BIGGEST REGRET of the YEAR ?
that I didn’t make this opening.
def, def def !! gonna try to go by & see the work.
CARAMEL BOBBY / CALI THORNHILL DEWITT – ‘GLOBAL WARNING’ at MUDDGUTS
UP THRU . . FEB 2019.
CALI THORNHILL DEWITT, ‘FLAMES’, 2018
3 ft. x 3 ft. / mixed media, paint on canvas. unique.
image via Instagram @caramelbobby
what’s . . .
growing on me about the work, through the posted images – is how it’s so insanely bold, and in-your-face, and yet very subtle as an art form – to process. it’s like the ‘graphics’ button has been pushed – to high alert, and so you get the message, the images are very clear, and assume it’s simple & sort of ‘spiritually’ . . walk away. nice job.
of course, that’s a big, big mistake.
there’s quite a lot of resonance here, both in context & message, & visual punch.
but more, as an artist myself . . it slowly dawned on me, that the surface of this work really doesn’t lie in the clear narrative, ‘collaged’ photographic images, nor even – in the big red “X” . . !!
the surface here . . is in the moment of walking through the wall of fire / an artist, at their height, deep into their work, and so it comes across very blindingly bright for the rest of us, but once that ‘brightness’ of perfection/achievement / serial creative stepping forward, slows down a little, with a little more viewing, the dynamics of the gesture, the organization, the ‘running’ of a finely honed thought / craft & vision . . becomes something that’s hard to put into words, a 4th dimenson – an aura, takes over.
and that’s even more interesting to me, as it rises from such graphic straightforward imagery. & organization.
and yes, I most def, want to jump into . . that – in PERSON !!!!
install shot.
image via Instagram @caramelbobby
1. definite quilt overtones.
on many levels, grid organization, story-telling.
communal & community context.
some carry warnings. some carry ‘protection’.
amulets.
my fav is . . ‘FILTH’ / ‘REAL FILTH’.
2. I feel there might be a great conversation here with . . VIRGIL ABLOH !!!!!
3. those black walls, beckon !!
4. def, like the ‘tag’ effect of the ‘cut-out’ images & how they just got ‘placed’ / seemingly by chance / random. they are so askance / yet, the big red “X” is so – centered, and measured.
you def get the feeling, this artist . . .
no matter what the ‘legend’, the ‘history’ / he paid his dues. he’s so superbly on point, and immersed.
and, we all get invited – to the DANCE.
5. the color hues – are . . . off the chart.
~CARAMEL BOBBY aka CALI THORNHILL DEWITT . . ‘ GLOBAL WARNING’ / MUDDGUTS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 20th, 2018, 4:26pm
CARAMEL BOOBY – aka CALI THORNHILL DEWITT !!!!
the roadie who KURT COBAIN & COURTNEY LOVE . . let baby-sit little Frances Bean
& has gone on to become a . . . major CALI DESIGN ICON !!
CARAMEL BOBBY – SOLO SHOW !!
‘GLOBAL WARNING’
OPENS SAT DEC 15 / 6 – 8 PM
MUDDGUTS, 427 GRAHAM AVE, BROOKLYN
HRS: WED-FRI: 4-8PM / SAT-SUN: 12-8 PM
def, CHECK OUT: CALI THORNHILL DEWIITT – MUDDGUTS
~CARAMEL BOBBY . . ‘GLOBAL WARNING’ / MUDDGUTS / BROOKLYN / OPENS SAT DEC 15 6-8 PM |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 15th, 2018, 10:31am
‘I’LL BE HOME FOR KRAMPUS’- POP-UP HOLIDAY MARKET & ART SHOW
SAT DEC 15, 2018 / 12-9 PM – FREE !!!!!!
THE LIVING GALLERY OUTPOST, 246 E.4th St, LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC 10009
with:
A LUCKY RABBIT, ANNABELLE POPA, CARYN CAST, HISxx, IMAMAKER, JCORP, LOVE & ANTENNAS, LUNGEBOX, MIGLET1, MIISHAB, ROY WADE, SARAH MYERS, TRASHY DREAMS, TURTLECAPS, ZERA
LUNGEBOX . . matchbooks, acrylic paint & paint pens on wood.
approx 1 ft. x 1 ft.
($40) ea. (!!!!!!!!) / NOT AN EDITION !!!!! & on WOOD !!!!!
image via Instagram @lungebox
artwork by .. ROY WADE
image via Instagram @roywade
@IMAMAKER . . “I have my eye on Krampus !!!! #eyes #ornaments #krampus #puffpaint
image via Instagram @imamaker
~’I’LL BE HOME FOR KRAMPUS’ . . incl. LUNGEBOX, ROY WADE & IMAMAKER / POP-UP HOLIDAY MARKET / THE LIVING GALLERY OUTPOST, L.E.S. / SAT DEC 15 12pm-9pm |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 15th, 2018, 9:46am
‘LOOKING INTO SPOTLESS RAIN’ – CURATED BY YULIA TOPCHIY
DACHAL CHOI, EMILY WANG, CICI WU
OPENED . . FRI NOV 30
the show runs thru . . JAN 19, 2019
ASSEMBLY ROOM, 191 HENRY ST., LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC 10002
HRS: WED-SUN 12 – 6 PM
ASSEMBLY ROOM . . .
is a new indie / curator-run storefront gallery / project space on Henry St. in the L.E.S.
aiming to be . . “a platform for independent women curators” – the space invites Both diversity and community / as well as offering “open calls” . . for ideas & programming.
The space opened this past SEPT 2018 & this is only their 3rd show – I was quite engaged by the 3 young artists at their opening.
read more about: the 3 co-founders – PAOLA GALLIO, NATASHA BECKER, YULIA TOPCHIY
DACHAL CHOI . . at the opening.
born in Seoul, KOREA, her work questions . . “instability and uncertainty within individuals and the societies of which they are members . . .”
~ASSEMBLY ROOM
DACHAL CHOI . .
‘Untitled (After Eutheria)’, 2018.
mouse trap, engraved metal, silicone, resin, hair & RFID chips.
dimensions variable.
I found it intriguing that this was a ‘grouping’, and yet so stone cold.
and yet . . so dark and curious. the small scale, as well as the fact that most of the sculptural grouping, lay on the floor . . led to audience / interactive impulses. so imaginative, so ‘narrative’, & yet exceptionally . . industrial at heart / but, with a cachet of magic & ancestral fables (the long black pony tail) at heart. dark heart ? playful, IDK.
I also half- expected the metal boxes – to get up, and skitter away . . on nano-robotic feet !!
so, I later read that the cold steel / metal boxes were actual mouse traps – which only intensified the context / and amplified logic of the floor setting.
a friend of the artist, told me at the opening . . that the resin ‘mini-sculptures’ were “3-D” print-outs of Brancusi sculptures.
again, the implied poetry and, the industrial level . . both – raised up a BIG, couple of notches.
though, vs Brancusi (‘The Kiss’), overall, I did feel overall, there was a deep, sad heart at play here.
I guess you should go walk amongst this . . mini-sculpture park for yourself, get lost in reverie, sensuousness. and technical abandon / & come to your own . . conclusions.
EMILY WANG, in front of her large watercolor.
both an artist and a musician, Ms. Wang performs under her solo project Lima Rei, and with the band Dies Smely.
EMILY WANG, ‘At the edge of time’, 2018.
watercolor, pencil, charcoal, oil on paper.
46 x 34 in.
again, this is really something you need to get up close and personal with / to experience at the fullest. secrets & emotions . . run subtle, deep and powerful in this show.
“spotless rain” . . . ???
detail, EMILY WANG, ‘At the edge of time’.
there was also a very ‘technical’ side to this piece as well, all was not . . poetry.
the subtle / powerful yin yang / give & take . . technique of watercolor painting, vs the effect of ‘colored’ oil paint on paper, the effect of water, equated the presence of passing time.
passing thoughts: brush in hand / in free-fall.
CICI WU, a large and seemingly . . fragile hanging.
Cici Wu was born in Beijing, and raised in Hong Kong.
Her work has been exhibited at 47 Canal, as well as other venues, both here and abroad.
She has been the co-organizer of an artist-run residency & exhibition space, PRACTICE, since 2015.
one gets the sense of fragile, yet ready-made / strong and sturdy despite the willow-i-ness. plastic is indestructible, and though (organic) flowers do come and go, flowers hopefully, will always . . bloom.
a happy thought to depart on. & a sense one gets about all 3 of these young women.
a cosmic diagram in a basket ?
the power of the life force / the universe, the creative impulse ?
the tantric road map. the signs that a pencil can make.
let’s hope so !! or maybe, then again . . . not.
grounded !! humbled.
the kite / the ribbon. the thought ‘balloon’ . . is tethered to the floor.
what does this say, about our humanity & shared experiences.., limitations and also genetic ‘common sense’ / despite our diversity and very different origins.
PAOLA GALLIO, NATASHA BECKER & YULIA TOPCHIY – the 3 co-founders of ASSEMBLY ROOM.
Yulia Topchiy . . curated ‘Looking into Spotless Rain’ / their 3rd show.
‘Looking into Spotless Rain’ . . is up thru JAN 19, 2019.
~DACHAL CHOI, EMILY WANG & CICI WU . . ‘LOOKING INTO SPOTLESS RAIN’ / ASSEMBLY ROOM |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 13th, 2018, 10:46am
MEANWHILE . . in L.A.
HELLEN JO . . made the great poster !!!
def, check out: COMIC ARTS LA
def, check out: HELLEN JO – ARTIST WEBSITE & STORE
~HELLEN JO . . POSTER / CALA 2018 / COMIC ARTS LOS ANGELES / THIS WEEKEND DEC 8 & 9 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 9th, 2018, 9:53am
the smallest for last / calm down.
just joking.
writing an art blog is like being a mini-pilot / on a high flying drone.
B2 BOMBER ?!!!
DAN MANDELBAUM – SCULPTURE
MARVIN GARDENS – UNTITLED ART FAIR, MIAMI – BOOTH B2
DAN MANDELBAUM – SCULPTURES
image via Instagram @marvin_gardens
BOOTH PHOTOS BY DAN BRADICA / @danbradica
~DAN MANDELBAUM, MARVIN GARDENS . . UNTITLED / MIAMI / LAST DAY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 9th, 2018, 9:38am
‘The Strangeness Will Wear Off’ – BIG GROUP SHOW !!
incl: MELISSA BROWN
OPENS TO-NITE / SAT DEC 8 / 7 – 10 PM
the show runs thru . . JAN 31, 2019
DAVID CASTILLO GALLERY, 420 Lincoln Road, Suite 300, Miami Beach, Florida 33139
Art Basel Week HRS: Dec 5 – 9th / 10 AM – 6 PM
more about: ‘The Strangeness Will Wear Off’ – DAVID CASTILLO GALLERY
image via DAVID CASTILLO GALLERY
~MELISSA BROWN . . in ‘The Strangeness Will Wear Off’ / DAVID CASTILLO GALLERY, MIAMI / OPENING SAT DEC 8 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 8th, 2018, 1:02pm
lol, meanwhile b-i-g switch-up . . from car travel – to SPACE !!
from $250 to . . $1,000 / but, s-t-i-l-l worth every penny !!
if I had $200 x 5 !!!!!!!
Bad Boy, TOM SACHS . .
is offering up a limited release of his NASA ‘chair’, for $1,000. a pop.
limited time only . . .
“available for 24 hrs on our webstore” / and, the clock started ticking 35 mins. ago. FRI DEC 7 2018 – 12:43 PM
def, check out: TOM SACHS / STORE / NASA chair & where you can order YOURS !!
image via Instagram @tomsachs
@tomsachs: Space program / NASA Chair, 2012
Mars ‘Flown’ Chairs available for 24 hrs on our webstore.
Limited release of Samsonite Model 2250 Mission Control and audience NASA chairs.
Each 31.25″ x 17.25″ Samsonite folding chair was used during the mission (i.e. ‘flown’ that took two astronauts
to the surface of Mars at the Park Avenue Armory, NYC 2012.
Each High Density Polyethylene (H.O.P.E.) and zinc plated, powder coated steel chair is made in U.S.A.
screen printed with NASA, and and labeled with an individual hero’s name and unique serial number.
Chairs contain dust from the Martian surface, and signs of use.
No choices, no returns.
Signed by the artist.
Each NASA chair comes with “Chairs” zine.
Published July 12, 2012
NASA Chair
($1,000.00)
TOM SACHS SWISS PASSPORT DESK
def, see: TOM SACHS WEBSITE
FROM THE ARTLOVERS ARCHIVE: JAN 21, 2003 !!!! 15 YEARS – AGO !!!!
TOM SACHS at his NUTSY’S INSTALLATION / BOHEN FOUNDATION, JAN 21, 2003
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
~TOM SACHS . . NASA CHAIR / WORLD WIDE WEB / ORDER YOURS NOW !! THE CLOCK IS TICKING !! |
Posted in If I had $200, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 7th, 2018, 12:38pm
KNOCK-OUT.
“I get obsessed with the way a mundane experience can suddenly take on a universal symbolic meaning.”
read more: ‘Rear View Mirror’ by MELISSA BROWN / ABSOLUT ART.
image via Instagram @boogiebrowntown
MELISSA BROWN, ‘Rear View Mirror’, 2018
linoleum cut print / 15.7 x 19.7 in.
limited edition of 15 / signed & numbered / archival ink jet print
($275)
FROM THE ARTLOVERS ARCHIVE: 14 years ago !!!!!
MELISSA BROWN, ‘ROWDY REMIX’ opening, Bill Brady / ATM Gallery, Lower East Side, NYC. MAY 29, 2004
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
oh yeah, Melissa may project ‘buttoned-down’ and ‘straight-forward/, lol
but def, there’s a big crazy & wild heart – beating inside.
see: ARTNET, SPRING 2004 – for the original report.
~MELISSA BROWN . . LIMITED EDITION PRINT / NADA & ABSOLUT ART. / MIAMI |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 7th, 2018, 11:18am
ALL THE POWER – TO YA.
OPENING PARTY – TONIGHT !!
PERFORMANCE BY: JULIAN KLINCEWICZ
‘GOOD TASTE’
curated by KATJA HORVAT & PAIGE SILVERIA
presented by: TOKEN / NYC Pop-Up Shop / see: tokentokentoken.nyc/
Miami Design District
3802 NE, 1st Ave
Miami, FL / Florida
OPENS WED DEC 5 / 6 – 9 PM
show runs DEC 6 – 9, 2018
HRS: 12 pm – 6 pm
GOOD TASTE . . . is a group exhibition platform – curated by KATJA HORVAT & PAIGE SILVERIA
FLYER via Instagram @paigesilveria
JULIAN KLINCEWICZ . . is a multi-disciplinary artist based out of . . SAN DIEGO
def, listen: JULIAN KLINCEWICZ – SOUNDCLOUD
JULIAN KLINCEWICZ . .
IMAGE VIA SOUNDCLOUD/JULIAN KLINCEWICZ
def, yes: MY FAV !!
PLAY THIS: GLIMMER OF HOPE / JULIAN KLINCEWICZ – SOUNDCLOUD
~TOKEN / PRESENTS: ‘GOOD TASTE’ . . incl. PETER SUTHERLAND, JOE GARVEY, CHASE HALL & JULIAN KLINCEWICZ / NYC POP-UP / MIAMI OPENS WED DEC 5 |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | December 5th, 2018, 7:12pm
