I should probably also mention its the only studio visit I’ve been invited to this year.
However being a real fan & follower of BÄST’s since the mid 90’s, I was excited to go over there to take pictures of some of his collage works for the next volume of my book Stickers. I also respect how he's not interested in being a celebrity art-star, he stays anonymous & simply makes emotive art that is beautifully ugly. Below are just a few of the hundreds of works I got to see.
This stencil, almost 5 foot wide from his street days, nearly 20 years old now.
He also kindly donated a few stickers to the project, here's couple I'd not seen before.
The man in his fortress of solitude.
Its very rare that the planets (or moods) align that all 4 Burkeman’s will actually agree to go on a suggested weekend outing. However on this rainy Saturday morning Tom Sachs had the power motivate us. I’ve been taking Max to various exhibitions of his since he was very small. The last one, Mission to Mars, being the best publicly funded art event I’ve ever been to, but this was the first time we’ve done one as family.
The show itself is great & has lots for everyone. Its like a mash-up of American pop culture, NASA artifacts & Japanese historical references. The exhibition has both large impressive works & many of what Tom refers to as “nuggets”, his small sculptures.
The title "Tea Ceremony” refers to the traditional Japanese ritualistic procedure that many of the works focus on. There are some dates when Tom will actually be there performing the ceremony himself for people who can sign up in advance.
Even without the Tom Sachs art, The Noguchi Museum is well worth a visit. But right now it's a win win. Go before July 24th. Here's INFO
Bigger child next to NASA suite to show scale.
Yoda shrine.
Working aircraft bathroom with fully functional toilet.
The bowls are called Chawan's.
Chop'em out..
Also some not so pretty pictures that I liked too..
Tom Sachs
Clare Rojas
Thomas Bayrle
Fred Tomaselli
Laure Prouvost
Kris Martin (not the singer AND not the American artist Kris Martin)
Erik Parker
fractured personality selfie (forgot who made the piece, sorry)
Richard Patterson
Kara Walker
Adam Brent
Karine Rougier
Cameron Plater
Mike Simi (We are now the proud owners of this fine work)
By far the strongest collection of works I saw in Miami in my 4 days during Art Basel, was a show curated by art giants Larry Gagosian & Jeffrey Deitch titled UNREALISM. Actually its possibly the strongest figurative collection I’ve ever seen.
Below is just a few of the works I loved, assembled on 4 massive floors of The Moore Building.
Below those are a couple of works from the same night but at the Rubell Collection, at their amazing NO MAN'S LAND, a retrospective on women artists. Maybe its my wife Wini’s influence, or I’m getting in touch my feminine side this late in life but this year I liked more works by women than ever before.
Jamian Juliano-Villani, "The Entertainer" 48” x 40” Acrylic on canvas 2015
David Salle (massive painting- apologies for no more info)
Duane Hanson "Grandma" (1970’s life size sculpture- apologies for no more info)
Lee Quinones (mixed media - apologies for no more info)
Lisa Yuskavage “No Man’s Land” 77” x 70” Oil on linen. 2012
Dan Colen (Painting - apologies for no more info)
Richard Phillips “Psych Nude” Oil and wax emulsion on linen
Meleko Mokgosi “Terra peicolosa III” Charcoal on paper 72” x 58” 2015
These next four are from NO MAN'S LAND at the Rubell Collection.
Deborah Kass “Gold Barbra" Acrylic & screen print on canvas 50” x 40” 1992
Kaari Upson “Untitled” Charcoal & wax 23” x 96” x 95” 2009
Miriam Cahn ‘’Versehrt” oil on canvas 63” x 34” 1998
Last but not least, my friend Brian crouched behind his sisters body mold piece.
Janine Antoni “Eureka” Bathtub & lard, life-size 2015 (originally done in 1993)
As always the band were so tight, it feels like these guys grew up playing together. The fact that Max & I had been hooked up with front row seats didn't hurt the vibe either.
What's weird though, was In all the years I've been going to shows (which are too many) this was without question the widest spectrum of ages I've ever seen at a gig. Being 15, Max was definitely among the youngest, but there were lots of college kids too. The real shock was at the other end of the age scale - I swear I saw several couples way into their late 50's and 60’s, & maybe even a 70 year old or two. I totally knew the band was finding an audience in their 30’s & 40’s, due to sonic similarities of music that was huge in the 1980’s - Springsteen, Tom Petty, Dire Straits etc. However, I think original Bob Dylan fans from the 60’s & 70’s have found a new artist to embrace. Of course these older people were not at the recent Governors Ball or the North Side Festival shows, but I’m guessing someone smart figured out that Radio City is a comfortable & respectable enough venue to draw a generation who no longer goes to festivals and clubs.
Possibly the highlight of the show for me, other than simply geeking-out watching their incredible drummer Charlie Hall, was the live version of “Burning.” It was like a live remix that had a super funky, dirty, analog pulse running through it.
I was somewhat apprehensive about finally seeing Low live. I’ve been a fan of their music since their “breakthrough” album The Great Destroyer in 2004, and I was concerned that either the crowd would be talking & annoying the band (and me) or that I’d be bored, as they are not exactly visual or a high energy/dance-around type act. However the crowd was super respectful & as Sam & I walked in we got two seats right at the front of the mezzanine, we were blown away.
It’s really hard to describe how moving the show was. On the one hand, the delicateness of music & the beauty of both Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker’s voices actually made me cry, while the power of the distorted guitars were way heavier and far more transcendental than 90% of all the current slew of so-called Psych bands.
If you've never heard Low here's a clip from a couple of years ago...
I’d not done a gallery hoping art-opening run-around in Chelsea for long time, and despite the crap weather & annoying people blocking the art, it was fun. First stop was Josh Liner’s packed opening, for the awesome Geoff Mcfetridge (too packed to photograph any works)
Then on way down to Paula Cooper Gallery for a new video project by my favorite moving-image artist Christian Marclay called Surround Sounds, I stopped into Jonathan LeVine Gallery. I discovered Stephan Doitschinoff back in 2007 or 8, because of a beautiful skull sticker, when he was simply know as CALMA.
I’m not normally attracted to art that has religious themes or overtones, but there’s something about Doitschinoff’s work that I am absolutely in love with. (Beyond the fact that he makes badass skulls) Below are a couple of the works I wish I owned, and a video of him living & working in a tiny village in Brazil.
VIDEO : The Art of Stephan Doitschinoff
The Christian Marclay exhibition is a little odd but very cool. Just a few paintings that look little like the 12" sleeves he designed for his collaborative live recordings made with Vinyl Factory, and a darkened room, where a fourteen minute video loop plays on four walls by what I’m guessing were 8-16 projectors. I sat on the floor and was mesmerized by the thing! Still photos & my words do not do it justice, but basically its every sound written in comic books, cut out, projected & moving. Krakkkk cracks, Rumble rumbles etc. What makes it even stranger is that video for Surround Sounds is completely silent.
Go see it!
I nicked these images from Paula Cooper Gallery's site.
