next up , Templeton’s photography will be included in the 2010 Photography Biennial at MAMAC (Liege, Belgium), which runs Feb 28 – April 25. Lastly, his first solo museum exhibition, The Cemetery of Reason, opens at S.M.A.K. (Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art) in Ghent, Belgium on April 2, and will include works across multiple disciplines.
Ed Templeton – The Duality of Femininity, 2009 (Courtesy of Roberts + Tilton and Tim Van Laere)
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Juan Francisco Casas @ Galeria Fernando Pradilla, Madrid
Juan Francisco Casas’ brilliant works on paper, using only a Bic pen as his primary tool, will open in Madrid’s Galeria Fernando Pradilla on January 14. Already in extensive pre-sales, the exhibition is anticipated to be one of 2010’s star-turning events. Prominent global art collectors have been dutifully seizing the opportunity to bring in Casas’ work into their holdings, possibly selling-out the show prior to the official opening.
Galería Fernando Pradilla
C/ Claudio Coello, 20
Madrid 28001
España
vox: (34) 91 575 48 04
fax: (34) 91 577 69 07
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
Dan Witz at Carmichael Gallery
Dan Witz’s latest offerings debut tonight with an opening reception at the Carmichael Gallery in Los Angeles. The show runs from Nov. 5 – Dec. 3, 2009. In Dark Doings, Witz will showcase a selection of pieces from his expansive summer street project of the same name. Created both for the street and gallery, the subtle, haunting images of human and animal faces trapped behind dirty glass windows are inspired by a recent visit earlier in the year to the red light district of Amsterdam.
Artwork at the show is comprised of mixed media on digital prints on plastic, presented either framed or mounted to wood doors, the latter serving as both canvas and contextual framework through which the work can be viewed. A selection of photographs depicting the Dark Doings series in situ will also be exhibited at the show, displayed alongside the piece with which they correspond.
Dan Witz – Dark Doings
Nov. 5 – Dec. 3
Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art
1257 N. La Brea Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90038
323.969.0600 for more information
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
STAGES NY Premiere
JR and Geoff McFetridge (All Images © Jeff Newman/TheArtCollectors)
TAC was on hand for the afternoon press preview, followed by a private opening night reception. Read on for our extensive photo recap, click for larger images. Read the rest of this entry »
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Guggenheim Concert Series with Yeasayer
Continuing their ongoing It Came from Brooklyn concert series, the Guggenheim welcomes Brooklyn’s Yeasayer this Friday, Oct. 30. The event will also feature a performance from the band Tanlines and a reading by Rachel Sherman. Tickets here
Monday, October 5th, 2009
The LA case @ Carmichael Gallery
case, 2009.
Carmichael Gallery is exhibiting The L.A. case with new works on canvas by German artist case. This is case’s first US solo exhibition and the second time he has exhibited at Carmichael Gallery. Opens this Thursday October 8 2009 / 7.00pm – 10.00pm.
case’s new body of work references imagery from elaborate, self-staged photo shoots using spray paint on canvas. Combining exacting technical expertise with an innovative hint of liberation and irony, he investigates the parallels that exist between the conflicting states of convention and controversy, manipulating beauty in a dark, thrilling and provocative manner.
case is widely recognized as one of the best photorealistic spray paint artists in the world. His groundbreaking technique, detailed in the book Ma’Claim: Photorealistic Graffiti, Falk Lehmann and Steffen Petermann, Publikat Verlags und Handels GmbH and Co. KG, Germany, 2006, has set new standards and established a strong international collector base and fan network.
case prepares for LA:
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
Twentieth Century Boy :: A new exhibit by Sashie Masakatsu celebrates T.Rex, supports arts school in Sierra Leone.
Masakatsu Sashie - Born to Boogie, oil on canvas. (Image courtesy of the artist)
It’s been nearly 40 years since Marc Bolan and his band released their first album under the T.Rex moniker. Next week, a new one-night exhibition will celebrate the late pioneer of glam-rock’s 62nd birthday, while raising funds to continue his legacy with a new school of arts in Sierra Leone, South Africa.
Taking place Sept. 30th, Twentieth Century Boy will unveil new T.Rex inspired paintings, created by Japanese artist Sashie Masakatsu . As a long-time fan, he has incorporated images of Marc Bolan into his signature culture-dense hovering orbs. A portion of sales will support Light of Love Foundation’s (founded by Bolan’s son Rolan and his mother, Gloria Jones) mission to build the Marc Bolan School of Music and Film in Sierra Leone.
The event is curated by Darren “Dr.” Romanelli and Giant Robot founder, Eric Nakamura, who presented Sashie’s first U.S. exhibit in 2006. Sashie won a Scout Award at the tenth annual edition of Kaikai Kiki/Murakami’s GEISAI fair, and is represented by Mizuma Art Gallery in Tokyo. The gallery quickly sold out all available paintings by the artist during last year’s PULSE Miami Art Fair.
We interviewed Rolan Bolan to find out more about Light of Love Foundation and the upcoming event. Read on for more. Read the rest of this entry »
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Pop-Up Art :: Street Cool, Turned Economic Tool
Ja Pay, 2009 is one of several collaborative works created by artist Peter Harris and musician Lee Scratch Perry that will be on display at the Higher Power art show on Sept. 10 in London.
This September marks three years since Banksy captured the art world’s attention with Barely Legal, the now legendary three-day Los Angeles warehouse show, whose location was not disclosed until opening day. Looking back, its as if the exhibit’s mammoth success spawned the beginning of pop-up art show mania. What was once regarded as a guerilla marketing move used by street-hip artists and dealers a few years ago is quickly catching on. In the past few years, companies like Nike, Scion and Campari have been particularly adept at promoting their brands to young audiences and tastemakers by using such art-events.
Yet, while pop-up galleries – temporary art shows held in vacant commercial spaces – are now a mainstream marketing tactic, they may quickly become a financial necessity in a shaken economy, where both the real estate and art markets have been dramatically impacted.
Earlier this summer, Ad Hoc Art partnered with community development organization, Metrotech BID, to transform a vacant Brooklyn, NY block into a storefront gallery of street art, inviting 15 artists including Chris Stain,Greg Lamarche, Lady Pink and Logan Hicks to create site specific installations in the windows of former businesses. (Its worth noting Ad Hoc has since announced its closing, joining a growing list of galleries who have been unable to fight off the recession)
Artists Cycle and Chris Stain contributed to the Willoughby Windows project. Image: Dave Pinter
This week, the New York Times reported on the recent proliferation of temporary galleries in London, noting “the British government, worried about the economic, psychological and criminal hazards of retail vacancies, announced a $5 million “revival fund” for local governments in hard-hit areas to transform empty shops into something useful, like showrooms for local artists, and another $800,000 to help artists and arts organizations turn vacant high street shops into artistic spaces.” The story was also picked up by Artinfo.
London based Watch This Space has taken advantage of this new space, going beyond the curatorial and acting as facilitator between up and coming artists, who are finding it increasingly difficult to secure galleries willing to take on any new risk, and landlords who find themselves with empty space. The organization launched in June with a group exhibit in a three-story former restaurant that had been empty for two years, and is currently playing host to DIY London Scene (previously reported) in a vacant storefront in London’s Covent Garden shopping district.
Lee Scratch Perry and Peter Harris
Moving outside of the traditional gallery setting also offers opportunities for more varied and ambitious undertakings. Take Higher Ground for example, a one-day multimedia collaboration between reggae pioneer Lee Scratch Perry, legendary dub producer Adrian Sherwood, and artist Peter Harris. The interactive art and music event will take place September 10 at the historic Tabernacle Theater in London’s Notting Hill. Perry will perform songs that relate to themes from Harris’ film Higher Powers, while a ‘VJ’ will respond with live visual interpretations of Perry’s songs. Collaborative works between Perry and Harris will be on display, and the two artists will be complete a live painting on stage, with Sherwood conducting a live mix. Tickets to the event are available here
While many galleries struggle to stay afloat, with some closing their doors for good, perhaps there is hope in a wave of more innovative, cooperative events and exhibits, where synergies between creative and business communities can nurture both the arts and wallets.