I’d already had my share of overly-saturated experiences on Friday before I got to The Future Is Now at 60 Orchard Street so I didn’t stick around long enough to enjoy the party that seemed to be developing into an Exploding Plastic Inevitable for the 21st Century. Upstairs the DJ’s equipment was already buzzing and the wine was being uncorked.
Familiar faces from Whisbe’s Rock-em, Sock-em Robots to Savior Elmundo’s Salvatore Dali to Ivan Orama‘s Michael McJackson shared the gallery walls with the fresh inspiration of Jamie Martinez’s art of triangulism, (use your camera phone to get the full effect), Whisbe’s gummy bear mug shot, and a street art appropriation of the hashtag heard ‘round the world #icantbreathe. John Arthur Carr’s dizzying designs helped round out the show alongside the works of Iena Cruz, Technodrome, Pyramid Oracle and others. On the way out check out Francisco De Pajaro’s Art Is Trash piece hanging over the Exit sign.
In the future that is now, it’s hard to ignore the guns and chains that are an inescapable part of the streets that inspire much of this art..This future may not have conquered all the pasts that have produced it but if this is the future of art, we’re in good hands. Specifically in this instance those are the hands of Kennedy Yanko who co-curated the show with Kimyon Huggins from No Agenda, whose ethos, “expression for expression’s sake,” is currently taking up residence on the Lower East Side. The Future Is Now will be on display at 60 Orchard Street, between Grand and Hester, through January 20.
The Future is Now at 60 Orchard Gallery
60 Orchard street NYC
On view: December 18th – January 20th, 2014
Article by: Mike Power
Photography by: Olya Turcihin
