‘POOR TRAITS’ – CURATED BY JUSTIN CRAUN – featuring work by MAT BRINKMAN, MV CARBON, MAX EISENBERG, CF, DANIEL LOPATIN, JOHN OLSON & NATE YOUNG !!
OPENS FRI MARCH 26 / 7-11 PM
show runs MARCH 26 – APRIL 2, 2010
LOUIS V E.S.P. GALLERY – 140 JACKSON ST – #4D – BROOKLYN
note: there should be a doorman – but just in case – the buzzer code is: 1024*
subway: Graham L or Metropolitan G
please note: otherwise the gallery is open by appointment only – info@louisvesp.com
in contrast to the ALLEGRA LaVIOLA show ‘MONUMENTAL PICCOLINI’ – which will feature serious works by dedicated artists – described in musical terms !!
this show in a new Brooklyn space – looks to feature not so serious but still very worthy – art works by – musicians !!
from the press release:
LOUIS V. E.S.P. is pleased to announce an exhibition of works by 7 artists who are known primarily for their music. ‘Poor Traits’ presents a closer look at the visual work of these musicians, all of whom have been loosely associated with the American “noise” movement. This term in itself holds little descriptive power so it seems necessary to delve deeper into the images that surround the genre. The works in this show have found connections in their sense of playfulness, theatricality, narrative disposition, and/or deadpan sensibilities.
MAT BRINKMAN, a founding member of FORT THUNDER artist space, has played in Mindflayer and Forcefield and is known in the indie comic community for his elaborate Multi-Force comic strip. Brooklyn-based MV CARBON is a painter and composer who has collaborated with many artists including John Wiese, Tony Conrad and Aki Onda. She is one half of the band Metelux. MAX EISENBERG co-runs the performance venue THE BANK in Baltimore and has performed with Nautical Almanac, Little Howlin’ Wolf, Rubbed raw dance squad and in his solo rap outfit DJ Dog Dick. CF is active in the art, music and comic book worlds. He has performed music under the name Kites and more recently Mark Lord. He is the writer and draftsman of the graphic novel series Powr Mastrs. DANIEL LOPATIN is a member of Infinity Window and Oneohtrix Point Never. He runs the CD-R label Upstairs and maintains the culture blog Skull Theft. JOHN OLSON and NATE YOUNG are members of the epic Michigan-based Wolf Eyes. Olson is head of American Tapes label, and is also a member of Dead Machines, and Graveyards. Nate Young’s AA label produces records, tapes, shirts, and treated or converted analogue televisions and radios. His other musical projects include jean street, demons, and regression.
LOUIS V E.S.P. – is one of the newest exhibition & project spaces on the Williamsburg Brooklyn landscape. . . and, according to its own website, . . . . “yes, it is the less socially awkward sister of the ZENITH FOUNDATION” !!
SCOTT KIERNAN & ETHAN MILLER are the directors.
next up on the Agenda, for MAY 2010: 36 DRAMATIC SITUATIONS !!
go figure – just when you’ve thought you’ve seen it all !!
~POOR TRAITS OPENS TO-NITE !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 26th, 2010, 10:45am
DON GUMMER, ‘Twins 5’, 2008/Image Courtesy: ALLEGRA LaVIOLA GALLERY
‘MONUMENTAL PICCOLINI’ – CURATED BY JENNIFER RILEY
OPENS FRI MARCH 26 / 6-9 PM
show runs MARCH 26 – APRIL 24, 2010
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA GALLERY – 179 EAST BROADWAY – LOWER EAST SIDE
note, new gallery hrs:
WED-SAT 12-6 PM
SUN 1-6 PM
Two separate but related – capital A is for art – shows – as in pretty serious painting and sculpture !!
‘MONUMENTAL’: the main floor exhibition space will host . . . “monumentally scaled woks” by sculptors DOREEN McCARTHY and DON GUMMER – & – painters JIM LONG and CRAIG FISHER.
‘PICCOLINI’: the lower level of the gallery will present “smaller scaled works in various media by the aforementioned 4 artists” – & – will introduce work by 5 younger contemporaries: DAVID BRODY, YASAMIN KESHTKAR, HOLLY MILLER, CRAIG OLSON and TONY INGRISANO.
there are already some images up on the gallery website – see: ‘MONUMENTAL PICCOLINI’ !!
SOME PIX – FROM THE OPENING – FRI MARCH 26, 2010.
the show’s curator – JENNIFER RILEY.
ALLEGRA LaVIOLA and artist JIM LONG – in front of one of his two large shaped canvases.
art critic IRVING SANDLER, a JIM LONG shaped canvas behind him.
artist CRAIG FISHER.
on the wall – CRAIG FISHER, ‘Painting Not Yet titled’, 2009.
acrylic on raw canvas, 112 x 168 in.
CRAIG FISHER, ‘Painting Not yet Titled’, 2009.
large free standing metal sculpture by DON GUMMER.
‘Twins 5’, 2008. Painted aluminum, 97 x 73 x 25 in.
downstairs in the PICCOLINI room – HOLLY MILLER, with son ROEN, 9 – in front of her work.
HOLLY MILLER – ‘Tease # 2’, 2010. acrylic and thread on canvas. 20 x 20 in.
DAVID BRODY.
DAVID BRODY, ‘Ruins in Reverse (#10)’, 2008-10.
oil on linen, 42 x 28 in.
TONY INGRISANO and CATHERINE TROSSELLO.
TONY INGRISANO, ‘Submission’, 2009. Graphite on paper. 45 x 45 in.
detail, TONY INGRISANO, ‘Submission’.
TONY INGRISANO, ‘Cabra 3’, 2009. Graphite on paper, 50 x 46 in. ($2,600).
detail, TONY INGRISANO, ‘Cabra 3’.
YASAMIN KESHTKAR and TONY INGRISANO. both presented figurative works – with abstract elements.
detail, YASAMIN KESHTKAR, a small oil painting on canvas.
CRAIG OLSON, ‘WITCHSONG’, 2008. watercolor, acrylic and colored pencil on crescent board. 20 x 23.5 in. ($900).
CRAIG OLSON’S ‘WITCHSONG’ from a (short) distance.
JENNIFER RILEY and DOREEN McCARTHY, in front of Doreen’s large ‘Archimedes Spiral’.
DOREEN McCARTHY – with a sectional glimpse of her large sculpture – ‘Archimedes Spiral’, 2008.
inflated TPU Vinyl. 96 in. high x 120 in. diameter.
detail, DOREEN McCARTHY, ‘Archimedes Spiral’.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~MONUMENTAL PICCOLINI OPENS TO-NITE !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 26th, 2010, 10:27am
most def def def !! DEF X THE MAX !! . . . .
ONE – check out: a video book tour of RYAN McGINLEY’S – ‘Everybody Knows This is Nowhere’ – on YouTube !!
TWO – catch: RYAN McGINLEY’S short film featuring the fab fab TILDA SWINTON – and – PRINGLE Of SCOTLAND !! on YouTube !!
~RYAN McGINLEY/book tour & TILDA SWINTON film !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 26th, 2010, 9:50am
RYAN McGINLEY – ‘Mari’, 2010. Gelatin Silver print, 18 x 12 in.
edition of 3. ($5,000 ea.)
Photo Image/courtesy:TEAM GALLERY
RYAN McGINLEY – EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE
OPENING – THURSDAY, MARCH 18 at 6 PM
MARCH 18 – APRIL 17, 2010
TEAM GALLERY – 83 GRAND ST – SOHO
a pensive RYAN McGINLEY at the opening.
32 years old, he was always pretty serious, and he seems to be handling his swiftly escalating success supremely well.
RYAN McGINLEY flashes a peace sign at the opening.
with him, SEAN RISLEY, who is featured in one of the show’s new black and white portraits.
SEAN RISLEY, photo by RYAN McGINLEY.
another McGinley photo ‘subject’ – outside on the steps of the gallery – MATT K.
on the right: RYAN McGINLEY, ‘Matt K’. 2010 silver gelatin print, 18 x 12 in.
edition of 3.
the portraits were arrayed, grid-like – on the huge east wall of the gallery.
Mr. McGinley started his career off with – off-the-cuff club-kid & skater polaroids !! so in some ways this was a conservative departure, technique or format-wise. but essentially, and most importantly, portrait-wise: NOT !!
his photos are always just absolutely downright compelling, and there is no 2 ways about it.
after trashing the current MOMA show for its cheesy, gratuitous and see-me-nakedness jerkiness – talk about irrelevant wannabes – the next show up for us – is nakedness by McGinley !! and it soars. it takes off. it has mystery & depth. insight. edge.
the art world ain’t it a bitch.
when it comes down to it – its all about the talent.
in the quickly growing crowd – we spot – SCOTT HUG.
and young street/subway graff culture photographer – SEAN VEGEZZI with his friend, CLARA.
each, and every photograph was unique and striking.
it was fun to watch the opening crowd observe the wall of black and white photos – even though the crowd got threateningly large – and there was no organized security or crowd control whatsoever – it was always like a parting wave – in the shallow space in front of the wall of black and white photos.
there was also a smaller grouping of portraits in the back room – where we spied – IO !!
and then who waltzes in, but IO herself – in the flesh !!
among the crowd another McGinley – subject – also named – MATT.
Matt’s portrait, a full length nude – was also to be found in that small back room.
back in the main exhibit room – the crowd was cheek to cheek.
it was impossible to view the several large scale photos.
(you can see them on the gallery website).
outside – the crowd was taking over the entire Soho block !!
no lines, no list, no security – it was bottle-necked at the one entry/exit doorway – but very polite and orderly, I think mostly in deference to the crowd’s great respect for the artist.
(Jose Friere, the gallery’s owner – was nowhere in sight).
the opening night crowd – out on the street.
in the crowd – A-ron and Rachel.
LEIF RITCHEY and TOOYA !!
Lief has a show up now at THE JOURNAL GALLERY in Brooklyn.
so half-way through the opening, with a crowd like that – no surprise – an NYFD FIRETRUCK showed up !!
but even with some kind of captain or supervisor – in a white visor – they couldn’t get though to the doorway.
they were actually way too polite. and were seen – asking all the pretty young girls – what was going on ?
so then they called in the cops.
even they couldn’t shut this block party down !! compared to other situations, with way smaller crowds in front of way smaller galleries in Brooklyn, and even the Lower East Side – these cops wore kid gloves. what is it – about Soho and its super rich tenanted streets ?
so finally they had to call in a specialized cop car that was equipped with a battlefield ‘warfare’ sound system – that emitted such a huge and nausea-generating aggressive sound – the crowd was forced to slowly give ground to the ‘armed’ enforcers – and the show finally got shut down.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~RYAN McGINLEY/Everybody Knows This is Nowhere |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 18th, 2010, 12:42pm
FILE THIS UNDER: yep.
POSTERBOY/BANKY & ‘THE FRIENDS OF THE NEW MUSEUM’ – ain’t the only poster game in town !!
OR: POSTERS – the NEW – PERFORMANCE – ART ?
OR: the NYC MUSEUM VOID & ASSOCIATED DARK AGES – GETTING YA – DOWN ?
still eating brains ?
contemplating food stamps ? – need a little comic relief amidst so much grief, so-called art, mall-like art fairs & just all around black hole cultural wastelands.
have no fear – NYC is still here – and, where else if not – on the streets, ooops – T.V. !!?
ok. so on the way to the R. CRUMB show – first we picked up on a low-down classic SPACE INVADER tile – mosaic.
then when we looked up, does this array of weirdo posters – stop anybody else ?
still eating grains, I mean, brains ???!!
we can help.
is this Posterboy/Desert Island – variety ?? sure looks like Posterboy subway handiwork – served straight up.
minus the collage bit . . .
that – WE CAN HELP – hotline – was mighty appealing.
was there a comic convention in town, I hadn’t heard about ?
THE DEPT OF INTEGRATION – IS HERE FOR YOU ?
just what the doctor ordered !! & the seal looked legit !! too !!
I dunno – it was looking, too good !!
was this a guerilla campaign – for real !! as in manufactured by guys with real careers & regular pay checks ?
couldn’t wait to google that website – and see what’s what.
My biggest hope – – could it be ESPY ? – aka STEVE POWERS – jumping up to the plate, again ?
he of the first, to my knowledge interactive subversive billboard campaign ?
check it out for yourself: uglyamericanstv.com !!
just what the weary masses – hope – won’t be a bust !!
a new COMEDY CENTRAL animated ‘horror/comedy’ series set in our lovely city – of course.
premieres this WED MARCH 17 – well, anything is better than being peed on, if not in fact, in deed – by a performance artist ?
p.s. looks like we have to thank VINCENT D’ONOFRIO – for his ‘bug’ turn in MEN IN BLACK – for this one !!
~still eating brains ? |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 15th, 2010, 11:36am
FILE THIS UNDER: JEFF KOONS – THE NEW JAY LENO !!
. . . when it rains, it pours – take that NEW MUSEUM DOWN !!
looks like POSTERBOY/BANKSY – ain’t the only game in town !!
according to BENJAMIN SUTTON of THE L MAGAZINE – those great great great anti-NEW MUSEUM posters plastered all over the Bowery, are the work of 3 friends – ADAM WISSING, KENNY KOMER, and BORIS RASIN !!
(apparently also – aka – ‘Friends of the New Museum’ if you were lucky enough to get the email format !!?)
just . . . “another renegade publicity campaign” ?
HELL NO !! let’s hope not, let’s hope – it’s a sign of the times, cause NEW YORK CITY is chock full of bottlenecked young artists – and it’s about time for them to take over. just make sure dudes – that when you finally do turn that obnoxious NEW MUSEUM, and that black hole of a WHITNEY around, you get them both !! to dump their same high-end out-of-touch P.R. flack.
see: Anti-New Museum Posters Spotted on Broadway/BENJAMIN SUTTON !!
. . . . we don’t know ADAM WISSING – but we do know KENNY KOMER & BORIS RASIN !! – local New York City bred, talent. make that Talent with a capital T. they made that great ‘ATM’ piece that ripped you off – that first surfaced in ‘THE SUM AND ALL PARTS’ – a POP-UP show in BROOKLYN, and shortly after re-surfaced, slightly modified in GAVIN BROWN’S survey show of last summer as well.
Titled ‘Economics 101’ – it was highlighted on the artlovers home page pretty much – all summer – as the piece that most spoke to the spirit of 2009 !! you put a dollar in – you got 3 quarters back.
and guess what – it still does. heading into summer 2010.
you can see more of their work, here: KENNY KOMER & BORIS RASIN !!
unless, of course – you really think the so-called THE NEW MUSEUM should be supporting, (never mind DAKIS JOANNOU) – JEFF KOONS ? I mean really. move over, and let someone else come over. An artist with a big townhouse on the UPPER EAST SIDE collecting old masters – is not new !! – he’s already made it. the art clock did not stop with JEFF KOONS, ok ? that is so 80’s !!
that’s 30 years ago already.
He should be in the MET, not the NEW MUSEUM.
and while we are at it – where the hell is that MIA – missing in action – MOMA – it’s so out of it – it’s not even part of the dialog.
it’s useless.
and so is the JOANNOU collection. it’s almost as behind-the-curve as old ELI BROAD. in fact, what’s the diff.
it does belong on a boat with high-end fifi Italian designer furniture somewhere lost at sea, not in the heart of god damn New York City !!
the Bowery !! let me tell ya – it saw better days. and more art. when it was full of bums.
and don’t get me started on THE WHITNEY – it’s not just played-out – it’s HUMA BHABHA bought and GEORGE CONDO sold-out.
and, you want to know why the art scene in NYC is tanking ?
somebody do something quick & pull the plug on those tax dollars – !!
every museum administrator and curator in this town should just be fired – across the board – period. deadbeats. the lot of them.
do they get pensions, too ?
I could tell you right now – 10 people – who could take one hundredth of that combined waste of resources – and could really give this town – a run for their money. and yeah, I’m first on the list.
talk about renegade guerilla self-promoting warfare. right on.
NYC museums listen up – better up your game – even ANTIQUES ROADSHOW has ya beat.
I say – off with their heads !!
UP-DATE: MONDAY MARCH 15, 2010
FILE THIS UNDER: MARINA, PLEASE – DON’T PEE ON ME.
well now we know, from a flood of newspaper & tabloid !! articles yesterday – why the MOMA is MIA/MISSING IN ACTION !!
Oh my god – is there anything worse than academic performance art ? yep – NAKED ENCOUNTER ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE ART.
not only that – it is re-constructed and old performance art re-staged/has-seen-its-day performance art.
how boring. how bad. how tacky. how low can you go ? how out of touch can you be, is there no mercy in this town, or what.
how do major museums indulge themselves in this kind of genuine the-emperor-wears-no-clothes delusion – everyone knows, from early childhood up – the easiest and cheapest way to get attention – for those needy and desperate enough – is to drop your undies.
where’s the inspiration and vision in that ? grab me a bad T.V. reality show – any day – over this please. just spare me.
HOLLAND COTTER can be heard to almost gag between the lines in his assessment of the MOMA’S new ‘star’ attraction !!
“it comes with a mission: to demonstrate that it is possible to preserve performance art …. through live re-creations in a museum setting. Ms. Abramovic is confident that this can be done, and to prove it has inserted re-staged pieces from her own past into an otherwise standard documentary show. Whether her faith is justified is the question. Based on the evidence here, I’d say no.”
any local art aficionado – will tell you – that when a major New York Times art critic writes pages upon pages of description – and mostly historical – you know – he just doesn’t want to rock the ‘establishment’ boat, and advertising dollars – with a scathing critique.
see: ‘PERFORMANCE ART PRESERVED, In The Flesh’/HOLLAND COTTER
things only get worse with the CAROL KINO puff piece – on the same exhibit – that followed in Sunday MARCH 14th’s, 2010 New York Times ARTS & LEISURE Section. I mean is this chick’s mindless scribbling – a paid-for flack’s paid-for dream or what ?
put it this way – short story: When you see the Carol Kino byline – usually in the Sunday section – affectionately termed the b.s. section in my household – it’s like seeing – a red flag – for pumped-up paid-for other-wise going to be ignored – puffery – with absolutely no street cred at all.
p.s. – that’s b.s. for bullshit – all you clueless international readers. the last piece she did was on PAUL McCARTHY – bye the way.
I can’t stomach her stuff so bad – I don’t even want to give it the dignity of a link.
if you really want to read that dross – google it up for yourself !!
what. ya gotta squeeze through 2 naked bodies to even get into the exhibit. OMG – please spare me. and the joke’s on you – if you let yourself be manipulated into that kind of hollow buzz thrill. trust me – you’d get a bigger thrill out of telling the thug on the subway over – to take his big black bag off the only 2 !! empty seats on the car.
if that wasn’t a bad enough omen of what was to come – I can’t think of anything I’d rather not do more, than maybe see a KIKI SMITH exhibit – than sit across from this over-hyped ‘performance artist’ – and stare into her unblinking eyes. what, you can’t even have a dialog with her – like what the hell ? I was thinking maybe we could, you know throw around – some ways – for you to … to actually charge for this mind-bendingly dull exercise in wasted time ? you know the actual heart of the current performance art dialog ?
and, the icing on the cake – I truly almost gagged, if I wasn’t already carsick – well, actually I laughed out loud – on this line of CAROL KINO’S – in the article’s 3rd paragraph: . . . “MOMA, the country’s most powerful arbiter of 20th-and 21-st century art” !!
such an absolute non-truth – it’s probably destined to become the unfunny punch line of a lot of MOMA jokes around town, today !!
. . . and guess what. for such an illustrious trend-setting Museum and gut-busting show – they actually, well ok – the curator, what the hell – let’s drop the loser’s name – KLAUS BIESENBACH, crows about the huge over-flow capacity crowd at the show’s ‘workshop’ conference – a grand staggering number of 100 participants showed up !! “more than a hundred artists, scholars and curators crowded into the boardroom of the Museum of Modern Art to talk about performance art and how it can be preserved.”
wow. for a major museum show in the heart of the so-called art capital of the world – that is just an awesome body count – even lowly Brooklyn galleries commander more than double that – also on a rainy stormy night, so – buddy BIESENBACH, don’t bang the door – on the way out, either.
p.s. he’s also the newly appointed director of P.S. 1 – so does that make him responsible for that used-to-be cutting edge site’s recent debacle of a ‘STUDIO VISIT’ program on their website ?
mark my words – they are harsh, but they are true. (institutional) ‘curator’ is gonna turn into a dark curse word in this town – chock-full of young talent seething at the bit, and unable to move sideways, let alone upwards in this leaderless climate. and up next on the agenda ? watch out for the wrath of the currently very hard-pressed galleries who try to sustain their young artists – in such an institutional rudderless dark age. talk about inglorious basterds.
the new – CHELSEA – slogan !!
~HELL YES, TAKE THAT NU MU DOWN !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 13th, 2010, 7:48pm
EASTERN DISTRICT, is that anywhere’s close to DISTRICT 9 – just asking . . . presents:
‘EAST WILLIMSBURG’ !! – the show opens to-nite – FRIDAY MARCH 12, 2010 – at 7 PM.
there will be free drinks & a live DJ – but “no parking” – so you might want to take the L train to MORGAN.
the gallery is at 43 BOGART ST – right next to where AD HOC – used to be, you know – Bushwick !!
the other Brooklyn.
the show is being produced by the EASTERN DISTRICT IN-HOUSE CREW – that would be: CA$H4, JUAN DOE, JIM KIERMAN, LUCAS McGOWEN, NohJColey, and POSTERBOY, oops typo – skip that last one and read, BANK$Y, as in POSTERBOY/BANK$Y instead !!
EASTERN DISTRICT GALLERY
~EASTERN DISTRICT PRE$ENT$ EAST WILLIAMSBURG !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 12th, 2010, 2:31pm
R. CRUMB – THE BOOK OF GENESIS, 2009 – a series of 207 drawings – pen & ink on paper (detail)
FILE THIS UNDER: R. CRUMB – does the BIBLE !!
the show opened on MARCH 4th – at the height of FAIR WEEK – & – was and, is absolutely the most beautiful installation in the city – hands down – now – and for what was – one of the biggest show-off weeks – in the NYC art world . . . it made up for the colossally dismal Whitney Biennial, the horribly amateur and embarrassing ARMORY and . . the generally lackluster performance of the other sundry fairs. We’re not even going to mention the critically panned and blogsphere hated JEFF KOONS curated ‘SKIN FRUIT’ at the, seems to be hated by everyone, including the so-called “Friends of ..” – – Nu Mu !!
R. CRUMB’S biblical outing – has grace and vision – and it pulls the large ZWIRNER gallery space together – just as dramatically fabulous – as the BRUCENNIAL blew up their large 350 WEST BROADWAY space !! guess we have to thank the old man of comics and the young men of BHQF – for reminding us why New York City – is supposed to be – the capital of the art world.
p.s. the opening was also a book signing, for the book that the drawings were made for, ‘The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb’, 2009, (WW.Norton), $25 a pop – and looking to be well worth it !!
but MR. CRUMB was so gracious he was even signing the exhibit cards (image above), and any and all – vintage collector items from his illustrious past – held out to him – by a diverse crew of fans !!
His super fab talented wife, also a legend to many of us, ALINE KOMINSKY, she of the flamin’ red hair and equally in-your-face comic-based output – was with him. It was a New York opening – to die for, in the truest sense of – the word.
R. CRUMB – ‘THE BIBLE ILLUMINATED: R. CRUMB’S BOOK OF GENESIS’
MARCH 4 – APRIL 24, 2010
DAVID ZWIRNER – 519 WEST 19th ST – CHELSEA, NYC
R. CRUMB at the opening, signs books.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH, MARCH 4, 2010, NYC.
see: MORE PIX FROM THE OPENING !!
~R. CRUMB/THE BIBLE ILLUMINATED !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 10th, 2010, 12:03pm
AMY GRIMM Presents: Whatever Blog PARTY !!
FRESH KILLS, BOTTLE UP & GO, RUMANIAN-BUCK & SCHOCH-O-LAUTTE
note: RUMANIUM BUCK is the side project of Giraffes frontman – AARON LAZAR
to-nite / WED FEB 17 – starts at 7:30 – $7 at the door & you need to be 21 !!
GLASSLANDS GALLERY – 289 KENT AVE – BROOKLYN
and featured on that Whatever Blog home page, today !!
it’s a riot – checK it out !!
‘LOVERS PLAY DEAD’ – DRINK UP BUTTERCUP – on YouTube !!
the 5th promo video off of – DRINK UP BUTTERCUP’S – ‘BORN AND THROWN ON HOOK’ – CD – which drops on 3/23.
~LOVERS PLAY DEAD/DRINK UP BUTTERCUP !!/Whatever !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 17th, 2010, 10:38am
BILL BRADY invites you come and see a young new artist he recently came across when he was speaking at the KANSAS CITY ART INSTITUTE last fall.
Bill says:
“They asked me to do a few studio visits while I was there and by chance Chris happened to be one of those artists. He showed me this little painting, it must have been 6 x 8 in. and the attention to detail was over the top. Some might call it pointillism, I call it attention to realism but either way the painting was rich in color and detail. Upon further inspection I realized the painting had the most amazing abstract moments. I was blown away completely !! . . .
Long story short he contacted me after graduating and told me he was working on a group of watercolors, his first ever, and he would like to show them to me. Here is a young artist who has such a clear vision that it is inspiring.”
CHRIS BIDDY – ‘NEW MESSAGE’ – OPENS FEB 11, 2010 – BILL BRADY – ATM
542 WEST 24th St – THE BACK ANNEX GALLERY SPACE
p.s. CHIS BIDDY wrote a pretty amusing, and insightful, Artist statement to accompany his small but exquisite show !!
“In my work, I chase the psychological dramas and conceited behaviors of adolescents. The girls I portray are often in bloom, teetering between innocence and self-awareness.
The first step in my work involves logging onto Myspace or Facebook to obtain my imagery, which is often derived from a cell phone. Rather than photographing my models myself I leave the responsibility of how they will represent themselves to them. This allows the models’ own personalities to come through and gives the viewer a chance to either see a silly child-like moment or one of vanity.
The focus of the subject is one of self-rejection and identity development. I find myself jealous of girlhood and the paintings are a way of projecting myself into the situation. I am interested in gender roles and what it means to be a girl or become a woman. Culturally I wonder about where I exist as the other, or how I got about constructing my own identity, there are struggles both formal and conceptual in my work .?”
p.s. he told me the opening – that girls just send him pix – sometimes – it’s their first ever time crossing paths with him personally – and ask him to point their portraits. you can see why !!
it’s funny – I saw the moments he caught in a very different light – as a new viewer – than as what one might infer from his artist statement above. I found the portraits to be both kind and intelligent. and, girl fierce – in good way. the immediacy of the self-portraits, all in this show originate as cell phone pix !! – and the moments from their own lives – that the girls choose to offer up to him – were super compelling, as well. all played out on this super small scale, that relates so well to new message mediums !!
CHRIS BIDDY at the opening of his first ever showing in NYC.
ATM’S BILL BRADY presents CHRIS BIDDY – ‘NEW MESSAGES’, in his new space on WEST 24th St.
Feb 11, 2010.
‘COURTNEY’, 2009. oil on canvas, 8 x 10 in. ($6,000)
a small oil painting by CHRIS BIDDY. Mr. Biddy previously worked in oil – but now he is really into watercolors, and the rest of the show is all new work – done since this past summer. it’s fun to see the journey from oil to watercolor in the works !!
‘Sydney and Haleigh’, 2009. watercolor, 10 x 8 in. ($3,600).
it’s a nice range of expression – and, the portraits have a definite cell phone – edge !!
its also amazing to see – what this young artist could do with watercolor – such a tempermental medium – in his first time delving into – its infinite possibilities and sensitive terrains.
CHRIS BIDDY, ‘Ciara’, 2009. watercolor. on archival paper.
the paintings are all 8 x 6 in.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~CHRIS BIDDY/NEW MESSAGE/ATM |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 13th, 2010, 12:46pm
