‘WITHOUT CONSENT’
166 MOTT ST – ALTERNATIVE ART SPACE
SEPT 28 – OCT 17, 2013
166 MOTT ST – CHINATOWN, LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC
the debut group show – curated by AMY LI
with: BRIAN ERMANSKI, PIERRO CAMPIONE, ALFREDO MARTINEZ, IARA CELESTE DIAZ, MIDORI OKUYAMA, JOSE De OLIO and EMIL MEMON.
approaching the new space was FUN – situated as it was, right where Chinatown and Little Italy butt heads – it was a colorful, and authentic journey.
I adored that Amy Li, had left the space so real. what she had done was to carve an really nice, solid .. exhibition space out of the front of a button & metal fastenings shop . . .
the ancestors were keeping watch.
in fact Amy’s dad owns the store and he popped in and out .. he seemed a very nice man.
son/daughter working relationships with their dads (and moms/Kate !!) are a trending situation.
just look at the huge, biggest blockbuster that just burst onto the movie scene, the critically acclaimed: ‘GRAVITY’ !! . . the latest film from ALFONSO CUARON, now 51 – the Mexican director who gave us, some say the best in the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’, and before that, ‘Y Tu Mama Tambien’ . . and his screenwriter son, JONAS, 30.
independent curator AMY LI – who just opened an art space at 166 Mott St – right in the hard-core fringe of New York City’s Chinatown.
born and bred in the same area, Amy graduated from Hunter College, and just recently completed a a one year Graduate Program at Savannah College of Art & Design in Arts Administration, getting her M.A. degree this past August 2013. so she wasn’t into wasting any time, and she got her space up and running within a month. that’s the way to go.
Alfredo’s work was no longer there, it was a CASH & CARRY type thing.
which is pretty common with new spaces. the cutting edge is fast & fluid !!
you gotta make the opening, and then you ought to go back at least once. see what else popped up . . in this case it’s:
from left . . DAVID PERRY, and . . a bright red ‘Gilligan’ by JOSH HARRIS.
if I had the dough, I’d be buying that Gilligan, and walking off with it under my arm, too.
NOAH BECKER, ‘Kofi’, oil on paper, 11 x 14 in.
($1,000.)
JOSE De OLIO, 2 pieces from ‘ABYSSAL WATER’ (set of 3). acrylic on canvas. 16 x 32 in.
($100 ea.)
BRIAN ERMANSKI, ‘Abel Ferrara’, acrylic on canvas. 30 x 40 in.
($1,500)
BRIAN ERMANSKI, ‘I Gave her a Pearl Necklace’, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 35 in.
($1,000)
IARA CELESTE DIAZ, ‘Sophia, West of Eden’, oil on canvas, 42 x 53 in.
(please inquire about price.)
detail, IARA CELESTE DIAZ, ‘Sophia, West of Eden’.
‘Who the Fuck is brian Ermanski?
6 color, 6 black & white, acrylic on canvas, 14 x 11 in.
($100 ea.)
while I was there, RACHEL ABBIE KAY .. a fashion blogger and arts/culture fan .. dropped by.
talking about . . kids and their parents.
the ‘Abbie’ in her middle name stands for the famous street politico, yippie ABBIE HOFFMAN – who is her godfather !! her dad is ARON KAY the famous .. pieman.
he’s the one who threw the pies !!
OMG – check out his website !!
see: ARON KAY – THOUGHTS OF A MAD YIPPIE PIEMAN.
ps: now, go back – and check out the ‘flower’ on Rachel’s dress – compared to the ‘floral’ design on her dad’s website !!
haha – the new ‘wave’ – in a nutshell.
dads and daughters, or what !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~AMY LI . . MOTT ST |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 5th, 2013, 8:51am
FOLLOW THE BREADCRUMBS – PART IV
so, seems like while I was enjoying the good life up at the RUSSIAN TEA ROOM, HESH was pickin’ up the slack . . downtown !!
now . . I know how Walter Robinson felt when I arrived on his doorstep.
all I can say is, watch out Hesh, keep it humble man . . or you too, could be fired for . . “being too successful” – famous last words of Walter Robinson, of the now defunct artnet, and many another doomed New Yorker who tried to get in the way of the inevitable.
HESH, now going by his given name, HASH .. which is actually pronounced “Hesh” ..
HASH HALPER, besides running his own HH Productions .. is writing for FRANK151 – a new wave I guess, online cultural journal, which includes sports on the menu, and aspires to global domination.
what I like best . . about Hash’s first serious foray into the media world, is how he introduces himself, and his agenda: “Stay chillin’ and check out the adventures of myself, Hash Halper in the NYC artworld.”
I think that really hits the nail, on the colloquial head – in terms of how the internet has changed art ‘criticism’. the internet has had as profound an influence on art reporting, as the big bang – when photography first emerged, and artwork could be duplicated / rendered visually. yet even when color photography become widely & commercially feasible via mass publications, such magazines and newspapers, art reviewers still stuck to the centuries old format of verbally describing the work, instead of really getting down to .. assessing and interpreting it, in a word, basically . . ‘breaking it down’.
in the age of social media, the emphasis has changed again. I realized early on as I forged through the scene I loved – that even though I might not be able to buy what I was seeing, nor was I ever given a chance by the entrenched powers to be .. to express an opinion about what I was seeing .. I could at least take PHOTOS ..
to prove I had been there, and to build up my own little archive of eye witness accounts following the ‘bread crumbs’ through – as they say: history in the making.
now of course it’s all about everyone posting . . their own trailways. and like Hash says, you can’t be everywhere at once, esp in NYC, and so chill and let his fingers do the walkin. people find their own specialty niche. for Hash it’s the downtown scene, the denizens that come out at night, as much as the artwork.
Hash’s big thing . . is moving through the scene, and working the crowd, so he’s smart enough to make sure he gets a photographer to tag along – photos are key.
so, all that said, figures:
this shot of the crew at the debut opening of downtown’s newest, and apparently savviest pop-up / alternative gallery space, 166 MOTT – was the most recent feature – under Hash’s byline on FRANK151, and the photos are by . . WC BEVAN.
PHOTO via: FRANK151
from the left, back row: artists: BRIAN ERMANSKI, ALFREDO MARTINEZ & EMIL MEMON.
center: independent curator/gallerist AMY LI, artists: LARA CELESTE DIAZ, and PIERRO CAMPIONE.
front: JOSE De OLIO.
the show was tiled. ‘WITHOUT CONSENT’, and took place at independent curator AMY LI’s new space: 166 MOTT – AN ALTERNATIVE ART SPACE. the show opened last Thurs Sept 26, 2013 and runs thru OCT 17, 2013.
Amy says the gallery is open 7 days a week, from 11am – 7pm.
see: 166 MOTT ALTERNATIVE ART SPACE / fb
you can see: more of Hash Halper and WC Bevan’s coverage on FRANK151, here.
though I can add some commentary to this opening night photo, by WC BEAVAN, that Hash includes.
that’s ALFREDO MARTINEZ with “the PLUMBER” !! aka JOHN EBERENZ, on the right.
I believe the dude, on the left is John’s bro – but I forget his name, if I ever knew it.
John Eberenz is a real plumber, based in Brooklyn, Gowanus to be exact – who Alfredo teamed up with in the last decade of the 1990s – to help him build the large, life-size futuristic robo-fighters, he was exhibiting at places like P.S.1. they were very creative and very impressive, assembled mostly from ‘found’ metal and plastic parts.
the most famous stand-alone figure the team put together was probably, ‘Pig Man’ . . which was exhibited at a little summer 2001 show called: ‘QUIET, GUNS & QUILTS’ / JOSH HARRIS, ALFREDO MARTINEZ & JOHN EBERENZ, NANCY SMITH. DANIEL SILVERSTEIN Gallery, now defunct, in Chelsea.
and, no . . it’s NOT A CATTELAN, the girl is for real.
installation shot: ALFREDO MARTINEZ & JOHN EBERENZ, ‘Pig Man’, summer 2001.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
HASH HALPER at the KARA WALKER, ‘Fall Frum Grace, Miss Pipi’s Blue Tale’ opening. Lehmann Maupin, Lower East Side, April 21, 2011.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
actually one of Hesh’s, oops .. Hash’s big claims to fame is a small indie film loosely inspired by his life, esp his earliest survival tactics . . and then takes off, all on its own. it was called ‘HESHER’.
funny thing about that film.
one: it was GREAT !! as wild and real as they come. too bad it didn’t get to circulate as widely, as it should have, hey . . not our fault the world is mostly: dumbed-down.
two: the mostly unknown actor who played Hesh/Hash, to perfection !! was JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT, who shot to fame as ROBIN in the last ‘BATMAN’ and, who is now photographed regularly on the red carpet – with A-LIST stars, such as the likes of SCARLETT JOHANSSON.
JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT as HESHER, roughly inspired by the true life character . . we know and love: HESH / HASH HALPER.
ps: apparently he’s mellowed out a little bit with age !!
or better put, what the suburbs won’t do – the art world sure will.
pss: yeah, the gorgeous and super talented NATALIE PORTMAN makes an appearance in the film, and was involved in the production.
watch: ‘HESHER’ – the official movie trailer / YouTube
you can follow HASH HALPER on . . HH Productions New York / fb .. “always open” !!
~HESH/HASH . . FRANK |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 4th, 2013, 7:30am
FOLLOW THE BREADCRUMBS – PART III
so, apparently CARLO McCORMICK brought an adventurous, and way sharp Italian collector of ‘street’ art (?) well, bleeding edge art is more like it – in this case . . to the opening of the small gallery, last Thursday – where Alfredo was showing his work.
and yep, this guy was smart. he bought all three Alfredo pieces .. for $1,250 each.
snapped them up, right then and there.
heard the afterparty dinner – was on Alfredo !!
that’s how I knew – it was TRUE.
never underestimate Alfredo, but esp .. for turning up in the newest street-level hotspot, esp if there is a pretty Asian girl at the helm .. and we hear this one . . is “no dummy”, either.
and. neither is Alfredo, bye the way.
our newest downtown ‘it’ gallerist is AMY LI – who just opened an exhibition space in a button shop at 166 MOTT ST in Chinatown, between Grand and Broome. it’s called . . 166 MOTT ALTERNATIVE ART SPACE, and it’s got a very lively facebook . . page
in fact, I’m going to visit her tomorrow, Fri – so I’ll fill you in – first hand !!
the first show at 166 MOTT, ‘WITHOUT CONSENT’ was curated by AMY LI, herself . . and features works by:
BRIAN ERMANSKI, PIERRO CAMPIONE, EMIL MEMON, ALFREDO MARTINEZ, IARA CELESTE DIAZ, MIDORI OKUYAMA, and JOSE De OLIO.
the show opened last Thurs Sept 26, 2013 and runs thru OCT 17, 2013 – so, yeah !!
you can still catch a ‘moment’ in art history – while it is truly nascent, and straight up from the street.
this photo is from the opening. it is posted on the gallery’s facebook page.
I’m a little reluctant to post it – as I don’t know all the people in the photo, and I don’t know who to give the photographer’s credit to ?
and that’s the curse of facebook, but jeez: another topic for another time.
but since I’m on the trail, and I’m gonna follow the bread crumbs right to the very last drop . . and find out !!
I’ll let you in on the trail, as it reveals itself.
and, HAHA, SURPRISE !! . . or, rather NOT !!
the trail leads right to . . who else ?
HESH !! aka HASH HALPER . . !!
downtown’s underground mover and groover, supremo.
Red Rover, red rover, let HASH, come over !!
so, since I’m bound to find out, just for starters:
from the left that’s BRIAN ERMANSKI, in his trademark attire, otherwise he’s looking a lot like Hesh bye the way. to the right, ALFREDO MARTINEZ beside him .. and that’s AMY LI, the show’s curator and the new ‘it’ gallerist . . in front of ALFREDO.
ALFREDO MARTINEZ, ‘RED & BLUE’ GUN.
it looks to be hand painted (?) as well as informed by that trusty standby: SHARPIE !! it also looks to be large, although no dimensions are given – you can tell that, in part by the many different pieces of paper that form the background.
yep the piece is on hand made paper, an Alfredo Martinez trademark. Alfredo quite often, laboriously puts together, glues together himself the paper he draws on – a trick he learned in prison. that was the only way he could get paper big enough, and key: durable enough – for him to draw on. it’s very papier mache strong.
also: it makes sure you know you have the real deal, and not a ‘fake’ Alfredo . . ha. takes one to know one – and let’s . . just leave it at that.
and also, Alfredo just really gets into . . the hand building process.
DIY gunmaker likes DIY paper. duh.
Alfredo should open an Etsy shop !! just jokin . . seriously, guys !!
makin’ the paper, it kinda slows him down .. from the multiple schemes and ambitions that flicker in constant play in his brain.
and, well as a hobbist pastime . . sure beats makin’ fakes.
and in another way . . you know: art is a multi-layered thing.
it’s also an homage to early American piecework quiltmaking. if you follow the breadcrumbs, back in time, the trail leads straight to an assistant he once had – who helped put together some of his earliest shows.
up from the street – that for sure.
and needing lots . . of cheap – and BIG, durable drawing surfaces.
Quiet, Guns and Quilts. some things just .. STICK.
Josh, Alfredo, Nancy.
ALL IMAGES via 166 MOTT ALTERNATIVE ART SPACE FACEBOOK
~ALFREDO & CARLO . . & AMY / CHINATOWN |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 3rd, 2013, 6:08am
FOLLOW THE BREADCRUMBS .. PART II
ok, here’s a little hint. a little art birdie went for the bread crumbs I was tossing, and told me …
CAW CAW CAW, CAR-LO !!
TO BE CONTINUED > > > > > NIGHT FALLS, and hard.
but – oh boy. just when you thought .. this town was getting sleepy …
my crew, my guys .. sweep in like a ‘school’, a flock of .. crows !!
correction: a murder, a ‘murder’ of crows. and the chorus is:
CAW CAW CAW. CAR-LO.
ok. ok.
art critic CARLO McCORMICK !!
at the JOE BRADLEY, GBE ‘LOTUS BEATERS’ OPENING. MAY 16, 2013.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
~ALFREDO & CARLO . . CAW CAW |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 1st, 2013, 8:56pm
FILE UNDER: FOLLOW THE BREADCRUMBS, PART I
ok. so, here’s how we r-e-a-l-l-y roll in NYC !!
JOSH writes from LAS VEGAS, that Alfredo is in some small show, above a button shop .. in Chinatown and . . he has sold out !!
he has SOLD 3 PIECES opening night. Nancy says no way.
and I have a bridge to sell you !!
haha .. Nancy is wrong !!
nothin’ better than being wrong about something .. like that !! or what ?!!
TO BE CONTINUED > > >
plus, no disrespect .. just love this ‘duo’ photo – posting above the preceding Alan & Michael Fleming shot.
the good, the bad and the more BAD !!
NEW YORK CITY .. is what I’m talkin about !!
hey, if the great MAURIZIO CATTELAN can take a prank, I mis-labelled a fellow artist’s piece as his !! and that wasn’t as off the wall as you may think .. it was a cute chick getting undressed.
than so can you !!
though don’t get me wrong, the big sale is NOT a prank.
yep I tracked it down ..
follow the bread crumbs 101.
FOLLOW THE BREAD CRUMBS PART II – POSTS TOMORROW.
JOSH HARRIS and ALFREDO MARTINEZ .. less than 24 hours after Alfredo’s escape from secret detention in China. JEFF GOMPERTZ STUDIO, WILIAMSBURG. BROOKLYN. NYC. AUG 15, 2010
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
damn. DAN ASHER apoppin’ big $$, and now – ALFREDO. boy is my ship coming in, or what !!
~ALFREDO & JOSH . . NYC |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 1st, 2013, 8:41pm
LOCAL FAVES, BROOKLYN-BASED .. ALAN & MICHAEL FLEMING will have work in:
‘IMPERFECT SYMMETRY: A COMPENDIUM’
curated by SARA BLACK & KARSTEN LUND
OPENING THURS OCT 3, 2013 / 5-8PM .. with a performance by ESCAPE GROUP.
the show runs OCT 3 – NOV 7, 2013
A + D GALLERY, Columbia College, Chicago, Il.
“THIRTEEN individual artists and collaborators explore manifestations of ‘imperfect symmetry’ – a phenomenom emerging at the hazy border of 2 familiar concepts: symmetry and asymmetry. Through photographs, videos, sculptures, sound works, and performances, these artists offer varied interpretations of this odd but evocative notion, potentially full of metaphorical or interpersonal meaning.”
a Program of Performances .. will take place on FRI OCT 25, 2013 / starting at 8PM
DEFIBRILLATOR PERFORMANCE ART GALLERY – 1136 N. MILWAUKEE AVE, Chicago.
more info: A + D GALLERY, Chicago
p.s. ALAN & MICHAEL FLEMING have a newly re-vamped website . . check it out !!
see: ALAN and MICHAEL FLEMING
ALAN and MICHAEL FLEMING, ‘INVERTED’. image via: Alan and Michael Fleming
~ALAN & MICHAEL FLEMING . . CHICAGO |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | October 1st, 2013, 9:10am
CHOLOS: HISPANIC MALE that typically dresses in chinos (khaki pants) wifebeater sleeveless teeshirt or a flannel shirt with only the top button, buttoned – a hairnet (key) or a bandana around the forehead … CHOLOS often have black ink tattoos, commonly involving Catholic imagery, or calligraphy messages, or family names.
CHOLOS often drive LOWRIDERS.
source: URBAN DICTIONARY
in a word: MEXICAN GANGSTA STYLE.
while I was cruising that ANIMAL review on the 2013 NEW YORK ART BOOK FAIR, I stumbled across a fun post that BUCKY TURCO put up, way back in MAY 2011.
titled: ‘COLORING BOOK for ASPIRING CHOLOS’ .. it brings to the table a high quality coloring book, on the legendary lowriders of America – titled, what else: ‘LOWRIDER COLORING BOOK’ by OSCAR NILSSON, published by DOKUMENT PRESS out of STOCKHOLM !!
where else !!
BUCKY WROTE: “Swedish illustrator OSCAR NILSSON is so fond of lowrider culture that he created a coloring book in homage … BIG BODY CADDYS, CHEVY IMPALAS, BUICK RIVIERAS, and other classics are all represented in the 64 page soft cover book.”
see: COLORING BOOK for ASPIRING CHOLOS – BUCKY TURCO, ANIMAL
see: LOWRIDER COLORING BOOK – DOKUMENT PRESS
see: LOWRIDER COLORING BOOK reviewed in AUTOWEEK – DEC 12, 2012
“… the book is much heavier than you’d expect .. with a glossy perfect-bound cover and 32 different lowriders on thick hi-quality paper.”
OSCAR NILSSON, LOWRIDER COLORING BOOK – image via ANIMAL
OSCAR NILSSON, CADIILLAC ‘BIG BODY’ FLEETWOOD 1996, LOWRIDER COLORING BOOK – image via ANIMAL
OSCAR NILSSON, CHEVROLET IMPALA SPORT COUPE 1964, LOWRIDER COLORING BOOK – image via ANIMAL
~ART for ASPIRING CHOLOS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | September 30th, 2013, 9:00am
‘THE DECLINE and FALL of the ART WORLD, PART II: THE OTHER 99%’
SEPT 12 – OCT 12, 2013
FREIGHT+VOLUME – 530 W. 24th ST – CHELSEA
featuring works by: DAMIEN CRISP, CRISTINA de MIGUEL, NOAH LYON and LAURINA PAPERINA
FOR .. more info + artist images: THE DECLINE & FALL of the ART WORLD, PART II: THE OTHER 99% / F+V
TAKE .. a VIRTUAL TOUR: JAMES KALM / YouTube / DECLINE & FALL, PART II.
NOAH LYON, ‘WANT IT’, 2013. acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 in.
continues …
~WANT IT .. THE OTHER 99% |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | September 30th, 2013, 4:52am
NOAH LYON watches as MIKE D of BEASTIE BOYS fame .. checks out his zines, at the recent NEW YORK ART BOOK FAIR 2013.
NOAH adds: “I joined the BEASTIE BOYS FAN CLUB .. in 1987.”
PHOTO: MARINA GALPERINA, ANIMAL via NOAH LYON FAN CLUB
in fact, MARINA GALPERINA filed the best report on the NEW YORK ART BOOK FAIR . . on ANIMAL.
check out: NEW YORK ART BOOK FAIR HIGHLIGHTS, MARINA GALPERINA, ANIMAL/SEPT 20, 2013
NOAH LYON, ‘MASTERPIECE’, 62 x 69 inches – and – ‘SOCIALIZED’, 36 x 36 inches – both acrylic on canvas.
installation shot: ‘DECLINE & FALL of the ART WORLD, PART II’ – at FREIGHT+VOLUME.
PHOTO: via NOAH LYON FAN CLUB
PLUS: you can currently .. check out some of Noah’s larger pieces in ‘DECLINE & FALL of the ART WORLD, PART II’ . . . at FREIGHT+VOLUME
the show is … up thru OCT 12, 2013.
IF THAT’S NOT ENOUGH .. NOAH LYON, for ya !!
you can always catch .. NOAH LYON’s 3rd SOLO EXHIBITION in STOCKHOLM !!
titled: ‘NOAH LYON PAINTS THE INTERNET’, it opens this THURS, OCT 3, 2013.
and runs thru OCT 26, 2013.
GALLERI JONAS KLEERUP – JAKOBS TORG 3 – SE_111 52 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
~NOAH LYON . . MIKE D |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | September 29th, 2013, 6:32am
FASHION is ART.
KATE CERIGO .. reports that the international fashion world is all abuzz about the new collection RICK OWENS showed today, SEPT 26, 2013.
looks like RICK OWENS always fierce, has moved from fashion rebel .. to fashion god.
FIERCE, FIERCE and more FIERCE. all I can say is: watch out world.
new age chunky, is sturdy a better word (?) ‘grit face’ beauties vs. the long standard, long-legged mostly pale white ‘angels’ ..
and, about time.
love the footwear !!
athletic aesthetic !!
ANNA WINTOUR should get herself a pair of those . . and dump the open-toe, pointy-front nude slingback sandals, she’s been wearing forever, ca 1994 .. a-l-r-e-a-d-y.
read: RICK OWENS SPRING 2014 READY-TO-WEAR, REVIEW BY TIM BLANKS. PARIS, SEPT 26, 2014 / STYLE.COM
see: RICK OWENS SPRING 2014 – STYLE.COM
RICK OWENS SPRING 2014 READY-TO-WEAR, PARIS.
PHOTO: MARCUS TONDO/INDIGITALIMAGES.COM via STYLE.COM
~RICK OWENS . . PARIS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | September 26th, 2013, 10:55pm
