On October 10th we reported on the Banksy solo exhibit in New York City. “The Village Petstore and Charcoal Grill” has been a huge success. Here are some exclusive photos from the front lines.
MORE PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP
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“Look Into My Owl” operatives have infiltrated New York City and returned with reconnaissance photos from two of the coolest art shows the city has to offer. Keep LOOKing tonight and tomorrow for the evidence they smuggled out.
This show just reached it’s conclusion but is still certainly worth a mention. “Wait for Walk” is a collection of photographs taken by Florian Böhm of pedestrians hovering on street corners in New York City. The series was recently exhibited at Cohen Amador Gallery. The pause for cross traffic made for some unlikely group photos. A wide range of emotions are portrayed to inspire the voyeur or in my case make a converted mountain man yearn for the diversity of the city.
Florian Böhm
Wait for Walk
10 September - 18 October 2008
Cohen Amador Gallery
A solo show from Marijn van Kreij is up now at the project space of the Stedelijk Museum. ‘Tomorrow is Humourless” is a multimedia installation that examines the question of real versus fake. His work is a fusion of himself and the other. These investigations lead to fresh insight on potentially played out appropriations. Copy, then make a copy of the copy… it’s a successful method to take something old and allow it breathe once more.
Marijn van Kreij
Tomorrow Is Humourless
21 September - 2 November 2008
Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam
Improv Everywhere stages happenings that wreak good natured havok in public places. For their latest mission “Human Mirror” they gathered nine sets of identical twins and rode the subway in NYC. The twins sat across from their other half and emulated each other as closely as possible.
Recently, the collaborators connected more that 2,000 people in 10 cities worldwide to go for pants free for shocking subway rides.
Some of the events that the pranksters organize are not so large in scale but equally engaging. Witness the absurd suicide jumper complete with security trying to talk him down.
The society hit the high water mark with “Frozen Grand Central”. More than 200 agents froze simultaneously for 5 minutes. Still images don’t do the project justice so you will have to watch the video.
Want to get involved with the next mission? Just head to the website and let them know who you are.
Cryptic coloration has been in use by humans for military concerns dating back centuries and in nature for millennia. In the photographs of Liu Bolin, hiding takes on a personal note with political overtones. The invisible man calls attention to places and concepts by removing himself from the picture. Liu Bolin has a solo show opening at Galerie Bertin-Toublanc in Paris. Check the website for more images.
Liu Bolin
22 October - 22 December 2008
Galerie Bertin-Toublanc
Paris
Ronald Bladen is considered one of the fathers of Minimalism but he envisioned himself a romantic. This attitude was a successful attempt to avoid the trap of the pigeonhole. His interest was in the dramatic effect that a sculpture could have on a viewer. This accomplishment is clear to anyone that approaches these monumental works.
An exhibition of his painted aluminum garden scale sculptures as well as some drawings and models is set to open this week at Jacobson Howard Gallery. The work above was shot at the Corcoran in 1967 during the “Scale as Content” exhibit. The last major display of Bladen’s work was at P.S.1 in 1999. Opportunities to see his work don’t come around often, so head over to the gallery and allow yourself to be wooed by a modern master.
Ronald Bladen
Sculpture
16 October - 26 November 2008
Jacobson Howard Gallery
NYC
In museums, contemporary works are habitually deployed asunder from the antiquities that formed their inception. This is not the case with the current exhibition at The British Museum. “Statuephilia” showcases three dimensional works from five leading British contemporaries. The artworks have been thoughtfully placed throughout the museum alongside historic international treasures. This mingling of past and present coerces fans of art history into a realization that our time is as significant as days gone by. Conversely it demonstrates to the hipsters that the art they are infatuated by was not gathered from the ether.
Major works of art from Marc Quinn, Damien Hirst, Noble and Webster, Ron Mueck and Antony Gormley make up this exhibition. All of these artists had spent considerable time in the British Museum during the years that formed what they are today. This is their way of paying tribute to this inspiration.
Statuephilia
4 October 2008 - 25 January 2009
The British Museum
London
Zeke K is interested in the moment and he captures these moments with careful set up and a camera. His current show “Stills from the Unrealized Films of a Stranger” is up now at Photoflow Gallery. The Giclée on canvas prints have the look of motion pictures, in this case, ones that were never made. The imagery is mostly dark in theme as the artist attempted to isolate a time when, “the featured character is about to do something that will change their life forever, a moment from which they can never return to whom they once were.”
Zeke K
Stills from the Unrealized Films of a Stranger
2 October - 1 November 2008
Photoflow Gallery
Sherman Oaks, CA
Initial Access is a 10,000 sq. ft. space that houses and exhibits the contemporary art collection of Frank Cohen. The current display is an offering of artworks that make their own light. Some pieces are sculptural while others exhibit the qualities of installation. Attendees that step into the dark are welcomed by works from John M Armleder, Dan Attoe, Shezad Dawood, Olafur Eliasson, Tracey Emin and Jason Rhoades.
Lightness of Being
6 September - 19 December 2008
Initial Access
Frank Cohen Collection
Wolverhampton, England
Banksy has gone big for his first solo exhibit in NYC. The “Village Petstore and Charcoal Grill” is a bizarre menagerie of the consumed and the consumables. Guests to the installation are treated to animatronics designed to disturb and delight. From cavorting fish sticks to a stunned looking primate enjoying discovery channel monkey porn, it’s all going on in the village.
There are several videos up at the website for the show. This encounter with a leopard is my favorite.
Banksy
The Village Petstore and Charcoal Grill
Open 10am - 12am daily through 31 October 2008
89 Seventh Avenue
NYC
Caitlin Wheeler has a new exhibit at the Bluebottle Art Gallery in Seattle. The mixed media works are drawings and serigraphs on handmade paper and found materials. The substance of the show demonstrates the similarities between human and animal behavior. In the guise of the mask we are little removed from the kingdom.
Caitlin Wheeler
Ardor/Armor
1 - 31 October 2008
Bluebottle Art Gallery
Seattle
