Arrested Motion

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Art Platform ’11: Ai Weiwei

Posted by sleepboy, October 12, 2011

As we walked out the elevators last week to head into the main exhibition hall for Art Platform, something caught out attention in the side atrium. Imagine our surprise and delight as our eyes laid on Ai Weiwei’s Snake Bag, one of his most moving and intriguing works. The undulating 55 feet long serpent is created from 360 children’s backpacks and commemorates the deadly 2008 Sichuan earthquake. When the artist – activist saw the scattered backpacks in the rubble left by the thousands of children […]

Openings: Rene Almanza – “Stranger” @ Fifty24SF

Posted by rhinomilk, October 12, 2011

Last Thursday evening, Monterrey, Mexico-based artist, Rene Almanza unveiled a series of 50 20″x18″ graphite/watercolor paintings at Fifty24SF. The show is entitled Stranger, the definition which the artist states as “a foreigner, a resident alien, one in the house of another as a guest, visitor, or intruder, a person or thing that is unknown or with whom one is unacquainted, one who does not belong to or is kept from the activities of a group, one not privy or party to an act, contract, or […]

Streets: Ron English – Barracuda Wall (Los Angeles)

Posted by carlosgonzalez, October 11, 2011

Just a few hours before his latest show at Post No Bills gallery (covered), Ron English (featured) took the time to adorned the fame Barracuda wall with his signature style. The wall which sits near the intersection of Melrose and Fairfax features four different images which touch upon the satirical aspect of English’s artwork. It also features a variety of pasters which are now showing up all across the city of Los Angeles. More photos after the jump…

Baby Tattooville ’11: Art Jam (Final)

Posted by sleepboy, October 11, 2011

As veterans of the annual Baby Tattooville art retreat know, how the final Art Jam collaborative painting ends up looking is nothing like how it starts. This year was no different as the 30 artists in attendance put their mark on the extra large canvas to accommodate the reunion year. The final composition was surprisingly pretty balanced despite the inevitable drama that develops in the process, perhaps in no small part due to the leadership skills of Captain Jeff Soto (interviewed). More photos after the jump […]

Teaser: Andy Kehoe – “Arise, Feral Night” @ Roq La Rue

Posted by sleepboy, October 11, 2011

We were browsing the always excellent Erratic Phenomena recently and came across this painting from Andy Kehoe where one of his creatures gaze out into the cosmos. If this painting and the title of the show, Arise, Feral Night, is any indication, then darkness has indeed fallen over the autumnal world of the Pittsburgh-based painter. The show opens October 14th at Roq La Rue. Discuss this show here. Discuss Andy Kehoe here.

Auctions: Dreweatts “Urban Contemporary Art” Sale (October)

Posted by lowpro, October 11, 2011

Last night in London, Dreweatts kicked off an important week of auctions at the major houses with decidedly weak results. At a mere shadow of the £300,800 – 429,400 estimate, their October Urban Contemporary Art Sale realized a total of £166,320 ($258,646) non-inclusive of Buyer’s Premiums, barely half the low end estimate. These lackluster results lie in stark contrast to some of the compelling sales booked during various September auctions, where record results were made at Bonhams Urban Art Sale, MTV:REDEFINE, as well as with […]

Interviews: Martin Wittfooth – “The Passions” @ Lyons Wier Gallery

Posted by sleepboy, October 11, 2011

As we perused the preview images for Martin Wittfooth’s upcoming solo in New York at the Lyons Wier Gallery, we couldn’t help but think that he had elevated his painting to the next level with this new body of work. After seeing one powerful image after another, we sat down to put some questions to the Brooklyn-based artist about The Passions scheduled to open on October 13th. We talked about the symbolism in his work, which is evident as you encounter unforgettable images like a […]

Openings: Michael Murphy – “Look” @ Gallery Nine 5

Posted by juggernut3, October 11, 2011

It’s been a while since we caught up with Michael Murphy with the last time being when he was one of the artists quarterbacking Manifest Hope in DC alongside Shepard Fairey. We recently attended his opening at New York’s Gallery Nine 5, witnessing the multi-talented artist work his magic on a number of mediums and can say this show didn’t disappoint. We saw classic works such as the his layered silhouette & wire sculptures to newer techniques that incorporated either sound, textures or light into […]

Streets: “Urban Forms Gallery” Roundup (Poland)

Posted by sleepboy, October 11, 2011

The organizer of the Urban Forms Gallery project in Poland, Michael Biezynski, recently sent over some photos of the wall murals to share with our readers. It is rare to say that we enjoyed all the work from every artist that participates in various festivals or events, but in this rare case, we were quite impressed with what every artist created including some that we were not familiar with. Check out what Aryz, Remed, Kenor, M-City, Etam Crew, Sat One, and Sepe/Chazme had to offer […]

Nuart Festival ’11: Lucy McLauchlan

Posted by sleepboy, October 10, 2011

One misty morning in Norway, we hiked over to the Obrestad Lighthouse to check out the intricate workings of Lucy McLauchlan. Painting the walls with her signature motifs (also seen in her solo at Lazarides in 2010), the UK-based artist covered the entire tower in doing her part for this year’s Nuart Festival. More photos of the lighthouse and other murals taken by Henrik Haven after the jump…