Archive for the 'Interview' Category
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
KAWS + Wonderwall Designing New Brooklyn Studio
Image © Complex
Complex has just published a new interview with KAWS, where the artist speaks of a new Brooklyn studio being designed with Masamichi Katayama, founder of Wonderwall Inc., who are highly regarded for retail design including Uniqlo, Bathing Ape, Marc Jacobs, and Colette stores.
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
Spread ArtCulture #4
Image: Jeff Newman/TheArtCollectors
Spread ArtCulture #4 recently hit newsstands and is worth picking up. While the issue’s cover story features Pharrell Williams, several other articles will be of interest to art enthusiasts, including a look at Deitch Director, Kathy Grayson, an intimate view of Robert Longo’s studio (shot by The Selby), interviews with Marilyn Minter and Steve Lazarides, and pictorials from several notable photographers including David Eustace and Ruud Baan.
For us, the most significant is Spread’s look at the cutting edge practices of Phillips de Pury’s contemporary art team and their Saturday@Phillips auctions. Unfortunately, by the time of the magazine’s publication (and to the dismay of us here at TAC) Phillips had already announced restructuring of its auctions and the elimination of the weekend sales which had grown increasingly popular with young and seasoned collectors alike.
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
Must See :: Artprice Documentary
Image still from Artprice documentary
Artprice, a global leader in art market information, database collecting, and sales, has just released an intimate 23 minute documentary chronicling the history and inner-workings of the company. We were particularly blown away by the passion exuded from Artprice’s eclectic founder, and his mind boggling corporate lair outside Lyon, France, which operates from inside the Abode of Chaos, a 17th century home transformed into a replicated war zone…pretty wild for someone who is also the founder and chairman of Groupe Serveur, Artprice’s parent company, whose annual revenue tops off around 70 million Euro.
Watch the video here
Friday, April 17th, 2009
Spotlight :: Eric Fortune @ LeBasse Projects
It’s not every day we spotlight a new artist, but Eric Fortune is eminently worthy of mention. In the recent past, Eric has been making excellent forward progress with his fine art career. With contributions to shows in several galleries, his most substantial offering to date is now up at LeBasse Projects, in a sold-out exhibition entitled “Lost In Light”. His renditions are sublime, with extremely adroit technique – products of an arduous process. We interviewed Eric about the present moment in his art and much more. Read on for our exchange with one of our favorite new voices:
Thursday, February 12th, 2009
GLIMPSE :: Matt Furie @ New Image Art
Matt Furie participates in New Image Art’s upcoming show, The Fucking Crap of Life (alongside Megan Whitmarsh and CF), opening this Saturday, Feb. 21. We’ve been admiring Matt’s darkly humorous illustrations since our friend Cheryl (shameless shout out) first introduced us to him through the Giant Robot NY group shows she regularly curated. Rendering up the nostalgia of childhood movies, television, and even fast food, Matt has created a fantasy world where bat boys ride BMX, luck-dragons get their fur tagged, teenage monsters smoke cigarettes while playing video games, and Skeletor can bring out his feminine side.
Matt was nice enough to answer some questions for TAC, so on with the Q+A.
For those not familiar, who is Matt Furie?
I’m that kid in the back of the class half listening to the teacher while drawing swords and creatures in his notebook. Except nowadays I roll out of bed and draw pictures at my own desk in my underwear while listening to skinny puppy or terry riley or the smiths. I just bought this album called “Trans” by Neil Young and it’s pretty amazing. Listening to loud music and drawing weird shit all day is a gift from god.
Click through for the rest of our interview: Read the rest of this entry »
Saturday, February 7th, 2009
KAWS on CBS Sunday Morning
Images: CBS
UPDATE 2.0: Video recap here
UPDATE: For those who missed the broadcast, CBS has posted a transcript of their KAWS feature, which aired on the Feb. 8th edition of Sunday Morning. The segment closed with an XX’d out version of the show’s sun logo. Transcript here.
Images: CBS
Original Post: In an announcement from Gering & Lopez, KAWS will be featured in this Sunday Feb. 8th’s CBS Sunday Morning show. Interviewed by Serena Altschul, this spot should be quite an interesting snapshot of the artist and his work. Check your local listings for specific air times…the attention comes on the eve of KAWS’ solo exhibition at Honor Fraser, opening Feb. 21.
The CBS logline goes as follows:
ART: Graffiti Artist “KAWS”
He’s one of the hottest names in the art world … and he has an unusual name to be sure, KAWS. After making his name in the graffiti world in the 1990s in Jersey City, KAWS left that life behind and started to paint canvases and design products. With his bright colors and clean, crisp lines, his work is perfection to many fans. Many musicians have taken note: Hip-Hip mogul Pharrell Williams has filled his Miami home with KAWS’ work. Kanye West asked KAWS for colorful designs for his latest album cover.
Working from a small Brooklyn studio, the shy 34-year-old has also created products with massive brands, including Nike, Lucasfilm and Marc Jacobs. KAWS’ rising star has now led to high-profile solo shows in art galleries in New York, Miami, and an upcoming show in Los Angeles. KAWS talks to correspondent Serena Altschul and steps out of his studio to meet the fans.
Monday, January 19th, 2009
Fairey Inducted into Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
Image: National Portrait Gallery
A mixed media original rendition of Shepard Fairey’s Obama Hope image was inducted into the National Portrait Gallery, this past Saturday, January 17th. It is worth reminding readers that only a few months ago Fairey was arrested in Denver for postering around the Democratic National Convention. Now his name will appear in the permanent collection of the government-sponsored Smithsonian Institute.
Fairey appeared on the Thursday, Jan. 15 edition of Colbert Report to discuss the creation of the now iconic image. With most of us are already familiar with the story behind the image, our favorite quote goes out to Cobert: “So you’re a criminal…that’s the sort of people who support Barack Obama.”
Watch the full episode here.
The background of the National Portrait Gallery piece is worth mentioning. The stencil and collage portrait was a gift of Tony and Heather Podesta, whose contemporary art collection of nearly 900 works is regarded as one of the most significant in the United States. As noted by the Washington Post, Mr. and Mrs. Podesta have not only carved out an influential niche in the art world, but in the realm of politics as well. He is regarded as a powerful Washington lobbyist, and was retained by both Bill Clinton and John Kerry to spearhead presidential campaigns in Pennsylvania. His brother John served as President Clinton’s Chief of Staff and more recently as an Obama advisor.
Image: Warren Perry/National Portrait Gallery
Monday, January 5th, 2009
GLIMPSE :: Thinkspace Gallery + Andrew Hosner
It is our pleasure to present a look into the world of Thinkspace Gallery in Silverlake and its proprietor, Andrew Hosner. Thinkspace has been a real springboard for emerging artists who have amassed a global following in the past couple of years. With a ‘collecting’ perspective, Andrew carefully shapes the future of his art endeavors. Having such a solid foundation patiently built, it’s easy to say that Thinkspace will be among the leading authorities in the ‘movement’ for a long time to come.
We had the opportunity to visit the gallery, as well as Andrew’s home, all in one afternoon. The passion supporting the effort is manifested in what can only be called a ‘comprehensive’ personal collection – a visual symphony that is part of everyday living. It’s extremely rare that we obtain such insight into the life of a substantial player in the burgeoning contemporary art scene in Los Angeles.
Together with an in-depth interview, we present a litany of photos, edited from much more, forming our first in a series of focused profiles. Thanks, Andrew, for letting us see behind the curtain.
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
Barry McGee Video Interview@ Ratio3
Northern California public television station, KQED, has posted a wonderful new video interview with Barry McGee. Footage was shot at McGee’s current exhibit, A Moment for Reflection: New Works by Lydia Fong, at Ration 3 Gallery in the artist’s home-town of San Francisco. The 7+ minute feature showcases some great views of McGee’s installation and sheds further light on the transitional phase he seems to be in.