June 18, 2013, 7-10PM

The Penthouse at The Standard, East Village 25 Cooper Square, New York, NY 10003

On June 18, 2013 from 7-10PM, Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc) will host The Blind Pig, a speakeasy soirée in the penthouse of The Standard, East Village. In true Lower East Side fashion, groovy-meets-chic at this celebration with seasonal drinks courtesy of Caledonia Spirits and stunning views of the city skyline. Attendees are invited to try their luck in a raffle and silent auction, enjoy delicious cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and dance the night away to speakeasy-themed tunes. Seth Kessel & The Two Cents Band [http://sethkessel.com/] will provide accompaniment for the evening with roots music that harkens back to the savory licks of the 1920s.

FABnyc is proud to be an active leader helping to cultivate the dynamic, creative community of the Lower East Side. The Blind Pig will not only be a celebration of ABnyc’s work, but will also help this organization kick-off another year of innovation and community building.

The title of this event, “The Blind Pig,” was frequently used during the prohibition era as another name for “speakeasy.” Partygoers paid to see a “blind pig” and were served a complimentary drink. FABnyc’s guests will receive at least one delicious drink as well when they choose from four different speakeasy experiences, all aptly named with ’20s lingo:

The Real McCoy, $150

This VIP ticket gets you everything: entry to the cocktail party with open bar, an

entry into our unique raffle, a speakeasy-themed silk-screened print handmade

on site, and sponsor recognition in the event program.

The Cat’s Meow, $135

The special couples ticket includes entry for two into the cocktail party with

stunning (and romantic) views of the city, four drinks to share, two raffle entries,

and one handmade silk-screened print.

The Bee’s Knees, $85

For those flying solo, this ticket includes entry into the cocktail party, three

drinks, raffle entry, and handmade silk-screened print.

The Piker, $50

For the early bird, this ticket includes entry into cocktail party with one drink.

($65 after June 3rd)

For more info about tickets and more details about The Blind Pig,

please visit: https://fabnyc.org/blindpig.php

To purchase tickets directly, go to: https://www.artful.ly/store/events/1241

Press Contact: Hannah Krafcik // Hannahk@fabnyc.org // 212-228-4670

For more info about tickets and more details about The Blind Pig,

please visit: FABNYC

FABnyc 2012 Benefit in The Penthouse at The Standard, East Village

Photo by Whitney Browne

 Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc) was founded in 2001 by arts and community groups to preserve and promote the East 4th Street Cultural District’s rich heritage and creativity. Today, FABnyc has expanded to become a service and advocacy organization for the Lower East Side, leading the renovation of more than 100,000 square feet of arts space; promoting the neighborhood as an arts destination; and providing support services to local arts groups through trainings, special events, public art, resource-sharing and sustainability initiatives.

Blind Pig Image by Orlando Arocena

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Ombra di Tierra

I did a tour of the more serious Parisian galleries last Thursday to discover to my astonishment that Nature is back as a trend!

David Rosenberg proposed a flower theme itinerary (Je sème à tout vent) with 11 galleries throughout Paris.

I recommend the show Le Corps d’un jardin (The Garden’s Body) by Giuseppe Penone at the Marian Goodman gallery until June 22th.

Ombra di Tierra

Born in 1947 in Italy, Penone was considered part of Arte Povera. He represented his country at the 52nd Venice Biennial and had a major retrospective at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2004. This year he has been invited by the Château de Versailles to participate in its annual program for contemporary art, which also happens to be the 400th anniversary of the creation of the gardens by André Le Notre.

Spine d’acacia

Giuseppe Penone  constantly plays with perspectives and imprints as a way of creating sculpture. He began to focus on the ‘negative space’ of sculpture when he was a student. He once observed a professor modeling a bust and was drawn to the imprints the hand left in the clay. Ombra di Terra (2000) is the materialization of the shadow of a fingerprint. The terra cotta furrows of the imprint form a cone shaped arrow cut into three parts supported by branches in bronze. In the gallery downstairs is a huge canvas (3m x 4,8m) that depicts the palm of a hand using acacia thorns. The artist said the following about this work:

“Then I began to use thorns autonomously in works, that I linked to my research of the imprint. I have drawn an imprint with thorns, the points of contact of the skin and where the thorns are placed; represent the nerve endings of the skin. I drew the imprint on a transparent canvas covered with silk, which allowed me to stick the thorns according to the lines of the drawing.”

Spine d’acacia

The notion of endings and breaks is strongly evoked in the piece called Tra… (2008). Tra… is in the form of a fossilized bronze tree trunk split into two parts composed of thin branches (common theme throughout his pieces). The gold leaf illuminates the inside of the split trunk and visually connects the parts showing where lifeblood or sap once flowed. The branches support the dead trunk as pallbearers would support a coffin.

Tra

The art of flower arrangements – Ikebana or of miniature trees – bonsai – is an ancestral art created in Japan. In the West we have: Terrariums !  Started in the 70’s, this new trend is now slowly reaching Paris. Indeed these glass (often very esthetic) bowls or jar, offer the possibility to have a designed garden on a table or a shelf in the corner of tiny urbane spaces lacking nature!

Spine d’acacia

LittleGrow

One of the main experts in the subject is the Franco-American artist Kali Vermès. She recently decided to switch from photography to making terrariums and created in 2010 her atelier called Grow Little in Paris a career she chose : “to satisfy both her green thumb and creative impulses with one activity. » When asked what inspires her, she replies : « am inspired by microcosms within larger systems, and I like to focus on those little plants that survive in unexpected places. Watching them grow inspires me, and I like seeing how they change.

*growlittle.blogspot.com

Giuseppe Penone  at the GALERIE MARIAN GOODMAN until June 22th

79 RUE DU TEMPLE

75003 PARIS

Article and Photos by: Vanessa Thill

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Front of Site 109 where Jack Geary Contemporary presents Federico Cattaneo

On to the more glamorous side of the LES from Jack Geary (2nd from left) in Site 109

Ready for his close up Artist Federico Cattaneo

Viewing the work of Federico Cattaneo

Just coming from a young and edgy art opening half an hour earlier, AF came to the more finessed and nuanced enclave of Site/109 for the opening of Federico Cattaneo. The Recent Works of oil paintings in the abstract style done on found wood, upholstery canvas and silk panels populated the gallery space on Norfolk Street. Jack Geary Contemporary has exhibited another artist of note on the LES. The layers of paints and translucent portions is nothing short of magical. AF photographer and Houdini of the lens, Max Noy, whipped up a spell with a click of his camera and took some very enchanted moments of the night. It is guaranteed not to just POOF! and vanish into thin air.

To learn more about the art, visit: jackgearycontemporary.com

Federico Cattaneo: Recent Works / On View: May 16 – June 9, 2013

Gallery Hours: Wed – Sun (12 – 6 PM) Mon & Tue by appointment

Site/109. 109 Norfolk Street. NYC, NY 10002

text by: Oscar A.Laluyan

event photography by: Max Noy

The Art of Federico Cattaneo at Site 109

Artist Federico Cattaneo in the spotlight

The Art Scene LES style at Federico Cattaneo opening

Sometimes the guests make the art

Dynamic art and guests are good symmetry all the time

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Even the Dragon gets into the Street Vibe via skateboard 

The fine china collection by Sheryo x the Yok at Krause Gallery

Street art is appreciated by the young and those hungry for something anti-establishment. Artists in this genre go by their TAG name and never show their face for obvious reasons. There is something exciting, fresh and subversive about following this kind of art. Last May 16^th on the Lower East Side, Krause Gallery held the first US show “Pipe Dreams” for Brooklyn based street artist duo Sheryo and the Yok.

Benjamin Krause of Krause Gallery

I was clued in by Benjamin Krause, proprietor of the eponymous gallery bearing his last name, late March that this is one of his most important and must see shows. When he mentioned that his basement space would be transformed into an opium den, it was a no brainer to sign me up and I’ll be back for a review. I had imagined that it will be grungy and all over the place with street art but was surprised that the works were cleanly presented, commercially viable and smartly done when I walked into the space for the opening reception.

Sheryo x the Yok travelogue on display at Krause Gallery

Taken from their nomadic travels In Asia, thrown in with inside jokes, and images evoking their cartoon-inflected style made their collaborative effort quite successful. I especially  noted the one color blue used in the plates and vases evoked Dutch Delft ceramic upon first glance. However, you look closer and got the full effect with their wry take on icons of New York culture or revisions of traditional Chinese folklore and do I see a Geisha in there? With this mish-mash of culture and symbols , where is the defined line? Actually – the lines are blurred and that is the point why this tandem produced the work they did. Clarity and definition is not the main focus here as both ideas and skills meld into a metaphysical representation. Smoking any kind of pipe can induce you into a haze and what a different world that could be whether you are dreaming it or not.

Street Art in the gallery at Krause on the LES

Pipe Dreams by Sheryo x The Yok (courtesy of Krause Gallery)

As for the opium den, I was of course disappointed to learn from Benjamin that logistics found it impossible to stage a bed, curtains, and the whole ambient environment for the opening. Perhaps when the frenzy settles down, he should put it up anyway. But there are more spray painted images and a travelogue wall of photos from their journey instead that mollified the dashed dreams of being in a den of iniquity. Smelling the waft of incense that night to hide the spray paint odor worked out in a serendipitous manner. It’s the kind of smoke that seamlessly fits into the whole theme and the cops won’t raid it.

Exotic Cool Art at Krause Gallery on the LES 

It was young, fresh, and skating on danger but the work was skillfully done by Sheryo and the Yok. It was smart to use a single color and that choice made their art elevated. It was easier to focus on the content and had it been in a full spectrum of color, we might have needed to smoke something to focus on one thing. Street art has invaded the gallery and it is here to stay. So stick that in your pipe because when there’s smoke on the Lower East Side – there’s art to explore!

Sheryo and the Yok: “Pipe Dreams” / On View: May 16 – June 16, 2013

Gallery Hours: Wed-Sun (12 – 6 pm) Mon & Tue by appointment

Krause Gallery. 149 Orchard Street. NYC, NY 10002

art review by: Oscar A. Laluyan

select image from Krause Gallery courtesy of the artists

event photography by: Max Noy

Street Art is HOT on the LES at Krause Gallery

Getting into the Art at Krause Gallery

The art crowd of the LES at Krause Gallery entrance

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Venus photo by Olya Turcihin

Alright, I know what you’re thinking. AF has gone to the dogs indeed! What are we drinking in our water cooler? By now, you should know that we go for the unconventional so here it is – AF’s very first Q & A with a canine and four-legged celebrity in the art scene. My encounter with Venus was at the Bedri Baykam show on April 3^rd this year. As soon as Venus walked in with Peggy Cyphers, the energy of the room shifted as everyone was drawn to the irrepressibly cute gallery bitch (but of the good kind) and adored this pooch. I immediately hinted to Venus’ owner, Peggy, that I would love to do a project and get more than woofs from the less heard entourage of the art world. More people bring their dogs to art openings and it’s about time we heard from one of them. Peggy related to me that Venus is quite observant and an “art critic”. Straight from Iowa, we conducted this interview with Peggy serving as the translator for Venus.

 ARTE FUSE: So Venus, what do you think of owners bringing their precious four legged loved ones to art openings? 

VENUS: I think the dogs add species diversity and that’s really important for the liberal art crowd. Plus they add a visually aesthetic edge to the more cold conceptual art.  From my vantage point the pups generally smell wonderful and it’s really a break from the wine and perfume.

AF: Do you let Peggy know what you think when she’s starting on a new series of work? 

V: I give her dreamy looks when she’s in the zone, as they say. I like to take long naps while she’s painting and usually communicate telepathically with her while I am dreaming, that’s my most creative alpha state.

Venus in a telephatic alpha creative state at Peggy’s Studio  photo courtesy of Peggy Cyphers

AF: Art preference: Are you more the Dogs Playing Poker kind or a Jeff Koons Doggy Balloon lover? You like kitsch or high gloss type of art? 

V: I was educated in fine art but I can I appreciate any art about animals. We deserve more respect and it’s good that we can be portrayed as intelligently playing poker, and that a silly balloon dog can sell for a ton of cash.

AF: Has Peggy ever painted a portrait of you or had one commissioned? 

V: She’s working on a painting of me but it’s a secret. I think it’s an Odalisque.

AF: Of course you love Peggy but name an artist (Dead or Alive) that you think would be excellent taking care of canines? 

V: Of course, Robert Rauschenberg! Peggy has a print by him that collages his favorite Siberian Husky dog with his sailboat…by the way I like boating but have to be real careful of falling overboard as my neck is so short and for some reason I can’t breath underwater!

AF: Do you wish artist could present dogs more as feral or stick with the expected man’s best friend profile? 

V: I prefer a warm fireplace in winter and full AC in summer so I am happy to stick close to humans, they really know how to live. For instance, I don’t like howling in the rain.

AF: Living with an artist, what is a typical dog’s life?

V: I have to wake her up pretty early so we can get into the park while my buddies, Ziggy and Dudley are still there chasing balls. The air is so fresh and the grass is deliciously sensual.  I usually wade into the pond. (People think I am funny, I look like a water buffalo)  Then it’s all down hill when Peggy’s very busy and I have to spend the day looking out the window. If I get to go on an adventure shopping or to the studio I am in heaven. The icing on the cake is an opening where people tell me I am cute and rub my tummy for hours.

Venus – The Gallery Dog is just too cute photo by Oscar Laluyan

AF: Dogs are intuitive – how can you tell if the art is good or not? 

V: The odor that the crowd exudes, if it’s off somehow it’s a dead give away .

AF: If you could do an art performance, what would you do? Please don’t say play dead. 

V: I would appropriate from Joseph Beuys of course… i could make a life sized Beuys look-a-like mannequin, I talk art to Joseph and explain relational aesthetics among other trends.  We talk for the camera about the social ramifications of art and  put our performance on Youtube and we’re famous and get a show at MoMA!

AF: Any parting thoughts for owners out there on how to get their beloved dogs have a healthy appreciation for art. 

V: Exposing them to art when they are puppies is essential, and that means going to openings and hob nobbing with other dog loving art connoisseurs.

There you have it folks! Who let the dogs out? AF did.

Watch out for Venus making an appearance at an art opening and you will no doubt fall in love with that cute face. Also, the telepathic alpha dream state is what Venus is perfecting along with the Beuys inspired project.

Peggy Cyphers just returned from The Grin City Collective art residency in Iowa. She is researching the endangered plants of the Prairie in preparation for creating a series of prints with VanDeb Editions in New York this fall.  Only one tenth of 1% of the original prairie still exists and environmentalist are working to ensure its reconstruction and the survival of over 300 species of plants. Her recent show of paintings at The Proposition in NYC was reviewed in Art in America, Brooklyn Rail and ArteryNYC.

To learn more about Peggy’s art, visit: http://www.peggycyphers.com/peggycyphers.com/Home.html

Boonkie RIP

This special Q & A is lovingly dedicated to BOONKIE – our beloved four-legged member of the AF crew and cherished companion to our publisher Jamie Martinez, who recently went on to doggy heaven. We’d love to think there are endless doggie treats and fire hydrants for Boonkie to enjoy for all eternity!

interview by: Oscar A. Laluyan

images from various sources and credited under photo

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UNIQUE May 30 – July 12, 2013 at Von Lintel Gallery

Von Lintel Gallery is pleased to present UNIQUE, a group show of non-editioned photography. Often made without negatives or a camera, the exhibited work is created with unique and diverse techniques that result in one-of-a-kind photographs. The included artists represent several generations, including Pierre Cordier and Floris Neusüss, who have been pioneers in the field of camera-less, unique photography since the 1950s.

In 1956, the Belgian artist Pierre Cordier invented the chemigram, a technique that employs resists to protect areas of the photosensitive paper from successive submersion in developer and fixer. Since 2011, Cordier has collaborated with the Austrian painter Gundi Falk. Floris Neusüss, a German photographer, explores the technical and visual possibilities of the photogram to create an innovative body of work that includes ethereal silhouettes of nude women and mysterious images of the natural world at night. Cordier and Neusüss share a spirit of experimentation and a desire to explore the infinite possibilities inherent to the chemistry of photographic paper and processes with the younger artists in the show. Following in Cordier’s chemigram tradition, Amanda Means delicately scores light-sensitive paper with a grid pattern and flows developer over it, creating organic abstract compositions that are inspired by her close connection with nature. Means worked for many years as a master printmaker for other artists, including Robert Mapplethorpe, and the fluid process she employs is liberating in contrast with the exacting precision that work required. Matthew Brandt uses the subjects of his Western landscape photographs as ingredients in their production. He soaks images of lakes in water from the same source, distorting colors and abstracting the captured vistas. John Chiara travels the California coastline with a room-size camera obscura of his own creation hitched to his car, capturing landscapes directly on photographic paper. His method invites exposure and processing anomalies, making the process part of the imagery. Although he starts with representational photographs, like Brandt and Chiara, Curtis Mann moves toward abstraction by obstructing journalistic scenes of conflict with chemically etched circles and stripes. Drawing on the tradition of photograms of the human body and of the natural world that Neusüss explores, Klea McKenna uses light-sensitive paper to capture images of elements, such as raindrops, while the Hungarian photographer Agnes Eperjesi projects multilayered and brightly colored shadows of hands, flowers, and household objects.

UNIQUE

May 30 – July 12, 2013

Opening reception: Thursday, May 30, 6 – 8 PM

FEATURING

Matthew Brandt

John Chiara

Pierre Cordier & Gundi Falk

Agnes Eperjesi

Curtis Mann

Klea McKenna

Amanda Means

Floris Neusüss

For further information or visual materials, please see vonlintel.com or contact the gallery at (212) 242-0599 or gallery@vonlintel.com.

Von Lintel Gallery

520 West 23rd Street

Ground Floor
New York , NY 10011

Tel 1 212 242 0599

Fax 1 347 464 0011

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The Other World III  40″ x 60″

The Other World I 60″ x 43″

Interview With Quiet Lunch

In her first NYC solo show entitled, The Other World, Ventiko explores the tumultuous and unknown terrain between waking expectations and private dream perversions. Drawing inspiration from Italian Renaissance paintings, she creates a busy canvas of religious iconography, alternative scenarios where perspectives collapse, almost as if to imply an element of trickery or deceit for the dreamer. Her use of found objects, including animal carcasses, as well as her organic, earth tones all allude to the natural cycle of life and its veil of beautythe darkness and  npredictability of existenceparts grotesque and gorgeous. Viewers are encouraged to participate in this liminal state and embark on her voyeuristic journey; moving through the melancholic parable of existence that most know, but few ever experience. Originally from Indianapolis Indiana, Ventiko studied photography under Maestro Tony Clevenger before settling in Brooklyn, NY in 2008. Currently, she is represented by Coohaus Gallery and has exhibited in N.Y.C., L.A., Indianapolis, London, and Barcelona.
For any additional information please contact Sunny Shin at sunnyshin@coohausart.com
547 W. 27th St. #307, New York, NY 10001 T: 201.390.3669 COOHAUS.COM

http://coohaus.com

The Other World IV 40″ x 60″

The Other Wolrd II 40″ x 60″

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Opening reception: June 5th, 6-8pm

Ilona Szwarc’s “American Girls”

“The American Girls doll series speak to the ideals, dreams and opportunities liberating young American girls helping to define them as young women. “

Foley is pleased to present the first New York solo exhibition of photographer Ilona Szwarc.

Ilona Szwarc’s ‘American Girls’, is a classically stylized portraiture series identifying varied juvenile personalities across our country. Young girls are accompanied by a customized version of themselves, a modern ‘American Girl’ doll shown helping them along in their early growth.

The dynamics of the series’ content guides the viewer into the guileless aesthetics of childhood. In response to her subjects, Szwarc posits an utterance of unrest in her imagery. These pictures reveal that the American Girl doll can also give an illusion of choice, a catalyst for fantasies of distinction. Each doll can be customized and treated to look exactly like its owner, yet all of them have the same origins and beneath their costume they bear the same form.

The relationship between the girls and their dolls embellish privileges of first-world childhood while addressing problems in euro-centric gender ideology. The feminist values inherent to Szwarc’s work draw from the source of what contributes to shaping a young woman’s virtues while celebrating the history of being a young lady growing up today, and the performativity American culture encourages. Dolls supplement girlhood through fun, enchanting play, where the power of youth and the inimitable innocence is affirmed as totally unique. Szwarc captures the desire for individuality and the liberating influence having a doll so similar to oneself can have for a young girls imagination and ultimately her world-view.

Szwarc is an award-winning photographer, who lives and works in New York City. She was born and raised in Warsaw, Poland. She has had a solo exhibition at Claude Samuel gallery in Paris and Maison de la Photographie in Lille, France. Her work has been featured in numerous publications worldwide including The New York Times Magazine, TIME, The New Yorker and The UK SundayTimes Magazine.  ”American Girls” has received worldwide recognition, having been highlighted in The New York Times Lens Blog, MSNBC Today.com and The Huffington Post, among others.

American Girls will remain on view through July 3^rd.  FOLEY is open Wednesday - Sunday, 12 – 6PM

.  To request images, please contact the gallery at 212.244.9081 or info@foleygallery.com

Val Britton’s “Cosmology” June 5th- July 3rd

Opening reception: June 5th, 6-8pm

Val Britton’s “Cosmology”

“Metaphysical cosmology seeks to draw intuitive conclusions about the nature of the universe, man, a supernatural creator, and/or their relationships based on the extension of some set of presumed facts borrowed from spiritual experience and/or observation.” – Wikipedia

Foley is pleased to present the first New York solo exhibition of mixed-media artist Val Britton.

Letting go of figurative icons and utilizing the language of abstraction to explore emotional and psychological space, Val Britton’s new series, Cosmology maps thefeatures of a theoretical universe.

Creating a world beyond perception and regular logic, Britton models a personal cosmology, visually diagramming the physical and psychological in the space of her medium. Each work represents her identification of formal aesthetic issues of composition, abstraction, process, and material relationships.

Beginning from an intuitive exploration of the paper, she cultivates abstract space to create a pliable structure, connecting fragments of paper together while removing others with the character of a line drawing.  Each piece speaks the language of personal cartography.

Assembling the physicality of unexplored territories, Briton discovers and realizes her manifold vision. Cosmology becomes a metaphor for the fluidity of remembering, mimicking the geologic layers that constitute memories. With the handmade element of craft allowing for the beauty of uncertainty, Britton suggests clairvoyance visualized with the science of mapping the unknown into her complex and intuitive practice.

Val Britton received her BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design and MFA at California College of the Arts, San Francisco. Her work has been commissioned all over the country including the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art and the San Francisco International Airport. In 2014, she will be a resident artist at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. She is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant.

Cosmology will remain on view through July 3^rd, 2013.  FOLEY is open Wednesday - Sunday, 12 – 6PM.  To request images, please contact the gallery at 212,244.9081 or info@foleygallery.com

WWW.FOLEYGALLERY.COM

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DiGiovanni, ink on gelatin silver print, 16 x 14 inches, 2012

Kim Kalinoski received her Bachelor or Fine Arts degree from Pennsylvania State University in 2012. She currently lives and works in State College, PA. Although she earned her BFA in drawing and painting, the plurality of her work is generated with a camera. Using photography, ink washes, and line, her images are in search of concealing an individual’s identity, but essentially act as a metaphor to camouflage her own existence. 

Kalinoski, gelatin silver print, 16 x 14 inches,2012

Artist Statement

The repetition of line is the visual language for my failure to vocalize my anxiety induced thoughts and insecurities. Although I do not know the meaning of each line I produce, as a whole, these lines represent the words I refuse to utter, and the noises I fail to make. Line serves as a shield to conceal an individual’s identity, but essentially acts as a metaphor to camouflage my own existence. Reiteration of line is a representation of myself at the purest, most vulnerable state, ultimately serving as a means of communicating my innermost subconscious to society.

Ferrell, gelatin silver print, 16 x 14 inches, 2013

Photography is a medium that allows me to combine practices of both painting and installation in order to depict the reality I perceive. The photograph serves as a canvas that allows me to arrange and manipulate the characters and their environment in such a way, that both exist in agreement. Nudity is employed due to the pure and organic qualities the unclothed figure portrays, ultimately revealing the most vulnerable aspect of oneself. The absence of line is replaced with ink washes that obscure the identity and appearance of the human form, essentially fading one’s existence into anonymity. Identity is shunned, while the physicality of one’s body is highlighted, suggesting a world of sameness and isolation. One’s existence is lost, forgotten, erased from being, as if it never existed at all.

Polaski, ink on gelatin silver print, 16 x 14 inches, 2012

The reiteration of an image further strengthens the intended message. Not all can be said in a single photograph. Repetition is an essential element to my artistic endeavors, and is the one reoccurring theme that exudes my vision and perception of the physical world.

Crucifixion of Line Pt. 2, 8, bleach and ink on gelatin silver print, 6 x 4 1/2 inches, 2012

Contact: kimk089@gmail.com

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Battle Armor by Karen Heagle

Artist Karen Heagle

Heraldry and the days of valiant knights are now legendary. Everyone dreams of their knight in shining armor to save them and the pageantry of it all is a fixation of masculine ideals still held subconsciously. One artist dared to ride into battle to explore this revered ideal of masculine pageantry. Karen Heagle presented her bold and brash works on paper for the show Battle Armor at CHURNER and CHURNER last May 8^th.

Friends who love art get a hug 

Welcome to CHURNER & CHURNER

AF walked into the gallery filled with large scale work that charges onward and unflinching in its depiction of trappings on the masculine ideal. We see motorbikes (the rebel), peacock preening (the dandy), and knights in armor (the hero) in large scale works on paper that charge fearlessly like an unbeatable knight in a joust. One is confronted by the strong impact each image Heagle created and the fruit of her inspiration from 17^th Century paintings bore a new interpretation for the now.

(L-R) Artist Karen Heagle & Rachel Churner of CHURNER & CHURNER

The colorful characters spill out on the streest of Chelsea

There is the lush opulence of using copper and gold leaf symbolizing the luster of metal where the acrylic paint and colored paper become punctuated embellishments to fully realize Heagle’s bold interpretation. The iridescent palette and its swarthy strokes recall a Peter Max color sensibility but Heagle makes it her own by her crisp execution in the composition. Every aspect is overcharged and seething with the undercurrent of what’s roiling underneath it all.

It is quite a feat of courage and to have balls for a queer female artist to tackle head on the idea of masculinity. Putting gender and sexual orientation aside, it is ludicrous to think that male can only paint macho stuff and females do the softer side. It is a load of bull as artists who express an ideal with deliberate intent and solid skill can paint anything they want. Heagle, like a knight on a valiant quest, has slain the dragon of this stereotypical and archaic thought.

Start them young to have fun at art openings

Looking at the art and it looks back at CHURNER & CHURNER

And that is the real prize to be won here when the artist has ridden into the trenches of the never explored and boldly rides on ready to battle. Like the trappings of masculinity, it is all a veneer when it is what’s inside that counts. Heagle has stripped her own armor and is bravely exposing herself as a fearless artist. That is one suit of armor that will never tarnish and should be worn proudly.

Karen Heagle: Battle Armor / On View: May 8 – June 22, 2013

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday (10 am – 6 pm)

CHURNER and CURNER. 205 10^th Avenue. NYC, NY 10011

art review by: Oscar A. Laluyan

art image from CHURNER and CHURNER courtesy of the artist

event photography by: Deukyun Hwang

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The art is BOLD yet alluring by Laura Bochet  

Guests glamour it up at Something in Mind 

Artist Laura Bochet

The decade that roared out Jazz and decadence is back in full fashion. From the recent premiere of Baz Luhrnann’s remake of The Great Gatsby to its overflow into fashion trends (Prada and Brooks Brothers made the costumes for the movie), the 1920’s got a reboot of its own at Something in Mind for its recent showing of paintings by Laura Bochet. The artist attended a 1920’s themed party last year and got her inspired to render the women that evoked the period. Working with a limited palette of black, white and emphasis of red that it produced this series. Last March 10^th, AF came to the opening as champagne bottles were popped and luscious chocolate covered strawberries were served endlessly. Everyone came in their best Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan persona joined by curious off the street walk ins as everyone partied and kicked up to Charleston their way to a great time. Great art and a roaring party scene did not die off with the flappers. It still thrives in 2013 and well beyond the era of the Victorola!

1920’s Women Paintings by Laura Bochet

On View: May 10 – July 2, 2013

Something in Mind. 230A Mulberry Street. NYC, NY 10012.

text by: Oscar A. Laluyan

event photography by: Jamie Martinez

A fierce looking flapper girl attends the opening at SIM

Toasting with Bubbly at Something in Mind

Laura Bochet painting at SIM Nolita

Julia Stibal (left) curated the show with one of SIM’s jewelry designers

Fashion and Art meld for this 1920′s Gatsby themed show

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Jessica Segall, The Thirsty Person, Who Having Found a Spring, Rushes to Drink, Does Not Contemplate Its Beauty (2011), video still2 

OUT OF BLINK breaks up the classic format of the “white cube exhibition” and appeared for only for two days in the heart of SoHo, staging artworks by Harif Guzman, Paco Marcial, Nadja Verena Marcin, Jason Rhoades and Jessica Segall, who are conducting a research that goes beyond the idea of “daily order”, either because of their artistic practice or the content of their artworks.

Harif Guzman, One Of a Kind, 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 64 x 48 in.

Video, performance, neon, photographs, sculptural works and paintings reveal their personal point of view and critique towards contemporary society and have been realized by overcoming social expectations and through an innovative approach of new media and technology.

Curator Sarah Crown

Nadja Verena Marcin //KIDS// 2012, New York, video, 13.34 min. courtesy Nadja Verena Marcin / 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel 

Harif Guzman Now That I’m Sober Crossing the Bridge After a Hurricane 2013 Mixed Media on Unstretched Canvas 120 x 130 inches 

Paco Marcial The most excellent history of the Merchant of Vernice: Mr. Ecurié Marchal Collage on Postcard, 2013, 4 x 6 in. each  

Paco Marcial Torso Rosso 322, 2009 Metal, fiber, automotive paint, rubber, 21 x 3 x 3 in.

In fact, the aim of the project “Sarah Crown” is to discover how technology affects art and culture, and how contemporary artworks can touch the spectator via the use of new media, arousing that astonishment which is often a fundamental ontological element for a work of art. These studies are outlined through exhibitions, essays, interviews, talks, and other events in the international art world.

Photos by: JAMIE MARTINEZ

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Meg Cranston recipient of the Artadia NADA award 

Hudson of Feature Inc talking to a client at NADA Art Fair 

Debo Eilers at On Stellar Rays, NADA Art Fair

Robert Janitz at Matos Gallery, NADA Art Fair

The New Art Dealers Alliance opened the second edition of NADA New York at a new location, Pier 36 at Basketball City located at 299 South Street on the East River. The second edition showcases over 70 international galleries from 29 cities representing 13 countries. NADA’s non-profit model has always been a flexible and adaptable one, which continues to respond to the needs of its exhibitors and the art world at large by creatively reinventing the experience and presentation of art in a fair environment. NADA New York is dedicated to showcasing new art, and to celebrating the rising talents from around the globe. Basketball City, New York’s premier state of the art facility features a large, open architecture format that facilitates innovative and flexible booth design. In addition, the new location on the East River served to simplify easier visitation to additional fairs during this weekend.

PHOTOS BY: JAMIE MARTINEZ

Michael Bauer at Lisa Cooley, NADA Art Fair

David Kennedy Cutler at Derek Eller Gallery

Rana Begum at Galerie Christian Lethert, NADA Art Fair

Blackston Gallery at NADA Art Fair

Maria Dekkenga at Eli Ping Gallery, NADA Art Fair

Independent Curators international at NADA Art Fair

Brennan & Griffin at NADA Art Fair

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