Art MoCo: October 2007 Archives

"Respect the Old School"
Posted by sabine7

Project | Oct 31, 2007

Glueglue Design has created a concept of truly “old school” tagging. The project involves using a walking stick to tag the word “respect”, thanks to a handy rubber stamp fixed to the bottom tip of the stick. Anyone can leave his or her mark and demand a dose of respect in the process. Glueglue would like to see a return to a moral code of ethics and as we live in a society that keeps revival in fashion, perhaps their wish may well come true. Now if only we could empower our elders – wouldn’t you love to see the walking stick in action?

Artist: Glueglue Design
+ gluegluedesign.com

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"Girl"
Posted by sabine7

Painting | Oct 30, 2007

Toronto-based painter Margaux Williamson is currently showing at the Marvelli Gallery in New York. The show is called The Girls show Dostoyevsky the new darkness, and Williamson’s viewers are led into a narrative that is soft and dark, with the interpretation of each adjective left open. The darkness is certainly present in the above painting, Girl, but for a painting so black, is it really dark? And the chains that hold the sledding girls in the painting that bears the name of the exhibition - are they hindering or helping, in the marshmallow snow? And OK or Self-portrait as Future Buddha, how can these paintings not endear themselves to us?

Artist: Margaux Williamson
+ marvelligallery.com

"Cliff House"
Posted by sabine7

Prints | Oct 29, 2007

Michael Murphy’s giclée prints are bold iconic images of departure lounges, rooftop helipads and architecture with more than a hint of modern prefab about it. But as quick as one may be jump to an impression of Jetsons nostalgia, a closer look reveals that the images are intentionally ambiguous, pointing more towards desolation and loneliness. Don’t be fooled by the shiny brightness of it all, these are unpeopled landscapes. Germ-free doesn’t always equal good health.

Artist: Michael Murphy
+ supersonic.designinblue.com

Art Now Vol. 2
Posted by sabine7

Books | Oct 28, 2007

Art Now Vol. 2 by Uta Grosenick is a substantial volume from Taschen that acts as a primer for contemporary art. This guide to the current art scene features an alphabetical listing of over 135 artists, as well as a section on galleries and markets. It is an easy book to navigate and is useful to keep abreast of what is going on in the art world today. Of course the nature of this type of reference will make it outdated eventually, but for now it is a handy guide if prepping for art fairs is on one’s to-do list.

Paperback, 640 pages. Taschen. 2005. $26.39 at Amazon.

+ Art Now Vol. 2 at Amazon

Art MoCo Meta
Posted by sabine7

Meta | Oct 27, 2007

Artsetera is a new on-line gallery where sets of paintings by Amy Goodwin can be mixed, matched and customized.

Cassandra Tondro’s Oops series of paintings are created using latex house paints that were mixed incorrectly or rejected by the purchaser. Tondro embraces the variety and the randomness to create her canvases.

"Dakinis II"
Posted by sabine7

Painting | Oct 26, 2007

Suzan Woodruff works with acrylic on wood panels, but uses a specially designed table that tilts and rotates in order to achieve dreamy, atmospheric results. Gravity is a key player in Woodruff’s work and her pieces evoke impressions of landscapes and natural settings like oceans, volcanoes and big skies, but at the same time the viewer cannot help but see strong emotions in the work as well. Woodruff’s work can be both powerful and very zen.

Artist: Suzan Woodruff
+ suzanwoodruff.com

"Now Isn’t That Lovely"
Posted by sabine7

Sculpture | Oct 25, 2007

Stephen Johnson’s sculptures grow from brass kitsch to surreal celebrations of unlikely pairings. Johnson takes bog standard ornaments and fuses them with others, making sure that that dissimilarity is evident. Then going one step further, he joins them in gravity-defying positions that further enhance the dissonance, which serves to endear them to us. Now Isn’t That Lovely is a series that mixes dachshunds, geese and turtles with kitties and ladies of the court.

Artist: Stephen Johnson
+ opus-interiors.com

"Another Mountain"
Posted by sabine7

Sculpture | Oct 24, 2007

Richard Deacon’s current Paris exhibition features several of his large free standing sculptures, including a very large stainless steel one called Another Mountain. The simple tubes of steel, like sausage links, connect to form a structure that looks to be full of movement, as though the tubes are leaning or pushing against each other. Not Yet Beautiful is a sculpture of welded polycarbonate that dates from 1994, yet fits so well into this exhibition. Last Minute reminds us of the tip of a toboggan, anchored in resin.

Artist: Richard Deacon
+ ropac.net

"Manmade Mountains"
Posted by sabine7

Painting | Oct 23, 2007

James Naccarato’s current show The Inevitable March Into Madness is about man’s desire to dominate over everything he knows: science, technology and nature. Not a happy theme, greed eats up everything in sight and the madness is the ultimate dead end. Naccarato's landscape is peopled with winged creatures, an abundance of eyeballs and growths that combine nature and science. It is an eerie one that shows us that the end can only be nigh.

Artist: James Naccarato
+ coreyhelfordgallery.com

"Imbroglio"
Posted by sabine7

Painting | Oct 22, 2007

Mark Dean Veca’s new exhibition Imbroglio just opened at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York, a 17-piece installation of paintings on panel. Imbroglio is a contemporary toile de jouy, every bit as rococo as its antecedents. Lurking through the layers of green and blue are pop culture icons like Super Mario and Betty Boop, John Belushi and hamburgers. Each piece is either round or oval and fits into the site-specific installation.

Burning Book: A Visual History of Burning Man
Posted by sabine7

Books | Oct 21, 2007

Over twenty years, in 1986, some friends set fire to an effigy on a beach in San Francisco, little knowing this would be the start to a annual event dedicated to self-expression. Burning Book: A Visual History of Burning Man by Jessica Bruder is a compilation of facts and photos that sum up an event that now attracts 40,000 participants. A vibrant city arises form the desert of Nevada for a week every year and this is a visual account that does not provide answers, but context.

Hardcover, 368 pages. Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2007. $19.11 at Amazon.

+ Burning Book at Amazon