Even though I’m not technically “art world” qualified to curate an exhibition, I’m super excited by Marquee Projects' invitation to do so & proud of the resulting body of works!

I’ve also come to understand that, even though I didn't know at the time, I've actually been curating since the age of 13.  I would make mixtapes. (Original mixtapes were simply collections of songs on cassette tapes made by using the pause button on a cassette recorder. No actual mixing was involved). I would give these tapes away to my 3 friends to show off my impeccable teenage taste.  As I grew older & became a DJ, I would be hired by clubs for the curation of my record selection. (As Paul Morris always said, “You’re a better selector than a DJ” ;) ) Success with DJ’ing led to record companies hiring me to curate compilations of particular styles of music. Even the books I’ve written & produced like STICKERS, ART SLEEVES & Sm;)e are simply curated collections of ephemera, record covers & images.

The “And/Or” show itself includes a combination of artists I’ve become friends with over my time in NY, who have worked with appropriation or works my family owns that won’t be for sale. 

Don’t cancel me for not having more female artists. I reached out to 4 or their galleries & either got a polite “no thanks”, or no reply at all.

Press Release from the gallery below..

In 1993 I’d been working for a year or so in my first music business job at the indie Hip-Hop label, Profile Records as A&R under the guidance of vice-president Gary Pini. Also in 93, the two owners of Profile split up. And because Gary & I had put together several successful Techno & House compilations, the remaining partner offered Gary & me our own electronic music imprint.

Gary suggested that since I had a successful club night called NASA focusing on the exact music our label would be releasing, we could call the record company NASA MUSIC. However, my partner in the club thought that Profile should pay for this, even though the name actually belonged to a government space agency. Long story short, we didn’t have the name issue sorted by the time this album, our first release needed to go into production. So even though a double 10” vinyl set had gone out as promo as NASA MUSIC, the final CDs & cassettes were released on Profile.

I’m incredibly proud of this mixtape, primarily because it was the first UK Jungle album to come out in the US. Also, Gary suggested we reach out to Simon Reynalds, who’d just written the first article for a mainstream American publication, Spin Magazine, about this new dance genre, to see if he would write the liner notes for the album. Simon went on to write some of the best ever music history books, including my fave Rip It Up & Start Again.

 It’s also pretty incredible that I picked 5 of my fave UK labels, Moving Shadow, Reinforced, Production House, Suburban Base & Formation, & simply said, ‘can we license 5 tracks from each of you to make up this 25-track mixtape compilation?’ And the 5 hottest DNB labels of the day all said, ‘sure’. 

I asked Dave Nodz, who was doing the art & graphics for Suburban Base if he'd create a robot character for front cover for the album, and then Rebecca Meek, creative director for Profile took Dave's drawing & fleshed out a truly amazing package for both CDs & cassettes.

Thanks to Emory Marvin for sending me the cassette! I’ve never had one till now. 31 years late but better than never.

Nolan putting finishing touches to his massive wall piece.

Checking out my own recent sticker book.

Party pics.

The book 

Such a thrill to see these works in the flesh!

Of the ones that sell for hundreds, rather than thousands, GIRLFRIENDS, BETTIE KLINE & DE KOONING are titles I've been searching charity & used books stores for a long time, so If you know of anyone who collects or trades art books, I’m not someone who only cares about perfect condition books (because they are too expensive if mint!) but always open to trades.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2H8Rq7OiIA/?img_index=1

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2H8Rq7OiIA/?img_index=2

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2H8Rq7OiIA/?img_index=3

In a galaxy far far away… & what also seems like a million years ago: 

For those who don’t know, Liquid Sky was a retail store that first opened at 482 Broome St in Soho (I believe in 1991) and then moved to Lafayette Street. But it was much more than a clothing shop. It was a universe within a galaxy. It’s really hard to describe what “it” was like because the internet has replaced the idea that you had to discover subcultures by walking around or being introduced to people. Liquid Sky was almost ground zero for a new generation of rave kids.

There was a symbiotic relationship between my club-night NASA & Liquid Sky, as it was a place for kids to hang out before going out, a place to ear about DJs & events, buy mixtapes, chat music etc. Plus, Carlos AKA DJ Soul Slinger (the owner of LS) was also one of the permanent rotating DJs at NASA. I think we even changed the name of the Chillout Room at the club to the Liquid Sky Room.

Pre-Breakbeat Science, I was also partners with two German Techno producers in the record store, Temple Records, which was in the baement of LS. 

(TEMPLE RECORDS SIDE NOTE FOR MUSIC NERDS) 

My partners were Ingmar Koch, one-half of Cologne-based electronic “band", Air Liquide, & Can Oral, the brother of the other 50% of Air Liquide. Both of these guys were like the Cologne Techno Mafia & recorded under so many names it was impossible to keep track of! 

Ingmar put out records under these names: Dr. Walker, Digital Dirt Inc, Ingy-Babe, John Amok, Unit 700370°, Acid Force, Alternate States, Asbest!, Atlantic Trance, Black One, Brotherz In Armz, Cipher Code, Creature, Denpasar, Electrochic, Electronic Dub, Elevator 101, Ermionis Phunk Crew, Ethik II, Fridge Pro 1, Future Shock Project. Can Oral released records under his own name as well as Bizz O.D., 4E, El Turco Loco, Fuzz DJ, Geoffrey Mack, Gizz TV, Pig, Silent Movie, and Super-8. 

Liquid Sky is about to have a well-deserved major retrospective book released, showing the incredible work done by the super-talented @reyzorro & the many others involved. One day Blurring Books hopes to publish REY’s full artistic monograph.

The clips above are from a much longer one on @liquidskynyc page that I was happy to be tagged on! The snippet of me & the following couple of seconds are actually from a pre-NASA party I threw called, ORANGE. I didn’t know this footage existed till Liquid Sky posted it :) I believe all the footage was shot by Soul Slinger’s filmmaker sister, @ruthslinger & comes from her full documentary shot in the early 90’s. The longer clip features many people I think of warmly including @chloessevigny @mellosince71 @mary_frey & many others whose names I’ve sadly/typically forgotten, plus one I’m so happy to still have in my life, Gabriel Hunter! (2nd clip shows us standing at the LS counter, me wearing yet another ridiculous Anarchic Adjustment hat)

* Any fashion kids interested in the 90’s fit. My shirt is a Duffer of Saint George & the hat was a leather Kangol.

** Music is Soul Sligners RMX

*** @reyzorro has a link to pre-order the book

Also, so amazing to have both my kids on the dancefloor with their friends! Thanks so much to @newsummer.nyc & everyone involved. thx @william.m.clark 📸

Sometimes I feel like I’ve seen enough Warhol to never have to see more, and then I get blown away by either how different they look in the flesh, or seeing works I’d not been exposed to before. As was the case with Revelation - Brooklyn Museum

Apologies for the cropping, wanted to show some details!

A few highlights & faves from Frieze NY at The Shed.

Not sure if it was simply Max & my moods but neither of us were particularly blown away.

Not to say there weren’t some of the best galleries in the world, showing a ton of stunning art works, that's far outside the price range of normal people, but my memory of Frieze was that it used to have several Fucking Me! moments delivered because of breathtaking beauty, shocking obscenity, or simply ridiculous scale.

Whatever, it was still fun seeing great art & watching this particular strand of humanity.

Tarik Kiswanson

Karlo Kacharava

Alex Da Corte

Nancy Grossman

Marsha Pels

Robert Rauschenberg

Sam Nhlengethwa 

Cajsa von Zeipel

Sometimes Instagram just cant give the view needed.

Below are 6 of the many Ink on paper works on view till March 13, 2022. my pet ram 48 Hester St NY10002.

The “Blue Chip” exhibition panel below shows stickers by Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst. Ryan McGinness, Barry McGee, Jose Parla, Tom Sachs, Keith Haring, Marilyn Minter, Robert Lazzarini, Kenny Scharf, Jenny Holzer, Todd James, JR, Mathew Barney, James Victore, Chris Johanson & Bansky.

It’s always a little risky to actually meet the people who’s work you’ve admired for many years. Don’t they say “Never meet your hero’s”. So what a nice surprise to meet Stefan Sagmeister & find him to be warm, friendly & even complementary of some of my own work. His new show “Beautiful Numbers“ is perfect example of how conceptual art can also be beautiful. It’s actually a show of optimism.

Below is just a small sample of the exhibition. The shapes on the paintings represent factual statistics. 

1 - Suicide II, 2000/2015 

Suicide rate worldwide, number of deaths per 100,000 population
2000 13
2015 11 

2 - “Suicide I, 1950/2005” 

Suicide rate USA,
1950, 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970. 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000. 2005 

3 - “Oil, 1970/2010” 

gray dot: large oil spills 2010 red dot: large oil spills 1990 yellow dot: large oil spills 1970 

4 - “Death Penalty, 1970/2010”

Abolishment of death penalty 

1970 21 countries
1990 66 countries
2010 98 countries 

5 - “Carbon II”

Carbon footprint of protein-rich foods from le# to right: Cheese 85kg CO2 per 1kg of protein, Chicken 43kg, Beef 250kg, Lamb 200kg, farmed fish 35kg 

Obviously one doesn't do creative projects with getting reviews as the end goal but its still a very nice feeling to get them. Especially strange & wonderful to have a mainstream platform acknowledge ones work. CNN had my Art Sleeves book on their front page yesterday. 

I cut and pasted it here, in case it disappears, and then no one believes me ;)

Written byLeah Dolan, CNN

Throughout the 20th-century record sleeves regularly served as canvases for some of the world's most famous artists. From Andy Warhol's electric yellow banana on the cover of The Velvet Underground & Nico's 1967's debut album, to the custom-sprayed Banksy street art that fronted Blur's 2003 "Think Tank," art has long been used to round out the listening experience.

A new book, "Art Sleeves," explores some of the most influential, groundbreaking and controversial covers from the past forty years. "This is not a 'history of album art' type book," said the book's author, DJ and arts writer DB Burkeman over email. Instead, he says the book is a "love letter" to visual art and music culture.

For the 45th anniversary of "The Velvet Underground & Nico" in 2012, British artist David Shrigley illustrated a special edition reissue cover for Castle Face Records. Credit: David Shrigley/Rizzoli

Featured records span genres and decades. Among them are Warhol's cover for The Rolling Stones' 1971 album "Sticky Fingers," featuring the now-famous close-up of a man's crotch (often assumed, incorrectly, to be frontman Mick Jagger in tight jeans) as well as an array of seminal covers designed by graphic designer Peter Saville, co-founder of influential Manchester-based indie label Factory Records. Despite having relatively little art direction experience under his belt, Saville was behind iconic covers such as Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures" (1979), depicting the radio waves emitted by a rotating star, and the brimming basket of wilting roses -- a muted reproduction of a 1890 painting by French artist Henri Fantin-Latour -- that fronted New Order's "Power, Corruption & Lies" (1983).

New Order, "Power, Corruption & Lies." Featuring 'A Basket of Roses' by Henri Fantin-Latour, 1890 Credit: Peter Saville/Fantin-Latour/Rizzoli

The book also includes a sleeve by Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the eminent Obama "Hope" poster, for "7-inches for Planned Parenthood," a limited edition vinyl box-set to raise funds for the sexual health charity. On the cover, a woman's sleeping face is rendered in Fairey's trademark stencilized finish while a red vertical banner screams at her to "Wake Up!"

Yayoi Kusama's brief foray into album art also features in the book. In 2013, the Japanese multidisciplinarian designed the artwork for Japanese DJ Towa Tei's eighth studio album, "Lucky." The cover is a simple smattering of red and white polka dots -- a signature Kusama motif. Kusama even features on the album's last track, "Love Forever," where she recites a short poem.

In 1992 dissenting graphic designer Barbara Kruger created the artwork for the only LP ever released by short-lived riot grrrl band, Growing Up Skipper. The group took their name from a controversial Barbie released in 1974, a version of Skipper, Barbie's younger sister, who grew breasts when you twisted her arm (the company says the doll matched "little girls' dreams of growing up").

For the cover of the LP, "Use only as directed," dismembered Barbie parts appear alongside Kruger's signature black and red 'scrapbook' text.

Art Sleeves: Album Covers by Artists by DB Burkman is published by Rizzoli priced at £40.00. Credit: Rizzoli

The book also shows Jeff Koons' Renaissance collage for Lady Gaga's album, "ARTPOP" (2014) -- where a statuesque Gaga sits inside Botticelli's giant scallop shell -- as well as Cindy Sherman's work for Arthur Doyle and Maurizio Cattelan, famous for his duct-taped banana, who photographed a toothy, red-lipped grimace for Toilet Paper magazine's 2016 special edition single of Daft Punk's "Da Funk" (1995).

The vinyl revival

Despite the ubiquity of digital downloads (or perhaps in reaction to it) both sides of the pond have been experiencing a vinyl revival for over a decade. In 2020, UK sales of vinyl were at their highest since the early '90s, while last year in the US more than 27 million vinyl records were sold-- nearly 50% more compared to 2019. The impact the coronavirus has had on listening habits has been sizable, too, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) found. "The increase in (music) consumption was achieved despite the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic," they said in a report published earlier this year. According to the BPI, streams and sales in the UK "dipped around the start of the first lockdown".

Aphex Twin's "Collapse" EP (1990) was illustrated by London-based artist Weirdcore. Credit: The Designers Republic/WEIRDCORE/Rizzoli

Yet despite the growing comeback appeal of LPs, the accessibility of digital platforms means streaming services are still the main source of music globally.

For Burkeman, the digitization of music is positive insofar as it means artists don't need record companies to put music out. But the rise of streaming has also resulted in the forfeiture of exciting album appendages like designed lyric sheets or handwritten notes from the recording artist. "We've definitely lost something as far as experiencing emotions one might feel while listening to a record and studying, analyzing, or simply enjoying the physical object."

UPDATED : After The One Year Post

FILM :

TV :

PODCASTS :

I Can't Believe it's Not Buddha 1,2, 3

ART on YouTube : 

3 Hours of Oliver Payne and Nick Relph - “Driftwood”, “Mix Tape” , Comma , Pregnant Pause,  Oliver Payne - “Inventory Eleven”

2 hours of Matt Pyke : Universal Everything

So happy I finally got to see this wonderful show, as I’d missed the original 2012 show, and of course because Joyce sadly died in 2019.

In 2012 Pensato premiered her installation “Fuggetabout It” at Petzel Gallery on West 22nd Street to commemorate her beloved studio on Olive Street in East Williamsburg, where she had worked for thirty-two years and had lost in a landlord/tenant dispute in 2011. The move after three decades prompted a re-evaluation and packing of hundreds upon hundreds of objects and items of all manner, including: stuffed animals; figurines; posters, books, invitation cards, and other paper ephemera; milk crates; furniture, both broken and intact; paint cans and paintbrushes, among others. (text from Petzel)

A tiring two days (for an old man) yet fun and exhilarating, assisting auteur/film maker, Max Burkeman on his "Little Trouble In Big Chinatown" short music based fashion film. I was assigned to shoot behind the scenes and keep cast & crew supplied with ample Asian food throughout the weekend. 

Writer/Director : Max Burkeman

Cast : Kenna Skye & Rel The Kid

Makeup : Eve Burkeman 

Stylist :  Sebla Maaza

Wardrobe : Wini Burkeman

It’s been a bumpy ride for my appreciation of George Condo. When I first saw his work in the late 90’s & early 2000’s I don’t remember liking it much. I think I thought it was too Picasso-esque or something but by the end of the decade I had come around to being a fan. Then in 2010 Supreme & Kanya turned him a household name for the Hypebeast kids, triggering an unfair knee-jerk reaction that turned me off him. He is an incredible painter, and this new show of brand new works at Hauser & Wirth took my breath away.

Large canvass. 

Works on paper.

New York is massive but also sometimes very small.

My close friends, James Hyde and Erik Foss, who did not know each other till recently, both spoke highly of Sam Jablon’s practice.

About a month ago I was meeting James and Sam just happened to be on the street, so James introduced us. Sam and I have had lunch twice now, talked art a little & laughed at the state of the world. I got to see some of his lovely works.

On Monday, I stepped to outside of my comfort zone. I was asked by insanely smart and talented, Sam Hillmer, founder of Zs band, also main man at the H0L0 venue to engage in conversation for his new Podcast, PLACE OF ASSEMBLY. 

The focus of the show is physical spaces and environments, and he wants us to talk about raving and art curating in that context. 

If you know me, you know I’m much more comfortable being behind the scenes, then on camera or spotlit. However, I was touched & felt honored to be asked.

The ninety minute podcast was broadcast live video on Twitch and is archived HERE

Hanging with two of my fave art folks, Michael Nevin and Erik Foss at the dope Raymond Pettibon show! 

Fred Tomaselli is an incredible American artist that I became aware of in the 90’s. Back then he was making his highly detailed psychedelic art, using wood panels, combining an array of unorthodox materials including actual pills and pot leaves, suspended in a thick layer of clear epoxy resin. More recently it seems he’s been inspired not simply by nature, but by the media and the insanity of our political system. He has a big new show at James Cohan Gallery which is well worth a visit. However it isn’t the giant spectacular pieces that thrilled me as much as these tripped-out paint & collage works, using the New York Times cover pages as his muse.

Coincidently, I'd emailed Fred to update him on the March 2021 release date of Art Sleeves, which he's included in, and mentioned he'd probably get a kick out of The Sm;)e Book. He replied enthusiastically, showing me this wonderful blotter sheet print he'd created in 1990!

Leonard Hilton McGurr aka FUTURA 2000 and I are close to the same age. He has been in my consciousness since I bought the 7” single, This Is Radio Clash in 1981. The band had used him to design the sleeve, having met him on their first trip to NYC in 79 and went on to take him on tour with them.

When I first started learning about graffiti, he was one of the artists I was drawn to, as he didn’t use letter forms to create words, that I couldn’t read, he simply made abstract art, illegally.

When I started DJing in NY, Lenny would often be there, lurking in the shadows with his homies. And when we opened Breakbeat Science on Orchard Street, he and Stash had their Recon store a couple of blocks away.

I was also a massive fan of UNKLE. The fact that the FUTURA art was so dope, only heightened my love for the project. I believe James Lavelle, Ben Drury & Mo Wax helped Lenny find a new and very different audience.

He’s always been incredibly generous, granting permissions for all of my book projects. In fact, when I was working on the first Stickers book, and asked if I could use an existing piece of his art to create a peel-out sticker in the book, he invited me over to his apartment, and handed me a small canvas, saying, I made this for you, use it as the sticker art.

So, to see his “first NYC gallery show in 30 years” was wonderful. The works are an exercise in controlled chaos. Congrats to him & Eric Firestone for curating this tight show.

Lenny, signing a fans book.

My copy of This is Radio Clash

Its so amazing that all these incredible artists were happy to be included! Alex Da Corte, Alfie Steiner, Alicia McCarthy, Aurel Schmidt, BANKSY, BÄST, Carlos Valencia, Chapman Brothers, Cody Hudson, Curtis Kulig, Eric Elms, Erik Foss, Greg Bogin, INVADER, James Joyce, Jeremy Deller, KATSU, Mark Flood, Misaki Kawai, Norman Cook, Paul Insect, Paul Weston, Rob Pruitt, Ron English, Sadie Benning, Sayre Gomez, Skullphone, Tyrell Winston, 1UP CREW & a load more!

You can order a copy ahead of general release for just $15 by clicking the link HERE. 

Norman Cook/Mark Vessey

All by Rich Browd except Warhol's Marylyn lips by Paul Weston.

Derek Gardener

Assorted photos

Rich Browd (L) / Paul Insect + BAST (R)

Misaki Kawai

Rich's sticker that connected us..

#LOVE

While size might not matter is some instances, it certainly has a lot of power when used by James Hyde. Examples are these paintings, which are on view at the ELM Foundation, Pierogi Gallery's former Boiler Space, where he is Artist in Residence. These are the largest works I’ve ever had the pleasure of being up close & personal with. I’m not going to attempt to describe them, or how James talked about using Alessandro Magnasco’s 18th century works as his muse. If you’re able to go check them out, do it!

Address of The Boiler is 191 N 14th St, Brooklyn, NY 11249. For a viewing, James kindly says email jh@jameshyde.com or people can DM him though his IG @hyde.james

I left Zach in the some of the shots, just so one can see the incredible scale. 

The show is up till Oct 16th, so please check it out if in the area.

Thanks to the wonderful gallery manager/artist, Summer Mandile for my portrait.

iPhone photo of this beautiful moment.

Its somewhat embarrassing that I’d lived in New York for 20 odd years before I’d even heard of Storm King, and then it took another 10 years before I actually made it there! And that only happened because my friend Zach offered to drive us there in his new motor. 

Even these photos do not do the place justice. I don’t like phrases such as breathtaking but that kind of nails it. 

We walked for over 3 hours, and while trying to gather the names to credit the works in the photos here, I'm realizing we probably saw less than 40% of the collection!

Menashe Kadishman