Contemporary Art « Arrested Motion

Category Archives: Contemporary Art

Openings: Damien Hirst – “The Complete Spot Paintings 1986–2011” @ Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills

Posted by Khoi, January 16, 2012

Being located the furthest west of any of the galleries in Larry Gagosian’s dominant empire, Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills was the very last spot (no pun intended) to host its public opening reception for Damien Hirst’s The Complete Spot Paintings 1986–2011. The immaculate outpost in the world famous 90210 area code is currently showing twenty-three spotted paintings of various size spots and canvases. Unlike every other venue, it has the proud distinction of exhibiting the very largest spot piece, Pivalic Acid [pictured above], which measures an […]

Openings: Ai Weiwei – “Sunflower Seeds” @ Mary Boone Gallery

Posted by sleepboy, January 16, 2012

Last week, the Mary Boone Gallery hosted the largest collection of Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds that we have seen since his triumphant exhibition in London at the Tate Modern in 2010. Although much smaller in scale when compared to that museum showing which included 100 million pieces, seeing so many of these tiny porcelain seeds piled together really gives the viewer a sense of the amazing amount of work that went into the production. The original exhibition took 1,600 skilled artisan, supervised by the recent TIME Person […]

Preview: “The Boneyard Project: Return Trip” @ Pima Air and Space Museum

Posted by sleepboy, January 15, 2012

With only a couple more weeks to go before the opening for The Boneyard Project: Return Trip, artists are hard at work getting their plane parts painted – especially those who have whole planes to cover (DC Super 3 planes painted by How & Nosm, Nunca, and Retna, a C97 cockpit by Saner, a C45 plane by Faile, and a Lockheed VC 140 Jetstar by Andrew Schoultz). These retired military planes and nose cones will be on display at the show opening on January 28th […]

Showing: Damien Hirst – “The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011” @ Gagosian (Hong Kong)

Posted by sleepboy, January 15, 2012

Next stop on our tour of Damien Hirst’s The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011 after leaving his Paris showing takes us to the Gagosian in Hong Kong. The most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists certainly has outdone himself with this current slate of exhibitions (at least in terms of scope and ambition). This lone display in Asia of his famous dotted motif is no different than the other eleven simultaneous shows planned – filled with paintings, spots, and canvases of different […]

Openings: “Vivian Maier: A Life Discovered” @ Merry Karnowsky

Posted by carlosgonzalez, January 15, 2012

Over the weekend, the Merry Karnowsky gallery unveiled to the public their latest exhibition, one which featured the incredible photography of the late Vivian Maier. Titled Vivian Maier – A Life Discovered: Photographs from the Maloof Collection, the exhibit featured a variety of photographs ranging from the 50’s to the 70’s and although this collection is barely the tip of the surface in terms of quantity of her work, the quality is simply incredible. The very special night was hosted by actor Tim Roth and […]

Overtime: Jan 9 – Jan 15

Posted by Khoi, January 15, 2012

Ron English’s Cathy Cowgirl premiered at the MoMA recently. Authorities attempting to save derelict Van Gogh house and open it to visitors. £3.6 mil. Magritte painting returned for ransom after being stolen at gunpoint over two years ago after the thieves discovered that the piece was too famous to be sold on black market. Three paintings, including a Picasso and Modrian, stolen from Greece’s National Gallery. Istanbul, Turkey turning into a hub for stolen Islamic Art. George Clooney to star in The Monuments Men, a […]

Videos: Art Stage Singapore 2012

Posted by sleepboy, January 14, 2012

Showing through the end of the weekend, Art Stage Singapore, which is taking place at the spectacular Marina Bay Sands Convention and Exhibition Centre, seeks to distinguish itself from other fairs in the region by maintaining a strong focus on Asian artists. Among the exhibitors are major galleries from Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Seoul, Beijing, Jakarta, Tokyo, Sydney, Taipei, Mumbai, as well as well-known dealers from Europe and the US. Although we did not catch glimpses of work from Adam Neate and Scott Campbell […]

Art Focus: Carly Waito

Posted by sleepboy, January 14, 2012

Admirers of gems and photo-realistic painting technique will enjoy our Art Focus this week on Carly Waito. The Toronto-based artist and graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design chooses specimens of semi-precious gems and minerals, photographs them in macroscopic detail, and then renders them in oil paints with meticulous care. Her most recent showing was at the Narwhal Projects booth at the Aqua Fair during Art Basel Miami Week. More sample images after the jump…

Signings: James Jean – “Rebus” @ Nucleus Gallery

Posted by sleepboy, January 13, 2012

Continuing his whirlwind books signing tour, James Jean (featured) will be at the Nucleus Gallery this Saturday, January 14th (6-9pm) in Southern California. Spots he has already hit up that we had the chance to attend include Reed Space in NYC and the LACMA, where we walked away impressed with the beautiful reproduction of his paintings from the Rebus show at Martha Otero’s in the 240 page publication. See you tomorrow night. Discuss James Jean here.

Openings: Damien Hirst – “The Complete Spot Paintings 1986 – 2011” @ Gagosian (Paris)

Posted by sleepboy, January 13, 2012

First stop on AM’s tour of the Gagosians to check out Damien Hirst’s unprecedented takeover of the blue-chip chain of art galleries is Paris. As the title promises, Spot Paintings features borrowed and newly created works of art featuring the UK-based artist’s signature dotted paintings. Different colors, sizes, and shapes were all variations on the theme More photos after the jump…