For this Thursday, in honor of the Guggenheim Museum‘s 50th Anniversary, the band Animal Collective has collaborated with experimental visual artist Danny Perez on a site-specific performance piece that will transform the museum’s rotunda into a kinetic, psychedelic environment.

Tickets are on sale now (details below) for the Thursday, March 4th performances. The new collaborative work, entitled “Transverse Temporal Gyrus,” will feature original recorded music along with video projections, costumes, and props, rendering the band members and performers into intense, visual abstractions. The performance will debut in conjunction with the Guggenheim’s current exhibit, “Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum” and in the context of its “Tino Sehgal” exhibit (for which the entire Guggenheim rotunda is cleared of art objects for the first time in the museum’s history).

Left: Animal Collective. Photo by: Adriano Fagundes. Right: Danny Perez. Photo by: Kathy Sheehan

Two performances will run continuously – one from 4:30 to 7:30 pm and a second from 9 pm to midnight – and guests are invited to wander the museum rotunda and ramps to fully immerse themselves in the experience.

Venue: Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York
Date: Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tickets: $25 members; $30 non-members
General admission, all ages
Limited capacity; advance online ticket sales only available at:
guggenheim.org/animal-collective

*Image courtesy of the Guggenheim Museum.

Opening next week at the Armani/ Teatro in Milan, timed in coordination with Milan Fashion Week, is an exhibition of 45 works – including 15 never before seen – by the elusive New York artist, Richard Hambleton. A follow-up to last September’s highly successful New York exhibit, “Richard Hambleton – New York” has been curated by Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld and Andy Valmorbida, in collaboration with Giorgio Armani.

Hambleton rose to fame in the early 1980’s when, like his contemporaries Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, he used the streets of New York as his canvas for visually arresting public art, most notably his “Shadowman” and “Crime Scene” series. Hambleton has been labeled “The Godfather of Street Art.”

The last surviving member of the “East Village Art Movement,” Hambleton saw what fame and drug use did to his close friends, and for the last 20 years has led a relatively reclusive life on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Despite a low public profile, Hambleton has continued to create and his works can be found in the permanent collections of The MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, The Houston Museum of Fine Art, The Check Point Charlie Museum and The Zellermeyer in Berlin, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Austin Museum of Art, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the New Museum of Contemporary Art, the Queens Museum, and Harvard University. He was chosen for the Venice Biennale in 1984.

According to curators Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld and Andy Valmorbida: “Richard Hambleton’s brush stroke as an artist is genius and is in a league of its own. Most significantly, he is the most important and influential living street artist in the world today, with a story and career that is unparalleled. It is also a privilege for us to collaborate again with Giorgio Armani and we are pleased to present it in such a prestigious space.”

And Armani says: “I have long been a fan of Richard Hambleton, so when the opportunity to host this exhibition presented itself, I felt I simply had to find a home for it in my hometown. Richard’s work is of the streets, and for me stands as a reminder that art in all its forms is first and foremost driven by individual passion and creativity.”

“Richard Hambleton – New York” is open to the public for two weeks, from March 1st to March 12th. The gallery at the Armani/ Teatro in Milan will be open Monday to Friday from 10am to 7pm. Of the 45 pieces, 30 works (including 15 never before seen works) will be for sale.

ARMANI / TEATRO
Via Bergognone 59
20144 Milano

*Images, from top: Richard Hambleton’s “Standing Shadow,” signed 2009, 80 x 36 in.; “Horse and Rider in Black & White,” 125.75 x 83 in.; and “6 Shadow Figures,” 72 x 240 in. All images courtesy of Nadine Johnson & Associates.

New York-based artist Palden Weinreb’s first solo show – This World is Flat – is on view now at London’s Rossi & Rossi. A Tibetan-American, Weinreb traveled to Tibet in 2006 to reconnect with his heritage, an experience that resonates in his current work. His new show includes elegant works on paper, mixed media prints, and new media wall sculpture created by the twenty-something artist (b. 1982) over the last two years.

Heavily influenced by Buddhist practices as a result of his Tibetan heritage, Weinreb often recites a mantra while acting on what he describes as a “shamanistic compulsion to create meticulous hand drawn lines.” These lines are incredibly precise – remarkably, they’re created without guidelines. For the series This World is Flat, planes created by fields of successive lines are dissected by thin angles, curves of negative space and varying line weights to create subtle, multidimensional forms.

Above: “Astral Redux” (2009), a recent foray into new media, in which Weinreb employs laser-cut lines to create a sunburst pattern over a brilliant white LED lightbox.

ArtSlope had the opportunity to interview Weinreb on the eve of his new show…

How do you feel about your first solo show? What have you learned from the experience so far?
I feel lucky. There are too many talented artist who do not have opportunities to exhibit. Having said that, you really need to be hungry for success as well, and know where you work is at. Anyway, I have never been so stressed out about a deadline! However, I am better for it. The pressure forces you to approach production in a more serious manner. Friends, family, my girlfriend – I barely saw any for a time. “Welcome to a life as a shut in” I thought. I learned to keep to schedule and constantly reassess what was possible within the given the time frame. Negotiating what I wanted with what was realistic changed weekly. I would try to anticipate as many problems as possible in order to avoid them… though I’ve learned you can never plan for everything. What I’ve really learned is the extensive preparation and execution it takes to make a truly substantial body of work.

What themes or emotions are you trying to express through your artwork?
Well, it varies from piece to piece. Overall, I try to create what I would describe as a contemplative, escapist visual experience – one in which the viewer is entranced to challenge preconceived notions of the illusions that surround us all. I like the idea of alluding to the fact that there may be an otherworldly code or system that exists on a universal scale. I attempt to deconstruct the illusions to the bare bones of their structure, hopefully exposing their falsity and interconnectedness.

Above: The “Oblivion” triptych (2009), in which off-centered concentric rings are created through thousands of lines broken by spiraling curves of negative space, creates a sense of motion.

Can you explain the relationship or balance between negative space and varying line weights?
It defines the dialogue of absence and presence that is central to my work. Pushing the negative space to point where it is just as evident as the marks of graphite challenges a viewer’s preconceived notions of space. I try to conceive compositions where the negative space becomes positive and backgrounds become indistinguishable from foregrounds. This is key.

Above: “Genesis” 2008, graphite and encaustic on paper and panel board

How do see your own evolution as an artist up to this point? What are your hopes for the future?
I’ve become more focused in defining my voice. With a strong understanding of this voice I am able to diverge in other directions while still staying connected to my work as a whole. There is a self-imposed pressure to challenge myself that will always result in an evolution of my work. Stagnancy is an artist’s worst enemy. Getting better at problem solving is always important, and it is important to know what you want. It is also important to know when “what you want” is not necessarily a good thing. Being able to see potential, no matter how slight, is crucial to inspiration. For the future, I can really only hope for continued support and success, as I know that sustaining a career in the arts is just as difficult as establishing one. I will always be just getting to that next step.

This World is Flat runs through March 18th at Rossi & Rossi.
16 Cliffor Street, London

Just in time for Valentines, welcome “Ventricle Vessel,” a beautiful glass piece designed by Eva Milinkovic of Tsunami Glassworks. Inspired by the heart’s many emotions, this colorful piece is a perfect example of what Tsunami Glassworks does so well: beautiful, playful, wholly original, glass creations. As Milinkovic told ArtSlope last year when we were first introduced, “Our goal really is just to continue working with glass; it’s so much fun and so easy to fall in love with. It’s a beautiful material, the colours and translucency you can’t achieve with anything else.”

The “Ventricle” is available in three sizes:
Small H 12” ($500), Medium H 16” ($750), and Large H 22” ($1100).

To see more of their work on ArtSlope, including their beautiful “Tubes” series, click here. Or visit tsunamiglassworks.com.

* Image courtesy of Leber Media Group.

New York-based, Moroccan-born artist Lalla Essaydi’s newest series – “Les Femmes du Maroc” – considers the complex nature of Arab feminine identity, and the concept of past and present. Drawing inspiration from iconic 19th-century American and European Orientalist paintings, Essaydi recreates these images (minus the male figures and decorative details), carefully posing Moroccan women and draping them in white fabric. Using henna, she paints in Arabic calligraphic script the writings from her personal journal, covering every surface – women’s skin, fabric, walls and floors.

The combination of henna and calligraphy is particularly provocative, as until recently in the Middle East, calligraphy was an art form practiced exclusively by men for the transcription of sacred texts, while henna is traditionally a woman’s art that marks ritual moments in female life. Says Essaydi, “In my art, I wish to present myself through multiple lenses – as artist, as Moroccan, as Saudi, as traditionalist, as Liberal, as Muslim. In short, I invited viewers to resist stereotypes.”

Notably, Essaydi’s “Grande Odalisque” (at top, inspired by the eponymous Ingres masterpiece) was just purchased by the Louvre. And if you’re in the New York area, you can see them face-to-face as well: the series will be on display at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers from January 30th to June 6th.

*From top: “Les Femmes du Maroc: Grand Odalisque,” 2008 (Chromogenic print mounted to aluminum, ed. 10, 48 x 60 inches); “Les Femmes du Maroc #38,” 2006 (Chromogenic print mounted to aluminum, ed. 10, 60 x 48 inches); and “Les Femmes du Maroc #20,” 2005 (Chromogenic print mounted to aluminum, ed. 15, 40 x 30 inches).

All images lent by the artist, courtesy of the Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York, New York and the Howard Yezerski Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts.

For his newest series, “Alteration,” artist/sculptor Greg Lauren has hand-sewn treated Japanese paper to simulate various materials (wool, cotton, gabardine), frayed edges, wrinkles and folds. Each of his paper garments represents a different male character or archetype, all personally relevant to Lauren (who happens to be the nephew of fashion legend Ralph Lauren), and painstakingly crafted over the last year and a half. Each piece explores complex ideas regarding inherited ideals, and the stimuli one encounters on the way to owning his individual identity. As Lauren says, “I was taught to dress like Cary Grant and JFK, but actually felt more like Charlie Chaplin or Oliver Twist.” The resulting pieces are absolutely incredible – beautiful, exacting, layered with multiple meanings. The show is on view at 28 Wooster Street through November 1st. For more info, check out my review at clearmag.com.

I recently reviewed three great titles for Clear Magazine: Spacecraft 2, KarimSpace, and Marcel Wanders: Behind the Ceiling. Check out snippets from the reviews below!

Spacecraft 2: More Fleeting Architecture and Hideouts
Published by Gestalten / $75 / 280 pages
Pushing the limits of classical architecture and satisfying the changing spatial needs of modern life, the projects in Spacecraft 2 demonstrate innovation at its best…inspiring projects by young and little-known artists toy with conventional spatial design and reveal the genuine excitement and possibility that exist in architecture today.

KarimSpace
by Karim Rashid, forward by Daniel Libeskind
published by Rizzoli/ $86 / 256 pages
Karim Rashid is probably best known for his household designs for Umbra and Method. In KarimSpace, he shares real and conceptual interior projects for restaurants, hotels, residences, retail environments and public areas…his creative process and his ability to combine familiar shape and colors with unexpected materials…Sometimes space-age, sometimes almost biological, the work is always playful, and consistently lives up to Rashid’s definition of design as the “rigorous beautification of our built environments.”

Marcel Wanders: Behind the Ceiling
by Marcel Wanders
published by Gestalten /$70 / 320 pages
Wanders’ first monograph showcases a decade’s worth of provocative work: from personal art editions to textiles and furniture for clients like B&B Italia, Droog, Cappellini and Moooi, to architecture and interiors for Miami’s Mondrian South Beach Hotel and more. Photos, designer comments and sketches offer readers a first-hand account of Wanders’ world.

**Disclosure: links above are Amazon affiliate links.
To read the full reviews, visit book reviews on my Writing Samples page.

During this past weekend’s 2009 NY Photo Festival, DUMBO was, wonderfully, once again taken over by all things photo for five days. One down-under gallery, however, is continuing the celebration, and taking things personally.

Set on the second floor of the Front Street Arts Building, through an orange door, up the stairs and to the left, the Randall Scott Gallery is one of many galleries in the building, and just one of many more galleries to welcome photo enthusiasts and practitioners during the week’s festivities.

At the request of gallery owner Randall Scott,  six photographers (each represented by Vaughan Hannigan) were asked to step back from their normal commercial work to share more personal projects, for a show entitled, of course, “Personal.” The result is a small but potent exhibit that reminds us of the magic kept up photographers’ sleeves, and the potential losses that occur by limiting artists to any one genre.

The twenty images ultimately selected are diverse – from Martin Schoeller’s raw, close-up portraits of a man and woman from the Piraha tribe in Brazil’s rain forest to Henry Leutwyler’s series of objects studies associated with iconic individuals, to Timothy Hogan’s pair of burnt fashion photos to Brad Harris’s “Swimming Hole” series, Mark Zibert’s sexy “Woman in Oil” or Giles Revell’s archival pigment insects  (“Scarab” and “Damsel Fly”). But throughout, the personal thread is clear, and the sum total a success.

Schoeller, who has been a New Yorker contributor for many years and at one time worked as an assistant to Annie Leibovitz (this influence is clear in some of his elaborate settings), is probably best known for his extreme close-up portraits of celebrities and politicians. And though the subjects here are far less recognizable than Barack Obama, Angelina Jolie or Jack Nicholson, it’s a testament to Schoeller’s eye that regardless of our familiarity, his intimate portraits consistently elicit that same human truth through their rawness, in exposed facial crevices and unflinching eyes.

Photos from Leutwyler’s ongoing “Artifacts” series  – Hendrix’s guitar, Michael Jackson’s bedazzled glove, the gun that shot Lennon (aptly named “The Day the Music Died”) and Elvis’s television, complete with bullet hole – demonstrate the object’s potential for power and drama, and just how much life and energy a story or persona can imbue.

Timothy Hogan, known for high-end commercial work, literally set fire to the assignment, at the suggestion of Mr. Scott. Slowly burning a Dolce & Gabbana dress shirt and Bally loafers, with his camera set on a timer, Hogan captured the evolution of fashion on fire. Shots of the two fabric remains hang on the gallery’s wall; a screen near the sitting area reveals a revolving series of photos that document the burn from start to finish.

Harris’s “Swimming Hole” set recalls any-town America, and the magic of adolescents set free, with portraits of teens climbing trees above the water, sharing a cigarette on the water’s edge, and individual portraits that reveal his subject’s simultaneous maturity and childishness.

One of the beauties of art – and photography, specifically – is the empathy a piece can evoke in the viewer, the response one’s work can elicit from another, that human element that connects us. In this way, “Personal” hits home. And thankfully, though the NYPH09 festival’s parties are over, this one runs through June 6^th, .

For more info, check out www.randallscottgallery.com.

Images courtesy of Randall Scott Gallery.