Archive for March, 2009
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Own a Piece of Sketch Theater
Image: Still shot of Travis Louie sketching on Sketch Theater
We were just clued in to Sketch Theater (thanks Sour Harvest) and their upcoming exhibit. Sketch Theater’s online videos show the progression of illustrations from many well known artist’s, giving us a revealing look into their creative processes. The site is well worth a lengthy visit, or two.
The Art of Sketchy Theater opens this Saturday, March 21, at Gnomon Gallery in Hollywood, CA, and features many of the drawings the site has captured on camera, including works from Travis Louie, Greg Simkins, Shawn Barber, Luke Chueh, Molly Crapapple, Jeff McMillan, and many more.
The Art of Sketchy Theater
Opening Reception: March 21, 7pm – Midnight
Gnomon Gallery
1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90038
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
Bill Would Ban Museum Deaccessioning
The New York Times reports that a new bill introduced to the New York State Senate on Tuesday would prohibit museums from selling off works of art to cover operating costs. The bill was penned by Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky in collaboration with the New York Sate Board of Regents and Museum Association of New York, and comes in response to recent controversy over the deaccessioning of art by at least two major NY institutions – The National Academy, which did sell two Hudson River School paintings to help meet operating costs, and Brandies University, who announced plans to close its Rose Art Museum and sell off its collection. If passed into law, proceeds from the sale of works of art could only be used for the acquisition of new works or the preservation of an existing collection.
Read a copy of the bill here
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
Jeff McMillan at Dirty Pilot
Jeff McMillan is displaying some new work with the fine folks over at Dirty Pilot. To coincide with the online gallery show, a new print (pictured below) has been produced as a signed edition of 25, measuring 13 x 19 inches and is available for $75.
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
FAILE Release
FAILE has just relaunched their site and announced the release of three new prints (all are editions of 20, 25 x 38 inches, and priced at $2,800) and six original works (25 x 38 inches, $8,000 each). All works are based on imagery used for last year’s Lost in Glimmering Shadows exhibition in London, and will be up for lottery today through Thursday, March 19th, 11 am EST. Winning buyers will be contacted Thursday via email. Fans will also be pleased to see a new site design updated with photos of the duo’s fine art and street work.
Find yourself unlucky come Thursday night? – Three more releases are scheduled for 2009. Go check it all out here: faile.net
Friday, March 13th, 2009
TACfocus :: SCOPE Picks
Josh Keyes at David B. Smith Gallery
SCOPE wins our pick for the best overall collection of galleries and artists on view at the numerous art fairs in New York last weekend. Read on for the full recap, click pics for larger views. Read the rest of this entry »
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
TACfocus :: Camille Rose Garcia – SCOPE Art Fair
Amidst the clutter of the SCOPE Art Fair, Jonathan LeVine Gallery presented a solo installation by Camille Rose Garcia, including new paintings drawings, editioned plush dolls (hand crafted by the artist’s toy company PITCO), and custom wallpaper. Like what you see? – Contact the gallery as there seems to be works still available, from moderately priced small drawings to large-scale paintings.
Click for picks… Read the rest of this entry »
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
TACfocus :: Pulse Picks
Martin Wittfooth at Copro Nason
Here’s our winners from the Pulse Art Fair.
Mogan Lehman presented a successful solo exhibit of recent graphite works by Eric Beltz, set against a backdrop of the artist’s newly editioned wallpaper ($1,200 will get you a roll). We’ve been vocal about Beltz for some time, and it looks as if some major institutions have caught on. Word is one prominent NY museum was amongst the several buyers who snatched up these stand-out gems.
Eric Beltz
Richard Heller, as always, continued to display a talented group of younger illustrative artists including Brendan Monroe, alongside a generous helping from the gallerist’s treasure chest of early Marcel Dzama drawings. Unfortunately some of what we saw here seemed like gallery show leftovers, which later reappeared at our visit to Heller’s booth at the Armory Show, where pockets were undoubtedly flowing a bit more freely.
Copro Nason pulled out some long celebrated heavyweights in their Old School Vs. New School display, including R. Crumb, Rick Griffin, and Robert Williams‘ seminal Appetite for Destruction (which also made an appearance with another gallery at Scope Miami this past December), juxtaposed against recent works by Ron English, Travis Louie, Laurie Lipton and others. Here, we came across the single most inspiring piece of the entire fair – an ambitious oil painting executed by emerging NY based artist, Martin Wittfooth. Take note.
Additional nods go to Rosamund Felsen Gallery’s display of paintings by Gegam Kacherian, an Armenian trained artist based in Los Angeles, and Al Farrow’s Synagogue sculptures, constructed from gun parts and ammunition, on display at Catherine Clark Gallery.
Read on for our photo recap, click images for larger views. Read the rest of this entry »
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
TACfocus :: Galerie L.J. – Bridge Art Fair
AJ Fosik
Wandering the narrow corridor of bland or just plain bad art that was the Bridge Art Fair, we were saved by Paris’ Galerie L.J. (formerly L.J. Beaubourg), and their international collection of street-inspired artists, including Swoon, A.J. Fosik, Brendan Monroe, Fafi, Koralie, Supakitch, and Alëxone. With such a distinctive showing, the gallery clearly would have been more at home at Pulse or Scope. In fact, many of L.J.’s artists are represented stateside by galleries exhibiting at those fairs, as well as at the Armory Show. Read the rest of this entry »
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
KRUNK PRESENTS FUTURA, STASH & PHIL FROST IN DUBAI
KRUNK in collaboration with Cuadro Fine Art Gallery is proud to present a historic three-man exhibition in Dubai, featuring original works by urban art pioneers Futura, Stash and Phil Frost. On the pulse of the contemporary art world, KRUNK/Cuadro will provide foreign markets in the Middle East and beyond a rare opportunity to view and purchase extraordinary new collections by these world-renowned Contemporary Urban Artists. The show will launched by Cuadro during Art Dubai, the U.A.E’s contemporary art fair, which in only its third year has become a leader in the global art scene. A Collectors Lunch on Tuesday, March 17th and an evening Preview Reception on Thursday, March 19 will open the exhibition, and it will remain on view to the public until June 17, 2009.
The unprecedented exhibition represents the debut of KRUNK in Dubai, the cultural hotspot of the Middle East, and exposes never-before-seen works by Futura, Stash and Phil Frost to new audiences. Sharing a common interest in innovating unusual avenues in the contemporary art market, KRUNK partnered with Cuadro, one of the largest and the most prestigious galleries in the Middle East, to create a dynamic platform for representing artists in today’s global art community. The exhibition breaks the mold, reaching beyond cultural and national boundaries to present these notable Contemporary Urban Artists in an unparalleled forum and show their work alongside leading Middle Eastern and International artists. Utilizing Cuadro’s cutting-edge space and latest design concepts for displaying fine art, a site-specific installation will be rendered by Futura for this landmark event. Music and film backdrops will heighten the viewing experience and the exhibition will feature a soundtrack by acclaimed producer and electronic musician Damian Taylor using recorded samples of Futura at work. “KRUNK breaks with tradition, and this show is aimed at reaching new audiences. These legendary artists will have the opportunity to connect with an exciting emerging market as part of international art fair in Dubai. It is our pleasure to be presenting Futura, Stash and Phil Frost on this unique stage.”
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
Hold On….
We’ll be back shortly with our daily art news and coverage of this past weekend’s NY art fairs…
The Art Collectors