Alternative Risk Transfer is going down this weekend at The Rag Factory (yes, same venue as the previously mentioned Sick Boy installation). Curated by Eugene Perera, the show hopes to galvanize reflection about the nature of art as commodity.
The chips are down for 16 artists in an exhibition taking place at The Rag Factory this December. In an unusual twist on the debate over the value of art, participating artists will stake their work against collectors, curators and each other in a series of “after hours” poker sessions in a constantly shifting microcosm of the art market. The A.R.T. Organisation presents Alternative Risk Transfer, an ‘Art Casino’ where risky behaviours are given free rein in London’s East End. Curated by London based artist Eugene Perera in collaboration with Eiko Honda and Christopher Thomas, the exhibition features work
from 16 selected artists exploring the matrix of chance, skill and risk-taking arranged on 2 floors of The Rag Factory near Brick Lane.
Worth checking out if you are in London. Select works from the show follow.
Fernando Mastrangelo graduated with an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2004. He has since exhibited throughout the East Coast, with notable stops in Miami, New York, and Boston. Most recently, previews of his La SalvaMara project drew attention at Art Basel Miami. The work is inspired by Central American Gang MS-13, particularly their Olde English and Catholic led imagery. Using human ash, Mastrangelo produces some stirring relief sculpture. Show above is “LA SalvaMara (Laugh Now, Cry Later)” and “LA SalvaMara (Santa Muerte).”
The project also includes full scale sculpture made from gunpowerder, MDF, and automotive paint. Set for a 2010 exhibition at Charest-Weinberg Gallery in Miami.
Special thanks to Adam. View sample sculpture after the jump.
As most readers will surely know, Miami hosted Art Basel and its related contemporary art fairs last week. Karen Rosenberg reviewed the event for the New York Timeslast Friday, noting a more relaxed atmosphere than previous years (to be expected) and commenting on the scale of many of the presented works. Large is in favor. Perhaps a bag for ones dollar scenario, but certainly also benefiting from works of art that command attention. One such piece generating major buzz from the show has been Kehinde Wiley’s equestrian portrait of Michael Jackson shown by Deitch. Regardless of the feelings Wiley elicits, this work remains hard to ignore.
Another piece that’s hard to ignore is “ABMB at Hooverville” by William Powhida and collaborator Jane Townsend (above). The sartirical drawing recieves full attention in today’s NYT, and comments on the state of the art world. Damien Cave recognizes the rarity of Powhida’s content – writing “Mr. Powhida (pronounced pow-HIGH-da), who lives in Brooklyn, stands out here not only because he is one of the few artists to regularly address these issues, but because he takes them on in the context of this very world.”
Both articles are worth reading, offering differing takes on the fair and introducing a positive range of the contemporary art shown over the past week. Highlights from the Friday’s review are after the jump.
Today marks the reopening of the V&A Medieval and Renaissance Galleries. They’ve been reviewed by Richard Dormant of The Telegraph, who has declared them “a complete success.” Given the wonder of the new Ceramics galleries, there is little doubt that these too will amaze, educate, and entertain visitors.
The space is broken into themed periods. For example the years 1450-1600 (“A World of Goods) are used to assess how design ideas were exchanged within and outside of Europe. A final section, “Living with the Past” sheds light on the material that exists outside the museum… highlighting how fragments of the past still exist in English towns today. This portion is evidence of the V&A’s excellence in interpretation – time and again the museum proves willing and able to address multiple learning styles, angles, and to contextualize the past in current terms.
For those (like me) unable to get in today, the related website is filled to the brim with excellent information. Don’t let it consume your working day. Do, however, give it some time.
A few more images which accompanied Mr. Dormant’s review are found after the jump.
Yesterday, The Hoerengracht, an ambitious installation produced by Ed and Nancy Kienholz opened at the National Gallery in London. The 3 dimensional sculpture recreates Amsterdam’s red light district as the duo experienced it in the 1980s. In subject matter, the Kienholz’s recall a place frequently explored by European artists, particularly Dutch artists of the 17th-century.
The Hoergrengracht was built between 1983 and 1988 in Berlin. It was the last major piece composed by the Kienholz’s before Ed’s death in 1994. The installation is on view through February 21, 2010 and free to the public.
After the jump check out a video of National Gallery curator Colin Wiggens providing a full introduction to The Hoerengracht.
Now on view in London, Squaritybrings together 9 artists all working from the same brief – create a bas relief sculpture. These sculptures were created over the course of six months, and finished as resin cast reproductions. The artists then hand painted their reproduced sculpture.
Included in the exhibition are Matt Small, Inkie, Eine, Will Barras, Insa, Ryca, David Walker, China Mike, and Jo Peel. Each tackled the brief in their own unique way, as the example by Insa shown here will attest. The results will be on view to the public until November 20, 2009, at Blackall Studios, 73 Leonard Street, London EC2A.
This past Saturday, Stagesopened the New York leg of the tour at Deitch Projects. Presented by the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Nike, Stages brings together leaders in contemporary art with counterparts from the graffit/street art world. Included are Richard Prince, Edward Ruscha, Os Gemeos, and Jose Parla. Aside from the artwork, the exhibition also works to promote Mr. Armstrongs LIVESTRONG campaign.
On view in New York until November 21, 2009, 489 Broome St, New York.
American artist Janet Sullivan Turner creates 2 and 3 dimensional works which react to specific events with a playful and imaginative vocabulary. Among the topics Turner has turned to over time are the Miss America Pageant and the Wizard of Oz. A personal favorite is “American Icon Series #5. Mayunk Wall” seen above. Inspired by the Manyunk bike race, Turner interprets the rides most grueling portion in a sculpture formed with bicycle and other mechanical parts. The chosen materials act to suggest the force required for the climb. Its powerful, as well as notable for drawing beauty from the everyday.
More of Turner’s work can be seen on her website, which also includes an essay by Dr. Burton Wasserman summarizing her career.
One of the central figures in American art’s shift towards abstraction in the middle of the 20th-century, Arshile Gorky’s style encompassed elements of cubism, surrealism, and eventually abstraction. His influence began directly with his contemporaries and has extended through future generations of painters.
Accompanying the first major retrospective of Gorky’s work in 30 years, this book traces the evolution of his visual style. Almost 200 works in mediums from sculpture, painting and print are presented. Pairing well known works with studies and related pieces, new light is shed on his artistic process.
The book is edited by Michael R. Taylor, The Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of Modern Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective is now available from Yale University Press.
