Published in conjunction with the exhibition of the same name, American Beauty by Patricia Mears examines the relationship between aesthetics and innovation as expressed by American fashion designers from 1910 to the present. While the world of US fashion is best known globally for causal wear, Mears successfully illustrates that artistry and flawless construction are hallmarks of American Fashion. The book is available through Yale University Press.

American Beauty is on view at The Museum at FIT through April 10, 2010. FIT on Seventh Avenue at 27th Street in New York, NY.

I was able to very briefly (thanks parking meter) rush into Yale University Art Gallery to check out The Pull of Experiment at Yale University Art Gallery on Tuesday. A wonderful and concise show, it highlights a 20-year period of innovative intaglio printmaking. Of particular note is the short introduction to process, which really aided in the interpretation and provided a solid backing for the exhibited works.

From the museum website:

The Pull of Experiment: Postwar American Printmaking explores a dynamic and innovative 20-year period following the Second World War that fundamentally changed the boundaries of intaglio printmaking. The exhibition features more than 40 prints drawn from the Gallery’s collection of works on paper that highlight experimental printing techniques, reflecting the creative spirit incited by the interaction of American and émigré artists following the war. Presenting works by major printmakers of the period, including Stanley William Hayter, Boris Margo, Gabor Peterdi, and Karl Schrag, The Pull of Experiment also includes important works by artists such as Jackson Pollock and Louise Nevelson, whose postwar prints bore the influence of this period of innovation.

Recommended.

New Brooklyn gallery Mighty Tanaka Studio opens tonight with its inaugural exhibition Hybridism. Coined by the gallery, Hybridism takes into account a movement to merge street and fine arts. Included are photographs, collages, and oil and acrylic paintings. The group show features Adam Miller, Alexandra Pacula, Alexis Trice, AVOID pi, Bruno Perillo, Destroy and Rebuild, Don Pablo Pedro, FARO, Hellbent, Infinity, JMR, John Breiner, Josh McCutchen, Katie Decker, KOSBE, Lionel Guzman, Mari Keeler, Miss Marlo Marquise, Max Greis, Mike Schreiber, Peter Halasz, Reginald Pean, Robbie Busch, Royce Bannon, Skewville, Vinny Cornelli.

The exhibition opens tonight during DUMBO Culture 411 First Thursday and runs through January 7, 2009.

Mighty Tanaka Studio, 68 Jay St., Suite 416, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Further preview after the jump.

Ushering in the Christmas Season, StolenSpace presents the “Winter Warmers” group show. Opening this Thursday and running through December 20, 2009, the show brings together work from gallery favorites. Additionally, a few new faces will be unveiled to preview the new year.

Prints by Miss Van and Mike Leavitt and a special D*Face edition of VNA Magazine are also up for grabs.

StolenSpace, Dray Walk, The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1

Complete list of participating artists after the jump.

Design Real, curated by German designer Konstantine Grcic, brings 42 objects of mass produced design to London’s Serpentine Gallery. As Nick Compton notes, it’s an exhibition of little explanation. Objects are presented as they are, which in some cases (like the Aero office chair) doesn’t provide much of a point of reaction. Compton’s review in Wallpaper* smartly contextualizes Design Real, as well as providing the installation views seen above and after the jump.

Running through February 7, 2010.

Running parallel to the Craig LaRotonda exhibition, Paul Gerrard’s work is informed by his tenure in the video game industry. Having directed art and taught with the likes of Atari and Ubisoft, Gerrard’s digital UltraChrome on canvas creations bear resemblance to the dark environments of the best first-person experiences. Like LaRotonda, Gerrard has also entered into film; specifically, he’s worked on concepts and art for Battle Los Angeles.

Gerrard’s prints on canvas will be up at Last Rights from December 5 to December 27, 2009, 511 W. 33rd Street, New York, NY.

Further preview after the jump.

Since 1997 Craig LaRotonda has been living and working in San Francisco, where he runs Revelation Studios. Born in Buffalo, LaRotonda attended the local State University of New York where he studied under illustrator Alan Cober. Since moving to San Francisco, LaRotonda has found his paintings exhibited around the world and featured in several full-length films.

On December 5, 2009, Last Rights opens a solo exhibition of Craig’s work. On view until December 27, 2009.

Last Rights Gallery, 511 W. 33rd, New York, NY.

Above is a detail of “Confuto Basium,” acrylic on wood. Head to the jump for further preview of the upcoming show.

Opening today, Astrid Shultz’s solo exhibition Car Park: Undercover presents 12 photographs captured in the after math of a 24-hour snow fall in the Czech Republic. Some of the images portray the once dull car park as a transformed and magical locale. Others work to question environmental concerns – hoping to prod the viewer into reconsidering attitudes towards CO2 emissions and energy saving. Aesthetically, Shultz’s plays at times on minimalist constructions, a single mundane object serving as focal point.

Car Park: Undercover runs from November 29, 2009, to December 20, 2009, at Viewfinder Photography Gallery, Linear House, Peyton Place, Greenwich, London, SE10.

Lazarides (Rathbone Place) is gearing up for a massive group show, Grifters, opening early next month. Among the featured artists are Conor Harrington, Paul Insect, Faile, and Todd James. These, and a few others will be shown inside the gallery. Outside there will be work by David Choe, Invader, and Zevs (and, of course, some others). David Choe’s work, both outside and new water colors, for the show has been previewed by Arrested Motion.

Choe after the jump. Check Lazarides for more news and information related to Grifters.

The Scandinavia House: Nordic Center in America plays host to the first North American showing of drawings by visionary Swedish artist Carl Fredrick Hill. Over 75 drawings, Hill’s position as a precursor to several modern art movements (surrealism, pop, etc.). The work presented in the exhibition comes from the collection of the Maimo Art Museum and represents a period in Hill’s life where he was considered incurably insane. This lasted, it seems, for most of his adult life, as Hill suffered mental breakdown at age 29, the result (perhaps) of considerable early acclaim.

Of course, the exhibition is not about insanity or the nature of artistic obsession, but it does highlight the work of the artist and introduce Carl Fredrick Hill properly to American gallery goers.

On view through January 9, 2010.

The Scandinavia House is located at 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY. Visit their site to see more images and learn more about Hill.