~THE CRACK-UP

atm the crack up

ATM – ‘THE CRACK-UP – a summer group show featuring new work by new artists:
SASCHA BRAUNIG, JESSE FARBER, YUI KUGIMIYA, JONATHAN ROTH, LEIGH RUPLE & MATTHEW SAVITSKY
JUNE 25 – JULY 30, 2009

and, yo – YES !! check out that ATM GALLERY LINK – there’s a great photo by PETER SUTHERLAND – on the gallery’s home page !!
for the summer. see: ATM GALLERY

PIX FROM THE ‘CRACK-UP’ OPENING – JUNE 25, 2009:

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SASCHA BRAUNIG, with her oil on canvas: ‘No Solutions’, 2009.
. . . . tell me – about it !!
a lot of you might recognize SASCHA as the sweet, smart & apparently – talented !! – art ‘day jobber’ – who so efficiently manned the ATM gallery office for most of last year.

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SASCHA BRAUNIG, ‘No Solutions’, 2009. oil on canvas.
Sascha originally hails from British Columbia, Canada.

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JESSE FARBER.
we crossed paths with Jesse, when we visited MIKE PARE at the ISLIP ARTIST RESIDENCY/STUDIOS on Long Island, this past Spring (2009).

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he had a pretty amazing piece – a kind of hollowed-out man-made cave sculpture that sat on a pedestal, and had a secret inner life !!

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JESSE FARBER, ‘Our Bones Cave’, 2009.
papier mache, acrylic, digital prints, board. 24 x 27 x 29 in.

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inside, JESSE FARBER’S – ‘Our Bones Cave’.

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MATTHEW SAVITSKY.
we first met Matthew at that seminal – ‘BOBO’S On 27th ST.’ show – at FOXY PRODUCTION, summer of 2008.

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MATTHEW SAVITSKY, with his assemblage, ‘Healing with Purple: Here Lies Helvetica’, 2009 – peeking out. spooky.

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MATTHEW SAVITSKY, ‘Healing with Purple: Here Lies Helvetica’, 2009
paint, table, found ornaments, lace, mixed media. dimensions variable.

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BILL BRADY with VIRGINIA MARTINSEN.
Bill is going to open the FALL SEASON (2009) with a debut show of abstract paintings by Ms. Martinsen.
the opening is scheduled for – Thurs. Sept 10th (6-8 PM)

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YUI KUGIMIYA – had a video animation and several small oil paintings, in the show.

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YUI KUGIMIYA, ‘Cat Brushing Teeth’, 2008. animation reel.
single channel video with sound.

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LEIGH RUPLE and SASCHA BRAUNIG.
Sascha helped Bill organize the show.

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LEIGH RUPLE, ‘ Green House’, oil on canvas. 46 x 34 in.

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. . . in the front office – a nod of respect to MICHAEL JACKSON, whose untimely death had just broken on the afternoon news.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

FROM THE HOME PAGE:

* POSTED:WED JULY 22 *
* last 2 weeks – to catch another interesting summer group show of fresh & smart – stuff !! *
* ‘THE CRACK-UP’ at ATM *
* runs thru THURS JULY 30, check the gallery site for summer hrs *
* its a small, but poignant selection !! *
* OK – my fav piece is the eerie painting by SASCHA BRAUNIG – the pretty and super smart young artist, from BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA – who manned the ATM reception desk – so well, all last year !! if pressed, my second fav would be the complex piece by JESSE FARBER, whose work we know from that mad, glorious mad ‘BOBO on 27th St.’ installation of last summer. … well, also really dug MATTHEW SAVITSKY’S piece, too. ok. pretty much liked the whole show.
this year – SUMMER HEAT – is all about letting the newest guys – get their chance – and, not just rightfully so. … so, as in: so, so, so ….. FUN !! *

tomoo video

* bye the way, ATM has just posted a link to the most wild YouTube clip – of super black & white artist – TOMOO GOKITA, playing along side his pals: SHINJI CHIBA & the NEW HAWAIIANS !! *
* see: SHINJI CHIBA & NEW HAWAIIANS/YouTube !! *
* and the music, is pretty good, too *
* that’s TOMOO GOKITA in the center, in his signature red cap *
* hope Bill doesn’t get mad – hopefully enough time has passed ? to make public the news – that one of the large TOMOO GOKITA paintings from the recent ATM SPRING 2009 exhibit – ‘CHAMPION CARNIVAL’ – was snatched up almost immediately by LANCE ARMSTRONG !! apparently he has an amazing collection. ok, so, you ask … which piece ?
… it’s the big stunner – called: ‘COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN’, and you can see it in this: artlovers report !!
. . . scroll down, it’s the big painting – CHUCK CLOSE is contemplating !!




~FUCK THE LOW

FUCK THE LOW

PHOTO: NANCY SMITH

great tattoo art on the NYC/NJ PATH TRAIN !! JULY 11, 2009.

FUCK THE LOW – bullet holes and all.

pretty much says it all … ART SCENE – NYC – SUMMER of 2009.
A thru Z.
artists and dealers. hard-pressed careerists & trust fund babies. celebrity spawn wannabes. no diff – all slime.

. . . its just rainin’ losers in NYC – what can I tell ya. here’s the top 2 contenders !!

1. dedicated to the hard-scrabble artist who told me: “nice job. I’ll give you a cut of whatever else she buys …” (June 16, 2009). right. we know what happened there. nada.
heard you had new book come out – too bad you have nowhere to publicize it.

2. and, super dedicated to . . . the young ‘dealer’ (LOL) – and the only other gallery in this increasingly desperate recession racked scene – (besides that larger mainstream serial affair – quickly approaching white elephant status & behind-the-curve – irrelevancy – well, you really can’t call what they peddle … contemporary art – maybe it’s modern art ?) to be debuting a brand new 4 star space this Fall !!
name names ? … go do your own goddamn homework. but hint: in a funny coincidence both dealers’ last names – start with a “Z” !! though one is young and the other wants to look young.
. . . who told me:
after a tortuous 2 month correspondence – which he initiated, after stalking me at other people’s openings, I might add – and then swamped me with tons of vanity press releases . . . and held out, for more than a month !! – a promised ‘carrot’ – his gallery would sponsor a front page banner on the site. right. when asked to put up or shut up – (I got his number years ago) – all he could say was: what a mistake it was to “have encouraged me” – dissing the site – and its contribution to the scene – – with these soon to be famous last words !! – “I have 2 books coming out and 3,500 sq. ft.” (July 23, 2009). so what.
it’s all paid for – by daddy.
believe me a helluva of a lot of other people in this town would have 3,500 SF galleries if their daddies were CEOs of major telecommunications corporations – but big diff is – they have talent – and they would rule – not head into becoming the laughing stock of the scene. like my best friend says – people don’t go to galleries to look at the furniture – you gotta have content – and guess what big guy – you don’t.

further: I bet just like Bernie – you got a little dick. at least – I didn’t bend down to suck it.

he also said my site verged on ‘harassment ‘ – so hey – let’s really throw some ugly shit around.

whatever happened to the glory days of free-spirited and super-opinionated art criticism – anyways ?

and, never mind your new designer space, your stable of artists is just that – full of ‘dreck’ – go ask some ole time New Yorker – what that means !!

I saw more art – coming out of Hanna’s old 150 sq. ft. living room on the Lower East Side … !!

. . . and – dude, if you can’t take the heat – stay outta the kitchen !!




~SPACE INVADER

Space invader June 25, 2009

Space invader June 25, 2009 # 2

on the street – SPACE INVADER. CHELSEA, MANHATTAN. NYC. JUNE 25, 2009

Space invader July 17, 2009

on the street – SPACE INVADER. looks to be the real thing.
WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN. NYC. JULY 17, 2009
p.s. that’s a part of a STIKMAN – street piece – to the right. that’s for real.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH




~SHEPARD FAIREY

Shepard June 10 2009

Shepard June 10 2009 # 2

Shepard June 10 2009 # 3

on the street – SHEPARD FAIREY – (WILLIAMSBURG) BROOKLYN, NY. JUNE 10, 1009

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH