LOOK INTO MY OWL

Carlo Ferraris has two exhibitions running concurrently at the Florence Lynch Gallery.

“I brought this fucking house because of this table!” is comprised of video, photographs and an audio installation all documenting a table and the place it occupies in space. The title of the show is a bit of a mystery, is it supposed to be bought instead of brought? The confusion increases as the gallery has written the sentence a few different ways on their website. The work is all very strong so ambiguities concerning classification should be overlooked.

Also on view from Ferraris is “All the artwork I would have made if Horen Higgins was my father”. The centerpiece is the only electro-domestic handgun ever made. No home should be without this modern convenience.

Carlo Ferraris
I brought this fucking house because of this table!
16 October - 15 November 2008
Florence Lynch Gallery
NYC

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

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

The work of Daniele Buetti embodies the subtle simplicity of a good poem. “Snowflakes Over a Burning House” is a showing of his recent work at Haunch of Venison. The gallery has been transformed into an installation that is the perfect nimbus for Buetti’s multifarious manifestations. Alongside the lightboxes pictured here, the show also subsumes video and sculptural works. The general theme of the exhibit strays but always revisits ambiguities that concern every creative.

Daniele Buetti
Snowflakes Over a Burning House
30 August - 11 October 2008
Haunch of Venison
Zürich

Daniel Keller and Nik Kosmas run AIDS-3D.com and have started a studio, club and magazine in Berlin. There is a strong sense of “wrong” felt when navigating their website. They are following a path strategically devoid of truth and it’s delightful.

Imagination has been crimped during this election campaign. Head shots of politicians are being passed off as art. The slightest deviation has been attacked for not towing the party line. It has been good for the careers of many artists (and that’s cool) but November can’t come soon enough. In the meantime, it’s good to know that there are folks out there keeping the air holes open.

The projection of video has so much impact when compared to witnessing the same work on a monitor. The scale forces the eye to move, this in turn activates the mind. Jennifer Steinkamp has placed her latest projections at Lehmann Maupin in an effort to rouse the cerebellum.

“Daisy Bell” is comprised of a cataract of poisonous flowers descending the gallery walls. In the natural world outside of the human condition bright colors are feared and certainly avoided. It is the juxtaposition of beauty and danger that lends power to this work.

“Left Clavicle” is also included in the exhibit. Head over to the website of Lehmann Maupin to see this piece in motion.

Jennifer Steinkamp
Daisy Bell
7 September - 1 November 2008
Lehmann Maupin
NYC

The Fine Art Society in London has opened a two week viewing of the installations of Doug Foster. “Only Human” delves into human need and desire to be needed. Often calling attention to the other, these pieces evoke a whole arrived at through the power of duality.

In “Breather”, the audience is invited to look through two sets of peep holes set in a rusty steel cabinet. The upper view port shows a breathless woman in water up to the neck. She fills her lungs and dips below the surface calling attention to the lower set of optics that offer a scene in which the woman now completely submerged shares her breath with a man in the form of a kiss. It’s the kind of work that shows some of the possibilities of video installation.

(more…)

Christo and Jeanne-Claude are bringing their next large scale effort to Colorado. Over the River is planned for the summer of 2012 and will be exhibited for two weeks. The project consists of nearly six miles of silvery translucent fabric suspended horizontally over various parts of the Arkansas River spanning the forty mile stretch between Salida and Cañon City. “Over the River” will be viewable from two vantage points. Motorists will be able to witness it’s grandeur from US-50 and rafters are encouraged to float directly under the fabric panels.

The methods that Christo and Jean-Claude employ to produce their astonishing exhibits are often misrepresented by the press fueling ignorance in the public. The only way to combat this unfortunate inevitability is through education. On their website the artists have compiled a list of common errors attributed to their lives and work. They also lead into the process with informative lectures and exhibitions in the area. They have already started this in Colorado. Check here to find upcoming events organized for “Over the River”.

Salida is only 3 hours from our location in Nederland. We are already planning to work on the installation of this monumental artwork. You can get involved as well, sign up to receive updates on progress and information on opportunities as they arise. See you on the river!

David Byrne is prolific across many media. Recently he completed a project in cooperation with Pace Wildenstein and the NYC Department of Transportation. Nine powder coated steel bike racks were fabricated from Byrne’s drawings and installed throughout the city. Each piece is themed after it’s location “The Chelsea” (above) and “The Villager” (below) are prime examples. From the Upper West side down to Tribeca all nine locations are listed on the map at David Byrne’s website. Fill the tires, oil the chain and check them all out.

The former front man for the Talking Heads also recently converted the NYC Battery Maritime Building into a musical instrument.

He walks you through it in the video below from Boing Boing.

If you’ve been to a museum of modern/contemporary art it’s certain that you’ve seen the fluorescent installations of Dan Flavin. Usually they are positioned alongside sculpture and paintings from other masters. Flavin’s work definitely deserves such respect; however, it is not the way to experience his art. These pieces demand space, they require an exhibition of their own.

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts has drawn together such an exhibit. If you find yourself anywhere near St. Louis, head over to their beautiful space and enjoy the spectacle. Otherwise, explore the installations virtually via the web catalogue.

Dan Flavin
Constructed Light
1 February - 4 October 2008
The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts
St. Louis

Soichiro Fukutake has approached his dream as a goal. Over the years he has amassed a rather large art collection and needed somewhere to house it. Naoshima is now home to several art museums and has become a must see for art enthusiasts visiting Japan.

A good friend of ours recently took a trip to Japan and dispelled myths about the high cost associated with such a journey. See you there.