Friday, June 27, 2008

South African Art Critic Walks Free


CAPE TOWN—On June 9, the case against Ivor Powell, perhaps South Africa’s finest art critic of the past two decades, was struck from the register of Cape Town Magistrates’ Court, with the local directorate for public prosecutions undecided whether to prosecute him.

The dismissal marked the end of a saga that began on January 22, when Powell, at this point a senior investigator with South Africa’s crime-busting Scorpions unit, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and resisting arrest after he sped away from police attempting to arrest Igshaan Davids, leader of the infamous Americans street gang, then wanted for car theft.

The story of how Powell ever got to that point is the stuff of fiction, a post-apartheid novel by J.M. Coetzee perhaps. A prominent South African art critic, disillusioned with the scope of his profession in a place quite remote from global arts capitals, switches from criticism to investigative journalism. He excels in his new role, so much so that he lands a plum job as an investigator with a new FBI-style criminal investigation unit established by presidential decree. In between drawing up reports on corrupt public officials, shady arms deals, and drug syndicates, he continues writing the odd review and catalog essay, even winning a prestigious national award for criticism. Then the agency starts investigating the deputy president and eventually raids his home. The deputy president is soon charged with corruption, and the newspapers are full of stories about factionalism within the ruling party, with allies of the former deputy president arguing that the criminal investigation unit is being used to neutralize political rivals.

At some point in this conflict, on a windy summer evening in January, with one or two essays due to editors, the 52-year-old “retired” critic goes drinking with the leader of Cape Town’s most notorious street gang. The choice of venue is a hotel in Woodstock, a seedy Cape Town neighborhood rapidly taking on a new face as galleries and advertising agencies colonize the area. It is when he leaves the bar that things unravel, completely.

Powell’s arrest that evening made national headlines, even claiming a slot during prime time evening news. Notably, the reporting around his arrest was sensational (“Top Scorpion arrested for drunk driving,” read one headline, another offering, “Media throng for Scorpions court case”) and showed little of the good humor that has characterized Powell’s writing over the years.

A former art history lecturer who turned full-time critic when he joined the Weekly Mail, a left-leaning weekly newspaper, in the late 1980s, Powell learnt his first beat while a member of Possession Arts, a pioneering neo-Dada artist group active during the early 1980s. Unlike the careers of many of his contemporaries, including Jane Alexander, whom he championed early on, Powell never achieved the success his abilities as a critic and polemicist deserved. After the failure of Ventilator, a short-lived post-apartheid art magazine launched in September 1994 and edited by Powell, he started concentrating on investigative journalism, which eventually led to his appointment with the Scorpions.

Powell’s arrest happened during a period of intense debate about the role and purpose of the Scorpions, with the country’s ruling ANC party having recently voted that the agency’s activities be reigned in and integrated into the South African Police Service. To some commentators, the critic was merely a fall guy in a complicated game of political chess. In any event, nearly six months following his arrest, Powell walked out of the courthouse a free man.

Fittingly, during the media squall surrounding his arrest, when rumors of Powell’s precarious mental state abounded, he authored a critical essay for his longtime friend, painter Ricky Burnett. A literate defense of neo-expressionist painting, Powell’s catalog essay also read like a Dostoevsky-style “prison diary.”

Although unreachable for comment by phone, Powell was recently spotted in Woodstock again, albeit at a posh gallery opening.

Photo courtesy of Essa Alexander and the "Times".
Story by Sean O'Toole.

L.A. Collector Files Lawsuit Against Louis Vuitton


LOS ANGELES—Private collector Clint Arthur has filed a lawsuit against Louis Vuitton regarding Vuitton's involvement with the Takashi Murakami retrospective at Los Angeles's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), reports the Los Angeles Times. The show, which was on view at MOCA from October 2007 to February 2008 (and is currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum through July 13), featured a Louis Vuitton luxury boutique in the middle of the exhibition space, with limited-edition prints by Murakami available for sale.

California law requires specific certification for dealers who sell limited-edition prints, and Arthur alleges that Louis Vuitton North America has not provided enough information supporting the prints' authenticity. Arthur, who bought two prints for $6,000 each, said there was no numbering on the pieces to indicate their order in their respective series of 100 (500 total were available) and claimed that without this certification, the prints are less valuable on the secondary market. The California law allows triple damages for violations, potentially creating a multimillion-dollar liability for Louis Vuitton.

I knew something told me not to purchase any Louis Vuitton outside the Brooklyn Museum during the Murakami exhibit. The best of luck to both parties involved in this nasty lawsuit.

Article courtesy of Artinfo.com.

Jeff Koons" $11.8 million" green Diamond



This seven-foot-wide green Diamond as well as the artist's 2005 Diamond (blue) once displayed outside of Christie's New York headquarters last fall sold for $11.8 million dollars. I know what i want for Christmas and who is my new best friend.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Olafur Eliasson "The New York City Waterfalls" launched by Mayor Bloomberg and Public Art Fund



This is a "major" work of public art that is slated to be on display until October 13, 2008. I am not too sure how I feel about this; I guess one would have to see it in person. My main concern is how much this piece of art is costing taxpapers every month; also most "public art" I have ever viewed never required a ticket. For more information, please see the official press release below.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 248-08
June 26, 2008

MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND PUBLIC ART FUND LAUNCH THE NEW YORK CITY WATERFALLS PUBLIC ART PROJECT BY ARTIST OLAFUR ELIASSON

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, First Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris, Public Art Fund President Susan K. Freedman, and artist Olafur Eliasson today launched The New York City Waterfalls, a major work of public art that will be on display through October 13. The exhibition of four man-made waterfalls of monumental scale are on view on the shores of the New York waterfront: one on the Brooklyn anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge; one on the Brooklyn Piers, between Piers 4 and 5 near the Brooklyn Heights Promenade; one in Lower Manhattan at Pier 35 north of the Manhattan Bridge; and one on the north shore of Governors Island. The Waterfalls, which have been designed to protect water quality and aquatic life, will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, except Tuesdays and Thursdays, when they will run from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Waterfalls will be lit after sunset. The Mayor, Deputy Mayor Harris and Ms. Freedman were joined by Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin, NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta, Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Public Art Fund Director Rochelle Steiner, and Tishman Construction Corporation Chairman and CEO Daniel Tishman.

"The Waterfalls are an unbelievable sight: four cascades ranging in height from 90 to 120 feet rising out of New York Harbor," said Mayor Bloomberg. "And what a beautiful symbol of the energy and vitality that we are bringing back to our waterfront in all five boroughs. Congratulations to Olafur Eliasson, the Public Art Fund and the many City, State and Federal agencies, and partners who played a role in bringing us to this momentous occasion."

"For over 30 years, the Public Art Fund has been presenting art projects in New York City's public spaces," said Susan K. Freedman, President of the Public Art Fund. "By commissioning Olafur Eliasson's The New York City Waterfalls, we are redefining public art as a vital force in the city and encouraging people to stop and look at their surroundings in a whole new way."

"In developing The New York City Waterfalls, I have tried to work with today's complex notion of public spaces," said Eliasson. "The Waterfalls appear in the midst of the dense social, environmental, and political tissue that makes up the heart of New York City. They will give people the possibility to reconsider their relationships to the spectacular surroundings, and I hope to evoke experiences that are both individual and enhance a sense of collectivity."

New Yorkers and visitors from around the world can experience the Waterfalls from various vantage points and also by bike or by boat. Circle Line Downtown, the official water tour operator of The New York City Waterfalls, is offering free and specially-priced daily boat tours to view the Waterfalls. A select number of free tickets for this official 30-minute journey is available for tours each day by calling (866) 925-4631. Organized by the Public Art Fund in partnership with Circle Line Downtown, the special boat trips departing from Pier 16, South Street Seaport in Manhattan, include an audio introduction by the artist, and provide up-close views of the Waterfalls. Tickets and schedules are available on the Circle Line website, linked to the official Waterfalls website: www.nycwaterfalls.org.

The always free Governors Island and Staten Island Ferries also provide views of the Waterfalls on Governors Island and at the Brooklyn Piers. The Staten Island Ferry runs daily, and the seven-minute Governor's Island Ferry is running every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for the duration of the project.

A series of suggested vantage points around the waterfront in Brooklyn and Manhattan as well as at Governors Island are outlined in a free informational brochure available on www.nyc.gov. A temporary park has been specially created on Pier 1, a site of the future Brooklyn Bridge Park, for viewing this project. The Department of Transportation, in collaboration with the Public Art Fund, has created a bike route around the Waterfalls, which is marked by waterfall icons on the streets and existing bike paths. The public can also download podcasts of Eliasson's comments about the Waterfalls from the official website, and starting tomorrow can call 311 to hear them (212-NEW-YORK). The Public Art Fund, government agencies and environmental organizations have also developed resources for young people and adults to enjoy the Waterfalls. Partners include the City's Department of Education, Department of Environmental Protection and the US National Park Service, and environmental groups including Riverkeeper, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance (MWA), New York Restoration Project (NYRP), as well as Urban Assembly's New York Harbor School, a public school that engages students through the study of the marine culture, history, and the environment of New York City and its surrounding waters.

The map of vantage points, the boat schedule, suggested bike routes and downloadable podcasts are available on www.nyc.gov. An activity booklet for summer camp groups will be made available in July, and educational guides including classroom lessons for students will be available in August.

The Public Art Fund, working in partnership with Tishman Construction Corporation, engaged a team of almost 200 design, engineering and construction professionals to build the Waterfalls. Construction scaffolding forms the backbone of the Waterfalls, and pumps cycle water from the East River to the top of each structure before it falls back into the River. Following the de-installation of the project in October, 90% of all the materials used to build The New York City Waterfalls will be re-used in subsequent construction projects.

The Waterfalls have been designed to be sensitive to the environment and include: elements that protect fish and aquatic life, energy efficient LED lights, and energy purchased from renewable sources. The Waterfalls will be temporarily turned off in the event of extreme winds or storms, or if there is a power shortage due to hot weather.

About the Artist
Olafur Eliasson was born in Copenhagen in 1967, and grew up in both Iceland and Denmark. He attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and currently divides his time between his family home in Copenhagen and his studio in Berlin. Studio Olafur Eliasson is a laboratory for spatial research that employs a team of 30 architects, engineers, craftsmen, and assistants who work together to conceptualize, test, engineer, and construct installations, sculptures, large-scale projects and commissions. He is perhaps best known for The weather project (2003) at Tate Modern in London, a giant sun made of 200 yellow lamps, mirrors, and mist that transformed the museum's massive Turbine Hall and drew over 2 million visitors during its five-month installation. His work is currently the subject of a major mid-career retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art and PS 1 Contemporary Art Center in New York, on view through June 30.

Project Support
This project is presented in partnership with Tishman Construction Corporation, with Water Tours provided by Circle Line Downtown, and assistance from Consolidated Edison and Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. It is made possible in part by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is funded through Community Development Block Grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Lead supporters include Bloomberg LP, Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, and The Rockefeller Foundation. Major support has been provided by The Wachovia Foundation, Carson Family Charitable Trust, Charina Endowment Fund, CIT, Forest City Ratner Companies, The Leonard and Evelyn Lauder Foundation, The Silverweed Foundation and Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee. Generous support has been provided by Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Debra and Leon D. Black, Cindy and Tom Secunda, Anonymous, Danish Ministry of Culture, The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, Kathy and Richard S. Fuld, Jr., Danielle and David Ganek, Marc Haas Foundation, Mimi and Peter Haas, Hamleys, Jennifer and Matthew Harris, Mary and Michael Jaharis, Jill and Peter Kraus, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Peter Norton Family Foundation, Steven Rattner, David Rockefeller, Judy and Michael Steinhardt, Tiffany & Co., Tishman Speyer, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, with additional funds from Vital Projects Fund, Inc., American Express, Donald A. Capoccia, Deloitte & Touche LLP, James R. Dinan and Elizabeth R. Miller, Judy and Jamie Dimon, Lauren and Martin Geller, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Robert W. Johnson IV Charitable Trust, Leonard Litwin, Nancy and Duncan MacMillan, Donald B. Marron Charitable Trust, Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation, Inc., The New York Mets Foundation, Inc., Nancy and Morris W. Offit, Peter Peterson, Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc., The Marshall Rose Family Foundation, Aby Rosen/RFR Holding LLC, Stephen M. Ross/The Related Companies, Steven Roth, Structure Tone, David Teiger, Van Wagner Communications, LLC, The Walt Disney Company, Joan and Sanford Weill, Merryl and Charles Zegar Foundation, ICAP North America, The ABNY Foundation, Brookfield Properties, Elise and Andrew Brownstein, The Durst Organization, EMC Corporation, Eugene M. Grant & Co., LLC, Extell Development Company, Gilder Foundation, Goldman Sachs, The William and Mary Greve Foundation, IBM, International Integrated Solutions, Nastasi & Associates Inc., Anna Marie and Robert F. Shapiro, Larry A. Silverstein/Silverstein Properties, Carmen and John Thain, The Jonathan M. Tisch Foundation, Laurie M. Tisch Illuminations Fund, The Steve Tisch Foundation, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Barbara J. Fife, Daniel and Estrellita Brodsky Family Foundation, Melva Bucksbaum, Creative Link for the Arts, Constellation NewEnergy, Egg Electric, Fifth Floor Foundation, Nathalie and Charles de Gunzburg, Ann and Gilbert Kinney, Holly and Jonathan Lipton, Edward John Noble Foundation, Ninah and Michael Lynne, Nortel, Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen, Jonathan Sobel & Marcia Dunn, and David Wine and Michael MacElhenny. Assistance has been provided by SEAL Security LLC, A-Val Architectural Metal Corporation, AJG, BP Mechanical Corp., Cosmopolitan Decorating Co. Inc., Hugh J. Freund, Glenn Fuhrman, Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, Elizabeth S. and Steven B. Gruber, George and Mariana Kaufman, Movado Group, NBC Universal, Patty Newburger and Brad Wechsler, Red Crane Foundation, Joanne and Paul Schnell, Charles Short, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, Melissa and Robert Soros, Billie Tsien and Tod Williams, Jeanette Sarkisian Wagner, Brennan Brothers Company, Inc., Donnelly Mechanical Corp., Abby Kinsley and Richard Davison, OHM Electrical Corp, Tri-State Dismantling Corp., Randye and Gerald Blitstein, Sara Fitzmaurice and Perry Rubenstein, Anonymous, Peter and Linda Ezersky, Marilynn and Ivan Karp, Allen Kolkowitz and Christopher Kusske, The American-Scandinavian Foundation, Joan Feeney and Bruce Phillips, Beatrice and Lloyd Frank, Hilary and Peter Hatch, Jenny Dixon and John Boone, Katherine and Richard Kahan and the Frances and Jack Levy Foundation.

About Public Art Fund
Since 1977, the Public Art Fund (www.publicartfund.org) has worked with over 500 emerging and established artists to produce innovative temporary exhibitions of contemporary art throughout New York City. By bringing artworks outside the traditional context of museums and galleries, the Public Art Fund provides a unique platform for an unparalleled encounter with the art of our time. Current projects presented by the Public Art Fund on view in New York include Chris Burden's What My Dad Gave Me at Rockefeller Center though July 19; James Yamada's Our Starry Night at Doris C. Freedman Plaza at 60th Street and Fifth Avenue, through October 28; and Everyday Eden at the MetroTech Center in Brooklyn through September 7. Recent critically acclaimed exhibitions and presentations include Rodney Graham's The Rodney Graham Band live, featuring the amazing Rotary Psycho-Opticon at the Abrons Arts Center (April 2008); Sarah Lucas's Perceval at Doris C. Freedman Plaza (2008); Dara Friedman's Musical at multiple midtown Manhattan locations (2007); Alexander Calder in New York at City Hall Park (2006-7); Sarah Morris's Robert Towne at Lever House (2006-7); Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror at Rockefeller Center (2006); and Sarah Sze's Corner Plot at Doris C. Freedman Plaza (2006).

The Public Art Fund is a non-profit art organization supported by generous contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations, and with funds from National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.






MEDIA CONTACT:

Stu Loeser / Jason Post (212) 788-2958

Stacy Bolton / Emily Gaynor (212) 721-5350

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Fashion of The Surpremes on exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum








Officially titled "The Story of The Supremes from the Mary Wilson Collection", this exhibit follows the line of fashion from one of the most successful groups of all time; from their humble beginnings as the Primettes to their glamorous Hollywood stylings at the height of their success. Their collaborations with such designers as Bob Mackie and Micheal Travis made them all international stars indeed! Any young budding fashionista and A & R director should take note that this is how you stylize a group! So while you're taking a holiday in London please stop by and luxuriate in this fantastic show. This exhibition is presented in collaboration with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Check out the video below and get into those outfits, hair, make-up and pose. High art indeed!!



V & A South Kensington
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL
+44 (0)20 7942 2000



For more information about V&A, click here.

Who is the86collective?


Name: the86collective

Mission: challenge what stands for art in contemporary culture by introducing a rapidly progressive new generation of artists to the public, thereby propelling the very notion of creativity into an edgy, experiential future.

the86collective is a constantly reinvigorated gallery of 86 works, assembled by organizations in Denver, Miami, and Chicago, created by the most talented artists the medium has to offer. The collective aims to expose new masterpieces and also to discover new masters -- wherever they might be found. If you feel you might be one of these new masters, you're invited to submit your own work. If you're an aficionado, you're encouraged to visit the gallery again and again, exclaiming "awesome" at such times as you might deem appropriate.


See the vast gallery of masterfully created works of digital art. A virtual museum of light and space featuring top designers.

Also this website allows one to create their own works of digital art. Try it out and see!!

www.86collective.org

Bank of America and The Charles Wright Museum present The Hewitt Collection



Bank of America invites you to a special reception
celebrating the opening of the Hewitt Collection.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
315 East Warren Avenue
Detroit, Michigan


Celebration and Vision: The Hewitt Collection of African America Art represents a coming together of a wide range of voices and expressions regarding African-American culture. John and Vivian Hewitt assembled this collection due to both an appreciation of the particular experiences they knew best and out of love of the visual. The fifty-five works of are in the exhibition include masterpieces of twentieth-century African American art, and stand as a testament to perseverance, commitment, passion and expression.

A strolling dinner, including beer & wine will be served.
Complimentary valet parking available.

RSVP to Kim Jantza at kimberly.jantz@bankofamerica.com or (248) 822-5461


Painting: Romare Bearden, Jamming at the Savoy, ca. 1998.

Information courtesy of Charles Wright Museum/Bank of America.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

WITW/DESIGN STUDIO SHOWROOM OPENS, Thurs. June 26, 2008



All my fellow South Africans or those foreigners who happen to be in the area please go check out the opening of WhatIfTheWorld Design Studios on 11 Hope Street. Available will be new and exclusive products by designers Blasoen, Christopher Strong, Missibaba, Adriaan Hugo, Liam Mooney, Xandre Kriel and a slew of others. Also available will be opening night tshirts designed by R200! The event starts at 6pm and the contact information is listed below. Enjoy!


Whatiftheworld / Design Studio
Showroom: 11 Hope Street
East City, Cape Town
Contact: Liam Mooney
E: liam@whatiftheworld.com
M: + 27 84 550 1037
designstudio.whatiftheworld.com

Monday, June 23, 2008

Design Profile: AUTOBAN by De La Espada





What do you get when combine a couple of Turkish designers, one Spanish designer and one Portuguese? The result is AUTOBAN by De La Espada. This Istanbul-based design firm (named Best Young Designers by Wallpaper in 2004 and Best Newcomer by Blueprint in 2005) has combined forces with Portuguese furniture manufacturer De La Espada to create a line that was launched at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

Each piece of the collection carry such influences as diverse as flora, fauna and chess, but never look confused. For example, the Deer chair evokes its namesake perfectly, from its thin arms and legs, to its knobby joints, to its timid stance; click over and take a gander at Mushroom Family, Pumpkin and King.

Currently the collaborators have released three new pieces including the One Armed chair as well as Opposite-armed chairs that can be combined to form a bench.

For more on this design collective, click here.

Profile: Matthew Courtney & The Steps To Nowhere Gallery

















Street artist Matthew Courtney has created his own gallery entitled "The Steps To Nowhere Gallery." Can you guess were the space is located? Outside the steps of the J. Crew store in SoHo. I had seen this artist before but never really paid any attention until today as I was walking the streets and noticed his "welcome" sign on the steps. Matthew's work is created on old MAC computer boxes and pieces of the New York Times; his favorite is the Weather section. His work represents every race, creed and gender and believes he is every man and every man is he; Matthew's usage of coloring suggests such. Born and raised in a small town in Oregon, Matthew came to NYC over 20 years ago and hasn't look back since. If you are ever in the SoHo district and find yourself longing for a new computer at the Apple Store or a pair of crisp khakis from J. Crew kindly do not step on the steps to the gallery; kindly step up to it.

Matthew brags "J. Crew pays $45,000 a month in rent and I pay $0." How fabulous is that? Matthew is just one of the many artists that are located in the SoHo district who have a cult following and happen to sell work on a daily basis. I have even bought work from Ronald Brown who created these large-scale works that are part cubist/post-60s revolutionary. If you are ever in SoHo and need a good laugh as well as visual fix Matthew Courtney is your guy.

Images courtesy of tyrusrochell

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Architect Frank Israel (1946-1996) featured in June/July 2008 issue of OUT Magazine






Design Icon Frank Israel is featured in this month's OUT magazine. I have posted the entire spot in its entirety for those who do not subscribe nor have access to the publication. Enjoy and be inspired!

Though he was born in New York City and earned degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia, Frank Israel's work was a driving force behind the ascendant Los Angeles architecture scene of the 1980s and 1990s, alongside pioneers like Frank Gehry and Thom Mayne, before his career was cut short at the age of 50.

After working on an urban development plan for the shah of Iran and serving two years as a resident fellow at the American Academy in Rome, Israel moved West in the late '70s, just as Los Angeles was dethroning New York as the capital of contemporary architecture. Beginning what would nearly be two decades teaching at the University of California, Los Angeles, he also created sets for Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Roger Vadim's Night Games. Bitten by the Hollywood bug, he designed L.A. homes for Robert Altman and Joel Grey, and later became best known for creating offices there for Propaganda Films, Limelight Productions, and Virgin Records' original headquarters. His residential and corporate projects often paired existing structures with bold formal experimentations.

In his review of Israel's 1996 retrospective at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp said, " No other architect's work embodies more fully [Los Angeles's] current tension between ephemerality and perpetuity...Earthquakes and fires are not the only natural disasters that have destabilized the city,' referring to the AIDS pandemic that took the architect's and several of his client's lives. A vocal AIDS activist who lived with HIV for 12 years, Israel completed the design of his final project, a library at UCLA, in 1996.


Article courtesy of OUT Magazine.

Images courtesy of the World Wide Web.

Zhao Nengzhi/Final Week at China Square Gallery



ZHAO NENGZHI
CONFESSIONAL FIGURATION
Essay by Jonathan Goodman
June 3 - 28, 2008


ChinaSquare Gallery is pleased to present Zhao Nengzhi: Confessional Figuration, on through June 28, 2008.

Born in the early 1960s, Zhao Nengzhi belongs to a generation old enough to remember the Cultural Revolution and has been shaped by the disappointments of Tiananmen Square. His disturbed, disturbing faces act as troubled witnesses to a culture filled with the wish for things. Interestingly, however, the terms of the figures’ disaffection and anomie is essentially private rather than public; Zhao’s red faces, painted in sizes large enough to evoke landscape, do not rely on external references to make their point; instead, hardship has been internalized, so that Zhao’s portraits communicate mostly psychological distress.

Zhao’s figures wrestle with an unspoken grief that seems inexorable and overwhelming; figuration here gives him the room to paint and sculpt in broadly engaged terms, which beg the question: Why such alienation in an environment of abundance and greater personal freedom? Zhao’s strength is that he refuses to give answers to such a question, referring the query back to his audience.

A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies this exhibition. For more information please contact the gallery at info@chinasquareny.com.




Essay and image courtesy of China Square.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Masayoshi Kasugai @ GRACIE Studio, SOHO, NYC







Gracie Studio presents Japanese papermaker and artist Masayoshi Kasugai for a limited at time at their SoHo Studio. Kasugai is most known for her remarkable technique of creating trees and landscapes due to a process of placing unmacerated strips of Kozo inner bark with a pulp background.

Gracie has gone back into their archives and borrowed some prints from collectors as well so please make sure you go and visit before the exhibit closes at the end of June. I have even heard that several of the pieces will even be up for sale. The works of art are only open from 11:30-3:30pm so make sure you schedule your viewing time accordingly. The information is listed below for all interested parties. Hope to see you there!


Gracie Studio
419 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10003
(P): 212-924-6816
(F): 212-627-8967
mail@graciestudio.com
www.graciestudio.com


Images courtesy of Danielle De Vita/Novita Communications.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Club MoAD -"Double Exposure: Artist Party"




Club MoAD - Double Exposure:Artist Party
7PM to Midnight

MoAD Members $15
Become a Member to receive your discount
General admission: Advance Purchase $20, Day of Event $25

Celebrate the public opening and Artist party of Double Exposure: African Americans Before and Behind the Camera, an exhibition of contemporary and historical photographic works.

Join us for this great event! Free appetizers, full bar. Music by Bulk, Mezmetic, and DJ Dmadness. 21 and older only please
Click Here to buy your tickets

Museum of the African Diaspora
685 Mission Street (at Third)
San Francisco, California 94105
phone: 415.358.7200
fax: 415.358.7252


Co-presented by the MoAD Vanguard. Sponsored by: J and V Catering, Flickr, and The Greater Family Foundation.


Vist the Museum of the African Diaspora by clicking here.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The United States Postal Service issues Eames Stamps, 06/17/08



These are definitely a collector's item for those who are real design aficionados. I have already purchased two sheets to date.


www.usps.com

www.eamesgallery.com

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Benetton/Youssou N'Dour present "Africa Works"

The Benetton Group SPA has teamed up with international musician Youssou N'Dour for the "Africa Works" campaign which promotes a program aimed at offering microloans to small business owners in Senegal. These beautifully amazing images, which depict ordinary Africans in all their splendor, are the result of famed African-born and English-educated photographer James Mollison. This is Mollison's fourth campaign with Benetoon and hopefully not his last. Check out a few of the photographs below as well as a video created by Youssou N'Dour.








To find out more or to become involved in Africa Works, please click here.

All images courtesy of the Benetton Group SPA.

MoCADA presents " Avant Yard: Ancient Futures/The DNA of Cultures & Civilizations




Ancient Futures:
The DNA of Cultures & Civilizations


The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) is proud to present Ancient Futures: The DNA of Cultures and Civilizations. A revival of the critically acclaimed 1990s Avant Yard underground art movement in Tribeca, that took the New York art world by storm, the exhibition Ancient Futures will feature work from several of the previously exhibited artists that started the revolution, as well as newer, emerging artists that are continuing the tradition of pushing the envelope. This group exhibition explores the "underground art movement" during the early 90s, while updating new visitors to emerging provocative artists coming onto the scene. Through a cutting edge collaboration of art and music, visitors will have the opportunity to experience a multi-sensory journey, while also receiving commentary on current cultural, political and social events.

By highlighting the role of the artist as it relates to social activism, Ancient Futures attempts to create a dialogue by utilizing art and music as a platform, while embracing the idea that individual artistic expression is necessary. Ancient Futures is an exploration into the mental make-up of the U.S. social system: the beauty, ugliness, abstraction, music, and color. It is a celebration of who individuals are in the present in relation to their past, and how they now forge their new futures. After all, the present is nothing more than pre-sent moments.

Featured Artists:
Terry Boddie, Fikisha C, Jennifer Crute, Francks Deceus, Joshua Humphries, Dirk Joseph, Laura James, Kip Omolade, William Rhodes, Danny Simmons, Jamel Shabazz & Malik Yusef Cumbo

Musical Performances:
The Essential M.C., Game Rebellion, the Welfare Poets, Yolanda Zama, Nucomme, Survival Soundz featuring Carla Csharp Gomez, Lovespace Music, Defrei of Ahficianados, the Majestic Twinsound and Ahficial Music.


ADDRESS
Located at 80 Hanson Place at South Portland in Downtown Brooklyn, near the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

BY SUBWAY
The 2, 3, 4, 5, B, and Q stop at Atlantic Avenue.
The D, M, N, and R stop at Pacific Avenue.
The C stops at Lafayette Avenue.
The G stops at Fulton Street.

ADMISSION
Suggested donation: $4 for adults, $3 for students (with valid ID) and seniors. Free for children 12 and under.


Image Credit: Malik Yusef Cumbo, Dogon Spirit

Text courtesy of MoCADA.

For more information on MoCADA, click here.

Chair and The Maiden Present D. Shayne Aldrich's "Next To Godliness"



CHAIR AND THE MAIDEN

CORDIALLY INVITES YOU

TO A NIGHT OF REVELRY

CELEBRATING

THE EXHIBITION DEBUT OF



NEXT TO GODLINESS

BY D. SHAYNE ALDRICH




MIDSUMMER'S EVE

19 JUNE 2008

SIX O'CLOCK

THE CHAIR AND THE MAIDEN GALLERY

19 CHRISTOPHER STREET

NEW YORK CITY



WITH A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY

DILIA JELEN AT SEVEN PM





A PORTION OF THE PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO

THE RED CROSS BENEFITING THE REBUILDING OF NEW ORLEANS

PLEASE COME OUT AND SUPPORT THIS ARTIST AS WELL AS THE REBUILDING OF AN AMERICAN CITY.

RSVP@CHAIRANDTHEMAIDEN.COM

www.chairandthemaiden.com

Photo: Dowsing Amongst The Devil

All information courtesy of The Chair and the Maiden Gallery.