↧
Streets: Nychos (Vienna)
↧
Overtime: May 4 – May 10
- Anneliese Cooper reviews Rosy Keyser's show at Maccarone.
- Two gunmen killed in Texas at exhibition featuring cartoons of Muhammad.
- Two visitors to Loggie dei Militi damage Statue of the Two Hercules when they attempt to take a selfie with it.
- Guy Wildenstein has been referred to criminal court for tax evasion.
- Sterling Ruby leaves Hauser & Wirth.
- Artnet reports a loss of $3.9mil. for 2014.
- Anne Flanagan will retire as deputy director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
- Valuable Roman mosaics badly damaged during botched restoration work at Hatay Archaeology Museum.
- Tretyakov Gallery investigated for providing false valuations of artworks.
- Federal appeals court strikes down law that required CA residents to pay artists a royalty for sales out of state.
- Are museums seen as intimidating or "off-limits" for minorities?
- 5 paintings missing since WWII being repatriated to Germany.
- The hypocrisy of the Venice Biennale. Benjamin Genocchio thinks the Biennale is morose, joyless, and ugly.
- Overcrowded bridge collapses in Venice sending Prada partygoers into water. Christoph Büchel's contribution to the Venice Biennale is labeled by police as a threat to public safety.
- More creative people are migrating from New York City and Brooklyn to Los Angeles. LA Weekly is suspicious of some of the articles claims.
- Tehran billboards feature works of art.
- English Heritage conservator discovers that the painting she was restoring was a genuine Titian.
- Leah Ollman reviews the Light, Paper, Process: Reinventing Photography" show at The Getty Center.
- The opening of the Prada Foundation in Milan. A look at Rem Koolhaus' design.
- Japanese American National Museum acquire artifacts and artworks created in internment camps.
- Whitney Museum hangs Jackson Pollock painting vertically, even though signature suggests horizontal.
- Images from the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Gala 2015. Highlights from the Met Costume Institute's China: Through the Looking Glass exhibition.
- A look at Yoko Ono as she prepares for her MoMA show.
- The Guggenheim Museum in New York donates 100 images of artworks from its collection to Wikipedia.
- Grace Farms commissions works by Thomas Demand, Olafur Eliasson, and others for its new building.
- Museum of Royal Collections asking for four paintings currently in the Prado's collection.
- The Independent's guide to the Venice Biennale. Bloomberg also highlights some of the exhibits at the Biennale. Artnet previews it by browsing Instagram and sees some wacky things. Phaidon also has a guide. How to understand the lineup.
- Are indications pointing to Christie's slowly phasing out its Modern and Impressionism sale?
- Steven A. Cohen, Steve Wynn and Sheldon Solow among the sellers with work in May auctions.
- Preview of John Whitehead's collection being sold by Christie's.
- Could Christie's see a billion-dollar auction sale total?
- Le Corbusier sculpture sells at Christie's in Zurich for $3.3mil. - a new record for the artist.
- Sales report from Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern auction.
- Wang Zhongjun reported as buyer of $29.9mil Picasso from Goldwyn collection sold at Sotheby's.
- Harvard Business School studies the ramifications of Marina Picasso's sale of her grandfather's works.
- Exploration of the affect auctions have on an artist's career.
- Paul Kasmin and Pace Gallery join the inaugural Seattle Art Fair as exhibitors.
- Artnet lists reasons why Paris Photo LA is the ultimate California art fair.
- Marion Maneker rounds up the sales report from Art Brussels.
- Interview with Heather Hubbs about NADA.
- A look at today's Chinese art collectors and what they are buying.
- A look at the photography medium within the wider art market.
- Sir Frederic Leighton study for Flaming June discovered behind door and will be sold. It will also be exhibited at The Frick Collection.
- Guerilla Girls doing a two week pop-up exhibition at Abrons Arts Center.
- Interview Magazine interviews Jonathan D'Agostino and Beth Fiore about their new gallery called D&F.
- Leo Fitzpatrick joins Marlborough Chelsea as a director.
- Artspace interviews Alan Servais about collecting.
- Profile of Theaster Gates.
- Ellsworth Kelly could receive a Congressional Gold Medal for his service during WWII.
- Anneliese Cooper reviews Dan Colen's show at Venus Over Los Angeles.
- Artinfo tours the national pavilions at the Venice Biennale. A look at Sarah Lucas' work at the Biennale. Simon Denny's work in the Biennale. Kevin McGarry chooses some winners. Artspace shows you how to pronounce Venice Biennale artists' names.
- JR discusses his cover for the NY Times Magazine cover.
- Time Out reviews Jamian Juliano-Villani's Crypod show at JTT.
- Keith J Varadi discusses Fiona Connor's recent show at 1301PE in ARTFRUM.
- Phaidon provides a primer on Art Brut.
- Frances Stark and Mark Godfrey each win the 2015 Absolut Art Award.
- Scott Indrisek chooses five must-see gallery shows up right now in NY.
- John Newsom creates artwork for Raekwon's new album.
- Interview with Alli Coates and Signe Pierce about their American Reflexxx film.
- A look at the Manifest Justice show in Los Angeles.
- LA Times writes about Thomas Houseago's installation at Rockefeller Center.
- Scott Indrisek looks at Hope Gangloff's work.
- Ishiuchi Miyako photographs Frida Kahlo's personal belongings for exhibition.
- WSJ visits with Jeff Koons and talks family.
- Interview with Cecily Brown.
- An hour with David Salle.
- Liam Gillick designs a tattoo that will be auctioned.
- Travis Diehl looks at Max Maslansky's show at Honor Fraser.
- New work by Isaac Cordal called The School.
- Images of Easter Island heads with their bodies.
- Sam Falls limited edition LP with blue marbled vinyl record available from Ballroom Marfa.
- Vincent van Gogh lookalike rides the train in New York.
↧
↧
Streets: Phlegm (Berlin)
↧
Streets: Waone & AEC (Interesni Kazki), Perth
↧
Studio Visits / Previews: Cyrcle. –“Nothing Exists” @ Station16 Gallery
↧
↧
Overtime: May 11 – May 17
- RIP: Chris Burden, who died at the age of 69 from malignant melanoma. LA Weekly has remembrances of the artist and teacher. The role of architecture in the artist's work. LACMA to show Chris Burden's last finished work Ode to Santos Dumont next week.
- Venetian city officials and police authorities threatening to shut down Christoph Büchel's mosque installation.
- Greece rules out Amal Clooney's advice of taking Britain to court for the return of the Elgin Marbles.
- 63-year-old in Spain arrested for allegedly stealing more than 40 artworks from Swedish churches.
- Detroit Institute of Art may be deaccessioning some works from its collection, including a Van Gogh still life.
- Walid Raad and Ashok Sukumaran barred entry from U.A.E. after both speak out about working conditions.
- McKee Gallery closing its doors after 41 years.
- USC has a selfie class called #SelfieClass. USC's entire first-year MFA class drops out of school in protest of "bait and switch" and other reasons. They answer five questions from ArtInfo.
- Phillips staff member faints during evening sale.
- Picasso's stepdaughter Catherine Hutin-Blay accuses Olivier Thomas of stealing Picasso works.
- Wolf G. and Hans K. accused of fraud related to attempted sale of fake Giacometti sculpture.
- About 70 artists with studios at Studio 17 in SF may lose their workspaces and are facing eviction.
- Charles Saatchi sues Saatchi Art over profits and use of name.
- Jerry Saltz says that "auctions are nasty pieces of work".
- Fox News censors Picasso painting on TV.
- Charles Ray sculpture rejected from Whitney Plaza due to fears of offending tourists.
- Christopher Knight receives a reply from the Whitney for his request to withdraw a false statement.
- Observer observes that Vito Schanbel's exhibition is filled with rich white guys.
- Helly Nahmad released from house arrest.
- UCSD professor causes stir with parent due to requirement that students be nude for final exam.
- The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum offers new $100,000 reward for Napoleonic Finial stolen from museum.
- David Hockney complains too many gay men concerned with fitting in and have become boring & conservative.
- How large art works are transported and shipped.
- The first two pieces from Cornelius Gurlitt trove are returned to their restituted owners.
- Turner Prize 2015 shortlist announced and features three women and a housing estate.
- Street art scene in Tel Aviv thriving.
- Ben Davis writes about Yoko Ono's show at MoMA.
- Works donated by artists and sold at Sotheby's raise $22.5mil. for MOCA.
- J. Paul Getty Museum of Art recaps Game of Thrones episodes with medieval art.
- National Portrait Gallery in London to exhibit show of portrait works by Alberto Giacometti.
- A look at the price of admission to art museums in New York.
- A look at Otium, Broad Museum's upcoming restaurant.
- Ten of the biggest blockbuster museum shows the world has seen.
- Pierre Huyghe makes some adjustments to his rooftop installation at the Met.
- Picasso painting sells for $179.4mil. and Giacometti sculpture for $141.7mil. in Christie's Looking Forward to the Past sale. Judd Tully's sales report from that auction.
- Sotheby's as a company posts profit of $5.2 mil. for the first quarter of 2015.
- Artnet reports on Sotheby's post-war evening sale. Judd Tully also has a report.
- Judd Tully's report of the Christie's evening sale of post-war art. Artnet also wrote about the auction.
- Judd Tully's report of the Phillips evening sale.
- Judd Tully finally has a report on Christie's Impressionist and Modern Art sale.
- Groupe Arnault invests in Auctionata.
- Robert Ellsworth left $50k in his will to each of his favorite waitresses.
- Scott Indrisek visits NADA New York. Artnet picks 8 booths to check out at the fair. Candace Worth's NADA picks. Ajay Kurian's favorite works from NADA.
- Jackie Saccoccio wins the 2015 Artadia NADA Award.
- Interview with Victoria Siddall about Frieze New York.
- Dealers at Frieze benefiting from their artists' work being included in Biennale. They are also very busy on their phones, laptops, and tablets.
- Brian Boucher gives a video tour of Frieze. Forbes also makes a visit.
- William Powhida's guide to making the most of Frieze week.
- Barbara Kruger's phone app piece shown at Frieze.
- Jonathan Horowitz's crowd-sourced dot painting work at Frieze.
- An interview with Abby Bangser about why art fairs matter.
- Jeffrey Deitch rumored to be opening new basement space to show art in Chelsea Hotel.
- Profile of collector Christopher Tsai.
- Artsy profiles Bernard Lumpkin and his collection.
- An interview with Samara Golden.
- Rob Pruitt looks back at his career and talks about his more memorable works.
- Zu Thian wins Catlin Art Prize, which includes £5,000 award.
- Rube Goldberg’s house in San Francisco named historic landmark.
- Marina and Irina Fabrizio - identical twins who collaborate on paintings. Mostly refuse to speak to each other.
- W Magazine looks at Petra Cortright and some other Post Internet artists.
- Michael Heizer to have an exhibition in NY at Gagosian Gallery.
- David Pagel reviews Adrian Ghenie's show at Nicodim Gallery.
- LA Taco recaps Known Gallery and Seventh Letter's See You at the Top" exhibition.
- Antoni Gaudi could possibly be made a saint.
- 7 interesting facts about Frida Kahlo.
- Jerry Saltz uses three sentences each to review some recent shows in New York.
- Interview with Allyson Vieira.
- Kanye West praises George W Bush's painting skills. Zak Tebbal translates Kanye's Bound 2 into a children's book.
- Artnet follows Leonardo Dicaprio around Frieze NY.
- KIDS cast to reunite for 20th anniversary of the film.
↧
Previews / Streets: Shepard Fairey –“Printed Matters” @ Library Street Collective (Detroit)
↧
Streets: World Roundup (May 1 – May 20)
Seth x HTJ - Tahiti - Ono'u fest (photo credit by Marc Emmanuel Louvat)[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_276309" align="aligncenter" width="660"]
Roa - Tahiti - Ono'u fest (photo credit by Marc Emmanuel Louvat)[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_276307" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
Kobra - Faith 37 - Tahiti - Ono'u fest (photo credit by Marc Emmanuel Louvat)[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_276305" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
Faith 47 - Tahiti - Ono'u fest[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_276304" align="aligncenter" width="920"]
Daleast - Tahiti - Ono'u fest[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_276303" align="aligncenter" width="920"]
Dabs Myla x Pose - Tahiti - Ono'u fest[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_276308" align="aligncenter" width="740"]
Natalia Rak - New Zealand (via StreetArtNews.net)[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_276301" align="aligncenter" width="920"]
BEZT-Dunedin-New-Zealand[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_276311" align="aligncenter" width="960"]
Sainer - Krakow - Poland (photo credit by Majki Malinowy)[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_276306" align="aligncenter" width="920"]
Herakut - Berlin[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_276302" align="aligncenter" width="645"]
Blu - Campobasso - Italy (photo credit by Malatesta Associati)[/caption]
↧
Streets: El Mac –“Ars et Scientia” (Boston)
↧
↧
Overtime: May 18 – May 24
- The Space looks at Simon Denny's work.
- RIP: Amy L. Brandt, who died at the age of 37 after a health-related struggle.
- RIP: Ekkehard Drefke, who died at the age of 75 after falling into the water in Venice and drowning.
- RIP: Rosemarie Castoro, who died at the age of 76 due to unknown causes.
- American Contemporary gallery closes its doors.
- Christoph Büchel’s Venice Biennale mosque is closed to the public after officials shut it down.
- Eric Fischl leaves Mary Boone Gallery after 30 years.
- David Hockney to sell East Yorkshire house due to bad memories after death of Dominic Elliott.
- A look at Ely Sakhai's forgery scheme.
- Marina Abramovic feels let down and disappointed by Jay Z after cruel experience working with him. Marina Abramovic Institute subsequently apologizes to Marina Abramovic and Jay Z for not informing her of his donation. Artnews offers commentary on the situation.
- Islamic State militia approach ancient city of Palmyra, causing fears for the Roman remains and archaeological site. ISIS now controls the ancient ruins and 50% of Syria.
- Emma Sulkowicz carries her mattress to her graduation, against Columbia University's administration's wishes.
- Tania Bruguera to stage new political project in Havana following arrest.
- Illuminator Art Collective suing NYPD for wrongfully arresting its members and seizing its property.
- Atena Farghadani on trial in Tehran on charges of spreading propaganda against the ruling establishment.
- Luke Brugnara found guilty of wire fraud, mail fraud, and more related to art purchase scam case.
- Alexander Khochinskiy fighting extradition to Poland over looted WWII painting.
- German police find Hitler sculptures during raid in warehouse in Bad Duerkheim.
- Rembrandt etching and an Albrecht Dürer engraving go missing from Boston Public Library.
- Opening of M+ museum in Hong Kong delayed until 2019.
- Peggy Guggenheim's family going to court over the management of her collection and legacy.
- NY Times profiles some overlooked female artists that are now in their 70s and older.
- Larry Gagosian initially turned away at Cannes premiere for wearing sneakers.
- California increases state arts budget by $5mil.
- Discussion to explore whether Los Angeles is the creative capital of the world.
- V&A Museum collaborating with others to find ways of saving art and design items featuring plastics.
- Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture scheduled to open in 2016.
- Centre Pompidou considering popup locations across China.
- Rijksmuseum officially named European Museum of the Year by the European Museum Forum.
- Brooklyn Museum hires Anne Pasternak as its new director.
- MoMA plans Donald Judd retrospective for 2017.
- Hammer Museum gala to honor Diane Keaton and Paul McCarthy.
- Whitney Museum promotes Scott Rothkopf to chief curator.
- Expansion plans for Bass Museum of Art approved by Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board.
- Renzo Piano designs new handbag inspired by the Whitney Museum.
- SCAD Museum of Art opens show featuring Vivienne Westwood designs.
- Art Daily writes about the Havana Biennial.
- Kenny Schachter writes about the recent historic New York auction week.
- Former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani may be buyer of record Picasso.
- Max Liebermann’s “Two Riders on a Beach”, recovered from Gurlitt trove, will go to auction at Sotheby's.
- How a $40mil. Kazimir Malevich painting came to be consigned at Sotheby's.
- Jeff Koons' Coloring Book sculpture sells for $13.3mil at Cannes benefit auction. The event raised $30mil for amfAR and included a $1mil. Banksy donated by Leonardo DiCaprio.
- Sotheby's has a $25mil. white glove coin sale. It also puts together a money-themed auction.
- Artnews covers the American Art auction sales.
- Artnet picks the top ten booths at Photo London.
- Brian Boucher thinks that NADA NY may be the world's most erotic art fair. i-D's picks from NADA NY.
- Artnet has a sales report summary from Frieze NY.
- Scott Indrisek takes a look at the financial economics of participating in art fairs for galleries.
- Africa has the potential to be the next China when it comes to the contemporary art market.
- NY Times thinks its currently a seller's market.
- Skate's analysis of the New York contemporary art art auctions.
- Is there a relationship between the booming art market and the stock and equities market?
- Jeff Gundlach does not see the top end of the art market slowing as long as new billionaires are being made.
- Artsy's guide on how to get the best out of your Instagram account.
- Christie's lists six key trends they have noticed in photography collecting. Christie's also lists the hottest Latin American artists.
- A summary of what Jerry Saltz had to say during his talk at Frieze.
- Bruce Dunlap speaks about shooting Chris Burden during the Shoot performance.
- Jonathan Jones praises Peter Doig.
- Georg Baselitz talks about his work and has more thoughts on women artists.
- Gothamist covers Richard Prince's Instagram works.
- Ken Johnson reviews Vern Blosum's show at Essex Street.
- Frank Gehry wins J. Paul Getty Medal, the Getty Trust’s annual award for leadership in visual art.
- Christopher Knight reviews Jasmine Swope show at Craig Krull Gallery.
- Takashi Murakami to show at four venues in Ibiza this summer.
- Jeff Koons staying in Manhattan after eviction.
- Cait Munro interviews Mr. Brainwash.
- Joe Calslin creates mural in support of gay marriage vote in Ireland.
- Artnet has a list of 10 Exceptional Millennial Artists to Watch. It also previews the exotic summertime art events happening around the world.
- Alexandre Arrechea named Cuban Artist of the Year by Farber Foundation. Wins includes $10,000 prize.
- Stephen Shore embraces Instagram.
- Scott Indrisek visits the Jessica Jackson Hutchins show at Marianne Boesky Gallery.
- Rob Pruitt's daily paintings of Obama.
- Paste Magazine's 10 Great Contemporary Art and Music Crossovers.
↧
Streets: Aryz (Detroit)
↧
Streets: Seth Globepainter (China)
↧
Streets: Shepard Fairey (Detroit)
↧
↧
Streets: Aaron Li-Hill (New Jersey)
↧
Streets: RISK – Rock On The Range Festival
↧
Overtime: May 25 – May 31
- Richard Prince's Original exhibition on view at Gagosian Gallery on Madison Avenue.
- RIP: Mary Ellen Mark, who died at the age of 75 due to myelodysplastic syndrome.
- Three shot during Last Thursday art walk in Portland. People subsequently take selfies and demand ice cream.
- Maura Reilly writes about sexism in today's art world. The following artists respond to her piece: Jamian Juliano-Villani, Cindy Sherman, Betty Tompkins, Eleanor Antin, Mickalene Thomas, and K8 Hardy.
- Tania Bruguera detained in Cuba during Havana Biennial.
- Dai Jianyong detained in China and facing five years in prison for funny image of President Xi Jinping.
- ISIS does not intend to bulldoze Palmyra architecture, but will pulverize some statues.
- Museum of Iraklio in Crete visitor trips, falls, grabs a ancient vase on the way down, and breaks it.
- A list of the 9 biggest unrecovered art heists in history.
- Atopie barricades entrance to Museum of Contemporary Art in Basel by building a brick wall.
- Shepard Fairey reveals that he is disappointed in President Obama.
- Leaked Sony emails reveal difficulties Andreas Gursky and Gagosian Gallery had in licensing superheroes.
- Qatari prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani actually not the buyer of $179mil. Picasso.
- Torsten Bröhan accused of fraud related to his €55mil deal with China Academy of Art Design.
- Nur Khan says that New York City's downtown is no longer cool.
- Software can remove glare in photographs of artwork with glass covering it.
- Artnet's 62 Women Share Their Secrets to Art World Success: Part One. And part two.
- Christie's looks at the issue of conservation using 7 different artworks as examples.
- Andrew Russeth would like to see Christoph Büchel's mosque project in Venice reopened.
- LA Weekly writes about Topanga Canyon's art walk.
- Archaeologists discover 2,400-year-old solid gold "bongs" used by kings to smoke cannabis at ceremonies.
- Garage Museum of Contemporary Art opens to the public on June 12.
- Museum of Art and History, Lancaster acquires Clayton Brothers' Wishy Washy installation piece.
- Brooklyn Museum acquires KAWS' Along the Way sculptures and will exhibit them in its lobby.
- The National Gallery of Art acquires work by Cecily Brown, Martha Rosler, and Roni Horn.
- MOCA will honor artist and board member John Baldessari during their gala.
- Barbra Streisand donating John Singer Sargent painting to LACMA.
- Santa Monica Museum of Art has an estate sale.
- Museo Zac ai Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa to mount Hermann Nitsch exhibition.
- Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris to show Henry Darger's work.
- Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts to present first exhibition of Alexander Calder's works in Russia.
- Pompidou Center revamps presentation of its modern art collection.
- The New Yorker looks at the rise of the private art museum.
- Jasper Johns' Foundation for Contemporary Arts now presenting artist-curated exhibitions.
- Ai Weiwei, Damien Hirst, and others featured in Sculpture in the City, opening this summer in London.
- Camorra boss Egidio “Brutus" Coppola's home to be converted into a museum.
- Market for Frida Kahlo's works booming despite Mexico's tough export restrictions.
- Sean Parker revealed to be buyer of Ai Weiwei Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads at Phillips.
- Chris Ofili’s The Holy Virgin Mary to be sold at Christie's.
- Sotheby's lists Michael Jackson's former Neverland Ranch estate for sale at $100mil.
- Profile of the Suicide Girls. Suicide Girls prints the same Instagram posts that Richard Prince did and sells them for $90. They discuss their prints with The Creators Project. NPR features story on the body of work. Karley Sciortino and Anna Collins speak about their IG posts being used by Prince. Instagram states that you own your own Instagram photographs. Another look at the legality of Prince's appropriation.
- Marina Picasso selling her grandfather's work as an act of therapy and to fund charitable causes.
- A look at the market for Nazi art.
- WSJ covers Artsy's algorithm art auction.
- NPR explores online art sales platforms, like Paddle8 and Artsy, with commentary by William Powhida. Art Market Monitor comments on Powhida's thoughts.
- Alain Servais gives his thought's on today's art market.
- Judd Tully and Scott Reyburn discuss the May NY art auctions on the Artelligence podcast.
- Kenny Schachter shares some art dealing shenanigans he's observed or experienced.
- Jennifer Bartlett offering her Clinton Hill home on the market for $8.5mil.
- A look at the next generation of Berlin art dealers.
- 9 fashion designers that also have nice art collections.
- WSJ writes about the launch of Cultivist.
- ArtTactic talks to ExhibitionA.
- A look at Oliver Laric's show at Austrian Cultural Forum.
- Contemporary Art Daily covers the Darja Bajagić and Aleksander Hardashnakov show at Croy Nielsen.
- Adhoc interviews Derek Paul Boyle.
- Images from Michael Manning's Sticky Bumps show at Sommer Gallery.
- UCI pays tribute to Chris Burden, who got his MFA there in 1971.
- Daily Bruin looks at some UCLA MFAs.
- Long Giang Dang Laundry show includes Larry Clark, Ed and Deanna Templeton, Jerry Hsu, and more.
- Artadia gives grants to all finalists, including Park MacArthur and Eric Mack, for its award finalists.
- LA Times visits Eve Fowler's show at Mier Gallery.
- Jerry Saltz writes about Richard Prince's Instagram works.
- Yin Xiuzhen and Song Dong make a series of chopstick works.
- Rhode Island School of Design to give John Waters an honorary doctoral degree.
- What will become of Emma Sulkowicz’s mattress protest piece?
- Fiona Duncan interviews Julien Ceccaldi.
- Not all of Salvador Dali's paintings may have been painted by his hand.
- Vulture takes a look at Jeffrey Deitch's Coney Island street art.
- Leon Ewing wants to give kids controlled doses of marijuana in order to stimulate their creativity.
- Christie's profiles Cai Guo-Qiang.
- Mel Bochner silver bracelet avaialble from Whitney Shop.
- Gabriel Orozco limited edition boomerang available.
- Sylvester Stallone talks about painting.
- Shia LaBeouf collaborates with graduating students at Central St. Martins.
- Vincent van Gogh lookalike Robert Reynolds getting a web series.
- Kim Kardashian West, outsider artist.
↧
Streets: 1010 (Paris)
↧
↧
Streets: Ben Eine (Coney Island Art Walls)
↧
Streets: JR (Istanbul)
↧
Interviews / Setup: Jim Houser –“HUSH” @ Andenken / Battalion Gallery
Hyland Mather (HM): Hey Jim, how’s it going? How are you liking Amsterdam?
Jim Houser (JH): Less than 24 hours in, so far so good. Traveling to new places can be stressful for me, but it seems like a pretty easy going place.
HM: Is it scary for you with all the bike riders? Lots of pretty girls on bikes huh? Tall too right?!\
JH: Yes, and the tall girls are scarier than the bicycles .
HM: I’m glad you’re here. As you’ve been a long time inspiration to me, tell me first, can you rattle off a few inspirations of your own? Art, skating, music, philosophy, makers of any kind?
JH: I like that my art making is therapeutic for me. What is inspiring to me is that it contains a problem that never completely solves itself: me. From childhood on, I’ve used art to escape my reality, to help me define or explain my reality, and to meditate on my reality. Over the last few years I have begun to focus more on how I make and use my art and to think on what that really means for me.
HM: You’re over here for the show HUSH, thank you for that, and I definitely have some questions straight about it, but I feel also like I’ve got gazillions of questions about other stuff, regular conversation stuff, and father to father things, anyways… So… I feel like, you’re really into skateboarding at any part of your life, it pretty much stays in your blood forever. What’s your skateboarding strategy these days? Do you like to carve around, just watch, reminisce about the good ol days, bits of all of the above? None of the above?
JH: Other than skateboarding to the store, or cruising along while my son rides his bike, a session for me nowadays is an hour and a half. That's a full day of skating for me. 30 mins to get loose, 30 mins feeling ok about the 5 or 6 tricks I can do, 30 mins of feeling my legs go and fighting the urge to keep going. At 42 years old, it's a strategy that works for me, that 91st minute is usually where trouble starts.
HM: You’ve designed some iconic decks for Toy Machine over the years… Any new decks on the event horizon?
JH: Yes, I just got asked to do a series for another brand. It's still up in the air (I had to finish the work for this show). Also, my friends have a small board brand in Philly called Spectrum. I did their first boards about a year ago, and plan to do more whenever they get around to asking me.
HM: My own son, Addi, doesn’t skate too much / at all, but he did make up one of the raddest games ever with a skateboard. It’s like catch… we call it ‘skateboard pass." We just stand on a smooth patch of concrete about 50 feet apart and kick the skate back and forth. It’s hypnotic and rad and makes a super cool fssssssshhhhh sound. My point… is Seamus skating? Do you encourage it or share it with him at all?
JH: I don’t push him with it. I expose him to it, but he's just able to ride a two wheeler bike, so he's all about going fast and doing skids on his bike. Bu,t we watch old video parts on youtube. He likes watching vert skating.
HM: You play some music, I’ve been an enjoyer of your record from a few years ago, the Untitled ep… Available on big ol iTunes. I’ve heard you talk about the comfort you find making music as a way to combat time when the brush ain’t working. Is this still a useful escape for you? I know you’re still making music, but can we expect a follow up to your, 2010 hit 10” ep?
JH: I’d love to make another record at some point. I just haven't really focused on making music in about year. I'll noodle with a guitar watching TV, but thats about it. I haven’t taken an extended break from painting in what feels like forever, probably close to 2 years? It takes a big chunk of time off to really settle into playing music for me.
HM: My son and I make music as a band called… Get this… ’The Painters’ While you’re here you wanna lay down a ‘The Painters’ track with us?
JH: Yep, sure thing.
HM: Addi is actually about to go to high school… I remember you telling Andrew Jeffrey Wright once that your fear of showering with the other dudes in 8th grade is what steered you towards art classes. It’s strange to think how there is actually more ways to react to fear than just ‘fight or flight.' You can sorta outthink fear sometimes, and in your case, we have your work as evidence of it… thankfully. Any advice to the young person who might be more prone to draw than lather up with the other lads? Or just different ways of reacting to your fears?
JH: I think that was probably a joke. I don't know, art is a great tool for dealing with trauma, and for a kid, a thing that we as adults think of as very insignificant can be very traumatic for a kid. Their worlds are so small. I sort of lucked into it, making art. I was just as happy drawing as a kid as I was throwing rocks at cars. Anything to get out of my own head for a bit, skateboarding, taking drugs, all that stuff does the same thing to varying degrees of success, but luckily for me I was wired to have art making be the thing that quieted me down the most on the inside.
HM: This is sensitive, and I know it... Jess is the Seamus' mother and your wife and presumably a great and awesome love in your life, but, when you got interested in Becky (Westcott), is when you got interested in painting for a large part. If you can give that love of painting to your kid, at least in part is that a way you can pass along her spirit to your children?
JH: Seamus is aware of Becky. He knows as much of the story as I feel comfortable telling a five year old about. His bedroom was her studio, and her art is all over our house. Jess has always been incredibly strong and supportive of allowing Becky's memory to live on in our home. And the older Seamus gets, the more he'll understand about who she was.
HM: So, let’s get into the show stuff. One of the things you mentioned when we talked about the themes surrounding the work for the HUSH exhibition was about ‘the gravity of fatherhood.’ I know your own father was instrumental to you, kickstarting your drawing habits in your youth… Bought you sketchbooks and stuff. How do you see your role as creative nurturer / enabler now that you’re a dad? You’ve done some collab stuff with Seamus. Is he still into that?
J- I feel like its my job to do expose him to everything. If he wants to play the violin or rock climb or play lacrosse, whatever, cool. It’s all creative and all problem solving, to me, and I try to emphasize the importance of practice, and the idea that you'll get better at anything that you put your heart and focus into.
HM The word ‘HUSH’ has been appearing in your work for a while. I’ve heard you talk about that before, how a word can stick with your overall aesthetic the way some people keep an image in their aesthetic over long periods of time, a classic example is Shep with Andre. You actually do both. What about this word? Is it a mantra for yourself? A suggestion for others?
JH: It’s a plea to myself (and to others) to attempt to be present in the moment. It’s an incredibly difficult thing for me to do.
HM: It seems like you work in general with lots of dualism. Blue and Red as Water and Blood, and the idea you’ve talked about before of ‘Celebrating the Negative.’ I saw a cool venn diagram the other day on the jux instagram… I should have saved it. One large part of a circle said - Absolute Narcissism, the other side said Crippling Self-Doubt, and where they minutely intersected it said ‘art’. How often do you find yourself in the crippled camp? How are you the Narcissist?
J- Well, 50% of me feels like the type of art I make isn’t made better by anyone, ever, and the other 50% feels like its repetitive self absorbed mess that disappears up it's own asshole. So there's that too.
HM Thanks Jim, Thanks for coming to Amsterdam, Thanks for being a great maker. Any parting comments, shouts?
JH: Thanks for letting me come do my thing. I appreciate it.
HM: You’re welcome bro.
Discuss Jim Houser here.
↧