The Old Gold

Thank You

2010-04-19T18:35:00.002-04:00

PLEASE NOTE: This blog has experienced a setback related to magical Google Plus and Picasa settings. All of the images were removed. I'm sorry for the inconvenience and hope to have it fixed in the near future.

The Old Gold is now an archive. Please go to Daily Operation for things to come.

AND PLEASE continue to check out the past posts and the sites of the amazing artists who have appeared here and supported this blog. Thanks so much to everyone.
-Jon

Folksmusic

2010-03-31T10:39:00.008-04:00

Some Things

2010-03-25T14:25:00.007-04:00

Martin Bromirski (detail)

SHOWS
Opening this Friday 3/26: Apartment Show's Big Apple @ Clifton Benevento w/Gina Beavers, Phillip Birch, Colby Bird, Patrick Brennan, Brian Clifton, Bridget Finn, Amanda B. Friedman, Elizabeth Hirsch, Josh Kline, Joshua Kolbo, Denise Kupferschmidt, Christina Leung, Eddie Martinez, Jeanette Mundt, Sam Moyer, Jeffrey Porterfield, Josh Slater, Benjamin Sisto, Joshua Smith, Jeffrey Tranchell, Ned Vena

Opening Sunday 3/28: anything whatever w/ Rachel Howe, Janine Polak, Lee Vanderpool, Lizzie Wright @ 174 Roebling, Storefront, Brooklyn. 4-7PM.

Opening 4/3 in Hudson NY. Martin Bromirski's solo show Cro-mirski in Nega-View @ John Davis Gallery

Up now in Paris: From NY with Love...Paris @ Don't Projects w/Linda Bernal, Hector Arce Espasas, Kathryn Garcia, Jaime Gecker, Hector Madera Gonzalez, Douglas Gordon, José Lerma, Angel Otero, Elizabeth Peyton, Tobias Rehberger, Christopher Rivera, Martha Rosler, Spencer Sweeney, Rirkrit Tiravanija

OTHER STUFF
Look out for a copy of "You've Got a Friend"... a publication featuring the work of Patrick Brennan and Eddie Martinez.

Go to Daily Operation's Work page and take a look at Carrie's Pollack's new print, "Weave". This is the first is a series of works that will be available through Daily Operation...and there is much more great stuff coming up!

AND...stay tuned for more info on the next Daily Operation show... Folksmusic on April 10.

Maria Calandra

2010-03-21T09:56:00.014-04:00

Behold Pit Tree, 2010, acrylic on panel, 27" x 33"

Murphaligadus, 2008, acrylic and gouache on panel, 10" x 12"

Untitled (void study) 6, 2007, acrylic, gouache, marker on paper

Underwater Theater, 2009, acrylic on panel, 24" x 18"

Mooorrouiutt, 2008, acrylic and gouache on panel, 9.5" x 7"

The House, 2005, acrylic, marker, tape

Much more goodness here.

Andy Cross

2010-03-12T13:11:00.018-05:00

Adjative's Daughter, 2009, oil on canvas, individual 30" x 20", installed 96" x 103"

Portrait Grouping, 2009, oil on canvas, individual 36" x 30", installed 6' x 10'

History of the World, 2005, acrylic on Styrofoam, 96" x 96"

For the Sake of the Song, 2010, oil on canvas, 82" x 60"

The Wheel is Broken but the Revolution is Still Intact, 2005, acrylic on Styrofoam, 8' x 16'

Greener Side of the Law, 2007, oil on canvas, 84" x 132"

The Strip: 2 Point Perspective, acrylic on Styrofoam, 2006

I was happy to stumble upon Andy's studio recently and was really excited to see what he was working on. There's a great new body of work (like Adjative's Daughter, Portrait Grouping, and For the Sake of the Song) where he is exploring many different ways of mark making in portraiture. I'm surprised with how well he is able to pull this off. So, enjoy these older works as well and check out his website here.

Studio: Jasmine Justice

2010-03-03T10:39:00.023-05:00

Here a few shots of what Jasmine Justice has been up to lately. She has a show in Frankfurt next month...Crash Site opens at AtelierFrankfurt on April 7th. Also check all of my posts on her here and also see her website.

Studio: Saira McLaren

2010-02-22T19:23:00.005-05:00

Here are some pics of some really great new, experimental works from McLaren's studio. She's gone through quite a change since her previous body of work, but some of the same imagery pops up. Also see her website here.

Branden Koch

2010-02-15T01:25:00.020-05:00

After cute, 2009, oil on canvas, 19" x 17"

More here.

film break

2010-02-13T09:52:00.019-05:00

Final scene of Antonioni's Zabriske Point, Pink Floyd soundtrack.

Some Things

2010-02-09T14:39:00.036-05:00

Gianna Commito, Ditch

Opening Soon:
Friday, 2/12 @ the ICA Boston: screening of J.D. Walsh and Patrick Brennan video collaboration The Stranger. See that here (with a great new soundtrack by Walsh).

Saturday, 2/13: HKJB Portable Caves in Long Island City w/ many artists. Old Golders include Justin Adian and EJ Hauser.

Tuesday, 2/16: Gianna Commito in the 185th Annual Invitational @ the National Academy.

Up now:
Matthew Fisher in Natural Reaction @ Heskin Contemporary, Metropolitan Green, Williamsburg

Soft and Loud

2010-02-03T10:16:00.013-05:00

Jaya Howey, Stacy Fisher, Stacy Fisher

Jaya Howey, Happy Hardcore

Stacy Fisher, Black and White Objects, 2009, plaster, wood, chain, paint, 26" x 33" x 15"

J.D. Walsh, Jaya Howey

J.D. Walsh, recordplayer 2, 2010, HD video projection

Jaya Howey, It's Not Like You're Dating The Guy From Amon Düül II Or Something, oil on jutte, 2009

J.D. Walsh, Stacy Fisher, Stacy Fisher

Stacy Fisher, Speckled Sculpture on Wood, 2009, plaster, wood, metal, chain, paint, 13" x 48" x 13"

Soft and Loud was the ninth Daily Operation show and featured recent work by Stacy Fisher, Jaya Howey, and J.D. Walsh. It was held from Jan. 29-31. Thanks to all who came out and those who helped out with the show!

Stephen Davis

2010-01-25T08:57:00.009-05:00

1971, 24" x 96" x 36"

1972, 84" x 144"

1975, 22-1/2" x 28"

1979, 96" x 102" x 60"

1980
1981, 88" x 42" x 13"

1985, 72" x 48"

1990, 38" x 50"
1998, 24" x 20"

2005, 59" x 58"

2007, 102" x 78"

2007, 84" x 110"

I've been meaning to have Stephen Davis on here for a while now. He was in Daily Operation's Make it last. Check out his website here for much more great stuff.

Upcoming: Soft and Loud

2010-01-21T12:43:00.005-05:00

"Soft and Loud" features recent work by Stacy Fisher, Jaya Howey, and J.D. Walsh.

BYOB

Daily Operation is a project by Jon Lutz. It has and will include shows in studios, apartments, parks, empty real estate, and other venues.

Some Things

2010-01-14T07:16:00.011-05:00

Ian Pedigo, Erratic, chair, birch branches, slate, glass, window tinting, metal, spray paint, 2009, 49" x 31" x 35"

Opening tonight and soon...

1/14: Vince Contarino Sweet Divide @ 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel
Ryan Schneider Send Me Through @ Priska Juschka Fine Art

1/15: Ian Pedigo Accumulations of Matter @ Klaus von Nichtssagend
Laddie John Dill @ Nyehaus

1/21: Quick While Still @ Heist Gallery w/ Katherine Bernhardt, Kadar Brock, Mark Gibson, Matt Jones, John Newsom, Wendy White
Rites of Passage @ Cooper Union w/ Sue Havens, Kenny Komer and Boris Rasin, and many others

J.J. Garfinkel

2010-01-05T11:50:00.010-05:00

Chapel Furrow, 2007, oil, acrylic, enamel on panel, 54" x 48"

Terra Spectra, 2008, oil, acrylic, abalone on panel, 48" x 62"

Conjured A Sample, 2008, oil on panel, 40" x 34"
Untitled, 2009, watercolor, gouache, flashe and pencil on paper, 10" x 8"

Channel #3, 2009, oil on canvas, 45" x 45"

Landmine Spring, 2004, enamel, foam, plastic on panel, 24" x 24"

Aura of Nights, 2009, oil on canvas, 52" x 78"

Aura of Lights is part of J.J. Garfinkel's renewed interest in oil painting on a larger scale...it and Channel #3 are especially nice in person. I'm liking the way he moved from works like Landmine Spring into this more sophisticated and mysterious grouping of nature's objects. His works have been seen at Hogar Collection (among other spots) and you check out more here.

Some Things

2010-01-02T11:32:00.019-05:00

Opening Jan. 4: J.D. Walsh in Seven Easy Steps: Technological Innovations @ Horton Gallery.

Opening Jan. 8 (reception Jan. 10): Sam Moyer Shape Shifters @ Rachel Uffner Gallery. Also see her work in Between Spaces at PS1.

Opening Jan. 14: Eddie Martinez @ Zeiher Smith

One of the best "top ten" lists of the year. Thanks to Anaba for paying attention!

And one of my favorites of the last year...Patrick Brennan FAZES. In case you missed it, a nice view on Patrick's work here by Matthew Fisher. And see coverage of this show on KCLOG.

Something that struck me, by Tom Moody.

Also stay tuned for more from Daily Operation...we are working on some artists editions that should be out soon. Thanks to all who have come out over the past two years. It's been really fun...more to come. In the meantime, join the Daily Operation pag e on Facebook for updates.

Ariel Dill and Christian Sampson

2009-12-16T08:00:00.015-05:00

This is the LAST weekend to stop by Southfirst and see Ariel Dill and Christian Sampson's Inglenook. I've seen this show a couple of times now (which seems essential) and it's a really refreshing introduction (if you need one) to two of the most interesting emerging artists. It's also a nice take on a concept show...with a nice mix of playfulness and reverence. See my interview with them below:

Jon Lutz: Your current show, Inglenook, is based on the research and experimentations of psychologist Wilhelm Reich. What was your attraction to Reich?

Ariel Dill and Christian Sampson: Wilhelm Reich attracted us as a "material" based artist and thinker. Reich's ideas for orgone accumulators and cloud busters are some of the most fascinating sculptures of the 20th century- involving fantastic looking machines that could potentially harness orgone energy and control weather patterns. Reich believed he discovered orgone energy, a blue-light energy that radiates through the body and atmosphere. He invented the orgone accumulator box and blanket to harness this energy for healing purposes of all humankind. We thought orgone energy would be an interesting material to incorporate into our work.... to construct, in the constructivist sense, an artwork as "comrade". We also found it interesting that this was in a sense an "invisible" material"…one you can't see, you can only feel, a material that not only questions the faith of the viewer in experiencing it physically but also us in the construction of it.

Christian Sampson, Untitled, 2009, acrylic, dye, wood and plexiglass, 48" x 36"

JL: How do you incorporate this energy into your art practice?

AD/CS: We didn't know what we'd end up by experimenting with it and if our studio might explode from too much concentrated orgone. I wonder what the neighbors upstairs felt, maybe they had the greatest three months of sex and all their ailments are cured. We were interested in how orgone energy related to the physicality of the body and abstraction with paintings infinity with tactile textiles and blankets. The six orgone accumulator blankets we constructed together for the show are from Reich's F.B.I confiscated instructions. Once the initial construction of the blanket was finished we would wear the blanket and then paint them to ornamentalize the experience, seeing if colors, pattern and shapes involved would change the orgone experience in any way. For the answer one must go try one on and "see" for themselves.

Ariel Dill, Arrow, 2009, oil and acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16"

JL: How did Inglenook come together as a collaboration?

AD: Christian and I have had studios next to each other since leaving graduate school and we have a back and forth communication between looking at each others work and seeing connections or just discussing the work. We had never actually collaborated on work before this show. After we visited Reich's Museum, Orgonon, the Orgone Blankets were something that we wanted to make together and have in the studio, not necessarily for a show. When we were asked to do the show together we realized this was a good time to try making the blankets. It was a wacky enough way to connect our work to each other and then to physically connect to the viewer. It is really important for each of us to have our individual work (there is a wall and a door between our studios!), the collaborative pieces are made by this other part , almost a third artist...less ego is involved and that was pleasurable and unexpected.

JL: You are each working with abstraction and focusing on color and form…is there a concern here for the psychological effect of color on the viewer? Are there art historical precedents here?

CS: I think I was starting from a more 19th century phantasmagorical use of color and the psychology of the shadow. Looking at hand painted magic lantern slides and the use of the projected form and its double or other. Something that I think was much later picked up by Robert Smithson when he was writing about the use of translucency in Donald Judd and it's relation to science fiction of the 1960's. Also the early 20th century writings of Paul Scheerbart on translucent colored glass in 'The Gray Cloth (1914)' and "Glass Architecture (1914)' had an influence on me. I think my form is created by combining the amorphous as a catalyst against the elemental frame. I'm interested in painting as a hyperbolic gesture, one that interweaves wave-lengths of light color, and structure into a form both frozen and animated...

AD: My work deals more with 20th century uses of color. I was thinking about Johannes Ittten and his ideas about subjective color as well as the mystical implications of his work. Earlier this year I made one of his color experiments to find my "subjective timbre" and played with that idea and used that palette in a lot of the paintings for the show. I was also looking at this postcard of a Lucio Fontana, Concette spaziale, The Sky of Venice, 1961, everyday as I was painting. I found it amazing the way the painting maintained its directness and unfussy quality even on such a small disposable scale.

Ariel Dill, Platz, 2009, acrylic and pencil on canvas, 30" x 22"

Ariel Dill, Bright Walk, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

JL: Apart from the collaborations, Ariel’s work in the show paintings while Christian has contributed photos and wall “constructions”. Together there is a composed, harmonious environment. Have you found this way of exhibiting beneficial?

AD/CS: The show was beneficial in getting our work out of the studio and into the Southfirst space and to see it in a new setting. I guess the composed, harmonious environment carried on from our studio over to the Southfirst space. It was also wonderful to work with Maika and Florian from Southfirst gallery, we had such a good time putting this show together with them. The title for the show Inglenook came about while showing Maika the work and thinking it in the context of the Southfirst space. Inglenook is an old English word for the area directly in and around a fireplace. We all thought it made perfect sense.

Christian Sampson, Solar Paintings, 2009, c-print, 8" x 10" each

JL: What role do the photographs have in the whole?

AD/CS: The photographs were a documentation of an experiment to play with solar light as a source to illuminate painting and color. We used a beach on the gulf coast of Florida with receives fantastic afternoon light and sunsets. I was thinking about what illuminates painting and what electrifies it. Opaque and transparent colors, medieval stained glass and Atsuko Tanaka. The wall paintings in the Southfirst show we're all created inside with electric light and are built to be electrified.The photos were documentations of luminous solar powered paintings.

Ariel Dill and Christian Sampson, Red and Grey Orgone Accumulator Blanket, 2009, Materials: see WR Orgon Accumulator Blanket Instructions plus canvas acrylic and cedar wood stand, 40" x 60" x 40"

JL: You have also had a number of film screenings in relation to Reich and his reverberating influence…how has his life and work assimilated into pop and/or underground culture?

AD/CS: Our film screening's were of W.R. Mysteries of the Organism by Dusan Makavejev (1971) and Sleeper by Woody Allen (1973). Both films we felt related to Reich on different levels-One being at the time a banned underground film from Yugoslavia exploring the relationship between communist politics, sexuality and Wilhelm Reich. The film interviews Reich's widow, son, local barber, and trained doctors of his teachings. Also showing orgone accumulator boxes, blankets and therapy in action...The following week we screened the film Sleeper by Woody Allen that involves the "underground" trying to destroy the "nose" of the enemy leader while passing around the "orb" and continually entering the "Orgasmatron". We felt Woody Allen had to have been influenced by Reich on some level during the writing and filming of Sleeper. The "Orgasmatron" had to be Woody's version of an Orgone Accumulator box! When we first drove up the winding driveway to 'Orgonon', Reich's home in Maine, we looked at each other and laughed that we felt like we were in a scene from Sleeper, this was also probably heightened by the fact we were driving a rental Nissan Cube.

For more info see their websites: Ariel Dill, Christian Sampson.

Patrick Brennan FAZES

2009-12-14T08:50:00.014-05:00

Halloween Painting, 2009, acrylic and collage on canvas, 12" x 9"

Symbol of a New, 2009, acrylic and popsicle sticks on wood panel, 10" x 8"
You've Got A Friend, 2009, acrylic and spray paint on wood panel, 12"x9"

Falling Island

Wild Storage, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 10"x10"
Never be alone, 2009, acrylic, spray paint and popsicle sticks on wood panel, 20"x16"

But Still You Believe, 2009, acrylic and collage on canvas, 10"x8"

Falling Island, 2009, acrylic and collage on wood panel, 20"x16"

Aloha Painting, 2009, acrylic and collage on wood panel, 24"x18"

Drag On Satellites, 2009, acrylic and gouache on wood panel, 12"x12"

Elegant Lights, 2009, acrylic and collage on wood panel, 10"x8"

Moving Hearts (cross painting), 2009, acrylic on wood panel, 18"x14"

PART, 2009, acrylic on wood panel, 12"x12"

History In Parts (cross painting), 2009, acrylic, collage and spray paint on wood panel, 18"x14"

Patrick Brennan FAZES happened from 12/5-12/11, 2009. For FAZES, Daily Operation presented Patrick Brennan’s first solo show in New York. FAZES included a selection of works that highlight his distinct approach to abstract painting.

Kaveri Nair

2009-12-07T10:25:00.021-05:00

Hydrometry, 2007, acrylic on paper, 11" x 14"

Untitled, 2009, acrylic and oil on canvas, 15" x 11"

Lagoons, 2008, acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16"

Untitled (Grey Clouds), 2007, acrylic on panel, 9" x 12"

Messy Machine, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 55" x 43"
Untitled, 2009, acrylic and oil on canvas, 20" x 19"

Untitled (Yellow and Copper Sun), 2007, acrylic on panel, 7.5" x 11.5"

Green Drapes, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 20" x 16"

I was happy to get to do a studio visit with Kaveri Nair recently...here are a few pics I took and some others from her site. I really like how many of these refer to and borrow from to landscapes, but they don't go all the way there.

This Saturday night Kaveri's work will appear in Thingy @ Occasional Projects: 1182 Flushing Ave. 3rd Fl, 7-9 PM, Brooklyn. Also see her website here.

Some Things

2009-12-04T11:50:00.008-05:00

Patrick Brennan, Symbol of a New, 2009, acrylic and popsicle sticks on wood panel, 10"x8"

Patrick Brennan FAZES opens this Saturday night from 6-9PM at 103 Reade St. No. 2, NYC. Also at 103 Reade and opening the next weekend, Dec. 12: Outrageous Fortune, curated by Rachel Hayes with Cece Cole, Gabriela Galvan, Emily Hall, Rachel Hayes, and Kazue Taguchi.

J.D. Walsh in the Dec. Artforum's Best of 2009. See the discussed collaboration with Ben Coonley on a Dr. Zizmor commercial.

Apartment Show's Happy House @ Printed Matter. Jesse Hamerman's iwillhearyounow@hotmail.com will be available. Other notables include Gina Beavers, Patrick Brennan, Cleopatra's, Ariel Dill, Stacy Fisher and many more. More at the Apartment Show website.

Jesse Hamerman (anotherday,anotherword) and Liz Linden co-curated Double Take, now up now at Metro Tech, Brooklyn.

Ned Colclough, Say You Do, 2009, wood, plaster, bronze, 30" x 6" x 45"

Ned Colclough has a nice new blog of his recent work.

This looks like a good show coming up next weekend...stay tuned for more Kaveri Nair here.

Christian Sampson and Ariel Dill Inglenook at Southfirst through Dec. 20.

Upcoming: Patrick Brennan FAZES

2009-11-24T13:58:00.008-05:00

History in Parts (cross painting), 2009, 20"x 16"

Patrick Brennan
FAZES

12/5-12/12/2009
opens 12/5 6-9PM
103 reade st. #2
nyc 10013

If you've been following this blog for a little while, you know that I am really into Patrick Brennan’s work. It’s gone through a lot of interesting changes over the last few years and the work is really at an exciting point. With “FAZES”, Daily Operation presents Brennan's first solo show in New York. It includes a selection of works that highlight his distinct approach to abstract painting. Hints of moons, crosses, stars, and galaxies appear but the viewer is compelled to collect their own narrative.

His work has recently been seen at Artists Space, Heskin Contemporary, Kent State University, Mississippi State University, Apartment Show, and the Deli Storeroom. For more about Patrick Brennan, check out of my previous posts and especially our interview.

Contact me to see the show after opening night: lutzjon [at] gmail [dot] com.

Jaya Howey

2009-11-11T10:13:00.012-05:00

Untitled, 2008, oil on canvas, 70” x 72”

Who Trampled the Flowering Arbutus Beneath the Library Window, 2009, oil on canvas, 71" x 67"

Untitled, 2009, oil on jutte, 20" x 16"; Who Trampled the Flowering Arbutus Beneath the Library Window, 2009, oil on canvas, 71" x 67"; Untitled, 2009, oil on jutte, 20" x 16"

Happy Hardcore, 2009, oil on canvas, 71" x 67"

Untitled, 2009, oil on jutte, 20" x 16"; Untitled, 2009, oil on jutte, 20" x 16"; The Sassiest Boy in America, 2009, oil on canvas, 71" x 67; Untitled, 2009, oil on jutte, 20" x 16"; The Pan Gets Its Close-up" (#2), 2009, acrylic on canvas, 71" x 67"

Untitled; The Sassiest Boy in America

Goodbye Future, 2008, oil on canvas, 70” x 72”

A Clear Expression of Mixed Feelings (1-4), 2008, oil on canvas, 25” x 22”

Jaya Howey is definitely one of the most exciting painters out there right now. I really enjoyed stopping by his studio and talking to him about what he's been doing. Hopefully we'll do an interview in the future, so look for that. Also check out his blog and more here.

Check out his work in Besides, With, Against, And Yet: Abstraction and The Ready-Made Gestures @ The Kitchen, which opens this Friday, November 13 and runs through January 16, 2010. The complete artist list for the show is: Richard Aldrich, Polly Apfelbaum, Kerstin Brätsch, Ana Cardoso, Jessica Dickinson, Cheryl Donegan, Keltie Ferris, Wade Guyton, Jaya Howey, Alex Hubbard, Jacqueline Humphries, Jacob Kassay, Jutta Koether, Nate Lowman, Seth Price, R.H. Quaytman, Blake Rayne, Davis Rhodes, Cheyney Thompson, Patricia Treib, Charline von Heyl, and Kelley Walker.

Studio: Letha Wilson

2009-11-08T17:55:00.000-05:00

Partially Buried, 2009, c-print on wood, 24" x 24" x 3"

Untitled View, 2009, c-print, aqua resin, paint, 16" x 20" x 8"
Sailor's Delight, 2009, c-print, wood, aqua resin, paint, 48" x 10" x 45"

Prism-Pyramid, 2009, xerox transfer, graphite, c-print on paper, 22" x 22"

Stained Glass Acadia, 2009, c-print, 24" x 20"

Golden Cairn, 2009, spray paint and c-print, 14" x 11"

Walden Pond Advent, (in progress), cut and folded c-print, 11" x 11"

I had the chance to stop by Letha Wilson's studio and check out what's she's been doing lately. Here a a few pics from my visit. Check out her show Lines Through the Wilderness, which opens at Hofstra University's Rosenbeg Gallery on Nov. 11 and runs through Dec. 14. Also see her website for more.

Some Things

2009-11-04T11:22:00.012-05:00

Upcoming: Matthew Fisher's Lonesome George opens Nov. 6 @ ADA Gallery in Richmond
Up now: Ivin Ballen @ Winkleman
Closing soon: ABCyz 2009 @ Silvershed
Great stuff on KCLOG as of late...esp. The Deli Storeroom's THE REAL WORLD, The Dirty Dirty's Psuedonymous
More from that show at The Dirty Dirty site

P. Shrinermacher

2009-10-26T11:18:00.030-04:00

Daily Operation participated in ABCyz 2009 and featured the work of P. Shrinermacher. The show will be open by appointment until Nov. 7. ABCyz is a collaborative art exhibition of NYC-based contemporary art collectives, curatorial groups and art publishers, each of which was formed in the last four years. A group show of group shows, ABCyz is a salon-style exhibition of independent out-of-pocket exhibitions, recession-style creative processes and guerilla promotions.

In the late 80s and early 90s, artist Lance Rutledge sent anonymous letters, paintings, and art objects to various NY gallerists. Yours, P. Shrinermacher centered around the works that Rutledge sent to dealers Pat Hearn and Colin de Land under the P. Shrinermacher moniker. See more Lance Rutledge here. There was also an opening night reading by Erik den Breejen. See an except of that below.

For a little background, I asked Lance to describe the impetus behind this experiment:

During a five-year period between 1989 and 1994 I sent a long series of letters and "sign" paintings, as well as various other artifacts to both Colin de Land and Pat Hearn under the pseudonym, P. Shrinermacher. In an earlier period I had been an artist of American Fine Art Gallery. Through the grapevine I learned that they quite enjoyed receiving the letters. At the end of that five-year stretch, I unintentionally revealed my identity to Colin, at which point the letters stopped. I was a touch sad that my correspondence had come to an end & he was quite surprised that I was the person behind this fictitious character. I never thought that I would be the one to reveal my identity. But in retrospect it might have been appropriate. L.R. 2009

This Weekend: ABCyz 2009 and The Real World

2009-10-20T12:50:00.023-04:00

!Friday Night @ Silvershed, 119 West 25th St., PH, NYCABCyz 2009 is a collaborative art exhibition of NYC-based contemporary art collectives, curatorial groups and art publishers, each of which was formed in the last four years. A group show of group shows, ABCyz is a salon-style exhibition of independent out-of-pocket exhibitions, recession-style creative processes and guerilla promotions. MORE HERE.

My project, Daily Operation, presents Yours, P. Shrinermacher for ABCyz 2009... In the late 80s and early 90s, the artist Lance Rutledge sent anonymous letters, paintings, and art objects to various NY gallerists. Yours, P. Shrinermacher centers around the works that Rutledge sent to dealers Pat Hearn and Colin de Land under the P. Shrinermacher moniker. There will also be a opening night performance by Erik den Breejen.

other groups of note...
(the deli storeroom) presents Use Your Illusion II and features the work of Patrick Brennan, Sherri Caudell Brennan, Ned Colclough, Jesse Hamerman, and J.D. Walsh. HKJB features Kris Chatterson. KCLOG features Vince Contarino and Tamara Zahaykevick. Also look out for the The Dirty Dirty and many many others.

ABCyz 2009 @ Silvershed, 119 West 25th Street, PH, NY NY
Opening Reception: Friday, October 23, 8:00-11:00 pm Exhibition Hours: October 24 – October 25, 12:00-7:00 pm A section of the show will be open until November 7, by appointment.

!Sunday night @ (the deli storeroom) 131 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn

**** THE REAL WORLD **** @ NADEEM Deli*Grocery (the deli storeroom) w/Sarah Dornner, Christopher Kurtz, Liz Linden and Carrie Pollack. The opening is from 6:00pm - 9:00pm and the exhibition will continue through 11/1 by appointment.

Studio: Gianna Commito

2009-10-14T19:56:00.016-04:00

Here are a few new works from Gianna's really productive summer. Check out my previous posts/interview with her here and her blog here.

Studio: Erik den Breejen

2009-10-06T20:51:00.006-04:00

More of Erik den Breejen's work here.

Studio: Stacy Fisher

2009-10-01T09:17:00.004-04:00

Some recent works by Stacy Fisher. Also see my previous post/interview with her here and her website here.

Around: Franz West @ Doris Freedman Plaza

2009-09-28T22:42:00.008-04:00

The Ego and the Id

More info at Public Art Fund.

Some Things

2009-09-25T00:03:00.001-04:00

Mike Hein, Rabbit Rock

Opening tonight! Fervor @ Edward Thorp Gallery w/ Trudy Benson, Sebastian Dacey, Neil Farber, Mike Hein, Simone Shubuk

This Saturday! must see open studios in Greenpoint: Patrick Brennan and Carrie Pollac k, Stacy Fisher

Up now: J.J. Garfinkel, Matthew Day Jackson, and more in Scarlet Fever @ Hogar Collection

Great painters and their blogs: Jaya Howey and Gianna Commito

More pics of Sara Greenberger Rafferty show @ 16 Miles

Eric Sall and Rachel Hayes @ Dolphin Gallery in Kansas City

I Wanna Be Somewhere on Daily Operation and KCLOG

Better than Christie's: Engineers Office Gallery
Calls for Artists: The Dirty Dirty and C-Monster

ABCyz needs you

Between Two Ferns

I WANNA BE SOMEWHERE (pt. 3)

2009-09-23T08:04:00.004-04:00

Meridith Pingree, Spiny Plains, 2009

Rachel Hayes, Ice Cold Daydream, 2009 (1:24 Scale model as installed @ Dolphin Gallery, KCMO)

Mike Hein, Untitled, 2009

Ned Colclough, Untitled, 2009

J.D. Walsh, Maze with 7 Levels, (video) 2009

William Downs, Tattoo Your Body with Line, 2009

Liz-N-Val, Everything, 2009

I WANNA BE SOMEWHERE was a Daily Operation that took place on on September 16. All pics here.

I WANNA BE SOMEWHERE (pt. 2)

2009-09-21T08:56:00.003-04:00

Liz-N-Val, Everything, 2009

Patrick Brennan, Untitled (I want to be somewhere, but I'm nowhere), 2009

Denise Kupferschmidt, I Wanna Be In Your Mind, 2009

Kris Chatterson, Untitled, 2009

Saira McLaren, For Billy Van, 2009

Sherri Caudell Brennan, Metallika, 2009

Gina Beavers, Appalachian Mountain Rock Spa (for Francis Bacon), 2009

I WANNA BE SOMEWHERE was a Daily Operation that took place on on September 16. Part 1 pics here.

I WANNA BE SOMEWHERE (pt. 1)

2009-09-18T19:02:00.014-04:00

Inna Babaeva, In Deed, 2009

I WANNA BE SOMEWHERE was a Daily Operation that took place on on September 16. There were a lot of artists in the show so I'll split it up into a few posts. Here is the first group of photos and the "press release" below. Thanks to all who came out and participated!

For "I WANNA BE SOMEWHERE," each artist has created their own version of a diorama using the title as a jumping off point. To varying degrees, the artists attempted to marry the diorama format with their way of working. Beyond a size constraint, there were no rules about how traditional the works end up or the supports, materials, shapes, etc. used.

Elisa Lendvay, Manifold (there.here), 2009

Elizabeth Blomster, Getting Down to Brass Tacks, 2009

Jesse Hamerman, Living Room Antenna Shelf, 2009

Jaime Gecker, Blaise-o, 2009

Martha Clippinger, Vortex, 2009

Sue Havens, Trees and Dots, 2009

This Wednesday! ONE NIGHT ONLY.

2009-09-14T21:45:00.001-04:00

For "I WANNA BE SOMEWHERE," each artist has created their own version of a diorama using the title as a jumping off point. “I WANNA BE SOMEWHERE " attempts to marry the diorama format with their way of working. Beyond a size constraint, there were no rules about how traditional the works end up or the supports, materials, shapes, etc. used. A Daily Operation.

Sara Greenberger Rafferty

2009-09-07T12:32:00.051-04:00

Frog in the Pond, 2008, C-print, 14" x 11", Edition of 5, 2 A.P.

I had the chance to catch up with Sara Greenberger Rafferty and do an interview...she has been doing some fantastically unique work over the past few years. I really enjoyed her show at the Kitchen and am looking forward to her new show. Tears opens at Rachel Uffner Gallery this Wednesday, the 9th and runs through October 25. Don't miss it!

Jon Lutz: How long have you made work focusing on many kinds of performers and/or entertainment?

Sara Greenberger Rafferty: My work has been about performers -- or more accurately performance -- since I was an undergrad working on a project dealing with social class. Early on, having made a pact with myself (which I sort of later broke) never to make an original image of a person's body or face, I depicted the performance of self exclusively through objects, props, and pre-existing images -- stand-ins, if you will. When I first moved to New York, I did a few performances as a retailer named Sophie Spar, where I sold artworks disguised as products for $20 or less. I then began working on a project, which never fully materialized, about the cakewalk (a syncopated music and dance heavily associated with minstrelsy).

Installation view of BANANAS at The Kitchen, 2009
Photograph by Adam Reich

JL: When did this begin as an interest for you?

SGR: I didn't take on magicians or comedians -- explicit entertainers -- as a subject until 2001 or 2002. Perhaps surprisingly, this came by way of my interest in the history and imagery of the cakewalk and the American fair (e.g. 1893 Worlds' Columbian Exposition in Chicago and more modest county fairs across the country). I started to become interested in the iconography and space of performance such as the fair, the stage, and the screen. At about the same time I began collecting comedy LPs and re-awakening my obsession with comedians, which began in my childhood. I read everything I could about Harry Houdini, Fatty Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Phyllis Diller, Lenny Bruce, and Dick Gregory. In a sense, I have been sort of working my way through the history of performance or recorded performance, and now, with my new series of color photographs, I am focused more specifically on television.

While my work uses performers and entertainers as imagery, the theme my work is not really entertainment. I think things like stages, microphones, comedians, props, and backdrops may be constant threads in my work, though because I don't see my work as being about entertainment, I don't think it will be necessary to always use these forms.

Cardboard Spar, 2004

JL: Was there a particular work that opened things up for you?

SGR: One of the first works I made in this vein was a cardboard version of a comedy club in my studio. It wasn't particularly sophisticated but the handmade quality and the fact that it was literally coming off a wall became very important to me because it wasn't full installation nor was it sculpture, but some sort of elaborate wall work, like a very deep relief. This work is very reminiscent of Rupert Pupkin's basement talk show studio in Martin Scorsese's King of Comedy. Scorsese's work was actually very influential to the works I was making at the time, specifically The King of Comedy and Raging Bull.

Shavings, 2007, C-print, 14" x 11", Edition of 6

JL: Do you find yourself attracted to entertainers of particular eras?

SGR: I definitely relate best to performers of previous eras. As I said, it seems I'm working my way from the Civil War to the Bicentennial. I am not aiming to be nostalgic at all: it's just easier for me to process the visual material of the past, and use references to a certain era of photography to speak about more contemporary issues. Also, the people -- or people as characters -- I am using as imagery represent the canon of comic personas and documentation (television, photography, film). If I were to venture a guess, I would say this tendency arises from the fact that with 'historical' material I can have a more detached relationship with the primary sources, I can view them and analyze them outside of their time and context. Whereas, if I made a work using images of say Mary Lynn Rajskub or Dave Chappelle or Zach Galafianakis it would be more difficult for me to make it my own through transformation, because of contemporary cultural context and associations. But this could be a cop out.

Vicki, 2009, C-print, 24" x 20", edition of 5

JL: One of the most interesting things about your work is what is not happening or playing out as you might expect. Microphones and spotlights have no subjects, pies hit a wall in (lieu of a face), an empty Houdini case, and 2D, abstracted narratives. Is there a portrait of a “lost art” going on here or any critique or acknowledgement of shifts in manners of performance?

SGR: Thank you. I think of a lot of my work as playing out as a performance of non-performance. This could be interpreted in a number of ways, among them the performance of the everyday character, the way we perform in our daily lives or that the non-performance is related more to a non-compliance, a refusal to do what one is supposed to do. In some cases, the 'wrong' object is performing and in a lot of cases the figure is totally absent. I think ideas about damage, repair, obfuscation, failure, injury, humiliation, abjection, pathos, and humor are fairly important to my work. I depict a lot of 'benign violence' which would be the pies, the punches, and my new series which could be called spills.

JL: You’ve done a lot of work specifically about stand-up comedy. Do you see a connection between being a stand-up comic and being an artist?

SGR: I'm sure I could make this connection, however, my use of stand-up has to do purely with aesthetics and ethos. I like the aesthetics of stand-up comedy as a model for my art-making: up against the wall, pared down, masculine, one-person scale, engaging and not obtuse, only alienating by design, etc. Ideally I would like to make work that operates as good stand-up comedy does, something that is engaging but has the ability to deal with real shit, something that is crafted but not too flashy, something human scale but could engage a whole room. I have always been struck also by the connection of body to content in stand-up and how the comic's body (gender, race, stature, age, etc.) comes to bear on the meaning of the jokes.

Pies with Color Studies, 2008, C-print, 16" x 20", Edition of 6

JL: I’m curious about the process used in your 2D work. Much of it is photo-based, but what are you are actually photographing? Are you creating your own “originals” of different mediums?

SGR: All of my work is grounded in photography. Even sculptures I make generally have a definitive frontal view and I am always thinking about photographs. Most of my 2D work is in fact straight photography of "props" as I call them. I started by simply making drawings of photographs and framing the drawings flush as photos are usually framed. These were a type of re-photography to me because they were mechanical reproductions of the most basic (and time consuming) variety.

Then I started making the punch photographs, which were gouache reproductions of photographs on gessoed paper. I originally thought I would frame these and exhibit them as drawings as well, because I thought it would be really funny to have a one-of-a-kind work that was ruined or negated. When I tested this out, I found that the punched drawings were generally too pathetic. (As an aside: my work really needs to evoke pathos without actually being pathetic. I am constantly trying to make sure the work looks provisional without actually being so.) I

studio shot
Shuffle (Ace Five), 2006, C-print, 16" x 20", Edition of 6

decided to put the punched drawings on my copy stand, light them, and print them as photographs. This turned out to be the correct decision because the re-re-photo added a trompe l'oeil effect and also a shift in scale that turned out to be crucial. In more recent photographs, I have used a combination of found photography, Photoshopping, photography of props in my studio, and other straight photographs. In my newest photographs, all of the props were made in the studio with very modest supplies and then scanned and digitally manipulated. It's funny because I described my new work recently as "portraits of comedians," which ends up sounding like very different work than it is.

Elizabeth Blomster

2009-08-31T12:41:00.014-04:00

Elizabeth Blomster is a Brooklyn-based artist and blogger. Check out her website here and see my interview with her below:

Photo Shape, 2004; Fine Pen Shape, 2005;
Shape Lines, 2007; Shape Snow, 2006

JL: Your work is very diverse, but there is a strong attention to materials that exists in almost everything you do. Have you ever been a painter per se, or did you earlier works always have this similar materiality/constructed element?

EB: I made some paintings with paint in undergraduate school that were still lives and models but quickly moved from using paints to gesso with photocopy transfers, a process akin to printmaking. I prefer to be a bit removed and act as a channel for the materials. This probably explains why I continue to be involved with printmaking, a roller making the mark instead of my hand.

Parameters xv detail, 2009

JL: How do you go about choosing what you will use? Are the materials found, purchased etc.?

EB: The materials are found and purchased. I choose things based on their capabilities- color, texture, fluidity or similarity to something else. For example, I mentioned making "bridge work" or "twins" where one piece is connected to the one before it or making a piece to connect two finished pieces. When thinking like this, I look for materials that mimic elements from the other pieces but I use the word “mimic” loosely. The fun in this system is that it’s structured, feels personalized and also promotes variety.

Pink Stack, 2007, screenprint monotype; Paper Shapes Group, 2007

JL: Why not just use a hard material like a rock or concrete when making a rock, instead of paper?

EB: I wasn’t actually trying to make rocks, I was turning some flat shapes from my prints into 3-D objects (but they ended up looking like rocks). However, the question still applies because I'd be unlikely to make rocks from rock. I prefer dualities or opposites-heavy/light, hard/soft, backward/forwards, natural/man-made. I guess I like integrating dissimilar elements and observing the amount that one thing differs from the next.

JL: What is gained here?

EB: What is gained here is amusement and a way for me to generate work. An open-ended system that I enjoy and can return to. The selection of materials I choose is personal, specific to me.They are disparate but imitate each other in order to form connections. Paper becomes wood, wood becomes sand, sand becomes glass and glass becomes tape. There is a term in psychology called mirroring. It’s when people make each other feel comfortable by acting similar like imitating someone's tone of voice or movements. It's a way to create kinship. The imitation or mirroring that happens in my work is a way to make all the unrelated materials fit together and communicate.

String Photogram, 2004

JL: In this case, why do you think you might lean towards making abstract works, as opposed to using figuration to hint more directly at this “kinship” and communication?

EB: This is a hard question. I guess I like the contrast of using inanimate objects to describe a human activity. My parents were/are collectors of antiques and the business of observing, evaluating and even anthropomorphizing stuff is a familiar one. But mostly, figuration would be too similar to the thought process I use for everyday living. I enjoy the departure from the known. I don’t think I explained this very well but it boils down to freedom.

Frame Wrapped with Tape, 2008; Striped Paper, 2008

JL: Are there pertinent art historical precedents in your work?

EB: Fluxus would be a historical precedent because I work with a lot of different materials that are brought together by my world view and I’m also wrapped up in simplicity over complexity, humor and absurdity.

Around: W 56th mural (unfinished)

2009-08-25T13:53:00.019-04:00

I don't know the name of the artist(s) behind this unfinished mural on West 56th St. (btw. 9th and 10th), but I'm liking it as it is now...I've been watching it progress for over a year now.

Some Things

2009-08-20T16:34:00.008-04:00

Rachel Hayes, Rainbow Conversation @ Louise Nevelson Plaza

Rachel Hayes in downtown Manhattan
Ben Berlow in the back room at Jack Hanley until the 29th
Paper Monument on The Brian Lehrer Show
Leroy Stevens, "Favorite Recorded Scream" (from The Sum and All Parts) in the New York Times
J.D. Walsh updated his website
What to do with your empty cigarette packs?

break

2009-08-05T09:13:00.004-04:00

The Old Gold is taking a little break...be back soon.

Some Things

2009-07-30T10:47:00.007-04:00

The Living and The Dead @ Gavin Brown's Enterprise, install shot
courtesy Gavin Brown's Enterprise, New York

Opening this weekend:
-Sam Gibbons @ the New Britain Museum of American Art
-Rubber Sheets @ C.R.E.A.M. w/Joianne Bittle, Alejandro Cesarco, Orly Cogan, Paul Jacobsen, Luisa Kazanas, Nina Katchadourian, Matt Keegan, Dan Mikesell, and Ian Pedigo

Closing this weekend:
-Brooklyn Queens @ Journal Gallery

Closing next weekend:
-The Living and The Dead @ Gavin Brown's Enterprise w/Pat Berran, Lizzi Bougatsos, Gianna Commito, George Condo, Urs Fischer, Jaime Gecker, Jonathan Horowitz, Jacqueline Humphries, Justin Matherly, Kenny Komer, Scott Olson, Rob Pruitt, Boris Rasin, Haim Steinbach, Spencer Sweeney, and many others…more pics at 16 Miles and Anaba
-Human Arrangement @ Rachel Uffner Gallery, curated by Roger White

Other stuff:
-pics from HKJB's Bad Graphic Design. more pics @ KCLOG
-Wendy White interviewed by Qi Peng in the Salt Lake City Examiner
-Will Oldham curates in Philly
-Thomas Kinkade, with a soul patch, paints Las Vegas (sort of)

The Sum and All Parts

2009-07-23T14:00:00.009-04:00

This is the last weekend to check out The Sum and All Parts...a group show at a temporary space @427 Manhattan Ave./Bayard St in Brooklyn. It is really a smart show with a great mix of works. Stop by the closing part on Saturday night, from 8-12.

I did an interview with the curators Beau Rutland and Jenny Borland. See it below:

JL: I’m interested in the generation of The Sum and All Parts…I like the idea of a focus on multiple/serial imagery in a contemporary context, but it seems like you are also going for something more…

JB, BR: We wanted to put on a show where the work was accessible – not just in terms of affordability, but accessible in the sense that it could be understood and enjoyed by many different people in different ways. So, the original concept of the show, the idea of multiples, stemmed from this interest. We also wanted to avoid the presentation of artwork as "precious" or catering towards an art-market sensibility.

LeRoy Stevens, 2009, Favorite Recorded Scream, LP and poster, ed. of 500

JL: It seems like you have made a conscious effort to include a wide variety of media in the show…did you choose the works more based on personal inclination/taste or based on supporting the theme?

JB, BR: The work for the show was chosen fairly organically from a combination of both (personal taste and the theme) but we made it clear from the start that the artists would be given freedom to explore the concept set out to them and allow for their work to evolve over several attempts. Exploring the concept of multiples through a variety of media was only natural and appropriate.

David Rothenberg, 2005, Pointers I, II, III, DVD loop, LCD monitor, ed. of 10

JL: Do you think contemporary artists are increasingly interested in dissection or diminution of a subject?

JB, BR: Yes, and this idea was definitely useful while considering work for the show. To try and demonstrate both ends in our show, David Rothenberg’s Pointers series and Lanya Snyder’s Contact... series each deal with photography and imagery and methods of display, but on quite different terms. In David’s digital video loops, made from found 16mm footage, the hunting dogs appear strangely motionless against a moving background, deliberately framed by monitors and mimicking a static image – it forces the viewer to focus within the context of this frame. In Lanya’s work, the act of displaying photography is essentially broken down in itself.

Lanya Snyder, 2009, Contact 41, Contact 42, Contact 43, Contact 44, 38 c-prints, dimensions variable

JL: How do some of these artists move beyond what has been done with multiples in the past?

JB, BR: From the Bird’s Mouth by LeRoy Stevens is a good example of an artist going beyond what has been done with multiples in the past. It breaks down the idolization of one work, and spreads attention to all its encompassing parts – photographs, a film, a large-scale magnifying lens, and a sculpture- they become “art” unto themselves. In turn each piece can function as its own entity.

JL: I really enjoy how you have stretched the notion of a multiple…how does a work like Economics 101 by Boris Rasin and Kenny Komer fit?

JB, BR: Economics 101 kind of turns the tables on Gonzalez-Torres and ‘generosity.’ By taking a whole dollar bill and returning it to the viewer shredded, it works backwards from the way the take-away operates. It is endlessly engaging in the sense that it affects a possession of your own, leaving its mark for you to consider. We see it as displaying a Xerox machine for the viewer to press ‘copy’ instead of just showing the print produced for visitor to mindlessly take.

Kenny Komer & Boris Rasin, 2009, Economics 101 (detail), mixed media

JL: Are there particular artists that provided a conceptual backdrop for the show?

JB, BR: Absolutely – while working in the beginning stages on the show we thought a great deal about Allan Kaprow and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, who may not typically be paired together but we feel like their work has a similar spirit - the ideas of “art as life,” art that doesn’t have to be confined to a gallery space, or art that can be removed from conventions of display. In this current atmosphere it seems that a number of artists are returning to those notions of conceptual art of the 70s and 80s and seeking something a bit more authentic. In our show, a work like LeRoy Stevens’ Favorite Recorded Screams stems from this type of thinking: operating within the community (not just the gallery) to reach a certain end, and gives back in the process. The project is a collection of New York record shop employees’ favorite scream on a song, meticulously compiled over a period of 6 months or so. LeRoy then pressed vinyl records of the screams and plans to redistribute a few to each store.

JL: Do you see connections between some of these artists and those of the late 70s/ early 80s?

JB, BR: Another conceptual influence was Brian O’Doherty’s Inside the White Cube text, dealing with methods of display and the function of the gallery for both the artist and viewer. We felt like the space itself was equally important to how the show operated, and knew from the start that we wanted something unconventional. The space we found has a number of distractions and flaws, but in this sense offers possibility for site specificity and adds a kind of performative element, allowing for a different kind of interaction with the work.

JL: Is there another show in the works for you guys?

JB, BR: Hopefully! We’ll both be returning back to school in the fall, but still want to be involved in projects like this. It’s fantastic that temporary shows and spaces – and curatorial endeavors like Apartment Show and your Daily Operation – are popping up everywhere, we feel it really was time for a change in that direction.

first 4 pics:
Boris Rasin, Boom, 2008 (ongoing), acrylic on wood, 10 parts, dimensions variable; Jaime Gecker, Bugaloos, Polaroid collage on plexi, 12 parts, 5" x 5" each
LeRoy Stevens, 2009, From the Bird’s Mouth, DVD loop, lens with frame, melted coins, 2 c-prints
Lanya Snyder, 2009, Contact 41, Contact 42, Contact 43, Contact 44, 38 c-prints, dimensions variable; Kenny Komer, One, 2009, inkjet print (on left), 40" x 45"; Kenny Komer, Two, 2009, inkjet print (on right), 40" x 45"
Kenny Komer & Boris Rasin, Economics 101, 2009, mixed media

Saira McLaren

2009-07-17T14:41:00.004-04:00

A Meeting, 2005, oil on canvas, 20" x 24"

untitled, 2005, oil on canvas, 48" x 72"

A Performer, 2009, oil on canvas, 20" x 24"

Owlman, 2006, oil on canvas, 24” x 36”

Walking, 2009, oil on paper, 24" x 30"

I've meant to have Saira McLaren on the blog for a while...I really enjoy these older works with animals and pretty excited about her newer works with these blurry, anonymous figures. She has a new website where you can find more...

Some Things

2009-07-16T11:26:00.033-04:00

Jesse Farber collage

Jesse Farber in The Crack-Up at ATM Gallery.
Elisa Lendvay @ V&A Gallery (closing this weekend!)
If you're in/around upstate NY over the summer, this show looks good...(via Anaba).
This Friday night in Gowanus: HKJB's Bad Graphic Design.
Junky Farm, new video by Aaron Steffes.
Patrick Brennan updated his website. Also see his collaboration with JD Walsh, which rules.
Kris Chatterson interviewed me for BOMBLog.
More pics of Sick Shape at Daily Operation. More shows to come!
Garfield Minus Garfield

Sick Shape

2009-07-09T14:35:00.020-04:00

Ian Pedigo, Oblivion is Born Tomorrow, 2009, paper, newsprint, aluminum tape, felt, twine, tape; Sue Havens, Untitled, 2009, acrylic on canvas

J.D. Walsh, Ka-Dow, 2007/09, acrylic and screen print on wood

J.D. Walsh, Ka-Dow, 2007/09, acrylic and screen print on wood; Justin Adian, Kick Stand, 2009, oil enamel on canvas, 39 x 10 inches; Ian Pedigo, Recesses, 2009, Wood, magazine clippings, postcard

Ian Pedigo, Recesses, 2009, Wood, magazine clippings, postcard

Sue Havens, Red Grid, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 37 1/2" x 7 1/2"

J.D. Walsh, Boy, 2008, acrylic and screen print on wood; Wendy White, Skid & Burn, 2009, Acrylic on two canvases, foam ball, 19 ¾" x 50" x 3", canvas 1: 19 ¾" x 30 x 3" canvas 2: 16" x 20”

Wendy White, Bluetooth, 2009, Acrylic on canvas, framed in acrylic on canvas on wood, 19 ¼" x 23 ¼"

Justin Adian, Plunge Cut, 2008, oil enamel on canvas, 22” x 18”

Bo Berkman-studio shot

John Dooley, studio shot

Thanks to all who came out to see Sick Shape...check out the labels for more info on the artists in the show.

Don't Miss! SICK SHAPE, this Wed., July 8th

2009-07-05T17:36:00.011-04:00

For more info see: Daily Operation

Ian Pedigo

2009-06-25T12:25:00.003-04:00

Skies, 2008, wood, magazine clippings, 13" x 15"

Expansion into Undeveloped Area, 2006, Installation view, CRG Gallery

Surroundings are Left Open, 2008, linen, wool, cotton, twine, tape, 42 1/2" x 63 x 8 1/2"

The Blank Volume, 2005

Normal, 2008, wood, table fragment, lighting gel, tape, magazine clippings, paint, carpet, 44" x 50" x 21"

See Ian Pedigo's website here and more info at 65 Grand and Klaus Von Nichtssagend Gallery. Ian will be in my upcoming show called Sick Shape, which will be on July 8 in Tribeca. More on that show soon.

Shows...

2009-06-17T22:43:00.007-04:00

Jaime Gecker, Shhh, 2009, polaroid collage and plexi, 5 x 5 inches

6/17-8/1
Brooklyn Queens @Journal Gallery w/ Tauba Auerbach, Gina Beavers, Katherine Bernhardt, Sam Moyer, Jeanette Mundt, Harriot Salmon. curated by Eddie Martinez

6/18-7/26
the sum and all parts @427 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn w/Paul Branca, Gordon Faylor, Ryan Foerster, Jaime Gecker, Kenny Komer, Boris Rasin, David Rothenberg, Ryan Rowlett, Kirby Salvador, Lanya Snyder, LeRoy Stevens, Heidi Turpin. curated by Jenny Borland and Beau Rutland

6/18: ONE NIGHT ONLY
Apartment Show Dancing! @ Tommy's Tavern w/ videos by Patrick Brennan & J.D. Walsh, Phillip Birch, Ryan Kitson, Denise Kupferschmidt, Sean Nagin

6/20-7/18
+2 Summer Group Show @ Sloan Fine Art w/ Kris Chatterson, Vince Contarino, Jasmine Justice, and many more...

Justin Adian

2009-06-10T21:36:00.014-04:00

Pleasure Point, 2008, oil enamel on canvas, 23” x 26”

On the Brink, 2009

studio shot-various works

Forever and Ever, 2008, oil enamel on canvas, 51" x 45"

Self-inflating, 2009

More Justin Adian here.

collage break

2009-06-03T21:58:00.011-04:00

Here are some collages done by an group of artists in and around 2004...same group of people as in board at work, with the addition of Jesse Hamerman. All works around 4 x 5 inches.

Aaron Steffes

2009-05-26T14:50:00.003-04:00

The Chairman, 2004 by Aaron Steffes. Check out his new website here.

Central & Remote (pt. 2)

2009-05-14T08:00:00.015-04:00

Mike Hein Untitled

Liz-N-Val Blue/Art Systems/Computer/Cool

Tim Clifford Objective, Lance Rutledge Those Among Us

Jesse Farber You/It, Lance Rutledge Rare Collections, Carrie Pollack One

Carrie Pollack Lucid

Jesse Farber You/It

Liz-N-Val Infinity, Walk

Rachel Hayes, Jasmine Justice 70's Secretion Part 2 (Slumping Sunrise)

Donna Levinstone Untitled

Central & Remote was a one night show on May 9 in an artist's studio in Long Island City.

Artists included: Inna Babaeva, Tim Clifford, Jesse Farber, Rachel Hayes, Mike Hein, Jasmine Justice, Donna Levinstone, Liz-N-Val, Carrie Pollack, Lance Rutledge. Stay tuned for more from Daily Operation and see part 1 of Central & Remote. Also see my labels for other posts on these artists.

Central & Remote (pt. 1)

2009-05-11T17:54:00.005-04:00

Floor: Liz-N-Val Blue/Art Systems/Computer/Cool, Tim Clifford Symptom Wall: Jesse Farber You/It, Mike Hein Untitled, Tim Clifford Objective, Lance Rutledge Those Among Us, Carrie Pollack Lucid, Farber You/It

Inna Babaeva, Persnickety

Inna Babaeva Thriftier

Mike Hein Untitled

Mike Hein Untitled (0ther side), Liz-N-Val Future Archeology/Lamp, Revolution/Crumpled

Liz-N-Val Revolution/Crumpled, Rachel Hayes, Jasmine Justice (background)

Rachel Hayes Jank Totems

Rachel Hayes Jank Totems (details)

Central & Remote was a one night show on May 9 in an artist's studio in Long Island City. Thanks so much to all who participated and came out...it was a lot of fun.

Artists included: Inna Babaeva, Tim Clifford, Jesse Farber, Rachel Hayes, Mike Hein, Jasmine Justice, Donna Levinstone, Liz-N-Val, Carrie Pollack, Lance Rutledge. Stay tuned for more from Daily Operation and part 2 of Central & Remote. Also see my labels for other posts on these artists.

This Saturday Night: Central & Remote

2009-05-07T08:37:00.003-04:00

Don't Miss: Use Your Illusion

2009-05-04T20:10:00.020-04:00

Jesse Hamerman, Mean Girls; J.D. Walsh, Cloak, Frame, Disguise

Sherri Caudell Brennan, Untitled, Untitled, J.G. Ballard

Little Stars, Lake Michigan, Untitled

Patrick Brennan, Untitled; Jesse Hamerman, Jacqueline

Patrick Brennan, Dead No.2; Ned Colclough, I Found Out

Ned Colclough, Holy Evening

Use Your Illusion, a show set in the back of a Bushwick bodega, is a must see. In case you didn't have a chance to make it out last Sunday night for the opening, there's good news: it will be open by appointment for the rest of the week. Send organizer Jesse Hamerman an email to stop by: jhamerman [at] gmail [dot] com. Also see my labels for my posts on each artist in the show...

Inna Babaeva (pt. 2)

2009-04-30T23:07:00.003-04:00

I cannot stay here too long
2003, metal, fabric, video projection, dimensions variable

Part 2 of my interview with Inna Babaeva below...

Jon Lutz: In some of your earlier works, there is a certain amount of directness that bends toward the conceptual. At the same time, you are still dealing with experience and physical engagement, but on a larger scale. I'm curious if these works were more conceptually based than what you are doing now?

Inna Babaeva: The work I made at that time was definitely nodding to Minimalism in its scale, the simplicity of forms and the notion of an interaction with a viewer. It departed from the minimalist credo: "what you see is what you see" . Yet, by inducing light and video projection into sculptural structures, my work actually defeated that idea and replaced it with: "what you see is what you see, and then more". They were a combination of visible and invisible, tangible and ephemeral, real and virtual, literal and metaphoric.

JL: There seems to be a great deal of planning involved...

IB: In terms of planning, all these works were multi-step productions: maquette making, construction of sculpture structures, video shooting and editing, and solving the technical difficulties along the way. Everything had to be planned, because the lack of planning meant a failure. And the role of a producer/problem solver usually was the reward at the end. It was like building a house - to design, to build and to make it livable.

Lapse, 2003, wood base, video projection, 4' x 18' x 18'

JL: Was there a shift that happened a few years back that prompted your change in direction?

IB: Yes. It was a shift in my process. The long term space-demanding productions once were a source of fun, and then they became a source of frustration. They took a very long time for completion, and only a small part of the conceived projects were ever executed. Most of the time I didn't have a space to present the work, and many of these projects never passed the stage of a small maquette. The produced work was too tricky to document and often didn't translate well in the forms of photography or video.

What's left probably was a turning point in my work. It was still about sculptural space, but there was a transition to the utilitarian, less precious materials like copy paper and paper clips. It was also about changing attitude towards the art making process that became more spontaneous and more fun.

Lapse (detail)

JL: Since it is not exactly clear what is going on in works like Lapse through reproduction, could you explain what we are seeing? What is the content of the video component?

IB: Lapse is a large stage-like wooden structure with a 4 foot deep "well" opening in the middle. At the bottom of the "well" a viewer can see the video projection of a stormy ocean's churning waters. The source of the image is a ceiling-mounted projector pointed down. Because of the shape of the well, the illusion of a greater depth is created and the projected image seems further away. It contributes to a vertigo effect when looking down at the "water". The idea of the work was the displacement of the image from its architectural context.

JL: In a way, these works are more engaging and inviting, especially with the inclusion of architectural constructions and videos. Have you seen a difference between the way people react/interact to these and your more current work?

IB: They were meant to be interactive. Their scale was related both to the architectural space and to a potential viewer. I think they were more engaging because they not only occupied space but also demanded time to absorb the video imagery. In that respect, Lapse was my most engaging work. During the opening of the show people were sitting, talking and drinking beer on the steps of the structure and by the "well". I found it to be really cool - that space in the gallery had been transformed into a social hangout. Not being able to see this kind of interactive response to my current work is one the trade-offs in that transition.

On and on, 2001, metal, fabric, video projection, each cylinder 8' h x 30" diameter

In case you missed it...the first part of out interview here and Inna's website here. Also check out her work in Central & Remote.

Upcoming One Night Shows

2009-04-24T00:28:00.007-04:00

There are a few one night shows coming up that I'm really looking forward to (one of which is my own). They include many of my favorite artists...some of which have appeared on this blog. Click their names for the link to related posts.

April 26
Apartment Show, Far Out
Patrick Brennan, Elizabeth Deasy, Alicia Gibson, Christina Leung, Nolan Simon.

May 1 (...actually runs through the weekend)
HKJB, Personal Abstraction
Judith Braun , Chong Chu, Michael Dopp , Jay Henderson, Elizabeth Hirsch, Shawn Kuruneru, Benjamin King, Osamu Kobayashi, Denise Kupfershmidt, Jim Lee, Chris Martin, Craig Olson, Stephen Westfall, Wendy White

May 3
Use Your Illusion
curated by Jesse Hamerman w/ Sherri Caudell Brennan, Patrick Brennan, Ned Colclough, Jesse Hamerman, J.D.Walsh

May 9
My upcoming show. Also see Daily Operation and artist's links for more.