~HYPER REALISM/SAT SEPT 12 & 17

. . . going against the grain, or is it – just getting in touch with the times – there are a few very interesting, very stark, and mostly black and white – photographs & hyper-realist images – floating around town this week.

1. first up:

stellan holm William burroughs
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS and STELLAN HOLM. PHOTO CREDIT: VICTOR BOCKRIS
IMAGE COURTESY: STELLAN HOLM GALLERY, NYC.

STELLAN HOLM GALLERY is using this archival black & white photo – as the flagship image for their first show of the new season.
how a young STELLAN HOLM came to be photographed with William Burroughs, the photo itself by a famous writer about town (see: VICTOR BOCKRIS) is unknown to me – and there is no info offered – but I bet therein lies a pretty good story. I guess he grew up in very fortunate and creative circumstances. I’ll say this though – the grown-up Stellan – still looks – pretty much the same !!

the show in question is: ‘William S. Burroughs – The Sky is Thin As Paper Here’.
running SEPT 12 – OCT 31, 2009 – it is a selection of abstract expressionist type works, some including collage components – completed between the years of 1982 and 1995 . . “when Burroughs was extremely prolific as a visual artist”. As he was born in 1914 – that would put him between the ages of 68 and 81 – you should only live so long, never mind still be … ‘out there’.

STELLAN HOLM GALLERY
– 524 West 24th ST. NYC.

you can view the exhibit online: STELLAN HOLM GALLERY/exhibits !!

2. then opening, to-nite – SAT SEPT 12/6-8 PM !!

dennis Hopper shafrazi
ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG, 1966 – PHOTO: DENNIS HOPPER

TONY SHAFRAZI is using this souped-up archival black & white photo of ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG by DENNIS HOPPER – as the poster image for their first show of the season:
‘DENNIS HOPPER – SIGNS OF THE TIMES’
the show runs: SEPT 12 – OCT 24, 2009
TONY SHAFRAZI GALLERY – 544 West 26th St, NYC.

and, OMFG !! you can see some of the exhibit online !! talk about: a-m-a-z-i-n-g archival photos.
see: DENNIS HOPPER/SIGNS OF THE TIMES !! (hit ‘Images’/left hand margin)

3. then also opening to-nite, but in WASHINGTON, D.C !! – a show of realist PAINTERS !!

‘NEW REALISMS: A New Generation of Contemporary Realist Painters’
opening SEPT 12, 6-8 PM – the exhibit runs thru OCT 24, 2009
IRVINE CONTEMPORARY – 1412 14th Street – NW WASHINGTON, DC.

featuring the work of: EDWARD DEL ROSARIO, ADAM STENNETT, NICOLA VERLATO, BARNABY WHITFIELD & ERIC WHITE.

note: there is a public panel discussion with the artists at GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY today, Sat Sept 12 /2-3:30 PM
LEAVEY CENTER, Program Room (First Floor).

Adam Stenett - paregoric dropper
ADAM STENNETT, ‘Paregoric Dropper’, 2008. Acrylic on paper. 22 x 22 in.
check out more of ADAM STENNETT’S work: on his website !!

check out more on the show: ‘NEW REALISMS’/IRVINE CONTEMPORARY/WASHINGTON DC !!

yeah, go back & hit that link !! here’s another sample:

eric White new realism
ERIC WHITE, ‘ORGONOMIC FUNCTIONALISM CONFERENCE 1973’, 2003. oil on canvas, 48 x 60 in.

4. and finally, back in glorious, NYC – STEVEN KASHER GALLERY will be inaugurating their new ground floor storefront space – with what looks to be an amazing exhibit of archival NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC photographs. The first display and sale of vintage prints from the vast and varied archives of the National Geographic Society – with – “over 150 unique vintage black and white prints representing the earliest days of the society (founded in 1888) through the 1940s”.

RANDY KENNEDY already posted an very interesting piece on the collection in the NEW YORK TIMES …
see: ‘TREASURES FROM AN UNDERGROUND TROVE’/NYTIMES. AUG 18, 2009 !!

the show opens next SAT SEPT 17 – 6-8 PM

‘THE WORLD IN BLACK AND WHITE’ – ‘VINTAGE PRINTS FROM THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE’
SEPT 17 – OCT 17, 2009
STEVEN KASHER GALLERY – 521 West 23rd St. NYC

steven kasher national geographic
B. ANTHONY STEWART. Coal Miner, Omar, West Virginia, 1938.
Vintage Gelatin Silver Printed 1938. 9-1/4 x 7 in.
ARCHIVAL PRINT FROM THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION AND
PART OF THE SERIES OFFERED FOR PURCHASE THOUGH STEVEN KASHER GALLERY, NYC.
IMAGE COURTESY: STEVEN KASHER GALLERY.