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Category Archives: Shows & Events

Banksy Painting Shreds Itself After Selling At Sotheby’s

The genius of Banksy was on display again Friday night in London when his iconic Girl Red Balloon sold for a record £953,829. Right after the hammer, the piece from the British artist ran through what appeared to be a remotely activated shredder hidden in the unusually thick frame, leaving half of the work hanging from the bottom in strips. The elusive street artist later took to social media to claim that he added the self-destruct option in the frame in case the piece was […]

Previews: Scott Scheidly – “Glamour Shots” @ Spoke Art (NY)

Tonight in New York, Spoke Art will be unveiling the latest paintings from Scott Scheidly’s wildly popular “pink series,” poking fun at notorious politictians, celebrities, and pop culture characters. Glamour Shots will feature 15 new satirical portraits (with ornate pink frames) that take on familiar subjects while dressing them up in hues that are historically more feminine, touching on issues of gender roles, power, and corruption. Scheidly further explains – “the paintings are about the perception of color so by painting people in hues of pinks and purples it […]

Showing: Kaili Smith // Thinkspace Gallery @ Moniker Art Fair

Another show to check out at the Moniker International Art Fair in London is a solo from Kaili Smith at the Thinkspace Gallery booth. The new series of “Le Petit Prince” paintings from the  Netherlands-born and Australia-raised artist deal with the issues of youth criminality through the lens of his experience hearing the famous childrens’ story from his French mother as a child. Smith, who himself spent jail time for graffiti while young, wanted to present works that explore the perspective of the children who find […]

Upcoming: Tom Sachs – “Swiss Passport Office” @ Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac (London)

Coinciding with Frieze Week in London, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac will be hosting a 24h live performance (starting October 5th at 6 pm), Swiss Passport Office, by American artist Tom Sachs. Those wishing to participate can purchase a passport for €20 (no British pounds will be accepted) and have their photo added with their name hand typed. By choosing Switzerland, Sachs wants to make “the ultimate status nationality, representing wealth, neutrality and freedom” available to all in world where issues like Brexit, Syria and Trump’s immigration policies all […]

Previews: Amy Sol – “Lore” @ Spoke Art (SF)

On Saturday night (October 6), Spoke Art in San Francisco will be opening a solo show from Amy Sol (interviewed). Lore sees the locally-based artist continue her more recent use of a darker and smokier palette for paintings as well as her forays into sculpture. Sol’s elegant renderings of her female characters and their animal companions seem to have taken on a more meditative tone, frozen moments of time seemingly giving glimpses of some delicate ritual. Discuss Amy Sol here.

Showing: Ai Weiwei – “Life Cycle” @ Marciano Art Foundation

Last weekend, the Marciano Art Foundation opened an new expansive show from Ai Weiwei, his first major institutional exhibition in Los Angeles. Entitled Life Cycle, the showing includes old and new pieces, as well as a reworking of older concepts and techniques from the Chinese artist. The centerpiece is his sculptural response to the global refugee crisis, a massive boat made from bamboo used in traditional Chinese kite-making. Suspended above this is Windows, mythological figures crafted from bamboo and silk along with pieces referencing the life and works of the artist, all of […]

Previews: Sepe – “Dying Surfer Meets His Maker” @ Lawrence Alkin Gallery

Lawrence Alkin Gallery will be opening a 2nd solo show by Sepe on the 5th of October at their space in SOHO, coinciding with Frieze Week in London. Titled Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, this body of work was directly influenced by the important social movements and major shifts in this past year, and the effects on the Polish artist both personally and to his friends globally. Without a certain narrative that he was building the show around, Sepe developed a much more dynamic, unpredictable, or even […]

Openings: Mike Lee – “I’ve Missed You” @ The Garage

On 29th of October, The Garage in Amsterdam opened the long-awaited EU debut show of Mike Lee titled I’ve Missed You, created as a direct response to the immigrant family separation issues and what some consider to be the inhumane policies of the current US administration. The gallery’s compact space, a 17th-century storage warehouse in the heart of Dutch capital, turned out the be the perfect setting for the latest series of Lee’s atmospheric black and white canvases. After a successful introduction in Asia earlier this year, the NY-based […]

Releases: Shepard Fairey x Zummo x SJC – Rise Above Limited Edition Snare

Combining art, music, and craft, Shepard Fairey (interviewed) has teamed up with Frank Zummo of Sum 41 and SJC Drums to create a custom drum. The Rise Above Limited Edition Snare will be produced in a run of 25, come with a signed (by Shep, Zummo, and Mike Ciprari of SJC) and numbered COA, and cost $999. Sales start at October 1st, 2018 (noon PST) and will be available through SJC’s website and select authorized dealers with a portion of the sales going towards a scholarship for students at Silverlake Conservatory of […]

Openings: Conor Harrington – ‘The Story of Us and Them’ @ HENI Gallery

Conor Harrington (interviewed) recently returned to London with a new solo exhibition entitled The Story of Us and Them at HENI Gallery. Fascinated by art history, especially from the Renaissance and Baroque era, the Irish born artist combines classical oil painting techniques and graffiti influences to explore patriotism and contemporary social-political themes. The exhibition features 12 new large-scale works featuring two fictional male figures dressed in ornate uniforms fighting each other and brandishing their bright coloured flags as weapons. “The works are set against a background of a fictional nation state and […]