“Noxer DOD: The Book of the Dead” is Noxer‘s first solo exhibition, opening on Jan. 18th at Low Brow Artique in Bushwick and curated Jowy Romano of Subway Art Blog. The show is said to be reference an ancient Egyptian aesthetic, which has more recently been an influence on the artist’s street work.
On January 18th, Lazarides is re-opening Nina Pandolfo‘s show from last year “Feelings”. Same work in their newly “refurbished” gallery, The Outsiders, in Newcastle. That’s weird. This is nothing against Nina, but if Laz is holding an exhibition which is obviously to show off their renovated space, why not put in new work? This relaunch of the show months after it was taken down points out that the initial show must have failed to sell well, which does not seem to be in Nina’s best interest to point out. Anyway, if you didn’t see it last spring, here’s your second chance to check out Nina’s show.
Faile are working on a huge project with the New York City Ballet. It sounds like a bit of a strange collaboration at first, but I’m excited to see the results. It seems like this has given Faile an opportunity to develop new work in a direction that they would have otherwise never gone, and the results that have been teased so far look strong.
I might have asked this question before, but can someone please explain the appeal of Barry McGee’s recent Brooklyn mural to me? The first of the videos here has some info about it, but I need more. McGee has previously stated his objections to painting so-call beautifying murals. The only time in recent memory that I can recall seeing anything similar to the Brooklyn mural is the one he painted a few years ago in Miami, but even that piece included a fair bit of traditional graffiti. Plus, the Brooklyn mural was painted by the billboard painting company Colossal. I’ve got no problem with artist assistants or anything like that, but the whole thing strikes me as McGee just saying “Sure, if Cadillac wants to pay me a bunch of money to license one of my images and hire someone else to paint it on a building, I’ll take that paycheck.” And hey, more power to the guy if he can get Cadillac to pay him for that, but is that all that’s going on here or am I missing something? Has McGee’s philosophy about public art changed?
Faith47 has a show running now at David Krut Projects in Johannesburg, and it looks like an absolutely must-visit. Of course, not all of us are in Johannesburg, so Faith47 has provided plenty of photos and a video. Fragments of a Burnt History was open last year, but the show has been extended and will be open again January 15th through February 9th.
There’s a raw elegance to Kosby’s aesthetic that has intrigued me since I first came upon his stickers and paste-ups a number of years back on an array of public surfaces in Brooklyn and Manhattan. It’s great to see it now gracing the Woodward Gallery Project Space on Manhttan’s Lower East Side, where it is visible to so many. Here are a few close-ups from the four-panel installation, Borrowed Time, that officially “opened” this weekend.
Photo by Lenny ColladoPhoto by Lenny ColladoPhoto by Lenny Collado
Photo courtesy of Woodward Gallery and by Lenny Collado
Although he’s been known in France for some time, Ken Sortais aka Cony finally popped up on my radar this year for his work at Komafest. Now he has his first show on in London. Princes of Darkness is open now through January 12th at Galleries Goldstein. The gallery has released a new screenprint from Sortais as part of the show, and it is available online for £45.
Alternative Paris has images on their site from the show, and they made this video (please note that although there is footage in the video from the film They Live, known as the film from which Shepard Fairey got the OBEY slogan, John Carpenter also made a film called Prince of Darkness just before They Live, which is presumably where Sortais got the title and theme of his show from rather than They Live):
“Perameles Gunnii” EASTERN BARRED BANDICOOT (open doors). Photo courtesy of Alex Mitchell.
After meeting and developing a friendship with Roa in San Francisco earlier this year, I’ve been really looking forward to him arriving in Melbourne! I’ve always known Roa loved his animals, but have never appreciated him as much as I do until now.
Roa was invited by Healsville Sanctuary to visit and meet some of their animals and paint some walls. Healsville is a very special place and there is no doubt that experience shaped the entire trip in Melbourne and also heavily influenced the exhibition. There’s nothing like seeing an artist meet an animal, touch it, play with it, and then go off and paint it.
Bones. Photo courtesy of Alex Mitchell.
Roa’s inspiration for CARRION, his show that just closed at Backwoods Gallery in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood, was a direct result of the visit to Healseville. The animals, the staff and their passion for the animals and having access to things even most Australians have never even experienced really made a difference.
Wombat skeleton on the wall outside Backwoods. Photo courtesy of Alex Mitchell.
So how did this impact the show? In so many ways! Firstly, all of the works were Australian native animals. But the installation, as Roa’s shows often are, was something else! The experience began even before entering the gallery, with the scent of something strange to come. Roa painted the wall in the alley way leading into Backwoods with a giant wombat skeleton. The strange smell kept luring you closer and closer, I won’t say it was a pleasant smell, far from it – soon you’ll understand why.
The entrance – CARRION. Photo courtesy of Alex Mitchell.
Upon entering Backwoods punters were greeted by a green wall with CARRION painted in red. To the right was a shed built inside the gallery, inside were several videos showing a wallaby autopsy (Roa got to watch and film this at the sanctuary). Rather confronting for those not knowing what to expect.
The shed with the Wallaby autopsy. Photo courtesy of Alex Mitchell.
Fish tanks were assembled throughout the gallery with a set of pipes joining them together for air flow. Inside was the cause of the smell, native Australian animals (a possum, a wallaby, an echidna, a kookaburra and several other birds) being slowly consumed by flesh eating beetles! If you were surprised by the autopsy video this was even more of a shock to some. Bones and various other found items were also scattered throughout the gallery.
Dead Kookaburra. Photo courtesy of Alex Mitchell.
The paintings, all of native Australian animals, were beautifully painted and came in a range of sizes and complexity (in terms of how many moving parts/doors they had). My favourite pieces were the Bandicoot, the Echidna, the platypus and the Honey Possum. Continue reading “Roa – “Carrion” at Backwoods Gallery, Collingwood”
