Mark Ryden’s much-anticipated new exhibit, Dodecahedron, opened last Thursday at Paul Kasmin Gallery on 10th Avenue, and what a happening it was! A line of hardcore fans began snaking down the block 30 minutes before the doors even opened! Once we were let inside, promptly at 6 PM, it quickly became a mob scene and it was virtually impossible to get clear shots of any of the art, perhaps best exemplified by the photo above, where the epic, 12-foot high painting, Aurora, is obscured as high as 5 feet off the ground. It was evident that we would have to make a return trip for blogging purposes, which we did this weekend. Continue reading I Went to Mark Ryden’s Dodecahedron Exhibit, And it Was Really Crowded→
Albert Einstein with Euclid’s Elements Diptych (All Photos By Gail)
You can say this much about art exhibits comprised of Portraits of Pop Culture Icons: EVERYBODY DOES IT. Seriously, Ev-Ree-Bah-Dee. What keeps an exhibit of Pop Culture Portraiture from being a total yawnfest is the defining twist that the artist puts on his or her work (see Erik den Breejen’sThere’s a Riot Goin’ On at Freight and Volume for an excellent example of what I’m talking about).
So, it’s a huge relief that David Datuna’s Elements – the artist’s eighth solo show at Birnam Wood Galleries – is a portrait-based exhibit with one of the coolest visual spins I’ve ever seen. Although from a distance it appears that each image is mounted behind a layer of marbled glass, on close inspection you can see that Datuna has employed a unique conceptual device of layered optical lenses to focus and diffuse his distinct visual imagery. Talk about Ways of Seeing!
Marilyn Monroe
Detail from Above Portrait
According to the exhibit’s press release, the title Elements is taken from the centerpiece of the show, a diptych that pairs Albert Einstein with Euclid’s Elements, the seminal work of mathematics written in the third century BC. Described as the second most widely published book after the Bible, the book’s findings underpin much of logic and modern science. Its influence is immense. Einstein said it kindled his interest in science. Abraham Lincoln insisted it was the most influential book of his life.
Abraham Lincoln
Andy Warhol
I love the little details Datuna adds, such as printing amd framing Andy Warhol in bright yellow, a color that Warhol used often in his own signature silkscreen portraits of celebrities.
Walt Disney
David Datuna’s Elements is definitely worth adding to your next Art Crawl. Just make sure you schedule it before June 7th.
Pratt Manhattan Gallery presents 0 to 60: The Experience of Time through Contemporary Art, a multi-medium exhibition that explores time in its many iterations — real time, virtual time, historical time, recorded time, manipulated time and more. Named for the phenomenon in which the average museum visitor spends less than one minute looking at a work of art, the exhibition features artists who use nontraditional media (including robotics and computer software) to encourage viewers to think about time in new and varied ways. The artists hail from New York City (Alison Collins, Dan Estabrook and Jeff Liao) and across the country. Continue reading Pratt Manhattan Gallery Presents 0 to 60: The Experience of Time through Contemporary Art→
Abraham Lincoln as Han Solo By Michael Leavitt (All Photos By Gail)
File this one under “Must See Art” because you won’t want to miss Michael Leavitt’s latest exhibit at Jonathan Levine Gallery, entitled Empire Peaks. Continuing with the theme he did to perfection with Art Army Royalty back in 2011, Leavitt’s latest collection of what could loosely be called pop culture action figures takes a Star Warstheme and turns that wildly popular franchise’s characters into recognizable icons of history, politics and entertainment. The show is totally off the hook! Even if you’re not a total Star Wars geek (raises hand) you’re going to enjoy the high-quality representations of some very recognizable individuals, both real and fictional.
There’s not really much more to be said except that you’ve to go see this show! Here are some of my favorite pieces from the exhibit.
Donald Trump as Darth Vadar
Kim Jong Il as Jabba the Hut
Steve Jobs as C3 PO and Albert Einstein as R2D2
Mahatma Gandhi as Yoda
Martin Luther King as Luke Skywalker
The Sucklord was in attendance at the opening reception! You may know The Sucklord from his appearance on season two of Bravo’s Work of Art, or from his line of unlicensed Star Wars parody toys, marketed under the name Suckadelic. He was pretty cool to talk to.
Hillary Clinton as a Stormtrooper
President Barack Obama as Lando Calrissian
Nelson Mandela as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Oprah Winfrey as Padmé Amidala
You can tell even from these photographs that the detail is absolutely impeccable on all of these figures. Not only does each figure look exactly like its real-life counterpart, but Leavitt perfectly captures the essence of each Star Wars character in the melding of the two individual identities. High-fives all around on this one.
Michael Leavitt’s Empire Peaks will be on Exhibit Through December 21st, 2013 at Jonathan LeVine Gallery, Located at 529 West 20th Street, 9th Floor, NYC, in the Chelsea Gallery District.
