LOOK INTO MY OWL

“Dust in the Brain Attic” is the current show at the Robert Miller Gallery in NYC. The exhibit displays the latest sculptures by Dustin Yellin.

The translucent finished shapes hold the imagery in an eerie virtual space. The clear layers that separate the pigment offer shadows and a changing form as the viewer navigates to different angles.

Yellin makes use of CAT scans and MRI’s as reference for many of these works. The layered resin pieces are a fusion of painting and sculptural form. The ink and or acrylic paint is often set into the resin as panes built up to demonstrate a three dimensional topography.

A collision of content parallels the paradox of dimension in these sculptures. Dustin Yellin is clearly delighted with the art that depicts science. The transformation from factual rendering to casual characters is something to savor.

Dustin Yellin
Dust in the Brain Attic
23 April – 22 May 2009
Robert Miller Gallery
NYC

A collection of sculpture and drawings by Penny Hes Yassour is on view at the Stux Gallery in NYC.

Yassour lives and works in Israel. She finds inspiration in the constant shift of the political and physical landscape. Borders real and imagined have been in flux for so long that reality is reconsidered daily at the level of personal experience. When walking through the hanging walls that make up “Net-Works” (above and below) the viewer encounters a visual instability that mimics the situation in her part of the world.

The artist cast the rubber that hangs in these camouflaged veils. The character and tone for the silhouettes came from the exquisite drawings that accompany the sculptural forms in this exhibition.

Penny Hes Yassour
Phantom Landscapes
26 March – 2 May 2009
Stux Gallery
NYC

Matthew Barney has opened an exhibit of drawing and sculpture at the Gladstone Gallery in Brussels. The drawings are developmental plans for “Ren” and “Sekhem” the first two acts of his seven part opera. The work originates from “Ancient Evenings”, a novel written by Norman Mailer in 1983. The book is a semi-fictional account of Egypt during the time of the great pyramids.

Barney is well known for crushing Chryslers, black metal and the engulfing visuals that define his video work. In contrast, the drawings exhibit the output of a deliberate hand working with subtle precision. Some unusual materials were employed to compile these surfaces including petroleum jelly, metal leaf, lapis dust and a crude oil plastic.

The sculptures in the show allude to the stages the soul must graduate postmortem to achieve prominent position in the Egyptian afterlife. The work consists of seven copies of Mailer’s novel encased in wall-mounted vitrines. Each altered book is preserved on a block of carved salt.

“Ren”, the opening stage of the opera was filmed last year in Los Angeles. Acts two through four are slated for production this summer. The first part occurred as a public performance so keep your ears open and send me photos.

Matthew Barney
Ancient Evenings: Libretto
20 March – 9 May 2009
Gladstone Gallery
Brussels

This week Jermaine Rogers is releasing a pair of art prints that touch on important social themes. The ideas presented in these images are not revelations. We have known the facts for some time without initiating systemic change. These prints remind us that acknowledging a problem doesn’t make it go away.

Here is what Jermaine has to say about “Little Animals Grow … (Teach Your Children)” (above).
“It’s interesting how our society provides several ways of teaching a child to get very comfortable with the feel of a pistol in his hand.”

And an excerpt from Rogers’ description of “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” (below).
“…I believe that there is an equal amount of the ‘criminal element’ in every race in America. Thing is, if you’re a young black man, you’re WAY more likely to be arrested and convicted. In fact, governmental agencies actually rely on these trends, and have worked increasingly larger amounts of funds into the budgets for urban and low-income arrests and state and federal prison building. They’ve got ‘plans’ for 1 of every 4 little black boys in America (1 in 4 U.S. black men in their twenties is either in jail or under legal supervision).”

I’ve included the entire text that accompanies the above print after the jump. READ IT.

Both prints will be available at this link on Thursday, March 19th at a random time between Noon & 3PM MST.

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“Making Space”, a series of recent photographs from Lee Materazzi is on display at Quint Contemporary Art.

Materazzi employs a strong sense of theatrical staging in these photographs. The flooded light present in each still is reminiscent of shopping catalog photographs. The overall brightness along with the suffocating sensations of modern living serve as good reasons for her subjects to bury their heads.

The presentations strike as comedic on an intuitive level and blossom into dark warnings. The artist does not betray identity in these images. Unknown bodies become trapped in their environment and objectified to an extent that renders them indistinguishable from trendy furniture or fashion choices.

Lee Materazzi
Making Space
20 February – 28 March 2009
Quint Contemporary Art
La Jolla, California

Atelier Van Lieshout is the name of the studio/workshop headed up by Joep van Lieshout. Since their beginning in 1995 the collective goal has been to build creative solutions for contemporary living. The current exhibition at the Tim Van Laere Gallery is a display of recent sculptural works and drawings.

The studio explores the ideaologies of both utopian and dystopian societies. Creations range from small machines to full blown self sufficient communal architecture.

Head over to the Atelier Van Lieshout website to see some of the architectural projects and their impressive workshop. The studio appears to be living the life they prescribe.

Atelier Van Lieshout
29 January – 14 March 2009
Tim Van Laere Gallery
Antwerp, Belgium

This week I took some time out to visit with a good friend and amazing artist Jermaine Rogers. His studio is located in the halcyonic town of Manitou Springs, Colorado. Nestled between Pikes Peak and the Garden of the Gods, Manitou is steeped in natural beauty and long considered sacred by the locals. A perfect setting to create.

Each weekend Jermaine’s studio “DERO 72″ transforms into a gallery and opens to the public. It is here that you can catch up with his current exploits and possibly pick up something choice from the past.

The gallery has a warm atmosphere reminiscent of a bazaar with deep area rugs and comfortable furniture. It is situated in the midst of Manitou Spring’s arcade boasting indoor and open air games.

Many more photos after the jump.
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Rachel Whiteread is enjoying a well deserved solo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The show opened to a sold out lecture by the artist.

The highlight of the exhibit is the installation above, “Place (Village)”. The piece is a collection of approximately two hundred vintage doll houses assembled on a mock hillside. Whiteread has been collecting these miniature dwellings for the past twenty years. Each house is empty and lit from within making for an eerie scene in the darkened gallery. It’s the first time that this work has been seen in the United States. “Place (Village)” ties in well with the holiday season and offers an excellent opportunity to introduce children to the delights of an art museum.

Sixteen drawings and six sculptures are also on view in an adjacent room. This portion of the show is a good counterpoint to the primary installation. Through the drawings the viewer can experience the formation of ideas that eventually evolve into three dimensions. The sculptural elements are a tribute to the obsession Whiteread has with negative space.

Rachel Whiteread
15 October 2008 – 25 January 2009
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston