‘ALONG A RIVER OF SAPPHIRE POOLS’ – MOUNTAIN, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN
A selection of limited edition beach towels – curated by MICHAEL FLEMING & OLIVIA SWIDER
all the artist-designed beach towels, can be seen & purchased here: SAPPHIRE POOLS – SHOPIFY
BILLY BUCK, ‘Rockaway’, 2017. limited edition of 10, beach towel.
($130)
photo via Sapphire Pools/MOUNTAIN
obviously, PHOTO-BASED – PHOTO-REALISM.
so cool . . as to be very very HOT !!!!
the strange part, is the sunglasses – must be tinted / mirrored lenses.
a surrealist up-date on PUNK, or what !!!
~BILLY BUCK . . ‘SAPPHIRE POOLS’ / LIMITED EDITION ARTIST BEACH TOWELS / MOUNTAIN |
Posted in If I had $200, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 9th, 2017, 8:46am
‘ALONG A RIVER OF SAPPHIRE POOLS’ – MOUNTAIN, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN
A selection of limited edition beach towels – curated by MICHAEL FLEMING & OLIVIA SWIDER
all the artist-designed beach towels, can be seen & purchased here: SAPPHIRE POOLS – SHOPIFY
NICHOLAS STEINDORF, ‘Doe, a Dear’, 2017. limited edition of 10, beach towel.
($130)
installation photo via MOUNTAIN
NICHOLAS STEINDORF’S beach towel . . looks to be feverish and intense, and maybe also . . about passionate love ?
as much as heat, sand, rip tides, and the hot hot sun.
but it’s also at the far extreme of . . PHOTO-REALISM !!
expressionistic ?!!! photo-realism ???!!!
though not necessarily ‘3-D’, I did inquire about the red / blue separation.
NICHOLAS:
“I made it red blue. For instance the tongue is by itself in the red and the forest/rock is by itself in the blue. It isn’t necessarily ‘3D’. It’s anaglyph . . which separates the colors – this can cross your eyes. What I did was separate the red and the blue so you see two different images if you close either your left or right eye (red or blue)”.
~NICHOLAS STEINDORF . . ‘SAPPHIRE POOLS’ / LIMITED EDITION ARTIST BEACH TOWELS / MOUNTAIN |
Posted in If I had $200, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 8th, 2017, 9:01am
‘ALONG a RIVER of SAPPHIRE POOLS’ – BEACH TOWEL EXHIBIT !!
OPENS TODAY: SAT AUG 5, 2017 / 3 – 8 PM
MOUNTAIN, 284 SEIGEL ST, 1B, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN, NY 11206
A selection of limited edition BEACH TOWELS curated by MICAHEL FLEMING & OLIVIA SWIDER, with:
MORGAN BLAIR, BILLY BUCK, NICHOLAS CUEVA, AMIE CUNAT, MICHAEL FLEMING, JACOB HAUPT, LIZ NIELSON, NICHOLAS STEINDORF, OLIVIA SWIDER, PANAYIOTIS TERZIS.
“Along a River of Sapphire Pools takes its title from John Cheever’s 1964 short story ‘The Swimmer’. This suburban story takes place in one afternoon following Neddy Merrill who swims all of his neighbor’s pools forming his own eight-mile river which he names after his wife.”
~Press release
All beach towels are now available for purchase online at: sapphirepools.myshopify.com
speaking of being on point . . .
this is a another case of an indie artist-run gallerist, including his/her own work in a group show at the gallery. I personally think it’s really special. intimate, informative, dynamic and exciting when you get to see the inner life, & hands-on thinking of the artist/gallerist !!
which is: their work !!
MICHAEL FLEMING . . founded his Brooklyn-based gallery MOUNTAIN in the winter of 2016 – he is a gallerist/curator/visual & performative artist.
and, he takes damns good video !!
usually posted on his Instagram: @mountain.bushwick
OLIVIA SWIDER . . is an artist, curator and writer from Chicago who is now based in Brooklyn, NY. Currently she co-runs the artist-run gallery SELENA in Bushwick.
both galleries are ‘living room’ venues with limited hrs – but always open by appointment.
the best time to hit their shows – are the opening nights.
both MOUNTAIN and SELENA / MICHAEL FLEMING and OLIVA SWIDER . . have been covered extensively on artloversnewyork / both for their exhibits, and for their own individual art projects.
INTERESTINGLY, as well . . .
both of their beach towel projects involve . . . PHOTO-BASED / PHOTO-REALISM !!!!!!
MICHAEL FLEMING, ‘Black Hole’, 2017
commercially printed beach towel, limited edition of 10
($130)
though I get the powerful imagery & metaphor of the ‘black hole’, and seriously . . . how much more photo-realist can you get !!!!
a big part of me would have liked to have seen it – just all sand !!
and, then photographed on a sandy beach !! or even a rocky one, for that matter.
look for this concept to appear in Walmart, in 2 years time / if not IKEA next summer – that’s a really catchy !! tune !!
it also makes for a great hipster/surfer ‘flag’.
as in the Japanese flag, with the ‘rising sun’ – smack dab in the middle.
they should fly it over . . Rockaway !!
look out for random shots of it on Instagram, I’m sure !!
OLIVIA SWIDER, ‘His Shoulders’, 2017.
commercially printed beach towel, limited edition of 10
($130)
OLIVIA’s towel is also photo-based, though less in your face !!
but still, that’s a roaring & real !! sunset.
and the computer ‘font’ – is also very PHOTO-REALIST in . . spirit.
it looks more like a cinema / movie ticket – than a poem !!
but the poetry . . does work, and feels realist in it’s nature / & narrative, too.
~’SAPPHIRE POOLS’ . . LIMITED EDITION ARTIST BEACH TOWELS / MICHAEL FLEMING / OLIVIA SWIDER, MOUNTAIN / OPENING TODAY, SAT AUG 5 / 3-8 PM |
Posted in If I had $200, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | August 5th, 2017, 10:47am
so,
@abelincolnjr posted this image on Istagram a little while back, and he wrote underneath:
‘In the Butt 4: Trapped under Ass, 19″ x 28″ ink on healthy colon photo – $200 DM if you want it.’
and, I thought wow – that’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen, plus I like his painting style . . !!
so I sprung for it.
it took me a good long while, to work up the courage to actually unroll it from the tube – but, yeah.
I’m still . . totally into – it. wtf.
gorgeous, funny, and a good statement about the world, and the art world, too.
a nice combustion of ‘reality’ meets imagination & . . voila: vve / virtual visual explosion.
plus it’s no dumb print.
one-of-a-kind.
what sets Abe’s wicked street poetry, miles apart in a crowded field – is that penmanship & authnticity . . of line.
and duh, that Tweety bird imagery, is my favorite subtext!!
he also sent along some – stickers !!
merci beaucoup, Abe Lincoln, Jr.
btw: does colon rhyme with . . LINCOLN, just asking !!
ABE LINCOLN, Jr. sticker, hand-colored & signed . . 4-1/4 x 5-1/4 in.
ABE LINCOLN, Jr. sticker, hand-colored, signed & inscribed: ‘THANKS NANCY!’ . . 4-1/4 x 5-1/4 in.
ABE LINCOLN, Jr. sticker, hand-colored . . happy boy. 2-1/2 x 4 in.
who says, micro art buying – doesn’t exist ?
they just don’t have . . the eyeballs.
or, the ‘guts’.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH / except where noted @abelincolnjr via Instagram.
~ABE LINCOLN, Jr . . down the hatch !! |
Posted in If I had $200, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 30th, 2017, 9:43am
or, as they say: WHAT’S – in YOUR . . . POCKET ???!!
actually, one of my favorite possessions, is this aluminum, limited edition, free-standing ‘POCKET ALFREDO’, made by the ENGER BROS. aka EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE.
measuring 3 x 4 ins. / it is ‘folded back’ with 1 in. borders – so it will stand. it’s 3-D.
it’s made to replicate a pack of cigarettes – and ideally be worn in your shirt pocket, or stashed on your art trophy shelf.
it’s aluminum, sturdy enough to stand, but quite ‘light-weight’, no pun intended.
the image is a deep violet silk-screened photo – of ALFREDO MARTINEZ at the height of his glory days under Josh’s patronage / the JOSH HARRIS glory days of $81 million / having just sold his tech start-up Jupiter.com – the first web-tracking ‘trend’ site. this would be the late 1990s, peaking in 2000.
the ENGER BROS. were also on the JOSH HARRIS $$ gravy train, and, truth be told – so was I . . . !!!!!!!
the piece is quite reflective, of light.
and very . . WRY.
beautifully made, albeit with some bad spelling.
all the better to . . ‘outsider’ ya !!
this is – the reverse.
it says:
“Pocket Alfredo”
numbered: 90 of 96
Gauranteed (sic) to NOT:
*Eat your Food
*Steal
*Lie
*Forge Paintings
*Borrow Money
(like the REAL Alfredo . . does !!)
EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE – 2000
and, it’s signed at the bottom – in black sharpie by both Enger Bros / twins MATT & MARK.
MARK . . being dead, and the true genius of the operation, makes that an important ‘dead man walking’ selling point, as does the fact that he is in good standing, with the Art Lovers ‘Dead Artist club’ / ghost army.
while the evil twin, MATT lives on. funny how that . . goes.
but there is, alas – no significant output anymore.
as for the edition being . . 96.
in fact it was !!
but the Enger Bros. lost the shopping bag that contained them, when they moved up-state to the apple orchard / trailer park . . ‘artist’ residency on Josh’s farm.
the only ones that remain, are mine !! and I have 4.
ah, he who lives to tell the tale – should rightfully reap . . the rewards ?
I’m willing to part with this one for: $950.
contact me – nsmith0014@aoldotcom
no brainer.
with bffs like Josh, and now ADRIEN BRODY . . !! Alfredo Martinez items ?
how can you lose.
plus: ADRIEN BRODY besides playing a pianist, narrated that great doc on ‘EL GRECO’ that plays on PBS . . so that native New York boy – should know . . ‘real’ art – when he sees it.
and keep in mind, Mark is gone to that big Cowboy Ranch in the sky – so that’s a double collector’s whammy.
FILE UNDER: THE VIEW FROM MY DESK.
somebody should do a DONALD TRUMP – edition.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
COLLECTION: NANCY SMITH
UP-DATE FROM JOSH HARRIS: WED JAN 25, 2017 / 4:57PM
JOSH WRITES . . .
~”I bankrolled & thought it up with Matt & Mark Enger at their silkscreen factory at the Luvvyplex” – the on-going art install – at the former ‘QUIET’ party / art gallery palace, downtown.
~”JIMMY COMEY was the lead prosecutor – according to Alfredo” – so, that’s . . maybe.
maybe NOT.
but, maybe . . YES. it’s a 50-50 split. did I think he was best buddies with Adrien Brody, no.
is he ? Yes. & he sent a photo to prove it.
you can never tell with ALFREDO. and, neither can Alfredo, tell fact from fiction.
it’s just the way – the guy is wired.
~”JOANNA LOONEY was the hot FBI agent – who interviewed me for the case.”
~’POCKET ALFREDO’ . . . for sale – $950. / w up-date from JOSH |
Posted in If I had $200 | By Nancy Smith | January 25th, 2017, 1:52pm
FOR SALE – FROM ARTLOVERSNEWYORK – “We CURATE – You COLLECT”. . .
OLEK STREET CROCHET SLAMMED SHOPPING CART + ATTACHED BEAU PAINTED STREET TAG CANVAS
this trademark OLEK camo crochet slam is done on her trademark metal grocery store shopping cart. It was re-claimed from the streets, this summer (2011), from a homeless hard-core hoarder, o.k. a bum – with an eye for art !! who calls Tompkins Square Park home. it shows its street colors proudly, the stitches are slightly stringy at the edges, and it has a patina of slight wear and tear, o.k. the yarn has a slightly grimy feel – from being exposed to the elements. but it doesn’t look – like for that long. like they say in the antiquities biz – dude, that’s how you know – it’s the real deal.
P-A-T-I-N-A.
I think its fair to consider the “UR ART HERE” patterned into the crochet – on the front of the cart – a bonafide OLEK signature. and nope, HESH doesn’t come with the cart – but if ur nice – we can get him to deliver it !!
the BEAU street tag canvas is attached to the cart – with large stringed loops. It is obviously signed: “BEAU” and you also get: “FREE!” – !!
it looks to be a fairly recent attachment – in fact, it looks brand new.
two, TWO NYC street tags – for the price of one. now, that’s what we call a NYC – COMBO !!
here’s a close-up on the loops of string that attach the BEAU FREE! canvas to the OLEK shopping cart.
the BEAU FREE! – part of the equation, how it got there – is still unknown . . . but will most likely unravel – in time.
so you get to own a real-time art world narrative – make that: mystery – as well.
call in the – street art history detectives.
YOU CAN PURCHASE THIS PIECE DIRECTLY THRU ARTLOVERS, just hit the NANCY SMITH: contact at the top of the left hand margin – of our home page / nsmith0014@aol.com
YOU can find our online gallery archives on our: “IF I HAD $200” page.
YES, we will consider any serious offers. we are in it – for the a-c-t-i-o-n !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NYC SEPT 2011.
~FOR SALE: OLEK + BEAU – STREET ART COMBO – $3,000 |
Posted in If I had $200, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 9th, 2011, 9:47am
FOR SALE – FROM ARTLOVERSNEWYORK – “We CURATE – You COLLECT” .
FOR SALE:
JOSH HARRIS, ‘TV MAN’, 2010. white chalk pastel with fixative on black industrial blackboard paint on unstretched canvas.
approx. 12 x 10-3/4 in.
from his ‘Meet The Singularities’ series. signed and dated 10/10/10 on the back.
PRICE: $400.
FOR SALE:
JOSH HARRIS, ‘TV MAN’, 2010. white chalk with fixative on black industrial blackboard paint on unstretched canvas.
approx. 12 x 11-1/4 in.
from his ‘Meet The Singularities’ series. signed and dated 10/10/10 on the back
PRICE: $400.
both pieces are signed and dated 10/10/10 on the back . . .
TO PURCHASE: use the NANCY SMITH: contact link, top left – of the home page / nsmith0014@aol.com
our online gallery archives on our: “If I Had $200” page !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~FOR SALE: JOSH HARRIS -TV MAN – PAINTINGS ON CANVAS – $400 ea. |
Posted in If I had $200, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 2nd, 2011, 10:07am
FOR SALE: ALFREDO MARTINEZ, ‘GUN PAINTING’, FALL 2011 – signed and dated … $800.
size approx: 2 x 3 ft.
acrylic paint on canvas – you can see the signature at the bottom left.
it’s an interesting piece because – have you ever seen Alfredo paint in more than one color, i.e. red, or black – before ? he gets the off-primary colors looking almost neon. in fact, it’s almost a black light effect. and, check out that violet purple mauve trademark – on the bottom left. a-n-i-m-a-t-e-d.
it’s also unique for him, in that it’s on canvas as opposed to his usual – heavily collaged paper piecework . . .
you can buy this piece directly thru artlovers – use the NANCY SMITH: contact – link at the top left hand margin of the home page / nsmith0014@aol.com
welcome to our online gallery . . . it will archive on our “If I Had $200” page.
if you are NOT local – you will be covering the shipping costs . . . but, it be no big deal – we’ll put it in a tube.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~FOR SALE: ALFREDO MARTINEZ GUN PAINTING ON CANVAS – $800/still available. |
Posted in If I had $200, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | September 25th, 2011, 4:45pm
SOLD TO WIGGS . . . on JUNE 21, 2011.
you can catch WIGGS, yourself: @FWiggs
THE LAST 2 – of a LIMITED EDITION of 12 – ‘ALFREDO MARTINEZ DRAWING FROM PRISON’ – T-SHIRTS. (plus 2 A.P./ARTIST PROOFS)
SOLD FOR $80 ea. – one to wear & one to keep.
these T-SHIRTS were the very first . . . under the radar . . . FOR SALE listing on artlovers. under the IF I HAD $200 – column, natch . . .
WIGGS saw the posting first & put his $$ down. LIKE they say: the early bird gets the worm.
see: the original T-SHIRT post /IF I HAD $200
the t-shirts were produced by me.
they are my first limited edition production, so far: NANCY SMITH IMPRINT: 01.
yeah, that’s right: be looking for more.
they are a numbered limited edition of 12 – and no more, I ain’t DAMIEN HIRST – and maybe I shouldn’t be so proud of that – coz while he be laughing all the way to the ‘dot’ bank – I’m thinking: food stamps ? just like 3/4 of the rest – of this sorry town.
anyways . . . they are also noteworthy because . . .
they were custom silkscreened – by the late great MARK ENGER, himself – of EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE.
they were produced in JULY 2003 – while Alfredo was still in prison – for that little BASQUIAT CAPER.
ALFREDO smuggled out this pencil drawing on ruled notebook paper – of himself on food strike – to me, through the regular mail. one of the reasons he went on hunger strike – was because they would not let him do any art – and it made him crazy. . . not to mention deeply in-bred authority issues . . . one of the most common denominators – of the whole damn crew.
but, JOSH called it: WE LIVE IN PUBLIC. PSEUDO. JUPITER COMMUNICATIONS, though not in that order . . . think about it.
. . . FACEBOOK is becoming more and more evil – every day. more real life hardcore stalking action, or what. soon gonna be just as wild, as we were. the true grit WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – forget the preppy stuff – as we speak. you can now ‘follow’ people like on twitter – by ‘subscription’ i.e. without their permission.
you can already tag photos – without permission . . . sounds just like 24/7 WE LIVE IN PUBLIC surveillance – to me.
nice graphite ink job – or what ?
Mark Enger did beautiful work – he was a master silkscreener. the best.
these last 2 t-shirts – were actually additionally signed and dated by Alfredo – himself, last summer JUNE 21, 2011 – at Josh’s ex-loft in Williamsburg.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~SOLD TO WIGGS: LAST 2 ALFREDO MARTINEZ PRISON DRAWING T-SHIRTS – $80 ea. |
Posted in If I had $200, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | September 25th, 2011, 3:11pm
MARK ENGER – EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE – LIMITED EDITION T-SHIRT – NOW AVAILABLE on artlovers !!
that’s it. that’s the final straw.
we’re gonna put a store up on the site – until we get the tech issues resolved – it’s gonna be on the low-down.
the store will archive on our: ‘IF I HAD $200’ – column !!
ALFREDO MARTINEZ – HUNGER STRIKE – PRISON DRAWING ca. 2002.
Our very first offering:
the last 2 – MARK ENGER/EXPLODING SKY WORLDIDE – ALFREDO MARTINEZ HUNGER STRIKE T-SHIRTS.
artlovers/NANCY SMITH commissioned MARK ENGER to custom silk-screen this limited edition T-Shirt in 2003.
only 12 were individually hand-printed – and each is hand-numbered on the back.
plus one A.P. – which JOSH HARRIS owns.
The image is a drawing ALFREDO MARTINEZ sent me – via mail – while he was incarcerated in prison – for his notorious BASQUIAT FORGERY CAPER . . . .
one of his earliest ‘prison drawings’ – it is a self-portrait of himself – tied down and being being force-fed – while he was on hunger strike . . . needless to say – his first month in prison didn’t go too well – for either him or the warden !!
talk about a head-on battle of the wills.
Alfredo claims he stopped eating mostly because they wouldn’t let him do his art.
I think it would be safe to add: and because he has ‘authority issues’ . . . which were heightened by the maximum security he was held under – due to his uncanny ability to make weapons – out of anything . . .
plus for same reason – he was deemed too much of a threat to be released into the general prison population . . . so he had some pretty hardcore company. mostly mafia types. crooks. swindlers.
let’s not even get into the new friends he made during his 2-yr. stay . . . suffice to say, when he came out – that was his worst period.
yeah, its true – what they say: you come out much worse than when you went in – and leave it at that.
anyway – it took a while for the prison authorities to figure him out. (no say.)
his hunger strike lasted for something like 33 days and ended when they let him make art, but ONLY drawings !! on hand-made paper – he created from flour and water out of scrap jail paper. a skill which he claims a fellow inmate, a Russian forger taught him. he drew the images with food dyes – which he patiently concocted from common kitchen food produce, like Jell-o, and instant food packets, as in ketchup, tea, and coffee – mixed with water. “millions” of instant coffee packets to make an eye-dropper of color !!
and they put him to work – in the prison kitchen !!
if that won’t end a hunger strike – what will ?
the limited edition (12 + 1 A.P.) hand-screened T-shirt has a silk-screened product label – on the back lower right hand corner:
NANCY SMITH IMPRINT: 01
ALFREDO MARTINEZ DRAWING FROM FEDERAL PRISON
THE M.D.C., BROOKLYN, N.Y.
SILKSCREENED AT EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE
JULY 01, 03 N.Y.C., U.S.A.
LIMITED EDITION OF 12. THIS IS NO. ____
I ONLY HAVE 3 – LEFT !!
THE FIRST – NO. 10 WAS SCOOPED UP – BY THE GUY WEARING THE T-SHIRT – RIGHT AWAY – at $40 !!
THE LAST TWO – ARE SIGNED – ON THE BACK. BELOW THE IMPRINT LOGO – BY ALFREDO MARTINEZ, himself.
ALFREDO SIGNED THEM – THIS PAST WINTER 2011 – IN HONOR OF – OUR FRIEND & ARTIST, THE RECENTLY & TOO SOON DEPARTED, MARK ENGER.
They are all printed in black ink on: ANVIL pre-shrunk 100% cotton white T’s. all are size L – MEN’S.
THEY ARE AVAILABLE AS FOLLOWS:
NO. 8 – IS AVAILABLE TO THE FIRST PERSON – WHO COMES UP WITH: $80 !!
NO. 11 – IS AVAILABLE TO THE NEXT PERSON WHO COMES UP WITH: $120 !!
TO ORDER – PLEASE CONTACT ARTLOVERS AT:
if.i.had.200@gmail.com
shipping & handling outside of NYC – additional $20.
paypal, check or money order accepted – as well as plain ole cash.
let’s see whose really reading this site !!
we will archive your name as part of the post – or – you can request to be anonymous.
DEDICATED TO MARK ENGER 1963-2011
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~LIMITED EDITION MARK ENGER T-SHIRT |
Posted in If I had $200, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 6th, 2011, 11:01am
