well, we might be outta Home & Garden / but . .
sci-fi still beckons.
and, if future hi-rez, micro nano . . hi-tech sonograms allow us to see the ‘seeds’ of our unborn babies,
and they are clearly alien, and look like this /
well, we might just be / back home – among the neighbors !!
MATT LEINES, ‘untitled’, 2022.
ink on paper / 12 x 9 in.
image c/o of the artist, thank you !!
one of the many gems to be found in . . .
‘FRIENDS of NEIGHBORS’ . . . !!
NEIGHBORS, 75 EAST BROADWAY – CHINESE MALL, 2nd FLOOR / CHINATOWN, NYC
HRS: 12 – 6 PM
IG: @neighbors_chinatown
~MATT LEINES . . ‘FRIENDS of NEIGHBORS’ / NEIGHBORS / CHINATOWN MALL |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 2nd, 2023, 8:24am
‘FUTURE PLANNING’ . . !!!
Yep, we are out of home, and garden / & off to CHINATOWN !!
well, maybe still in garden, somewhat !!
DAVID KENNEDY CUTLER is among good company !!
in the inaugural group show . . .’FRIENDS of NEIGHBORS’ . . !!
NEIGHBORS, 75 EAST BROADWAY, 2nd FL, CHINESE MALL, CHINATOWN NYC / IG: @neighbors_chinatown
OPENING THURS JUNE 1 / 6 – 8 PM
HRS: THURS -SUN / 12 – 6 PM
DAVID KENNEDY CUTLER, ‘Perennial’, 2023.
Inkjet transfer, acrylic, Permalac, aluminum, armature wire, button.
15.5 x 11 x 6.5 in.
image via Instagram @daviddkennedycutler
~DAVID KENNEDY CUTLER / INAUGURAL GROUP SHOW / ‘FRIENDS of NEIGHBORS’ / NEIGHB0RS, CHINATOWN / OPENING THURS JUNE 1 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 1st, 2023, 8:40am
and, here’s . . FREDDY:
at the crossroads – from which the mundane hits on the mystical,
and reverberates – into the great unknown.
MATIAS ANON – ‘LIGHTER PAINTINGS’
MAY 20 – JUNE 25, 2023
FREDDY, HARRIS, UPSTATE N.Y.
HRS: BY APPOINTMENT – CONTACT GALLERY / info(at)freddygallery.biz
I want to say: BURN THE HOUSE DOWN . . !!
but, this show is just way too elegant.
though it definitely – lights a really big spark.
MATIAS ANON, ‘Lighter Painting (Red)’, 2023.
Urethane on canvas, BIC lighters.
14 x 7 in.
MATIAS ANON, ‘Lighter Painting (Red)’.
MATIAS ANON, ‘Lighter Painting (Yellow)’, 2023.
Urethane on canvas, BIC lighters.
11.75 x 6 in.
MATIAS ANON, ‘Lighter Painting (Yellow)’.
MATIAS ANON, ‘Lighter Painting (Black), 2023.
Urethane on canvas, BIC lighters.
16.75 x 6 in.
detail, MATIAS ANON, ‘Lighter Painting (Black)’.
MATIAS ANON, ‘Lighter Paintings’ – Install shot.
ok, one more / no can – resist.
MATIAS ANON, ‘Lighter Painting (White)’, 2023.
Urethane on canvas, BIC lighter.
24 x 8 in.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY: FREDDY, HARRIS
Photography: KATYA KIRILLOFF
~MATIAS ANON / ‘LIGHTER PAINTINGS ‘ / FREDDY / HARRIS, NY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 1st, 2023, 7:06am
TALK ABOUT: REAL COMMUNITY / from the ground roots, up . . !!
(and, only maybe . . sci fi / more like: Future Present)
‘FIELD of DREAMS’ – LAVENDER COUNTRY COMMUNITY GARDEN / DETROIT
SUNDAY, MAY 28 / 2 – 6 PM
12333 MacKAY, DETROIT
unveiling of . . . NEW SCULPTURES by:
KAYLA POWERS, MARISSA JEZAK, ARIA McMANUS, HENRY CRISSMAN, PHILLIP BIRCH, & DENISE KUPFERSHMIDT
with . . . current sculptures by: MAYA DAVIS, DMITRI HERTZ & ORLANDO ESTRADA
SUNDAY SERMON by RALPH HILL with music by JONNY CAMPOLO
& A BIG !! SHOUT OUT !! . . to: JEFFREY TRANCHELL / founder of JEFF’S DETROIT.
~MEMORIAL DAY COOK-OUT & NEW SCULPTURES / LAVENDER COUNTRY DETROIT / SUN MAY 28 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 24th, 2023, 3:08pm
SUNSET POETRY READING . . !!
BABA YAGA
5821 NY – 9G, HUDSON, NY 12534
behind the garage – 8 PM
~SUNSET POETRY READING / BABA YAGA GALLERY HUDSON / SAT MAY 25 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 24th, 2023, 2:30pm
last week . . UP THRU SUN MAY 28th !!
*** THE EXHIBIT – HAS BEEN EXTENDED THRU – SUN JUNE 4th ***
‘LOCAL OBJECTS’ / BIG GROUP SHOW
at NYC’s newest venue: INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS
HIGHLIGHTS . . . PART 3 – ALL PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
UP ON THE (MIGHTY) ROOF-TOP TERRACES . . !!
the terraces are staggered across the roof lines /
quelle brute, and beautiful / minimalist. surrealist, & sci-fi.
this the stuff – of the future.
a glimpse of KATARINA BURIN garden ‘furniture’ / planters to the right.
this building is the tallest for miles . . . so even though it’s only 5 stories high,
it feels like a tower, or a hovering space ship – rising above the flat, Bushwick wastelands.
the staggered terraces are – a poet’s dream /
and, presented in such a sparse fashion / so, very . . very lyric.
garden furniture by KATARINA BURIN
KATARINA BURIN,
Cast Portland cement, plant
KATARINA BURIN . .
in the back, against the wall:
‘Overhand Pair’, 2019-20.
Cast Portland cement, plant / (one of 2 pieces)
24-3/4 x 11-3/8 x 15-3/4 in.
center:
‘Curved Curb Section’, 2019-2020.
Cast Portland cement, plant
6-1/4 x 22-1/2 x 15-3/8 in.
the views are forever – the terraces are forever.
the works – become monumental, whether against the open sky, the wasteland, or even the Manhattan skyline.
the silence of empty spaces – such a rare treat in this overwrought city.
and then: of course, the strangeness of the work.
all the works seem to have ‘design’ elements, but they also speak to: ‘vision’ /
that is, they manifest an internal . . . ‘art’ narrative.
EMILY JANOWICK, ‘First Light’, 2023.
Cast iron tub, water, vinyl (photo book).
22 x 55 x 29 in.
image via Instagram / @pleather_mommy aka EMILY JANOWICK
following text via Instagram @pleather_mommy:
” . . ‘First Light’, 2023.
Cast iron tub placed at the highest point in Bushwick.
My daughter and I climbed 7 flights of stairs & watched many cold sunrises from 53 Scott Ave while the building was still under construction. Now neither of us will ever be able to see the sunrise without thinking of each other. Not to be dramatic, but no one has ever seen the sun rise from that place in all of human history. & you can see those sunrises too, in a vinyl book I made which is in the bathtub, through the lens of the water.”
I’m thinking, really how far-fetched is it, to have a vinyl book, from someone who tags herself
. . pleather_mommy ???
EMILY JANOWICK . . ‘First Light’ / cast iron bath tub on the terrace roof at International Objects.
on the day I went it was overcast, but even without a sunrise or a sunset /
this was a magical signpost. functional as a tub, but . . . really ?!!!
on a roof, pointing to Manhattan. it made me think back to those PBS ‘Secrets of the Dead’ episodes. you know the Mayans, Stonehenge. etc. if this tub was sealed into place, and not about to switch-out exhibit-wise, in a century or so, some future archaeologist would stumble upon it & declare our long lost civilization . . was sun-centric, pointing to the faraway constellations, from whence we came, or wanted to depart.
there were even some very definite future beings, in attendance c/o Alexander McQueen.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH / except where noted – Instagram Photo by EMILY JANOWICK
see:
MOEBIUS 3 – ‘THE AIRTIGHT GARAGE’
~HIGHLIGHTS . . . from ‘LOCAL OBJECTS’ / INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS / BROOKLYN / PART 3 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 24th, 2023, 12:49pm
LAST WEEK TO CATCH THE SHOW – UP THRU MAY 28
‘LOCAL OBJECTS’ – BIG GROUP SHOW
INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS
HIGHLIGHTS . . . PART 2 – ALL PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
‘FOOD – FOR THOUGHT’
SIMONE BODMER TURNER, ‘Anchovy Toast Cabinet’, 2023.
ceramic, mortar, grout, epoxy, steel pins, canvas curtains.
63-1/2 x 14 x 12-1/2 in.
‘BREAD’ . . . detail
SCI-FI . . FOOD DISPENSARY ?
LOAF of BREAD . . .
‘BUTTER’ . . . detail
A GENEROUS – BRICK of BUTTER . . !!
‘ANCHOVY’ . . . detail
ANCHOVY TINS !! YUM, the best.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~HIGHLIGHTS . . . from: ‘LOCAL OBJECTS’ / INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS / BROOKLYN / PART 2 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 23rd, 2023, 12:18pm
A BIG GROUP SHOW – AT A SPECTACULAR . . . NEW GALLERY, INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS / UP TILL . . MAY 28, 2023
here it is coming up on Memorial Day & summer /
and we are still talking about . . House, HOME & GARDEN . . !!
way to go, NYC !!!!
GIVE US – SOME RESPITE / IN THIS TOO FAST, CRAZY, WORLD.
we started with the utilitarian basics: DIY, ‘TURN ONZ’ lightswitches & lamps, presented by Jeffrey Tranchell & crew / in the historic Lower East Side. Took a turn, and did a slow-paced rambling through garden Diaries and Memory-making with Josephine Halvorson & her crew in Chelsea; then took a sharp jump over the East River, to land in nature’s ‘disappearing garden’, with Sam Cockrell & his butterflies, at International Waters, and thus from lightswitches & postcards, began an imagined Sci-Fi Time Travel / a leap of the imagination inspired by the contrast between International Waters in old school Bushwick . . and its new sister gallery – the palatial, sci-fi palatial !!
INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS, and believe me when I say, not being one to dwell often on architecture, give me a pop-up any day / this a trip !! this is a . . time travel to the future.
this is a flight from homey gardens, to the big wide unknown. Sky top, concrete terraces – of space ships.
‘LOCAL OBJECTS’ / A BIG GROUP SHOW of mostly LOCAL, NYC artists
opened March 18th, & runs thru . . . SUN MAY 28, 2023
INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS, 53 SCOTT AVE., FIFTH FL, EAST WILLIAMSBURG – BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN 11237
VIEWING HRS . . .
THURS: 12 – 10 PM
FRI-SUN: 12 – 6 PM
ALL PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
THOMAS BERGER, ‘Greasy Hole Pulpit Chair, 1 & 2’, 2023
Paper pulp, wooden frame, polyurethane, and paint
108 x 16-1/2 x 18 in.
you could say the sci-fi vibe starts with the concrete brute, wide wide spaces, wide, wide & high windows, that open onto endless terraces, that look out over miles and miles of Bushwick Industrial wasteland. only 5 stories high, but the highest building for miles, you could start a fire, and send ‘smoke signals’ – to the Manhattan mainland, unimpeded.
but I say: the sci-fi vibe – starts with that huge wide entry staircase.
which is so curious, just in that itself / that a huge, wide & minimal, but grandly proportioned, concrete staircase would evoke a future-world worthy of Moebius, and, with no elevator in sight.
is it the new rule ?
that the more complicated and futuristic we go, the basic DIY skills, come charging back in at us / like walking up stairs, with an increasing sense of wonder, and entering a space in complete awe, out of time & body, even.
SHANIA TABAK,
top, on the wall: ‘Folding Table No. 1’, 2021.
sapele, poplar, walnut.
bottom, open as a table: ‘Folding Table No. 2’, 2021.
sapele, poplar, walnut.
NICK SULLIVAN, ‘Brown Trust Stove’, 2023.
steel, magazine, pigment, charcoal / 19 x 6-1/2 x 13-1/2 in.
right background:
MAX LAMB, ‘Delaware Bluestone Chair’, 2009.
Bluestone / 19 x 13 x 19 in.
om the wall:
SAM COCKRELL, ‘Self-Portrait’, acrylic on shaped canvas
41 x 132 in.
I mean just imagine . . .
if this was a future world, skeleton ‘QR CODE’.
the cabinet beneath it:
TAYLOR BALDWIN, ‘Hunger Stone’;, 2022.
Mixed media / 31 x 57 x 18 in.
these 2 pieces really worked well together, & kept the sci-fi narrative – on high alert /
Hunger Games, anybody.
again, primitive DIY seems to go hand-in-glove – with future world scenarios, it’s always the samo, same old same old !!
survivor vs predator. name your century. name your book of thrones.
CAIT PORTER, ‘Light Bulbs’, 2023.
oil on linen / 64 x 48 in.
MEREDITH JAMES, ‘Planter’, 2023.
Planter, wood, acrylic paint, faux paint, LED lights, and pedestal.
74 x 58 x 58 in.
MEREDITH JAMES, detail
Meredith James, detail
YIKES . . . !!!
SERRA VICTORIA BOTHWELL FELS, ‘Venting’, 2020.
cast & powdered aluminum
UP NEXT: HIGHLIGHTS FROM ‘LOCAL OBJECTS’ at INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS . . .
PART 2: FOOD FOR THOUGHT . . . !!
PART 3: UP ON THE (MIGHTY) ROOF . . . !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~HIGHLIGHTS . . . from: ‘LOCAL OBJECTS’ / INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS / BROOKLYN / PART 1 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | May 19th, 2023, 10:41am
SAM COCKRELL – ‘MORPHO’ at INTERNATIONAL WATERS / BROOKLYN
HAS BEEN EXTENDED . . . THRU APRIL 23rd
VIEWING HRS: SAT & SUN / 2 – 4 PM
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SAM COCKRELL – A MAN OF TWO WORLDS
‘MORPHO’ – & – ‘LOCAL OBJECTS’
SAM COCKRELL . . . . finds himself with work /
in 2 very different galleries this weekend, and although the 2 galleries seem to be associated / the shows, the first a solo show, and the second a big group show / and the galleries themselves are in many respects, as different as day is from night.
the most important difference for you at this particular moment / is that one show, ‘Morpho’, is closing this weekend, and you don’t want to miss it /
so, let’s begin there:
‘SAM COCKRELL: MORPHO’ . . . LAST WEEKEND !!!!
‘MORPHO’ OPENED JAN 27 & is . . . .
still open: ONLY FOR THIS WEEKEND: SAT & SUN / MARCH 25 & 26, 2023.
INTERNATIONAL WATERS, 262 Meserole St., Brooklyn / East Williamsburg / Bushwick, NYC
behind Newton Radio /
HRS: SAT & SUN / 2 – 4 PM
see: the well written exhibition statement & gorgeous installation photos
so, what can I say ?
GET READY TO RE-SET YOUR ‘HUMAN-TO-EARTH’ / BRAIN, and put your SCI-FI ears on.
“FOR COCKRELL . . an obsession with butterflies & moths has emerged through a daily painting practice. Using an airbrush, Cockrell’s paintings double as an archive of relations between the artist & various forms of animalia.”
“By using an airbrush, his gesture is a soft one that is careful to never make contact with his surface. In a field blur, Cockrell’s creatures fall into their environment… Each work recalls a photographic instant; the paintings capture static objects that would otherwise seemingly be in motion. For Cockrell, butterflies & moths possess a history of human iconography & also represent a planetary history.”
~GALLERY NOTES
“the writer VLADIMIR NABOKOV, also a well known Lepidopterist, was obsessed with butterflies & moths as image-producing insects. Characterizing their wings as exploits (!!!!), Nabokov likens the butterfly to a deceiver with artistic impetus.”
~GALLERY NOTES
artlovers: what I find most entrancing in these works, along with the bold color range, and even a sense of embroidery (!!), is just that: the very non-auto, slightly diffused focus / which is used here as a deliberate visual device, a signifier / of time, movement & which gesture is a very human, a very painterly, contrarian effect / auto-focus being all we see these days. our smart cameras are all about sharp focus . . marking these slightly out of focus paintings, which began with scientific observation / as uniquely man-made.
made by a painter – with a stubborn ego !!
Man of Two Worlds !! science vs art.
it’s a deliberate pictorial stand vs. the advanced technology of today.
though its surface – is painted with an air brush / which is new technology, in the history of painting
Man of Two Worlds.
and yet, for all our tech advances, instant auto-focus which even a child can employ is pretty amazing / yet, now we have a global survival problem – the super threatening decline / of the ecology of this planet, or as we knew it.
some trade-off.
Man of Two Worlds. auto-focus for everyone on the one hand / loss of nature, our animals & habitat on the other.
and, oh. yeah. the . . backgrounds. that spray paint – is just crazy – hellbent !!
and, animal / seduction . . . by pattern ? / works every time.
SAM COCKRELL, ‘Eastern Tiger Swallow, Yellow Morph’, 2022.
acrylic on canvas /
93 x 67 in.
SAM COCKRELL, ‘Eastern Tiger Swallow, Black Morph’, 2022.
acrylic on canvas /
36 x 36 in.
SAM COCKRELL, ‘MORPHO’ – INSTALLATION SHOT
note: ALL 3 IMAGES ABOVE COURTESY: INTERNATIONAL WATERS
INTERNATIONAL WATERS, 262 MESEROLE ST., BROOKLYN, NYC
behind these worn, but mighty old doors / behind Newton Radio, lies . . International Waters.
the building is as grimmy, and grit – as old school NYC used to be, for sure.
tough & rough / the artists and buildings . . alike.
in sci-fi . . this grungy underground ‘garage’ from the deep past, would be where the rebels would hang out, and scheme. that wide arched doorway, in all reality the entrance to a 19th C. carriage house, where the horses brought in their wagons.
in sci-fi . . this would be the shady workshop, where those grubby, die-heard, outlaw heroes stealthily cobbled scrap . . into small vehicles / the better to take down – the whole mass-future, whether it be Human? Ai? Mutated? Alien?
Man of Two Worlds, it’s funny how this old horse & buggy doorway, now put to modern pedestrian use / screams sci fi . . . and, to think there’s air brush butterflies within, flitting about / that’s history meets science & goes . . ballistic.
seriously, the whole show is so subversive, and it’s just . . butterflies ?
must be – the spray paint.
yep. the sign says: 1875 !!
so great when they used to time-stamp – all those historic buildings.
note: all 3 photos above, of Meserole St., BROOKLYN: NANCY SMITH
ps: INTERNATIONAL WATERS is run by: MATT TABER & TRANG TRAN / as per the website.
SAM COCKRELL, ‘Self Portrait’,
acrylic on canvas / 41 x 132 in.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
and, if that ‘shaped’ painting isn’t / HUMAN-centric, and sci-fi scary . . Man of Two Worlds,
I don’t know, what is.
you can get a real sense of how frail a human is vs. how potent, and vibrant / the inner soul of an artist is.
and then: going forward, gallery-wise
SAM has . . .
this great . . . great, eerie / sharp, deep red & green, super-wired / but, deathly static . . . self portrait !!
dead to the bone, on a surf board ?
in ‘LOCAL OBJECTS’, a big, futuristic-leaning . . group show that just opened, in the new / new construction, elegant brute . . INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS gallery, a few blocks away.
if that building, all big, bold open space, concrete & glass . . doesn’t signal / elite palace from an alien future, what does ?
ps: International Waters is also run by MATT TABER and TRANG TRAN, except now with the addition of partners . . NATE HEIGES and ANNAKA OLSEN.
all concrete, steel & glass / the gallery is on the top floor, and has use of the penthouse roof/terraces – to great effect, with expansive views of the Manhattan skyline, in the distance.
INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS, 53 SCOTT AVE., EAST WILLIAMSBURG, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN, NY 11237
HRS: THURS – SUN / 12 – 6 PM
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
‘LOCAL OBJECTS’ – is on view thru . . . MAY 28, 2023
see:
‘Man of Two Worlds’, by Sir Maui Pomare. 1953
‘Man of Two Worlds’, by Raymond F. Jones. 1963
‘Man of Two Worlds’, by Walter Raleigh. 1964
‘Man of Two Worlds’, by Frank Herbert & Brian Herbert. 1986
~SAM COCKRELL . . MAN OF TWO WORLDS / INTERNATIONAL WATERS !! & INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 24th, 2023, 1:34pm
every story – tells a story.
PHOTOS – FROM THE OPENING /
POSTED BY INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS / @internationalobjects – to their story / Instagram March 20, 2023
‘LOCAL OBJECTS’ . . . . BIG GROUP SHOW & AFTER-PARTY / with mostly local artists, NYC
OPENED . . last SAT MARCH 18
& is up thru . . MAY 28, 2023.
INTERNATIONAL OBJECTS, 53 SCOTT AVE., 5th Fl., BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN, NYC 11237
VIEWING HRS: THURS – SAT / 12 – 6 PM
photo: @stephenburksmanmade
artwork: @rattas-naami / Imaan Sattar
photo: @stephenburksmanmade
artwork / design: @isabel_rower / Isabel Rower (possibly shelving)
photo: @stephenburksmanmade
artwork / design: chair (unaccredited)
photo: @bijoumartin
artwork: @michele_gabriele / Michele Gabriele (currently Milan, Italy-based)
photo: @thefutureperfect
artwork / design: cabinet / @chenandkai / Chen Chen & Kai Williams
photo: @ryan_macfarland
artwork: @alfreemanjr / Al Freeman Jr.
photo: @icedkrupa
art: @hows_nick / Nicholas Sullivan
photo: @icedkrupa
art: @chicfila69 / Sam Cockrell
photo:@icedkrupa
congrats to the International Objects crew:
@gotranggo / Trang Tran
@stumpydarkpod / Nate Heiges
@annaka_olsen / Annaka Olsen
@matttaber37 / Matt Taber
@internationalobjects / International Objects
~’LOCAL OBJECTS’ . . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 23rd, 2023, 8:32am
