LOOK INTO MY OWL

KAWS has opened a solo show on Fifth Avenue. An exhibition of sculptures and paintings is on view at the Gering & López Gallery.

I gave up on television years ago, so much of the inspiration for these works is lost to me. My approach to the pieces is based primarily on color and form and that seems to be enough as the art is successful on these merits. I searched for spongebob on youtube and found that I could not persevere more than a few seconds. But I like the paintings. Curiosity demands to know if the TV savvy public are really entering the works or merely humming a theme song. It is fair to suppose that it doesn’t really matter because with KAWS you can’t have one without the other.

The highlight of the show can be found in the beautifully installed bronze severed head self-portraits of the artist. There are 33 unique colors in all. Usually bronze is not painted because if an artist works in the medium they want it to be evident in the final product. The “candy coating” that has been applied forces the viewer to realize that there is more to KAWS than surface appearance.

KAWS
6 November - 23 December 2008
Gering & López Gallery
NYC

Kate Clark is unleashing her menagerie on Claire Oliver. She has a set of photos that detail the production of the faces on these hybrids over at kateclark.net.

The artist has managed to capture the animal gaze in these sculptures. There is a strong conceptual current that runs through the work that elevates the content beyond taxidermy. Each and every piece is undeniably creepy but compassion is aroused in the viewer that offsets revulsion.

Kate Clark
Perfect Strangers
20 November 2008 - 3 January 2009
Claire Oliver
NYC

The Marcia Wood Gallery is hosting a show of the recent sculptures of Mary Engel. If you are in the area of Atlanta stop by and have a look.

The focus of the work is centered on roughly life sized animal forms encrusted with a variety of small objects. These skins are presented on the recognizable shape of pets which makes for easily engaged pieces with a hint at abstraction.

Mary Engel
20 November 2008 - 3 January 2009
Marcia Wood Gallery
Atlanta, GA

Happy Halloween and to our pagan friends, a prosperous new year. Here is a timely post to celebrate. The current show at Yvon Lambert New York is the first U.S. solo excursion for artist Berlinde De Bruyckere.

De Bruyckere has a love for the old masters and she learned anatomy from the inside out. Her father was a butcher. The intent behind these sculptures is not to shock or disgust; rather, the artist hopes that you will empathize with the anguish and loneliness in the forms. The heads have been left off of the figures in hopes that the viewer will concentrate on the gesture and glean information without the aid of a screaming head.

Berlinde De Bruyckere
10 October - 15 November 2008
Yvon Lambert
NYC

It’s always exciting to get that first glimpse of a new creation from Plaseebo. Behold… “Bank America (come suckle on the tit of credit)”.

This piece is a unique urethane custom, cast from an original sculpt by Bob Conge. Take notice of details like the glass eyes, rubber baby bottle nipples and red glass hart with excremental accessory.

“This sculpt was started 6 months ago (long before the BAIL OUT) and was inspired by the blatant greed and unfair loan-shark type fees and interest rates charged by American banks. It is just short of theft! With this piece I want to express the true image of the bank beneath the placid mask of business as usual. The bank takes your money and then shits on your dreams.”

~ Bob Conge

Rodney Graham has assembled an excellent show for the Rüdiger Schöttle Gallery. “It’s All Black and White” is a cross section of media ranging the gamut including drawing, painting, photography, prints, sculpture and interactive installation.

The nucleus of the exhibit is the “Mini Rotary Psycho Opticon” which is a replica of a device used by the legendary band Black Sabbath during an early 1970’s Belgian television appearance. Guests of the gallery are welcome to pedal themselves into optic bliss.

Rodney Graham
It’s All Black and White
21 October - 19 November 2008
Rüdiger Schöttle Gallery
Munich

Ernesto Neto has transformed the inside of the Tanya Bonakdar Gallery. He has taken over both floors of the exhibition space with a variety of work.

“The Wisdom of the Parts” stretches through the gallery like a cocoon awaiting and encouraging visitors to enter it’s confines to be reborn, metamorphosed from who they were prior to engagement. This sculpture acts more like an installation infusing the olfactory with the perfume of spice and overwhelming the sense of place in space. This piece is also a collision of natural form and fabricated material. These opposing forces mirror the tension that holds the art together.

Ernesto Neto
…Ai…ai…
11 October - 15 November 2008
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
NYC

Mexico City is a place in flux. Old buildings are being torn down in favor of the modern skyline. Alejandra Laviada explores the deserted edifices and collects the artifacts within into temporary sculptures. The results are then documented by way of the photograph. These exercises are Laviada’s way of remembering the past before it is gone forever. The large scale photographic evidence of her efforts are currently on view at Danziger Projects.

Alejandra Laviada
Photo Sculptures
11 October - 22 November 2008
Danziger Projects
NYC

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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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

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