~STEVE POWERS, I awoke in a dream – what was I gonna say ?


STEVE POWERS, ‘I AWOKE IN THE DREAM AGAIN’.
image via Instagram . . @steveespopowers


STEVE POWERS, ‘WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY. . VOL 8’.
image via Instagram . . @steveepopowers

~STEVE POWERS, I awoke in a dream – what was I gonna say ? | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 19th, 2016, 10:01am



~DANNY SOBOR . . ‘LATE NIGHT DRIVE’, CHICAGO

here’s the finished mural . . .


DANNY SOBOR, ‘LATE NIGHT DRIVE’, 2016.
“my first ever outdoor mural on @eastroomchicago. Thank you @billycraven & @galerief for the opportunity.”

image & text via Instagram . . @dannysobor

~DANNY SOBOR . . ‘LATE NIGHT DRIVE’, CHICAGO | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 19th, 2016, 9:45am



~ PIZZA IN THE RAIN / PITR . . .

PITR . . is also an urban-focused, ultra-graphic artist, who showed alongside DANNY SOBOR in that 2 man DEC 2015 show, ‘JUNGLE’
. . at CHICAGO TRUBORN GALLERY.


PIZZA IN THE RAIN, ‘watercolor, aerosol, Gold Leaf . . on 140 lb. cold press paper’.
image via Instagram . . @pizzaintherain

this is a recent post of his.
it’s interesting, because like many Instagram posts ‘in the genre’, it shows the scale, of the drawing, and the art ‘utensil’, in this case – a fine point watercolor brush. it feels very immediate. and intimate.

I also really like it, because it’s got this great throw-back ‘Beavis & Butthead’ vibe.
the profile. the white empty, but still expressive eyes. the macabre aspect.

PLUS: this is exactly how I feel right now – that slit throat, dis-associated from his n body proper.
lol.
yes !! – that’s me. no doubt about it.
I’m totally short circuiting, I just can’t keep up with posting all the OPENING PIX – I take in real time. it’s impossible. I am already behind by 7 posts !!
and it’s just been Feb. what happened to . . Feb !!
too much. I’d rather run and catch the shows, then stop and post the pix. obviously.

plus, I like to stop and think about things, sometimes. imagine that.
but, mostly it’s because . . I’m so contrarian !!
even to myself.
what ? a great celebrity-driven + awesome deep large format naked photos . . opening, GREGORY CREWDSON, no less – lol.
what ? TOMOO GOKITA at JOHNSON TRADING ?
what ? the new kids on the block, GRETTA JOHNSON & ANDY CAHILL, who I just meet last week at CANADA, pop up the very next weekend. and the even newer ones: LAUREN HILL, and NICHOLAS MOENICH at his show – at the new Brooklyn apt pop-up, run by MICHAEL FLEMING . . called MOUNTAIN ?
and, what about that YALE MFA GRAD CLASS crew at EMMY THELANDER’s closing. omg. omg. my head is just cut off from my body.
I gotta get on it.
damn.
put this site back together – like Humpty Dumpty.

in the meantime – of course, total distraction of the Instagram feed – reigns !!

so, take just one more little ride of the ‘URBAN IMAGINATION’ – with me / SKILLS !!
and, then tomorrow, I promise – I will get back on schedule.


PIZZA IN THE RAIN, ‘Flight 2932 (MDW-SMF) / 8:30 a.m.’
again, digging the ‘scale’ and, the ‘utensil’.
image via Instagram . . @pizzaintherain


PIZZA IN THE RAIN, ‘Flight 872 (OAK – ORD) / 4:15 p.m.’
love how he articulates urban architecture.
damn. that’s good.
steely, and POETIC. imaginary, and fierce. realist & playful. graphic and, novel.
skills.
image via Instagram . . @pizzainthereain

ah, YES.
THE GHOST of . . . MOEBIUS.

~ PIZZA IN THE RAIN / PITR . . . | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 17th, 2016, 9:34am



~DANNY SOBOR at work . . .


DANNY SOBOR – WIP – WORK IN PROGRESS
“layin’ some lines down on his 1st outdoor mural of the season”
image & text via Instagram . . @billycraven

BILLY CRAVEN . . . is a Chicago-based screen printer & co-proprietor of GALERIE F – in Chicago.
he just posted this photo yesterday.

~DANNY SOBOR at work . . . | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 17th, 2016, 9:17am



~DANNY SOBOR . . & SIGNAL RETURN PRESS / bye way of CHICAGO TRUBORN GALLERY

just because . . it’s Monday.
and this . . is my #mood.


DANNY SABOR, linocut, 2016.
“printed this linocut with the awesome people @signalreurn yesterday. excited to hop on their letterpress machines in the coming months”.
image & text via Instagram . . @dannysobor


DANNY SOBOR: “sketchbook to block”.
image via Instagram . . @dannysobor


DANNY SOBOR . . ‘Susie’s’, 2015.
image via Instagram . . @dannysobor

DANNY SOBOR is a 24 yr. old artist who was born (1992), works & lives in Chicago.
I first noticed his work via the CHICAGO TRUBORN GALLERY Instagram feed (@chicagotruborn) – where he was in a totally super / all about the drawing !! & intensely captivating . . very ‘urban’ graphic / skills / illustration – 2 person show called: ‘Jungle’ (Dec 2015), with PITR / PIZZA IN THE RAIN / @PIZZAINTHERAIN.

see: DANNYSOBOR.COM – website

see: CHICAGO TRUBORN GALLERY – CHICAGO

I really, really related to that recent linocut image of DANNY SOBOR’S . . featured at the top of this post: the beautiful, semi-mystical, inward / outward, graphic – but magical, magic – graphic realism ? self-portrait with . . red roses. that’s what I call . . a very ‘concise’ trip.
and damn, if that isn’t . . ‘Monday’ . . I don’t know – what is.

I also really liked where it took me . . a really sweet, totally dedicated letterpress print shop called: SIGNAL RETURN PRESS / @SIGNALRETURN.
very community-minded & preservation-minded.

yeah, starting Monday off . . on the right foot.

see: SIGNAL RETURN PRESS.ORG


IMAGE via . . Signal Return Press

~DANNY SOBOR . . & SIGNAL RETURN PRESS / bye way of CHICAGO TRUBORN GALLERY | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 14th, 2016, 11:01am



~ANTHEM of the SUN . . bring on the solar flares !!!!

Bring on the sunshine !!
Bring on the heat !!
Bring on the . . SOLAR FLARES !!

‘ANTHEM of the SUN’
a group show organized by PALI KASHI
opened SAT FEB 20, 2016
and runs thru MARCH 20, 2016
CANADA – 333 BROOME ST, Lower East Side, NYC

more info: ‘Anthem of the Sun’ – CANADA

PIX FROM THE OPENING – SAT FEB 20, 2016


ANDY CAHILL, with work in the show . . at the opening & just . . be-KAWS !!!!!!!!!!!
be-cause . . KAWS bought some of his work !!


unknown guest beside . . one of Andy Cahill’s 2 paintings in the show.
ANDY CAHILL, ‘LAMP PREY’, 2015
acrylic & crayon on bleached linen. 24 x 24 in.

all I can say is: if CRACK is WHACK – then, what do you call this ?!!
and, can SWIZZ BEATS & The Dean Collection . . be far behind ?


PHILIP H. ASHLEY, ‘untitled’, 2016
brass, steel & hydrocal on wooden support. 19 x 16 in.


MAIA RUTH LEE . . . seems to be everywhere – that’s really happening.


MAIA RUTH LEE, ‘Economy of language’, 2016
heat sensitive fabric on electric heat blanket. 67 x 50.5 x 2.5 in.


on the wall: PALI KASHI, ‘Untitled’, 2016


PALI KASHI . . . ‘Untitled’, 2016
acrylic medium on lucite frame. 38 x 21.5 x 1.5 in.


ELIZABETH FERRY, ‘Just Her’, 2014
styrofoam, hydrocal, pigment, assorted minerals, flowers. 96 x 48 x 12 in.


detail, ELIZABETH FERRY, ‘Just Her’.


JERRY the MARBLE FAUN, ‘Prospect’, 2016
alabaster & salvaged barbells. 14 x 19.5 x 10 in.


BEN DOWELL, ‘Untitled’, 2014.
oil on canvas. 72 x 72 in.


IAN COOPER, ‘Screening (Greynbow)’, 2015
screen printed & hand-dyed cotton jersey, felt, vinyl, bias tape, aluminum, thread, powdercoated steel, painted lumber, MDF, & PVC with hardware.
67 x 61 x 52 in.


IAN COOPER, ‘Screening’, reverse . .


detail, IAN COOPER, ‘screening’.


AINE VONNEGUT, ‘On the Earth, in Hell and in Heaven’, 2016.
iron box, plastic, polymer clay, wire, aluminum foil & water.
18 x 18 x 18 in.


detail, AINE VONNEGUT, ‘On the Earth . .’


detail, AINE VONNEFGUT, ‘On the Earth . .’


AINE VONNEGUT.


PETER SUTHERLAND, basking in the high octane energy, of the newbies – inside !!

great night.
heat-ful, as opposed to hate-ful, lol.
just the way we like it – with the volume turned . . hardcore & full up.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

~ANTHEM of the SUN . . bring on the solar flares !!!! | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 9th, 2016, 11:52am



~SPRING/BREAK 2016: TOP 3 PICKS!!

OK !!
my very short list . . for the 3 best indie artist and / or curator booths . . at SPRING/BREAK 2016:

1. ANDY MISTER
2. ALEX SEWELL
3. JON LUTZ

1. ANDY MISTER aka @helensaidthis


SWIZZ BEATZ / @therealswizz checks out paintings by . . ANDY MISTER
note: ANDY MISTER – was recently featured on artlovers – !!


artworks by: JULIET JACOBSON, SARA GREENBERGER RAFFERTY & JUDITH HEISLER
PHOTOS via Instagram . . @helensaidthis

2. ALEX SEWELL aka @see_well & ‘OBJECT TRAP’
features: NICHOLAS CUEVA, PAUL GAGNER & JESSICA LANGLEY


shaped canvases by – JESS LANGLEY
image via Instagram . . @see_well

3. JON LUTZ presents . . ‘MATTHEW F. FISHER – TEN YEARS’


painting by – MATTHEW F. FISHER
image courtesy: JON LUTZ

Happy Hunting !!

~SPRING/BREAK 2016: TOP 3 PICKS!! | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 4th, 2016, 12:11pm



~LUKE MURPHY . . UNHAPPY USERS – OPENING PIX

LUKE MURPHY – ‘UNHAPPY USERS’
opened FEB 20, 2016
5 the show runs thru MARCH 20, 2016
CANADA, 333 BROOME ST – LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC

more: background
https://www.canadanewyork.com/exhibitions/2016/unhappy-users/

PIX FROM THE OPENING, SAT FEB 20, 2016


LUKE MURPHY, and TYSON REEDER, at the opening.


ROB HULT, SYRETTE, and SAM WILSON.
Nicholas Hult and Sam Wilson, along with 2 others – are co-onwer/directors of Klaus Von Nichtssagend Gallery.
Syrette Lew is a contemporary furniture/jewelry/lamps/interiors designer – her studio is quite lovely, cutting edge and very chic, it’s called . . Moving Mountains.
see: MOVING MOUNTAINS – mvngmtns.com


artist MELISSA BROWN, of the famed underground artist casino betting, performance games.


ERIC MONTY . . been a fixture on the Lower East Side hood, from way back in the day, Pen & Brush (1989), Rivington School and Gas Station.


OLIVIA PLATO, a British visual anthropologist currently here on a visit, she told me my thrift shop, Jersey City Heights (!!) rescued, $2 hand-woven bag – was actually quite a nice piece of authentic folk art, and that it was made by the KOGUI & ARHUACO indigenous peoples of Columbia, South Amercia – awhose culture is old, very old .. Pre-Columbian.
she knew because she had just spent 4 years living & studying among them.
how profoundly & powerfully interesting, is the world we move through, even without (formal) Shamans, is all I can say.
or: some ‘unhappy’ user donated this – and I found it.
go figure !! the ultimate soul sister DIY . . lost and found !!

talking about . . ‘thrift’ shops and ‘ancients’ bye the way . . does ‘Spring Break 2016’ – ring a bell, a faux ‘thrift ship’ . . bell.
if you follow the art scene, you’ll get the reference. if not, don’t worry about it.
it’s not that . . important.


I knew my hand-woven & very sturdy bucket bag was special, but I didn’t know it came from such ancient native roots. well, it found a good home. someone must have received it as a souvenir, I read these bags are the now the ‘symbol’ of Columbia, and being clueless – they donated it to the local Salvation Army, where I picked it up for all of $2 brand new. at least they didn’t just chuck it.

it’s kind of funnie, profound, and karmic . . . because Luke’s show has a lot of ‘weaving’ in it. both metaphorically, the web !! digital social media etc etc, and technically . . the interlocked coding of the LED lights, the inter-wovenness of the ‘found’ keyboard tunnel . . . but also literally, in a design . . to be revealed !!


Luke Murphy’s paintings on canvas cascade down the ‘west’ wall of the gorgeous double height front room of the new Canada gallery. yes, it’s the first time I’ve been there.
west wall, yes . . they had a seeking, rushing, profound depth to them. philosophical cries out – for civilization, and human-ness amongst the seemingly random scribbles. and symbols. and gestures, and color darts.
in short, code . . very human: bio vs gesture vs symbol vs past vs future.

communication, and transition – are key words I would use to describe the heart and soul of Luke’s work. I’ve been following his work with great passion & devotion . . every since I just happened to back into his first solo exhibit at a very nascent Canada gallery, on Lower Broadway, in Tribeca – in the basement of a Josh Harris / Pseudo experimental project building, must have been – sometime in early 2000.


Luke is a very multi-talented, uber complicated kind of guy. a big technical whiz, a big thinker.
his shows are always very, vastly different, he’s also really really into graphic design, and cutting edge communication. as well as . . the mysteries of our deep past, thoughts about the infrastructure of the deep future / cosmos.


LUKE MURPHY, ‘I Need 2 Always Make Back-Ups’, 2015.
acrylic on canvas. 84 x 72 in.


LUKE MURPHY, ‘User Explains Selfie to Other User-Friend’, 2015.
acrylic on canvas. 70 x 58 in.


LUKE MURPHY, ‘Users Color Theory – No blue’, 2016.
acrylic on canvas, 58 x 72 in.


Luke told me the ‘N’ is a symbol or bookmark for: “any number’ . . . in an equation or theory, or code. nice calligraphy hand skills, bye the bye.
he also told me ‘N’ could stand for NANCY, and still mean the same thing, lol – and . . why, not ?


and then we ‘transition’ through the gallery, through time, and through plastic space – in his tunnel of ‘found’and, looks like discarded . . keyboards. warped, and interlocked, frozen into a greater whole. yes they are quite literally . . WOVEN.
and, yes they are metaphors. and, yes, tunnel of love – did come to mind.
and yes . . the sure to come days of purely mental telepathic or somehow otherwise transmitted comunication, as in: no keyboard . . keyboards are obsolete and used for re-cycled building materials ?
did associate . . too.


everybody was captivated walking through this. that’s why I’m saying, go see it.
it’s an . . ‘experience’.
but, damn I wonder if it’s . . for sale ?
Damien Hirst, look out . . and you don’t need a haz mat team to maintain it.


like I said, w-o-v-e-n.
ancient pre-Columbian skills meet future obsolete . . now !! that is a trip though the looking glass, or what ?
it’s almost a keyboard weaving / time travel machine.
if you push it, and you can. ‘transition’ is at your finger tips.


the back room was home to an array of varying, small animated LED light boxes, each plugged into the electric sockets on the bottom of the walls.


LUKE MURPHY, ‘You Win!!!’, 2016.
LED matrix panels, Rasberry Pi microcontroller, software. 20 x 20 in.
edition 1/3.
absurdist and strange – this one was about . . 2 guesses !!
weaving !! how comforting, especially . . with that little smiley face.
animated infra structure, hard working code, graphic design interface, pattern, design, and – not to forget . . human/bio humor smack dab – in the middle of a world of increasing computerization & robots, even artificial intelligence ?


straight angle . . weaving.
as simple and basic as you can get.


wa-wa-weaving.


LUKE MURPHY, ‘Emojies$EverXoX’, 2016.
LED matrix panels, Rasberry Pi microcontroller, sofware. 5 x 20 in. edition 1/7.
love & kisses – the most basic human code.


LUKE MURPHY, ‘Departure’, 2016.
LED matrix panels, Rasberry Pi microcontroller, software
20 x 20 in.
jump on that plane.


LUKE MURPHY, ‘What Color’, 2016.
LED matrix panels, Rasberry Pi microcontroller, software.
25 x 20 in.
‘EN JE’ . . . ?
wtf.
that’s my BEST FRIEND, ERIN JENSEN’S . . USER HANDLE on IG !!
fer real !!


LUKE MURPHY, ‘Bad pixel’, 2016
LED matrix panels, Rasberry Pi microcontroller, softwarw
20 x 20 in.

ha ha the . . ‘bad pixel’.
you get it – right ? the unhappy user – comes to mind.
well, and even in traditional weaving, as opposed to weaving by lights, colors, and code . . . there are always small mistakes . . dropped stitches, color errors, etc etc, and to soothe the distraught weaver – it’s considered . . a sign of god.
it’s called . . God’s hand.
only God is perfect. to err is human. our early Shakers & Quakers and the pilgrims they sprung from used to insert ‘manufactured’ errors, on purpose – because pride was sinful.
maybe our computers & phones & hard drives are just like us.
and way – more than we give them credit for.

sometimes even our various digital devices skip a beat, run out of memory, degrade, de-charge, break down, or just plain fade way.
yes, and thus: the unhappy user . . feels like an . . old time ‘loser’.
lol – light up my imagination & chart the path . . Luke Murphy.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

~LUKE MURPHY . . UNHAPPY USERS – OPENING PIX | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 3rd, 2016, 12:03pm



~ART FAIR WEEK – in NYC: the insider’s . . short list !!

here’s your best, real shot . . .
at what’s best – in NYC this week !!
it’s the galleries, and not the fairs . . that are driving the baby, this year.

and, the 6 TOP PICKS, ARE !!

1 & 2. CANADA GALLERY has a double-header:

1. LUKE MURPHY rocks the main space . .
his luminous, at once both gestural & philosophic . . paintings look amazing, cascading along the west wall – in the two story double height gallery front room. and then, you walk through a computer keyboard ‘time’ tunnel – into the magical LED mini, wired light boxes in the back room. their animated flickers can’t be caught by an ordinary camera, one of the reasons why I’m saying: go see this, as a priority.
besides the creative acumen & digital world wit on display.
this show is an . . experience. you gotta be there.

LUKE MURPHY, ‘UNHAPPY USERS’, CANADA, 333 BROOME ST. FEB 20 – MARCH 20, 2016
more: info & exhibit photos

2. and then, in the new annex next door . . .
CANADA is showcasing a whole bunch of rockin’ newbie . . rollers.
called ‘ANTHEM of the SUN’ the show, which was organized by PALI KASHI, lives up to it’s title.
I went for Luke’s show, was amazed . . & then stepped next door, and promptly fell down the maddest, baddest Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole, ever.
and so will you !!


‘ANTHEM of the SUN’, ORGANIZED by PALI KASHI, CANADA, 333 BROOME ST. FEB 20 – MARCH 20, 2016
more: info & exhibit photos

3. while you are on Broome St, head next door for the young painter HEIDI HAHN’S solo show at JACK HANLEY GALLERY, where she’s rockin’ . . heartbreak !!
tell me . . about it !!


HEIDI HAHN – ‘BENT IDLE’, JACK HANLEY GALLERY, 327 BROOME ST. FEB 12 – MARCH 13, 2016
more: info & exhibit photos

4. for ‘BABY’ BLUE CHIP LOVERS, do NOT miss:
GREGORY CREWDSON & his ‘CATHEDRAL of the PINES’ . . at GAGOSIAN on W. 21st St in Chelsea.
Gregory, and his amazing band of merry pranksters, an almost cinematic, totally dedicated behind-the-scenes photo set crew – are rockin’ heartbreak, melancholy, and the . . ‘je ne sais quois’.


GREGORY CREWDSON, ‘CATHEDRAL of the PINES’, GAGOSIAN GALLERY, NYC . W 21st ST. JAN 28 – MARCH 12, 2016
more: info & exhibit photos

5. for best out-of-towner, pop-up . . .
and, maybe even also file, under: love that ‘baby’ blue chip art market – that’s why I’m here crew !!
BILL BRADY is doing a . . TOMOO GOKITA POP-UP !!
72 FRANKLIN ST – JOHNSON TRADING . . in TRIBECA.
FRI MARCH 4 / 6-8 PM, and . . TOMOO WILL BE THERE !!


TOMOO GOKITA PAINTING on PAPER,’Family’ – image via @billbrady
TOMOO puts cutting edge, radical, hyper-twisted ‘realism’, and . . of course, supreme black & white- all in the same, stunned . . breath.

6. and then, if you want to get real down & dirty, go see . . the real Bushwick & Brooklyn & street art – from the ground up . . only weekend hrs.
go see ‘CASH4SMELLS’ at the subversive / co-operative new storefront project, studio space & gallery – they call: DRESS SHOP !! 322 TROUTMAN ST, Brooklyn.
& where the works on the walls – can be had for $100 a pop.


CASH4SMELLS, DRESS SHOP – 322 TROUTMAN, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN – up thru MARCH 12
PHOTO: @andro.nyc
more: info & photos – DressShop tumblr

ready, set, GO.

~ART FAIR WEEK – in NYC: the insider’s . . short list !! | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 1st, 2016, 12:45pm



~ANNIE HALL by DREW MILLWARD, CHICAGO – by way of GALERIE F

this is . . supposed to be NEW YORK CITY’S – BIG WEEK ?!!

so, how come the best NYC image . . is coming to us – straight outta CHICAGO ?!!

DREW MILLWARD . . . & GALERIE F, have collaborated on a poster/print for the LOGAN THEATRE presentation of . . ‘ANNIE HALL’ – ‘A NERVOUS ROMANCE’.
lol.
wonderful !!!

image via Instagram . . . @billycraven
see: GALERIE F, CHICAGO


‘THE BIG LEBOWSKI’ – by DREW MILLWARD
image via DREW MILLWARD

check out: DREWMILLWARD.COM – for more great, iconic & funnie !! images

~ANNIE HALL by DREW MILLWARD, CHICAGO – by way of GALERIE F | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 1st, 2016, 12:29pm


« Previous Posts Next Posts »