JOSH (LUVVY) HARRIS & HIS LOVE of BOXING / ALFREDO MARTINEZ & HIS LOVE of FAKING BASQUIATS
and I say: to each, and all / grab your own weapon of creative – desire !!
and run with it – it’s the only way.
so, to continue with the previous riff on Josh’s write-up re ‘OATHING ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST’ on WHITEHOT,
including his own great quote of Anthony boxing in Josh’s ‘PSEUDO FIGHT CLUB” (!!!!!), and yeah . .
Josh most definite had a huge steam room in the loft on Broadway at Prince, where many a naked
New Yorker participated in the steamy & seamy goings-on.
I still have a mint condition LUVVY BOXING GOWN /
fabricated, silk screened, & designed by MARK ENGER, of EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE.
it’s probably a commercial dressing gown, with a faux Versace take – that was easily available,
around Broadway & Canal St. at the time, ca. 2000, 2001.
MARK ENGER, also designed the LUVVY the CLOWN logo.
LUVVY was Josh’s alter ego / this came in handy for things like going after corporate funding, or even art world credibility /
he could play the straight man, and blame – the (seriously) bad boy Josh behavior – on his alter ego: Luvvy the Clown.
the ‘LUVVYPLEX’, where the boxing ring & early matches took place – was on the site of the original ‘We Live In Public’ / ‘QUIET’ millennial party – after it had been shut down by the NYPD, FDNY & FEMA (!!!)
Josh re-imagined it as multi-layered, hence: ‘plex’, invite-only, site specific artist ‘theater’., where different artists,
of his choosing – got to make installations.
His own contribution was the boxing ring. I was already kicked out by then, so I can’t really tell you much more than that. except Mark Enger gifted me the dressing gown, knowing I’d keep it, and add it to my archive of his work.
here’s a sleeve . .
funny how many things are ‘faux’ today / but ‘faux Versace’ was definite ahead of the curve – back then.
the EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE – LOGO.
in case you’re wondering, that’s one of my hand-stitched, creatively repaired quilts in the background /
in my gritty Jersey backyard. what can I say, hardcore original content – still doesn’t pay. much.
but, still – life is good.
heard of ART LOT BROOKLYN ?
well this is: ART LOT NANCY.
JOSH HARRIS – sure loves his boxing.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Aug 19, 2010.
ok, ok .. I’ll show you who else – was in the photo.
surprise, surprise, not.
ALFREDO MARTINEZ, aka the Notorious Basquiat Forger !!
Josh had just rescued Alfredo from secret . . torture & detention in China.
I kid you not, long story. note, he’s pretty shell-shocked, and he’s still got his one-way plane ticket, around his neck.
and, yes of course the famous photo of Andy Warhol & Jean Michel . . boxing – was the inspo.
well, Josh seems to be doing pretty pretty good.
writing for Noah Becker & Whitehot Mag, and, still taking great (staged) photos, of himself.
but, Alfredo is doing pretty good too. he’s pretty much become a household . . name.
you don’t think so ?
just ask anybody you come into contact with today, your Uber driver, the co-worker, the vet, your kids !!
if they have ever heard of Anna Delvey the Fake Heiress, and they will say: yes.
then, ask them if they have ever heard of Alfredo Martinez, aka the Notorious Basquiat Forger who promoted her art, all the way up to DR. PHIL – and, they will say: YES !! TOO !!
ALFREDO MARTINEZ, fake Basquiat.
the thing is now he is quite open about it, and signs them – with his own name.
he seems to be currently painting on scaled-down, Home Depot-type wooden picket fences,
well come on, it’s summer !!
ALFREDO MARTINEZ, fake Basquiat.
the thing about Alfredo’s fake Basquiats – is that they are not really fakes, at all,
in the sense that they are like Shaker Spirit drawings, in that they seem to come down directly from Basquiat himself,
kind of like – speaking in tongues.
ALFREDO MARTINEZ, Fake Basquiat
of course, and esp with that recently discredited, fiasco / of a Basquiat Exhibit museum action !!
at the Orlando Museum of Art, Fake Basquiats are seriously trending !!
not to mention many numerous to other storeis of fake Basquait activity. google it.
and we all know who the grandfather of that is – right down to the real / or is fake – Certificate of Authenticity.
all in all, I’d say my long-time crew, (I’ve known them, Josh, Alfredo and Mark since the late 1990s),
is doing pretty, pretty darn good.
what about – your’s ?
PHOTOS: ALL photos by NANCY SMITH, except for the 3 ALFREDO MARTINEZ – ‘Fake Basquiat Paintings on Wooden Picket Fencing’ . .
images – which are via Alfredo’s Instagram: @alfredomartinezartist.
~JOSH HARRIS & BOXING / ALFREDO MARTINEZ & FAKING . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 31st, 2022, 8:55am
ps: A MERRY REAPER PRODUCTION . . . !!!!!
well, speaking about: FLOTSAM, JETSAM, LAGAN & DERELICT !!!!
JOSH (LUVVY) HARRIS . . has just written a snappy little piece / for NOAH BECKER & his WHITEHOT MAGAZINE.
and, it goes – like this:
JOSH HARRIS, AUGUST 2022
‘OATHING ANTHONY: The Anthony Haden-Guest Artist Vigil’ / A MERRY REAPER PRODUCTION*
see: ‘OATHING ANTHONY’, JOSH HARRIS – WHITEHOT MAGAZINE
*and, if that doesn’t sound scary & ominous, then – what does ?!!
anyway . .
according to Josh, ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST “has been recovering from a few broken ribs”,
again ??
and, by the way – the guy is 85 !!!!!
so . .
“as a get well soon gesture, Josh Harris gathered some of Anthony’s friends to contribute some memories . . ”
all in all – it is a pretty white-washed affair, which really doesn’t do the ‘party-down hard, even for a Brit’ guy any real justice – but, it’s still very entertaining,
and a nice slice of art scene archiving, for the new gen.
though one thing does stand out, loud & clear: Anthony sure loved / a good – threesome !!!
photo submission – NATALIE WHITE
photo submission – YVONNE SEWALL
above:
ARCHIVAL FLYER: ‘ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST: THE CHRONICLES of NOW’ / DRAWING SHOW
DEITCH PROJECTS / APRIL 25 – MAY 4, 2002
photo submission – COCO DOLLE
WALTER ROBINSON, the former editor of Artnet . . .
who most certainly knows the real down & dirty on Anthony, (they didn’t call Anthony a nighttime maven for naught) /
gave just the littlest hint, keeping it ok reading for – elementary school.
“The guy was a monster. And what’s more, he did it all drunk. I’ll never forget, I was at some party, quavering on the sidelines, and in came Anthony, roaring, as he dramatically collapsed, landing flat on his back in the middle of the room. It was an epiphany. I didn’t have to worry about Anthony; tomorrow he wouldn’t remember a thing.”
JOSH HARRIS . . . photo submission
my fav reminiscence ?
was Josh’s . . . . !!!!!!!!
~JOSH HARRIS / ‘OATHING ANTHONY: The Anthony Haden-Guest Artist Vigil’ / WHITEHOT MAGAZINE |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 17th, 2022, 10:12am
GREAT FLYER / & not just the graphics . .
it’s pretty much how everyone is feeling ?
dazed. confused. scared about the future. war weary. crime weary. politics weary. pollution weary.
forward extreme climate forecasts weary. consumerism outta control. resources failing. imagination lacking.
in a word: trashed . . . in more ways than one.
‘FLOTSAM, JETSAM, LAGAN & DERELICT’
up thru AUG 28, 2022
ART LOT BROOKLYN, 206 Columbia St., Brooklyn NY 11231
viewable from the sidewalk – 24/7
or book an appointment to be ‘immersed’ / via ART LOT BROOKLYN
with: JUSTIN CHANCE, PALOMA IZQUIERDO, MEGAN MI-AI LEE, JORDAN LOEPPKY-KOLESNIK,NANCY LUPO,
SAAR SHEMESH, and LU ZHANG
curated by: JACOB JACKMAUH, and LINA McGINN
~’FLOTSAM, JETSAM, LAGAN & DERELICT’ / ART LOT BROOKLYN |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 17th, 2022, 9:20am
go on, I double dare you – throw that ball !!
LU ZHANG has some confrontational, faux tennis balls . . laid out in a kind of mental ‘trail’,
in . . the open air, 7 person group exhibit: ‘Flotsam, Jetsam, Langan & Derelict’ / ART LOT BROOKLYN.
curated by the ART LOT BROOKLYN artist-directors: JACOB JACKMAUH & LINA McGINN.
up thru . . . AUG 28, 2022.
ART LOT BROOKLYN, 206 Columbia St., Brooklyn, NY 11241
note: the show can be viewed from the sidewalk, or to fully experience the exhibit,
and/or this piece in particular . . contact the gallery for a viewing appointment.
LU ZHANG . .
LU ZHANG, ‘Ballshit’, 2017.
‘sculptural poem’ . . with faux / stoneware ‘tennis’ balls.
dimensions variable.
Photos via Instagram @artlotbrooklyn
~LU ZHANG . . ‘BALLSHIT’, 2017 / ART LOT BROOKLYN |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 13th, 2022, 9:34am
go on, I dare you – ring that bell !!
SAAR SHEMESH has some whimsical, or is that . . ‘socially relevant’ / work,
in . . the open air, 7 person group exhibit: ‘Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan & Derelict’
ART LOT BROOKLYN, 206 Columbia St., Brooklyn, NY 11241
June 24 – AUG 28, 2022
SAAR SHEMESH . . .
SAAR SHEMESH, ‘5 Things You Can See’, 2021. edition of 5.
Recycled helium container, bocce ball, aircraft cable, chain, clamps, hardware.
*All materials from RAIR / Revolutionary Recovery (waste recovery and recycling center), Philadelphia, PA
Photos via Instagram @artlotbrooklyn
note: Art Lot . . “is an outdoor, artist-run, contemporary art space located in Brooklyn, NY, that encourages . . artists to explore ideas in a unique public context.
Benefactors JIM & BOBBI VAUGHAN own the lot and, in the 1990s, dedicated the space for displaying artwork”.
~the current artist/directors are: JACOB JACKMAUH and LINA McGINN
~the shows are visible 24/7 from the sidewalk / and open, as well by appointment via artlotbrooklyn.com
~SAAR SHEMESH . . ‘5 Things You Can See’ / ART LOT BROOKLYN |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 12th, 2022, 12:50pm
BROOKLYN RAIL – NEW SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT #614
LIVE – FRI JULY 29 at 1 PM EASTERN / 10 AM PACIFIC / and, then archived
link: BENNY MERRIS in CONVO – BROOKLYN RAIL
BENNY MERRIS & KSENIA SOBOLEVA – IN CONVERSATION
LIVE ON ZOOM !!
note: BENNY currently has work on exhibit at the big summer show, ‘PAINING AS IS II’ at NATHALIE KARG,
and, has a solo show, ‘FLASH!’ up at HEROES GALLERY.
on the right . . . BENNY MERRIS !!!!!
note . . the expressive arm !!
with him, the creative duo known as BLINN & LAMBERT / aka KYLE WILLIAMS & NICHOLAS STEINDORF.
photographed at the opening of ‘PAINTING AS IS II’, a big group show curated by TIM WILSON & HEIDI HAHN,
at NATHALIE KARG GALLERY. the opening was on . . . JUNE 27, 2022.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH / artloversnewyork
~BENNY MERRIS & KSENIA SOBOLEVA . . ZOOM CONVO / BROOKLYN RAIL / FRI JULY 29 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 28th, 2022, 7:30am
psychedelic screaming . . . into the dark.
RE: BENNY MERRIS, NYC / IGGY CAPRA, S.F.
both follow realist, naturalist photography, which they have respectively enhanced with either paint or theater, & based around their own IRL body / into a hyper visual, if not outright . . fevered nightmare / of . . our collective earthly reality.
we actually have a really nice – creative sync-up / going on right now . .
between the East Coast USA, & the West Coast USA !!
how fun !!
some random meeting of the minds / resulting in some very, very beautiful bi-coastal art world harmony . .
not to mention, a challenging dialog.
each artist showcasing, in his resolute own way / absolutely brilliant, original & dynamic / staged color photographs / meets future natural world narrative. wake up world !!
Cindy Sherman, not. not anywhere near so cloying, so relentlessly self-centered.
but, maybe just better. and, just what just what we need:
a next gen / new wave . . shout-out to a world, the only one we have, ultra deep space telescopes and all, and which the head of the U.N. / United Nations says: “is on suicidal climate path.”
ya think ?
we have BENNY MERRIS on the East Coast, thrusting photos of almost sly, ‘decoy’ images of his (mostly) wildly painted arms & hands / camouflaged into or popping up / against various seasonal natural scenarios / at the big summer group show: ‘Painting As Is II’, NATHALIE KARG GALLERY, thru Aug 26, and which was curated by TIM WILSON & HEIDI HAHN /
and, in a one person show, ‘BENNY MERRIS: flash!’, at HEROES GALLERY, also downtown, and running thru AUG 6.
while, on the West Coast, in San Francisco . . we have: the equally screaming, realist almost ‘bad dream’ photos of IGGY CAPRA, which also incorporate his own body, swathed in very poignant, almost psychedelic theatricality, emitting a blunt, almost kabuki-like scream . . for help.
‘HELLO: this world. your world / S.O.S. please send help !!’
I mean, wouldn’t it have been super funny . . if that James Webb telescope had sent back some hyper-color, deep space photos, of some little alien, maybe even a Star Wars intergalactic bar patron, or .. what about a classic primal biblical character in flowing robes, and a long beard . . holding up a sign that said: “morons go back, and focus on your own planet.”
IGGY CAPRA, ‘SEASONS GREETINGS’,
JULY 23 – SEPT 3, 2022
ET AL GALLERY, 620 Kearny St., San Francisco, CA
or: ‘The Scream’, that everyone knows – but nobody . . listens to ?!!
~IGGY CAPRA . . ‘SEASONS GREETINGS’ / Et al / SAN FRANCISCO / thru SEPT 3 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 27th, 2022, 1:46pm
MAKE MY HEAT – WAVE . . . !!!!
ONE DAY – ONLY !! SAT JULY 23, 2022 / 2 PM – SUNSET !!!!!
‘STEAL MY SUNSHINE’ – BIG INVITATIONAL GROUP SHOW, PERFORMANCE, BBQ, & DJ SET
ORGANIZED BY: LOOSII NINJA
MERY GATES – 1345 DeKALB AVE, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN NY 11221
with: JASON ISOLINI, COLLIN CLARKE, JOE GEORGE, NANDI LOAF, DEIRDRE KEOUGH, JANE BALFUS, SAM SIEGEL, DANNY ISCHE KNOBLAUCH, MATTHIAS KRANKL, MARIO MIRON, COURTLIN BYRD, ANGELINE MEITZLER, MARK FINGERHUT, JOHN VERDIL, BORA AKINCITURK, ANNA PEDERSEN, ALI BONFILS, GREG NACHMANOVITCH, TEA STRAZICIC, LOGAN KRUIDENIER, CAROLINE DAVID, BAFUA, LILIANA LACAYO, SHORI SIMS, ISO MUEIN, TOM KOEHLER
note: MG is an artist-run exhibition & curatorial program run by COLLIN CLARKE, MATTHIAS KRANKL & SAM SIEGEL
~’STEAL MY SUNSHINE’ . . MERY GATES, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN / SAT JULY 23 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 20th, 2022, 1:25pm
don’t blink !!
summer stunner . . !!
‘BENNY MERRIS: FLASH!’
up thru . . SAT JULY 30, 2022 / & now extended thru SAT AUG 6th !!!!
that’s . . . 3 more weeks !!
HEROES GALLERY, 162 ALLEN ST., LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC 10002
HRS: WED-SAT / 12 noon – 6 pm
for background text / installation photos, see: Current Exhibition – ‘Benny Merris: flash!’
BENNY MERRIS, ‘An Other Another 198’, 2022.
archival pigment print, custom frame with museum glass
30.5 x 40.5 in. framed
image via HEROES GALLERY
BENNY MERRIS, ‘An Other Another 214’, 2022.
archival pigment print, custom frame with museum glass
24.5 x 18.5 in. framed
image via HEROES GALLERY
BENNY MERRIS, ‘An Other Another 188’, 2022.
archival pigment print, custom frame with museum glass
40.5 x 30.5 in. framed
image via HEROES GALLERY
BENNY also has an archival pigment print – in the ‘Painting As Is II’ exhibit, Nathalie Karg Gallery.
here he is on the right, at the opening – June 27, 2022.
with him, collaborative duo . . BLINN & LAMBERT aka KYLE WILLIAMS & NICHOLAS STEINDORF.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH / unless otherwise noted
~BENNY MERRIS . . ‘flash!’ / HEROES / up thru JULY 30 . . now extended thru – SAT AUG 6 !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 16th, 2022, 1:16pm
turns out, this summer belongs – to the city !!
‘PAINTING AS IS II’ – CURATED BY TIM WILSON & HEIDI HAHN
JUNE 28 . . up thru AUG 26, 2022
NATHALIE KARG, 291 GRAND ST., NYC 10002
HRS: TUES-SAT / 10 AM – 6 PM
a provocative, yet joyous look at just how diverse – ‘painting’ is . . now.
from whimsical to graphic . . to the absolute, outright breaking – of conservative conventions.
overall, the take-away is . . that visuality – rules !!
the voyage to a painterly ‘surface’ – is no longer always stationary, but can be multi-faceted, sculptural,
if not even . . 3-dimensional, if not even . . infinite, as in digital projection.
in short . . the curators put forward, a wonderful swirl – of new thinking.
PIX FROM THE OPENING – TUES EVENING, JUNE 27, 2022 / NYC
PHOTOS BY – NANCY SMITH
so . . this is how !!
those curious chunks of landscape-looking paintings on the show’s flyer, really are in person !!
dancing between realism, and sculpture, they are . . indeed 3-D wall mounts.
and so, the . . questioning – begins.
JAMES HYDE, series of 3 small ‘chunky’ paintings, done between 1998 and 2004 /
Fresco on styrofoam / 14 x 13 x 14 in. / 15 x 17 x 13 in. / 16 x 14 x 14 in.
JAMES HYDE, so nice to see the artist – at the opening !!
NATHALIE KARG – she pretty much let the art do the talking, and,on a hot summer’s eve – that was so pleasant.
while the city outside felt gritty, the art – was circling around the space, ahead of the conventional curve.
but, through it all ran an intelligence / it all felt like a discussion, and, not a chaos.
not a discord. it was a river, not a wall.
the curators: HEIDI HAHN & TIM WILSON.
it was as if, they had held out their arms, and embraced different ‘forms’ of painting.
the one whole thought, holding the wide array together / being that their visual impression or impact . .
was . . key.
DAN WALSH, ‘Sequence’, 2019. (detail)
Acrylic on canvas / 55 x 55 in.
JAENA KWON, ‘Tear’, 2017.
Acrylic on light density fiberboard / 27 x 30-1/2 x 1 in.
shaped canvas ‘paintings’, have long been considered paintings, so, why not go – all the way !!
towards . . 3-D sculpture, and even – digital projection.
note: the depth of the work, has been noted in the artwork description… 1 in. (!!)
at first glance, this seems a straight-forward, though complex, transparent & subtle colored / painting on a wall.
Not.
BLINN and LAMBERT / aka NICHOLAS STEINDORF & KYLE WILLIAMS, ‘Ampersand’, 2019.
Two-channel 16mm film
1:47 loop, silent. Edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs
KYLE WILLIAMS, 1/2 of the collaborative duo: BLINN and LAMBERT.
the stance of a theoretical – provocateur ?
the crux of the matter – behind him,
on the left: BLINN and LAMBERT’s digital . . painting ‘surface’.
on the right: the transparency of a more conventional painting, by NATHLIE PROVOSTY.
NATHALIE PROVOSTY, ‘June 21, 2022’, 2022.
Oil on linen / 36 x 23 in.
BLINN and LAMBERT / aka KYLE WILLIAMS & NICHOLAS STEINDORF, with BENNY MERRIS.
BENNY MERRIS, ‘An Other Another 194’, 2021.
Archival pigment print in artist frame / 40-1/2 x 30-1/2 in.
things work both ways, this is a print. is a ‘pigment’ print – a painting ?
why, not ?
SARAH BRAMAN, ‘Fit’, 2022.
Maple and glass / 40 x 29 x 23 in.
I had never thought of Sarah’s free-standing assemblages – as ‘paintings’, but – seriously . . why, not !!
though the shapes are interesting, especially in their contrasting materials, yet harmonious, and very basic 3-D functionality, what really captures one’s imagination – are the play of the colors, and the light, and the qualities of opaque vs transparent. and, especially how the colored light – interacts with its environment.
and, I guess that would include considering how the center ‘hole’ of the wood base – does too.
just thinking of this ‘sculpture’ – as a ‘painting’, brings so much more of this creative statement / and the properties
of the different materials it is beholden to / wood vs. colored glass / to life.
a painting is a sculpture is a free-standing assemblage, definitely.
especially – on a hot summer’s night !!
OREN PINHASSI, Urinal (NYC I), 2018 + Urinal (NYC II), 2018.
Glass, steel, plaster, burlap sand, and pigment / 57-1/2 x 19-3/4 x 20-1/8 in.
and then we have: Oren Pinhassi !!
is the space inside, between the shapes – the painting, that’s the . . stretch !!
THERESA DADDEZIO, ‘Magnetized Bloom’, 2021.
oil on linen / 36 x 24 in.
which is to say, even conventional flat painted surfaces – react to their surroundings.
and the total effect – is a painting ??
ROCHELLE FEINSTEIN, ‘Sampler 1984/2020’, 2022.
acrylic, enamel spray paint, yarn, and embroidery floss on cotton drop cloth / 50 x 50 in.
yes, I would say – this a painting /
just the way a quilt – is not a bed-covering / it’s a painting: a visual composition, an inspiration.
dropping by the opening,
HAILEY JOSEPHS . . at center /
and yes, a t-shirt – can be a painting. :) :) !!
MINKA FARTHING KOHL, DP / Director of Photography.
I bet he might have something to say – on all of this.
photography vs painting vs the world !!
CHRIS WATTS .. painter & now I guess – media celeb !!
now, that’s an obtuse . . consideration, in its own right / painter vs celebrity, :) :) !!
CHRIS WATTS . . is one of the young artists featured in ‘THE ART of MAKING IT’ . . !!
a new documentary about the struggles vs ambitions (!!) in the art world, directed by KELCEY EDWARDS,
and which opened at the IFC Center in NYC, this past JUNE 29th,
and runs thru . . Tuesday, July 5, 2022.
CHRIS WATTS , one of the featured artists in . . ‘THE ART of MAKING IT’.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~’PAINTING AS IS II’ . . NATHALIE KARG / PIX FROM THE OPENING |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 2nd, 2022, 11:24am
