Elephant by Chris Barreto, 2010 (7:30pm auctioned at $35)
Untitled (Water Towers) by Harry Gold, 2010(7:30pm average bid $150 each)
It’s Thursday. And people are swarming to gallery openings everywhere here in Manhattan. There seems to be an early summer fiesta happening in the art world this weekend. Normally I would’ve done my Chelsea to Lower East Side gallery hopping routine, but tonight I skipped both entirely and went into Dumbo, Brooklyn instead. It’s the 1st Thursday of June, which kicks off the Dumbo Gallery Walk event of the month. It’s a little haven for the young and emerging, but nonetheless there is a small auction scene happening underground at Rabbit Hole Gallery. I really enjoyed the works, which was installed in non-traditional ways, and mostly in small scale (see above), with an all encompassing silent auction going on. Which means the bidder marks his or her bid on a hanging piece of note-paper taped alongside the artwork. It’s fun and engaging; brilliant! This also gives average folks a chance to collect original works of art.
Two other shows worth noting are the Syracuse University MFA exhibition housed in DAC (Dumbo Arts Center, above) and Cinema 16 hosted by Smack Mellon.
The streets in Dumbo tonight were a mixture of amiable visitors from out of town, local artists, art school graduates, professionals, yuppies, and of course the indie crowd. Not that I want to categorize, but just to give you an idea of the scene, which wasn’t rowdy and hyper as in Chelsea openings, but laid-back and mellow. By closing time and as darkness fell most people either meandered into nearby bars and restaurants or went to sit by the water.
Dumbo Gallery Walk will be happening every first Thursday of the month throughout the Summer. So get out there and experience the Brooklyn alternative arts culture!
When I was told that Alva Noto would be performing at the Kitchen last night, I braved it to Chelsea just in time before he started his set. Carsten Nicolai a.k.a. Alva Noto is a minimalist sound artist, post-techno electronic musician. I started following his work since his early collaborations with Sakamoto Ryuichi. What I didn’t realize is that Mr. Nicolai also produces visuals. Last night’s performance was mind-blowing, literally, the heavily broken beats, blips, and prolonged static are sounds from faxes, modems and the telephone. They were in sync with the intense visuals which was manipulated real-time by Mr. Nicolai himself. There is something quite ecstatically surreal in this work in which he uses old technologies (with recordings by poet Anne-James Chaton) that throws you off the chair. It is the art of minimal simulation to the max. The show is presented by the Pace Gallery. More photos to come.
New York Gallery Week opens this Friday May 7th, with an anticipated series of exhibitions, art events, performances, panel discussions, and film screenings, complimented by gallery tours with curators, art historians, intimate talks with artists, and book signings. This Spring 2010 is the first of the annual involving prominent art galleries and enthusiasts in New York City’s art hub. “NYGW will be an annual event, concentrating on programmatic and artistic rigor, with a mission that aims to ignite the New York art scene and direct focus back to artists and galleries.” Galleries will extend their opening hours this weekend until Monday evening. Participating galleries include 303 Gallery, Canada, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, Lisa Cooley, Eleven Rivington, Deitch Projects, Zach Feuer, Friends of the High Line, Marian Goodman, Lehmann Maupin, David Nolan, Reena Spaulings Fine Art, Team, David Zwirner, and more.
Looking forward to an opening this Friday on the Highline with artist Richard Galpin discussing his latest work the Viewing Station. More events and information on newyorkgalleryweek.com. All events are also listed on Artcards New York.
Last night was the opening to the Deitch Project’s final exhibition – May Day. It features Shepard Fairey’s portraits of cultural icons including Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Keith Haring, the list goes on. “The overall idea is the steps that individuals take to make art, change culture, change politics,” says Fairey supporting the concept behind the show. The line to go inside was around the block on this warm summery evening. People seem to be really excited to see the artist, the art, and to be a part of this New York moment. I realized the power of Shepard Fairey has reached out and beyond to gather an eclectic mix of people, which was the most interesting aspect of the opening. I met a team of indie filmmakers from Yugoslavia doing a documentary on street art traveling across the ocean to do spot interviews including this one with Fairey (more details about this film to come). Here are the photos and video recap from last night.
When I saw the huge Shepard Fairey mural going up on Houston and Bowery a few weeks ago, I was definitely surprised. By now, if you know Fairey’s work and you saw the wall, you’ll probably agree that these are more of his known propoganda images, and not fresh new work. After a bit of investigation, I came to realize that it’s part of a grand scheme including an exhibition at the Deitch, which opens today titled May Day, and the Obey conceptual pop up shop located in the Lower East Side. It’s a clever way to tie it all together and market both art and products simultaneously and instantaneously. May Day is on view at the Deitch from May 01, 2010 — May 29, 2010. Here is a video interview of the artist with Wnyc.
Megawords magazine is produced by Anthony Smyrski and Dan Murphy. An attractive little mag with more photos than words. The opening party gave me another excuse to visit Printed Matter. Here are the boys, and apparently they all grew up in Philly together. Check out the zine at megawordsmagazine.com
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