Category Archives: Arts and Culture

Arts and Culture

What Works: An ArtStar Pop-Up Exhibition to Open for Three Days Only!

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Todd Knopke, Chapel (2010) (Top)

Katherine Newbegin, Hotel Slavija, Belgrade, Serbia (2009) (Bottom)

ArtStar.com, seller of affordable, collectible art prints, will be hosting their first pop-up show in their unique gallery space on the Lower East Side later this week, and it should be one of the summer’s not-to-be-missed art events.

What Works features the art of six artist couples who explore the influence they have on each other. Each artist will present a work that reflects, either consciously or unconsciously, the influence of his or her partner. The show includes photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, video, tapestry, baked goods, and alien encounters from ArtStar and Little Collector artists and their talented paramours who will take over the ArtStar gallery space for a three day exhibition. ArtStar Creative Director Rich Hendricks is excited to bring this show to the public. “Having launched ArtStar.com just over five months ago, it is our mission to create new opportunities for artists and collectors. Transforming our office space into a temporary gallery to showcase our artists and curators is just another platform for more art lovers and collectors to engage with contemporary art.”

Participating artist couples include:

Kate Sullivan & David Levinthal
Langdon Graves & Nick Van Woert
Erin Kornfled & Charlie Schultz
Ginger Schulick & Don Porcella
Katherine Newbegin & Todd Knopke
Colette Robbins & Micah Ganske

Don Porcella, widely known for his fantastic pipe cleaner sculptures, participates in the show along with his fiancée, curator Ginger Shulick. Don offered the following statement that What Works “is a great idea for an exhibition, because it explores the relationship between partners and how it relates to their artistic practice. For me, I really love being in a relationship with Ginger Shulick. She has the best ideas and she really understands what it means to be creative.

Ginger is a great supporter of the arts and artists in particular. She really fosters their growth and pushes them to make the best work possible. We constantly talk about art and through these discussions new ideas emerge. We are both very critical about art and that criticism helps me push myself. It also creates a context for me when thinking about where my art might go and be seen. Since Ginger is primarily a curator, I get to see the world through her eyes and this helps me a great deal when thinking about how my work will fit into an exhibition.”

I think What Works sounds like a unique and fun exhibit. I’ll see you there on Thursday!

The Opening Reception for What Works: An ArtStar Pop-Up Exhibition Takes Place on Thursday July 14, 2011 from 6 – 9 PM, With Viewings By Appointment from July 15 – 17, 2011, at ArtStar’s Space, located at 195 Chrystie Street 801B, New York NY 10002. Email chrissy@artstar.com or Call 917-710-5509 for more information or to arrange to see the art after Thursday’s Opening.

Ginger Schulick, Extra Terrestrial (Childhood Drawing 1986), Crayon on Construction Paper (Top)

Don Porcella, Extra Terrestrial (2009), Encaustic on Wood (Bottom)

Arts and Culture

Pink Thing of The Day: Vintage Pink Cadillac!

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“I Love You For Your Pink Cadillac…”

Happy Summer everyone! This gorgeous, vintage pink caddy just looks like summertime on four wheels to me. The above photo was sent to me by my artist friend Jeanne Wilkinson who writes, “Thought you might like to see this – it’s the rear end of an old pink Cadillac near the town of Pascoag, Rhode Island. Don’t know the story behind it – it’s just sitting near the road next to someone’s driveway.” Be sure to check out Jeanne’s new blog, Jeanne Wilkinson Blogspot Dot Com to read about the interesting trips she takes and see more of her cool photos.

Arts and Culture

Dan Witz: Mosh Pits, Human and Otherwise At Jonathan Levine Gallery

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ABC No Rio By Dan Witz

Being a veteran of the Orange County punk scene of the late seventies/early eighties, I’ve seen my share of the cultural phenomenon known as the mosh pit. With his background as a musician in New York’s downtown post-punk noise scene of the early 1980s, the paintings of artist Dan Witz will surely strike a chord in the heart of anyone with a similar cache of experiences via his new exhibit, Mosh Pits, Human and Otherwise, up now at the Jonathan Levine Gallery. This vibrant collection features large-scale oil paintings on canvas produced by Witz over the past ten years.

Continue reading Dan Witz: Mosh Pits, Human and Otherwise At Jonathan Levine Gallery →

Arts and Culture

Ceramic Giant Squid By David Zink Yi

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Untitled (Architeuthis) By David Zink Yi, (Photo By Geoffrey Dicker)

Peruvian artist David Zink Yi works in all different types of artistic medium including film, photography and sculpture. Above, you can see his unique sculpture of a giant squid as displayed on the floor of the Houser & Wirth Gallery. The 16 foot long squid (weighing 660 pounds!) is crafted from ceramic coated with a lead and copper glaze. For this exhibit, the artist has it laying in a pool of what appears to be the squid’s own ink, but which is actually dyed corn syrup! Compare the photo above, which shows art fans mingling around the squid at this past Wednesday’s opening party, with the photo below of the squid on the gallery’s bare floor prior to staging, to get an idea of its impact. The squid is part of Zink Yi’s first New York City solo exhibition Pneuma, a group of seven experimental works that juxtaposes the various types of artwork through which Zink Yi expresses his vision.

David Zink Yi’s Pnuema is on Display through July 29, 2011, at Hauser & Wirth, Located at 32 East 69th Street, New York NY 10021. Gallery Hours Are Monday – Friday, 10 AM – 6 PM.

Arts and Culture

Andy Warhol Monument in Union Square

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The Andy Monument by Rob Pruitt (Photograph By James Ewing)

Rob Pruitt’s really awesome Andy Warhol Monument statue has been up at the intersection of 17th Street and Broadway since March of this year. The statue stands just a few yards from one of two former addresses of Warhol’s (in)famous Factory Studio. During the time I’ve lived in NYC (23 or so years) that same location has housed two nightclubs (Area and the short-lived Palace De Beaute), a porn shop and a Petco, which is what it is now. You can visit the statue, and marvel at its shininess, until they take it down on October 2, 2011.