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.

News – Eija-Liisa Ahtila Awarded Artes Mundi - UK

Filmmaker Eija-Liisa Ahtila has been awarded with the Artes Mundi, a prize providing a superb £40,000 to the winner. The funding for this prize is supplied by over thirty different sources, while the award is donated in Cardiff, Wales.

Showing – David Kinsey 'Enviromethodolgy' @ The Dray Walk Gallery - London

Stolenspace have a flair for offering up shows from artists who tread a sharp line between fine and urban art; those talents who’ve managed to create works, which are fresh, funky and yet remain ascetic. David Kinsey is one of those artists. Based in LA, Kinsey produces contemporary work that challenges the viewer to ‘unlearn’ by appriciating perspectives ‘other than their own’, while also questioning ‘the original of what is considered normal or intolerable’. To be honest, I’m not sure what this means, but fact is, it works.

Kinsey’s style and subject matter are intrinsically tied to urban living. His characters are heavy looking city dwellers, appearing somewhat downtrodden. That’s not to say that this is an emotionally taut set of scenes from Kinsey; because it isn’t. Instead, his work is candid and cool with slick design edge. No big surprise there, Kinsey is also the man behind BLK/MRKT creative agency, which boasts some hardcore clients including Adidas, Absolut, Wired, Black Eyed Peas, N.E.R.D and Nissan. These names give a good idea of Kinsey’s sheer vision and strength. Needless to say, he is quite brilliant. Remarkable even. He’s managed to survive the often inflexible fine art schooling system, studying at Pittsburg, without compromise, and somehow come out trumps. And that’s perfect. In fact, his ability to remain cutting edge while also establishing a mini-conglomerate through BLK/MRKT, in a way, explains his ‘unlearn’ concept.

David Kinsey’s ‘Enviromethodolgy’, presented by Stolenspace, takes place at The Dray Walk Gallery, Dray Walk, The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1, from 31st March – 13th April.

Showing - Jack Pierson 'Melancholia Passing Into Madness' @ Cheim & Read - New York

It’s been three years since Jack Pierson’s last exhibition at Cheim & Read in New York. However, this month the gallery presents ‘Melancholia Passing Into Madness’, a show named after a 19th century medical photo of a mad woman, assumedly doing exactly what the title suggests. This kind of frank awareness is typical of Pierson. His work is both candid and sombre with images hitting that transient spot where disillusion meets some sort of shady glamour.

In the past, Pierson has presented work from diverse sources. Brash, cheeky and stark photographs of male nudes and ‘sign letter sculptures’ have been an unadulterated success. In fact, to the horror of the Pierson camp, the sculptures have even been copied by the mainstream (Barneys' window dressers to be precise...). This time round, Pierson has shunned the masculine muse, turning instead to females and their ‘suffering’. Well, as any woman knows, the subject matter here is never ending. No doubt Pierson was spoilt for choice. Indeed, this show offers up all sorts of works including a selection of silkscreen paintings that represent the subject’s emotional disposition, be it anxious or pensive. Then there’s his ‘First Page Drawings’ as well as his current sign sculpture ‘Melancholia’. No. It’s not exactly the kind of stuff you’d pick up in, say, Barneys, is it?

Jack Pierson’s ‘Melancholia Passing Into Madness’ takes place at Cheim & Read, 547 W Street, New York, from the 30th March – 6th May.

News – Munch Trial Ends in Oslo – Europe

And so, with very little ado, the Munch trial has come to an end in Oslo. Although the stolen paintings, ‘The Scream’ and ‘Madonna’ (left), have yet to be found, the six defendants, AKA the hatchback posse, are facing several years in the slammer. Down, down, down they go with sentences running between four and eleven years. As if their arrest and imminent imprisonment wasn’t enough punishment, the prosecution is also asking for a whacking great $114 million in damages… Who says crime doesn’t pay?

Private View Review – Colin Self @ The Mayor Gallery – London

Let’s be honest; there aren’t many artists who can make you laugh. Seriously. Think about it. Humor is a personal preference. It exists within a set of arcane demographics. Where it seems simple, it’s often complex – and vice versa. For artists, the chance of holding a multi-dimentional gag together are fairly slim. Not that it’s been too much of a problem for Colin Self. Believe me, he’s a talent to make you chuckle, smirk and ponder every time.

One of the original pioneers of Pop Art, Self studied at The Slade School of Fine Art, where he was advised that he’d “probably fail”. Hmmm. Well. So much for the tutorial encouragement, nurture and grow effect. Of course, it goes without saying, Self did quite the opposite. In fact, it’s rumoured that at his very first solo show at the Godfrey Pilkington Gallery in London in 1965, guests included such luminaries as Lucien Freud and David Hockney. By 1967 he’d featured at the Biennale de Paris and, since, has appeared at MOMA, the Musee d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Tate and Hayward. Probably fail, eh? I ask you…

Last night saw Self’s aptly dubbed ‘Collage’ exhibition open at The Mayor Gallery on Cork Street. Almost every space of the gallery walls had been covered for this show. Indeed, Self is clearly a productive artist. It seems that everything he comes across, that’s vaguely cut-able, glue-able and stick-able, is ripped up and placed into some smart, sassy, sharp collage piece. Perhaps unsurprisingly, as media goes, cardboard is a big favourite. Self turns it into roast chicken ('A Chicken Drumstick On a Plate’, 2003), freshly mowed fields (above, ‘The Ploughman; Dig My Earth’, 2004) or an old fashioned arched beehive (’Bee Eaters and Bees’, 2004). As to the aforementioned humour, it’s apparent within the works that take on a seemingly average, sometimes ridiculous situation. A dole cheque for one pence, is decorated by World War Two’s favourite graffiti face Mr. Chad, aka Kilroy, with iconic words ‘Wot no gravy?’ flowing from his unseen mouth; the Queen, having been fixed onto an envelope in the form of several stamps, rows a gondola through Venice (wearing a striped t-shirt, no less); and five windswept black dogs leg-it from wherever with a strand of sausages clamped between the leader's chops. And its all good fun. In fact, like everything else that Self produces, it works - wonderfully.

Colin Self’s ‘Collage’ takes place at The Mayor Gallery, 22a Cork Street, London W1, from the 22nd March – 28th April.