The multifaceted Kwesi Abbensetts recently released Poems. A film about a couple traveling through Jamaica, Poems is a far cry from your average artsy cinematic offering. Poems doesn’t break the rules, it simply ignores them. Poems possesses an enduring but delicate dichotomy that teeters on the edge while still remaining tethered to a safe, warm place that could only exist …
Breaking Down Gender Biases Through Interdisciplinary Means: A Q&A with Bri Cirel & Andre Veloux
Through their joint exhibition ‘Deluxe’, contemporary artists Bri Cirel and Andre Veloux examine how gender influences perception and creates bias standards in art, media, and life. On view at Krause Gallery in the Lower East Side through November 14th, the show features a series of recent works by each artist, addressing feminist themes through radically different mediums. Cirel’s oil paintings …
Contemporary and Mastery: An Interview with artist Anh Ta
What does it mean to have mastery in today’s culture? In a time where interdisciplinary art dabbles rather than develop in a highly skilled art making field, how does mastery service the artist? The narrative in the contemporary arts, challenges and creates new context for how we derive its function. New York based artist Anh Ta, embraces that challenge creating …
Flexing on Commercialism: “Re-Engineering Humanity” Featuring Marjan Moghaddam
“On the other hand, the rampant privatization of intellectual content, along with online marketing and commodification, also enable piracy and appropriation; it gives rise to the circulation of poor images.” – Hito Steyerl, In Defense of the Poor Image In Re-Engineering Humanity curated by Lady PheOnix (sic) and organized by yesuniverse, at 836M gallery in San Francisco, art on view …
The Last Days of As Above, So Below by Michelle Doll at Lyons Wier Gallery.
If you are in the Chelsea area this week we suggest that you stop by Lyons Wier Gallery to see the last of Michelle Doll’s latest solo exhibition, As Above, So Below. Doll is known for creating endearing works that captures the lightning that is love in a figurative bottle. Whether it is a deep embrace or general interaction, Doll …
Beccs Debuts By The Sea.
beccs debut as a music producer and filmmaker, By The Sea, is a soundtrack to a warm, and mellow day. Her paradisiacal voice describes personal growth from a relationship with a distant feeling. Although the project emerged from the emotions of losing someone close, it sparked the collaboration of two close friends with a mutual passion for cinematography. The photographer …
Going Through a Phase with Synead.
After a series of enchanting singles, the artist, performer, singer-songwriter, and activist Synead is making tremendous moves with an intensity incomparable to her previous work. Her latest single is called “Phase” which encapsulates her transitions through life. Brooklyn born and based, she has utilized the benefits of arts education and community building to move about in multiple facets of art, …
“May You Live In Interesting Times” Venice Biennale National Pavilions: On Empathy
The human body with its presence, absence, and agility define the most visceral and accessible national pavilion presentations at the 58th Venice Biennale. Titled “May You Live in Interesting Times” and curated by Ralph Rugoff, this biennale was split between Rugoff’s curatorial conceit and the various country’s presentations at both the Giardini and Arsenale sites of the Biennale. This year’s iteration met with several own challenges: for example, despite committing to the biennale both Algeria and Venezuela failed to open …
Breaking Glass – A Material Comeback at La Biennale di Venezia
Glass has become the perfect metaphor for the preservation of knowledge in an increasingly fragile world. Without collaboration, everything is lost. http://glasstress.org The island of Murano is synonymous with the history of glass. First perfected in the Middle East – Syria, Egypt and Palestine – the art of glassmaking came to Venice along Marco Polo’s trade routes. It is believed …
Creating Art For Change: Multi-disciplinary Artist Indira Cesarine
It’s a rather wet and drowsy Thursday. A message comes in summoning me to Manhattan’s Soho district. The reason? The opening festivities of this year’s SuperFine! Art Exhibition–a rather low key, unobtrusive, yet refreshing art show held as a precursor to the Frieze Art Show. The person doing the summoning? None other than the notable multi-disciplinary artist and doyenne of …
live in peace or leave the galaxy
Mary Bauermeister, live in peace or leave the galaxy is at the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery from 5 April – 8 June, 2019. This exhibition marks the beginning of the artist’s official representation by the gallery and the show highlights Bauermeister’s use of text in diverse materials including linen cloth, gesso, ink, straws, printed paper and the classic works that are …
A Frieze Week Q&A with Marc Scheff at Superfine! Fair
Contemporary artist Marc Scheff. In short, Marc creates multi-dimensional resin portraits, examining the formation of individual identity and consciousness. Anchored in figurative draughtsmanship, he employs a complex layering process for each piece, incorporating poured resin, gold leaf, pencil and paint, offering viewers a literal window into the human psyche. Fresh off the heels of a successful run at Superfine LA, …
Worlds Without Rooms: Otherworldly Vignettes by Alannah Farrell
Perspectives and dimensions dissolve, disappearing into the shadows before re-emerging into the picture plane in Alannah Farrell’s highly stylized, emotive “Worlds Without Rooms.” This exhibition, on view at The Painting Center in New York City’s iconic Chelsea neighborhood through April 20, features Farrell’s recent works which shift from allusion to representation and back again. Portraits of creative juggernauts fill the …
French Artist Philippe Halaburda Finds the Light in America
The French artist and expat, Philippe Halaburda, arrived in the United States on November 6, 2016, looking to take his artistic career to new heights and clearly, new places. This was, of course, just two days before Donald Trump would shock the world and win the presidency. As if moving to an entirely new country isn’t stressful enough. Halaburda …
Welcome To KABINETT: No Food Pics Allowed.
On any given day, one seems to expend an incredible amount of valuable time trolling through Instagram–that ridiculously famous (and addictive) social media dragon which beckons us to eavesdrop on the daily lives of our nearest and dearest, as well as strangers near and far–all the while wondering if one’s life is as interesting, as fun or beautiful, or simply as happy as …
Francis J. Greenburger + ART OMI
The founder of Art Omi Francis J. Greenburger believes that exposure to internationally diverse creative voices fosters tolerance and respect, raises awareness, inspires innovation, and ignites change. By forming a community with creative expression as its common denominator, Art Omi creates a sanctuary for the artistic community and the public to affirm the transformative quality of art. Having a similarity …
Ricardo Brey’s Doble Existencia/Double Existence at Alexander Gray Associates.
A brooding and covertly confrontational exhibition, Ricardo Brey’s Doble Existencia/Double Existence sits with you well after you leave the gallery. The exhibition is rich with symbolism and plunges its audience into a murky reservoir of poignant pigments, fragmented literature and found objects. The audience either willfully drowns or threads lightly. Brey is no stranger to evoking emotion and addressing life’s innerworkings. The …
ARAKAWA-GINS + the Arrows of Time
Diagrams for the Imagination will be on view at Gagosian uptown at 980 Madison Avenue and 77th street, from the 5th of March through the 13th of April. The seventeen room-scale canvases and six large format works on paper are the marvelous fruit of a profound collaborative engagement between Shusaku Arakawa and Madeline Gins that began when they met in …
NEW VIDEO: “Give It Up” by Salomon Faye Feat. Nas Leber.
Salomon Faye just released visuals for the single, “Give It Up.” Teaming up with fellow Illuzionist, Nas Leber, “Give It Up” is aggressively self assessing, triumphant and rhythmic. The video matches the rawness of the song perfectly. Shot by Dakota Blue Harper with visual effects by Alex Halbert, the video is a captivating glitchy one take featuring a dangerous looking …
The Fairytale Protesters: A Q&A with Ana Wieder-Blank.
Ana Wieder-Blank’s recent solo exhibition ‘The Fairytale Protesters’ at Honey Ramka Gallery immersed viewers in a riotous intermingling of color and texture. Utilizing painting, ceramic sculpture, installation, and performance, the artist tackled issues of identity, sexual assault, marginalization, and women’s empowerment. We spoke with Ana about the inspiration behind her exhibition, her great love of creating alternate universes, and her plans for a sequel …
Re-Orientations: Femmes to the Front
Re-Orientations, a group exhibit of works by contemporary women artists, remains on view from Feb 6 through March 17 at La Esquina NYC. Co-curated by Audra Lambert and Natasha Stefanovic, the show features four women artists sharing a contemporary perspective on immigration and the cultural divide between the Near East/South Asia and the US. Photography and mixed media works works by Camille …
In “Thoughts And Prayers” English Artist Sarah Maple Becomes A Voice Of The People
When viewing the TedX talk featuring the award-winning avant-garde artist Sarah Maple, one is instantly transfixed by her commanding, statuesque presence and attention-grabbing syncopations in her speech pattern. Born to a Muslim mother from Kenya and a British father, Maple attended a Catholic school in her youth, making her the personification of someone constantly investigating questions of identity and its …
5 Shows That Made White People Move to NYC.
Let us start by addressing the term “white people.” In no way are we attempting to be derogatory when we use this term. We are simply referring to migrating caucasians. But beware! This article will not kowtow to white fragility and will, in all, be an observant joyride of pop culture and sociogeographical trends. In New York City, as well …
Julia Sinelnikova Opens Ice Pores at Lazy Susan
Multifaceted artist Julia Sinelnikova recently debuted a brand new solo exhibition at Lazy Susan Gallery in the Lower East Side. Appropriately titled Ice Pores, the sculpture heavy exhibition is based around a new iteration of her celebrated “Fairy Organs” series and also builds on ideas from a previous solo exhibition, Organ Farm, which took place earlier last year. Per usual, Sinelnikova did …
The Others: What Really Happened to Charles Stewart?
The Others is a classic horror film with an famous twist that never gets stale. Although The Others partly mirrors the groundbreaking twist of M. Night Shyamalan’s Sixth Sense, the film’s nuanced narrative and neoclassical pace has made it a standout not only in the horror genre, but in cinema overall. Alejandro Amenábar’s third large film, The Others won eight …
Trembling Thinking @ The Americas Society
Lydia Cabrera and Édouard Glissant: Trembling Thinking opened at the Americas Society mansion at 680 Park Avenue and 68th Street on the 9th of October and remains open through the 12th of January 2019; this is too short notice but try to see this important and subtle exhibition. The extraordinarily inventive installation involves several wall projections, writing on the wall, …
Constance Edwards Scopelitis Embraces The “Tech Effect”
“I have returned to the scene of the crime, as I call it… That’s Indianapolis, Indiana. But I’ve lived in New York, California, London… I’ve ventured out a lot.” Constance Edwards Scopelitis. Though Scopelitis finds the political climate in Indiana, where she grew up (“I mean hello, we gave you Pence”) really interesting to “rub up against,” especially from, as …
Design + Tech Come Together In Perfect Synergy
INTELLIGENT LIVING By MDRN There is something wonderfully refreshing and encouraging about finding oneself in the perfect place, at the perfect time. A place where all things seem to be working in perfect unison. The air is crisp, the mind and heart are open to all the beauty and wonder that nature has afforded us, and the clarity of sight …
another Gallery Presents ‘Fugue’ Inaugural Exhibition
On the evening of November 29, 2018, an enthusiastic gathering of artists, curators, and collectors came out to celebrate the launch of another Gallery. Opened under the premise that New York doesn’t necessarily need “another gallery”, its ironic name plays off the concept of creating something very unusual or significant, while merely referencing it as “another”. Promising a robust curatorial …
THE FEMOCRATS, ABOUT FACE – An Exploration of Feminism, Intersectionality and Gender Politics
Brooklyn based artists Eva Mueller and Jana Astanov have partnered to form The Femocrats and will present About Face at Satellite Art Show in Miami, December 2018. The Femocrats, About Face is a three-part, truck-gallery installation which includes a dynamic portrait series on which the two artists collaborated as well as an individual project from each. The portraits, shot by Mueller, were inspired by a series of interviews, …
Postcards from Miami Art Week 2018: Day 2
The 17th edition of Art Basel Miami Beach kicked off yesterday with its super exclusive VIP preview. Benefiting from a revamped and expanded venue (the brand new Miami Beach Convention Center) the largest contemporary art fair in the country was today in full swing yet less chaotic and easier to navigate. Art Basel Miami Beach remains one of the best art fairs …
Making Space: Politics of Space A Triumph by Long Island City Artists and Sculptors Guild
Space can be a fraught term: as both abstract concept and concrete marker, space delineates a potentiality waiting to be made manifest. It can be argued that the exhibit “politics of space” achieved just this goal for contemporary sculpture. The exhibition, on view at Plaxall Gallery in Long Island City through Dec 2, 2018, featured works by participating artists drawn …
Postcards from Miami Art Week 2018: Day 1
December 2018- Quiet Lunch returns to Art Basel Miami Beach. Watch for our daily offerings of top gallery exhibits, satellite shows and the hottest parties in town. Every day we’ll present a special envoy pop-up blog brought to you by Curator and Arts Writer, Eva Zenardi, who’ll be carefully selecting the very best out from the myriad of events happening …
Incubus’ Brandon Boyd Teams Up with The Surf Lodge at Art Basel Miami Beach
Brandon Boyd, the multi-talented Incubus frontman, whose artistic (image making) output has run parallel to-if not fully integrated with-his musical offerings for more than two decades, is taking over the Surf Lodge bungalow at The Confidante Miami Beach Hotel for this year’s larger Art Basel circus on December 6th & 7th. On Thursday evening, Boyd will host an intimate dinner for …
Bronx Native Plots World Domination From “El Bronx”
Amuarys and Roselyn Grullon are proud children of the Bronx. Their remarkable clothing brand, “Bronx Native”, is an homage to their hometown. I spoke with Amaurys about the initial concept for Bronx Native, the ideas behind their iconic clothing line, and the future of the Boogie-Down (Bronx) in general. DB: Let me get right to it. What got you started …
Get into the LOOP with who's who in TIME BASED MEDIA
This is the best fair I have ever been to. Staged across three floors of the Almanac Hotel, LOOP Barcelona Fair (20-22 November) sits within the context of LOOP Festival which takes place across multiple venues (Galleries, Foundations, Museums) throughout the city 12 – 22 November. Established in 2003 at the dawn of hyper-connectivity (two years before YouTube), this is …
The Art of Bansky – An Unauthorized Exhibition – Miami 2018
“The Art of Banksy” Dec. 1 – Feb. 28 Noon to 10 p.m. daily at Magic City Studios 6301 NE Fourth Ave., Miami. General Admission:$35-$50 Tickets can be purchased at www.banksyexhibit.com. Unauthorized is key here. Bansky never gave his permission to showcase any of the eighty, original works on view at this blockbuster-size exhibition. Curated by Bansky’s former manager of 12 years, Steve Lazarides, and co-produced by the promoters behind Live Nation and Starvox Exhibits, “The Art of Banksy,” opened at Miami’s Magic City studios on Dec. 1 to much fanfare. It is a highly controversial exhibition because of its …
Give Me Some Head Pops Up in Tribeca.
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 …