AM Editor « Arrested Motion

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Teasers: Art Basel Week Miami ’09 – Wynwood Walls x Deitch

Posted by AM Editor, November 26, 2009

Deitch Projects has assembled an astounding roster of artists – including Aiko, Shepard Fairey (featured), Barry McGee, Os Gemeos and Swoon (interviewed) – to participate in its Art Basel Miami ’09 Wynwood Walls project. According to the press release, a major property owners in Miami’s Wynwood art district has made available a group of walls and buildings on which the artists can create murals. The project also includes an indoor space where paintings by several of the artists and documentary photographs by Martha Cooper (interviewed) […]

Openings: Walton Ford @ Paul Kasmin Gallery

Posted by AM Editor, November 18, 2009

Last Thursday, Chelsea’s Paul Kasmin Gallery hosted the opening of an exhibition of new large-scale watercolors by Walton Ford. At first glance, those not familiar with Ford might mistake his contemporary works for those of 19th century naturalist and painter John James Audobon. The similarity is intentional. However, instead of merely cataloging species as Audobon did, Ford uses the familiar visual language of the well-known wildlife artist and other early natural history artists to depict historically-based allegories of the violent collision of man and nature. […]

Showing: Kristin Baker – “Splitting Twilight” @ Deitch Projects

Posted by AM Editor, November 17, 2009

The Fall art season in NYC has been particularly good this year, and it seems to just keep getting better. We finally made it over to see the new Kristin Baker show entitled “Splitting Twilight” at SOHO’s Deitch Projects, and not ever having seen her work in person before, we were blown away. Baker uses tape to define forms, which she fills with acrylic paint and layers to create abstract landscapes and environments that explode with light and color. In addition, her technique of building […]

Showing: Olaf Breuning – “Small Brain Big Stomach” @ Metro Pictures

Posted by AM Editor, November 16, 2009

New York City’s Chelsea may be one of the centers – if not the center – of the art world, but more often than not, if you go there without knowing what you want to see, you’ll spend the day wandering in and out of galleries without seeing much of anything you really cared for. On rare occasions, however, you may just stumble on a show that really blows you away. Luckily, this latter scenario occurred over the weekend, when AM wandered into Metro Pictures […]

50 Parties Art Auction @ Ryan McGinness Studios

Posted by AM Editor, November 16, 2009

On Friday, AM had the pleasure of attending one of Ryan McGinness‘ exclusive 50 Parties events held at his SOHO studio. Given that all the major New York auction houses had held their fall sales during the week, it was appropriate that McGinness’ party that night was itself an auction – but one in which the artists themselves were the sellers, with no auction house taking a commission. Sixteen works were on the block, including pieces by David Ellis, Jose Parla, Cheryl Dunn, Todd “REAS” […]

Openings: Liu Ye – “Leave Me in the Dark” @ Sperone Westwater

Posted by AM Editor, November 14, 2009

AM attended the opening of Chinese artist Liu Ye’s latest show “Leave Me in the Dark” at Sperone Westwater Gallery (previewed). Not surprisingly, the online preview images did not do the work justice, as Ye’s minimal compositions and subtle color palette need to be seen in person to be fully appreciated. Although the show does not include any paintings of the European children’s book character Miffy often found in Ye’s early work, a few pieces did include primary color blocks – a common reference of […]

Openings: Aya Takano – “Reintegrating Worlds” @ Skarstedt Gallery

Posted by AM Editor, November 11, 2009

Last Saturday night, Upper East Side’s Skarstedt Gallery hosted the opening of one of the most exciting shows so far this art season – Japanese pop-art star Aya Takano’s “Reintegrating Worlds.” The exhibition, which is Takano’s second solo with the gallery, consists of a brilliant collection of 15 new paintings filled with fantastic scenes of waifish girls and all kinds of animals. Contradictions abound in the work, most importantly in the figures, which are at once sensual and childlike. Among the champagne-sipping, gallery-goers was hip-hop […]

Studio Visits: Tat Ito

Posted by AM Editor, November 6, 2009

AM recently had the pleasure of visiting with Tat Ito at the Queens, NY, studio that he shares with his assistant Yuyu Yang. Readers may remember that we thought that Ito was one of the standout new artists included in Joshua Liner Gallery’s excellent summer group show (covered). Well, Mr. Liner must have agreed with us, because Ito has a show with the gallery scheduled for February 2010, and from what we saw during our studio visit, it’s going to be a stunner.

Releases: “Lord of the Flies” Illustrated by Sam Weber for Folio Society

Posted by AM Editor, November 5, 2009

London’s Folio Society recently released a new printing of William Golding’s classic novel “Lord of the Flies,” illustrated by uber-talented, Brooklyn-based artist/illustrator Sam Weber. The edition contains several beautiful images painted especially by Weber in watercolor, finished digitally, and reproduced in four-color offset printing for the book. In addition, the front cover binding is a single color lithograph on red book cloth with white letterpressed accents. This amazing edition, however, is only currently available for members of the Folio Society, so if you want to […]

Preview: Liu Ye – “Leave Me in the Dark” @ Sperone Westwater

Posted by AM Editor, November 5, 2009

Opening this Saturday is the second solo show by noted Chinese artist Liu Ye for New York’s Sperone Westwater Gallery. The show, entitled “Leave Me in the Dark,” consists of a new collection Liu Ye’s narritive and illustrative paintings of solitary figures, mostly young women. His cartoonish style may seem simple at first glance, but like Yoshitomo Nara, Liu Ye’s works often convey quiet but powerful emotions and stories. See other images, after the jump.