Come out and join us for this Holiday event! Artwork to be sold directly off the walls! Pieces by both established and emerging artists alike! Opening Reception, Friday, December 10th, 6pm – 9pm!
Mighty Tanaka presents: 12×12 A Group Show for the Holidays
The holidays’ are upon us once again and now is the time to start thinking about the perfect gift for that special somebody in your life! Celebrating our one-year anniversary at our current location, Mighty Tanaka is very proud to bring you our latest show entitled 12×12. We invite you to come out and join us for this exciting event!
12×12 features both successful, established artists as well as some of the hottest up and coming emerging artists from NYC and beyond. Exhibiting artwork from a wide range of disciplines, this show has a little bit of everything, from the raw to the refined. The displayed work represents the voice of our generation and exemplifies our interpretations of the world.
This large group show features over 70 artists and all the work was completed on small 12”x12” canvases. We will be selling the artwork directly off the walls for you to add to your private collection or to give away as a holiday gift. With various price points and an array of techniques and styles, there is surely a piece of art that will fit nearly every lifestyle.
Featuring the artwork of:
Abe Lincoln Jr., Adam Miller, Alexandra Pacula, Alexis Trice, Anthony Sneed, AVOID, Briar Elyse, Bruno Perillo, Bryan Raughton, Buxtonia, CAM, Chris RWK, Chris Stain, Dark Clouds, Destroy and Rebuild, DOIT, Don Pablo Pedro, DROID, Ed Shawn Herrera, Ellen Stagg, Ellis G, Eric DeFrancesco, Fedele Spadafora, Gary Carlson, Gigi Chen, Gigi Spratley, Hannah Rose Fierman, Hellbent, Hiroshi Kumagai, Infinity, Jac Atkinson, Japa, Jason Grunwald, JMR, John Breiner, John McGarity, John Sunderland, Julia Colavita, Julian Duran, Justin Rymer, Katie Decker, Keely, KOSBE, Lauren Asta, Lee Trice, Lionel Guzman, Mari Keeler, Matt Siren, Max Greis, Melissa Carroll, Mike Schrieber, Nathan Pickett, Nathan Vincent, Nick Chatfield-Taylor, QRST, Quel Beast, Reginald Pean, Rick Midler, Robbie Busch, Royce Bannon, SADU, Skewville, Soosan Joon Silanee, Steven Schreiber, Thomas Cecchi, Tony Bones, Tony DePew, Toofly, UFO, URnewyork, Veng RWK & MORE!
OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday, December 10th, 2010
6:00PM – 10:00PM
(Show closes January 7, 2010)
Mighty Tanaka
68 Jay St., Suite 416 (F Train to York St.)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Hours: M-F 12:30PM to 7PM, weekends by appointment
Office: 718.596.8781
Email: alex@mightytanaka.com
Web: http://www.mightytanaka.com
“Class, today we are going to make puppets. Jimmy sit down please. Did everyone remember to bring a sock to school today as I had requested last Thursday? Yolanda do you have yours? Jenelle? Good. Let’s see everybody hold their sock in the air. Okay good. Jimmy… Okay these are going to be our “pretend friends”. And does everyone have two buttons for the eyes? Okay, I’ll wait until some people in the back stop talking – I’m sure we all would like to get on with the project. Tony and Lindsay, do I need to split you two up?”
Art classes at school are just about the funnest thing there is – mostly because they combine work and play and imagination. Brooklyn Street Artist Specter has been making his own imaginary friends on the streets of Paris and Chicago this fall. To be more precise, he’s been making sisters – the ones he says he wished he could have when he was a kid.
The new series is called “Les Filles”, and it is “about my mate’s five sisters and my desire to have sisters my entire life. Now I feel like I have what I’ve always wanted,” explains Specter excitedly, as he contemplates eating some paste while Miss Pennywhistle writes something on the chalkboard.
Backboard painted by UR New York for “The Art of Basketball” show opening tomorrow in Miami for Art Basel. (image courtesy the artists)
Brooklyn Street Artists 2ESAE and SKI, the duo known as UR New York, have arrived in Miami after a long drive from NYC for their big opening at Billi Kid’s “Art of Basketball” show December 2. They started the 20+ hour trip Monday night and BSA spoke to them as they reached Jacksonville, Florida, emerging from the dark swamps of Georgia. They were excited to be only a few hours from their destination and to talk about the video they just finished for the show.
The scene at the setup for tomorrow’s show. (image courtesy the artists)
“Basically, instead of doing a time-lapse process showing the backboard being created we figured we would give an inside look into the process of making it in our studio. There was a lot of thought that went into it, considering that this project really hit home to us,” says Mike Baca (AKA 2ESAE) as he describes the way the story unfolds. In the video, both Baca and his art partner Fernando Romero (AKA SKI) lay down multiple layers of screens and paint to build their piece.
On the small screen below UR New York also play some hoops on a New York outdoor court – so emblematic of the buoyant and fleeting scene on the streets of Brooklyn in warmer months. In fact, you can see the ball they used at the show. Maybe they’ll get a chance to use it in balmy Miami.
2ESAE and SKI would like to give a big shout out to HotMop Films for their vision, direction, editing, and production of this video.
Free and Open to the Public with Free Shuttle Service
NEW YORK, November 30, 2010 – Culture Shock Marketing (CSM) is proud to present acclaimed New York street artist Dan Witz at the MIA | MI CIELO 2010 Fine Art Exposition in concurrence with Art Basel | Miami Beach. Dan will feature a retrospective selection of street art works, sign copies of his limited edition book “In Plain View: 30 Years of Artworks Illegal and Otherwise” and carry out some of his clandestine artistic illegality on the highways and byways of Miami. Signed copies of Witz’s 2011 “Hummingbirds” accordion calendar will be given out to the first 100 guests at the book signing event.
Admission is free and open to the public. Cocktails for the Friday evening book signing reception will be provided by 42BELOW Vodka. A Shuttle service will be provided by the City of North Bay Village with looping stops connecting the Wynwood Arts District, Design District, MIA | MI CIELO and NADA Art Fair throughout the four day expo.
More than just a documentation of Witz’s public artworks, “In Plain View” is a diary of three decades of thoughtful and emotional engagement with the ever evolving surfaces of New York City. Embracing a meticulously disciplined aesthetic inspired by the old masters, Witz has spent the last decades making easel paintings as well as street art, leaving various love letters in plain view on the doorstep of his beloved New York City. Dan Witz is in conversation with both the conventional and street worlds of art. His work is inclusive. It is obsessive. It is acknowledged as an original voice, an inspiration and a catalyst.
Besides obvious craftsmanship, the artwork of Dan Witz evinces a rigorous conceptual framework. This framework not only opens up a dialogue with graffiti and street art which dominate the urban environment but also allows for the retention of clear and open lines with the canon of art history.
About Dan Witz
Since receiving his BFA from Cooper Union, Dan Witz has received a grant from the NEA and two fellowships from the New York Foundation of the Arts. His first book, “The Birds of Manhattan,” was published by Skinny Books in 1983. Solo exhibitions include Semaphore Gallery NY (1985,1986), Clementine Gallery (1996), Stolen Space, London (2007); DFN Gallery NY (2003-5, 6, 7, 8, 10) and Carmichael Gallery, LA (2009). Group exhibitions include: Buying Time: Nourishing Excellence, Sotheby’s NY(2001); and Fifteen, NYFA Fellows at Deutsche Bank, NY (1999). Today Dan lives and works in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
More on Dan Witz and his work can be found at his website.
Parking: Cielo on the Bay has generously offered available parking spaces for guest of MIA | MI CIELO with limited spaces. Free street parking is provided by the City of North Bay Village on East Drive just South of the Cileo & Eloquence on the Bay. Additional parking spaces available at Eloquence, the development across from MIA | MI CIELO, for a discounted price.
MIA | MI CIELO will be presented on the 4th floor of the Cielo on the Bay luxury condominium, a high-end residential building. Located on Harbor Island just north of the Art Deco District and the Miami Beach Convention Center, MIA | MI CIELO will transform the Cielo into a destination for contemporary art, performances and events and allow the public, art collectors and enthusiasts visiting Miami to view the increasingly influential contemporary art scene up-close and personal.
For further information on MIA | MI CIELO exhibiting artists and programming please visit www.miamicielo.com.
About CSM
Culture Shock Marketing (CSM) is a New York City-based 21st century media consultancy, focused on serving creative communities. CSM is a valuable strategic partner, energetic and in tune with the innovative markets where art and technology interact. CSM is recognized for strategic and creative approaches to marketing, brand development and positioning in local, digital and global markets. For further information, please visit www.cultureshockmarketing.com.
Contraprojects
ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF CONTRA PROJECTS
We are very proud to be involved in this new project from Tristan’s long time pal Thomas Thewes (amazing artist and owner of Detroit’s Cpop Gallery). To help Tom launch Contra Projects, Tristan and the Thunderdog team curated an exclusive group of artists and designed the Contra brand. There are many exciting projects lined up for 2011 with Contra – but first, they are making their debut at Primary Flight during Art Basel Miami 2010! Check out the info below…
Announcing the launch of CONTRA PROJECTS.
This year during Art Basel Miami 2010, Detroit artist Thomas Thewes Jr. of CPOP Gallery fame is launching a new art project featuring some of Street Art’s heavy weights from around the globe. The initiative titled ‘Contra Projects’ will launch at the 5 day Primary Flight mural project in the Wynwood District of Miami and features Ron English, Bask, James Marshall (Dalek), Tristan Eaton, Tes One, D*Face, Mr Jago, TrustoCorp and Thomas Thewes himself.
Contra Projects’ Primary Flight initiative will feature a variety of projects around Wynwood as listed below. Activities will take place from Thursday Dec. 2nd through Sunday Dec. 5th, from 12pm – 7pm
1. The Contra Tent – In the Courtyard of 297 NW 23rd. St. (Between NW 2nd Ave. & NW 5th Ave.) Wynwood.
The Contra Tent will be a lounge style tent with free refreshments (including limited edition Brisk Iced Tea cans designed by Tristan Eaton) as well as information on Contra Projects and their artists. The center piece of the tent will be a custom, fully functional, lowrider shopping cart by street art collective TrustoCorp.
2. Contra Mural – Wynwood in the center of Primary Flight
The Contra Projects mural will feature Ron English, Mr Jago, Thomas Thewes, Bask, Tes One and Tristan Eaton. Most Contra artists also have solo walls throughout Primary Flight, please check in at the Contra Projects tent for more information.
3. TrustoLand – In the Courtyard of 297 NW 23rd. St. (Between NW 2nd Ave. & NW 5th Ave.) Wynwood.
Trouble making street art group TrustoCorp takes it’s humorous slant on American Culture to new levels at Primary Flight Miami this year with the debut of ‘TRUSTOLAND’, a Coney Island style, outdoor installation of interactive, hand made and painted carnival games. Each game takes on American culture for better or worse with typical TrustoCorp sarcasm and satire. How participants play the games determine what prizes they win – yet just like Wall Street, even the losers win big. Highlights include ‘The TrustoCorp Immigration Office’ where contestants play for citizenship, the high-striker style ‘The Peace Keeper’ and ‘Drive-Thru Safari’ where players use an AK-47 BB Gun to shoot innocent burgers and hot dogs on the run. Prizes include limited edition, signed posters, badges and plush cheeseburgers!
For my first solo show in the UK, Due Date, I am exploring my preconceived notions of parenthood and the opportunities for growth that come through that process. I am presenting a series of narratives that flirt the line between fact and fiction; they are moments of autobiography that have been extrapolated to become allegories. As an artist in the process of trying to become a parent and living in one of the most parent-centric sections of NYC, I am keenly aware of the mania that strikes at the heart of parents young and old. In these paintings I am addressing fears (loss of individuation as well as of the proverbial unknown), the strengthening of bonds in times of crisis, the issues of trying to become a parent later in life and the wisdom gained through the process of parenting.
The work is divided into two groups: a set of images on panels, and a set of images on paper. In the more fully realized works on panel, all the actions are taking place in staged environments. The elements surrounding the figures are merely cardboard props, strictly for the purpose of giving the action of the figures a point of reference. The action of the figures is the reality of the image, everything else is just window dressing. The paint drips and splashes act as abstract gestures clearing things away yet never managing to obscure the events occurring on the stage. In the works on paper, the events being described are contained in a sea of white. By the very nature of the presentation the gestures and relationships are isolated and distilled.
The current body of work builds upon a process of art making that I have been refining for several years. I refer to the work as paper paintings rather than as collage. I see each piece of paper as a brushstroke rather than as a juxtaposed idea. Each brushstroke is selected for it’s color, value and texture, rather than it’s imagery.
“Due Date” December 4, 2010 – February 19, 2011 Warrington Museum
Museum St
Warrington, Cheshire WA1 1JB, United Kingdom
Brian Adam Douglas née Elbow-Toe stands inside looking out a third floor Brooklyn window down the block as late autumn winds whip and churn leaves and debris across the sidewalk, blowing lids off garbage cans and a Yankees cap off a bike messenger. At his feet and all over the blond hardwood floor behind him are scattered piles of loose ArtForum pages; poked, pocked and carved with a sharp blade to cull their very particular hues.
“There’s a certain amount of chaos but I know where everything is. This is the brown palette, right? This is all browns. This is greys, oranges, violets, blues, yellows, greens. I use that palette (pointing) – I have that set up. That’s how I learned how to paint – with that particular palette. The chromatic values are laid out in a grayscale value,” says the artist as he explains the disarray. Brooklyn Street Art: I don’t know what that means. Brian Adam Douglas: So basically the color goes from white to black. If you were to take a black and white photo of this right now, you would see. That yellow would be a real light grey, and it works it’s way down to black.
His Street Art peers a few blocks from here, the Brooklyn Street Art collective Faile, have been exploring a new technique this year they call wood painting; not quite collage, nor sculpture or painting. Since the leaves that are blowing outside these windows first began to bloom in March this year, Brian has been exploring another difficult to categorize method of “painting” by assembling thousands of custom cut pieces of paper to create nearly 20 new canvasses. Its a process he calls collaging, and it’s effect leaves viewers stupified.
Brooklyn Street Art: You’ve been doing status updates on your Facebook and Twitter feed forever saying that you are collaging. Brian Adam Douglas: I know! (laughing) That’s all I’m doing man! I can’t wait to say, “Today I’m sleeping”.
Technically, yes, they are collage; a composition of materials and objects pasted over a surface. But it’s so easy to miss this obvious fact as you look at the painterly forms, their musculature, expression, gesture and puzzling symbolism. Each one of these new pieces fits somehow into an overriding theme that revealed itself to the artist only while Douglas labored. Surprising even the author, it took his wife and friends sometimes to help him see what was right in front of his exacting scalpel; through dream inflected symbolism he has unwittingly written a treatise about family, parenthood, and how they profoundly impact the formation of character. Without intending to, his inner world pushed it’s way to the outside, where he will be displaying this new powerfully personal collection December 4th at The Warrington Museum of Art in England with a show called “Due Date”, followed by a March show at Black Rat Projects.
But the artist won’t reveal to you their exact meanings necessarily when you are standing with him looking at a new piece at the easel or laptop, throwing out possible interpretations. “This is what I enjoy,” he says a bit mischievously, “people bringing in their own sort of meaning into the pieces.” Other times he’ll gladly offer a backstory. Even then, you are left to your own observation skills to intuit the relative intensity of the symbolism.
Brooklyn Street Art:How successful have you been at fielding questions on what these pieces are about?
Brian Adam Douglas: Pretty good. There are certain things within them that I don’t talk about. I mean I think that they are kind of universal enough that they could mean a number of things. As far as I’m concerned with the work, I’d rather people bring their own interpretations of the work in. Rather than me saying, “This is what this work is about, this is my idea and this is what it has to be,” I find the most interesting art becomes better when you make it personal.
Even so, some of these are quite unusual depictions to trust oneself to interpret accurately. We did take a few guesses, and with time Brian also decided to help us uncover the meanings in these new paper paintings. One thing is not nebulous; this methodical and meticulous cutting and pasting has taken over his imagination so much that he’s confident that he’ll be doing it for a long time.
Brooklyn Street Art:Do you want to continue to explore this technique? Have you gotten tired of it? Is it still capturing your interest? Brian Adam Douglas: As far as I’m concerned I understand the medium really well. Each piece builds confidence. Now I’ve got something and I want to really see what I can say with it. I’ve got so much inspiration about things that I want to really plump into that I want to figure out that I could do this for like 15 or 20 years.
And Street Art? What about the twisted forms and ephemeral poetic passages that put Elbow-Toe plainly on the public radar a handful of years ago? Now that he has a gallery presence, has he abandoned his street persona? “About the street stuff – I’ll do that but it will be purely for fun. An outlet, like it was at the beginning. It kind of became a pain a year or two in. It got very stressful for a while, it wasn’t fun anymore,” he says.
“Now that I’ve kind of got my ‘gallery voice’ I just want to have a street voice that is it’s own thing. – strictly for the street and completely ephemeral.
Brian Adam Douglas: You get all this loaded meaning that’s happening behind it. The fire that’s happening in the backyard. This one is partly autobiographical of when I was a kid. Brooklyn Street Art: The split-level ranch? Brian Adam Douglas: Well, we didn’t live in one like that but I had to find a photo of the suburbs. It was wintertime, I was pretty young, maybe 12 or 13, and I was playing around with my paper airplanes. I had this great idea – I can light these on fire and it will look like World War II planes coming down crashing. Right? And I had the hope that they would burn up before they hit the ground. It’s winter time. Texas. I light this thing on fire and throw it and it’s one of those trick planes. Instead of curving up and flying it goes down into my yard. I see it land and it is like, “Floom!” – the ring of fire is running across my yard. Brooklyn Street Art: And that’s how you burned down your house and killed your parents? Brian Adam Douglas: Yeah, exactly! No. This piece is all about the fact that your kid is going to f*ck up a lot. But as a parent, the kid gives you that look and you are going to be like, “Oh, right, it’s okay” Like you still love them regardless the insanity they can produce.
Brooklyn Street Art: Ha! Now that seems like a metaphor, doesn’t it?
Brian Adam Douglas: Yeah, but also it comes from life. My Dad is a landscaper and one day when I was in high school he was up in a tree and he’s got the chain saw and he cuts the branch off. He’s so busy in the tree – he’s like “zhrooom!, Vrooooooom!” And he’s like 30 feet up! And so he’s falling, with this chain saw going in one hand as he’s failing. He grabs a branch as he’s falling and he’s hanging there swinging. He drops the chainsaw. Then he climbs down the tree. This is so….. I can imagine that moment when you find out you are going to be a parent and you are like, “Fuck! Everything is changing”. In order to take care of something else you are having to let a lot of other things go, and adapt. You are pruning things in your life. Certain things are taking precedence that maybe didn’t before.
Brian Adam Douglas: This one is called “Tradition” Brooklyn Street Art: So the elders are in a supportive pose. Brian Adam Douglas: Yeah Brooklyn Street Art: And there is a lantern and a nest on your head? Brian Adam Douglas: On my head. Yes. Brooklyn Street Art: Well I like the body language of the guy in the middle. I suppose that could be a father figure. Brian Adam Douglas: Yeah. Brooklyn Street Art: It’s supportive, but directional also. With intent. Brian Adam Douglas: Yeah. Brooklyn Street Art: Wow, that says a lot of love there. That’s very nice.
Brian Adam Douglas will be showing these pieces and more beginning December 4, 2010 at The Warrington Museum of Art . He is currently preparing for his solo show at Black Rat Projects in March 2011
To see more images for “Due Date” visit the artist’s web site at:
The annual peregrination from all corners of the art world has begun to balmy Miami. Artists and the collectors who love them have converged in this friendly city to promote, sell, admire and make art during The Art Basel Art Fair.
Art Basel (Nov 30-Dec 5) is one of the most important art shows in the USA with about 250 art galleries showing more than 2000 artists from all over the world. Very impressive! Equally impressive are the satellite art fairs and events that orbit around. We’d like to point your attention to the art fairs and events that will include Urban and Street Art in their shows and to the organizations whose main focus is to celebrate and promote the work of Street Artists.
Check BSA out over the next few days for updates on who’s getting up in Miami.
PRIMARY FLIGHT
A favorite of BSA because of it’s accessibility to everyone, for the past three years Primary Flight has produced murals by hundreds of renowned artists and relative unknowns, easily gliding between Street Art and Graffiti culture and covering a ton of walls for the public to see. You may try to see it all in one day of zig-zagging the streets, but pack some energy bars.
Culminating in the largest curated street mural project in the world, the collective is now expanding beyond their Wynwood origins to launch their first-ever headquarters in the Design District.
“This year is about growth: Miami is set in motion, and Primary Flight paved the way,” says Books IIII Bischof, principal of Primary Flight. “Since our involvement, Wynwood has become a street art Mecca with legs of its own.”
From their web site and press release:
“Primary Flight is Miami’s original open air museum and street level mural installation that takes place annually throughout the Wynwood Arts District and the Miami Design District. Primary Flight is arguably the world’s largest event of its kind, having featured over 250 world class artists from around the globe since its inception, the majority of whom travel to Miami during Art Basel. Artists from all walks of contemporary art headline our annual event, collaborating on high profile walls throughout Miami’s urban landscape. Maps outlining the installation are circulated, providing patrons with an opportunity to view the works in progress.”
Make sure to check out the RETNA SOLO EXHIBIT
Outdoor murals and installations this year by Tristan Eaton, Charles Craft, Shepard Fairey, Typoe, Michael Vasquez and Tatiana Suarez.
A creation of Billi Kid, NYC street artist, curator, life-long doodler, art enthusiast and design junkie, this show takes basketball backboards and repurposes them as art via skillz of a number of Street Artists whose work is regularly on BSA. The show is curated by Jim and Karla Murray.
Text below from their press release:
LEADING STREET AND GRAFFITI ARTISTS
Public Works Department, announces its collaboration with the NBA to produce and curate 36 original street and graffiti artworks entitled the “Art of Basketball”. This extraordinary exhibition and event will open to the public on December 2nd and continue thru December 5th 2010, concurrent with Art Basel Miami, the leading art and cultural happening in North America. The exhibition and special events will take place in a dedicated venue located at 2048 NW Miami Court, in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami. A portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the artworks will benefit NBA Cares.
Cutting edge contemporary is the moniker, and it is possible that the 10th year of SCOPE Art Show will turn out some exceptional surprises.
Cementing its future with an 80,000 square foot pavilion across the street from Art Miami, SCOPE Miami’s high-profile venue is centrally located in the heart of the Wynwood Gallery Arts District. Running concurrently with Art Basel Miami, SCOPE’s Midtown Miami home is just steps from The Rubell family collection, Margulies Collection at the Warehouse and Goldman Collection. The fair opens to Press and VIPs on Tuesday, November 30 with the FirstView benefit.
Location Wynwood Gallery Arts District | 3055 North Miami Avenue | Miami, Florida 33127
A New York favorite, Fountain is the one we always check out for punk, funk, and unvarnished bolts of creativity. With a number of Brooklyn galleries, artists, and undercover rebels getting into this mix, you never know what you are getting, but there will be something mind blowing.
Fountain Miami 2010 exhibitors include Christina Ray, Front Room, Steven Gagnon, Leo Kesting , McCaig-Welles, Bego Art Project, Causey Contemporary, Jeanine Taylor Art Gallery, Cherie Dacko, Evo Love, Allison Berkoy, Greg Haberny, Phillip Simmons, We-Are-Familia, The Murder Lounge, Thaddeus Kwiat Projects, Wet Heat Project, Alice Chilton Gallery, Tinca Art, Francesca Arcilesi Fine Art, Susan Radau, Lindsey Brooke Wilner, and highly anticipated immersive video art projects presented by DCKT Contemporary. As logistical partners to the art fair, international art handlers Hedley’s Inc. will assist galleries in producing their large-scale installations.
Grace Exhibition Space, in conjunction with the Alice Chilton Gallery, will have 10 artists from around the world performing during the weekend’s evening events. Caveman robots and the full scale destruction of a car will be primary artist performances. Artists will include Adina and Ariel Bier, Erik Hokanson, Jason Bell and the Estonian Art Group Non Grata, Sarah Trouche, Quinn Dukes Marni Kotak, Kikuko Tanaka and Hiroshi Shafer.
Visitors entering the front lawn of the Fountain Art Fair space will be blown away with a 125 foot long street art installation by Chris Stain, Dick Chicken, Gaia and Know Hope.
About Fountain Art Fair
Fountain is an exhibition of avant garde artwork in New York during Armory week and Miami during Art Basel Miami Beach.
In this photography show accompanied by new works, this West Hollywood gallery will be boasting some of the non-reverential rough-riding boldface talents that give a slicing edge to the current Street Art scene. Just look at the names and you know what you’re getting. Or, maybe you don’t.
297 NW 23rd ST
MIAMI, FL 33127
OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2010
7 – 10PM
“Now I Remember” photo installation featuring:
NECK FACE / JERRY HSU / TODD JORDAN/ CURTIS BUCHANAN / JEN REYNOLDS/ TINO RAZO / KEVIN “SPANKY” LONG
and new works by:
OSGEMEOS / JUDITH SUPINE / CLEON PETERSON/ BAST / SKULLPHONE / ALBERT REYES
Hours: Weds. Dec.1 – Sat. Dec.4 : 11am – 8pm
Sun. Dec. 5: 12pm – 4pm New Image Gallery
Addict Galerie
Avec AIKO, ALEX, Boris Hoppek, John “CRASH” Matos,
DOZE GREEN, Daniel Tagno, Mambo, Mist, Smash137, TOXIC.
Exposition du 4 décembre au 18 janvier 2011 / Exhibition from december 4th to january 18th 2011
Vernissage le samedi 4 décembre de 18 à 21 h / Opening on saturday the 4th, december 6 – 9 pm
Le succès rencontré par la première exposition consacrée à l’art urbain …du mur a l’atelier, avec des artistes tels Gérard Zlotykamien, Lady Pink, John Fekner et Don Leicht, Jean Faucheur… a encouragé Addict Galerie à poursuivre son panorama dédié à un mouvement de l’art contemporain. Si notre première proposition mettait en valeur le passage en atelier d’artistes qui proposaient une variété de techniques usant des matériaux les plus divers, il s’agit cette fois de laisser découvrir des peintres encore fortement ancrés dans le paysage urbain et pratiquant aussi le travail sur toile. Cette approche cherche à souligner la réussite éclatante de cet art.
Dans ce deuxième volet, l’influence du graffiti est plus forte comme le montrent les talents toujours aussi variés, qui partageront les murs de cette exposition.
Pour toute demande de visuels – Contacter la galerie : +33 (0)1 48 87 05 04 / info@addictgalerie.com
Images available upon request – Contact the gallery : +33(0)1 48 87 05 04 / info@addictgalerie.com
Joshua Liner Gallery, in collaboration with gallery artist Dennis McNett, is thrilled to present a first-ever, spectacular event in the streets of West Chelsea: The Passing of the Wolfbats.
Part art parade, part shaman uprising, the “Passing of the Wolfbats” will gather art enthusiasts and neighborhood residents for a celebratory procession through the heart of the New York art world. The purpose? To wake up the city’s sleeping spirits of creativity, expression, and personal soulfulness.
Led by a Viking ship, drummers, marchers with banners and battleaxes, and a flock of Wolfbats—McNett’s signature symbol of transformation—the procession will feature many elements from the artist’s work, including mythological figures and folklore, animal and skeleton forms, and masks and costumes, all emblazoned with McNett’s distinctive linocut imagery. McNett has evolved these characters into a personal mythology that he deploys in woodcut prints on paper applied to wall installations, sculptures, papier mâché masks, costumes, ships, and more.
The community is enthusiastically invited to participate in the procession in whatever form it chooses, from wheatpasting prints to the hull of the ship, to creating and wearing costumes, to offering expressions in song and dance during the procession. All participants are welcomed to join the celebration of community energy and collective spirit outside the Joshua Liner Gallery on 28th Street, where a second ship (with band aboard) will be moored. The ships themselves are roughly twenty-six feet in length, constructed of wood entirely by hand, and feature ten-foot sails of printed muslin and a hull papered in prints by McNett and myriad other artists.
“The size of the ship is important,” says McNett. “It represents an invasion into whatever space it inhabits and is large enough to be collaborative. It’s an armature for communal ritual, big enough to facilitate everyone’s work.” It is McNett’s intention to celebrate collectivity and collaboration in the construction of the ships, the tradition of storytelling, the energy of the procession, and the egalitarian medium of printmaking itself.
Wolfbats and Other Misfits
McNett’s Wolfbats—flying creatures with a wolf head and bat wings—are inspired by the Norse resurrection myth of Fenris, and first appeared in public at the 2007 Deitch Projects Art Parade. The artist staged his first “Viking invasion,” with Wolfbats and near life-size Viking ship, at the Southern Graphics Council Conference (“Mark Remarque”) in Philladelphia in March 2010. Dubbed “The Big Takeover,” the parade incorporated work from countless number of printmakers who joined McNett in adorning the Viking ship with their work. In December, Scope Miami will showcase Santa Muerte in a special project installation by McNett at its annual art fair.
Identifying overarching themes in his work, McNett views his mythical characters as “beautiful misfits shunned and punished for being different, alive, strong. They are a reminder of our short time on earth. I envision all of these things as vital spirits that wake the sleeping spirit in others, and do battle against apathy, loss of community/tribe, the sleeping and tuned-out, fictional news media, corporate ownership, and money-beforespirit attitudes.”
The Exhibition at Joshua Liner Gallery
Dennis McNett’s Viking ship procession kicks off an exhibition of new works by the artist at Joshua Liner Gallery. The show will include wood- and linocut works on paper and muslin, as well as large carved-wood panels that are hand-colored in acrylic, inked, and finished. Also included will be freestanding sculptures papered in McNett’s prints, such as Santa Muerte, more hanging wolfbats, and animals that carry personal and mythological significance for the artist.
Throughout, McNett focuses on storytelling in images expressed by the bold, saturated line unique to relief printmaking. The artist’s vocabulary of images borrows freely from Greek and Norse myths, Mexican muertos, and the animal kingdom, all synthesized into an idiosyncratic style that is deeply heartfelt. Other characters and creatures include eagles, wolves, owls, and skeletons, some of which have been developed into live, impromptu performances in the public sphere.
Vital Vessels
McNett will also unveil a series of Viking ship sculptures emblazoned with patterns and images from a variety of printing processes. These are memorial sculptures recognizing deceased friends and heroes from the artist’s past. Among the remembered are the late Andy Kessler, New York City skateboard pioneer; Richard Mock, the celebrated painter and linocut printmaker regularly featured by the New York Times; and the master printmaker and Kent State instructor, Tom Little. The ships represent each person with specific patterns, symbols, and imagery either carved into or printed onto the wood surface and sails.
As McNett states, “The body is like a vessel, navigating water and waves. Ships have character: some know how to navigate the seas better than others. Some ships are driven by skilled and experienced captains. Some ships are beaten and weathered. Some have carried many passengers. Some show the way. Some vessels work together for a common goal or to form a stronger force.” The emotional tumult around these themes is faithfully evoked by the memorial ship sculptures and a crashing wave installation in the gallery.
About the Artist Born in 1972 in Virginia Beach, VA, Dennis McNett received a BFA from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, and an MFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn. Solo exhibitions of his work include: Year of the Wolfbat, Fecal Face Dot Gallery, San Francisco (2009); and Driving Through, The Life Art Gallery, Portland, OR (2008). His work has been featured in the following selected group exhibitions: Barnstormers, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York (2010); Outlaws and Wild Animals, Rebus Works, Raleigh, NC (2009); From the Streets of Brooklyn, Thinkspace Gallery, Los Angeles (2009); Titanium Exposed, Fecal Face Gallery, San Francisco (2008).
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