Apple Sculpture By Claude LaLanne Photographed at Paul Kasmin Gallery By Gail in January 2019
They say that celebrity deaths come in threes. This past week we said goodbye to playwright Terrence McNally, legendary Drummer Bill Rieflin and, on a local scale, NYC Gallerist and Photographer Paul Kasmin, whose renowned Chelsea galleries have provided Worleygig.com with amazing content for more than a decade. Having celebrated his 60th birthday in February, Kasmin was just one year older than me. Mark Ryden, Nir Hod, Will Ryman, Ian Davenport, Erik Parker, Ron Arad, Designer Mattia Bonetti, husband and wife artist team Les Lalannes, and Photographer David La Chapelle are just few of the eye-opening talents I was introduced to at various Kasmin Gallery shows. Geoffrey I had so many good times there. Continue reading RIP NYC Gallerist Paul Kasmin→
Dessert Counter By Mark Ryden (All Photos By Gail)
Good timing: it is a thing. Because we neglected to pay close attention to the unorthodox start time of the recent opening reception for Mark Ryden’s The Art of Whipped Cream exhibit at the Paul Kasmin Gallery, we arrived four minutes before they locked the doors behind us, and had to do a mad dash through the gallery to snap some photos for this post before they gave us the bum’s rush.
Marky Ryden Fans Are Much Cooler Than You Are
The upside to our extreme tardiness is that gallery was nearly empty, and we were able to secure many decent, people-free photos! Winning!
Installation View
The Art of Whipped Cream features drawings, sketches and paintings created for the production of American Ballet Theatre’s Whipped Cream. A concurrent exhibition of Ryden’s work for the ballet is running at Gallery Met, located at the Metropolitan Opera House, through July 8th, 2017.
Please enjoy our photos from the show!
Cotton Candy Curtain
Whipped Cream Drop
Princess Praline and Her Entourage
Princess Praline, Detail
Parfait Man
The Carriage
Nicolo
Sketches
Church Tree Scrim
Installation View
Mark Ryden: The Art of Whipped Cream will be on view through July 21st, 2017 at Paul Kasmin Gallery, Located at 515 West 27th Street,in the Chelsea Gallery District.
American Ballet Theatre’s Whipped Cream will be Performed at the Metropolitan Opera House, NYC, Through July 8th, 2017.Â
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→
Rafael Silveira, Wild Life. Oil on Canvas in Custom Carved Frame (All Photos By Gail)
Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to present Unforeseeable, new works by Brazilian artist Rafael Silveira in his debut solo exhibition in New York. This is one of my favorite exhibits ever at LeVine!
A Powerful Instinct
Rafael Silveira’s imaginative work combines figurative classical painting, comic-inspired imagery and surreal subject matter, resulting in a universe where dreams are blended with waking life and the impossible appears commonplace. His portraits reminded me such artists as Travis Louie, Mark Ryden and ever legendary cartoonist Tex Avery.
A Walk in the Garden
A Walk in the Garden Blouse Detail
A Walk in the Garden Skirt Detail
Silveira credits his native Brazil as a source of inspiration and describes his experience living in the country as having “daily contact with the bizarre, absurd and preposterous. It’s like walking through a wild forest where beauty and dangers reveal themselves in strange, random and haphazard ways.”
A Small Fragment of the Universe
Paintings in Unforeseeable are like portals into an alternate dimension, one that exists without distinction between natural and artificial elements. Many of Silveira’s figures are hybridized, such as a woman with tree branches for arms (see photo above) or another with a popsicle for a head (see trilogy below).
Allegory of Time Opus 1, 2 and 3
The absence of logic and reason allows a blurring of ascribed definitions: human, animal, plant or object. A vintage aesthetic and various themes including lingerie, tattoos, skulls and food converge in a visual expression of Silveira’s stream of consciousness.
Live Fast
A hallmark of Silveira’s work is the use of sculptural frames to compliment his canvases. The custom frames are designed by Silveira and carved out of wood by traditional master craftsmen who specialize in creating religious altars and ornate furniture. This unique collaboration brings the imagery of his paintings into the third dimension and allows for an interesting interplay between each external structure and what they contain, within.
The Anatomic Couple
Rafael Silveira’s Unforeseeable will be on Exhibit Through July 26th, 2014 at Jonathan LeVine Gallery, Located at 5429 West 20th Street, 9th Floor, in the Chelsea Gallery District.
Jonathan LeVine 23rd Street Gallery Storefront Display Celebrates 20 Years of Juxtapoz Magazine (All Photos By Gail)
Hey NYC Art Lovers, if you are free this evening (Thursday, May 15th) why not pop over to the two Jonathan LeVine Gallery locations (they are just 3 blocks apart!) to have your mind blown at the opening night reception of Art Truancy, the coolest contemporary art group show, maybe ever!
Featuring the works of over 40 artists, Art Truancy celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Juxtapoz Magazine at a revered gallery space that has been around almost as long. Artists whose work you will see in this exhibit include Alex Gross, Alex Pardee, Andrew Schoultz, Brett Amory, Camille Rose Garcia, Chloe Early, Conor Harrington, Doze Green, Faile, Jeremy Fish, Jeff Soto, Marion Peck, Mark Ryden, Maya Hayuk, Miss Van, Neckface, Parra, Pushead, Robert Williams, Saner, Seonna Hong, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Thomas Campbell, Todd James, Todd Schorr and others. I’m happy to be able to say that I was familiar with the work of so many of these great artists after having been introduced to their work at previous LeVine Gallery shows.
Last night I attended a press preview of the show and will now share with you some of my favorite pieces.
From the 23rd Street Space:
Art by Robert Williams, perhaps most famous for his painting, Appetite for Destruction, which was used as the back cover artwork for the Guns ‘N’ Roses album of the same name.
