image courtesy of Blackston

(from the Press Release)

Blackston is pleased to present Music in CMYK, an exhibition of posters by Mark Ohe. An opening reception for the exhibition will be held on Saturday, December 11th, 2010, from 6 to 9 p.m.  The show will run through January 7th, 2011.
The exhibition comprises posters designed for a wide range of independent musicians and bands, many of which were associated with the Matador Records label.  Most of the posters presented in the show were conceived to promote albums and live events from 1987 to 2010, and were sometimes affixed to walls and kiosks throughout New York and other cities.

Music in CMYK celebrates the ongoing connection between music and art, and brings elements of a formerly vibrant street graphic scene into the gallery, highlighting an important musical and cultural period — in New York and elsewhere — over the past two decades.

Incorporating appropriated imagery, photography, graphic design and original art, Mark Ohe’s work serves as a testimony to the impact and relevance of the poster a key form of democratic art.

Mark Ohe was born in Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 1983. He also attended The Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia College Chicago.

His first commercial designs were for the band Naked Raygun, and Antidote Radio in the early 1980s.  From 1983 to 1985 he worked at Wax Trax Records creating store and window displays.

He relocated to New York City in 1986 and worked as a freelance graphic designer for various clients including the record labels Homestead, Dutch East India, and Blast First; artists Jim Thirlwell, Karen Finley, Annie Sprinkle, The Hafler Trio; and various New York nightclubs.

In 1987 Mark Ohe took on the role of art director for Lydia Lunch’s, Widowspeak Productions.  He then took a staff position under the art director Maude Gilman at Arista Records in 1990.  That same year he began working with Matador Records founders Chris Lombardi and Gerard Cosloy, designing the company’s logo and working with the label’s bands on music packaging, print ads, and poster designs.  In 1992 he took a full-time position at Matador as art director and remained with the company for the next 17 years.  During that period he continued to work sporadically with freelance clients including the photographers James Smolka, and Micheal McLaughlin, as well as Robyn Hitchcock, Julian Richards, Ecstatic Peace, Steve Kille, Blaine Thurier, Endless Boogie, and book publishers Amadeus Press.

Mark Ohe’s poster designs were included in the graphic design surveys, Mixing Messages at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in 1996, and the 44th Annual Exhibition at The Type Directors Club in 1997.  These and his album designs have been published in various design magazines and books including, Supersonic – Visuals for Music, (2007); idN Magazine, (2005); Typography 19, (1997); and Broken Music, Artists’ Recordworks, (1989).  His work was also included in the exhibitions, Young Guns at the Art Directors Club, (1997), and Extended Play, curated by Ursula Block & Christian Marclay, at the Emily Harvey Gallery, New York, in 1988.

His most recent projects in 2010 include the For Your Eyes Only painting exhibition catalog for De Markten, Brussels; the Quarantine The Past concert tour program for the band Pavement; web site design for julianrichards.com; reissue music packaging for the late-70s band, The Soft Boys; Matador Records 21st Anniversary design campaign, as well as Endless Boogie, Shearwater, and Marcellus Hall album package designs.

His anti-aliases have included Mark O, Marco Pezzati, and Memories from Reno.  He currently lives outside of Andes, New York under one of these aliases.

Photos: HW

While those donning 6-inch heels are running around NY fashion week in Chelsea and SoHo, coincidentally art folks in kicks and flats are running around New York Art week. It’s not officially NYAW but September 9th marked the beginning of another exciting season in the art world, the biggest gallery week of the year. Artcards team has been working doubletime to list our picks and shows, completely unfiltered for our readers. From hi-brow Chelsea on Thursday to the Lower East Side on Sunday, the openings were a huge fiesta, and I was lucky to experience both sides of the horizon. There are lots of photos in this post, so it may take a minute to load, but scroll down for more.

Justin Adian and Rhiannon Kubicka at Blackston Gallery

Alex Hubbard and friend at the Kitchen

Marian Goodman and friend

Natalia Mount at Stephan Stoyanov Gallery

Laurel Gitlen Gallery

Rachel Uffner Gallery

Pam Lins

Samantha Harmon

"Maybe She's Born With It" by Samantha Harmon

"Sidetrack" by Heather Bennett