~THE PANORAMA PROJECT 3/last week !!

THE PANORAMA PROJECT 3 – CURATED BY JORDIN ISIP & RODGER STEVENS
134 ARTISTS – ONE CONTINUOUS PIECE !!
SEPT 6 – OCT 4, 2008
JONATHAN LeVINE GALLERY – 529 West 20th St – 9th FLOOR – CHELSEA – NY

. . . stealing, (ok. borrowing !! -&- to good effect !!) – a page from RICH JACOBS – the curators invited a large number of artists to work on a 7 by 5 in. wood panel – that was sent out to each one of them – with one instruction – “each work had to include some manner of horizontal line or division, set at 1-3/4 in. from the bottom of the board” – “this common visual device will allow each of the separate pieces, when installed together side by side, to cohere into one long contiguous image – a panorama, encircling the gallery.”
The few die-hard & hyper-creative contrarians – and there were some, STO !! – could only push the envelope – 3-dimensionally !! or, in a few cases – managed to ‘break’ through the ‘ceiling’ – by extending their work past – the wooden panel’s top edge. Even though the project was conceived to be exhibited as one piece – in a site specific format – it is a one-time only event !! – the pieces are apparently for sale, individually. So, you gotta catch it – while you still – can !!
it’s well worth the effort to hustle on down there – this weekend.

P.S. a little more info from the curators !!
. . . turns out JORDIN ISIP and RICH JACOBS are great friends, going way back in the day – to the mid 90’s !! so, obviously they’ve shared a rich curatorial dialog. and, equally obvious – neither them had the very first word on ‘specified format’ group shows – a genre which must have a long & interesting history – but, anyway – both of them have been producing varied ‘specified format’ shows – since at least Feb 2002 !! way back in SAN FRANCISCO. the big difference in their curatorial styles – ? – RICH JACOBS tends to hang his shows – salon-style – while JORDIN ISIP (and ROGER STEVENS) – make a ‘contiguous/singular’ piece out of the many – as in – this panorama.

SOME PIX FROM THE PUBLIC (as opposed to the VIP) OPENING, SAT. SEPT 6, 2008

hot # 1

hot # 2

hot # 3
from left, works by: POLLY BECKER (with a multi-faceted & unique twist/on the format !!), an intense portrait by ROB LEECOCK, a ‘blue world’ by YONG CHOE, and ‘WOULD I?’ by CLAUDIA BRANDENBURG.
the wide range of the works, and the varied ‘take’ on the horizon line – was a pretty good reflection of the intense diversion & high level of creativity – to be found in the art scene today.

hot # 4
a nice contrast of styles, and meeting-up of horizon lines: HIROSHI KIMURA, left, and SAELEE OH, on the right.

hot # 6
from left: ALEX LUCAS, JORDIN ISIP, TAYLOR McKIMENS, and the bold graphic, at right – by GEORGIE STOUT & FENNER WEEKS.

hot # 8 A
TAYLOR McKIMENS, ‘Charley Stink Bait’, acrylic & acrylic gouache, ($800/SOLD) – that was a total STEAL !!
bet someone from the ‘inside’ – bought it.

hot # 9
CHARLIE BECKER, ‘CA Dreamn’, polymer clay, false teeth & doll eyes, ($300)

hot # 10
KIERSTEN ESSENPREIS, ‘Dipped in Jimmies’, flashe with resin, ($550)
a very good price for this rising star’s work..

hot # 12
JOHN FREEBORN, ‘Untitled (Red Joystick & Green Scorpions)’, cross stitch ($250) – a steal !!

hot # 12A
GEOFF ROCKWELL, ‘Knitting’, acrylic & watercolor, ($800)

hot # 13

hot # 14

hot # 15
CLAYTON BROTHERS, ‘Wait for the Blackout’, mixed media, ($1,500)

hot # 16
‘HOT SHIT’ by KEIRA ALEXANDER, tape & mailbox letters, ($49.99) !!

hot # 23
STO !! ‘Landed’, paint & papier mache, ($400) – another steal !!

hot # 17 A
RICH JACOBS, ‘Try to Slow Down if You Can’, paint marker & ballpoint pen, ($300)

hot # 18
JAMES BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, ‘The Pool’, acrylic, ($500)

hot # 19
ERIK FOSS, ‘Just Because’, mixed media, ($800)

hot # 20
ERIK WHITE, ‘He said’, ballpoint pen’, ($1,200)
. . . the more I see of this guy’s work – the more I like it.

hot # 21
EVAH FAN, ‘Ping Pong Buff’, gouache, ($550) – another steal !!

hot # 22
visiting from Japan – from left: SATORU OHNO, VIVIANE KO, ALAN LEE and FANTASISTA UTAMARO.
. . . turns out – SATORU OHNO and FANTASISTA are both, very interesting, very dynamic – graphic design/comics format and multi-media artists. SATORU OHNO specializes in animation and FANTASISTA’S focus is on comic book format & magazines.

hot # 24
MATT LEINES, ‘A City, Perhaps Not Unlike Mingo City’, acrylic on paper mounted on board, ($2,000)
this is one stubborn guy. kind of just like his hyper-graphic work !!

hot # 25
KELIE BOWMAN, ‘Depth Marker’, watercolor on paper on board, ($150) – a true steal !!
– if I ever did see one !!

hot # 26
SAELEE OH, ‘Arise’, acrylic & graphite, ($500)/SOLD

hot # 27
JEFF QUINN, ‘Book’, paint & plaster, ($450) – I’d buy that in a nano-second.
. . maybe, taking a page from KARA WALKER’s book – but definitely making his own
100% home run !!
(. . come on – paper cut-outs are a long time folk art tradition & a particularly, American – genre !!)
give it up – for this guy – its a great piece.

hot # 28
a very nice – as in – super subtle, but definitely ACE !! – piece by one of the curators – JORDIN ISIP ,
‘Accumulations’, mixed media, ($350) most probably – a steal !!, too.
(nice take on the horizon line requirement, too.)

hot # 29
WILLIAM BUZZELL, ‘Visionary Superstructures’, acrylic house paint, ($300) – a steal !!

hot # 30
GREGORY BENTON, ‘It’s natural to be Afraid’, enamel & acrylic on glass on board, ($250)

hot # 31
CHAD DZIEWIOR, ‘Deluxe’ , metal on metal, ($666)

hot # 32
CHAD DZIEWIOR

hot # 5
one of the show’s 2 curators, as well as a participating artist – JORDIN ISIP.

hot - Jonathan
JONATHAN LeVINE

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

JONATHAN LeVINE