David “Mr.StarCity” White has finally brought the critically acclaimed solo exhibition, Give Me Some Head, to the States! But, staying true to his showman nature, White only gave us the tip of the iceberg with a special two day pop up in Tribeca. If you missed it, don’t fret because we were there and we’re here with the review. Having recently …
Brooklyn Says OY! Brooklyn Responds YO! Deborah Kass at The Brooklyn Museum
Artist Deborah Kass’s monumental sculpture OY/YO was a phenomenon when it was first installed on Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Main Street lawn in 2015. Three years later, the groundbreaking work returns to Brooklyn, as part of a public art activation at the Brooklyn Museum. Joining text-based work by other Brooklyn-based artists—Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, and Hank Willis Thomas—OY/YO has been installed outside …
Artist and Illustrator Joe Roberts Releases New Monograph, “We Ate the Acid”
It’s been “stay inside weather” in San Francisco recently, or at least that’s how the artist Joe Roberts, who’s lived in the city for 20 years, describes it over the phone. As pretty much everyone knows, massive, increasingly destructive fires have been ripping across the state of California (most have been extinguished as of this writing), and though towering flames …
For The People: Akumal Arts Festival Takes Off in Mexico.
A dusty town on the Yucatan peninsula is probably not the first place the average art lover would visit for a world-renowned urban art experience. Yet from November 9th through 11th, 2018 the Akumal Arts Festival (Festival de Arte de Akumal) brought renowned international street artists from as far away as the UK and Japan to Akumal, Mexico: creating a giant open-air museum on …
Fire on the Hill
Fire on the Hill chronicles the struggles of the urban cowboys of South Central LA. Coming from a community ravaged by gang violence and drug addiction, many found an escape in horseback riding and rodeo games. However, when a fire damaged the urban stable beyond repair, the riders are forced to fight to regain what they lost and reflect on …
At Eternity’s Gate
The success of painter-turned-filmmaker Julian Schnabel’s biopic At Eternity’s Gate depends on who you are asking. Someone expecting exciting revelations or fresh insight on Vincent Van Gogh would most likely be disappointed, however, Schnabel never made such claims. Though the film has been criticized for merely continuing to stir the already existing pot of mysteries haunting the memory of the artist, its approach …
Courtney McKenna Releases FIRST Official EP
Newcomer Courtney McKenna recently released her first live acoustic EP. Titled Renegade, the project is a short but sweet two song affair that leaves a lasting impression and has solid replay value. Reminiscent of Stevie Nicks, McKenna’s vocals are powerful, haunting and whimsically sensual. There is growth to made with McKenna’s sound yet this EP still resonates. You can tell that McKenna …
Desire, Androgyny, and the Works of Andrea Rugarli
A stolen, wayward glance captivates those who gaze at Rugarli’s figures. Open lips evoke a languid expression, catching the viewer’s eye. These careful body language cues form the conduit of desire in the soft-focus, figurative paintings of Andrea Rugarli. Outlining his forms with the soft haze of obsession, and a soupçon of forbidden desire, figures in Rugarli’s works claim the …
A Good Boy and a Wall of Sound at Olsen Gruin Gallery
There isn’t much time left to catch one of the best two-person shows on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, or more accurately, two unique, but not so disparate exhibitions; Kevin Bourgeois’ Wall of Sound and Rhys Lee’s Good Boy, both seamlessly coexisting inside Olsen Gruin Gallery and coming down Sunday, November 18th. Each body of work; Bourgeois’ angular, colorfully remixed, square (but …
Jumping Through Hoops | Q&A with Lucy Orich
Idle hands aren’t always doing the devil’s work; but then again that all depends on what you consider to be deviltry. The mischievous nature of Lucy Orich’s embroidered pieces have an “inappropriate” charm that is playful, brash, clever and relative. At the core of Orich’s creation there is a moshing punkish audacity that is juxtapose with a deceptively domestic delivery. …
Let Me Define Fantasy For You
I really don’t understand the outcry over a lack of body representation at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. The fashion industry as a whole? Definitely. But this particularly extravagant gig, which the brand itself calls “the biggest fashion show in the world?” No. This network TV event (filmed this past Thursday in NYC and airing Dec. 2ndon ABC), an over-the-top …
Boy Erased
“What makes a man a man?” Sykes yells with a cadence that switches the ‘h’ and ‘w’ in ‘what.’ He yells this at a row of boys and girls, all homosexual, all wrong in the eyes of the program they are currently forced to attend. The program is attempting to change them, and if you’ve paid attention to the news …