‘UNDER THE VOLCANO: SIMON CERIGO, DAN ASHER, NANCY SMITH’
CURATED BY KATE & THEO CERIGO
PRODUCED BY THEO CERIGO
DOORS OPEN SAT JUNE 6, 2015 at 2 PM / OPENING RECEPTION 6 – 10 PM
ALSO OPEN SUN JUNE 7 / 11 AM – 6 PM
169 BOWERY – STOREFRONT – JUST SOUTH OF DELANCEY, LOWER EAST SIDE / CHINATOWN, NYC
see: 1980s Art Scene makes comeback this weekend at 169 Bowery, THE LO-DOWN
PARKOUR – FOR HIPSTERS vs the NYPD !!
I heard mint&serf’s pop-up last Sat got shut down by the NYPD because they were essentially ‘squatting’ without permission – in an ‘abandoned’ parking garage. supposedly they managed to stay up for a good hour, and they had about 100 people there. but everything lives a virtual life now, f-o-r-e-v-e-r so . . . go indie !!
& long live social media !!
I liked that they did that, hijacked a place, rather than just a a wall, lordy !! – so urban subversive – !!
I even liked their use of ‘rsvp’ and secret location – game !!
created great buzz for the pop-up genre – in general !!
everybody has their own – style, street style, free-form.
in true street cred style, with true grit/ low-down guts, and innovation.
F the institutions, and galleries – going nowhere, and certainly NOT on point.
cheers for . . . the hardcore hippity-hop lo-down, low-fi par-tay. . .
doing the street dance, making your mark – underground NYC style !!
NO WORRIES, hopefully – on our show being shut down.
THEO has a signed & dated, totally legit & legal – 4 day use . . commercial lease. the developer of the space, which is a big big empty storefront at 169 Bowery, just south of Delancey . . is a friend of his, who is being very generous in letting us have the space for one weekend, $10 a day (!!) who is putting up with all the chaos that this entails, including tons of paperwork – right smack in the middle of its renovation.
THEO & KATE, with a small volunteer crew of young artist pals, are working mad crazy to get the show up – right now !! they could only get into the space late yesterday afternoon, just in time to deliver the work, start to unpack it, and roughly start planning it out.
here’s a few sneak peeks !!
NANCY SMITH, ‘Seeker’, watercolor on arches paper, 18 x 24 in.
NANCY SMITH, framed watercolor – wall.
DAN ASHER, large large drawing, black acrylic paint on linen-paper.
SIMON CERIGO, ‘QUEEN of ENGLAND, SURF BUTT’, multi-media, including acrylic paint, and indie ‘band’ t-shirt, on stretched canvas.
the entrance is a big glass plate door – at the right.
the construction scaffolding is still up. we hope to have some UNDER THE VOLCANO posters plastered over it – tomorrow.
169 BOWERY, an under-renovation storefront – just shy of DELANCEY ST, on the border – where Chinatown meets the Lower East Side, face-to-face.
right in the the heart of the (don’t blink) downtown LIGHTING & CHANDELIER district.
‘UNDER THE VOLCANO: SIMON CERIGO, DAN ASHER, NANCY SMITH’
A 2 DAY POP-UP PAINTING SHOW – FOCUSING ON THE TRUE GRIT UNDER-BELLY of the LOWER EAST SIDE 80s UNDERGROUND ART SCENE
OPENING RECEPTION: SAT JUNE 6, 2015 / 2-10 PM
DOORS OPEN: SAT JUNE 6, at 2 PM
also open on SUN JUNE 7 / 11 AM – 6 PM
169 BOWERY – CURATED BY KATE & THEO CERIGO
& . . NO, WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE . . . SHUT DOWN,
and yes . . . OPEN TO ALL, TOTALLY LEGIT & NO RSVP REQUIRED.
IT’S A HUGE, HUGE RAW SPACE, GREAT BIG WALLS, NICE LIGHT TOO – !!!!!!
good going, first-time show producer/curator – THEO CERIGO !!
SIMON is ROLLIN’ OVER IN HIS GRAVE, and so is . . . DAN !!
THE GHOST ARMY – IS ON THE MARCH !!
go, INDIE !!!!
more info: underthevolcano.les@gmail.com
INSTALLATION PHOTOS: are from KATE CERIGO, who just sent them in via her iPhone !! – from on-site !!
hurray – for the digital world.
ha, we didn’t even have computers back in those mad crazy wild low rent, 80s days !!
blowing up images on an xerox machine, at a copy shop – was the only ‘technical’ magic, available to us !!!
but it was party-on hard, central !!!!!
the biggest downside of course, was that there was little in the way of alternative options, in terms ways of getting your work out, and your voice – heard.
but you know what, F that.
we felt the electricity, we all had dirt cheap storefront / apt studios. we felt the excitement & fire in the air. we felt the love. everyday was an adventure.
you could make a living, pay your rent & eat, and have just enough left over to party some, just on your street smarts. all the action was in the Lower East Side. you didn’t have to travel, it was all happening below 14th St. F the ‘stodgey’ low-ceiling ‘no-brains’ that ran the status quo publications, newspapers, mags/magazines, and rusty-crusty gallery ‘markets’.
we left them behind the dust, and EVERYDAY !!!!
everyday – was a trip. a hustle here, a sold painting there. a flip. a trade.
a ripped-down Keith Haring black chalk subway poster – could bring in $5 grand. no sweat.
I know – because we did that – check !!
you could buy a limited edition, David Salle ‘garbage day’ line drawing print, also white chalk on black paper – for $2,000 and flip it for over $20 grand . . within 2 years.
I know – because I did that, check !!
and that was almost – a whole year’s rent, so . . are you beginning to get – the L.E.S. 80s picture ?!!
and so. it went.
those were the days, for sure.
when the pauper art kings, Basquiat crowns, and all – ruled the streets.
yep, F the stodgey.
I see it’s not them you are reading today – it’s ME !!!
talent – always outs.
that’s the one thing I always loved about the art world, from day one – above all else.
ring that curator’s bell, and the dance will surely . . . grow and grow.
it’s interesting to note that the LO-DOWN . . . didn’t seem to know who . . DAN ASHER was . . ??!!
it’s even more interesting to note that they would give some, really generous !! . . . press, and warm encouragement to two young, 20-something first-time curators, KATE & THEO CERIGO – who grew up in a storefront in the hood, back in the 80s, and, now want to show the world – what it was like to . . .
“live under the volcano” – of the fierce, wild, and mostly underground creative energy – that had the Lower East Side on fire, back in the day.
of the 3 artists in their pop-up show that runs through this upcoming weekend, ‘Under the Volcano: Simon Cerigo, Dan Asher, Nancy Smith’ – DAN ASHER would be the one artist, whose name would be most recognizable to the art scene ‘players’ of today, the various. and diverse movers and groovers, who make the scene go round.
in fact Dan’s work has been seeing a steady, and in fact remarkably wide-spread resurgence of late, finding a new & growing audience, esp among the newest wave of young curators, collectors, artists, and writers, spurring a new-found respect, among the older generations especially with regard to his expressive, wildly gestural, figurative . . oil stick drawings.
case in point, and the other show . . I’d love to see in LA, after weeks of trashing the ‘bubbling-over’ art scene, down there – in the southern ‘parched’ lands !!
the water might not be bubbling over, down there, but the art scene – sure as hell, seems to be.
SO, if you are in LA, and quick on your feet, and in your brain !! – don’t miss it.
it’s not only got a way catchy ‘title’, just as good as . . ‘Under the Volcano’, lordy !!
and, an interesting line-up of mostly under-recognized, hands-on artists – and, some POTTERY (!!!!)
but, they’ve also included a really radiant . . and early, DAN ASHER oil-stick on paper, a New York Times newspaper page – to be exact.
I guess you could say, from ceramics on up, ‘hands-on’ expressionism – seems to be having it’s . . ‘on fire’ moment !!
‘What’s Wrong With We ?’
Dan Asher, Aidas Barekis, Keith Boadwee & Club Paint, Jennie Jieun Lee, Bruce M. Sherman, Bjarne Melgaard, Bill Saylor, Spencer Sweeney
organized . . by PIERRE-ARNAUD DOUCEDE
the show runs: APRIL 30 – JUNE 6, 2015
MARTOS GALLERY, LA – 3315 W. Washington Bvd, Los Angeles
see: MARTOS GALLERY INSTALLATION – PIX
note: PIERRE-ARNAUD DOUCEDE runs . . . GLOBAL ART NEWS, where you can also catch – some other great photos from the show, including another really, really brilliant, dark and brooding – DAN ASHER !!
and, a final last word: just because . . . I can !! and I feel strongly about it !!
SPENCER SWEENEY – the new DAN ASHER ? . . . I DON’T THINK SO – !! !! !!
and,
ELI BROAD – where are your DAN ASHERS, not !!
DAN ASHER,’Untitled’, 1983.
oil-stick on newsprint, 22.5 x 14.5 in.
photo: MARTOS GALLERY, LA
I wonder what – it’s going for ?
last I looked – Martos was selling similar Dan Ashers for, ballpark: $15,000 – $18,000.
ps:
KATE & THEO CERIGO . . will be showing much much bigger, never before seen, super early 80s . . DAN ASHER oil-sticks – in their ‘Under the Volcano’ pop-up show. part of their own personal collection, passed on down from their dad, SIMON CERIGO – who was a big, big, and very early collector of Dan’s work.
in fact, Simon was Dan’s first dealer.
unlike Walter Robinson !!
if, you read the art news, you know – what I mean !!
“yeah, and I should have bought Facebook at $12, too” – famous last words, Walter – !!
YO YO YO – YO !!!!!!
READ – ALL ABOUT IT, CLICK: 1980s ART SCENE MAKES A COMEBACK – THE LO-DOWN !!!!
http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2015/05/1980s-art-scene-makes-a-comeback-this-weekend-at-169-bowery.html#
‘UNDER THE VOLCANO: SIMON CERIGO, DAN ASHER, NANCY SMITH’
a 2 DAY POP-UP PAINTING SHOW / CELEBRATING THE TRUE GRIT – UNDERGROUND LOWER EAST SIDE 80’s ART SCENE
OPENS NEXT SAT JUNE 6, 2015 / 6-10 PM
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, NO RSVP. NO SECRET LOCATION.
JUST THE WAY – IT USED TO BE, BACK IN THE DAY !!!!!
SIMON CERIGO, DAN ASHER & NANCY SMITH. NYC, 1982.
doors open: SAT JUNE 6 at 2 PM
the show continues on SUN JUNE 7 / 11 AM – 6 PM
169 BOWERY – BETWEEN DELANCEY & BROOME, AT THE EDGE OF CHINATOWN, ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE / DOWNTOWN NYC !!!!
currently an a empty, if somewhat . . illustrious storefront ??!!
or is that . . . notorious ?
anybody else recall . . . COLLECTIVE HARDWARE !!!!
we’re taking it over, for one more – hurrah.
PARKOUR ? – check !!!!
CURATED BY KATE & THEO CERIGO
more info: underthevolcano.les@gmail.com
up-date: they don’t want the location on the ‘web’.
but, if you walk around the post office on Varick & 7th Ave – you’ll find it, happy hunting.
PARKOUR – for HIPSTERS !!!!!
YO, YO, YO ——- !!!!!
TALKIN’ ABOUT . . . POP-UPS !!!
DOWNTOWN . . . POP-UPS !!!
MINT&SERF PRESENT . . GIMME SHELTER – !!
a one day pop-up exhibit in SOHO.
EXACT LOCATION TO BE DISCLOSED . . TOMORROW at NOON
CHECK BACK – HERE.
or RSVP: THEMIRF@GRITCREATIVEGROUP.COM
SAT MAY 30th, 2015 FROM 3PM – 7PM
FILE UNDER: what if . . . . ??!!!
MINT&SERF WRITE:
NUR KHAN recently told thethick.com – ‘Downtown New York is nowhere near as cool as it used to be’. .
and their reply ?
“As tempting as it is to lament the ongoing gentrification of Downtown NYC, it is satisfying to look at the remaining bars, parking lots, garages and vacant buildings and think up some outlandish ideas.
What if . . someone did a show at 190 Bowery ?, What if someone painted the ledge of the Canal and Walker St Building ? What if someone opened a tiny museum in an old elevator shaft in Courtland Alley ?
There are still many places for the taking.”
tell me about it . . . !!!!!
right on !!
all it takes is ONE NIGHT – in this shaky, creaky, gritty and way down-low, and even, m-e-a-n !! town !!
the underground scene – POP-UP, grab that space and run: is WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT.
a kind of art world urban jungle gym – game, let the pop-up games, begin !! !! !!
‘MARIA CALANDRA – NEW DRAWINGS’
opens SAT, MAY 30, 2015 / 6-9 PM
the show runs thru JUNE 28, 2015
SARDINE, 286 STANHOPE ST, GROUND FLOOR, BROOKLYN. NY.
between WYCKOFF & IRVING AVE in BUSHWICK
DeKalb L Train – exit on Stanhope
Knickerbocker M – is also nearby
HRS: SAT & SUN 1 – 6 PM
“NEW DRAWINGS . . . introduces a body of Calandra’s work in which she draws public and private art collections from direct observation. It is her second solo exhibition with Sardine and features a series of subtle graphite graphite drawings on panel. Where her first show, ‘Pencil in the Studio’, was a series of drawings that depicted the contemporary artist’s immediate environs, ‘New Drawings’ follows an artist’s work where it often ends up living
; in homes and museums. More than simply documenting the world of art objects, they are poignant notes of admiration and homage to the presence of art and artists in our lives today. Whether it’s the the Rothko room at the Met, or a collection of smaller, more contemporary work hung salon style in a home, they reflect the vibrancy of this experiential and intimate relationship. Lovingly rendered in Calandra’s signature style, the artist’s voice comes first and we are all the better for it.”
~Sardine
MARIA CALANDRA lives and works in Brooklyn. She is a graduate of Cornell University’s MFA program and has previously exhibited with Sardine, Sierra Nevada College, Kinz and Tillou Gallery, Norte Maar, Daily Operation, DNA Gallery, Shoot the Lobster and Storefront.
ps:
MARIA pens a fascinating ‘drawing’ journal/blog: pencilinthestudio
. . where she visits other artists in their studios, and while they chat she does real-time sketches of the work, and usually a portrait of the artist too.
check out her take on . . . JULES de BALINCOURT – it’s my fave !!
MARIA CALANDRA . . . drawing of Jules de Balincourt studio.
kind of a travel, souvenir, diary, sketchbook, comic book, illustration, hard core ‘locator’/raw data, insider/outsider view from . . a very curious & ‘notating’ kind of – mind !!
very entertaining, and . . very informing.
very gentle, but eerily detailed . . the draftsmanship is quite light-handed.
but veers off in the strangest of ways.
and wanders in its own way. making its own shapes from the landscape, the objects, the personality – at hand. free-form ‘examination’ come to mind.
the drawings are sourced from the real, but definite verging towards . . the fictional ?
as in the fictional . . ‘picture’ plane.
almost as if, in a storybook. but . . too hard-edged, too on-the-case !!
they definitely belong to an artist, not a story-teller.
and yet, they are observational . . as if, in a dream.
an artist’s . . dream !!
this is a curious place, where I am . . smack down in the crux & flux of another artist’s world.
a lot of people are looking forward – to seeing this show, which just happens to synch up – with BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND, so for sure – drop by.
BRIAN WILLMONT . . . a young artist/curator based in Brooklyn, seemingly with a force-field all his own . . . witness: the small, but essential . . GREENPOINT TERMINAL GALLERY that he runs out of a space adjacent to his studio in the historic American Manufacturing Corp rope factory, right on the edge of the Brooklyn waterfront . . . has work in 2 out-of-town shows, this month as well.
the Brooklyn brand is . .. out there !!
first up, NICHOLAS STEINDORF & DARJA BAJAGIC & some pals at a ‘new video’ screening organized by ANTONE KONST in PARIS, so e-x-c-i-t-i-n-g.
Antone Konst is also a very talented Brooklyn-based artist, and sometime curator, who is on a residency over there. he’s coming back soon, next week – so look forward to hearing more from him – when he’s back on his own turf, but in the meantime, thanks for getting the word – out.
now comes word, that BRIAN WILLMONT & some pals are in SWEDEN and SAN FRANCISCO.
BRIAN, a huge behind-the-scenes force, in terms of getting the “Brooklyn brand” out there . . organized the show in Sweden, as well as exhibiting new work of his own in it, and in fact he is over there this weekend, for the opening, so – again: e-x-c-i-t-i-n-g.
not to forget, Brooklyn-based DUKE RILEY just took some pals, including clay slab & big zine maker, also known as the Bushwick Pigeoneer, PAT McCARTHY . . over to CUBA this weekend.
which is sure to be a ‘rocking’ . . that little island.
see: DUKE RILEY to participate in HAVANA BIENNIAL / Ice Skating Rink, artnet
so Brooklyn, and its cutting edge art is on . . the march, apparently towards global domination !!
no . . . looking back.
watch out – world !!
NEW PAINTING by BRIAN WILLMONT – exhibiting in . . Sweden, this month.
‘THE COYOTE’
opened MAY 22, 2015
and runs thru JUNE 20, 2015
organized by BRIAN WILLMONT, and featuring the work of: KEEGAN mCHARGUE, JEANETTE MUNDT, JAMES ULMER, RYAN SCHNEIDER, BRIAN WILLMONT
GALLERY STEINSLAND BERLINER , STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
NEW PAINTING, with STILL LIFE, by BRIAN WILLMONT exhibiting in SAN FRANCISCO – this month.
‘JUG LIFE: New Contemporary Still Life’
opened MAY 22
and runs thru JUNE 28, 2015
curated by ANDREW SCHOULTZ & PATRICK MARTINEZ – featuring the work of:
CODY HUDSON, BRIAN WILLMONT, GLEN BALDRIDGE, RYAN WALLACE, RICHARD COLE=MAN, MICHELLE BLADE, HILARY PECIS, ALEX LUCAS, ERIN RILEY, JOSEPH HART, and many others.
PARK LIFE GALLERY, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
painter, curator, gallerist . . BRIAN WILLMONT in his studio, GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN, NY. Oct 25, 2014
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
check it out: artlovers posted a STUDIO VISIT with BRIAN WILLMONT, – back in OCT, 2014.
NICHOLAS STEINDORF. all of Nicholas’ work is computer generated, or digitally directed in some way, so no wonder – his desk with its big screens, and all the free-flowing notes, is the first thing that greets you as you open the door. the ‘core’ niche, the ‘head quarters’ – literally.
at the top of the stairs.
Nicholas lives and works in a floor-thru second floor walk-up in Greenpoint, just off McCarren Park.
I had come to pick up the short video piece of his, with original sound track by DARREN WILL, that I had purchased at Spring Break, 2015.
titled ‘PURPLE’, it was a brief projection, that was more of a kinetic ‘sculpture’ – than a film in the conventional sense. an intense pulsating energy ‘beam’. a tiny pulsating force of a nano ‘dot’. . played out against a large white screen.
he had told me at the time I saw it, that it wasn’t ‘just’ a color dot, per se – but that it was a simple color ‘code’ card, that was switched from front to back ? I couldn’t really visual it, but I instantly recognized the small color card – as the image source, of my kinetic video loop.
so curious. almost the story of evolution, 2 cells meet and multiply. on speed.
the parts becoming greater, as a whole.
what’s the point of a studio visit, if you can’t get ‘behind’ – the scenes !!
blue card to red card, on the reverse. twirl ’em fast . . red and blue: make purple.
studio art class 101.
but. it felt like Houdini, making bare – a magic trick !!
watch: ‘Purple’, 2015 – animation & concept by Nicholas Steindorf, sound track by musician Darren Will, you’ll see why I fell . . hard.
very brilliant, very aggressive. poetically severe. playful. bullet-paced. curious, even futuristic. even planetary. totally graphic, yet very sensual, physical.
an in-your-face light show.
holding the magic trick card – on edge.
crazy enough, I first meet Nicholas a few years back – through a random throw of Craig’s list.
somebody I knew was looking to rent a room, found a share they liked, and threw a typical Brooklyn house-warming dinner party. Nicholas was one of the roommates, and his small early paintings, acrylic on canvas were on the walls, and so the dialog began.
I look back and think, how ironic.
this digitally-sourced , absolutely random, luck of the draw meeting – with a new generation digital artist.
and the dialog, just kept moving forward.
two art world ‘junkies’ going . . ‘smack’. a metaphor of course, but, yes – that intense.
one a newbie, Nicholas – with new skills, and a new vision, with a new scene just starting to emerge around him. the other, the old battle-scarred veteran, me . . with plenty of first-hand tales from the old days, when the ‘giants’ ruled the Lower East Side, back in the 80s.
at this point, I wasn’t quite sure what a ‘digital’ artist was. but I quickly found out, via several intense video screenings of Nicholas’ work – CGI animated, mostly abstract-leaning, pattern-dominated video loops – presented by YULIA TOPCHIY, of Co-worker – at the chic downtown boite, Entwine.
these videos were, compared to the small dinner party paintings, very experimental.
they came off as purely abstract animation, a lot of kinetic patterning, usually with some kind of poetic narrative informing the ‘action’. some of the patterns were easily seen as based in reality, and then digitally manipulated. but only by a big, big stretch, their ‘source’ wasn’t the point, the pure patterning was the point.
fast forward, a few years later, and here I am walking into his studio. and, wow.
his work had done a 360.
it was still animated and digitally manipulated, but the final image was not abstracted down to visual elements or repetitions. it had become CGI hyper-real, focused on a man-child, and furthermore, it . . took off in a sci-fi direction !!
things were very hyper-real. and yet totally . . fantastical.
I’m talking ‘Zach’. Nicholas’ new series, some of which were recently screened – in Paris.
the boy who plays with . . fire.
I guess you could say, ‘Purple’, 2015, was the height of that earlier kind of digital animation. very abstract, but then it flipped, a creative corner, quite literally.
a seemingly very ‘abstract’ patterning, was in fact – a speeded-up, and very simple ‘color’ card – trick !!
and now, I was struck by how everything had changed – again !!
the ‘Zach’ project was very literal, hyper-real. yet fantasized. blown-up by kind of pumped-in science fiction. very post literal. very surreal.
and yet – there was also this other element, in the studio today. a visual force harder to put down in words, in the midst of this very literal CGI boy-man, who looks like a proto-scientist ?
a floating scrim, a transparent veil, a non-digital . . material transparency, fluttering by . . almost everywhere you looked.
hyper-real computer wizardly action – meets the elusiveness of the physical world. the studio space itself was animated by real light, caught on the surface of things like transparent, mylar banners, and screened windows.
it was a strange polarity, it was something you experienced physically, visually, not just intellectually.
like they say, a photo – is worth a thousand words.
NICHOLAS STEINDORF, a ‘still’ variation of CGI manipulated, was a real boy, ‘ZACH’ – printed on a transparent mylar / clear plastic . . suspended ‘plane’.
elusive, a printed hyper real image, plays across a transparent banner that plays with the room’s reality, and, actual light – in 3D.
a kind of . . ‘light’ sculpture ?
the view to the . . window, the real-world, real-time source of the natural light.
the total effect, even if the individual image itself, was CGI-derived, is the very opposite of computer-generated, in that it is, just the crossroads, the casual moment of . . real life.
the transparent material of the banner activates the drama of the light play. and the hyper-real, graphic printed image of ‘Zach’ shifts around to great effect, because of that.
conceptually – it was many-layered.
it was hard-edged graphic vs shimmery. elusive. floaty.
a many-faceted manipulation of reality . . that started life off, as a CGI image. ?
on another wall, that same effect.
a ghostly ‘scrim’ panel wavers, above a deep pink, fuchsia shag rug. a ‘texture’ collision.
a surreal, but very real arm . . floats by. metaphors . . begin, and the story line . . beckons.
but the real impact – is one of surfaces.
like-wise, light shimmers . . from the stained glass windows of Matisse’s cut-out Chapel.
up-ended.
what is it about ‘up-endedness’ – that appeals to us so much, in this age of a thousand up-right images a second ? what, are we questioning ?
or just trying to be . . . noticed.
the rare treat that is a . . studio visit.
an artist’s note – stuck to a bottom corner.
Nicholas’ world is quite literally – non-stop.
these ‘Zach’ studies have a classical . . Da Vinci feel.
the first ‘Zach’ image I ever saw, was the quasi-boy child man, playing with a lit candle or was it a match . . on fire, arranged in a fashion heavily favored by Andy Warhol, a typical straight-forward 4 patch grid – or basic . . quilt style.
or is that a very rough, thoroughly really refined, take-off on a Brit Brit kind of FRANCIS BACON . . ‘light’ & cubic geometric figure thing-y thing, at play ?
no diss.
like the Matisse reference, Nicholas has a lot of conversations going on in his head, all at once, and this is his way of detailing some of them – for us.
thought becomes a prism. a personal geometry. a study.
everything is up, for . . examination. sometimes it seems he takes time to dialog with the great art that is out there, showing us . . a moment of intersection, with the greater artistic community.
maybe just because he is zooming, so fast, so forward. and showing us that, hell no – he doesn’t just talk to himself.
art history meets futuristic sci-fi, head-on . . is a big part of it, the human code, the human dialog.
I like it. I like to see . . the ‘passwords’, the under-pinnings of some of that thought process.
anyways, all thoughts aside, this a really nice, beautifully articulated piece.
this one reminded me of . . childhood, the code was: Where’s Waldo ?
where’s Zach. in a more comic stance . .
and yet confrontational as well. where, are – we anyways ????
it’s a real not so ‘comic’ scene out there.
I just read this morning some guy is saying, soon the human race will become extinct itself, killed off by super robots.
I can believe it.
the studio apartment’s back yard windows, the source of the natural light.
one of my favorite pieces, is on that wall between the windows, it looks to be totally abstract, great colors. but it is actually based on a whale sighting he had in Maine a few summers back.
it is an over-print. it’s a great reduction of Nicholas’ workings, take what’s real . . and run with the ball.
a succulent ode to water-parched . . L.A. ??
so fun to see how grounded this digital dreamer is, after all.
grows plants from seeds in CLAY POTS – !!
it’s Brooklyn 2015, and the hand-crafts, including a little window ‘gardening’ – is how these computer dare-devils, balance things out.
plus it’s so positive, of a stance, amidst all the surreal anhilistic, nihilistic (?) ‘Zach’ imagery. code born of a world culture gone digitally – stark mad. humans: curious. humans: compete, compete. rip off. red tape. war, war, anger. and if not, then, for sure: corruption. and blood feuds. entropy. environmental degradation, tragedy, space exploration ?
hi-def cameras speeding into deep space, 24/7 surveillance down on the planet. reproduce, copy, copy exactly.
you can see that ghostly ‘scrim’ effect – happening in the window screen too. unintentionally, but still, there.
mother nature vs the computer – that ultimate clash. elusive reality vs manipulated parlor trick.
from the window garden gazing , we get to downloading . . my copy of ‘Purple’ !!
sold for $1 per MB – at Spring Break – it was a bonafide collectors’ opportunity, if you were smart enough to grasp it. limited edition of 3. 36 MB – $36.
my first strictly, CGI animated video . . purchase.
I mean, I have traded LUKE MURPHY for the digital interactive banner, that runs at the top of this page,
and I’m sure I have several digitally manipulated art works in my collection, but this is strictly my first loop on an SD memory card. that’s a kind of milestone – when a new medium enters your collection.
a computer file is like a . . ‘seed’ – !!
my very own SB card of – ‘Purple’.
my hard copy – print.
my Spring Break Art Fair 2015 – ‘transaction’.
Transaction – completed.
almost as organic, as a tiny plant growing on a windowsill – in Brooklyn.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, BROOKLYN. MAY 2, 2015
NICHOLAS STEINDORF’S NEWEST VIDEO PROJECT, ‘ZACH’ . . . SCREENS IN PARIS, TO-NITE !!
REALITIES IN CONTEMPORARY VIDEO ART
screening recent videos by artists:
NICHOLAS STEINDORF, KYLE WILLIAMS & HENRY CHAPMAN, DARJA BAJAGIC, CHRIS WATTS, and JEAN-BAPTISTE LENGLET.
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 / 19h-21h
Foundation des Etats-Unis, Cite Universitaire
15 Boulevard Jourdan, 75014 PARIS
CURATED & ORGANIZED BY ANTONE KONST,
who is currently the Harriet Hale Woolley Fellow at Fondation des Etats-Unis.
ANTONE KONST writes:
“The videos were chosen to represent the range of different concerns in contemporary video art; virtual reality, edited reality, and documented reality.
Objectivity, which was introduced to us with the mechanical devices of photography, has left that field and is now being explored with video. The element of time, almost like gravity, keeps moving images tied to our expectations of what is real. The extent to which experts and amateurs can create and recreate a reality is unprecedented, and this screening intends to explore that.”
all of the artists are Americans, except for Jean-Baptiste Lenglet.
NICHOLAS STEINDORF, his newest video project: ‘ZACH’, (2015), with original soundtrack by DARREN WILL.
PRIVATE SCREENING at a STUDIO VISIT, MAY 2, 2015. GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN. NYC.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
ps:
for all you art fair news hounds, yes – that is the same DARJA BAJAGIC, (could there be another, at least in NYC), who scored a colorful mention . . in the weekend’s JOSEPH AKEL penned NEW YORK TIMES, T Magazine NADA review, titled . . ‘At NADA, a Fresh Crop of Young Talent.’
she made the last cut. literally the closing sentence:
“Meanwhile another first time gallery . . looked to be in for the ultimate NADA experience. Having just arrived at the fair, the megawatt curator and writer HANS ULRICH OBRIST and the Stedilijk Museum director BEATRIX RUF were overheard declaring that . . DARJA BAJAGIC’S ‘Ex Axes – Larissa Riquelme (2015)’, an ax bearing the photograph of a despairing young woman, to be the highlight of NADA. Talk about making the cut.”
we caught: DARJA’S first solo show in NYC – at ROOM EAST, 41 Orchard St, back in Sept of 2014.
NICHOLAS STEINDORF, was a big hit at this year’s SPRING BREAK, where he, and musician DARREN WILL, who did the original sound tracks, presented several short animated videos – all very diverse in nature, but held together by a JACK GOLDSTEIN . . ICONIC, BUTTER KNIFE image !!
in tune with the fair’s theme of ‘TRANSACTION’, Nicholas and Darren were selling their videos for $1 per 1 MB, in limited editions of 3.
ca-ching, I, and 2 others bought . . ‘Purple’, an intense, tiny beam of pure energy – for $36.28 ea. !!
see: NICHOLAS STEINDORF & DARREN WILL – PRESENT VIDEOS AT SPRING BREAK 2015
see: CA – CHING !! , ‘Purple’ is . . mine !!
another reviewer called their work . . “sensual light shows” !!
from pulsating, intense, nano-beams, to full-blown poetic narrative. very moving.
Nicholas is screening his newest project, ‘ZACH’, a completely different type of video animation, though again with an original sound track by DARREN WILL, for the first time, to-night in – PARIS.
damn. wish I could be there, or what !!
but maybe even better, I got to do a studio visit, in BROOKLYN – coming up next !!
