SOME PRETTY PICTURES AT THE ARMORY SHOW & VOLTA NYC 2016

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)


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Miami Art Basel week 2015 - Part 1

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)


THE WAR ON DRUGS at RADIO CITY 10/8/15

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.





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LOW at WILLIAMSBURG MUSIC HALL 9/24/15

  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...

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STEPHAN DOITSCHINOFF (CALMA) and CHRISTIAN MARCLAY 9/10/15

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.


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The MET (After 27 years in NYC)

Its been many years since I've stopped saying "It's crazy that I still haven't been to the MET!" I didn't give up saying it because I actually went, it just became a more ridiculous statement as time went on. I can't really explain why someone who loves art as much as I do couldn't get his ass uptown to one of the most famed museums in the world. The more time that passed, the more I would squirm whenever someone mentioned the damn place. I would just nod without response, letting them assume that of course I've been, and became skilled at quick subject changes and distractions. 

This week the lie died! My shame and dirty little secret can be aired and put in the past. My sister Brie, visiting from London, took me on her guest pass, and it was quite a treat. Let's not discuss the fact that she lives 3000 miles away and has a pass but I don't. 

Below are just a few of the works that moved me, arranged into reverse chronology, of fucking old, to quite old, to not that old.

Jean Antonio - Houdon -Winter 1787

Antonio Canova - Perseus with the Head of Medusa 1804-6

Balthasar Permoser - Marsyas 1680-85

Vincent van Gogh - (Detail of) Wheat Field with Cypresses 1889 

Henri Matisse - (Detail of) Odalisque with Gray Trousers 1927

Pablo Picasso - Nude Standing by the Sea 1929

Paul Delvaux - The Great Sirens 1947

Leon Polk Smith - Accent Black 1949

Kay Sage - Tomorrow is Never 1955

Salvador Dali - Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) 1954

Sol LeWitt - Wall Drawing #370 1968

Kiki Smith - Lilith 1994

Mark Tansey - The Innocent Eye Test 1981

George Condo - Rush Hour 2010

DB -View from the roof 2015


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SPOON : Kings Theater Brooklyn 6/16/15

When I got the alert that Spoon were playing at Kings Theater, like a typical fan-boy I got super excited, as they are possibly Max's fave band, and certainly in my top 5.
However, before clicking through the link to "buy tickets," I remembered being stung with my ticket purchases for TVOTR. So this time I thought I'd try and see if I could go the "industry route.” I googled Spoon's booking agent, and it turned out to be an old nightlife friend, Sam Kirby. Having not seen or spoken to her for over ten years, I thought it somewhat cheeky to be writing asking if she could sort my son and I out for tickets, so I didn't really expect a reply.
Within minutes of sending, she'd responded saying that when it's a family deal, she's always happy to help!

I felt like Seinfeld, with his Even Steven theory.

Come the night of the show, Sam greeted us at the door with wristbands to get us into the pit at the front of the stage. By halfway through the totally mesmerizing show, we had moved up to where we now literally had four people between us and the stage.

Spoon are an anomaly. I'm not sure there has ever been another band that's released nine albums over 20 years, and their most recent is their best!

The set included every song that Max & I love, as well as an awesome rendition the The Cramps "TV Set" We even got to hear a new song. (see iPhone shot video below)

After the eight encores Max simply complained that his legs hurt from dancing and he was going to lose his voice from shouting.  





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