Tag Archives: jim houser

Oh, The Places We Have Been Group Show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Jeff Soto, Love Can Surpass All Obstacles
Jeff Soto, Love Can Surpass All Obstacles (All Photos by Gail)

Jonathan LeVine Gallery is currently hosting Oh, The Places We Have Been: Rediscovering the Past, a group exhibition at their 23rd Street space, featuring work by the following 33 artists who have helped shape the foundation of the gallery over the last ten years: AJ Fosik, Alex Gross, Amandine Urruty, Andrew Brandou, Andy Kehoe, Blek le Rat, Brett Amory, Dan Witz, Esao Andrews, Fabio D’Aroma, Gary Baseman, Gary Taxali, Jeff Soto, Jim Houser, Juan Francisco Casas, Kevin Cyr, Marc Giai-Miniet, Marco Mazzoni, Masakatsu Sashie, Mike Giant, Natalia Fabia, Nouar, Nychos, Olek, Paul Insect, Rafael Silveira, Sam Gibbons, Saner, Souther Salazar, Tara McPherson, Titi Freak, Victor Castillo, WK Interact.

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Must See Art: Barry McGee at Cheim & Read

Barry McGee Surf Boards
Surfboards and Boogie Boards By Barry McGee (All Photos By Gail)

Cheim & Read is currently hosting an exhibition of new work by Barry McGee, which is the McGee’s first solo show with the gallery and his first show in New York in eight years. McGee is arguably among the most well-known and influential artists from the San Francisco Bay Area to have international success. His boldly graphic, colorful work incorporates a multitude of influences (including graffiti, American folk art and Op Art), but especially the urban street culture he knows well.
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Souther Salazar’s Souvenirs at Jonathan LeVine Gallery

JLG Souther Salazar Souvenirs
All Photos By Gail

I’m a little bit late to the party writing about this very cool exhibit, due to being busy doing other equally cool things. That said, you have until June 15th to make it to the Jonathan LeVine Gallery to see the Souvenirs solo exhibit from Portland-based artist Souther Salazar.

Souvenirs includes a series of new paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations, and it is very fun and totally family friendly. His art reminds me a bit of artist Jim Houser, whose work I also saw at LeVine very recently; in May of this year. Continue reading Souther Salazar’s Souvenirs at Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Jim Houser’s Search Party at Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Jim Houser Search Party
All Photos By Gail, Click on any Image to Enlarge

Part two of Saturday night’s opening receptions at Jonathan LeVine Gallery (because there are always two) was a fun little exhibit called Search Party by Philadelphia-based artist Jim Houser. Search Party, the artist’s fourth solo exhibition at the gallery, includes a series of eight new works and a site-specific installation. Some of Houser’s work reminded me very much of the collages I saw at How & Nosm’s Late Confessions pop up exhibit back in February.

Houser Search Party Collage
Collage with Detail, Below
Houser Search Party Collage Detail

Through Houser’s signature style of visual poetry and personal iconography, the artist extends his practice of self-examination to include the topic of art making itself. Works in this exhibition serve to consider Houser’s relationship to the artwork he creates, the compulsion to create it and how his lifestyle has, consequently, been formed.

Houser Search Party Collage 2

Collage Painting with Two Detail Shots Below. As you can see, there is a lot of humor and childlike whimsy in the art.

Houser Search Party Collage Detail 2

Houser Search Party Collage Detail 2

The way he mixes words with pictures reminds me also of the work of Stephen Powers.

The artist’s collages become visual poems through which he cathartically communicates his most private thoughts and emotions with surprising candor. By cataloging his experiences and feelings through a unique pictorial language, the artist creates his own brand of curative iconography. His aesthetic often mixes stylized figures, hand-drawn typography and geometric shapes, creating quilt-like collages in a cohesive color palette.

Houser Search Party Turquoise Painting
Painting with Detail Below

Houser Search Party Turquoise Painting Detail

Jim Houser layers acrylic on wood, fabric and found objects, blurring the lines between collage and sculpture. Once combined, it becomes clear that all of his works are associative and directly related. This deceptively dimensional quality is further highlighted when the pieces are assembled into one of the artist’s elaborate installations, adding to the complexity of each individual piece by emphasizing a greater inter-connectivity to the body of work as a whole.

If you’ll be heading over to LeVine to check out Shag’s Thursday’s Girl exhibit anyway, don’t forget to spend some time looking over Jim Houser’s Search Party to see what you might discover!

Search Party By Jim Houser will be on Exhibit through May 4th, 2013 at Jonathan LeVine Gallery, Located at 529 West 20th Street, 9th Floor, in the Chelsea Gallery District.

Joshua Liner Gallery To Host Silent Art Auction to Benefit Tim Strazza!


Defiant Youth By Shepard Fairey

On Thursday July 28, 2011, The Joshua Liner Gallery will hold a silent art auction / fund raiser, the proceeds of which will benefit its Assistant Director, Tim Strazza, who was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. To help with Tim’s medical bills, many gallery artists and friends of the gallery have donated artworks, including Shawn Barber, Jeremy Fish, Tat Ito, Chris Mendoza, Ron English, Jim Houser, Swoon, Josh Keyes, Swoon, Sylvia Ji, Oliver Vernon, Shepard Fairey and many others!

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