Gardar Eide Einarsson, Utah to Resume Use of Firing Squads for Executions (2015), all photos by Elene Damenia for Art Observed

Returning to the United States for his first solo exhibition since leaving the country for Tokyo, Gardar Eide Einarsson has once again brought his particular brand of appropriation-based practice to Team Gallery for a solo exhibition of new work, taking aim this time at the United States’ often twisted ideological rhetoric, and the iconography that often carries it. (more…)

 Gardar Eide Einarsson – Sorry If I Got It Wrong, But Something Definitely Isn’t Right (Gallery View)

Currently on view at the Team Gallery’s space on Grand Street New York City is an exhibition of new work by Gardar Eide Einarsson, showcasing the Norwegian’s multidisciplinary scope, and confrontational approach to exhibition.  In this most recent show, Sorry If I Got It Wrong, But Something Definitely Isn’t Right, the artist explores the intricately connected systems of political dissent currently at play on the global stage.

 Gardar Eide Einarsson – Untitled 1969 (2012)

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Gardar Eide Einarsson, Untitled (Tear Gas Scatters Demonstrators) (2012). All images courtesy of Maureen Paley, London.

Maureen Paley hosts the Gardar Eide Einarsson‘s first ever solo exhibition in the UK. A Norwegian born artist, now living and working in both New York and Japan, Einarsson’s often text-based works come with a certain irreverence. His images, whether borrowed from the internet or history, comment on social structures both in and outside of the art world. The primarily black and white works in this exhibition touch upon themes of death, destruction, and the paradox of protest.

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Albert Oehlen, Blue Diamond Eyes (1994) all images via Honor Fraser

“It’s Great to be in New Jersey” is currently at Los Angeles gallery Honor Fraser, and will be on view through August 27^th. Curated by the Norwegian artist Gardar Eide Einarsson, known for multimedia works that celebrate freedom from authority, the exhibition presents works by a diversity of artists including Christopher Wool, Albert Oehlen, Banks Violette, David Ratcliff, Linder, Raymond Pettibon, Wolfgang Tillmans, Oscar Tuazon, and Bea Schlingelhoff. “It’s Great to be in New Jersey” celebrates the influence of British Punk and the ways in which each of these artists interpreted and experienced the movement.

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Move over vaporetti — there’s a new barge in town. Slated to gracing the banks of the Grand Canal in Venice over the past five days was a project by The Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, entitled “Commercial Break.” The exhibition is organized by Neville Wakefield, a contemporary art writer prolific curator globally. Powered by POST Magazine, “Commercial Break” considers itself to be a provocative architectural intervention in a city where no advertising is traditionally displayed. Unfortunately, as Artinfo reported, the city pulled permits a few days before and the videos were instead screened at the project’s Bauer Hotel party. The woman behind the “GCCC” is Dasha Zukhova, girlfriend of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich; it is the institution’s second project in Venice.  All videos are now viewable on the exhibition’s website.

Among videos featured is one by  Richard Phillips, starring Lindsey Lohan.

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Jeff Koons, Ushering in Banality, 1988. Polychromed wood. All photos by Christian Saltas, unless otherwise noted.

The Foundation of Arts for a Contemporary Europe (FACE) is a collaboration between five non-profit art foundations: the Deste Foundation in Athens, Greece; the Ellipse Foundation in Cascais, Portugal; the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, Italy; La Maison Rouge in Paris, France; and Magasin 3 Konsthall in Stockholm, Sweden. Established in 2008, the FACE alliance is dedicated to the promotion of emerging international artists by supporting the production and exhibition of new works. Their first initiative takes the form of a traveling exhibition entitled “Investigations of a Dog.”

Bruce Nauman, Untitled (Suspended Chair, Vertical III), 1987.

The exhibition draws its title from a 1922 short story by Franz Kafka, and the selection of works take up the existentialist themes present in Kafka’s work: disillusionment, humanity, and marginalization. Among participating artists are: Maurizio Cattelan, Roberto Cuoghi, Mark Dion, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Urs Fischer, Fischli & Weiss, Claire Fontaine, David Hammons, Thomas Hirschhorn, William Kentridge, Kimsooja, Jeff Koons, Sherrie Levine, Mark Manders, Paul McCarthy, Bruce Nauman, Martin Parr, Aurel Schmidt, Santiago Sierra, Lorna Simpson, and Kara Walker.

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But, What Ends When The Symbols Shatter (2009); Caligula (2010). All images courtesy Bonniers Konsthall unless otherwise noted.

Gardar Eide Einarsson is one of the fastest rising Scandinavian contemporary artists, and his exhibition Power Has a Fragrance currently on view at Bonniers Konsthall in Stockholm is a testament to his momentum. Addressing themes of violence, authority, power, paranoia, and alienation, Einarsson draws heavily on graffiti and street culture, transforming appropriated imagery into sophisticated installations that land like spaceships in a minimalist’s paradise.

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Another view of the main lobby, A Scott Campbell “tropical fantasy” (represented by the Miami based OHWOW Gallery) is the top center work

Art Observed was on site at the Soho Beach House Miami during the week of Art Basel Miami Beach for a tour of the 150 work art collection assembled for the private club and hotel.    Keeping a close connection with the artistic community has been an important part of the strategy for the Soho house brand, which has multiple locations in England as well as in New York and newly in Los Angeles, Berlin and Miami Beach.   This week marked the first Art Basel Miami Beach for the location and it hit the ground running,  hosting some important events such as dinners for White Cube and Victoria Miro galleries and a W Magazine event.

A John Baldessari on the left and a Friends With You on the right, in a hallway on the main floor

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Image via tfaoi.com

On November 16th the 2008 Biennial Artists were announced. The curatorial team stressed a broader take on the American Art scene, moving away from the post-punk sway exhibited in 2006. This expansion primarily pertains to the genres and mediums covered within the biennial, not the physical number of artists, as there were 100 artists selected in 2006 compared with 81 for 2008’s Biennial. Also unique to the upcoming show, is the use of the Armory space on Park and 67th, primarily for perfomance and interactive exhibitions.
Headliners include John Baldessari, Robert Bechtle, Mary Heilmann, Michael Smith and Sherrie Levine.

ArtNews
Whitney.org
NYTimes
Full list of artists after the jump. (more…)