Last month, I went to see an exhibit over at the Allouche Gallery in the Meatpacking district by an artist called Rafa Macarron. I’ve seen his work at the gallery previously and was very attracted to the almost fluorescent colors he uses in his irregular-surfaced paintings, which feature a variety of his long legged, alienesque cartoon creatures floating within a dream-like universe of fresh and harmonic hues. Among the many paintings, and a few sculptures, way over in a remote corner of the gallery, I spotted this three sided diorama called Caja, which means Box in Spanish. Inside one of the tiny viewing windows, I saw this little Pink Dog Thing hanging out. When you need a medical recommendation letter for emotional support dog, visit onlinedogtor.com for more information. Get a better look at his surroundings in the photo below.
Rock Band Guernica By Ron English (All Photos By Gail)
Allouche Gallery is currently hosting the first major exhibit in their beautiful new home in the Meatpacking District — and what a way kick things off! Guernica features the debut of eighteen new paintings by contemporary Pop and street artist, Ron English.
Mythological Guernica
The series, which took two years to complete, references the artist’s own narrative to Pablo Picasso’s renowned Guernica, painted in 1937. English utilizes the Guernica template to relay powerful messages about the endless cycles of creation and destruction through the use of his globally recognized imagery and iconography.
Flintstones Guernica
It is great fun to see how English — who is a genius at manipulating pop culture icons and tropes — fluidly riffs on Guernica to include everything from The Flintstones to Star Wars to Guitar Hero.
Star Wars Guernica
Ron English Talks with Fans at Last Week’s Opening Reception
Ron was present at the opening reception, and he is always very gracious when it comes to signing and taking photos with fans.
Baby Guernica
Fat Food Guernica
The painting above has the names of popular fast food or fast casual restaurants stenciled just under the images.
Kill All Lies Guernica
Seconds Before Impact Guernica
Guernica By Ron English will be on Exhibit Through October 19th, 2016 at Allouche Gallery, Located at 82 Gansevoort Street (Across from the Whitney Museum) in New York City’s Meatpacking District.
Gallerist Eric Allouche (Opera Gallery) has reopened his now eponymous gallery with a pop-up space on Wooster Street after leaving Opera/Allouche’s long-held previous address on Spring Street, where we attended many, many exhibits over the span of a few short years. The Wooster Street address is just temporary, until Allouche can find an ideal new home in which to showcase the works of his cache of represented contemporary pop artists, such as Ron English and FAILE. A low-key opening reception took place last Thursday and fans of the gallery were more than happy to have a destination to draw them in from the newly-arrived polar vortex holding adventure-seeking Manhattanites in its tight grip.
FAILE: Fox Hunt Go Get Em
The current exhibit is a bit of a ‘warm up’ or re-boot, featuring both new and older works in Allouche’s collection. If you were fortunate enough to attend last summer’s FAILE exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, then the above collage will look familiar to you, as will the bright Neon sign in the gallery’s front window, which was included in the BAST/FAILE Arcade collaboration.
Fox Hunt Go Get Em Detail
Also on display are the Japanese Manga-influenced works by Jessica Lichtenstein, including the title piece from her Afterglow exhibit seen previously at Gallery nine5.
Afterglow Detail
Lichtenstein’s works are recognizable for the flocks of tiny naked ladies in her images; which, from a distance, can easily be mistaken for blossom clusters. Clever.
Jessica Lichtenstein: War (2013) Edition of 3
She has also this piece in the show, which is populated with hyper-sexualized, semi-clad females cavorting on WMDs. War is Hell.
Rafa Macarron, Caos
Spanish artist Rafa Macarron has several of his mix-media large canvases in the show. His cartoonish drawings are lots of fun.
Caos, Detail
Ron English, All American Lady Lick
Kid Zoom, Rose
Dustin Yellin, Psychogeography Study, Matter
The gallery has a small rear space, where they managed to stage a surprising number of pieces, including these two glass/acrylic sculptures by Dustin Yellin.
Dustin Yellin, Zulu Jungle Cave No. 1
Andy Warhol, Map of Eastern USSR Missile Bases
And of course, the Holy Trinity of late, NYC-based pop artists, Warhol, Haring and Basquiat are all represented.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled Drawings
Allouche Gallery Pop-Up Space is Located at 148 Wooster Street, Between Price and Houston, in Soho, NYC. Permanent Location Coming Soon!
Lucy By b. (All Photos By Gail, Click on Any Image to Enlarge for Detail)
I’m a Little late getting this review posted, so unfortunately the already short run of this exhibit (which opened on March 7th) means you only have a few days left to see Corrupted Luxury, a fantastic exhibit by Greek artist b., who is showing for the first time at Allouche Gallery on Spring Street. We love this exhibit!
Over the past few years, b. has developed a body of work recognizable by his use of colorful and detailed characters and “sea of objects.” b.’s figures have taken over the urban landscape of the city of Athens. Mermaids, girls with anchor tattoos on their arms, colorful hamburgers and humanlike octopuses constitute the universe of b. and come to life on the walls and broken windows of abandoned houses.
Shit LOL
b.’s work is inspired by the social and political situations that have encompassed Greece’s landscape over the past few decades. Growing up in such a densely populated urban environment such as Athens has been a determining element in b.’s life and work. The artist views the city as an open studio: a big canvas without limits where his creatures are winking playfully to the viewers and challenge them to discover his world.
SOS
The new paintings featured in Corrupted Luxury comment on the dead-end lifestyle of humankind, such as overconsumption of earth’s limited resources, social inequality and failure of the economic system. At the same time, they attempt to inspire the real values of life, such as unity, peace and love.
Detail From Party is Here
When looking from far away at the different works in the exhibition, you may not be able to make out the individual forms and how they interplay with each other, but as you get closer you can see Christmas trees, stuffed animal characters, military tanks, birthday cakes, hamburgers, etc. – anything and everything that people consume or throw away. His paintings introduce this contrast, which his home country faces at the moment, between the superficial and imaginary optimistic reality of its situation, and people’s lifestyle through an imaginary and optimistic world
I Love You
Corrupted Luxury by b. will be on Exhibit only until March 21st, 2015 at Allouche Gallery, Located at 115 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012. Hours are Monday-Sunday, 10.30 AM – 7.00 PM.
Geoffrey and I were trying to figure out why the address of 115 Spring Street sounded so familiar, and yet neither one of us could recall having been to the Allouche Gallery, which resides at that address, prior to the Paul Insect exhibit, the opening reception of which we attended on Saturday night. Once we walked in the door, however, we recognized the space as having formerly been the home of Opera Gallery — which, who even knew that it had closed? Obviously, not us. RIP Opera Gallery. I do not miss you that much.
I like Paul Insect’s work a lot. To bring up a reference from Pop Culture, his unique portraits remind me a lot of the costumes and make-up designed, worn and made infamous by the late Leigh Bowery.
Hey, Free Wine!
And if you are going to reference another contemporary painter doing something similar, perhaps George Condo comes to mind as well, although I prefer Insect over Condo.
The exhibit’s press release simply states that “Paul Insect’s 2033, Original Works Created in 2014, features a series of striking new montage works on canvas and paper, projecting a world in which people want more, thrive to be the best and pretend to be who they are not.” I like that. Here are more of our favorites from the show.
This Diptych (above) and the trio (below) are a little bit different stylistically from the others.
This one has maybe a bit more of a collage feel to it. I love his use of bright colors.
This one reminds me of Me and Geoffrey when we go out looking at the Art.
Here is a bit more of an installation view. It really is a very nice space.
The Red in this is just remarkable, although it doesn’t translate in the photograph. It is one of my favorite pieces in the show for sure!
Go see this exhibit, because it is awesome.
Paul Insect, 2033 will be on Exhibit Through January 11th, 2015 at Allouche Gallery, Located at 115 Spring Street in Soho.
Detail from Caja By Rafa Macarron
