LOOK INTO MY OWL

Mixed media sculptures and charcoal studies from Bernardi Roig are on view at the Claire Oliver Gallery in NYC. “Pierrot le fou is (not) Dead” runs through the middle of January, if you are in the city, this one should not be missed.

Bernardi Roig, Pierrot le fou (detail), mixed media, 2009.

Art Miami (covered here on LIMO) offered a lot of excellent work this year. One of the highlights for me was the engaging output from Bernardi Roig at the Claire Oliver booth. The repeated form of Roig’s stark white man acts as a surface for the viewer to project their own ideas and misconceptions. The rapport that builds can range from affinity to compassion.

Bernardi Roig, Despondency Exercise (detail), mixed media, 2009.

The exhibition of “Pierrot le fou is (not) Dead” includes several pieces that were shown in Miami combined with a larger scope of the artist’s recent work. The balance of strong concept and superior craftsmanship will remain long after a visit to the gallery.

Bernardi Roig, Pierrot le fou – Study 1, charcoal on paper, 2009.

Bernardi Roig
Pierrot le fou is (not) Dead
10 December 2009 – 16 January 2010
Claire Oliver Gallery
NYC

Our gallery, NOWhere Limited, is pleased to announce the release of “Drinkin’ with Cyclops” an exclusive art print from Mark Mothersbaugh. The print will be available at this link on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at Noon Pacific Standard Time / 3pm Eastern Standard Time / 20:00:00 UTC.

Mark Mothersbaugh, Drinkin’ with Cyclops, five color serigraph, 2009.

The full bleed, five color serigraph is limited to an edition of 80 signed and numbered prints. In addition to this run we will have a few of the ultra rare four color variant on silver mirror paper. Both versions feature areas of metallic and glow in the dark inks.

Mark Mothersbaugh, Drinkin’ with Cyclops signing at Mutato Muzika, Los Angeles, 2009, (photo: J. Brewton).

Mark’s recent visual artwork has been largely inspired by his 30-year habit of creating handmade postcards to send to friends from various stops on DEVO tours. This obsession has evolved into a visual diary that currently yields the artist 1-25 new images per day. These images have served as the basis for the artist’s critically acclaimed solo shows of the 80s/90s as well as for his “gallery tours” which have been occurring at art venues throughout the globe since 2003.

Mark Mothersbaugh, Drinkin’ with Cyclops, glow-in-the-dark-detail, 2009.

You can find L.I.M.O. coverage of the printing process for “Drinkin’ with Cyclops” here.

Mark Mothersbaugh
Drinkin’ with Cyclops
Release date: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
NOWhere Limited

Kiel Johnson has been invited back for a second solo show at the Mark Moore Gallery in Santa Monica.

Kiel Johnson, Two Sides to Every Story: AKA Boom Boom, chipboard, foam, tape and glue, 2009.

The artist has brought a wide array of media into play for this exhibition. The work operates on a memetic algorithm that holds significant personal meaning for Johnson but also conjures complex nostalgic reactions in the viewer. The transformation of fact through the circuitry of memory and experience drive the presentation.

Kiel Johnson, After and Before, ink on paper, 2009.

Communication of fuzzy thoughts that exist in a states of change can be a difficult task. In the form of a basic, albeit intricate abstraction, “After and Before” (above) posits a direct view of this duality in perception.

To further clarify his individuality, Johnson created an “autobiographical printing press” (below). Images chronicling the construction in the artist’s studio can be found here.

Kiel Johnson, Publish or Perish, pine ply, steel, aluminum, inkjet on paper, chipboard, 2009.

Kiel Johnson
17 October – 14 November 2009
Mark Moore Gallery
Santa Monica, CA

Barcelona’s Galería Senda has installed their sixth solo exhibition with Gino Rubert. “Irma Lentamente” (Irma Slowly) features paintings and drawings created over the past year.

Gino Rubert, Heroes, mixed media on canvas, 2009.

The paintings are explorations into the personal attitudes of the artist. There is often the feeling that you’ve opened the wrong door, apologized and replaced the wood firmly into the hole. When extraordinary moments, or in this case paintings, occur it is human nature for the memory to loop like a film on the mind.

Gino Rubert, Toy Kiss, mixed media on canvas, 2009.

This exhibit is giving us a first look at the drawings of Gino Rubert. They are technically exquisite with varying degrees of complexity. The inclusion of these pieces in “Irma Lentamente” is a great counterpart to the paintings offering the most complete view of the artist’s manner to date.

Gino Rubert, Legs Mind, mixed media on paper, 2009.

Gino Rubert
Irma lentamente
17 September – 24 October 2009
Galería Senda
Barcelona

“Intricacies”, an eleven artist group show is in it’s last weeks at the Lohin Geduld Gallery in NYC. The exhibit was curated by Emily Sessions.

Sarah Lutz, Burst, oil on canvas, 2009.

The show is comprised of artworks that highlight small details that draw together into larger forms. Works of this character tend to change dependent on the distance of the viewer from the surface. Approach an unassuming abstract shape and vanish into the microcosm.

Adam Fowler, Untitled (7 Layers), graphite on paper hand cut and layered, 2009.

The world we inhabit and the vessels that contain us exist from the same construct seen in this exhibit. On some level, this show could be considered naturalistic. Experiencing this art in person will accurately edify the senses. If possible stop in at the gallery and indulge in the particulars.

Olalekan Jeyifous, The Cyclical-Cities of Impact-Craters, digital print on watercolor paper, 2009.

Laura Battle, Josephine Durkin, Matthias Düwel, Margaret Farmer, León Ferrari, Adam Fowler, Robert Jack, Olalekan Jeyifous, Sarah Lutz, Anne Neely, Mayumi Sarai
Intricacies
23 July – 4 September 2009
Lohin Geduld Gallery
NYC

Last night “The BLAB! Show” opened at the Copro Gallery in Santa Monica.

Martin Wittfooth, Saints Preserve Us, oil on linen, 2009.

More than twenty artists have converged for this expansive group show. Works from the display will also be featured in the next installment of BLAB! Monte Beauchamp’s almanac that showcases fine art, illustration and comics.

Teresa James, Hand Autopsy, colored pencil and graphite on paper, 2009.

The fifth chapter of this annual exhibit is infused with the theme of “21st-Century Apocalypse.” The reactions to this charged tone range from humorous social and personal observations to heavy corporate and environmental concerns.

Jeff Soto, The Corruption of Mankind, acrylic on wood panel, 2009.

MARK RYDEN, JOE SORREN, JEFF SOTO, SHAG, FEMKE HIEMSTRA, ALEX GROSS, NATALIA FABIA, RYAN HESHKA, MARTIN WITTFOOTH, OWEN SMITH, GARY BASEMAN, XNO, JEAN-PIERRE ROY, KRIS KUKSI, GEORGANNE DEEN, GARY TAXALI, Zap artist SPAIN, FRED STONEHOUSE, ANDY KEHOE, MARC BURCKHARDT, MARK TODD, CALEF BROWN, Garbage Kid’s creator JOHN POUND, DAVID SANDLIN and more.

The BLAB! Show
8-29 August 2009
Copro Gallery
Santa Monica, California

New sculptures and drawings from Paul McCarthy make up the current show in the downstairs galleries of Hauser & Wirth Zürich.

Paul McCarthy, Puppet (Original), 2005-2008.

Paul McCarthy has been testing the limits of depravity for more than four decades. The abject horrors and anti-heroes presented along the way have grounded the audience in the comfort of his nightmare.

Paul McCarthy, Happy Traveler, 2008.

The sculptures in the current show represent the low end of the social meter over the past six years. We’ve seen the ultimate in mindless greed and perhaps even some genuine evil in the course of the chronicled period. More than adequate fuel for the master to trek into new territory. Life has been imitating McCarthy recently, it should be interesting to see where he goes from here.

Paul McCarthy, Static (Pink), 2004-2009.

Paul McCarthy
7 June – 25 July 2009
Hauser & Wirth
Zürich

“Your Mom Is Open Source” Shane Hope’s first solo exhibit is on display through the end of July at the Winkleman Gallery in NYC.

Shane Hope, Molecula Simianus En Balloonus Animalia Meet Nanotubular Lepidoptera, 2009.

Be certain to have a look at the bio on Hope’s website for significant understanding into his trendy 2040’s lifestyle. There you will get a jump on approaching jargon such as malfoamation, slowcators and ontogenies.

Shane Hope, “Yes, but [grey goo] will be our children.”, 2009.

The conceivable futures for humankind are limitless. Arthur C. Clarke’s third law of prediction comes to mind when viewing this work, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” We may postulate, expound and compile without a solid concept of the road ahead. Shane Hope has gone forward a bit with the intention of reporting back. The work outlines the illusion of tomorrow while admonishing the present as future past.

Shane Hope, to be Imortel, 2009.

Shane Hope
Your Mom Is Open Source
26 June – 1 August 2009
Winkleman Gallery
NYC