~’THRESHELD’ . . curated by CODIFY ART / UNDERDONK, OPENS TO-NITE, FRI AUG 11

‘THRESHELD’ – CURATED BY CODIFY ART
OPENS FRI, AUG 11, 2017 / 7-9 PM
the show runs thru SEPT 10, 2017
UNDERDONK, 1329 WILLOUGHBY AVE, #211, BROOKLYN
HRS: SAT & SUN / 1-6 PM & BY APPOINTMENT
L to JEFFERSON

with: JANAYE BROWN, ORLANDO ESTRADA, JES FAN, ILANA HARRIS-BABOU, INHYE LEE, PASTICHE LUMUMBA & ADRIENNE ELISE TARVAR

THRESHELD . . . explores the intimacy of routine, home as a constructed space, and ritual as a sanctified mundane.”
read more: ‘THESHELD – UNDERDONK’

see: CODIFY ART – A BROOKLYN-BASED ARTIST COLLECTIVE


UNDERDONK . . . is an artist-run space in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
lol, #puppylove !!
PHOTO: courtesy of UNDERDONK, Summer 2017




~NICHOLAS CUEVA . . ‘JERRY SALTZ’/ LIMITED EDITION BEACH TOWEL, ‘SAPPHIRE POOLS’ / MOUNTAIN

SEA SALTZ !!

‘ALONG A RIVER OF SAPPHIRE POOLS’ – MOUNTAIN, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN

a selection of limited edition / dye sublimation printed / artist-designed beach towels.
curated by MICHAEL FLEMING of MOUNTAIN, and OLIVIA SWIDER of SELENA.

all of the towels – limited edition of 10 / $130 ea. – can be seen & purchased here:
SAPPHIRE POOLS, MOUNTAIN – SHOPIFY

this one, is a bit of an . . . in-joke !!!

it is also very much . . PHOTO-BASED !!!!


NICHOLAS CUEVA, ‘SALTZ’, 2017
limited edition of 10, beach towel.
($130)
photo via Sapphire Pools/MOUNTAIN

apart from the beauty of the fabulous distressed look . .
there’s something awesomely beautiful about an art ‘critic’ whose main pedantic theme is: naked, and in-your-face-private-parts – gone big !!
ad nauseam . . . !!
to now, be able to have many private parts, and bare bottoms – rubbed all over his face.




~BILLY BUCK . . ‘SAPPHIRE POOLS’ / LIMITED EDITION ARTIST BEACH TOWELS / MOUNTAIN

‘ALONG A RIVER OF SAPPHIRE POOLS’ – MOUNTAIN, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN

A selection of limited edition beach towels – curated by MICHAEL FLEMING & OLIVIA SWIDER

all the artist-designed beach towels, can be seen & purchased here: SAPPHIRE POOLS – SHOPIFY


BILLY BUCK, ‘Rockaway’, 2017. limited edition of 10, beach towel.
($130)
photo via Sapphire Pools/MOUNTAIN

obviously, PHOTO-BASED – PHOTO-REALISM.
so cool . . as to be very very HOT !!!!

the strange part, is the sunglasses – must be tinted / mirrored lenses.
a surrealist up-date on PUNK, or what !!!




~NICHOLAS STEINDORF . . ‘SAPPHIRE POOLS’ / LIMITED EDITION ARTIST BEACH TOWELS / MOUNTAIN

‘ALONG A RIVER OF SAPPHIRE POOLS’ – MOUNTAIN, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN
A selection of limited edition beach towels – curated by MICHAEL FLEMING & OLIVIA SWIDER

all the artist-designed beach towels, can be seen & purchased here: SAPPHIRE POOLS – SHOPIFY


NICHOLAS STEINDORF, ‘Doe, a Dear’, 2017. limited edition of 10, beach towel.
($130)
installation photo via MOUNTAIN

NICHOLAS STEINDORF’S beach towel . . looks to be feverish and intense, and maybe also . . about passionate love ?
as much as heat, sand, rip tides, and the hot hot sun.

but it’s also at the far extreme of . . PHOTO-REALISM !!

expressionistic ?!!! photo-realism ???!!!

though not necessarily ‘3-D’, I did inquire about the red / blue separation.

NICHOLAS:
“I made it red blue. For instance the tongue is by itself in the red and the forest/rock is by itself in the blue. It isn’t necessarily ‘3D’. It’s anaglyph . . which separates the colors – this can cross your eyes. What I did was separate the red and the blue so you see two different images if you close either your left or right eye (red or blue)”.




~’SAPPHIRE POOLS’ . . LIMITED EDITION ARTIST BEACH TOWELS / MICHAEL FLEMING / OLIVIA SWIDER, MOUNTAIN / OPENING TODAY, SAT AUG 5 / 3-8 PM

‘ALONG a RIVER of SAPPHIRE POOLS’ – BEACH TOWEL EXHIBIT !!
OPENS TODAY: SAT AUG 5, 2017 / 3 – 8 PM
MOUNTAIN, 284 SEIGEL ST, 1B, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN, NY 11206

A selection of limited edition BEACH TOWELS curated by MICAHEL FLEMING & OLIVIA SWIDER, with:
MORGAN BLAIR, BILLY BUCK, NICHOLAS CUEVA, AMIE CUNAT, MICHAEL FLEMING, JACOB HAUPT, LIZ NIELSON, NICHOLAS STEINDORF, OLIVIA SWIDER, PANAYIOTIS TERZIS.

Along a River of Sapphire Pools takes its title from John Cheever’s 1964 short story ‘The Swimmer’. This suburban story takes place in one afternoon following Neddy Merrill who swims all of his neighbor’s pools forming his own eight-mile river which he names after his wife.”
~Press release

All beach towels are now available for purchase online at: sapphirepools.myshopify.com

speaking of being on point . . .
this is a another case of an indie artist-run gallerist, including his/her own work in a group show at the gallery. I personally think it’s really special. intimate, informative, dynamic and exciting when you get to see the inner life, & hands-on thinking of the artist/gallerist !!
which is: their work !!

MICHAEL FLEMING . . founded his Brooklyn-based gallery MOUNTAIN in the winter of 2016 – he is a gallerist/curator/visual & performative artist.
and, he takes damns good video !!
usually posted on his Instagram: @mountain.bushwick

OLIVIA SWIDER . . is an artist, curator and writer from Chicago who is now based in Brooklyn, NY. Currently she co-runs the artist-run gallery SELENA in Bushwick.

both galleries are ‘living room’ venues with limited hrs – but always open by appointment.
the best time to hit their shows – are the opening nights.
both MOUNTAIN and SELENA / MICHAEL FLEMING and OLIVA SWIDER . . have been covered extensively on artloversnewyork / both for their exhibits, and for their own individual art projects.

INTERESTINGLY, as well . . .
both of their beach towel projects involve . . . PHOTO-BASED / PHOTO-REALISM !!!!!!


MICHAEL FLEMING, ‘Black Hole’, 2017
commercially printed beach towel, limited edition of 10
($130)
though I get the powerful imagery & metaphor of the ‘black hole’, and seriously . . . how much more photo-realist can you get !!!!
a big part of me would have liked to have seen it – just all sand !!
and, then photographed on a sandy beach !! or even a rocky one, for that matter.
look for this concept to appear in Walmart, in 2 years time / if not IKEA next summer – that’s a really catchy !! tune !!

it also makes for a great hipster/surfer ‘flag’.
as in the Japanese flag, with the ‘rising sun’ – smack dab in the middle.
they should fly it over . . Rockaway !!
look out for random shots of it on Instagram, I’m sure !!


OLIVIA SWIDER, ‘His Shoulders’, 2017.
commercially printed beach towel, limited edition of 10
($130)
OLIVIA’s towel is also photo-based, though less in your face !!
but still, that’s a roaring & real !! sunset.
and the computer ‘font’ – is also very PHOTO-REALIST in . . spirit.
it looks more like a cinema / movie ticket – than a poem !!
but the poetry . . does work, and feels realist in it’s nature / & narrative, too.




~BOBO PLAYS . . RUBULAD, BROOKLYN . . TO-NITE / BIG PARTY, SAT AUG 5

RUBULAD PRESENTS: ‘HEAT WAVE HOPSCOTCH’ – incl: BOBO !!
TO-NITE !! PAR-TAY ON !!
SAT AUG 5, 2017 / 8:30 PM – 3:30 PM
RSVP to rubulad@outlook.com for address.

check out: BOBO
check out: RUBULAD on FB
Instagram: @rub_lad / @bobo_newyorkcity




~’HOT MUD FEST’ . . JESSE GREENBERG, in the farmhouse

‘HOT MUD FEST’ – PRODUCED BY BOBO & JAG
JULY 23, 2017 / art work on view thru AUG 13, 2017.
SPOOK ROCK FARM, 81 SPOOK ROCK ROAD, HUDSON, NY 12534

more info, artists & open to the public / viewing hrs:JAG PROJECTS

JAG PROJECTS . .
is sculptor JESSE GREENBERG’S artist-run, open-project venture, with ‘Hot Mud Fest’ being it’s very first & very promising production.
and . . in this case, summertime fun, ‘en plein air’ – to boot.

like his previous indie gallery, ‘247365’, these are visionary venue/platforms, which function for the most part . . as showcases for other people’s work. initiated by a big dream, driven by even bigger inner creative forces, & maybe egos, and most def run on inversely, very innovative, as in ‘creative’ / but very much shoe-string (!!) budgets, Jesse’s off-the-mainstream ‘fierce’ & indie effort, like the many other indie underground ventures, this ‘blog’ chronicles / the end result is serendipity.
a very diverse, open-ended / and absolutely cutting edge art experience . .
& one which has almost totally disappeared from the mainstream / big budget / all business gallery system, esp here in NYC.

the scene here, would be dead without . . this underground vibe.
poking its head up against all the odds, esp financial, in high budget NYC.
there is no doubt about it.
the mainstream art world in NYC, except for the periodic bursts of museum-driven historical gems . . . right now, is stultifying. moribund. and gawd, what a bunch of posers & losers. don’t get me started.

JESSE GREENBERG’s projects in particular, stand out . .
not only for the cutting-edge curatorial vision, but for the projects are presented overall, with such great visual flair, top level graphic design & . . wide ranging artist collaboration.
It’s pretty clear by now, that his ‘curatorial’ serial / indie ‘outbursts’ / whether stationary viewing, or now a ‘flexive’ program, are driven by a lot of very raw inspiration, and plain ole . . hard work.

LONG LIVE – INDIE ARTIST CURATORS !!

it’s so easy to forget, when an artist takes on the seriously hassled & self-proclaimed role . . of ‘running’ an indie gallery, producing a blink-or-miss it ‘pop-up’, throwing up a ‘screening’, or even hitting out a ‘blog’ such as this one . .
that there is one very determined artist before you / who, besides expressing his cup-runneth-over comprehension of the art dialog in the moment . . is basically ‘taking a bullet’ for his ‘dreams’ and ‘friends’, to do this.
because more often than not – his own status as a working artist gets lost in the mix.

and, yeah artlovers . . is most certainly an artist-run lol, and . . cutthroat indie !!
no reporter here. no critic here.

damn it. labels, of any kind – are bad.

but for sure, we should never forget these are ‘working’ artists themselves, who are driving the scene right now, and we are given an extra / bonus ‘narrative’ – anytime they include their own work.
not only are they are shining a light on . . the collective ‘dialog’ they got ‘running’ with the other artists in this teeming with ‘creatives’ city / but, we get to see, up close and personal, the ‘heart and soul’ – of what makes these indie start-up adventurists ‘tick’/ & what keeps them . . so real, and so good.

so, FYI
besides the colorful & luminous, contemporary ‘totem’ stake Jesse ‘planted’ on the grounds, already documented on this site, he also had 2 very intense pieces in the . . farmhouse.


JESSE GREENBERG, 2 fabricated / photo-realist ‘objects’ . . on a vintage & classic Americana farmhouse table.
now, if that old farm table display, backed by an authentic old timer rural window . . isn’t awesome. and most CURIOUS, and a great ‘twin’ to dialog with the nearby table of CHRISTINA BOLT’s equally CURIOUS ceramic free-form vases, than I don’t know – what is.
as much as Christina’s vases are free-form, these ‘relics’ aspire to .. realism.


JESSE GREENBERG.
looks to be over-size salmon sushi . . !! in a strange bento-box ?
it’s so weird. but it’s also so photo-realist, and nature / bio-connected.
I can’t be the only one ??
picking up on a new ‘thread’ of photo-realism / that’s running it’s mad hatter way . . wily nily through the underground, at the moment.

in fact, you could even go so far as to say, the entire ‘set’ of ‘Hot Mud Fest’, was on e big realist . . par-tay.


JESSE GREENBERG.
crystal / or slice of typography ???????
whatever . . works for me.
it’s kind of like, the imagination is a train running full speed ahead / into realism.
the specifics, don’t really matter – it’s the ride / that’s the . . r-u-s-h !!


that’s the JESSE GREENBERG display on the left, on the right a glimpse of the CHRISTINA BOLT offering.
that’s most likely the original dining room, of the old farmhouse.
history vs fiction in a . . BOBO / JAG momento.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH




~’HOT MUD FEST’ . . CHRISTINA BOLT, in the farmhouse

‘HOT MUD FEST’ – PRODUCED BY BOBO & JAG
SUN JULY 23, 2017 – the show is open to the public thru AUG 13, 2017
see: JAG PROJECTS for HRS & OTHER INFO
SPOOK ROCK FARM – 81 SPOOK ROCK ROAD, HUDSON NY. 12534


CHRISTINA BOLT, 2 ceramic vases in the old farmhouse . .


CHRISTINA BOLT.


CHRISTINA BOLT.

Hello, GEORGE OHR !!!! – WELCOME TO BOBO COUNTRY !!!!
THE FREE-FORM ‘CERAMIC’ VESSEL / CONVERSATION – CONTINUES !!!!
F-O-R-W-A-R-D.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH




~’HOT MUD FEST’ . . the crew

‘HOT MUD FEST’ – PRODUCED BY BOBO & JAG
SUN JULY 23, 2017 – RUNS THRU AUGUST 13, 2017
SPOOK ROCK FARM – 81 SPOOK ROCK ROAD, HUDSON, NY 12534

HRS: 12pm – 6pm
OPEN: TUES AUG 1 / WED AUG 2 / THURS AUG 3 / SAT AUG 5 / SUN AUG 6 / MON AUG 7 / TUES AUG 8 /THURS AUG 10 / FRI AUG 11 / SAT AUG 12 / SUN AUG 13
CLOSED: FRI AUG 4 / WED AUG 9
BRING YOUR BATHING SUIT !!


JESSE GREENBERG . . ‘plants’ his ‘totem pole’ in the ground.


JESSE GREENBERG’s . . totem pole, with accompanying plant ‘scaffolding’ – looking like a psychedelic tomato plant !! sprouting up, against the wild fields & open sky. this is how well it all played out.
the synthetic materials looked awesome, luminous, with a light-filled color spectrum . . against the natural backdrop. fields of wild flowers ran crazy, old red barns stood the test of time, and further back: mountains.
fresh water creeks nearby /
it was really fun to be out in the rural countryside & out of the city.


JESSE GREENBERG curated the art works – at the ‘HOT MUD FEST’/ on-site & in the old white farmhouse.
there were . . a lot of surprises.
& not surprisingly, job: well done !!

Jesse has taken a break from the ‘stationary’ artist-run / gallery experience.
see: his 247365 archives !! always the most excellent graphics, btw
and now runs JAG – his new ‘flexive arts program’ / ‘Hot Mud Fest’ – is the inaugural project.


this is DREW GILLESPIE, kind of the leader-of-the-pack of BOBO.
he does most of their graphic design, posters, and the like.
BOBO . . is a 3 person artist collective, performance, rockin wild band.
they started off in Philly, many years ago. and, maybe a decade+ ago I was lucky enough to back quite by random, into their very first band gig, in NYC.
it was downtown, the Lower East Side, I think it was the after party for some Film Festival ? it was some old NYC dive bar, with old creaky wooden floors, and it got so crowded, and so wild, everybody was jumping, up and down . . I don’t think I was the only one – who feared for the floor to collapse.
BOBO was dressed as . . 19th c.’newsies’, dirty faces, and all.
yep, got the pix !! – way back in the golden artlovers archives !!

ps: that’s THOM PAYNE, behind . . Thom Payne co-hosted ‘Hot Mud Fest’ with NICK PAYNE, his son, & also of BOBO, on their Hudson County Spook Rock Farm.
it’s great place . . because it’s just in that crazy sweet place between falling apart – and getting a new life.
lots of old stuff and history e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.


DREW GILLESPIE . .
designed the ‘Hot Mud Fest’ logo.


THOM PAYNE co-host, with JESSE GREENBERG.
the old white farmhouse – was a classic.
untouched by ‘renovation’ / with wild fields, old silent & now timeless barns, and fresh water swimming hole – creeks. it’s definite . . a nice day trip.
bring a picnic.


PHIL COTE . . of BOBO.


PHIL COTE . . is somewhat behind-the-scenes, but he’s in there, like a dirty shirt.
here at ‘Hot Mud Fest’, he did something probably unheralded, but amazing / he cleaned up this barn . . like it was born again, to showcase this tripping-the-light-fantastic, hanging, oversize, resinous – jelly, transparent blob / molded / gooey green ‘lit’ piece by . . AMY BRENER !!


so day tripper that I am – I didn’t get NICK PAYNE’s photo, I was too busy chatting him up !!
so his work, is going to have to stand in.
not a bad deal, all in all. the lighting wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t want to photo-shop it.
I mean, look at that awesome random pink light, on the floor to the left.
it’s kind of muted in reality, off-primary / colors. looks to be oil or chalk pastels ?
go see it, for yourself.
it was way more on the ‘lowdown’, and quite humble. compared to that all-out / powerfully Freudian . . show he had a year or so back, at Greenpoint Terminal.


NICK had 2 pastels in the farmhouse / one was a set of nesting ? birds ? doves ?
a little charged . . . domination ?!!
or is that . . mating.


the other, hung in the kitchen, was a kind of throw-back / Pennsylvania Dutch, farmer boy and farmer girl.


NICK PAYNE.
Pennsylvania Dutch, ha.. it got more than a little wild, if you looked closely.


HALEY JOSEPHS and CRISTINA BOLT – at ‘Hot Mud Fest’.
speaking of Farmer girl, Nick Payne’s gf Christina Bolt, was also a co-host of the ‘Hot Mud Fest’ . .
and she was one of the the biggest surprises, because even though she’s been around the BOBO crew for almost 7+ years, this is the FIRST time she is showing her OWN work.
maybe . . there’s a reason, in every season.
because this was – most def the right place & time.


CHRISTINA BOLT / ceramic garden, ‘HOT MUD FEST’ / artwork curated by JESSE GREENBERG / JAG.
Porcelain, ceramic glazes & mixed media


CHRISTINA BOLT.
clay vase, is not the end of it.
more like, strange snail ?
or . . insect-eating plant ?


CHRISTINA BOLT. in the round, 3D in a field. of clay, of earth, but definitely . . taking off !!


CHRISTINA BOLT . . a most wonderous, clay Alice in NYC wonderland / on-site garden.

CHRISTINA, Christina / how does – your garden . . grow ?
A: porcelain, ceramic glaze & mixed media !!

more pix to post, shortly.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH




~’Caring For Animals…Benefiting People’ . . JEFFREY STARK, CHINATOWN / opens to-nite / Sun July 30

How much is that . . Doggie in the Window ?!!

JEFFREY STARK GALLERY PRESENTS:

‘Caring For Animals…Benefiting People’ – one big, hot doggie Summer Group Show
opens to-nite SUN JULY 30, 2017 / 7 – 9 PM
the show runs thru AUG 27, 2017
JEFFREY STARK, 88 EAST BROADWAY #B11 / Basement Level, Chinatown / mini-mall

All shows are visible through a glass storefront (window) – everyday
from 10am – 6pm / or go to website / contact to schedule a viewing.

curated by KALENA YIAUEKI

with: JOANA AVILLEZ, SEBASTIAN BLACK, MAYA BARRERA LOEB, SARAH COLLIGAN, PETRA COLLINS, DAVID TORO + SOLOMON CHASE, LOUIS EISNER, ERIN GALPERN,CHRISTIAN HOLSTAD, MILES HUSTON, JACK IRV, MATT KEEGAN, ANN GREENE KELLY, ZAK KITNICK, ECKHAUS LATTA, MAGGIE LEE, NICKY LESSER, DEAN LEVIN, TOMMY MALEKOFF, EBECHO MUSLIMOVA, WILLA NASITIR, BEN WOLFNOAM, ALEX PERWEILER, NICK POE, ROSE SALANE, KERN SAMUEL, PETER SUTHERLAND , ANALISA TEACHWORTH, RYAN TRECARTIN + LIZZIE FINCH, AINE VONNEGUT, DENA YAGO, STEPHEN ZERBE.

“TO OWN A DOG . . is to invite a certain promiscuity into one’s life: the standard protocols of urban life, in which eye contact, and of course, bodily contact are avoided seem to dissolve in the presence of a dog. As such, dogs provide us with an opportunity to reflect on the economies of affection, of touch and sight, that bring a social body into existence.”
~gallery website / read more


image via JEFFREY STARK