News - Nuff to Make Ya Scream; Munch's 'Scream' - Oslo

Talk about a bad year for keeping artworks intact. What, with Steve Wynn elbowing Picasso's 'Le Reve' (Insured? Oh yes, I think so), and now Munch’s ‘Scream’ getting absolutely, totally destroyed (well, practically). Yes, agreed, 2004’s hatchback bandits, Bjoern Hoen, Petter Tharaldsen and Petter Rosenvinge, were caught and sent down, and indeed, the painting was later found along with its friend, 'The Madonna'. And that’s great. It's fantastic. But, hey, remember, these works had spent a little hideout time in a bus. A bus? I ask you. The trio may have been able to leg it with a couple of million dollar masterpieces in broad daylight (above), but hell, let’s be honest here, they knew sweet FA about upkeep and care. A bus? Seriously?

How exactly do you get rid off a stolen, damaged beyond repair, instantly recognisable masterpiece? Probably a good idea not to ask Hoen, Tharaldsen and Rosenvinge about that one. Probably best to stay clear of the Oslo police too; their report on the damage done was a whacking great 200 pages. What did they write, I wonder? Whatever, they certainly had a whole lot to say. The detail in the report must have been extreme. Must have excruciating (for both reader and writer). Detail is all good and well, but when the conclusion is nothing short of; it’s buggered, there’s no hope for renovation or repair, we’re screwed, it all seems a little, shall we say, frustrating. Still, you got to hand it to those investigating the theft; they did find the works and caught the thieving rascals. It couldn’t have been a stress free or easy job. It must have been nightmare, especially when the outcome turned out to be so hopeless.

Release Party - Sket One - 'The Further Adventures of Kidrobot' - New York

Showing - Raymond Pettibon @ Sadie Coles HQ- London

Raymond Pettibon lives somewhere around Venice Beach in California. That’s probably why he has a sense of humour – humour from the ironic, caustic, anti-authoritarian school of thought. In sunny LA, he’s a long way from Arizona, the place of his birth, but hey, who wants to live in the desert when you can be by the beach? He’s always maintained his edge – his brother Greg Ginn played guitar for Black Flag and, apparently, Pettibon was the one who came up with the group's name and four bar logo. Later, he was involved with Sonic Youth’s 'Goo' (above), the Foo Fighter’s 'One by One' cover, as well as producing his own music and a couple of books, besides bagging the Bucksbaum Award at the Whitney Biennial. No small feat, I’d imagine…

On to his current work, and Pettibon is a bit of a cultish cartoon master. In that, he’s exhibited at a whole bunch of places including the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Haags Gemeentemuseum in the Netherlands, and the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery. So much for anti-authoritarian; these place are pretty highbrow. Whatever, and who cares, 'cos that’s a whole other debate. Now he’s showing at Sadie Coles HQ in London. This is his third exhibition at the gallery and, while the release didn’t say a much about what would be showing, it’s pretty safe to say, this is an exhibition worth checking out.

Raymond Pettibon is showing at Sadie Coles HQ, 35 Heddon Street, London W1, from 12th January – 17th February.

Mark Ronson - Just Cover - London (genius!)

From - Graffiti Instincts (Jay and Nilko)

Graff - Dans La Bronx Avec La French Connection

Escape - Graff on Graff - USA

Opening – Sam Dargan’s ‘A Bad Year for People’ @ Rokeby – London

London's Rokeby has a knack of picking up young, up and coming, almost established talent, so it’s unsurprising they’ve roped Sam Dargen into their stable, with an exhibition entitled ‘A Bad Year for People’ opening in January 2007. Dargen graduated from the Royal College in 2002, and has since exhibited across Europe at galleries including Copenhagen’s Mogadhni. His works are a little disturbing – which isn’t altogether a bad thing – after all ‘alienation’ is his favoured subject. Almost all his characters are suit and tie boys, caught up in nasty situations, like say, the rear end of a tornado. So it’s safe to say, Dargen isn’t exactly after a warm fuzzy vibe.

Showing – Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s Family and Friends @ Galerie Sprüth Magers – Munich

Philip-Lorca diCorcia is one damn fine photographer. I’m a big fan. A big old mad fan. What can I say? His work just does it for me. These photos, they’re static but stirring; stirring in so many different ways. They leave you with an afterthought; a notion that something’s about to happen, has happened, will happen. They’re almost menacing, but because the subject matter is so average, they’re also warm and fuzzy and, kind of welcoming. Bottom line, they’re an oxymoron and that, to me, is perfect.

Back in the ‘70s, when diCorcia established himself as a name to be reckoned with, he got working on a collection of photographs called ‘Family and Friends’, which are currently showing at Galerie Sprüth Magers in Munich. Now, unsurprisingly, this set of images does pretty much what you’d expect – well, what you’d expect up unto a point. Set around incredibly banal situations, they’re heavily staged – a boy in the kitchen (above; 'Brian', 1988), a moustached man cycling down a tunnel, a bloke talking on the telephone – fixed and frozen. But, like a freeze frame of an old Technicolor movie, you feel that if you were to hit some secret button, they would kick back into action again. Course, that’s sounds mad and probably is. However, this madness, or rather, magic, is precisely what makes diCorcia’s work brilliant.

Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s Family and Friends is showing at Galerie Sprüth Magers, Schellingstrasse 48, D-80799 München, until 27th January 2007.

Showing - Wood for the Trees and Falling Leaves - Gimpel Fils - London

Public Address - LA

Turner Prize 2006 - Tate Britain - London

For the first time since 1998, a woman has managed to bag the Turner Prize. A painter no less – something practically unheard with the Turner. Still, you got to hand it to Tomma Abts, her paintings are something else. They’re a bit like Marmite; you either love ‘em or hate ‘em. Me, I’m not so keen. However, hands up, I know they’re special. I know this because they mess with my head. They’re so small, so modest, so quietly clever. They are, like nothing you ever saw before. From the off, Abts was tipped as the favourite to win the £40,000 (sponsors Gordon's Gin helped up the £25,000 on offer) prize. She was the out and out winner, surpassing those other shortlisted talents of Phil Collins, Mark Titchner and Rebecca Warren. So, really, it was no big surprise when Yoko Ono opened the envelope and called out her name.

Towering like a giant beside the diminutive Ono, Abts was calm as can be, thanking her galleries and the likes. She was serene and composed and unassuming. Kind of impressive, I think. I imagine she’s a bit like her paintings, quiet on the outside with a whole lot going on underneath. Because, these works, they look simple but are quite the opposite. They're created over months, with layers and layers of paint, applicated with precision and grace. Now, that's not to say that I like them. I don't. Hell, I don't even get them (and yes, maybe that's the point... I don't know). But, like I said before, I know they're good. I know they're something serious.

Turner Prize 2006 is showing at Tate Britain, Millbank, London, SW1, from 3rd October to 14th January 2007.

Museum 52 - Nada Art Fair - Miami

Deith Projects - Art Basel - Miami

Alien Nation @ The ICA - London

Featuring the likes of Laylah Ali, Hamad Butt, Yinka Shonibare, Eric Wesley and Mario Ybarra Jr, Alien Nation is a funky little mash up currently on show at the ICA. Curated by John Gil, Jens Hoffmann and Gilane Tawadros, and co-produced by the ICA and the Institute of International Visual Arts, the exhibition ties together sci-fi, race and art. Swinging back in time in a kitsch but cultured manner, it includes a collection of original old school film posters from the ‘50s, archive films, and works by twelve contemporary artists (including those mentioned above), presenting interpretations of ‘otherness’ by way of sculpture, film, photography and multi-media.

Alien Nation is showing at the ICA, The Mall, SW1, from 17 Nov 2006 - 14 Jan 2007. Telephone: +44 (0)20 7930 0493

Blek Le Rat in Action

Showing - Nick Waplington 'Wax and Wane' @ Museum 52 - London

The Hackney Artists Birthday Exhibition - London

Private View - Hans Holbein ‘Holbein in England’ @ Tate Britain – London

Those old masters – the Dutch ones – I was never that much of a fan. They were always too fussy, too precise, too, too much of everything that’s over the top and outrageous. Nope. The Dutch masters never really did it for me – until last night, that is. Holbein, a name that generally sends me straight to sleep, turned out something of a stunner at Tate Britain’s 'Holbein in England'. Hands down, I was sucked in with the rest of them, pulled around roundabout style, surrounded by all those sketches, prints and oils hanging on the walls of Tate Britain.

Now, the gallery, admittedly, isn’t quite a saucy as its fellow Tates. However, it plays a cool host to the exhibition with a smooth run through Holbein’s various guises. As an artist, his catalogue is astounding. It’s like a waltz through history – the kind of lesson that makes you feel small and antlike, and all too aware that there world has spun round for years before your arrival. Indeed, back in the 1500s, it was all happening in the UK. It was a bit of a gory scene, extra opulent with a lot of nastiness going on underneath that gold-gilt surface. Course, Holbein caught the extravagant, elegant side of things. As the court painter, he covered the main players; Anne Boylen, Jane Seymour, Erasmus, and the big man himself, Henry VIII.

There’s no doubt that Holbein was a prolific artist. His woodcuts are ridiculously intricate, while his designs for fireplaces and clock-salts (whatever they are…), broaches and seals, are something else – so over the top and ornate – they’re outrageous – a touch Liberace, with lot more style. They are, like the show, full of elaborate detail and coveted information. Bottom line, and big surprise, this is the kind of stuff that exhausts and excites me. It’s quietly extreme, seemingly sophisticated, leaving you feeling like you’ve been hit by some sort of culture truck. And that’s great – because that’s exactly the way it should be with art.

Holbein in England at Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1, 28 September 2006 – 7 January 2007

News – Munch’s Scream Found – Europe

Oh my. And you thought it was lost forever. Well it’s been found. Yes it has. ‘The Scream’, that scary Munch masterpiece, has been rediscovered. The work was retrieved alongside the more amicable ‘Madonna’, while police are staying schtum about their find. Meanwhile, the lads who scarped with the works in 2004 were jailed earlier this year. As if that wasn’t hard enough, they’ve also been hit with a bill for $122 million in damages. How they’ll pay that off working in a prison laundry room, who knows.

Showing – Axel Antas ‘Nature of Things’ @ Rokeby – London

Axel Antas is exhibiting at Rokeby Gallery in London this month. The multi-talented Finish-born artist was recently selected for the Jerwood Drawing Prize. His current collection of work builds on his interest in ‘displacement of the self as a physical entity’. Think extra-large drawings of woodland filled by average, everyday columns of cardboard boxes or photographs of great trees surrounded by strange hanging clouds. It’s all very urban meets rural life in a very static, uncertain way.

Axel Antas’ ‘Nature of Things’ takes place at Rokeby, 37 Store Street WC1, from 5th September – 3rd October.

News – Royal Academy Fire - London

Sixty fire-fighters were called out to a blaze at The Royal Academy of Arts yesterday. While no artworks were damaged, the roof caved in as did the due date for a forthcoming Saatchi show, USA Today: New American Art. The exhibition would have opened on 6th October, however given the wing is currently open air it’s likely to be sometime before the American works are exhibited.

Logan Hicks at Work - LA

Street Art - Big Little Baby - stenSOUL

Showing - Nobody Walks Artist Movement - LA

Showing - Tom Wilmott and Bob London 'The Ritual Works' @ The Fleapit - London

Hirst’s Online Battle

Multi millionaire Damien Hirst is all tied up in a legal battle with Simon Phillips, a struggling artist who owns the domain www.damien-hirst.co.uk. This spoof site couldn’t be less Hirst if it tried. The opening page reads ‘(My Arse) Straight Out of Old Compton Street’ (as opposed to ‘Straight Out of Groucho’s’) with a fabulous camp-fest image of Phillips dressed in red PVC (topped by a sailor hat, no less). Now, I’m not saying what Phillips did was right, it was unquestionably wrong; but you got to love this guy. He has the audacity to go up against a name like Hirst. He clearly knows how to grab some easy, if not expensive, publicity.

Over in superstar land, Hirst has hired city law firm Manches LLP to represent him in the ongoing battle over trademark and intellectual property rights. Trademark? Come on. Hirst may be a fantastic, prolific, got it going on artist, but a trademark? Wow. This legal jargon is something else. However, in Hirst’s defense, Phillips’ domain had included details of his nemisis’ career, which frankly, is a bit dodgy. Still, it’s all very David and Goliath and no doubt the whole thing will end in tears. Course they could surprise us. Hirst could set up his own, ‘My Shark, Your Space’ at www.simon-phillips.com and have a little fun with it all.

Showing - Robert Mapplethorpe @ Alison Jacques - London

In commemoration of Robert Mapplethorpe's 60th birthday, Alison Jacques have hooked up with the legendary Patti Smith and Tate Modern for an exhibition of the late artist's seldom seen film work. These include Still Moving (Mapplethorpe/Smith 1978) and Lady (Mapplethorpe 1984), a piece which he created with bodybuilder Lisa Lyon. Alongside Mapplethorpe’s films, the exhibition also comprises early Polaroids, his renowned gelatine pictures and American Flag, as well as works and poems by Smith.

Robert Mapplethorpe’s Still Moving and Lady takes place at Alison Jacques, 4 Clifford Street, W1 from 8th September – 7th October.

Astrid Chesney ‘World of Inferiors: A Rogue’s Gallery’ – Dazed Gallery, London

Art Prostitute Group Show, 'Most Likely to Suceed' - Dallas

Planningtorock @ UBS Openings, Tate Modern - London

Street Art - D*Face and Free Range, Shoreditch, London

Photograph © Kirsten Telfer Beith

Private View Review – Ji Wenyu ‘Dressing Up Before Going Out’ @ Museum 52 – London

Although Ji Wenyu has exhibited at Cologne’s Sammlung Ludwig and Portugal’s Biennale de Maya, the western world has yet to fully experience his fabulous delights. The cheeky Chinese artist has been around for over ten years, and while recognition in his homeland is obvious, things are just starting to hot up in the UK and US. However, it’s not all bad. Museum 52 has managed to pick up on his talents, and last night presented ‘Dressing Up Before Going Out’. This is Wenyu’s first solo show in the UK and offers a small but perfectly formed set of works. ‘Living Fossils Have Successfully Mated’, (above) centres on a pair of pandas getting it on, ’Strong Men and Beautiful Women Living in the City’, gives off a greenish trannie vibe, and ‘Jeff Koons is Replaced’, (below) harbours a crisp cosmetic edge. These works are all fun, funky and fresh. In fact, they’re a force to be reckoned with.

I’m a fan of Wenyu’s work. It’s easy to appreciate, entertaining, quirky and queer. It's blatantly East Asian, which is, frankly, wonderful. But how does Wanyu pull this all off so adeptly? He takes all those colours typical of mainstream Chinese advertising of old, and pulls them together for a contemporary, tripped out scene. Bubble gum pinks, grassy greens, lurid turquoises and bright yellows are packed into one small flat space. Sounds awful, but believe me, it looks superb. Wenyu has manage to harness his brighter than bright palatte into a cool, pop art style, creating pieces that are both thought provoking and amusing – amusing for all the right reasons. You see, Wenyu is smart, sharp and sarcastic. He’s an ideal artistic commentator to China’s social and economic scene. Documenting the weird and wonderful habits of those who surround him, he notes their desires and eccentricities, and sometimes seedy traits. But best of all, he does it perfectly.

Ji Wenyu’s ‘Dressing Up Before Going Out’ takes place at Museum 52, Redchurch Street, London, E2, from 30th June – 3oth July.

Street Art - Banksy - Regents Park Road, London

Photograph © Kirsten Telfer Beith

Street Art - Antony Gormley @ The Roundhouse - Camden, London

Photograph © Kirsten Telfer Beith

Private View Review - Damien Hirst and Francis Bacon @ Gagosian - London

Britannia Street in London’s Kings Cross was alive last night with private views from Rove TV and Gagosian. Exhibiting an awesome collection from Damien Hirst, alongside a fabulous group of works from Francis Bacon, the show could not be faulted at Gagosian. Admittedly most of it had been seen before, but, nonetheless, the selection was outstanding. Bacon’s Cardinals, Hirst’s fly ridden cow's head and Pharmacy shelves were breathtaking – breathtaking, as is the Gagosian, though, last night, unfortunately, for completely opposing reasons.

From the old guard to new, I’ve been to many private views. All offer up art, while some provide champagne and canapés and others, out of date beer and dodgy wine. And it’s fun. It’s fab. It’s an essential schmoozing tonic that oils the wheels of PR and industry. Yet, last night, Gagosian, the grand dame herself, forgot her manners. With a drink section cut off, VIP nightclub style, and the toilet only available to celebs, the message from the London gallery was clear; only a small section of attendees matter here.

These elitist values, while fairly omnipresent elsewhere, have no place in the art world – least not within such a social and public situation. Indeed, this type of snobbery is the antithesis of street-level art; street-level art, which inevitably hits the high end of the art scene's hierarchy during later years.

Think about it; Hirst, who was surrounded by film crews and press at the private view, working it like a bona fide pro, once knocked around Soho with the best of us, living it up large, trying to make it. And make it he did. Yet, there's no doubt he too, in his pre-celebism days experienced the blank stare of the velvet rope holder (or she who holds the golden toilet key). And it’s all so ironic. Though perhaps the most ironic factor lies with the big kahuna, Larry Gagosian. You see, I imagine he would shun such snobbery. Why? Because Mr. Gagosian is a power house, a professional who is likely aware that today’s pleb may be tomorrow’s somebody.

Showing – Arts Beyond Presents Anouk van Tetering ‘The Collection’ @ The Zizi Gallery – London

Over the past few years, London based, Dutch import, Anouk van Tetering has created a nice little international niche for herself. Indeed, since graduating from Chelsea College of Art and Design, while appearing in publications like Cosmopolitain, Elle Decoration and Conaissance des Arts, her work has found its way into private and public collections worldwide. All this popularity and press is no big surprise. Tetering's prints are sexy, seductive and easy on the eye, so it goes without saying, her forthcoming exhibition, 'The Collection', is bound to offer up some saucy delights.

Anouk van Tetering’s ‘The Collection’ takes place at The Zizi Gallery, 23 Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London W1, from 18th July – 23rd July.

Event – Free Range @ The Old Truman Brewery – London

It’s that time again, when the annual Free Range festival rolls into town and takes over the Old Truman Brewery’s massive 11-acre site. Showcasing some of the finest (and sometimes not so fine…) new graduates, the event goes on for a lengthy two months and sees Brick Lane become a big old art party. With some 2,200 students exhibiting, Free Range attracts pretty much anyone in the UK scene – gallerists, dealers, students’ family and friends and those who’ve just wandered in unexpected. This particular festival is the 6th and with it being the hottest summer since who knows when, it’s going to be jam-packed. Many of these students are fresh out of colleges like Goldsmiths, Ravensbourne, Central St Martin’s and Camberwell, so talent is bound to be strong. In fact, standards are so high this year, that one graduate, Aowen Jin (Goldsmiths) has already been commissioned to paint the Queen.


FREE RANGE 2006 DIARY
@ The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London E1 from 1st June – 24th July

DESIGN: Week 1
Friday 2nd June - Monday 5th June
Middlesex University, Goldsmiths College, Greenwich University, Bournemouth University, and South East Essex College University College for the Creative Arts (SIAD)

DESIGN: Week 2
Friday 9th June - Monday 12th June
University College for the Creative Arts Epsom, University of the Arts London (CSM), Oxford & Cherwell College, University College for the Creative Arts Farnham, Brunel University, and Barnet College

PHOTO: Week 3
Friday 16th June - Monday 19th June
Salisbury College, University of Brighton, University College Falmouth Photography, Thames Valley University, and Havering College

PHOTO: Week 4
Friday 23rd June - Monday 26th June
University of Westminster, University College for the Creative Arts Farnham, West Kent College, Thames Valley University, Loughborough University and Kingston University

ART: Week 5
Friday 30th June - Monday 3rd July
Bathspa University College, University of Wales Newport, Colchester Institute, Hertfordshire College, Goldsmiths College, Nottingham Trent University and Camberwell College

ART: Week 6
Friday 7th July - Monday 10th July
Northbrook College, Batley College and Staffordshire University

MIXED: Week 7
Friday 14th July - Monday 17th July
Kingston University, Nottingham Trent University, Ravensbourne College, Thurrock College, University College for the Creative Arts Maidstone and University of Portsmouth

MIXED: Week 8
Friday 21st July - Monday 24th July
Arts Institute at Bournemouth, Arts Institute at Bournemouth, Norwich School of Art & Design, and University of Brighton

News – Tate Modern 2 Unveiled – London

There's more action at Tate Modern this month as plans for their upcoming 2012 extension have been exposed in the Sunday broadsheets. Inspired by Babylonian ziggurats, the £140 million wing will stand some 130 metres tall and practically doubles the museum’s space. Full plans are set to be unveiled next month, while the extension is intended for completion in time for the London Olympics.

Like the rest of the museum, this addition comes from Herzog & Meuron, the Swiss architectural group who originally turned Giles Gilbert Scott’s Bankside Power Station into the wonder we know as the Tate Modern. Now, although the bulk of the building is instantly recognisible as an old school industrial construction, the new wing is a little more sci-fi. Think big pyramid glass blocks in a mish-mash zig-zag style. It’s the antithesis of the Bankside section of the museum and, in that, reactions have been mixed.

This building may turn out as ugly as hell but, for someone who thinks the Scottish Parliamentary building is a bona fide work of art; I’m rooting for full-blown mega-success of Tate Modern 2. London needs a little something to rival the Bilbao’s Guggenheim or Hong Kong's Convention Centre. We need some future action. Sure, we have The Gherkin, City Hall and even Trellick Tower, but where’s the love on the arts scene? Our galleries are, on the whole, a part of the establishment. They rise from ancient building blocks of sheer elegance and historic grace. And yes, these have their place. They are regal. They are wonderful. They are beautiful and make London, well, London. But, let’s face it, Tate Modern is all about innovation. That’s the whole point. This is a remarkable building we have, one seeped in both history and style, so what's the harm in pushing it further and bringing the gallery bang into the future?

Showing – Xavier Veilhan ‘Le Grand Mobile’ @ at Andréhn-Schiptjenko - Sweden

This month Scandinavia’s Andréhn-Schiptjenko Gallery is showing a work by French artist, Xavier Veilhan at Art Basel's Art Unlimited. Le Grand Mobile is a piece which does exactly what it says on the tin and, perhaps unsurprisingly, is reported to be Veilhan’s largest work. Consisting of 25 big, black, shiny spheres, the installation covers a massive 440 square metres and hangs high above the floor. This is the first time Le Grand Mobile has appeared with Andréhn-Schiptjenko at Art Basel, however, it previously exhibited at the Bienal de Valencia, while a motorized version was planned for the Pompidou Centre.

Xavier Veilhan's 'Le Grand Mobile' is showing at Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Art Unlimited, Art Basel 37, from 14th June - 18th June.

News – Gagosion to Open Second London Space – London

Gagosian has unveiled plans to open second space on Davies Street in London. This enterprise sees the mega-gallery neighbouring to the classy West End crew, setting up a stone’s throw from Bond Street, not so far from the Haunch of Venison Yard, which - surprise, surprise - houses the fabulous Haunch of Venison.

Now, while Gagosian is a big, bashy, international player, White Cube is arguably one of London’s funkiest and finest. Hot on the heels of Hauser & Wirth’s recent Coppermill enterprise in Shoreditch, rumours have surfaced that Jay Joplin’s nurturing plans for a secondary space in W1. While this may be hearsay, the move seems fairly likely. White Cube is without doubt the East End’s heavy, so a second gallery would be a obvious move for Joplin.

Private View Review - Dieter Roth and Martin Kippenberger @ Hauser & Wirth - London

There were tens of openings in London last night, and all were overshadowed and shamed by Dieter Roth and Martin Kippenberger at Hauser & Wirth. Housed in the gallery’s new space at the Coppermill in Shoreditch, this show was, and is, something else. Industrial, urban, well-considered and crazed, this is an exhibition that reaches parts other galleries could only hope for. But then again, the Coppermill is a stunning space. It’s big, it’s bashy, it’s a stiff little finger to those average, whitewashed, run of the mill cohorts. Bottom line, in its entirety, this seeming chaotic yet clearly caculated show is a breath of fresh air. But then again, gallerist Ivan Wirth is no average art dealer. This is a man that opened his first gallery at 16. A man who’s ranked as one of the most powerful in the art world. A man, who, barely into middle age, owns four galleries worldwide. Kind of makes you feel a little inadequate really...

But enough of Wirth and on to last night’s phenomenal show. What made it so different? Well, an overwhelming vibe of obsessive production, of commotion, of what it means to be an artist. Still, all this is no big surprise given that the gallery's initial space is filled by work from Dieter Roth, with installations, assemblages, drawings, paintings, collages and who knows what else. These are shown at the Coppermill almost as one piece. At least that’s how it felt to me. Maybe it was the crowd, pulling the whole thing together, or simply the fact that there was such an incredible amount of work on show. Yet, having seen Roth a couple of years back at PS1 in New York, I know for a fact that, while his work may be frenzied, it can be exhibited in a clean-cut way. Nonetheless, Hauser & Wirth has embraced Roth’s pandemonium, making things feel all cool and crude and industrialised (in an organic way, of course...).

Martin Kippenberger takes up the second space of Hauser & Wirth. Now, don't be too disappointed... His notorious over the top antics are absent here. His sense of the absurd, passion for pandemonium, ability to shock and offend are nowhere to be seen. Not that this is a problem – after all, Kippenberg, like Roth, passed away several years ago, so any shock tactics have all been seen and heard of before. They are already old hat has beens. Yet his work on show – several canvases – large, small and in-between – his fabulous ‘Martin go stand in the corner, shame on you’ (left), and a central installation, ‘Now I’m going to the big birch wood, my pills will soon start doing me good', appear rather claming beside Roth’s creations. It's a little ironic, to say the least. Well, maybe it's the pills.

Dieter Roth and Martin Kippenberger are showing at Hauser & Wirth, Coppermill, 92 – 108 Cheshire Street, London E2, from 26th May – August 27.

News - Tate Modern Rehang - London

This week Tate Modern unveiled their awaited rehang. It’s a move that owes much to the museum’s collaboration with UBS. The gallery hooked up with the mega-bank for a three-year stint last year and one of the first things on their agenda was a 2006 rehang. At that time the museum felt their original grouping had become stayed. However, back when Tate Modern first opened in 2000, they set a new precedent in hanging polices at large museums. Binning standard approaches of presenting artworks historically, the Tate went for a more novel approach by displaying works by way of theme.

This rehang is a first for Tate Modern and, according to press so far, stays true to the museum’s original tactics. The whole shebang centers around 'UBS Openings: Tate Modern Collection', which features across Levels 3 and 5 of the building and focuses on four significant stages of twentieth century art; Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism; Surrealism, Surrealist ‘tendencies’; Abstract Expressionism, European Informal Art and Minimalism.

In its entirety, the rehang and its grouping sounds incredible. Stunning. Awesome. A real treat for aficionados, art lovers, tourists and any random passer-by who fancies a casual gander. An astonishing 40% of the works are new to Tate Modern’s illustrious walls, including Roy Lichenstein’s ‘Whaam! (above), while 20% of the pieces are new acquisitions from fairly cultish and frankly remarkable talents; Guerilla Girls, Christian Marclay, and John Baldessari to name but a few. Of course, this rehang can't fail but to be a success. Visitors can expect to experience major works from Sol Le Witt, Rachel Whitbread and Warhol. They’ll be able to get up close and personal with pieces from Picasso, Anish Kapoor, Matisse and Umberto Boccioni. And if it doen’t work, well the museum has an incredible amount of work in storage and with their ability to win over wealthy would-be sponsors, another rehang is always an option. However, given the press coverage so far that’s a move, which won’t be happening for some time yet.

Showing - Lisa Stefanelli and Jon Flack @ Mark Moore - California

Since graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, Lisa Stefanelli has established herself as an abstract talent with a cool eye for the organic. Represented by Mark Moore in California and Pierogi in New York, she’s reliable and steadfast in her style. Her paintings that depict great graff-like swirls, flawlessly painted on blank-ish backgrounds, are extremely easy on the eye. However, they’re not so simple that they leave you standing cold. Indeed, they're quite remarkable as Stefanelli has managed to take a clean-cut yet continually morphing formula and turn it into something quite kaleidoscopic. Bottom line, what she does looks effortless, but something so perfect, well, there’s no way these works are easy to create.

This month Mark Moore presents a series of new works from Stefanelli. These include ‘Wifery’ (Wifery II, above) and ‘Turn Pike’, which stay true to her lovely loopy signature style – a style that undoubtedly finds some sort of rooting in Stefanelli’s past persona as a competitive figure skater.

While Mark Moore has Stefanelli doing her thing in the Main Gallery, over in the Project Room he offers up a collection of works from emerging talent Jon Flack. A figurative artist with a trippy urban edge, Flack has exhibited at several New York galleries including 31 Grand and Nest, while this particular show will be his first West Coast exhibition. His paintings are immaculate and exact, depicting scenes, which ponder on the cultural and spiritual sidelines of city life; Pan playing his pipe besides two kissing girls in fairy wings, no less, (Pan, above); a dead squirrel; a pigeon perching next to a worn-down statue of a dog. It’s all a little dark yet adversely reassuring; familiar, if you like. In fact, it's an oxymoron that works.

Lisa Stefanelli and Jon Flack are showing at Mark Moore Gallery, 2525 Michigan Avenue, A-1, Santa Monica, California from 20th May - 1st July.

Private View Review – Erica Eyres and Mark Moore Presents @ Rokeby – London

In April last year Rokeby opened up on Store Street in London’s WC1. Since then the gallery has gathered together a tight stable of cool, clean-cut artists including Royal College graduates Michael Samuels and Claire Pestaille. Twelve months on and Rokeby has hooked up with LA’s Mark Moore Gallery. It's a collaboration that's both savvy and significant. After all, the well-established Mark Moore is has a heavy set of artists in tow, including Alistair Mackie, Simon Willems, Allison Schulnik and Chris Tallon. These are all seriously hot talents. Willems alone has been tipped as one of the Top 100 Emerging Artists while his associates are easily as impressive.

Last night’s private view presented a double whammy opening at Rokeby with Mark Moore’s lot shacking up downstairs and newcomer Erica Eyres filing the area upstairs. It all sounds a bit of mash-up, these various talents packed into one small space, however the show was quite the opposite; well thought-out, provoking and slick. Eyres, a Canadian born, Glasgow-based artist with a sharp, dry wit, offered up two video installations and a whole hoard of small, neatly framed, black and white ballpoint pieces representing some fairly cartoonish females. Yet, it’s on film that Eyres really shines. The duo of works shown included the darkly hilarious ‘Destiny Green’ (above), a funky little snippet influenced by such cautionary true-life tales as Jocelyn ‘Cat Woman’ Brown and Jonbenet Ramsey. While the usual wine-soaked din of a private view meant the sound was hard to hear, the work’s message was as clear as it’s storyline; child beauty queen Destiny Green disappears and returns having had her face surgically removed. Fabulous. Weirdly the finally shots of a faceless Destiny gormlessly brushing her hair (well, she rather lacks expression by this stage, what with having no face and all) seems strangely reminiscent of so many overly botoxed girlies today. Funny that…

Back to Mark Moore’s crew and these guys are something else. Alistair Mackie’s ‘Egg Head’ (above), a hollow doll-style head made from eggshells, is about a precise and perfect as can be; Allison Schlulnik’s canvases, thick with paint are seemingly simple but far more complex on closer inspection, and Ryan Taber super-precise drawings gothic and mesmerising. And it’s all good. In fact, it’s damn near perfect.

Erica Eyres and Mark Moore Presents are showing at Rokeby, 37 Store Street, WC1 from 16th May - 20th June 2006.

News – Warhol’s Torn Soup Can Sells For $11.8 Million – New York

Andy Warhol’s ‘Small Torn Soup Can (Pepper Pot)’ (1962) sold for a superb $11.7 million at Christie’s last week. The work, which was painted as opposed to printed, was bagged by Larry Gagosian, who apparently picked the work up for LA’s billionaire collector Eli Broad. The piece was sold as part of a $143.2 million lot and was expected to sell at a slightly higher price of $15 million.

News – Artwork and Delivery Driver Disappear – US

A six foot nine ex-con with a suspended driver’s license has disappeared along with seven Milton Avery works. The paintings, said to be worth around $1.5 million, were on their way to the Avery estate in New York following an exhibition at the Boca Raton Museum. You’ve got to wonder how Patrick McIntosh was hired for the job of delivering the works. What, without a license and a little theft record going on, there were, surely, more likely choices for the trip to New York. Nonetheless, he got the post, yet somehow, never quite managed to reach the destination. With that kind of audacity, you almost want him to get away with it. However, McIntosh also legged it with his fiancé’s (assumedly now ex-fiancé) jewelry, a pretty lowly crime to say the least – after all, surely a diamond ring would be pennies next to a couple of major artworks. Still, never mind eh, a 6’9’ man driving a budget van full of Avery’s shouldn’t be too hard to miss.

News – Picasso’s ‘Dora Maar au Chat’ Sells for $95.2 Million – World

Picasso’s ‘Dora Maar au Chat’ (1941) has become one of the highest priced paintings to be sold at auction, going for a whacking great $95.2 million at Sotheby’s. While you could buy a small country for this price, those who witnessed the sale seemed more interested in the buyer's mannerisms. The Sotheby’s regulars, unimpressed with the buyer's paddle waving, took him for a novice. While he may not have had particularly adapt paddle-wielding skills, as it turned out, this man could likely purchase Sotheby’s entire back catalogue. The founder of Russia’s Standard brand, the country’s biggest selling vodka, Rustam Tariko is rumoured to be worth some $870 million, so really, who cares how he fares with a paddle.

News – Pete Doherty’s Blood Paintings – London

Almost a week after pictures of Pete Doherty, either injecting or removing a syringe from the arm of an out-cold girl, were published, his crew are cashing in on the press. While Doherty has come up with a weird excuse for the syringe stunt – something along the lines of ‘I needed her blood for a painting’ – there’s an exhibition of his blood-works in the pipeline. Apparently these are to be sold off for £1000 a pop, although for those who can’t wait, the pieces can be viewed online for, surprise-surprise, a small fee, at Balachadha.com.

News – Matt Stokes Wins Beck’s Futures - UK

Video artist, Matt Stokes has won the fifteenth annual Beck’s Futures Prize. The £20,000 award was judged by a prestigious panel that included Jake and Dinos Chapman, Cornelia Parker and Yinka Shonibare. Voting also tied up with a new online public system, while the outcome leant predominantly in the favour of Stokes’ work. His seven-minute film, ‘Long After Tonight’, which documents a 1960s northern soul evening, will be on show at the Institute of Contemporary Art, London, until the 14th May.

Showing - Transforming Chronologies: An Atlas of Drawings, Part Two @ MOMA – New York

Currently on show at MOMA, ‘Transforming Chronologies: An Atlas of Drawings, Part Two’ is, as the name suggests, the second offering of the aforementioned collection. Showcasing works created from the end of the nineteenth century to the present, this installation submits ‘Digital’, ‘Figures’ and ‘Constructions’ and, alike its predecessor, focuses on the visual relationships, which exist between artworks. Artists on show include John Cage, Roy Lichtenstein, Vito Acconci and Henri Matisse.

’Transforming Chronologies: An Atlas of Drawings, Part Two’ takes place at MOMA, 11 West 53 Street, New York from 10th May - 2nd October.

News – Dusanka Komnenic Wins ‘AsylumNYC’ – New York

Serbian artist Dusanka Komnenic has won the ‘AsylumNYC’ prize, organised by Martin Rosengard of Wooloo Productions. The competition saw ten foreign artists present a performance based work at the White Box Gallery, New York. In this, those involved each created a fake detention centre with the help of white tape. Dusanka is an instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and graduate of the Academy of Applied Arts in Belgrade. As winner of ‘AsylumNYC’, she’ll be granted free aid from an immigration lawyer, who will hopefully help her secure a three year visa to the US.

Private View Review – Uta Barth @ Alison Jacques Gallery – London

Slotted on the end of Cork Street in London, Alison Jacques Gallery has a constant flow of quietly impressive artists on show. Following last month’s awesome show from Jon Pylychuck, this current exhibition from LA’s Uta Barth focuses predominantly on mounted colour photographs of flowers. The floral body of work, dubbed ‘Untitled’, has been scrupulously planned from A to Z and is spotless in a way that only photography or digital work can be. Lining the walls in perfect precision, this is an exhibition that is nothing if not clean cut. That’s not to say the images are still and stagnant. The colours offered up ensure any feelings of subdued submission are avoided by viewers. Continually bright and startling, alike much of Barth’s previous works the pieces are often hazy but somehow remain defined. They’re pleasing to the eye, a welcomed ease in the world of art without boundaries. But then again, Barth is a talent with well thought out boundaries. She is meticulous; and that’s exactly what makes this show worthwhile.

Uta barth is showing at Alison Jacques Gallery, 14 Clifford Street, London, W1 from 28th April - 27th May.

News – Arty Bomb Scare – London

All those people caught up in Monday’s tube traffic, bus delays and police blocks, must have been overjoyed to experience Monica Saiveva’s installations littered around the streets of west London. Decorated by nails and dedication notes, what these pieces must have looked like at a rushed, crowded, open to all, 8 am slot, who knows? Whatever the case, to those who experienced them, the works didn’t appear exactly friendly. Still, they didn't look like your usual inconspicuous bomb package either. Nonetheless, Saiveva inevitably managed to cause chaos, disrupting the journeys of thousands of commuters, shooting herself in the foot several times over.

News – China Crack Down on Art - China

The Chinese government has shut down several galleries in the Dashanzi district in Beijing. Allegedly, around three galleries have been asked to remove ‘politically sensitive’ works, including Gao Qiang's painting of a yellow toned Mao taking a dip in the Yangtze. Certainly change for the area has been more than apparent, however, things are still pretty sensitive. A work will go up and inevitably come down. Needless to say, rules surrounding arts are constantly shady. Mind you, one is fairly obvious; if the work is political, it’s going to come under some serious governmental scrutiny.

News – Egon Schiele’s 'Wilted Sunflowers' Returned – World

Egon Schiele's 'Wilted Sunflowers', which was seized by the Nazis during WWII, has been returned to the Grunwald family. The piece was handed into Christie’s for evaluation, coming into public view for the first time in some sixty years. In turn, it has been returned to its rightful owners.

News – Frank Gehry’s Grand Avenue Project – LA

Frank Gehry has unveiled plans for LA’s Grand Avenue. The project, which is rumoured to cost around $750 million, sees the area turn pedestrian and features two L-shaped towers as well as a hotel, condominium and a couple of flats thrown in for good measure.

Showing - Paul Freud @ Andrew Mummery - London

Focusing on the image of a crying human head, Paul Freud’s series of works showing at Andrew Mummery provide something a little poignant and impassioned. The images are representations of a silent 'cry' given by Pope John-Paul II during the final days of his life, when he found himself unable to speak whilst addressing his congregation. It’s a heart wrenching moment that few will forget. Meanwhile, Freud presents these images in various mediums, endeavoring to find clarity within the individual self-expression of both the artist and subject.

Paul Freud is on show at the Andrew Mummery Gallery, Studio 1.04, The Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, E1 from 26th April - 26th May.

News – Missing Munch’s – World

So. Munch’s 'Madonna' is lost to the world and his iconic 'Scream' is nowhere to be found. No doubt they’re hidden in a warehouse, somewhere in the back of beyond, awaiting their sale or, indeed, pick up. Whatever the case, things can’t get any worst, can they? Well, it seems as though they can, as researchers from the Munch Museum in Oslo, studying his catalogue raisonné, have discovered that a phenomenal 70 works are missing. Yes, they have gone, are lost, and have likely disappeared into that great artistic abyss know as ‘private collections’.

Munch is said to have produced around 1,700 works in his lifetime. However, many of the missing paintings, which include versions of the 'Old Aker Church' (1882), 'The Kiss' (1892), 'The Girls on the Bridge' (1902) and 'Felix Auerbach' (1906), were painted during the early stages of his career in the 1800s. No doubt, it goes without saying, it would be a travesty to lose them. Still, it’s not all bad. Last year, savvy staff for the Kunsthalle Bremen discovered an unknown Munch, hidden beneath a primary canvas, The Dead Mother (1899) (above).

Events - ArtBrussels 2006 – Europe

This April sees the annual ArtBrussels contemporary art fair kick off in Belgium. The event, which first began as ‘Art Actual’ in 1968, has a superb list of over 100 exhibitors with participants from 20 countries, alongside an attendee list that includes some 600 collectors and almost 800 journalists. Broken into five sections, ’First Call’, ‘Young Galleries’, ‘Art Galleries’, ‘One Man Shows’ and 'New! Design', the offerings here are fairly extensive. Galleries exhibiting are far reaching with many international enterprises such as Spencer Brownstone (New York), Springer & Winkler (Berlin), B & D Studio (Milan) and Anhava (Helsinki). The later, alone, has nine artists showing, including Santeri Tuori, Pertti Kekarainen and Jorma Puranen (above, Icy Prospects #18, 2005), which gives a good idea of how many works will be showing throughout. Meanwhile, the 'One Man Shows' section is presented in collaboration with ING Belgium and bestows a prize of €10,000 to the 'top' artist involved.

ArtBrussels takes place at Brussels Expo, Halls 11 & 12, Place de Belgique, 1020 Brussels, from April 21st – 24th.

Paulo Mendes da Rocha Wins Pritzker Architecture Prize – World

Brazil’s Paulo Mendes da Rocha has been awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize. A big fan of concrete and steel, Mendes is famed for his work on the Brazilian Sculpture Museum and Forma Furniture showroom in São Paulo. Back in 2000, Mendes da Rocha was honoured with the Latin American Architecture. This current prize, however, is the big kahuna of architecture awards and bestows a $100,000 grant to winners. Meanwhile, the ceremony for the honour takes place in Istanbul this May.

Showing - 'Metamorphoses' by Frank Webster @ Bespoke Gallery – New York

This April, Frank Webster presents ’Metamorphoses’ at the Bespoke Gallery. As his first exhibition with the New York space, it's an exhibition that promises to be interesting. Webster recently made a move into digital medium, creating collages that, unlike his precise, simple, deign-like paintings, are busy as can be. Boasting a trippy seventies movie-poster lick, the works on show are a sub-series from his Political Science Fiction collection, and explore modernisation, globalization and the steady disappearance of the world’s natural resources. While this sounds like fairly heavy subject matter, it’s certainly an extensive area worthy of exposure. That’s not to say it hasn’t already been covered. It’s mentioned in the media pretty much daily. Nonetheless, such matters often remains forgotten within the world of modern-day arts.

Frank Webster’s 'Metamorphoses' takes place at the Bespoke Gallery, 547 West 27th Street
Sixth Floor, New York until 26th April.

News - Turner Sets Record at Christie's – New York

A Venetian landscape, ‘Giudecca, La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio’, painted by Turner in 1841, has sold for a record-breaking price at Christie’s, New York. During those weeks prior to auction, there was much speculation concerning the likely cost of the piece. The estimate for the painting stood at around $20 million; that’s over $10 million more than Turner’s original record set in 1984 for ‘Seascape, Folkestone’. Needless to say, ‘Giudecca…’, sold at considerably more, going for an outstanding $35.85 million. Having been snapped up by an illusive, un-named phone bidder, the painting is now, unsurprisingly, being touted as the 'most expensive British work ever sold at auction'.

Private View Review – Brunel’s Legacy @ Getty Images – London

This month sees the bicentenary of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineering wunderkind behind such wonders as the Thames Tunnel, which he helped to build with his father Sir Marc Brunel, and the Great Eastern Railway. In light of his anniversary, Getty Images presents their aptly named ‘Brunel’s Legacy’. And what a legacy it is. During his career, Brunel spread his magic far and wide with ships, suspension bridges, tunnels, viaducts and more. All pretty prolific stuff to say the least.

Back to Getty and their London gallery is always an indulgence for anyone who harbors a passion for photography or, indeed, the past. This show is no different, documenting Brunel’s many feats in slick black and white prints and more vintage sepias. While the photographers of each piece vary, the images offered up are something of a history lesson, a slice of the past that’s all too often forgotten. Workers hang precariously on the rafting of the Forth Bridge, steam trains sail over the River Tamar and Brunel, himself, stands, cigar in mouth, top hat high on head, in front of the massive chains of the steamship, the Great Eastern. While these images are many things from poignant to inspiring, it’s the sheer variety and scope that’s really awesome. Most people hardly get past the meccano set. But not Brunel. The man who apparently smoked 40 cigarettes a day and slept four hours a night, must have had energy in mega volts; and that, is probably why he’s known as the ‘Second Greatest Briton of All Time’.

Brunel's Legacy is currently showing at Getty Images Gallery, 46 Eastcastle Street, London W1.

News – Austria’s Oldest Vandals Prosecuted – Europe

A duo of art vandals were recently prosecuted in Salzburg for their super-strength reaction to nudity. The pair had taken it upon themselves to cover up Markus Lüpertz's sculpture of a naked, one-armed Mozart, painting the piece for so-called reasons of anti-porn. One of the men, an eighty-year-old ex-photographer (his partner in crime is seventy-nine), apparently calls himself a ‘porn hunter’, which is just bizarre beyond belief. After all, we all know you need look no further than the local corner shop for a little porno - porno that is far more suited to a cover up than say, a work of art. Of course, given the age group of the vandals, their story sounds almost endearing. However, these guys managed to do a remarkable amount of damage, with costs running over eight thousand dollars.

Showing – Alberto Giacometti @ MOMA – New York

Alberto Giacometti can do no wrong. Almost fifty years since his death and his work is still pretty much omnipresent; especially with MOMA offering up an unmissable show, ‘Giacometti and the Avant-Garde’, this July. The exhibition, which focuses on works that Giacometti created during 1926-1934, takes place in the Painting and Sculpture Galleries and includes a plaster edition of the oh-so superb, ‘Head-Skull’ (left) as well as a bronze cast of ‘The Couple’.

’Giacometti and the Avant-Garde’ takes place at MOMA, 11 West 53rd Street, New York, throughout July.