from nature stitching to drama stitching. large scale hand-sewn puppets and all, from DENMARK.
hey, its a big world out there. even among those who hand-stitch – there’s a vast terrain with extreme polarity !!
HELLE MARDAHL – ‘An Orgy’, limited edition print. 2009
last week to catch:
HELLE MARDAHL – ‘The Largest Possible Audience’
APRIL 29 – MAY 30, 2009
LaVIOLA BANK GALLERY – 179 EAST BROADWAY – LOWER EAST SIDE – NYC
HELLE MARDAHL (b. 1976) was formally educated as a fashion designer, obviously with an eye towards fashion, and serious seamstress and all-around sewing skills, at the Centre Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London.
Apparently, she currently plies her sewing skills, and creativity – not as a fashion designer, but as an artist.
and a fairly dark dramatic one, at that !!
Helle is currently based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
HELLE MARDAHL – ‘The Ego Queen’, 2007. mixed media, including a lot of stitching. 104 x 47 x 43 in.
she’s also a graphic artist, as in illustration and painting.
HELLE MARDAHL – ‘The Balancing Pixie’, 2009. acrylic on linen. 65 x 28 in.
HELLE MARDAHL – ‘The Dependent Woman’, acrylic on linen. 76 x 27 in.
obviously – not !! a low-fi show !!
but she is coming out of somewhere. a contemporary deep dark collective unconsciousness.
see: MARNIE WEBER’S current show/MARC JANCOU !!
you can see more of the exhibit: here !!/HELLE MARDAHL
actually, we had a chance to stop by and see the exhibit in person.
there was a big, elaborate and highly detailed ‘tableaux’ against the back wall.
can you make out the 3 large puppets, in ‘gangsta’ pose !!
apparently Helle arrived with a 5 or 6 person crew to help her hand-stitch the final details of the installation.
‘The Ego Queen’.
a cut-out, colored, hand-stitched, and stuffed !! fabric piece.
like how Helle has put her name on the piece, and the way the shallow depth of the 3-D fabric piece is highlighted by the frame’s mounting.
delicate hand-stitching, even on the backgrounds.
HELLE MARDAHL – a painting on linen.
was told that Helle has a tradition of ‘mounting’ her name – in different ways for her shows. nice.
MICHAEL BANK CHRISTOFFERSEN . . .
and . . . ALLEGRA LaVIOLA – are the co-founders of the gallery which bears their names, and which is one of the brighter spots on the Lower East Side. The gallery space is a bit further out, but beautiful and spacious. high ceilings and all.
very modern.
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA.
. . . actually had a chance to meet HELLE MARDAHL !! – at center – when she was so nice to find time to drop my recent opening at OTHER MUSIC. we’re both into black and white, and stitching. esp hand stitching – so we had a lot to talk about.
she’s seems very sweet and very very smart.
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA and MICHAEL BANK CHRISTOFFERSEN are on either side.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~HELLE MARDAHL/LaVIOLA BANK/last week |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 28th, 2009, 6:33pm
from hard shiny surfaces and ancient metaphors … to – stitching and nature.
last week to catch:
SHAWN WILLIAM CREEDEN – ‘If I Weren’t Here, They Would Be’
new drawings and embroideries
MAY 7-30, 2009
FONTANELLE GALLERY – 205 SW PINE ST – PORTLAND, OREGON
from the website we learn that SHAWN WILLIAM CREEDEN is a recent transplant to Portland Oregon, from Brooklyn, NY !!
where he was actually a member of the New York Zoological Society.
He recently published the zine ‘Birds of 1907’ – featuring watercolor illustrations of birds that have been spotted at his new home in southeast Portland. This exhibit “is a representation of Creeden’s extensive research and examination of the native fauna of the Pacific Northwest.”
a few selections from the installation photos – posted on the website:
SHAWN WILLIAM CREEDEN – ‘Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna)’, 2009. Embroidery.
the embroideries were displayed on the wall – in their hoops.
SHAWN WILLIAM CREEDEN – ‘Black-capped & Chestnut Backed Chickadees’. 2009.
ink & watercolor on paper.
SHAWN WILLIAM CREEDEN – ‘Fox Skull’, 2009.
SHAWN WILLIAM CREEDEN – ‘Elk Dung’, 2009
the above 2 pieces appear to be sculptures, or as the gallery calls them: ceramic ‘relics’.
the evergreen needles seem to be made from short strands of green yarn.
SHAWN WILLIAM CREEDEN – THE CAVE – an interactive full-scale installation tent.
see more pix from the exhibit: here !!
~SHAWN WILLIAM CREEDEN/FONTANELLE/last week |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 28th, 2009, 6:05pm
ANNE EASTMAN – ‘MOBILES’
MAY 8 – JUNE 13, 2009
ATM GALLERY – 621 West 27th St – CHELSEA – NYC
HRS: TUES-SAT 11-6 PM
ok. so this show was really hard to call. I had to really think about it. I needed clues.
it was either so cutting edge – it was going right over my head – or – it was the Emperor who wore no clothes.
the first clue. the card (above).
this card is like the joker in the deck. its an ALICE IN WONDERLAND-like tiny metaphor door into the show. it is a cardboard image with a very matte finish. the images aren’t high focus. the faces are ancient, they are clay. but they have an archival ancient golden glow, a patina . . a history. a sadness. a story. it’s not about you. you can’t quite read the ‘mobile’, yet, until you’ve seen the show – its the light blue disk at the top … there’s actually 2 mobile disks – side-by-side – the other has half a face on its moon-like surface.
if this card is – not about you. . . the show itself is: it’s quite the opposite . . you go through this tiny earthly matte opaque paper door image of an old even ancient clay face – into a room full of open spaces, light & reflection. refraction. it is about you. as you move. as you get reflected as you move about.
if the card is about clay – then, the show is – all about – light – PRISM LIGHT . . .
the 2nd clue came when I found out, about a week later, though pure chance – that Anne is half-American/half-Japanese. even though she has western eyes. when you start to look for it – you can see her heritage in her face.
apparently, she spent a lot of time in both cultures and actual geographies – growing up.
thus: even though she has western eyes and advanced American art school knowledge – she has eastern instincts.
her work comes at you sideways. you have to re-adjust for this nuance.
it was like she spoke with an ancient voice, of an old culture. as opposed to the brash, sometimes too-young, too-bright voice of the new Americans.
I wonder what her zodiac sign is. I bet its towards the end of the evolutionary cycle – as opposed to lets say an AIRES, right at the beginning, and with the voice of an amazed toddler.
so, slowly you get to perceive other dimensions. pick up more subtle signals. it’s another doorway. this one made of shiny glass mirrors and refractive shimmery plexi. its a very light-handed visual experience. nothing is still. nothing is fixed.
where nothing is definite – or ancient – like clay.
that’s about as best, as I can explain it. in words. very cutting edge. let’s see who gets it !!
it was also extremely interesting to see this show in the same month, in fact maybe the same week !! as the one day
GEORGIA GRAY and JORY RABINOVITZ outdoor sculpture show at PETER COOPER SQ.
both shows equally light-handed, in materials & format – yet profoundly diverse in concept.
all 3 young artists – products of serious studio art programs, associated with NYC.
Anne received her MFA from YALE in 2006.
Georgia Gray and Jory Rabinovitz – are currently in the sculpture BFA program at COOPER UNION.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
UP-DATE: FRI MAY 29, 2009 – still can’t keep thinking about the show.
enough with the polemics. the poles of east and west. the poles of oblique, opaque and reflection.
the poles of ancient and immediate. the poles of being and not being. solid and transitory.
deep thoughts. light touch.
there was an utmost edge. of strangeness, newness and grace.
ANNE EASTMAN, ‘HARLEQUIN’, 2009.
Mirror Mobile, wood frame, stretched fabric. 15-3/4 x 15-3/4 x 15-3/4 in.
ANNE EASTMAN – ‘To Do With As We Like’, 2009.
Iridescent plexi mobile (5-7/8 in. diameter), 24 x 24 x 24 in. wooden frame on wood base.
there, or not there ? depends where you are standing !!
ANNE EASTMAN, ‘That Temporal Pull’, 2009.
22 in. Diameter Glass mirror, 72 x 27-1/2 x 27-1/2 in. wooden frame.
in the back room:
ANNE EASTMAN, “Soon After We Can See, We Are Aware That We Can Also Be Seen’, 2009.
Glass Mirror Mobile (Four 10 in. diameter double-sided mirrors), 2 fabric panels.
back in the main gallery. the eerie light was cast from the video loop.
ANNE EASTMAN – ‘HARLEQUIN’, seen from a different angle !!
looks totally different on the wall.
that’s ‘Harlequin’, again !! to the right.
on one wall, even more surface contradictory – a video beam.
ANNE EASTMAN -‘The Intention Of The Device’, 2009. 30 min. single channel video. no sound.
Anne was able to get permission to place her mobiles into an archaeology museum, I believe this one was at Yale, to film.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
UP-DATE: JULY 28, 2009
I’ve had time to think on this one a little bit more, it just doesn’t let go – its simplicity belies its utmost beauty . . . and looking back – its shaping up to be one of my most fav shows of last season. its the one that almost got away. it really caught something inexpressible about the times, and its too bad – it flew over the heads of most people in the mainstream, esp those at NEW YORK MAG. I think mostly because it was so low-fi and yet so zen-like in its profoundness, at the same time, if that makes any sense ?
ANNE EASTMAN at the opening. MAY 8, 2009.
a few more photos from the installation – on like my 4th !! visit back !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~ANNE EASTMAN/ATM |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 28th, 2009, 12:04pm
sometimes it’s fun just to be a tourist in NYC, and cruise the great hi-end/famous art on show in this big art capital.
VAN DE WEGHE is always a pretty good bet – on 23rd St. just below 10th Ave. – the gateway to Chelsea . . .
these pix are from their recent DUANE HANSON show (APRIL 22-MAY 22, 2009).
she looks pretty real doesn’t she ?!!
I’d say this is hi-fi big bucks, hi-tech sculpture – brought to jaw dropping perfection.
the figures are unique, not editions, and go for, ballpark: a cool half a million ($500,000) ea.
she looks less real from the side.
who’s real, . . . and who’s not !!
look out Gabriel Fowler (of DESERT ISLAND) !! – in about 90 tears, I mean YEARS !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
see more pix from the exhibit: gallery/DUANE HANSON !!
BREAKING NEWS !! CHANGES ON 23rd ST & BUIA STIFFS MR. COLLECTOR
oh oh oh . . . tourist attraction, but – not for much longer !!
SIMON CERIGO reports that Van de Weghe is closing this space on 23rd St., but keeping its Upper East Side space.
Since he (Van de Weghe) owns the 23rd St. space – he will become STEVE KASHER’S landlord, when Steve Kasher moves his STEVE KASHER GALLERY – a photography venue – downstairs from the 2nd floor into the vacated storefront for the Fall season (2009).
SIMON adds: “STEVE is all happy.” duh.
thanks, Simon.
but I’m gonna miss those guilty pleasure peeks at the high-end, real-deal, but oh so old school – VAN DE WEGHE offerings, usually large scale & mid-career signature Warhols, Harings, Basquiats, and Duane Hansons.
ok. here’s another little tidbit from SIMON – regarding 23rd St & a ‘gallerista’ – no more.
BUIA closed. and VANESSA BUIA’S name is mud. She folded in the night like a house of cards – but maybe more like: thief-in-the night – might be the better metaphor !! harsh, NOT !!
Apparently she owed at least one collector a drawing that he had alreday purchased, and which he had recently returned and left with her – to be signed by the artist. When he first got it home – he had noticed there was no signature. The work was paid for in full. It was a Paul Paddock drawing.
MR. COLLECTOR, aka ROBERT CHERUBIM is pretty upset at being treated this way, and has set Simon Cerigo on the mission to get his purchase back, and signed. an apology would be nice too.
needless to say, Vanessa didn’t leave a forwarding address. if she’s reading this, best to contact Simon thru artlovers/contact/homepage to resolve this. MR. COLLECTOR is a pretty tenacious and obsessive guy. He feels really slighted. I wouldn’t underestimate him. besides its not nice to treat the grass roots collectors, or is that just the “little people” ? this way. esp the ones who supported your venture from the get-go.
MR. COLLECTOR aka ROBERT CHERUBIM – photographed on the set of the MARK KOSTABI – ‘NAME THAT PAINTING’ set – where he is a regular cast member. (as is Simon.)
Nov 3, 2006
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
yep, he’s for real. no it’s not another Duane Hanson . . . and, yes he has a great collection, in fact – bet it beats YOURS !!
most of it is under his bed. all of it is cutting edge. name one artist he collects ? ok. ANDREW GUENTHER. AMY GARTRELL.
read more about: MR. COLLECTOR
in fact, here’s another oldie but goodie – MR. COLLECTOR at ANDREW GUENTHER’S groundbreaking PERRY RUBENSTEIN exhibit, Nov 3, 2004.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
This photo made the inaugural artlovers ART LOVERS PHOTO REPORT – way back in the day – 2005-03-27 !!
UP-DATE: THURS JUNE 3, 2009 – LEO KOENIG TAKES OVER FORMER BUIA SPACE !!
or as we like to call it: LEO the K takes over BUIA the BUST !!
looks like LEO KOENIG, with his main gallery just a few doors down, at 545 W. 23rd St. – has taken over the former BUIA space, at 541 E W. 23rd St – as his ‘projecrt’ annex or “PROJEKTE” as he is calling it.
the inaugural opening is tomorrow – FRI JUNE 5, 2009 from 6-8 PM:
‘BLIND BUZZARD’ – Works by ANKE WEYER & ADRIAN MERAZ
running JUNE 5 – JULY 11, 2009
see: LEO KOENIG/PROJEKTE !!
installation view: ‘Blind Buzzard’ – ADRIAN MERAZ and ANKE WEYER/PHOTO COURTESY: LEO KOENIG INC/PROJEKTE
also opening, the same night, same time – in the KOENIG main space:
BILL SAYLOR – ‘IF FANTASIES CAME BY THE GALLON THIS BABY COULD RUN FOREVER’
running JUNE 5 – JULY 11, 2009
see: LEO KOENIG INC. !!
BILL SAYLOR – invitation poster, 2009/COURTESY: LEO KOENIG INC.
~DUANE HANSON/TOURISTS & more tourists !!/& LEO the K takes over BUIA the BUST !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 28th, 2009, 11:56am
DESERT ISLAND – IS HAVING A BIG !! FUND-RAISER MUSIC PAR-TAY !!! TO-NITE !! MON MAY 25, 2009
MEMORIAL DAY
doors open at 7PM
admission $8
performances by: UNINHABITABLE MANSIONS, BOOGIE BOARDER, DARLINGS & AMBERGIS
UNION POOL – 484 UNION AVE – WILLIAMSBURG – BROOKLYN
all proceeds will go towards DESERT ISLAND’S new project – a FREE all-comics newspaper – called SMOKE SIGNAL !!
published by DESERT ISLAND – SMOKE SIGNAL – will present its inaugural publication this June 2009.
The paper will have a circulation of 1,000 and will be available at a few choice locations in Brooklyn and via mail-order through the DESERT ISLAND website.
The UNION POOL Memorial Day event is an effort to raise funds for this free, community-based project.
All ticket sales will go towards the printing costs for the newspaper. so how cool is that !!
check out:
UNINHABITABLE MANSIONS
AMBERGRIS
BOOGIE BOARDER
DARLINGS
NOTE: there is a link on the DESERT ISLAND homepage, towards the bottom, left hand side, titled: “NEWSPAPER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES” !! which gives the complete low-down on getting your stuff into this publication !!
including the following:
GENERAL: “SMOKE SIGNAL is a forthcoming 24-page newspaper with a color cover and black and white interior.
Please submit your black and white comics following the specs below. (Full-page: 10 in. wide x 15 in. high/Half-page: 10 in. wide x 7.25 in. high/Comic strip: 10 in. wide x 3.5 in. high).
You may submit finished work in 3 sizes: full-page, half-page and, comic strip. We’ll give first priority to half-pagers and comic strips, simply because we want to include a lot of artists.
We’re mainly interested in narrative work, but will accept more abstract pieces if we really like your stuff.”
SPECIAL PROJECTS: they’re looking for:
– someone to do a full-color FAKE AD for the back cover !!
– someone to do an old-school table of contents !!
– someone to do a large full-color center-spread poster !!
address submissions & questions to: desertislandbrooklyn@gmail.com
DESERT ISLAND – 540 METROPOLITAN AVE – WILLIAMSBURG – BROOKLYN
– just off L TRAIN/LORIMER ST. EXIT
HRS: TUES-SAT noon-9PM/SUN noon-7PM
CLOSED ON MONDAYS
~DESERT ISLAND/SMOKE SIGNAL/MUSIC PARTY TO-NITE !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 25th, 2009, 9:30am
last minute invite !!
PARLOUR No. 5 – ‘LIFE GOES ON’
CURATED BY TED MINEO & COLLEEN ASPER
with: LANE ARTHUR, COLLEEN ASPER, JENNIFER DUDLEY, EVIE FALCI !!, RASHAWAN GRIFFIN, DAVE HARDY, CHIP HUGHES, HEIN KOH, TED MINEO, DANE NESTER, KYLE SMITH & ANDRZEJ ZIELINSKI
OPENING RECEPTION: was SAT MAY 16, 2009 /7-10 PM
still open by appointment: SUNDAY MAY 17, 2009 / 12- 6 PM !!
contact: CLARA or LESLIE at parlourinfo@gmail.com
LOCATION: HOME OF EVAN WALTHER & MIRANDA SIEGEL – 204 HUNTINGTON ST PH5 – BROOKLYN !!
p.s. EVIE FALCI did that great glow-in-the-dark piece on artlovers – ‘IF I HAD $200’/2008 !!
see: EVIE FALCI/IF I HAD $200
EVIE FALCI – ‘GLOW-IN-THE-DARK GOOGLY EYES’, 14 x 12 in., 2008.
~PARLOUR #5 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 17th, 2009, 2:24pm
‘I, Ms. GRANDPA’ – JORY RABINOVITZ & GEORGINA GRAY !!
ONE DAY OUTDOOR SCULPTURE SHOW – SUNDAY MAY 17, 2009 / 1-6 PM
PETER COOPER PARK – RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE COOPER UNION – 7th St. bet 3rd + 4th Aves.
EAST VILLAGE – NYC
DON’T MS. IT !!
JORY writes that: KIRBY MAGES will be handing out her prize winning CHILI – too !!
hope to see y’all there.
~JORY RABINOVITZ & GEORGIA GRAY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 17th, 2009, 11:56am
( . . . if that isn’t LEIF RITCHEY – I don’t know, who is !!)
FRANKIE MARTIN wrote to tell us – she will be showing two videos, ‘Born Again’ and ‘Who Died?’
at MONKEYTOWN – SAT – MAY 16, 2009 / SHOWTIME: 7:30 PM
58 N 3rd btwn KENT/WYTHE – WILLIAMSBURG – BROOKLYN.
admission: $5, $10 minimum.
reservations recommended.
as FM says herself: “This is the new shizz”.
‘Born Again ‘ is about the rebirth of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. ‘Who Died?’ is about death and the transcendence of the human body.
the show is called: ‘LIFE OR DEATH’ !!
Also on the program: ERIKA SOMYGI’S ‘Faces’ – a painting animation; LEIDY CHURCHMAN’S status quo vide-oh; and JESSI CIOCCI and JAIMIE MOHR’S depiction of the modern life, feeding ourselves to the world…
there will also be minimalist performance and …”we are changing all the time,the future you/we cannot guess.
Maybe we will be older than Jesus, but maybe not … if you’re lucky you get comedy, if not tragedy. Come and figure it out for yourself. We are equals ”
YIKES !!- do we detect some diss, grudge, and even, anger over … the arbitrary & small-minded curatorial decisions – at the supposedly cutting edge, but mostly disappointing – NEW MUSEUM !!
or, is it just hard not to be the newest kids on the block, anymore ??
maybe it’s just the sucky economy & the big box monsters !! maybe it’s both !!
welcome to the art world. guys.
chews ’em up & spits them out.
whatever – its looking to be another long dreary rainy day, so here’s a nice rainy day cruise:
and hopefully a little artlovers ‘fan’ time – might cheer these guys, up !!
so, leave them a note – on their contacts.
check out: FRANKIE FEVER FOREVER /aka FM/FRANKIE MARTIN !!
check out: LEIDY CHURCHMAN/which FM deems: ‘Columbia’s finest’ !!
check out: THROUGH THE TREES/aka ERIKA SOMOGYI !!
check out: DJ JJJJJ JeJJx !! or, “do you mind dying?”
check out: BUNNY BRAINS HAVE GUMPTION 2009 !!
~FRANKIE MARTIN/LIFE OR DEATH/MONKEYTOWN |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 16th, 2009, 1:06pm
THE CANDELA STRUCTURES – A NYC HISTORY MYSTERY !!
CURATED BY: KIRSTEN HIVELY & PAUL LUCAS
OPENING RECEPTION – TO-DAY !! – SAT – MAY 16 / 7-10 PM
the exhibit runs thru JUNE 28, 2009
THE CITY RELIQUARY MUSEUM – 370 METROPOLITAN – WILLIAMSBURG – BROOKLYN
above: CANDELA STRUCTURES – 1964 WORLD’S FAIR, NYC, NY
all photos courtesy: CITY RELIQUARY MUSEUM.
from the press release:
“Have you seen these prefab structures? aren’t they cool ?” – YES !!!
“They’re located on the Flushing Bay Promenade in Queens, a few hundred yards from the Mets’ new stadium.
Millions of people have seen them over the past 45 years, but almost nobody knows anything about them.
‘The Candela Structures: A New York City History Mystery’ … tells the story of these under-appreciated fiberglass formations and the surprising culture of mystery and misinformation surrounding the, from their origins as exhibit spaces during the 1964 World’s fair to their current status as neglected but enduring landmarks on the Queens waterfront.
The exhibit has been produced by journalist PAUL LUKAS and architect KRISTEN HIVELY, who developed a crush on the Candela structures last year and decided to investigate their backstory. What began as a quick research project turned into an eight-month odyssey of dead ends, wrong turns, and architectural obsession. The resulting exhibit should give these under-rated structures the attention they’ve long deserved.”
at the opening reception – guests will be provided ‘SAVE THE CANDELAS’ letters and envelopes, so that they can petition city officials to provide the candelas with sorely needed repairs.
Beer and other refreshments will be provided. DJ Stacher will kick out mid-1960s pop-garage, psychedlia & Shea Stadium live concert hits.
~THE CANDELA STRUCTURES/CITY RELIQUARY MUSEUM |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 16th, 2009, 12:34pm
. . . it’s time for a little musical interlude – while I am running around – getting MY OWN SHOW !! together !!
(it’s gonna be at OTHER MUSIC – the opening is: THURS MAY 21, 2009 – NANCY SMITH – LOW-FI PARTAY !!)
SIMON CERIGO SUGGESTS:
GRIZZLY BEAR – LIVE ON DAVID LETTERMAN !!/JULY 24, 2008
and check out the visuals on:
GRIZZLY BEAR/KNIFE !!
Simon is also really into & definite recommends: DIRTY PROJECTORS/”I PITY THE POOR IMMIGRANT” (acoustic).
He says he likes the visuals of this project, as well as the music – because it is so poetically filmed – the music and the images are slightly out of synch – in a very sweet, haunting way.
DIRTY PROJECTORS/”I PITY THE POOR IMMIGRANT” (acoustic)
it is – S-U-P-E-R GREAT !! don’t miss it – hit that YouTube link !!!!
~GRIZZLY BEAR & DIRTY PROJECTORS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 13th, 2009, 12:40am
