Tag Archives: CUE Art Foundation

Shawn Thornton’s Pareidolia at Cue Art Foundation

Shawn Thornton Painting
All Photos By Gail

The first time I was exposed to the minutely-detailed and unconventionally psychedelic paintings of Philadelphia-based artist Shawn Thornton, I thought I was looking at paintings of vibrantly colorful circuit boards. It’s an easy misconception to make, I suspect. Thornton’s canvases are dense with the intersecting lines of diagram-like designs and irregular grids, which often contain images of birds, animals, people, or even the artist himself. While he’s shown extensively at the Fleisher/Ollman Gallery and Stephen Romano Gallery here in NYC — and Thornton’s work was also featured in an episode of HBO’s High Maintenance (which, as an aside, is a fantastically entertaining show) — but his unique artworks have a chance to gain greater exposure in the solo exhibit, Pareidolia, which includes works produced in a variety of media between 1995 and 2017, up now at Cue Art Foundation.

Shawn Thornton Painting

Since I have previously seen and written about an exhibit by artist Tahiti Pehrson which was also called Pareidolia, I know that the exhibit’s title refers to a psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern where none actually exists. This is a very appropriate title for Thornton’s body of work, and especially this expanded collection, which showcases not only paintings but also includes found-object sculptures and video installations.

Toy and Found Object Sculpture

There are two large assemblage sculptures in Pareidolia which remind me very much of the work of artist Matthew Dutton, whose art is always so enigmatic and captivating; like something you’d see in a fever dream. I love that Thornton can transform a combination of vintage toys, furniture and ordinary household items, like a carousel clothespin hanger, into a fantasy device that appears to have some kind of practical function or purpose.

Toy Sculpture Detail
Detail from Above Sculpture

Elephant and Giraffe Installation View

This altar-like tableau, starring a whimsical plastic Elephant and Giraffe stuffed with tiny lights, also features antlers, tree branches, bells, padlocks, vinyl LP discs, and tiny living plants.

Elephant Close Up

Really great.

Mandolin and Painting

Serpents Egg in the Seat Of Consciousness
Serpents Egg in the Seat Of Consciousness

Many of the paintings, such as this one, feature self-portraits of Thornton hidden in the midst of other images. It turns out that Thornton’s own experiences with Pareidolia, which is evident in his hallucinatory artworks, was triggered by an undiagnosed brain tumor in his pineal gland, which he lived with for over a decade.

Installation View

The above collection of small-scale paintings directly reference the artist’s experience with surgery to remove the tumor.

Green Flame Hypnosis
Green Flame Hypnosis

It is not a coincidence that these paintings resemble maps of Thornton’s psyche.

A Fracture in the Golden Mean
A Fracture in the Golden Mean

Paintings like these can take Thornton over a year to complete, and there are no accidental brush strokes.

Lobotomy of the Ghost Mechanics - Scarab Timetable
Lobotomy of the Ghost Mechanics – Scarab Timetable

Brahmastra for a New Age (UFO / Time Machine)
Brahmastra for a New Age (UFO / Time Machine)

Thornton worked on the above canvas from 2010 to 2103.

Detail from Brahmastra for a New Age (UFO / Time Machine)

Take a look at the detail from just a couple of square inches of this painting! Unbelievable!

Shawm Thorntown Signage

Come and discover the world of Shawn Thornton now at Cue Art Foundation before the show closes!

Shaun Thornton’s Pareidolia will be on Exhibit Through May 24th, 2017 at Cue Art Foundation, Located at 137 West 25th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues) in NYC.

Black Pyramid Meditation
Black Pyramid Meditation

Beverly Fishman: Dose at CUE Art Foundation

Untitled Anxiety
Untitled (Anxiety), 2017 By Beverly Fishman (All Photos By Gail)

CUE Art Foundation is currently hosting Dose, an exhibition of paintings by Beverly Fishman, curated by Soundsuits artist Nick Cave. The show is comprised of a series of luminescent, geometric forms that resemble the shapes of common pharmaceuticals. Straddling the line between sculpture and post-painterly abstraction, Fishman’s optically intense work functions as an avenue for social critique, probing the pharmaceutical industry’s aesthetic decisions and branding strategies.

Untitled Opioid Addiction
Untitled (Opioid Addiction)
Continue reading Beverly Fishman: Dose at CUE Art Foundation

Harley-Davidson Brings the Art of Rebellion to NYC!

Art of Rebellion
All Photos by Geoffrey Dicker

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: art is awesome. And when you can combine art with rebellion, stuff that rocks, free food and booze, and throw it all together in a happening party space that used to be a den of iniquity where people took crazy drugs, had aberrant sex with strangers and danced to throbbing music, well, it just does not get much better than that for my money. Last week I had just such an experience when I attended The Art of Rebellion, a New York art show featuring works by ten assorted artists in both the music and art worlds including Art Chantry, Brian Ewing, Derek Hess, Dirty Donny, Frank Kozik, Harpoon, John Van Hamersveld, Lindsey Kuhn, Tara McPherson and some dude who calls himself “the Pizz.” Sadly, the exhibit was only open for two evenings, the VIP Press event held last Friday (which I attended) and an open to the pubic reception on Saturday the 18th (which my pal Geoffrey attended, thus affording us this lovely accompanying photography – thank you G!), so if you weren’t there you, will have to live through me/us.

Gails Favorite

Bullet-Riddled, White Enamel Gas Tank With Red Bulb

The party went down at LA.Venue, (formerly home to one of the ’80s most notorious nightclubs, The Tunnel) located way the fuck over on West 28th street in Chelsea. So there was no way you were going to accidentally stumble upon this shindig unless you were “working the Avenue” as they say. Since the event was sponsored by Harley-Davidson, each artist displayed his or her own custom painted/modified Harley-Davidson Iron 883 gas tank, along with two examples of their signature rock art posters, at the show. This made for a diverse yet cohesive collection of very hip, visual and inspiring art! All posters as well as gas tanks were for sale (tanks ranged in price from about $1500 to $4000 each), with a portion of the proceeds from tank sales being donated to the CUE Art Foundation. Charity!

Jayne and Marilyn

The Art Of Rebellion exhibit travels from city to city, with featured artists always rotating, so you can find out when and where the next event will be, meet the various artists and view more of their work at Harley-Davidson.

Jimi and Cream

These Works By Artist John Van Hamersveld