Contemporary Art « Arrested Motion

Category Archives: Contemporary Art

Releases: James Jean – “Melon” Print

Posted by sleepboy, May 19, 2016

Next week, James Jean (interviewed) will be releasing a new print off his website in a time-limited manner, making it available for 12 hours starting at 8:00 AM PDT on Wednesday, May 25th and ending at 7:59 PM PDT. Melon was created to celebrate summer and will be sized at 27″ x 20″ (image size 24″ x 18″) with the price set at $200. Head over here at the appropriate time if you are interested in adding this to your collection. Discuss James Jean here.

Openings: “Better Habits” @ Athen B. Gallery

Posted by sleepboy, May 18, 2016

Downtown Oakland was in for a treat last Saturday night. Local artist Lauren Napolitano teamed up with UK’s David Bray and Word To Mother to collaborate on a group exhibition called Better Habits at Athen B. Gallery. Collectively, these three artists’ work compliment each other’s styles so well that at times it was hard to tell who’s who on each piece. Those who follow graffiti & street art will immediately recognize Word to Mother’s work. Napolitano’s work is a lot more folksy with painted found objects, […]

Showing: Emily Mae Smith – “Honest Espionage” @ Mary Mary Gallery

Posted by SAL, May 16, 2016

Mary Mary Gallery in Glasgow is currently showing Honest Espionage, a solo show by Emily Mae Smith. Opened on April 8th and staying on view through May 28th, this is probably most important presentation by the Brooklyn-based artist since her last solo in NYC or being included in Unrealism, organized by Jeffrey Deitch and Larry Gagosian during Basel Week Miami 2015 (covered). The exhibition consists of a new oils on linen featuring Smith’s mix of divergent styles and visual elements. Though initially captivating due to their clean, graphic feel, it’s the variety […]

Overtime: May 9 – May 15

Posted by Khoi, May 15, 2016

More stories from the week that ended May 15 (click on bolded words for more information): Ugo Rondinone’s Seven Magic Mountains goes up in the Las Vegas desert. Reno Gazette Journal covers the public art installation. RIP: Martin Friedman, who passed away at the age of 90. RIP: François Morellet, who passed away at the age of 90. Dom Sebastiao statue in Lisbon destroyed after man attempts to take a selfie with it. Peter Gant and Mohamed Aman Siddique found guilty of selling forged Brett Whiteley paintings. Street Children in custody of Egyptian […]

Openings: Katrin Fridricks – Macrocosm @ Lazarides

Posted by butterfly, May 14, 2016

Icelandic conceptual artist and abstract painter Katrin Fridriks (covered) returns to Lazarides Rathbone in London for a new solo exhibition entitled Macrocosm. Along with the 2014 installation Perception of the Stendhal Syndrome – Gene&Ethics Master Prism with a giant magnifying glass, the exhibition features a whole new body of works, with canvases bursting with vibrant and swirling energetic coloured shapes of splashing paint. The role of the magnifying glass is to enhance the intensity of the experience of being overwhelmed by the artwork, evoking a phenomenon that is […]

Showing: Charming Baker – ‘Sweet Nothing’ @ S|2

Posted by butterfly, May 12, 2016

Sotheby’s contemporary art gallery in London S|2 is currently housing an exhibition (running until May 27th) of new works by Charming Baker (covered) entitled Sweet Nothing. The solo includes canvases, a series of studies on paper, and large scale drawings. Known to purposefully damage his work by drilling, cutting and even shooting it, the British artist intentionally puts into question the preciousness of art and the definition of its beauty, adding to the emotive charge of the work he produces. Working towards his new exhibition, he has described his overriding […]

Previews: Kepa Garraza -“Riot” @ Castor Gallery

Posted by SAL, May 12, 2016

On May 12th, Castor Gallery in NYC will be opening an exhibition of paintings and charcoal drawings by Kepa Garraza. The show titled Riot is inspired by civil unrest, uprising and rebellion. Divided in two parts, the Bilbao-based artist’S NYC debut consists of six charcoal drawings showing masked anarchistic protestors and six oil paintings depicting the aftermath of vandalism at galleries and art institutions. Both inspired by similar actual events seen around us, these fictional works continue Garraza’s practice to create work in series. The idea behind these pieces is to question what is truth and what is fiction […]

Previews: Ryan Hewett @ Unit London

Posted by SAL, May 11, 2016

Unit London will be showing an exclusive preview of new works by Ryan Hewett (interviewed) from the 16th until the 22nd of May. The South African artist will be presenting 14 new paintings on canvas as an insight into his new body of work. The exhibition is sort of a preview of his forthcoming solo that will be held in London during Frieze Week in October. Following his successful London show from 2015, the new showing will continue his work on abstract portraits and “the exploration of the human psyche and deconstruction of his subject […]

Openings: Axel Void – “Nobody” @ Athen B. Gallery

Posted by SAL, May 11, 2016

On May 7th, Athen B. Gallery opened a solo show by Axel Void at their pop-up location (222 Broadway St.) in Downtown Oakland. As a tribute to regular people, paying homage to mundanity and the everyday life, Nobody is built around the life story of Alvie Morris. Alejandro Hugo Dorda Meys aka Axel Void has been known for painting large murals of anonymous people by taking random photos from the Internet as a reference. A couple of years ago, he created a mural with an image of a young boy with glasses in Atlanta and few […]

Showing: Louise Bonnet – “Paintings” @ Mier Gallery

Posted by SAL, May 9, 2016

Mier Gallery in West Hollywood is currently showing the first solo exhibition of Los Angeles-based artist Louise Bonnet. The exhibition simply titled Paintings opened on April 23rd and will stay on view through June 4th. The show includes six large paintings and several drawings on paper showing Bonnet’s recognizable visual language and imagery. Her cartoon-like characters with no facial expressions feature exaggerated proportions of body parts that instead convey feelings of melancholy, nostalgia, and displacement. Hidden behind Ramones-like haircuts, they are telling their stories through over sized hanging noses and body […]