New York Art Guide - May

I. 
Exhibition title: Solo show
Artist: Felix Gonzalez Torres
Venue: David Zwirner Gallery
Dates: Until June 24, 2017

Felix Gonzalez-Torres is one of my favorite artist and definitely the most significant artist to emerge in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 
In his minimalistic language and conceptual rigor, Gonzales was able to extract a rear observation about life, death and love through a constant dialogue between the private and public. Torres works gently travels through intimacy to politics, sweetness and tragedy, generosity and lost. 
Gonzalez-Torres died of AIDS-related illness in 1996, 5 years after his partner, Ross Laycock died of the same Disease. Many of his works reflect on the years living with HIV.
His billboard work, "Untitled", 1995 shows a photographic imagery of birds in the sky and is also displayed on multiple outdoor public billboards throughout New York City and can be found in the following locations: Hunts Point Ave. north of Longfellow Ave., The Bronx; Atlantic Ave. & Classon Ave, Brooklyn; 9th Ave. & 37th St., Manhattan; Broadway & W. 184th St., Manhattan; Woodside Ave. & 63rd St., Queens; and Richmond Terrace & York Ave., Staten Island.

Felix Gonzalez Torres Billabord work showing around new York these days

Exhibition title: Sound Talisman
Artist: Lisa Alvarado
Venue: Bridget Donahue Gallery
Dates: Until May 21, 2017

For her first solo show in new York, the Chicago based artist takes a form of a visual and sonic assemblage combining painting installation and a site specific sound piece.
Since 2010, Alvarado is creating paintings that function as moveable sets that follow her music band, ‘Natural Information Society’. For Alvarado and the Natural Information Society, the paintings serves as Mandalas to allow the audience to focus their gaze amidst waves of sound.  The exhibition includes an ambient soundtrack during regular hours as well as live music performances happening on May 8th and May 10th at 7:30pm.

Exhibition view of Lisa Alvarado at Bridget Donahue Gallery
 

Exhibition: Living Modern
Artist: Georgia O’keeffe
Venue: Brooklyn Museum 
Dates: Until July 23, 2017

Best Known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, O'Keeffe has been recognized as the "Mother of American modernism”. 
Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern is the first show focusing on the artist’s wardrobe to explore a wider understanding of her identity and artistic values. 
This retrospective takes a new look at how the renowned modernist artist proclaimed her progressive, independent lifestyle through a self-crafted public persona—and how they are expressed in all aspects of her life. 

Header Image: Torres Billabord - a constant dialogue between the private and public

- by Maya Yadid

Shanghai Interview: Not deep. Dope - Tianzhou Chen

Ever since I've moved to Shanghai, the question of whether I live in a cool place has been bothering me. Shanghai is messy and vibrant. its taxi drivers have the worst manners in the world, and you can still find yourself stuck in an elevator with a dude who smokes and offering you a cigi, exactly when you come back home from a sweaty workout.

But is it cool? I couldn't be confident about saying Yes. 
However, had you visited Shanghai during its last fashion week, you'd have gotten a pretty clear answer- the party has moved here and we’re all having rice for dinner. Offsite radical venues, underground parties, experimental presentations and bad-ass hip hop artists rule the scene. It wasn’t just about fashion. It was about energy.
 

I sat down to talk to Tianzhou Chen, one of the most promising Chinese artist of his generation exhibited in Palais the Tokyo in 2015 and since then building his reputation in the global art scene.  Chen’s work transforms symbolism of buddhism to cutting edge aesthetic of the rave scene, drugs, violent kitsch, provocative gang-creatures and other after school activities we all like. He recently launched Asian Dope Boys, an experimental platform that functions as a proximity of Chen’s artistic work, under which he curates dope parties, nihilist music events and a radical fashion collection.

We talked about beer, money, art collectors, fashion and the definition of cool. Was too fun, and too long. Here is a recap.

Pic: Hadas Zucker

Hadas Zucker (HZ): Let’s start with a cliche.- where does your fashion inspiration comee from? how does it relate to your artwork?

Tianzhou Chen (TC): Well, it doesn’t really. My inspiration for the fashion line is pretty random. it’s not meaningful, it's just clothes, I love it. I make a lot of complex meaningful art works, so for me it’s great just to make something fun. If anything, it might be influenced by music, which has a huge impact on my visual world, alternative, experimental hip hop is something I listen to on a daily basis.

HZ: This is why you launched A.D.B? 

TC: Yes, exactly. we named it after a Japanese girls band called A.K.B 48. we started doing parties, inviting D.J’s and performers we discovered and who had never been to china, for example most recently Karma She. I use my art career to support the A.D.B experimental adventures.

HZ: Your fashion presentation was in a dark, smoky basement hall, part of Labelhood an alternative fashion venue. A mix of maximalist aesthetics, super dense energy, experimental costumes and a gang of radical Chinese kids. How do you feel about this new youth culture ?

TC: I thinks it’s great, I feel that thanks to social media this new generation is much more connected to what happens globally. They have more knowledge on what happens out there, but the performance scene is still quite young here, and not very mature. For me it is at least, they still really sounds the same, missing something special and outstanding like Zebra Ktaz which we just brought to SFHW.

HZ: You use a lot of grotesque textures and prints, deconstructed shapes, hyper saturated colors, and symbolism both in fashion and you art work, what is your take on bad taste ?

TC: I’m not trying to be bad taste, it is just that i have a very different sense of what is wearable or fashionable. I don't like to think of the market, though fashion is commercial. I think in Europe it will be understood better and we are now working on distributing there.

Pic: Ka Xiaoxi

HZ: Do you care who wears you clothes?

TC: Yes. I want good looking people to wear my clothes. And cool ones.

HZ: Is it the same for your art work? do you care who buys it?

TC: Yhe, of course, i want cool collectors to have my work, but it could also sometimes end up in a crappy hotel, in that case, haha you just don’t tell anyone about it.

HZ: what is your daily routine?

TC: I’m not one of this hard working artists, I’m not working every day. I drink everyday. Mostly beer.

Header Image: Pic- Ka Xiaoxi

‏Shanghai Art Guide - May

‏I.
Exhibition Title: Reconfiguration
‏Artist: Patty chang
‏Venue: Bank Mabsociety gallery
‏Dates: May 13- July 2, 2017

Patty Chang's early video works have depicted a horrifying, yet comforting experiences of fear, passion and conflict. Eating an onion while french kissing your parents, or uniting with an eel crawling under her button down shirt, are just two of the provocative and poetic expressions of Freudian anxieties we all kinda share. This has made her one of the “most consistently exciting artist of her time”. The current show is a lecture/performance based on the artist’s travels along the South-North Water Diversion Project, from its beginning at Danjiankou to the final reservoir in the outskirts of Beijing.

II.
‏Exhibition Title: Solo show
‏Artist: Julian Opie
‏Venue: Fosun foundation
‏Dates: Until June 10, 2017

Cause if there is a blockbuster in town you gotta go see it!

‏III.
Exhibition title: Where the end starts
‏Artist: Kwas
‏Venue: Yuz Museum
‏Dates: Until August 13, 2017

Kwas does everything that is hype from graffiti to illustration to Popart to f*ckng collaborating with Uniqlo. Can’t get more commercial than that, and Shanghai seems to be the perfect fit for it!
‏(oh don't forget to catch a DJ set at a speakeasy place after, and instagram all of it under "#hipsters don't die, they just get too predictable")

Melbourne Art Guide - May

May is the middle of Autumn in Melbourne, and while the leaves are changing colour and the weather is getting colder, the art is heating up. These are my top exhibition picks: 


I.
Exhibition Title: Mother Holding Something Horrific
Artist: Claire Lambe
Venue: Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
Dates: April 8 – June 25, 2017


Mother Holding Something Horrific is a new commission from Melbourne-based English-born artist Claire Lambe. The exhibition encompasses sculpture, photography, theatrical stage sets and video, and forms a powerful reflection on the human condition, exploring ideas of hope, love and fear. The exhibition is accompanied by six weekly performances from contemporary dancer and choreographer Atlanta Eke, which continues an ongoing collaboration between herself and Lambe.

Claire Lambe, The waterfall, 2017, installation view (detail), Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Courtesy of the artist and Sarah Scout Presents, Melbourne. Photograph: Andrew Curtis.

II.
Artist Darren Sylvester
Venue: Neon Parc
Dates: April 21 – June 10, 2017

Darren Sylvester’s second project with Neon Parc explores various pop culture references, predominantly American, to investigate ideas of luxury and desirability, high and low culture, and mortality. Three custom-designed chaise lounges are upholstered in wool printed with the insignia of early 1990s McDonalds hamburger packaging. These are accompanied by four large-scale photographs referencing entertainment and consumer culture, and a large floor-based sculpture that curves around the space in the colours of the FedEx logo.

Darren Sylvester, installation view, Neon Parc, Melbourne.

III.
Exhibition Title: Bent Guesses
Artist Aaron C. Carter
Venue: The Honeymoon Suite
Dates: May 5 – May 27, 2017

Bent Guesses from Aaron C. Carter combines painting and sculpture in vibrant colour.  His wall-based relief works use clay, pigment, and common building materials to achieve their sculptural quality. These are combined with found objects to create an installation that investigates the beauty of the everyday.

Aaron C. Carter, studio view, 2017. Photograph: Danny Cohen.


Header Image: Darren Sylvester, installation view, Neon Parc, Melbourne. 

- by Melissa Loughnan

Zürich Art Guide - May

In the last few weeks, we’ve experienced a full range of seasons in Zürich – from snowfall and hot drinks in cosy café corners to sunny days balmy enough to bring even a few brave swimmers to the riverside Badis! I sought out a similar panoply in the current art shows - multifaceted, and full of diversity and colour. 


I.
Exhibition title: Gregor and the Samsas (Kill your Friends)
Artist: Melli Ink
Galerie: Grieder Contemporary
Dates: March 24 – May 27, 2017

When first entering this gallery space, I was struck by the pure visual attraction of the installation. Forceful monochrome triangles in blue, yellow, pink and green (inspired by Gio Ponti) are painted directly on the walls juxtaposed with black and white film stills hanging over these forms, and small minimal sculptures arranged in the gallery space on wooden plinths. It was no surprise to learn that Melli Ink’s roots lie in stage design. 

This multi-faceted exhibition, sparked by the artist’s music video made with the California Soft Rockers in 2016, combines performance, costume, set design, video, photography and sculpture. The video documents the band commuting to work dressed as insects – a cockroach, fly and spider - a clear nod to Franz Kafka’s Gregor Samsa, transformed into a large monstrous insect-like creature and repelled and rejected by his family. The music and absurd footage is playful, but encourages more serious reflections on identity and how it is reflected by society. 

Melli Ink, Untitled, 2017
© Melli Ink, Courtesy of Grieder Contemporary

II. 
Exhibition title: Yesterday’s Echoes
Artist: Bianca Brunner
Galerie: BolteLang
Dates: March 24 – May 6, 2017

Bianca Brunner’s new body of work Yesterday`s Echoes looks at the things we do not register consciously. Bianca explores the idea that our minds hold our core memories – essentially we never forget, things are simply overwritten. The exhibition consists of six photographs in varying sizes and two sculptures. The sculptures are the artist’s first to be displayed in a gallery, although they have always been an integral part of her studio practice. 

The work is quiet and multi-layered, encouraging reflection. The minimal abstractions in soft-hued geometric forms are derived from plastic bags installed on a window in the artist’s studio, outside of which she also hangs sheets. The resulting photographs comprise wrinkles and imperfections, perhaps each layer a trace, a reminder of time passing, new events overlay old. 

Having followed Bianca’s work, this exhibition feels even more pared down than previous ones. Scale and subject are more cleverly concealed than ever to really push the viewer into a deeper introspection. It’s exciting to observe this evolution!

Bianca Brunner, Veil (pink), 2017
© Bianca Brunner, Courtesy of Galerie BolteLang 

III. 
Exhibition title:  No title
Artist: Christian Herdeg
Galerie: Lang + Pult
Dates: March 11 – May 13, 2017


It felt like a natural progression to follow with an exhibition of Swiss artist Christian Herdeg’s light installations. One of the pioneers of light art, he has been creating these works for over 40 years. 
Lange + Pult’s darkened gallery space is punctuated by oscillating abstract coloured forms made of light. 

Herdeg’s neon tubes turn into floating lines, which contrast seamlessly with the diffused colour fields of fluorescent light. He describes the pipes as “his pens” and his pieces as “kinetic light objects” – the idea of movement being key here. I found his work Sextett particularly enticing, where numerous squares made up of different coloured neon tube sides create varying shifts of colours within, and in turn produce triangular gradations that merge together in their centre. 

Standing amongst his works, I noticed in myself an emerging sense of calm. It was a perfect end to the gallery tour to pause in this space of serenity. 

Sextett, 2016
© Christian Herdeg, Courtesy of Galerie Lange + Pult


Header Image: Installation view, Gregor and the Samsas (Kill your Friends), Grieder Contemporary, Zurich, 2017 Photo credits: Gion Pfander
© Melli Ink, Courtesy of Grieder Contemporary

- by Diana Poole