shu and joe

Joe did a write-up of the 2008 Armory Show for Theme Magazine. It went something like this.

The Armory Show, New York
March 27-30, 2008

Hedi Slimane’s hyper-glossy acrylic-coated photographs of disco balls unintentionally reflecting the back-lit logo of a Pepsi machine offer an apt synopsis of the 2008 Armory Show—a slick, well-executed amalgamation of art and commerce. The work on display is not all surface, though. A few notable installations include Jenny Holzer’s pristinely machined LED displays at Cheim & Read, Ori Gersht’s photographs of exploding “still-life” vases at Angles Gallery, Joseph Kosuth’s etymology of the word “light” rendered in white neon at Sean Kelly Gallery and Natascha Sadr Haghighian’s defiant hammer-and-nails installation at Johann Konig Gallery. For the last piece, Haghighian, a Berlin-based artist known for her confrontations with the tropes of art institutionally identification and approval, responded to an invitation from her gallery to produce a piece for the Armory Show by hammering hundreds of nails into a wall to form the words “I Can’t Work Like This.” Yes, there’s a touch of irony in that statement.

We’re glad to see that a few of Beijing’s most prominent galleries have made the trip to New York for the fair as well. Galleria Continua is showing a lustrous purple orb by Anish Kapoor that was on display in Beijing this winter, while Galerie Urs Meile has several pieces from Beijing art-star Ai Weiwei at its booth. Another Beijing-based art fair staple, Cao Fei, is represented by New York’s Lombard-Freid Projects, which is showing “RMB City,” a 6-minute single channel video shot in Second Life in which Cao appears to mock the rapid, oft ill-advised development taking place in China’s urban centers.

One more project that caught our attention is Maix Mayer’s documentation of an abandoned resort development in Sanzhi, Taiwan. The space-age architecture captured in advanced disrepair has sci-fi written all over it, but is actually a product of Taiwan’s economic meltdown in 1990 coupled with it’s sub-tropic climate. Check Flickr for some gorgeous photo sets from others who have passed through Sanzhi.

Hedi Slimane

Natascha Sadr Haghighian

Jenny Holzer

Joseph Kosuth

Ai Wei Wei

the journal gallery Being True exhibit opening.

So many people! I was worried I might knock something over on the wall and have to sneak away through the crowd. Luckily, no damage was done.

For some reason, I’m posting a lot of photos of stuffed animals lately and I’m not sure why. This one is hard to make out clearly, but it looks like a bear in a tree. The rain and the cold make it particularly sad, as if it were stuck up there with no way of getting down. Only a pair of shoes to keep it company.

I don’t know where this photo was taken and I honestly don’t know who took the picture, but I think it belongs in the dead animal archive. In the real dead animal archive, that is. That’s David kissing, by the way.

Humberto’s mom is in town, and was kind enough to put together an amazing dinner using only the minimal kitchen in the Opening Ceremony office. The chili and ceviche — so good.

Trying to look very serious here.

Stacy, Shannon and Skaught at the ping pong table. Skaught and I were discussing our love for JabbaWockeez, but S + S had no idea what we were talking about. They still agreed to watch the finals with us this week.

Brian, paddle in hand, at the end of the table.

Humberto looks suspicious.

There was an impromptu makeover for Carol.

I’m a huge fan of deviled eggs, so Shu and I decided that our contribution to Easter dinner would include a tray of nouvelle stuffed eggs. The bacon and tarragon worked out pretty well, but the horseradish, dill and smoked salmon seemed to be the crowd favorite.

This photo is from our John Baldessari Comes to Dinner series.

Some snaps from last night’s send-off for Raina, who is off to Amsterdam to learn some university students some lessons.

Lisa & Raina

From an ongoing series of Lisa and Joe with contrasting expressions.

Ann

Alice & Geoff

Ruju

We somehow neglected to capture Sameer’s pro-Obama freestyling over hits from the 90s. A shame, that.

Casey

One of the most startling and amusing exhibitions we’ve seen in a while is Robert Barta’s show up at Cueto Project on W 21st. Don’t want to ruin any surprises, but things aren’t quite what they seem in Barta’s world.

Robert Barta, Falling In Love With You, 2007, mirror, magnet, sensor

Another worthwhile stop is Jeppe Hein’s solo show up at 303 Gallery. The artist has positioned both small and large sculptural pieces in various hiding spaces throughout the gallery in an effort to make the gallery experience a bit more exploratory and interactive.

Jeppe Hein, PLEASE ENJOY…, 2008, neon, mirror

A relatively new addition to Chelsea is the Honey Space founded by Thomas Beale. The space is not heated and is being leased to Beale free of charge by the building’s owner. Honey is currently featuring an installation by Adam Stanforth.

Mark Dion’s The Octagonal Room at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery. We were hoping to see Hallie, who has watched over the installation during its run, but no sign of her.

Simple, straightforward. No doubts about what this company does. Clean white van. They make websites.

A piece I wrote back in November for NY Arts Magazine about Pash Buzari’s exhibition at Universal Studios Beijing finally surfaced in the March/April issue. It’s also online at nyartsmagazine.com.

Pash Buzari, Colima, 2006. C-print, 35 x 45 cm.
Courtesy of Universal Studios-Beijing.