Contemporary Art « Arrested Motion

Category Archives: Contemporary Art

Previews: Gil Batle – “Hatched In Prison” @ Ricco/Maresca

Posted by sleepboy, November 1, 2015

On November 5th, Hatched In Prison will open at Ricco/Maresca in New York, a testament to the long road Gil Batle has traveled and where art has taken him. Born and raised in San Francisco to Filipino parents, he has been in and out of five California prisons for eight years over a twenty year period. While incarcerated, the self-taught artist’s drawing ability and eventual tattooing skills shielded him from the murderous gang violence that ran rampant behind bars. Now living on a small island in the Philippines, Batle has […]

Overtime: Oct 26 – Nov 1

Posted by Khoi, November 1, 2015

More stories from the week that ended Nov 1 (click on bolded words for more information): Sotheby’s to offer Carl Kahler’s My Wife’s Lovers, possibly the world’s largest and heaviest cat painting. Islamic State executes three people by blowing them up on three ancient Palmyra columns. “Windows on Death Row: Art From Inside and Outside…” features work by those awaiting execution. Hobby Lobby family under investigation for alleged importation of illicit antiquities from Iraq. Installation by Goldschmied & Chiari accidentally thrown out after being mistaken for garbage. The work is subsequently […]

Releases: Nettie Wakefield Prints

Posted by SAL, October 28, 2015

Nettie Wakefield recently released three new limited prints of her pencil and ink drawings, available in a very low edition of only 10. Best known for her series of reverse portraits that were included in Banksy’s Dismaland (covered), the London-based artist started drawing strangers in tube stations after her Masters degree a few years ago and still enjoys doing them. Another known series of works from her features image of discarded objects such as cigarette packs and tickets, meticulously drawn using graphite or ink. The three new prints that […]

Openings: Mike Egan & Hollis Brown Thornton – “Live Fast, Die Faster” & “A Long Time Ago” @ Gauntlet Gallery

Posted by sleepboy, October 27, 2015

Gauntlet Gallery in San Fransisco is currently showing two exhibitions that celebrate both the analogue and the digital side of the artistic spectrum. Mike Egan’s (interviewed) solo exhibition Live Fast, Die Faster continues his heavily stylised and instantly recognisable series of paintings inspired by German Expressionism, Day of the Dead imagery and his former career as an embalmer and funeral director. The Pittsburgh-based artist’s subject matter celebrates both life and death in equal measure. Amidst the chaos of the the skeletal figures and devils that features so prominently […]

Openings: OFFICIELLE Art Fair (Paris)

Posted by sleepboy, October 27, 2015

After a look at the main FIAC art fair in Paris, we now bring you photos from a satellite event – the OFFICIELLE Art Fair. The event held at the Les Docks-Cité de la Mode et du Design on the other side of town hosted over 60 galleries with a focus on emerging artists and more of an emphasis on French galleries. Take a look at more photos below… Photo credit: Karl Hab.

Tomokazu Matsuyama x Adam Wojcinski Tea Ceremony

Posted by sleepboy, October 26, 2015

A couple weekends ago, Tomokazu Matsuyama (interviewed) & Lesley Kehoe Galleries invited a small group of guests to his Brooklyn studio to participate in a formal tea gathering and to watch a Butoh performance. The unique setting featured a background of the Japanese artist’s paintings, juxtaposed with the skills of Australian born and Paris-based Ueda Sōko Ryū Tea Master and Butoh artist Adam Wojcinski. Take a look at some more photos below of the cross-cultural experience… Discuss Matzu here.

Releases / Signings: Lisa Yuskavage – “The Brood” Book

Posted by sleepboy, October 26, 2015

Tonight (7pm) at Strand Books in New York, Lisa Yuskavage will be launching her comprehensive new monograph – The Brood. Released through David Zwirner Books, whose associated gallery she showed at back in June (covered), the 242 page hardcover features work from 1991 – 2015. Those who miss the signing tonight can head over to the New York Public Library on October 28th (6pm) for another book event. Discuss Lisa Yuskavage here.

Rewind: Jul 14 – Oct 25

Posted by sleepboy, October 26, 2015

This latest edition of our Rewind article is headlined by a trailer for a new short film by JR (interviewed) starring Robert De Niro. Entitled Ellis, the footage follows the Academy Award Winning actor as he stars as an immigrant whose pursuit of a new life expired at Ellis Island. Traversing an abandoned hospital complex, De Niro is confronted with ghostly archival photographs of immigrants and hospital patients taken over a century ago pasted up by the JR, part of the French artist’s Unframed series of works. […]

Recap: FIAC 2015

Posted by sleepboy, October 25, 2015

Over the weekend, the FIAC art fair opened their doors to the public at the Grand Palais in Paris. The 42nd edition of the annual event featured artwork presented by 173 galleries from 23 different countries. Parisians and visitors took advantage of their opportunity to peruse and add to their collections with this being the premiere art event in the country every year. Take a look at some more photos from the event below… Photo credit: Karl Hab.

Overtime: Oct 19 – Oct 25

Posted by Khoi, October 25, 2015

More stories from the week that ended Oct 25 (click on bolded words for more information): Alex Israel – Sightings opens at the Nasher Sculpture Center. Arts Council of England warns British museums of “severe and imminent” threat of “attack.” Claude Monet’s ghost may be haunting the Cleveland Museum of Art. UK’s Culture Minister, Ed Vaizey places temporary export ban on Rembrandt portrait worth £35mil. Bruegel currently in collection of Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna may have been looted from Poland. DeYoung Museum’s CFO Michele Gutierrez accuses President Dede Wilsey of […]