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Basel musing: Robert Williams’ Appetite For Destruction

Posted by AM Editor, December 19, 2008

This has been written on before, but AM thought that it was important enough to revisit. In the world of low-brow and pop surrealist art, there perhaps is no bigger name than Robert Williams, and Williams’ 1978 painting Appetite For Destruction is without a doubt his most recognizable work. People worldwide were exposed to Williams’ work when the paintings’ title and image were used by Guns ‘N Roses for their incredibly successful 1987 major-label debut (although the cover art was soon changed as many found […]

Brooklynite Gallery launches online shop

Posted by AM Editor, December 18, 2008

Bed Stuy’s one and only Brooklynite Gallery has just added an online shop to their Web site, which contains a nice selection of well-priced prints and originals by the likes of emerging artists Ben Frost (pictured above), Remed, ZBIOK and others. The email announcement went out earlier this morning, and already a few pieces have sold, so it seems that at least someone out there is in the holiday shopping spirit. If you are still in need of that perfect gift for your art lover […]

Opening: The Piece Process @ Anonymous

Posted by AM Editor, December 18, 2008

A spirited crowd came out last night for the opening of “The Piece Process” at Anonymous Gallery on New York’s Lower East Side. The concept: connect pop/urban/graffiti/street artists from the last fifty years through an exhibition of their sketches, studies and preliminary works. Although some of the pieces seemed to represent the idea of process better than others, the collection of names represented was nothing short of impressive: from Ray Johnson, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat to Aiko, Judith Supine and the Clayton Brothers. Our […]

Ryan McGinness book signing @ Zakka

Posted by AM Editor, December 17, 2008

AM friend and photographer Joe Russo was in Dumbo, Brooklyn, last Saturday night for the Ryan McGinness book signing at uber-cool Japanese art and design book store Zakka. McGinness was there in support of his latest limited edition book, No Sin/ No Future, which is “a collaged collection of snapshots, sketched and scans, culled from the artist’s studio archives.” Joe reported that Ryan was very friendly and eager to talk about his work, and hinted about the possibility of more exclusive McGinness coverage in the […]

Setup: Yoshitomo Nara @ Blum and Poe

Posted by AM Editor, December 16, 2008

Continuing with our coverage of Yoshitomo Nara’s upcoming show (teased) at Blum & Poe on December 20th, AM has received two new images of the Japanese artist’s temporary studio in LA. From the looks of it, Nara is planning another large-scale installation along the lines of the Yoshitomo Nara + Graf exhibitions of the last few years. In these shows, Nara teamed up with Japanese design firm Graf to construct structures in which Nara displays his paintings and drawings of mischievous girls and exclamatory slogans […]

JR and Matt Small win first Street Art Awards

Posted by AM Editor, December 10, 2008

According to Dazed Digital, JR and Matt Small picked up the top prizes at the first annual Street Art Awards, held in London last Thursday night. JR deservingly won in the best street art category for his amazing photo installation 28 Millimeters: Women, for which he turned the houses of Rio’s favelas into a crowd of faces looking down from the city’s hills. Great pictures of the work can be seen here. Matt Small won in the best urban art category. The event also included […]

Art Basel Vernissage

Posted by AM Editor, December 6, 2008

After only being able to spend less than an hour at the Art Basel Miami 08 vernissage preview Wednesday night, AM went back to the fair yesterday, and this time, we took our time. For those not familiar with Art Basel, it’s like walking through the world’s biggest museum of modern and contemporary art, except everything is for sale. There are far too many amazing works of art to mention – everything from Picasso to Rothko to Warhol to Richard Prince, so we thought that […]

Mizuma Art Gallery @ Pulse Miami

Posted by AM Editor, December 5, 2008

First stop at Pulse Miami Thursday morning was Tokyo’s Mizuma Art, which is known for showing some of Japan’s most exciting early- and mid-career artists, including Makoto Aida, Hisashi Tenmyouya and Tomoko Konoike. Upon entering the gallery’s booth, AM was immediately struck by two impressive paintings by Sashie Masakatsu. Masakatsu, who has just recently started to be shown by Mizuma, was a hit at Takashi Murakami’s Geisai fair a few years ago, as well as at Geisai USA and a recent solo show at LA’s […]

Art Basel Miami 08 Vernissage

Posted by AM Editor, December 4, 2008

AM dove into the main Art Basel 08 fair headfirst last night by attending the special invitation preview, known as the vernissage. With only an hour or so to scan the mind-blowing selection of art, there was no way that we were able to see it all, let alone take pictures. After the jump are images of a few pieces that inspired me to stop gawking and pick up my camera. Look for am Editor’s selection later today.

FriendsWithYou Fun House @ Scope Miami

Posted by AM Editor, December 4, 2008

AM felt like a kid again when we saw the installation that Scope commissioned Miami-natives FriendsWithYou to envision for the lounge area of this yearsâ€™ fair. The young-at-heart artist/designer duo of Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III created their own theme park, entitled Fun House, including an inflatable moon bounce playground, concessions stands, picnic tables and moreâ€”all in the likeness of their strange and wonderful characters. The installation also has a small gallery space, which offers attendees the rare opportunity to see FWYâ€™s fine art, […]