the BLOB MAN . . . COMETH !!
BRENDAN MONROE . . . is the CINDERS ARTIST OF THE MONTH – for JUNE 2015.
aka brendantheblob – checking out his work, just seemed to come naturally, after looking into what . . LUKE MURPHY is up to.
like LUKE, BRENDAN MONROE also cultivates . . . “a taste for the scientific, math, physics, and the surreal“, but while Luke seems to be leaving us hints, stick men, and scribbled coded messages, that go deep into unconsciousness and ancient ‘systems’, Brendan seems to have left us far behind, and has serious traveled . . far off – the ‘bio’ deep end.
BRENDAN MOORE, ‘FIZZ’, acrylic on paper, 7 x 9.75 in., signed. unique.
($600)
Photo: CINDERS GALLERY
BORN in 1980, which makes him 35, a generation younger than Luke Murphy . . . Brendan Monroe was born in Santa Barbara, California, and currently works out of Oakland, California.
just so you know, he has 36.3 K followers on Instagram.
you can read an interview Cinders just published with him, here .. 20 Questions for Brendan Monroe
this is the BRENDAN MONROE limited edition letterpress print, edition of 50 – CINDERS just put out to mark Brendan Moore’s Cinders Club Haus show – for July, 2015.
not only does it boggle the imagination, but it has amazing colors, amazing color fade, and wonder-ous 3_D implications – on a purely formal ‘flat’ plane.
when I first saw the image, my response was: damn, the blob – is on FIRE !!
the letterpress print is 9 x 12 in., edition of 50, signed & numbered by the artist – and can be yours for: $50. please note there are ONLY 9 left in stock, so don’t blob, I mean .. blink !!
grab your cart, shoppers.
buy: Brendan Monroe Letterpress Print in the Cinders online store
this is is Brendan’s website: BRENDAN MOORE, so you can keep looking, . . and reading for – yourself.
though I can’t help remarking, since the current scene is SO absolutely swamped by hand-built pottery and clay, that even on that crowded playing field – Brendan Monnroe . . stands out:
BLOB SCULPTURE by BRENDAN MONROE, image via BRENDAN MONROE
IMAGE OF BRENDAN MONROE . . at work,
from . . . THE BOILER ROOM at HEATH CERAMICS, . . in SAN FRANCISCO.
where, if you check out that link, you can see a greater sampling of his ceramic work.
ps: BOILER ROOM at HEATH looks to be an amazing place – their site is worth an investigation – as well, see: EVENTS . . BOILER ROOM
~BRENDAN MONROE . . CINDERS HAUS CLUB |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 16th, 2015, 9:34am
LUKE: this how the red ‘wood panel’ painting – finished up !!
wow.
yep. humanity is gooey, and coming . . to get ya.
PHOTO: LUKE MURPHY
~LUKE MURPHY . . weighs in |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 16th, 2015, 9:09am
REV LUKE MURPHY – AT HIS STUDIO in HARLEM, NYC. SEPT 1, 2014.
LUKE MURPHY – MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE.
I’ve been wanting to visit LUKE MURPHY in his studio, ever since I first saw his work, cutting edge, power point chart presentations !! at CANADA, in 2000 – way back when the groundbreaking gallery was just a tiny sublet, under LEO KOENIG, who he himself was also renting from Pseudo.com, and it’s super-visionary, now bust leader: JOSH HARRIS – in a big ole building downtown at Broadway and Franklin. I was working for Josh as an artist ‘liaison, and although he, Josh, dealt with Leo personally, I was delegated to collect the rent from Canada – and, that’s how I first stumbled upon them. they were happy to just see a body – come through the door. and let me tell ya, Leo was no piece of cake either. the only way to access the fledgling CANADA was thru his gallery, and he wouldn’t let them be open on the nights when he held his openings, lest they spark some rival interest, among his own devotees.
LUKE MURPHY .. with one of his large, painted, very mysterious . . knowledge-spanning-in-code !! canvases in his studio.
so that’s about 14 years, that it took to get some free time from Luke, not that he wasn’t interested – he’s a big supporter of artlovers, from a tech angle – that’s his lukelab animated banner at the top of this page, but he’s a really busy guy, basically a (very cool) cat with 9 lives, but esp as a top tier code developer. he doesn’t like name-dropping, but how about . . web-founder of the MTV website, ditto Cartoon Network, and winner of a coveted webby for web design for Stephen Colbert’s show ?
among others .. !!
got the picture, yep, they don’t call him REV Luke .. for naught.
so when we say this guy is CGI . . it’s not bluffing.
see: Luke Murphy / lukelab.com
I really liked this one, because it was a weirdo ‘play’ on wood / woodsy pattern, wood paneling ? organics vs tech. with great voids and . . ‘drop-off’, and what ?
maybe word / thought bubbles – like in cartoons ?
a mind map . . that looked like it started life, in somebodies 1960s den . . !!
if I got it right, Luke says he starts off doodling or drawing, and then uploads that onto a computer and then uses the computer to cut out a patch – so that the image feels more ‘random’, as as opposed to a more obvious beginning and ending, human action.
well, we are all merging with our ‘devices’, and morphing into machines, more and more – everyday.
Losers !!
so: check !!
in Luke’s world vision, which gets pretty darn deep, agnostics, ancient libraries, many many god systems, cosmology, and etc. etc. – all universal code for us trying to understand what we are up against. let alone, where we come from . . . there is happy, sad, and . . random.
and this for example, looks to be . . sad.
and this is just: daydream .. gorgeous. painting.
it’s kind of an austere studio, a thinker’s place.
Luke’s studio is in the lower floor of his newly renovated brownstone, smack in the middle of a rapidly changing Harlem, there is even a sweet little backyard with garden just beyond.
I wonder if he and Gavin (Brown) ever passerby each other, on the street ?
Luke’s shaped canvas over the door . . . with scribbled notes, and signs. code. as to the marvels of the night sky, and mankind, no doubt.
back down to earth, the painter’s supplies. this has got to be the neatest studio I have ever been in. kind of arranged like you imagine a logic board to be, before the wires get all jangled up.
but that doesn’t mean, it’s not without – it’s eccentricities !!
likewise, c-u-r-i-o-u-s !!
Luke Murphy . . . exposed !!
aka the secret to the . . human condition & evolution & . . entropy.
I NEED 2 . . .
always make.
LUKE MURPHY – a bio landscape, and . . narrative.
or: behind the code, lies . . . us.
behind us, is the landscape. the world, the orb, the globe. with mountains.
wait, is that a self-portrait ?
a sad face with a painter’s palette, yeah, the way things are going – doesn’t look so good.
does it. wait til China corners the market on memory chips. flash forward: your lifetime, your LIBERTY, erased by a gesture, or worse a hidden snarl of ‘mean’ code – in a future vision gone bad.
see: State-owned Chinese Chip Maker Tsinghua Unigroup Makes $23 Billion Bid for Micron – WALL STREET JOURNAL, July 14, 2015
can I be the only one – who sees a dark future catastrophe . . here ?
forget Iran and Nukes.
and. I thought Tsinghua was a . . beer ?
and, you thought art – was just for smiley faces !!
emoji code, and other . . new age short-cuts, for communication . . l-o-v-e-r-s.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~LUKE MURPHY . . STUDIO VISIT |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 15th, 2015, 9:26am
LAST WEEK To CATCH . . .
‘LUKE MURPHY: LOSER EVERY TIME’
up thru SAT JULY 18, 2015
POSTMASTERS GALLERY – 54 FRANKLIN ST, TRIBECA, NYC
“IF THERE IS ONE THEME to my work, it is that it is a project to find a unifying system that will explain everything from unhappiness to joy, from technology to what is the meaning of randomness.”
more: on the show + images
LUKE MURPHY, ‘PLANE FEAR GRAPH’, 2015, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 56 in.
~LUKE MURPHY, ‘LOSER EVERY TIME’ . . last week |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 15th, 2015, 9:18am
I KNEW IT – !!!
‘WHAT NERVE! Alternative Figures in American Art, 1960 to the Present’ . . .
curated by . . DAN NADEL, who has paid his dues, and many times over in comic-book-la-la-land . .
MATTHEW MARKS – 523 W 24th St., Chelsea
is up thru . . . AUG 14, 2015
and it is . . . BLOWING UP, BIG TIME !!
way to go, DAN !!
DAN NADEL and BRIAN CHIPPENDALE, NYC, JUNE 22, 2007
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
FORCEFIELD – MATT BRINKMAN, JUM DRAIN, ARA PETERSON and LEIF GOLDBERG . . were FORT THUNDER roommates with LIGHTNING BOLT aka BRIAN CHIPPENDALE, in Providence, Rhode Island – in the late 1990s, and the rest is now . . . history !!
in a word: explosive alternative Americana & lots & lots of comic book art – !!
the web is is just bursting / exploding . . with images – from the show !!
everybody is going crazy for it, duh. or is that: doh !!
~I KNEW IT, what nerve! . . DAN NADEL & BRIAN CHIPPENDALE / BLAST FROM THE PAST !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 9th, 2015, 4:43am
gonna be the big, BIG BLOW-OUT OPENING & SHOW !! . . . of the SUMMER
long live the indie rebels !!
may they always re-group . . . as legends !!
DAN NADEL: “when confronted with a system that seems impenetrable, outsiders tend to band together.”
~from the Press Release
this looks to be the work of JIM DRAIN, or FORCEFIELD . . in general ?
What Nerve! – Alternative Figures in American Art, 1960 to the Present
opens tonight Tues July 7, 2015 / 6-8 PM
the show runs thru AUGUST 14, 2015
CURATED BY – DAN NADEL
MATTHEW MARKS GALLERY – 523 W 24th St, Chelsea, NYC
apart from the now legendary Chicago-based, HAIRY WHO, active 1966-1969 . . . watch out for, among others. . . the FORCEFIELD crew, 1966-2003: MAT BRINKMAN, JIM DRAIN, LEIF GOLDBREG and ARA PETERSON – all well known to savvy art scenesters here in NYC, though maybe a little bit before your time – my newbie YALIES !!
how time flies, and then: you are a l-e-g-e-n-d !!
more info on the show: ‘What Nerve! – MATTHEW MARKS GALLERY’
HAIRY WHO, HAIRY WHO poster, 1966.
offset lithograph, 28-3/4 x 22 in.
see: more works in the exhibit, . . . here
ps:
looking back, seems to be a big part . . . of looking FORWARD, right now – and damn straight. yes, I’m thinking . . .
‘Under the Volcano: SIMON CERIGO, DAN ASHER, NANCY SMITH’.
~WHAT NERVE! . . opens tonight TUES JULY 7th |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 7th, 2015, 7:58am
Instagram,
What, me ?
artlovers is on instagram, now: @artloversnewyork
where you can catch ‘gems’ from the past, as well as . . breaking news.
and my mood – of the . . . momento.
yes, everybody is a JOKER !!!!!
and comic book art – is coming on STRONG !!!
super looking forward, to the new fall season, and being able to send out – gallery pix in real time, esp from the un-trampelled underground. watch out.
currently up on instagram, from artloversnewyork: a golden, really silver !! flash from the ‘storied’ past !!
‘FREE PUFFY’ – a MARK ENGER limited edition silkscreen on black t-shirt, silver ink, 1999. R.I.P. Mark
collection: Nancy Smith
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
you momma was right – save your old clothes, they will always come back into – fashion.
well, come on, great art is always – TIMELESS !!
and way to go, Puffy. or what. falls into a hole, after swinging a kettlebell ?!! damn.
diva . . . does a dive !!
but, as for his son . . . poor rich kid, or what ?
and . . . speaking of mega rockers.
love this: “Cultured Couple – Jay-Z and Beyonce attend a WES LANG art show in LA . . ” – DAILY MAIL, JUNE 23, 2015
FLASHBACK:
DONALD CUMMING, lead singer of (now defunct) THE VIRGINS, and WES LANG, currently of KANYE WEST merch fame . . . back in the day.
at a book launch for RYAN McGINLEY, NYC, Feb 19, 2003.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
first publication: ART LOVERS NEW YORK – ARTNET, MARCH 2003, when WALTER ROBINSON was king, and Charlie Finch was the royal jester.
~INSTAGRAM ? . . who you ? |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 30th, 2015, 12:27pm
COMPUTER vs CLAY
my very fave moment . . . !!
at ‘UNDER THE VOLCANO: SIMON CERIGO, DAN ASHER, NANCY SMITH’ – NYC, JUNE 6 & 7, 2015
getting to introduce NICHOLAS STEINDORF to PAT McCARTHY – !!
2 young artists from totally different sides of the scene, who do totally different work.
their one big thing in . . common ?
both register: extreme awesome !!
on the . . . watch-out !! – new talent take-over meter.
CGI/computer animation artist . . NICHOLAS STEINDORF.
ps: Nicholas says that, in his opinion . . “ED ATKINS is the best computer animation artist around right now”, so I guess – yes, art ‘worlders’ will be doing the long haul up to Gavin’s new place in Harlem, come the Fall.
pss: yes, that is my drawing behind him.
unlike 99% of the other young artists who swung by ‘UNDER THE VOLCANO’ . . Nicholas had the chance to meet Simon several times, and enjoyed his ‘stories’ from back in the day, as well as his ‘blue-chip’ take on the current scene. a lot of ‘oral’ history went down with Simon, R.I.P.
and in fact, although he looks like a natural born ‘rocker’, which he is !! and in more ways than one, Nicholas is wearing a vintage indie band t-shirt, STRAWBERRY SWITCHBLADE, from Simon’s very own collection, on loan for the occasion, and Nicholas wears the honor well, party on !! – via his daughter, Kate.
PAT McCARTHY, seemed amazed at what KATE & THEO had pulled off.
he is standing next my drawing.
NANCY SMITH, ‘Tarot card’ series, charcoal on paper, 38 x 50 in. NYC. 1985.
Saturdays are Pat’s ceramic days with his clay mentor – JJ PEET up at 92nd St Y.
so he had his newest, finished piece, a tablet – with him.
you might recall that Pat is also know as the Bushwick Pigeoneer, and was the young break-out star of ‘Satan Ceramics’ – at Salon 94, this past Fall. we first met him at his glorious low-down ‘Pat’s Pigeon Club’ install at Muddguts, a few short summer months before that big blow-out ceramics show at Salon 94, and we feel really lucky for that !!
me, Kate and Theo – took a spin down there to Muddguts, (no more R.I.P.) one hot summer Sunday afternoon, just on the basis of the email flyer – and had a great time. seeing the work, and having the chance to talk at length with ‘new-to-us’ . . Patrick.
learning so much about new clay work, form follows function !! but imagination takes off, as well – just like the pigeons !!
and, raising pigeons, lol. you can start with one, but soon you have a hundred !!
that’s what I mean, so fun to see Nicholas . . . meet Pat.
the big . . . cross-over !!
it’s been so fun, this past year – to careen off both. Nicholas, with whom we just posted a studio visit, a cutting edge, concept-rich, the life of ‘Zach’, the boy who would play with matches. digital animation artist – to Pat, forward-reaching, off-the-grid, but grounded. ceramics artist. clay tablets, nesting bowls, mini-coops, and of course: the life of pigeons.
both artists, seemingly a world apart – but connected by being right on the exact opposite side, of a thin line.
Nicholas and Pat – two sides of a razor thin, and very . . cutting edge.
we got it all covered now, NYC, SURF CITY, USA !!
SURF: as in ‘catch’ the wave. the ‘newbie gen’ wave.
SURF: as in ‘move’ . . thru the cutting edge underground, skimming right over the status quo – mainstream.
SURF, SURFACE as in: come up through the ‘waters’ of . . THOUGHT, and bio-human existence – whether by land (clay) (Pat) or air (digital animation) (Nicholas).
Pat’s clay tablet – is a recording grid, a ‘census’ for his so-named ‘Babylon’ pigeon coop and roof. although the tablet has been fired, he says he can write the info in, as it happens, with a special ‘pen’, and then have it, the tablet – re-fired !!
a permanent record of a . . transitory life force ?
in a word: metamorphosis.
something Nicholas is into, too.
both artists are very smart in the head, multi-dynamic, and very, very . . hands-on.
not so much into myths, or pictures, as . . into reaching out to understand the world around them.
how it breaks down, around them – on their own piece of specialized ‘turf’. computer vs clay.
well, hey: both start with a ‘c’.
like I said: ‘watch – out !!
IN HONOR OF . . . SIMON CERIGO,
whose short, “listen to it loudly”, lol, but always on-point – indie music reviews used to liven up this website, greatly.
but alas – no more.
listen to, the aptly named: ‘SINCE YESTERDAY’ – by STRAWBERRY SWITCHBLADE.
and . . . “play it loud”.
catch: ‘SINCE YESTERDAY’ – by STRAWBERRY SWITCHBLADE
more background: STRAWBERRY SWITCHBLADE, a 2-girl Scottish ‘pop’ group, from the mid-80s.
LA LA LA LA – poppy & frothy – but, but damn – that’s ghostly !!
looking for a reason to go on, shut your eyes, thoughts of yesterday.
great . . . dot dot dot punk graphics !!
SIMON SAYS: “I FEEL VERY – ALIVE” . . . !! !! !!
R.I.P. SIMON, even though you were a tough customer, and a lot of knowledge went down with you, your dreams will always – stay alive. karma is a funny game.
esp, under the volcano.
COMPUTER vs CLAY – DEAD vs ALIVE.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~FAMOUS YOUNG ARTISTS: NICHOLAS STEINDORF & PAT McCARTHY – STRAWBERRY SWITCHBLADE |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 30th, 2015, 9:49am
NANCY SMITH, detail, watercolor. ‘UNDER THE VOLCANO: SIMON CERIGO, DAN ASHER, NANCY SMITH’
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
talking about . . . CATHEDRALS ?!!!
I wrote that our ‘Under the Volcano’ show was . . . “in the cathedral of pop-up storefronts”, in a post dated JUNE 10th, 2015.
how fun then to read, barely a week later, that GAVIN is referring to his unconventional new gallery space up in Harlem, this way: “it reminds me somewhat of a cathedral – an urban secular cathedral.”
great minds, think alike, or what !!
aka: catching the wave, as it happens. just as it b-r-e-a-k-s.
Surf City, NYC.
source: Gavin Brown Moving Gallery to Harlem .. NEW YORK TIMES, June 18, 2015
~FAMOUS LAST WORDS: NANCY SMITH |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 25th, 2015, 5:59pm
‘UNDER THE VOLCANO: SIMON CERIGO, DAN ASHER, NANCY SMITH’
it didn’t seem right to show Kate & Theo in front of Simon’s painting, without showing the whole painting, and its rebel rebel indie . . cry.
SIMON CERIGO, acrylic paint, t-shirt and found ‘vinyl’ on stretched canvas. 6 x 7 ft.
the t-shirt says: FASTER. PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!
talk about ‘growing up’ under . . the volcano.
well, now you know where they got . . their ‘moxie’.
great portrait. Simon was also heavily into comic book art.
real, vinyl.
looking at SIMON CERIGO, small collage with white acrylic paint on stretched canvas.
Simon was into comic book art, Japanese art of all periods, and of course contemporary art, but esp heavy on the big and not so big, German artists of the 80s and 90s.
MARTIN KIPPENBERGER was a big big influence.
SIMON was a storyteller, but more along the lines of an observer, and an . . archivist.
we have boxes of his ripped, now vintage indie music flyers, posters and art show cards, in particular he liked to rip old flyers – off the street. he liked to put the music, and the art – that was happening, back to back.
or side by side. literally. nobody but nobody on the art scene knew the indie music scene as well as he did.
SIMON CERIGO, detail top, exhibit card: GILBERT & GEORGE 1971-1991.
Simon was into ‘distressed’ – way before it was the norm.
SIMON CERIGO, exhibit card: COLLIER SCHORR, DECEMBER 3-23, 1994.
SIMON CERIGO, this small painted collage on stretched canvas, approx 1-1/2 x 2 ft . . used to hang in Collin DeLand’s AMERICAN FINE ARTS gallery office, forever. Collin loved it. and even though, ART CLUB 2000 included Simon’s work in one of their early group shows, Collin never thought to look at, let alone . . . show any other of Simon’s work – and that was Simon’s life / career arc . . . in a nutshell.
SIMON CERIGO, detail, THE MURMURS . . at CBGB’s.
SIMON CERIGO, detail. HI. ART CLUB 2000. CLEAR. AMERICAN FINE ARTS 22 WOOSTER. SATURDAY JULY 23 6-8 PM THROUGH AUGUST 13.
Simon wasn’t prolific in his art making – although he was prolific in his collecting .. !!
he only made a few of those small, white paint / collage canvases.
he called the series: ‘The Big Sadness’.
he also used this ARTFORUM, SUMMER 1984 – as a journal, scribbling down thoughts, and drawing in it. he only did this once.
with this one Artforum, so we have kept it close at hand.
it’s where Kate found his scribble: ‘Under the Volcano’. the movie must have just come out, and the phrase stuck with her, and became the title of the show, the metaphor for the times.
what’s so funny – is !!
me and Theo were just watching a re-run of ‘HOLLYWOOD COP’ with EDDIE MURPHY, on TV last week, and the villain, who is also a sleazy, slick wannabe high-end art dealer, holds up this very same Artforum !! it’s very distinctive . . with that blue and orange grid – we almost fell off our chairs !!
from Simon’s Artforum journal . . .
the reference to the movie is at the top of this page.
‘UNDER THE VOLCANO’.
SIMON CERIGO, Game of Thrones, or what ?!!
SIMON CERIGO, ‘I Just want to cry’ – the classic, ‘tears of the clown’.
‘Yojimbo’ – Simon loved nothing better than . . Japanese Samurai movies.
‘Sanjuro’.
SIMON CERIGO: ‘I hear the rain, outside . . .’
note: the Samurai warrior.
we all 3 – loved Japanese art, Japanese films, me and Dan, too.
we all 3 fought hard, to make our art in life, and to survive – making that art.
we weren’t exactly careerists, we were . . indie artists – to the end.
there was no dealer who we could totally relate to, or . . more importantly, or maybe the same / no diff . . . who ‘got’ us. we were classic ‘outsiders’, so far inside, that we flew right off . . the grid.
right over everybody’s . . heads.
SIMON CERIGO, famous last words:
“I hear the rain outside while I write and I feel SAD and very ALIVE.”
the talking dead.
walking the walk.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~FAMOUS LAST WORDS: SIMON CERIGO |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 24th, 2015, 2:16pm
