~SIMON CERIGO, R.I.P.

SIMON CERIGO – ca. 1978, he would be about 26 years old.

PHOTO: SHELDON MOSKOVICI

~SIMON CERIGO, R.I.P. | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 2nd, 2013, 12:28am



~SIMON, KATE & THEO

SIMON CERIGO . . . with KATE and THEO. SUMMER 1994, 5 RIVINGTON ST. EAST STOREFRONT. LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC.
ONE OF SIMON’S LARGE PAINTINGS – IN THE BACKGROUND.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH.

SIMON CERIGO / JULY 3, 1952 – JAN 20, 2013
MEMORIAL CELEBRATION – SAT FEB 2, 2013 / 1-4PM
TRUE LIGHT LUTHERAN CHURCH – 195 WORTH ST – CHINATOWN, NYC

~SIMON, KATE & THEO | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 1st, 2013, 5:56pm



~IF CHILDREN WERE WISHES . . . WYE OAK

check out: WYE OAK – IF CHILDREN WERE WISHES . . .

the soundtrack of our days . . .

“I just . . . watch you get weaker and weaker till you finally die.”

see: lyrics

~IF CHILDREN WERE WISHES . . . WYE OAK | Posted in Indie Music Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | February 1st, 2013, 4:35am



~SIMON CERIGO: VICTIM of his own KREATION

WAITING for the OTHER SHOE, to drop . . .

a lot of people are writing really nice tributes to Simon.
our very fav is – ‘SIMON SAYS’ by DAVE DORSEY posted FEB 24, 2012. about a year ago.
to his blog: represent – the painting life.

yep, for sure, check out: ‘SIMON SAYS’ by DAVE DORSEY – a very true portrait, that for sure.

of course, though best remembered for his artistic brilliance – I’m waiting for the day when someone has the chutzpah to write: I PARTIED DOWN HARD – WITH SIMON. I mean I might want to burn it, and more so, strangle the author and the players, but . . . still. fact is fact.
I hear ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST has a particularly … colorful chapter. put it this way: Simon loved attention. and let’s leave it – at that.

you do know . . . me and Simon were the battlin’ tragedy caught on tape in . . . WE LIVE IN PUBLIC. there was a lot of jealousy & competition, too. going through his stuff, I just came across a birthday card from that year (2000) to Simon, from Theo. it’s inscribed: good luck with the rest of your life, and with Nancy.

of course, the other show waiting to drop as well, would finally be some well-deserved and long time in the coming – recognition of Simon’s own body of art. back in the day, when he had a small gallery, SIMON CERIGO GALLERY on AVE A, in the East Village, from 1985 & for a few years onward – creative people were not ‘allowed’ to wear so many different ‘hats’, as they are today. and that in a nutshell, is one of the BIGGEST and, BEST evolutions . . I can relate from the 60s, 70s, even 80s – til now.

of course not forgetting the BIGGIE: the freedom we have today to self-publish – on the web. the aggregate democratic street-up vibrancy of contemporary art criticism.

Simon was a stubborn truly indie gallerist, a gifted curator, a talent scout supreme, a ‘frontier’ mentality collector, and a hands-on artist. He followed nobodies trends – but his own.

His first major serious formal collecting began in his teens – he started off buying photography. all the greats, you name someone – he had it. from the complete ROBERT FRANK ‘Flower’ Portfolio of 1975 – to the EDWARD CURTIS classics of the west . . he also had started collecting comics, very seriously . . at a very very early age, and when I met him – he had several treasure chests in his childhood bedroom, full of pristine comics.
and then, there was the record collection, talk about golden vinyl.
in fact, it was like everything he touched – turned to gold. in art school – we used to call him . . . the Midas man. he liked to play cards, and buy art. go figure, nothing ever changes.

and, you didn’t have to be in a gallery, the work just had to catch his eye. he was the first person to ever buy my work.


SIMON CERIGO, ‘HE WAS TEA VICTIM OF HIS OWN KREATION’, ca 1986. NYC.
acrylic paint, oil stick, t-shirt . . and objects on canvas, 4-3/4 ft. by 5 ft.


SIMON CERIGO, detail
though he looked like a ‘messy’ expressionistic painter, at first glance, don’t let that fool you. he had real draftsman-type skills. he used to get into my watercolors every now and then, and I’d be, damn . . . beginner’s luck !!


SIMON CERIGO, detail, oil stick
He was also influenced by DAN ASHER. and he loved modernism. in literature, too.


SIMON CERIGO, detail . . .
vinyl … “love like Anthrax”, GANG OF FOUR – EMC (?!!!)
love like anthrax – that bout sums it up, love can really do you, in.


SIMON CERIGO, detail . . .
JOY DIVISION t-shirt


SIMON CERIGO, detail . . .
the comic book influence.


SIMON CERIGO, detail . . .
the ram’s head. yeah, I’m Aires. right-to-the-wall, and put your hands, up Aires. the ram.
Simon was a crab, Cancer. and thus a flamin’ huge conflict was aborn of . . . great passion.


SIMON CERIGO, detail.
that looks like something I would have bought for Kate, in Chinatown.


NANCY SMITH, acrylic paint on canvas . . . ca. 1986. NYC.
I’m guessing 7 ft. by 8 ft. ?

just in case you were wondering what I was doing then.
damn. but wood, for large stretchers was dirt cheap then. so was a huge roll of cotton duck / canvas. loft space was still pretty ok – cheap. nobody considered that storage space might become … a problematic issue – just 10 short years later. we were living on Franklin St. in Tribeca at that point.
you can see my growing interest in quilt patterns surfacing. just 10 short years late, I had given up the brush, and taken up . . . the needle.
and so it goes . . .
damn, I’m feeling like . . . James Joyce.

come to think of it, it was Simon who turned me onto Joyce. although I had read The Dubliners, several years back. I’m just remembering, that he couldn’t believe I made it all the way through, Ulysses and then, even, Finnegans Wake.
dudes, it . . . was a snap.

and so is life: snap. snap. snap. gone.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NYC.

~SIMON CERIGO: VICTIM of his own KREATION | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 30th, 2013, 7:02pm



~CAT POWER . . . SUN

YOUR WORLD . . . IS JUST BEGINNING . . .

TIME . . . IT AIN’T GOT NOTHING on YOU.

CAT POWER’S new album, ‘SUN’ – was in the works to be Simon Cerigo’s next Music review . . .

SIMON could call the music . . . just as well as he could call the art.
just one look at the artlovers Indie Music page archives – will tell you that.
he was way ahead of the curve – in terms of calling the trends . . . and waves and feelings.

People liked to read his reviews because, although short and very to the point, and ON POINT – he could throw in a relevant reference to times past, the 70s & the 80s mostly. he knew the obscure of history of underground labels like the back of his hand.
his music reviews often garnered a bigger following – then the concurrent art pages, believe it.

in fact . . . I think honestly, for real, the one main reason I married Simon was for his record collection. if you know me at all . . . yes, you could believe it.
when we first started ‘seeing’ each other . . . back in the late 80s – one of the very first bands he turned me onto was JOY DIVISION – and yep, that sealed the deal.
for his part – he never got over that BOB MARLEY’S – NO WOMAN DON’T CRY . . . was the soundtrack to my twenty-something life.

yeah, I turned him onto Reggae, and he turned me onto Indie. 30 year+ relationship – in a nutshell.

CHECK OUT: CAT POWER – Nothin But Time (Featuring IGGY POP)

“I WANNA LIVE – I WANNA GIVE and NOT – BE FORGOTTEN.”

amen. SIMON.

~CAT POWER . . . SUN | Posted in Indie Music Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 27th, 2013, 1:19pm



~SIMON CERIGO: TRUE LIGHT LUTHERAN CHURCH

we will be having a . . . MEMORIAL for SIMON on SAT FEB 2, 2013 / 1-4 PM

at TRUE LIGHT LUTHERAN CHURCH – 195 WORTH ST – CHINATOWN, NYC

check out: the snowflakes !!

you need to give them a second or two – to engage.

it’s snowing in the city, for real . . . too.

SIMON CERIGO, ‘Man in the Red Chinese Hat’, aka ‘Moonlight Madness’. 1990.
acrylic paint, t-shirt, plastic action figures, and other various small objects, on canvas.
34 x 40 in. signed & dated on the back


detail, SIMON CERIGO, ‘Man in the Red Chinese Hat’.


detail, SIMON CERIGO, ‘Man in the Red Chinese Hat’.


detail, SIMON CERIGO, ‘Man in the Red Chinese Hat’.


detail, SIMON CERIGO, ‘Man in the Red Chinese Hat’.

dust to dust . . .

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

~SIMON CERIGO: TRUE LIGHT LUTHERAN CHURCH | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 26th, 2013, 6:58am



~SIMON CERIGO, R.I.P.

we are very sad to tell you that SIMON CERIGO . . . art world maven, artlovers contributor, artist . . . and party crasher supreme – has joined the Dead Artist Club. He passed away yesterday, Sunday Jan 20, 2013 – suddenly, after a brief illness complicated by heart issues. He was 60.

we are gonna miss you. that’s . . . for sure.
but if there is a big party going on up there, we know – you are already – on it !!


SIMON CERIGO, man on the scene, that’s for sure . . . at the CARROLL DUNHAM opening, Dec 28, 2012.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH, NYC. DEC 28, 2012


SIMON CERIGO, NANCY SMITH, KATE and THEO. 5 Rivington St, Lower East Side, NYC.
PHOTO: SCOTTIE HARRISON, NYC. SPRING 1990.

~SIMON CERIGO, R.I.P. | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 21st, 2013, 8:51pm



~BEN BERLOW … last week

it’s the last week to catch BEN BERLOW’s seriously crafted, minimalist, and yet wide-open-to-ponder, abstract work at RAWSON PROJECTS . . .

BEN BERLOW – NEW WORKS ON PAPER
DEC 1, 2012 – JAN 27, 2013
RAWSON PROJECTS – 223 FRANKLIN ST – BROOKLYN

check out: there is an interesting dialog with the artist – on the gallery website


artist BEN BERLOW, in Chelsea, just before Hurricane Sandy hit.
BEN is the Executor of the DAN ASHER estate, and was very close to Dan in the last years. it’s interesting to note the affinities, and differences – of dialog in their respective work, and that both were not ‘formally’ schooled in the arts . . .
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH. NYC, OCT 22, 2012.


BEN BERLOW, ‘untitled’, 2012
acrylic on paper, 18 x 12 in.
IMAGE: RAWSON PROJECTS


BEN BERLOW, ‘untitled’, 2012
acrylic & graphite on bookleaf. 8 x 5-1/2 in.
IMAGE: RAWSON PROJECTS

~BEN BERLOW … last week | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 19th, 2013, 12:06pm



~ALEX MERTO, anything butt !!

just because life is so exquisitely fragile, funny, and hard.
just because art imitates life and graphics crosses – over !!

and sex – is such a b-b-b BIG part of it, the human condition . . .

I came across this font/website when I did the background research . . . on the recent RICHARD MEHL curated . . . ‘untitled type 5’ show.

like I said, the s’Nice thing bout graphics – is they speak for themselves !!
but I also thought it was funny/interesting . . . to move on from CARROL DUNHAM, and LENA, she doesn’t need her last name anymore (!!) onto this . . .

it’s from ALEX MERTO, a recent graduate of the SVA graphic design program.

yep, check out: ALEX MERTO

XXX – ABC FONT by ALEX MERTO. IMAGE FROM: ALEX MERTO/TYPEFACES
PLEASE show respect . . . and respect HIS COPYRIGHT.
if you like his ideas, contact him – the info is on his website !!

the full XXX – !!
by ALEX MERTO, please see: GRAPHIATRIST/ALEX MERTO.

IF . . . we want to preserve the FREEDOM TO CONNECT – WE’VE GOT TO RESPECT COPYRIGHT.

~ALEX MERTO, anything butt !! | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 18th, 2013, 12:02pm



~CARROLL DUNHAM … last few days . .

I’m glad everybody is talking about this show – no matter what side of the line “of taste’ they fall on. it was very definitely – one of the most interesting & controversial shows of last year . . . Carroll Dunham’s work sure evokes strong feelings, one way or the other.
him and CATTELAN !!
art world roommates. just joking, NOT !!

I used to dismiss his work completely myself, mostly as being too street-image derived – but I sure got a big eyeball awakening this time around. a 360 switch like that – is always . . . something to rejoice in.

the show is closing this weekend, in fact – this Sat Jan 19, is the last day to catch it – so, don’t blink.

CARROLL DUNHAM / NOV 29, 2012 – JAN 19, 2013
GLADSTONE GALLERY – CHELSEA, NYC

see: artlovers PIX from the OPENING . . . NOV 29, 2012


CARROLL DUNHAM, ‘Next Bathers, five (dive)’, 2012
mixed media on linen, 88-1/4 x 68-1/4 in.

so you got that this was . . . LENA, right ?
the big tattoo, abstracted, apparently Ferdinand the Bull in real life, you go girl !! on her right shoulder is the . . on-the-money give-away.
really, it’s impossible to talk about this show without noting the damn straight unbelievable shooting star success and TALENT of LENA DUNHAM, the artist’s daughter – 26.
esp when you see just how formidable CARROLL DUNHAM is in person, check out those opening pix . . .

let’s face it. c’mon . . be honest. most artist offspring don’t come even a half-candle flicker close to their famous parents – in reality, or in in real talent. but this shooting star off-spring is beyond the beyond . . lumpy body and all.
awkwardness and all. yes, she carved out her ‘space’ – just like these paintings – carve out, hers and . . . theirs.

and omg, what’s with that ‘tickling’ tree fern – to the left. is that a funny metaphor or what.
sense of humor, seems to run in the family.

and yes, all of the above: that’s some of the things that really helped me turn onto this work.
the fact that they are such strict, even severe graphic and highly abstracted … portraits – that took off & flew – of course being the most heartfelt.
. . . as opposed to the ‘realist’ photographic genre – for example.
it’s intensely interesting to contemplate – that out of all this ‘reduced’ abstraction – we got served the real deal. the inner soul, we glimpsed her, Lena’s fantastic journey . . . from her father’s eyes.

CARROLL DUNHAM is reporting on the take-off, her far-out and far-flung foray into the BIG unknowing – as she makes her ‘dive’ into the primal pool – of life. of success, of being . . .
and this is before the 2 Golden Globes.
But hey, her mother, always knew it / ‘Tiny Furniture’ . . .


detail, CARROLL DUNHAM, ‘Next Bathers, five (dive)’, 2012

but I also revered, emotion aside – how ALL the paintings . . . could always break down into smaller elements, of design, of pure graphics, and yet also of … of Feeling, yes: capital F.
elements . . . that could fly on their own. play for play’s sake, alone.
you know – it’s called the art dance. and yeah in a way these hyper contemporary paintings reminded me of you know . . . the Bathers, Cezanne, and the Dancers, Mattise.
in that as a whole, and in their parts – that were just as bold and strident and expressive – as the old masters, it’s called composition, fluid.
craftsmanship, dudes.
draftsmanship.
severe artistic intelligence, dudes.

and while we are it. NO – THESE paintings are NOT about the NUDE . . . DUDE !!
they are about sexuality, and sensuality. and therein lies the (conceptual) prize !!

just as Lena, herself – is not about the beauty of the erotic form, let alone a new expose on the ‘nude’, god, how boring. . . but the beauty of the talent and mind that inhabit, and animate that very human esp twenty-something universe (!!).
so are these paintings finding a new way to map: erotic.

though we SURE could do without that recent god-awful INTERVIEW airbrushed faux glam cover – leave her alone already. just look at the trail of real life pix she has traced, and in such a short time. what a sweet, yet utterly compelling real-life/real-time fast forward trail of real girl – images, or what.


CARROLL DUNHAM, ‘Next Bathers, one (picking flowers)’, 2012.
78-1/4 x 61-1/4 in.

but whether Lena, and I’m thinking this is her youngest sister Grace (/) or no – there is an excitement and boldness to this work, that can only be amplified by the shared father/daughter gene pool . . . (!!)

but, there is also … a special craftsmanship, a unique vision, a bold flat-out vision here, apart from the specific subject matter, though they work to each others benefit no doubt, that attacks you as soon as you enter the show, and does not let go.
and this NOT something to sneer at, it is something to take in … with eyes wide open.
‘taste’, paste. forget trivializing the show – it’s way too awesome, strictly from a formal point of view, if nothing else.


detail, CARROLL DUNHAM, ‘picking flowers’.
and check out – the right hand side.
it’s not all about the – GIRLS !!
the primal sexual tension – is: equal opportunity.


detail, CARROLL DUNHAM, ‘picking flowers’.
yep, for sure, I think – that’s poetic little sis: Grace.

this small square of detail, also points up the richness & originality, the vibrancy of the images, their ‘play’, their give-and-take plasticity – it is never-ending. and breaks down – big time. wonderful.

their consistency, the consistency in the paintings tone and graphics – is also, a very striking factor. add to this: the big gesture of boldness, and bright bold color PALETTE – and Knock-out.
how can a-n-y-b-o-d-y – miss this ?


CARROLL DUNHAM, ‘Large Bather (quicksand)’, 2006-2012

Light. incandescent light – lives in these here, hard-won abstract/proto-representational battle zones . . .
the scale . . . was pretty on-spot too. not too large, no too small. right on.

it’s also interesting to note how the dates of this particular painting (2006-2012) allude to their slow evolution . . .


detail, CARROLL DUNHAM, ‘quicksand’.

and . . . just how ‘dynamic’ as in kinetic . . these paintings are … for being such severe graphic renditions. how much joy and play, play and joy vibrate against the stern compositional head-space and actual plastic – boundaries.
and esp so, since so much of this past year has leaned up against: graphic design.


detail, CARROLL DUNHAM, ‘quicksand’.

portraits aside, even the landscape elements – threw me up against the wall . . . I surrender to your magic.
compacted, carved, painted, primordial, poetic . . . static, and kinetic – all at the same time.


detail, CARROLL DUNHAM, from one of the ‘Tree’ paintings . . .

the last-word deal with these works is, bottom-line you could cut a one foot square from anyone one of these paintings – and have yourself – a feast . . .
down with the mundane – and up with . . . visceral expression.

PHOTOS & COMMENTARY: NANCY SMITH

~CARROLL DUNHAM … last few days . . | Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 17th, 2013, 11:14am


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