2015 « Arrested Motion

Yearly Archives: 2015

Openings: Haroshi – “Still Pushing Despite The Odds” @ Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Posted by SAL, February 22, 2015

On February 19th, Jonathan LeVine Gallery opened Still Pushing Despite The Odds, a new solo by Haroshi (featured) at their location on West 23rd Street. Consisting of mostly large scale works, this is his third show with the showspace in Chelsea, and is a great demonstration of his unique skills and inventiveness. The Tokyo-based artist’s signature technique of creating incredible sculptural works using old skateboards has evolved so much from his initial concepts with this new body of work being great example of his current concepts. By compressing the boards in different […]

Overtime: Feb 16 – Feb 22

Posted by Khoi, February 22, 2015

More stories from the week that ended Feb 21 (click on bolded words for more information): Landon Metz show opens at James Fuentes. Metz discusses the show with Interview Magazine. RIP: Sheila Caro, artist and wife of Anthony Caro. Michael Asher’s only permanent outdoor work destroyed by man welding a sledgehammer. UN Security Council bans all trade in artifacts from Syria, accusing IS militants of looting to raise funds. Dispute over Cornelius Gurlitt’s will delaying efforts to research works and process restitution cases. Prosecutor in […]

Previews: Phil Hale – “Life Wants to Live” @ Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Posted by sleepboy, February 21, 2015

Tonight in Chelsea at Jonathan LeVine Gallery (529 West 20th Street), accomplished illustrator and artist Phil Hale will be presenting his first solo stateside in the last four years. Life Wants to Live will feature the London-based artist’s oil on linen paintings as well as drawings in a cohesive body of work in both subject matter and atmospheric language. The new pieces are a testament to the disjointed and uncertain times society is currently faced with, strewn with scenes of disaster and debris fields. Rendered in his distorted aesthetic and with […]

Viewpoints / Openings: Dran — ‘Public Execution’ pop-up show in Soho, London

Posted by Patrick Nguyen, February 21, 2015

It’s been some time since Pictures On Walls has organised an art exhibition. The previous one was in December 2013 with the Shok-1 solo show, X-Rainbow. Last year, POW gave up its premises on Commercial Street in East London. With a permanent show space no longer retained, the number of print releases in 2014 restricted to a small handful (by Paul Insect, Maya Hayuk and Invader), and plenty of competitors arriving on the street art scene eager to fill the void, many wondered what the […]

POW! WOW! ’15 / Streets: Sever

Posted by sleepboy, February 20, 2015

One of that artists this year for POW! WOW! Hawaii (more coverage here) that painted in a location off the beaten path was the MSK-affiliated Sever. The graffiti writer who made his name in Atlanta and has been known in the past to use his skills in a satirical way (see Street Art Is Dead mural) once again came up with some clever imagery for this wall in Kaka’ako. Take a look some more detailed photos below… Discuss Sever here.

Upcoming: Mehdi Ghadyanloo – “Perception” @ Howard Griffin Gallery

Posted by sleepboy, February 20, 2015

On February 26th, Howard Griffin Gallery will be opening another worthy show in London featuring the art of Mehdi Ghadyanloo. Entitled Perception, the exhibition will explore the darker side of the Iranian artist’s work, when compared to the public murals he has been known for which are sponsored by Tehran’s Beautification Bureau. The new paintings will also feature the optical illusions and geometrical forms which are present in the 100 murals that he has been responsible for which have become part of the visual landscape of contemporary Tehran. Rounding out […]

Previews: Kehinde Wiley – “A New Republic” @ Brooklyn Museum

Posted by sleepboy, February 20, 2015

Today marks the public opening of Kehinde Wiley’s massive mid-career survey entitled A New Republic at the Brooklyn Museum. For this exhibition, the locally-based artist has a selection of Wiley’s World Stage paintings, which started in 2006, many of which feature his signature “street castings” – taking urban youths off the street and posing & dressing them like the upper crust of society in Renaissance and old master paintings. Rounding things out are a serious of bronzes, stained glass paintings, and smaller “altarpieces.” Photo credit: Byron Smith and Chad Batka […]

Openings: Optimist – ‘Packrat’s Paradise’ @ LeQuiVive

Posted by sven, February 20, 2015

LeQuiVive has been hosting some exciting exhibitions over recent months. Currently showing is Packrat’s Paradise by Optimist aka Tim the Optimist. The exhibition is as much an autobiography as it is an art show, with a large scale installation consisting of a variety of paintings on different mediums intertwined with ephemera and memorabilia of his life and the graffiti crew culture he has been immersed within for the last decade. The exhibition is seemingly well titled by the look of the sheer amount of ‘stuff’ crammed into […]

POW! WOW! ’15 / Streets: Case Maclaim x Smithe

Posted by SAL, February 20, 2015

Mixing their two different but very compatible styles, Case Maclaim from Germany and Smithe from Mexico created one of the most interesting pieces on this year’s POW! WOW! Hawaii (more coverage here). The imagery they chose was a commentary about the preservation of coral life and the effect of human activity on its future. Smithe painted a detailed illustrative part showing a human head with coral for brains, surrounded with different organic & surrealistic elements and creatures. Case wrapped this image with a series of his recognizable […]

Releases: Fables – The Complete Covers By James Jean

Posted by sleepboy, February 20, 2015

Currently available from James Jean (interviewed) on his online store are signed copies of Fables: The Complete Covers By James Jean. The 256 page book is a compilation of the work from when the gifted painter worked as the cover artist for the comic series Fables. Including prep and production art, the publication is a in-depth look at the early phase of James’ acclaimed career that made him famous. Discuss James Jean here.