ESSEX FLOWERS .. ‘HOME EDITION’
opened FRI FEB 23, 2018 – the show runs thru . . MARCH 11, 2018
& there will be a . . ‘sister show’ / at the Essex Flowers install – in the Projects space at Nada – in about 2 weeks.
ESSEX FLOWERS, 19 MONROE ST., CHINATOWN
HRS: SAT & SUN / 12-6 PM & by appointment
PAR-TAY . . . . ON !!!!
HOME EDITION !!!!
wow, it was still early, but the crowd outside was huge, and buzzing !!
so much excitement in the air.
much excitement for me too, because I had just heard the day before, that one of my ‘repaired quilt’ projects had been accepted into the show !!
MICHAEL MAHALCHICK, framed by the almost ritualistic seemingly stained glass window / with glowing blood red & neon ‘purple light’ emanating, pulsing from just inside.
a wizard, in a wizard’s light.
the word on the street – was that the show . . “WAS A RIOT – FRONT & CENTER” !!!!
just before I made it in, I met IAN COFRE, left, with . . MELISSA BROWN, a member of the ESSEX FLOWERS collective, who I’ve known a long time, & who helped hang the show.
she looked so stoked !!
she showed me the DIY catalog of the exhibit, which lets you know which artist did what work.
she laughed with such gusto, as she told me the exhibit had just came together . . as 2 parts.
the smaller front room, projecting the neon purple light, was the ‘dark lounge’, as in . . the dark arts !! the dark side of the moon. the seance in the Edwardian dining room. the alchemist magic. the ritualistic. the tantric. the diviners. the dreamers. aka . . the Stoner Lounge !!
lol, and my quilt was hanging . . in there !!
I loved . . it.
to bring in something like a quilt, and be part . . of the dark !!
the games . . begin.
hanging in the storefront window: ritualistic, mysterious, calling to the dark worlds. small, stained & leaded glass ‘charms’, by FRANK HAINES . .
caught the reflection of the colored LED lights, inside . . . and played with them.
note . . the ‘row’ format.
it’s strange how things that are so organized – can speak . . to deeper secrets.
DENISE KUPFERSCHMIDT. her plastic ‘shower curtains’, also hanging in the wide storefront window, also reflected a ‘tantric’, chiming, chanting . . end-game / off the deep velvet night outside, and the colored neon LED light within.
they had, just this amazing splash, ’emblem’, a perfect ‘spin’, of cherry red. splayed across them, that sparked reflected light, deeply. darkly. this was a ‘promise’ – you don’t want to make.
they were so kinetic in their ‘stiff’ thick plastic reflection. sometimes bright, sometimes opaque.
sometimes, even . . quilt-looking.
but, most definite not !! Bed, Bath & Beyond !! nothing was. unless very very ironic.
& esp in this room: it was more like . . Mary Shelley. dark Chinese alleys. blood maps. haunting. hiding.
symbols. codes. alchemy.
the powerful eerie light . . came from 2 LED ‘light fixtures’ – by LIZZIE WRIGHT.
vintage vinyl Mickey Mouse record player by MICHAEL MAHALCHICK.
a glimpse of the ‘Privacy Screen’, by RUFUS TUREEN in the background.
this one was in the window. the other one, was across the small, dark room, the ‘den’.
LIZZIE WRIGHT, ‘untitled’, 2018. wood, wire. LED lighting, threaded rod, and hardware.
alchemy.
a glimpse on the right of: PATRICK ARNOLD’S ‘God is Dead’ pillow.
yeah, you can ponder on that / as you relax, your head. on the couch.
2018, 18 x 18 in.
embroidery, canvas, pillow form. edition #1/10.
also in the window, and reflecting . . the ‘strange’ emits . . of colored light.
a plaster cast of a head, ‘Roy 3.0’ . . by WILLIE WAYNE SMITH.
airbrushed, acrylic on cast hydrocal, 22 x 8 x 8 in.
and there, it was !!
almost right there on the left, when you walked in, bathing in the wizardly room’s glow.
alive with the surrounding mysterious, mystical vibes, & . . deep secrets.
projecting its almost century-old / protection ‘spell’ . . to a new audience.
imbued with the headiness of homespun spells.
domestic skills & home life / in a dark fitful room, of new age design / arts & crafts.
my repaired . . ‘Log Cabin Crib Quit’ / ‘Straight Furrows’, ca. 1925.
38 x 58 in.
detail.
NANCY SMITH, ‘Log Cabin Crib Quilt Repair’.
I worked on it, on & off for about 5 years, from 1997-2001. all hand-stitched.
with various vintage ribbons, trims, snips of textiles. patches. old buttons, trinkets & even tiny vintage craft bells.
an traditional colonial patchwork, it is ‘built-up’ in segmented ‘rows’, just like a . . Log Cabin.
‘Straight Furrows’ refers to one of several Log Cabin design variances. they use the ‘light & dark’ contrasts of the textile patches, to map out broad diagonal swaths / or ‘furrows’ . . representing the farm’s plowed fields, with its rows of growing crops.
quite worn-out, when I found it, this quilt was made for a baby’s bed, it measures 38 x 58 in., and dates to somewhere around 1925. it is almost 100 years old.
it protected the babe with its warmth & momma’s skills. it was most likely made on a hard-scrabble farm, with treasured scraps from worn-out clothing. it’s most definite . . the most basic kind of ‘patchwork’.
beside the protective ‘spell’ of the design, its mother’s earnest wish for her baby to be protected, safe & warm, was part of each stitch. a tarot card . . of a blanket.
as well, the red, and here sometimes yellow as well, small squares . . in the center of each larger square, stood for the warmth and glow of the hearth. the fire. at the vital center of rural 20th home life.
in turn, it also symbolized, in literally in every stitch, the warm heart of the quilt maker at the center of the home. & thus it still casts its spell.
almost a 100 years old !!
I kept thinking:
I wonder what the home-maker quilter, who so skillfully & so frugally, and so lovingly, and so patiently cut & hand-stitched this baby quilt, would think of it re-surfacing !!
for another . . go round.
in a show like this !!
& how we so, still – need to watch over our children.
a patchwork Log Cabin quilt is a . . flag, a painting / literally a blanket.
that provides warmth, and wishes . . ‘care’ / over the unknown, life’s fragility & wards off evil.
it’s an old home-spun ‘spell’, for sure.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
‘HOME EDITION’ . . ESSEX FLOWERS / OPENING PIX – PART I / THE MAGIC, DARK ROOM !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 27th, 2018, 2:20pm
‘ESSEX FLOWERS HOME EDITION’ – A TWO-PART – EXHIBIT
the 1st PART . . OPENS TO-NITE / FRI FEB 23, 2018 / 7 – 9 PM
& runs thru MARCH 11, 2018
at the ESSEX FLOWERS storefront gallery – 19 MONROE ST, CHINATOWN
HRS: SAT & SUN: 12 – 6 PM & BY APPOINTMENT
the 2nd part will be at the NADA ART FAIR, PROJECTS SECTION – opening THURS MARCH 8, 2018
THE MEMBERS OF ESSEX FLOWERS . . have invited more than 30 individuals to contribute works of art that interrogate the function, form & craft of the domestic space.
Participating artists include: SARA MURPHY, SAM WINKS, ANDY ROBERTSON, ILANA HARRIS-BABOU, LIZZIE WRIGHT, RACHEL DOMM, DAVID KENNEDY CUTLER, HENRI PAUL BROYARD, RUFUS TUREEN, FRANK HAINES, CATBOX CONTEMPORARY (with NICK IRZYK), MELISSA BROWN, JESSE HAMERMAN, LYDIA McCARTHY, MICHAEL MAHALCHICK, ANDREA McGINTY, DAVID B. SMITH, BEN DOWELL, WILLIE WAYNE SMITH, AMY RUHL, ELISE DURYEE-BROWNER, JAIME GECKER, MARTHA MYSKO, OFRA LAPID, DENISE KUPFERSCHMIDT, ROBERT SCOTT WHIPKEY, JORDAN NASSAR, ELIZABETH FERRY, RYAN FALKOWITZ, COLBY BIRD, SOPHY NAESS, AMANDA BALDWIN, MICHAEL WELSH, PATRICK ARNOLD, WILL STEWART, HANNA SANDIN, ERIKA SOMOGYI, RUTH RODRIGUEZ, NICKOLAUS TYPALDOS, and more . . .
INVITE / FLYER DESIGN BY: RACHEL DOMM
THE CALM BEFORE . . THE STORM !!
of hanging / displaying so many pieces . . !!
ESSEX FLOWERS member, RACHEL DOMM . . accepting the many & very diverse, art work arrivals, including the CATBOX CONTEMPORARY . . ‘CATELLITE’,
the tall structure at center left, with padded portals. !!
detail: the CATBOX CONTEMPORARY – ‘CATELLITE’.
so exciting !!
the dialog . . continues.
feels like it’s raining . . cats & dogs today.
well, a lot better than . . guns & students.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~’HOME EDITION ESSEX FLOWERS ‘ . . OPENS TO-NITE FRI FEB 23 / 7-9 PM |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 23rd, 2018, 8:50am
OPENING FRI – FEB 23, 2018 / 7 – 10 PM !!
the show runs thru MARCH 11, 2018
‘THE RED ENVELOPE SHOW’ – ‘YEAR OF THE DOG’
GRUMPY BERT, 82 BOND ST, BROOKLYN
ANTHONY ZINONOS, ‘damnDOG’, ‘RED ENVELOPE – YEAR OF THE DOG’, 2018, collage on envelope for Grump Bert
3.5 x 6.5 in.
image via GRUMPY BERT
MATT STANTON, RED ENVELOPE, YEAR OF THE DOG, 2018, acrylic on envelope
3.5 x 6.5. in.
note . . the ’embellished’ detail on the background !!
image via Instagram @mattstantonartist
MATT STANTON, ‘RED ENVELOPE, YEAR OF THE DOG’, 2018, acrylic on envelope
3.5 x 6.5 in.
image via Instagram @mattstantonartist
~’RED ENVELOPE SHOW’ . . incl ANTHONY ZINONOS & MATT STANTON / GRUMPY BERT / OPENS FRI |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 22nd, 2018, 7:15am
by sheer coincidence,
must be a super special, mass joyful time to be in . . NORWAY !!
seeing as they are sweeping the 2018 Winter Olympics !!
but, just in general, Norway feels so bursting with new life.
and . . so beautiful.
and then there’s all the old Nordic / Viking tales re-surfacing lately.
gnarly old Nordic tales . . . and, the twisted dark as night, contemporary tales !!
that might be one reason, why JIM HOLYOAK finds himself in Norway. right, now.
he’s a master of the night, animal spirits, monsters, and fabled landscape pen & ink drawings.
and looks like . . ELFS, now too.
JIM is actually in Reykjavik, Iceland right now, arriving in Oslo this Fri Feb 23, 2018.
MONTREAL-BASED artist, JIM HOLYOAK will be in residence at NKD,
along with his friend, and oft-time ‘mural’ collaborator . . MATT SHANE, also Canadian
from March thru May 2018.
see: NKD / NORDIC ARTISTS’ CENTRE DALE – NORWAY
JIM HOLYOAK – INK DRAWING, FEB 8, 2018
JIM HOLYOAK, INK DRAWING, FEB 6, 2018
. . . night monster
JIM HOLYOAK, INK DRAWING, ‘The Mountain Knows Your Name’, Jan 14, 2018
. . . Himalayas, Goechla
JIM HOLYOAK, FEB 11, 2018
. . Year of the Dog
ALL IMAGES VIA INSTAGRAM @jimholyoakj
I see JIM . . made good use of a previous time in . . ICELAND.
he received his ‘Elfs-and Hidden people-research-study diploma’ !!
image via: JIM HOLYOAK / MONSTERS ARE FOR REAL /C.V.
JIM also has an MFA (2011) in Drawing & Painting from Concordia University, Montreal, QC.
he was also an apprentice (2007) . . of master ink painter SHEN LING XIANG in Yangshuo, CHINA.
see: JIM HOLYOAK – BIO / MONSTERS ARE FOR REAL
see: JIM HOLYOAK – ARTIST PORTFOLIO WEBSITE / MONSTERSAREFORREAL.com
don’t miss: JIM HOLYOAK / incl MATT SHANE – VIDEO DOCUMENTATION
JIM HOLYOAK – VIDEO DOCUMENTATION
IMAGE VIA . . JIM HOLYOAK / MONSTERS ARE FOR REAL
~JIM HOLYOAK . . NKD RESIDENCY / NORDIC ARTISTS ‘ CENTRE DALE / NORDISK KUNSTNARSENTER DALE / NORWAY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 20th, 2018, 12:52pm
JOSH HARRIS .. MEET YOUR NEW HOMIES !! !!
our supreme leader JOSH HARRIS . . is crashing LA LA LAND !! !!
OMAROSA !! TRUMP !! TAYLOR SWIFT !! LENA DUNHAM and . .
JONAH HILL as . . JOSH HARRIS !!!!!!
and, it’s going to be a “dramatic adaption” . . . !! !! !!
“AS FOR WHO .. will play his then girlfriend Tanya Corrin, HARRIS says, I like TAYLOR SWIFT,
but the producers are talking AMY SMART.”
read: ‘JONAH HILL set to star as as Internet pioneer JOSH HARRIS’ – by RICHARD JOHNSON, PAGE SIX, NEW YORK POST / FEB 18, 2018
~’WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ . . hits PAGE SIX !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 18th, 2018, 11:06am
‘TOMMY MALEKOFF – FILMS & PHOTOGRAPHS’
FEB 1 – FEB 28, 2018
AGNES B GALERIE BOUTIQUE NEW YORK, 50 Howard St, Downtown, NYC
there was a nice easy feeling to this show. which, also, keeping in step with this particular art season – leaned to the small side . . scale-wise. it still worked, just a little more like clockwork, than grand, raw gesture.
the first work I saw by TOMMY MALEKOFF, was in Feb 24, 2016 / almost 2 years ago to the day. playing on a loop – it was his short, essay-like film, ‘The Outdoor World’, 2016.
all ‘real-life’ footage. good flow-thru editing. I guess that makes it a documentary of some kind of genre. urban landscape ?
Projected large, and I mean . . wall-size in a large, empty storefront on the Lower East Side, the screening was hosted by SEAN VEGEZZI, ANDREW KASS & assorted friends, it mesmerized the hardcore audience. although much of the footage dwells on middle America, it also hit up on some extreme young black high school beat dancers, the contrast was the unspoken tension. though there was no overt joking, there was no judgement: just the flow of the oddness – of our culture, no matter on what side of the style line – it fell.
sweet curiosity is all I can say, in summary.
Tommy makes sure the world . . goes round. there were also some rough, low-fi hard-copy. still photo hand-outs.
Tommy makes sure the sound tracks, which are key – to his films, are as light-handed, and yet just as moving, or fluid as his images . . & in this, local musician / D.J. JOE WILLIAMS excelled with his, not easily defined . . original music soundtrack. more magic / more than travelog.
let’s just say: elevated & dreamy, if dreamy could be hardcore . .
music / to travel by.
see: ‘TOMMY MALEKOFF – ‘THE OUTDOOR WORLD’ – OPENING PIX / artlovers archive
the 2nd screening, I saw was just last year, also at just about this same time. Tommy must favor February, or Feb sure favors . . him !!
(witness the current show at Agnes B . . FEB 1 – 28, 2018.)
titled, ‘Perennial Shadows’, (2017), it was about the invasive & unstoppable, green destroyer . . Kudzu / the interloper weed that is taking over the southern USA. again a gorgeous film, with no words. and needing none. again, with a beautiful, oriental-tilting, ‘soundscape’ . . by JOE WILLIAMS.
“In the 135 years since its introduction (at the 1876 World’s Fair Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia), kudzu has spread over 3 million hectares of the southern United States & continues to ‘consume'” – voraciously.
Kudzu: It’s a big, fast moving . . geographic ‘topic’.
ironically, and rather ‘sustainability-wise’ (!!), the film was screened at the small, but internet ‘infinite’, 24/7 digital gallery called JEFFREY STARK, which is located within a small white box of an actual ‘booth’ . . in an Asian global-style mini-mall, in the heart of Chinatown, 88 East Broadway. the exhibits are online real-time, and can be viewed through the glass wall. this small, minimalist-leaning, avant-garde, highly curated space, with its steel & glass infrastructure, was actually a great ‘foil’ for the nature-driven documentary.
although the film screened on a large scale (in the main lobby of the mall), for the opening, it played on a much smaller scale for the length of the exhibit, and was definitely none the worse for it.
there was also a rather casual, tack board of commercial grade, color photos from the film’s production, in the hallway.
it’s rawness, of the photograph presentation – was very engaging, esp as it was so casually a part of the surrounding mall activity.
see: ‘PERENNIAL SHADOWS’ / artlovers archive
this current screening at AGNES B BOUTIQUE GALERIE NEW YORK, turns out to be more of a mini-retrospective, and the projections are even smaller, which makes things – very curious for art mavens, who have been feeling like Alice in Wonderland for the past few months.
as well, the accompanying photographs have evolved to professional color art prints, in professional frames. and it is a more formal array of photos.
actually, it was really nice to see some photos – in this more formal setting.
esp on the Agnes B. brick wall. switching up – is good.
this is an image from ‘The Outdoor World’ (North Carolina), part of a nice little trailer produced specifically for this show.
you can watch it, here: AGNES B. BOUTIQUE GALERIE – TOMMY MALEKOFF
from the press release:
“TOMMY MALEKOFF (b. 1992) . . is a New York based visual artist from North Carolina. His work with video and photography deals with insular worlds and displaced phenomenons in the American landscape.”
PIX FROM THE OPENING – FEB 1, 2018 – AGNES B. GALERIE BOUTIQUE NEW YORK
TOMMY MALEKOFF at the opening.
photo courtesy: Agnes B.
the venue. a small portion of the front of the very chic, storefront / retail fashion boutique is dedicated to showing very close-to-the-bone, art shows.
small is sustainable is chic.
the crowd piled in, as the night went on.
a frame from a loop / random, yet . . NOT.
very Americana.
Kudzu takes over. very green, AF.
but sustainable ? not so much, more like . . native-killer.
headphones. you could hear the soundtracks – in dedicated concentration.
there was also a loop of more personal clips. kind of like a fast forward diary.
this must be Sean, apparently a deep sleeper, because he sure got . . shook.
a framed photo.
horses, esp carnival or rodeo . . were a subtext.
the un-brutal, sunny side of being . . a boy, a horse. a cowboy.
the opening coincided with NEW YORK FASHION WEEK / NYFW 2018.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH / unless otherwise noted.
see: TOMMY MALEKOFF – PORTFOLIO WEBSITE
~TOMMY MALEKOFF . . AGNES B |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 17th, 2018, 11:48am
Keep on Truckin’. . .
seems, Everybody got to walk through life deflecting . . arrows.
VIVIAN LE . . ‘Chang’e No.2’
image via VIVIAN LE . . VILE / portfolio website
def, check out: VIVIAN LE, born 1992 /Chicago-born & based – PORTFOLIO WEBSITE
~VIVIAN LE . . Chang’e No. 2 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 15th, 2018, 11:30am
update: yesterday, FEB 14th later would become a day sadly marked by a high school massacre in Florida.
the 19 yr shooter a former student, turned on the fire alarm to cause more panic.
what ? are we gonna have contests now ?
body counts ?
I thought Bloody Valentine’s Days . . were for Depression-era mobsters.
this artist is 26 yrs old . . she is speaking to something, something hard, real & sad . .
a fissure . . in her cultural reality.
in a very gentle, the line work (!!), girly (no diss !!) graphic way, that sadly, makes for an ironic, yet solid . . twisted-out / connect.
VIVIAN LE, b. 1992 Chicago – ‘I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU’
check out: VIVIAN LE – PORTFOLIO WEBSITE
~VIVIAN LE . . I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 14th, 2018, 9:38am
just because . . .
wip / work in progress by JOEY D, for the GALERIE F, DEC 2017 group show . . .
‘You Are Beautiful Billboards’, mini billboard – group show.
Image via Instagram @galerief
JOEY D. , ‘Beautiful Insides’, 2017
acrylic paint & custom cut wood embellishment – on YAB miniature billboard kit for 2017 / Galerie F FAB group show.
size: 17 x 8.5 x 7 in.
image via Galerie F / Beautiful Insides
see: Galerie F / YAB Billboards
~JOEY D . . MINIATURE BILLBOARD / YAB, GALERIE F, CHICAGO |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 12th, 2018, 8:53am
I’ve been fascinated by ‘miniatures’ ever since I can remember.
I collect them from random places, mostly thrift shops and the odd flea market.
they are actually pretty hard to find.
my greatly prized . . butcher’s block !!
a few more of my most recent finds.
lol . . yes, that’s tiny dog bowl, on the right !!
one of my best finds, ever. great graphic.
unbelievably contemporary color hues.
Kate recently scored the tiny black sewing machine for me . . in Door County, Wisconsin.
the one behind it, in a slightly larger scale, too big for a dollhouse !! / is actually a vintage Christmas ornament.
ornaments: that’s actually – a whole other subtext of . . tiny.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~SPEAKING . . miniatures / replica spaces / dollhouses & YEAR OF THE DOG !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 12th, 2018, 7:08am
