Tag Archive | Artist

White Snow By Paul McCarthy

White Snow Sculpture By Paul McCarthy
Photo By Gail

This massive, black walnut wood carved sculpture of what appears to be a mirrored image likeness of Snow White stands about 14 feet tall and can currently be seen on display as part of Paul McCarthy’s Sculptures exhibit at Houser and Wirth’s cavernous new 18th Street space. However, McCarthy calls this character White Snow, since he is riffing on the classic German fairy tale and also the Disney adaption from the late thirties. If you think this is wild, you should see what he does with the dwarves…

Sculptures By Paul McCarthy will be on Exhibit Through June 1st, 2013 at Houser and Wirth, Located at 511 West 18th Street in the Chelsea Gallery District.

Opera Gallery Presents Contemporary Masters

Andy Warhol Lincoln Center Ticket
Lincoln Center Ticket By Andy Warhol

It’s not even June, but it already feels like the galleries are winding down for a summer of dormancy. Opera Gallery in Soho just launched a group show, Contemporary Masters, that contains a few interesing pieces but had a surprisingly low Wow Factor. Here are a few pieces that stood out for me.

Keith Haring Untitled
Keith Haring, Untitled

It’s always fun to see a Warhol and a Haring. Their stuff never gets old to me.

Arman Marmelade De Porcelaine Chinoise
Arman’s Marmelade De Porcelaine Chinoise

French artist/sculptor Arman, perhaps best known for his deconstructed violins, has this awesome piece made with broken china suspended in plexiglass. Really gorgeous.

Arman Sliced Violins
Sliced Violins With Acrylic Paint on Canvas By Arman

David Mach Standing Gorilla
David Mach’s Standing Gorilla Greets You!

Sculptor David Mach has a few interesting works in the show, including two sculptures made from wire coat hangers. This towering Standing Gorilla is in the front window but I could not get a good shot of it from the street. It’s pretty cool though.

Manolo Valdes Cabeza Con Mariposas Plateada
Manolo Valdes Cabeza Con Mariposas Plateada

If you’ve been to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx then you’ve seen the seven gigantic replicas of the statue above, by Spanish artist Manolo Valdes, scattered about the grounds. The title translates to “Head with Silver Butterflies.” I like it.

Alexander Calder Stripes and Stripes
Alexander Calder Stripes and Stripes

When I think of Calder, I mostly assosciate his name with playful, minimalist mobiles. This painting by him is lovely.

Opera Gallery is Located at 115 Spring Street in Soho, New York, NY 10012.

Rock Stars as Superheroes Mash Ups!

Rock Stars As Super Heroes
Image Source

Artist and social satirist, Butcher Billy, has created a spot on selection of posters featuring very hilarious mash ups of DC Comics Superheroes modeled after iconic 1980′s Pop Stars. Check This Out:

Super Morrissey

Robert Smith Plastic Man

See more squeal-inducing cleverness at This Link!

Thanks to Geoffrey for the Tip!

Yoshitomo Nara at Pace Gallery

Yoshitomo Nara Girl Face

Pace Gallery is currently hosting its first exhibition of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara, who joined the gallery in 2011. The exhibition features new paintings, bronze sculptures and works on paper.

Yoshitomo Nara Girl Head

I liked his paintings more than the large bronze sculptures. Here are couple of my favorites from Friday night’s opening reception.

Yoshitomo Nara Life Is Hard

This one really resonated with me, as I’m sure it does for many people.

Yoshitomo Nara Sleeping Girl

I like this one as well because the girl could be dead or she could be just sleeping. Probably sleeping.

The Yoshitomo Nara Exhibit will run through Jun 29th, 2013 at Pace Gallery, Located at 534 West 25th Street, NYC in the Chelsea Gallery District. Gallery Hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Yoshitomo Nara Girl with Tree Head

Yoshitomo Nara Girl with Tree Head Sculpture

Yoshitomo Nara Exhibit Signage

Matthew Marks Gallery Presents Ellsworth Kelly at Ninety

Ellsworth Kelly at Ninety Red
All Photos By Gail

Legendary painter Ellsworth Kelly will celebrate ninety years on the planet on May 31st, 2013. In honor of his seven decades spent shaping and contributing to the world of modern art, Matthew Marks Gallery is hosting exhibits of Kelley’s work in three of its Chelsea gallery spaces. These paintings and sculptures are classic representations of Kelley’s signature Color Field works and his grounding in the minimalist school of painting.

Ellsworth Kelly at Ninety Blue and Yellow

Ellsworth Kelly at Ninety Black and White

Ellsworth Kelly With Friends 2013
Elsworth Kelly (Center) Chats with Friends outside the Matthew Marks Gallery on West 22nd Street at the Show’s Opening Reception

Happy Birthday Mr. Kelly and thank you for your beautiful art!

Ellsworth Kelly at Ninety Reflective C

Ellsworth Kelly at Ninety will be on view through June 29, 2013 at Matthew Marks’ three gallery spaces, Located at 502 and 522 West 22nd Street, and 523 West 24th Street, New York. Gallery Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Ellsworth Kelly at Ninety Red and Black Bars

Gazing Ball By Jeff Koons at David Zwirner

Gazing Ball Birdbath
All Photos By Gail

It’s been a decade since the art of Jeff Koons – one of the contemporary art world’s wealthiest, most celebrated and undeniably wildly polarizing figures – has been the focus of a solo exhibit here in Manhattan. This week, he has two: a series of new works at David Zwirner and a retrospective (opening this evening) at the Gagosian Gallery.

Gazing Ball De Milo

The David Zwirner Gallery-hosted Gazing Ball opened last night and, even though the doors opened exactly one hour behind schedule, it was well worth waiting for.

Gazing Ball Head

For Gazing Ball, Koons has filled two conjoined spaces of the Gallery (located at adjacent addresses) with more than a dozen Las Vegas-style reproductions of ancient Roman statuary, each adorned with a strategically placed, royal blue stainless steel sphere flaunting the mirror-finish surface that has become so identifiable with Koons’ sculptures.

Jeff Koons and Peter Brant
Jeff Koons with Art Collector Peter Brant at Wednesday’s Opening Reception

In each piece, the juxtaposition between the classic and the kitsch, to me, is conceptually fantastic and very visually appealing. But of course there are fans and then there are people live to talk smack about Jeff Koons, which I find puzzling.

Gazing Ball Lyre

It’s been said in other reviews, and I tend to agree, that people who dump on Jeff Koons’ art must be suffering from some kind of misplaced envy or inferiority complex. If you don’t like Jeff Koons, and no one says you must, you are free to stay away from his art shows, but don’t come a Koons’ exhibit and talk loudly about how much the art sucks, because it just makes you look pathetic and desperate to seem cool.

Gazing Ball Centaur

Jeff Koons’ Gazing Ball will be on exhibit through June 29th, 2013 at David Zwirner, Located at 525 West 19th Street, In the Chelsea Gallery District. Hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 11 AM – 6:00 PM.

Jeff Koons Gazing Ball Signage

Gazing Ball Reclining

Gazing Ball Beowulf

Scott Hove’s Cake Gun Sculptures

Scott-Hove-Guns-and-Ecst
Image Courtesy of Spoke Art

Surrealist sculptor Scott Hove has become famous for his fantastic fake cakes and cake-like sculptures that he creates using carved foam and traditional cake decorating tools. Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco is currently showcasing his latest works in a highly topical exhibit entitled Guns & Ecstasy.

In addition to a fully immersive, single person Cake Installation that Hove calls “A Pentagonal Disco Infinity Chamber” — and which features multiple angled mirrors and a spinning disco ball — the exhibit includes a series of twelve confectionery assault weapon sculptures created in light of the recent shootings and gun violence in the United States.

Scott Hove Weapon of Choice
Weapon of Choice (Image Source)

If I lived in the area, there is certainly no way I would miss this show.

Scott Hove’s Guns & Ecstasy exhibit runs through May 25th, 2013 at Spoke Art Gallery, Located on 816 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94109.

Holton Rower’s Pour Paintings & Focus Paintings at The Hole

Holton Rower Pour Painting 1
All Photos By Gail

The Hole Gallery on Bowery is the place to go right now to see two great exhibits under one roof. In tandem with the abstract group exhibit, Xtraction, the gallery is hosting two diverse bodies of work by painter Holton Rower that are equally impressive. Rower’s Pour Paintings, which resemble huge, abstract psychedelic targets as well as the concentric rings that appear in a bisected tree trunk, take their name from the artist’s process of pouring hand-made acrylic paints over a wood “canvas.”

Holton Rower Pour Painting Close Up

In this photo above you can see the edge detail of where the paint drips over and extends beyond the boundaries of the canvas.

Holton Rower Pour Paintings 2

The process of creating pour paintings is probably most identified with Lynda Benglis, but while the process is similar, Rower’s paintings are truly unique and have a wildly organic feel.

Holton Rower Pour Paintings 3
Holton Rower Pour Paintings 3 Close Up

Detail from Painting in Photo Above

Holton Rower’s Pour Paintings are unbelievably gorgeous and these photos can’t accurately capture their color and vibrant energy.

Holton Rower Focus Paintings Wall

In the same gallery, Rower introduces a new body of work he calls Focus Paintings that, hilariously, are created to deliberately appear out of focus. What makes these muted yet colorful paintings even more fun to ponder is the fact that the artist refuses to divulge the process through which he creates them.

Holton Rower Focus Painting

This one reminds me of an abstract representation of a photo of a galaxy. Really beautiful.

Pour Paintings: Focus Paintings By Holton Rower will be on Exhibit through June 20th, 2013 at The Hole, Located at 312 Bowery (at 2nd Street), NYC. Visit The Hole NYC for Gallery Hours and More Information.

Xstraction Group Show at The Hole Gallery

Davina Semo Xstraction
Artwork By Davina Semo on Exhibit Now at The Hole (All Photos By Gail)

The Hole is currently hosting a large group show in its main gallery that is all about new approaches to Abstract Painting. All I can say is what a colorful show! With 39 artists ranging from the legendary to the brand new, this exhibition looks at some of the major themes in abstract painting today, including the influence of digital technology, textile based abstraction, material driven and process based abstraction, as well as many others. Xstraction is probably the most varied, fun and most vibrant collection of contemporary abstract works I’ve seen in any gallery show in recent memory.

Davina Semo Xstraction Detail
Detail of Industrial Chains making up the Orange Cross, Above

It was so exciting to see all of the ways that an artist can approach a work that will hang on a wall. These are some of my favorite pieces from Friday night’s opening reception.

Faded Tie Dye Xstraction

I love this canvas that has the look of faded tie dye. The gallery staff was a bit tight on time to open the doors on Friday, so they did not have any of the artist’s names next to their works yet. That’s why I can’t tell you the who is responsible for each of these awesome paintings, but hopefully my photos will entice you to come out and see this gorgeous show!

Orange and Yellow Xstraction

Xstraction Pink and Yellow Sculpture

You can probably guess that this one is my favorite.
Xstraction Multi Colored Painting

Xstraction SculpturePainting

Xstraction Group Exhibit will be on Display through June 20th, 2013 at The Hole, Located at 312 Bowery (at 2nd Street), NYC. Visit The Hole NYC for Gallery Hours and More Information.

Xstraction Exhibit Signage

Mr. Brainwash Loses Another Copyright Lawsuit

Sid Vicious Brainwash
Dennis Morris’s photograph of Sid Vicious (Left) and Mr Brainwash’s Mural Based on the image

From The Art NewsPaper Dot Com:

The Los Angeles-based street artist Thierry Guetta, better known as Mr Brainwash, has lost a copyright case involving a 1977 photograph of the punk rock musician Sid Vicious shot by the British photographer Dennis Morris. Guetta had claimed that the seven works he created using Morris’s black and white photograph, including one mural and one collage made of broken vinyl records, were sufficiently altered to be protected by the fair use defence, which allows for the use of copyrighted material for commentary, criticism and parody.

The federal judge rejected Guetta’s claim, saying that “most of [the] defendant’s works add certain new elements, but the overall effect of each is not transformative.” The judge also opposed the argument that “appropriation art per se” should be protected by fair use. As we went to press, the terms of the settlement, including unspecified damages, were being determined.

In 2011 Guetta lost a copyright case to Glen Friedman over his use of Friedman’s photograph of the rap group Run DMC, while last year the estate of the photographer Jim Marshall sued Guetta and Google for the unauthorised use of Marshall’s photographs of musicians. This case has not yet been decided and is due to go to trial in July.