Archive for May, 2009
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
Crash+Daze Together Again
Crash, 2009.
NYC graffiti pioneers CRASH and DAZE open a joint exhibit this Friday, May 15, at Ad Hoc Art in Brooklyn. The show is a welcome break from the gallery’s usual roster of younger up and coming artists, this time focusing on two prolific figures who have navigated the divide between graffiti and fine art culture. During the early 80s, the artists often joined forces, hitting New York’s subway lines and producing some of the most accomplished whole car designs. Read on for a glimpse of the new work or see the rest here
Early Crash and Daze subway car. Image: Chris Pape
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
And They’re Off – Serenissima Sets Sail
Swoon and company set sail on the Adriatic Sea today, departing Slovenia for Trieste, Italy on a new fleet of handmade vessels. It’s not too late to lend a helping hand to this ambitious project. Switchback Sister prints are still available over at PaperMonster, with all proceeds benefiting Swimming Cities of Serenissima.
Once again, thanks goes out to Tod Seelie for the inspiring image. We can’t wait to see more from this talented photographer as the Serenissima’s voyage gets under way.
More on the project at our previous posts here and here
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Results
Dan Colen’s Untitled (Blow Me), 2005, was a strong performers at Sotheby’s May 2009 Contemporary Art Evening Sale, selling for $386,500, above its initial high estimate of $150,000.
Sotheby’s kicked off the latest round of Spring Contemporary Art auctions last night, with Christie’s and Phillips set to follow over the next two days. The sale in indicative of the overall shift in auction house strategy, with far fewer lots offered (48 compared to last May’s 85), many with inticingly modest estimates. The total realized (including buyer’s premiums) amounted of $47,033,500, compared to the $362,037,000 raised at last year’s May Contemporary Art Evening Sale.
Read on for our full analysis. Read the rest of this entry »
Monday, May 11th, 2009
Travis Louie’s Strange Grooming Habits
Travis Louie opened Strange Grooming Habits at Copro Nason in Santa Monica, CA this past weekend, where he delivered a couple of exciting surprises – several larger pieces including a 38 x 27″ painting that dwarfs the majority of works he is known for, and the incorporation of more completely human-like subjects (our favorites from the show). If you like what you see, we suggest acting fast, as there are only three paintings left at the time of this post. In a testament to Louie’s popularity even during this down climate, six of the nine available were gone by the end of the opening night. Read on for the rest of the show.
Travis Louie – Strange Grooming Habits
May 9 – 30
Copro Nason
2525 Michigan Ave. T5
Santa Monica, CA, 90404 Read the rest of this entry »
Friday, May 8th, 2009
ArtTactic Launches Podcast Series
Art market research firm, ArtTactic, has just launched a free podcast series, focusing on market analysis and interviews with with key art market figures. In the first edition, host, Adam Green, conducts an insightful conversation with art dealer and author, Richard Polsky, about the catalysts behind the decline in the global market and how this has affected the selling strategies of auction houses and galleries alike. If this segment is any indicator, the series will be a good one to follow.
Listen here
Friday, May 8th, 2009
Tonight :: Ron English at Elms Lesters
Tonight, Elms Lesters Painting Rooms opens Lazarus Rising, the (long overdue) first UK solo exhibition by one of the founding fathers of billboard hijacking and most astounding talents of modern pop, Ron English. English will be on hand Saturday, May 9, from 12-2pm, signing copies of the new hard-bound exhibition catalog, which can also be purchased via the gallery here. Not to be missed – For those outside of London, here are a few images of some pieces included in the show – more on the Elms website.
Ron English – Lazarus Rising
May 8 – June 6
Elms Lesters Painting Rooms
1–3–5 Flitcroft Street, London WC2H 8DH
Images: ©Ron English/Elms Lesters
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
MOCA Benefit Auction
It should come as no surprise that now more than ever, the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art is in need of financial support. This Saturday, May 8, MOCA will hold its annual Fresh Silent Auction, with works donated from a massive list of over 300 artists, including Ed Ruscha, Raymond Pettibon, Mark Ryden, Martin Kippenberger, Barbara Kruger, Christopher Wool, Neo Rauch, Robert Rauchenberg, and Andrea Zittel. The event takes place at the Geffen Contemporary in Los Angeles from 7-11pm. View the full list of contributing artists here and purchase tickets here.
As you may recall, late last year the museum announced that it was on the verge of total financial collapse, ultimately opting for a $30 million private injection from billionaire Eli Broad, along with the resignation of director, Jeremy Strick, and massive financial restructuring.
Read more from us on the MOCA’s recent financial here and here
One of our favorite lots – Ed Ruscha – Ye, 1991. Cut Out Lettering, Color Pencil on Black Paper.
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
What?! Did Gauguin Hack Off Van Gogh’s Ear?
A new book snuffs accepted history, asserting that Vincent Van Gogh did not cut off his own ear, but rather fellow artist, Paul Gauguin, was responsible for the mutilation. Van Gogh’s Ear: Paul Gauguin and the Pact of Silence, argues that Gauguin sliced off his friend’s ear with a fencing sword during a heated argument while he staying with Van Gough in France. As evidence, art historians, Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans, draw on police reports, correspondence, and statements given by the two artists after the mutilation.
Naturally, it hasn’t taken much time for the claim to be denounced. Writing for Bloomberg News, Martin Gayford states that all evidence still clearly points to Van Gogh himself, and that neither his testimony nor Gaugin’s can be trusted – the former “was unconscious and delirious in the immediate aftermath, and intermittently deranged during the remaining year and a half of his life,” and the later “wasn’t, admittedly, an ideal witness…dying and dosed with absinthe and morphine when he wrote his most detailed account.”
Over at the Guardian, Jonathan Jones dispels the theory, arguing that the book draws haphazard conclusions from vague letters between the two artists, and that ultimately, Van Gogh’s Self Portrait with a Bandaged Ear (pictured above) “associates his injury with his vocation as an artist and a martyr,” which “displays his bandaged ear in a way that accuses himself, not anyone else.”
Read more at the Telegraph here
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
Roberto Molla’s Dual Exhibitions
Beginning tomorrow, Spanish artist, Roberto Mollá, will have a pair of simultaneous exhibits spanning two continents on display. Interlineado en Minowa (Between the Lines in Minowa) is currently on view at Galeria Nuble in Santander, Spain (and runs till May 16), while its sister exhibit of the same name opens Thursday, May 7, at Glowlab in New York City. We first noticed Mollá’s use of traditional Japanese imagery in harmony with modern graphic and geometric elements during a visit to Glowlab’s booth at Scope Miami this past December. Word is even Shepard Fairey took notice, scooping up some of the artist’s graph-paper illustrations for his personal collection.
For those in NYC, dont miss the opening night reception:
Roberto Molla – Between the Lines in Minowa
May 7 – June 7
Opening Reception: May 7: 7-9pm
Glowlab
30 Grand St.
NY, NY 10013
info@glowlab.com
Read on for more images. Read the rest of this entry »
Friday, May 1st, 2009
The New Yorkers Descend on Denmark
Steve Powers (ESPO) is one of the contributing artists to The New Yorkers, on view at V1 Gallery in Copenhagen.
We are pleased to present the earliest images from The New Yorkers, a colossal group show opening today, May 1, at V1 Gallery, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Curated by fellow New Yorker and exhibit participant, Todd James (REAS), the show brings together a heavy-hitting group of NY-based artists ranging from pop and street inspired talents such as KAWS, Stephen Powers, Jose Parla, Kostas, Futura, and Ryan McGinness, to the more blue-chip, including Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer. On view till June 22.
Read on for our extensive photo recap.
