Tamuna Sirbiladze, Pomegranate (2015), via Art Observed

Artist Tamuna Sirbiladze’s first solo exhibition in the United States, at New York’s Half Gallery combines oil-stick on unstretched canvas, accented by an intuitive emphasis on interior design and decorative elements inside the gallery, emphasizing its position as a formerly domestic space.  Taking the artist’s signature style as a starting point, the works seem to move towards a more expansive, space-oriented technique.

(more…)

Brendan Fowler, (That) hat on bedspread (countries of origin:my deposition was postponed and Matt’s took all day) (2014), via Half Gallery

Brendan Fowler’s new works, currently on view at Half Gallery uptown, are nothing if not elusive.  The show, on view last month at Los Angeles’s LAXArt, to New York as a follow-up of sorts to the last showing of photographic works by the artist at MoMA’s survey of new photography late last year (a series of Fowler’s highly-popular crash works).  Here, Fowler seems more interested in the image itself, rather than the potentials for combination and assemblage of the modern image.  The works are created entirely using a commercial grade embroidery machine and thread, leaving layered, textured works that offer a striking commentary on the photographic image. (more…)

New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) Art Fair 2012, all photos by E. Simone for ArtObserved

The NADA fair is home to the some of the youngest, and most surprising artists and gallerists during Art Basel week, and is often described as a respite from the big-named, shiny, high-altitude atmosphere of the main fair. Dealers and collectors come to NADA searching out the new artists they think have the most potential, reveling in the discovery.

Keith Farquhar, Leslie Fritz Gallery (formerly Renwick Gallery) (more…)

All photos on site for Art Observed by Elene Damenia.

French graffitist and clubster André Saraiva has set up shop inside Half Gallery for his first solo New York exhibition, having also shown at Colette, Palais de Tokyo, and Air de Paris. Bright yellow French letter boxes tagged with Saraiva’s signature “Mr. A” smiling face line one wall, love letters and colorful drawings cover the other in a loose salon style. The letter boxes were first painted in the streets of Paris—from whence they were shipped—with the artist making a few re-touches to the six boxes chosen for the New York show; Saraiva had attempted to paint every box he could there. The letters are “a somewhat anachronistic celebration of communication so closely tied to the romantic,” says the press release; watercolors of nostalgic letters impart the artist’s poetic side, some quoting Jacques Prévert or Henry Miller. Alternatively, dollar bill-based works elicit sex more graphically, one scripted, “In Pussy We Trust,” replacing George Washington’s center placement accordingly. Art Observed was fortunate enough to speak with Saraiva and gallerist Bill Powers in the following interview before the small Forsyth Street gallery earned a waiting line outside, Powers forced to turn away an additional news crew for lack of arm room.

(more…)

All images courtesy Maccarone Gallery.

Currently on view at Maccarone New York is Hanna Liden‘s “Out of My Mind, Back in 5 Minutes.” The installation includes three photographs and several sculptures made from plastic shopping bags, t-shirts, and garbage bags. These items are stacked and filled with poured plaster or covered with latex, rendering them heavy and useless.

Loaded with references to memento mori and tribal customs, this process-based work transforms markers of the ephemerality and mundaneness of city life. It offers what the exhibition’s press release calls “a meditation on urbanity […] The result is a gallery space turned reliquary, containing the ghosts of an urban tribe now obsolete.”

More images and text after the jump… (more…)

George Condo, Homeless Harlequins (2004). Via New Museum

Over eighty paintings and sculptures fill two floors of the New Museum with a survey of George Condo’s work from the past thirty years, the opening drawing celebrities like Marc Jacobs and Kanye West, for whom Condo recently painted an album cover. The characters in Condo’s portraits maintain a human quality despite their oversized ears and exaggerated expressions. He attributes his ability to draw up absurd yet empathetic portraits to his mimicry of classic techniques—careful color choice, appropriate brush strokes. Through his impeccable technique, he has gained a follower: Eneas Capalbo is marking his tenth year of copying Condo’s work. His exhibit, a token of how much he admires the artist’s work, opened at the Half Gallery the same day as Condo’s.

Installation view. Via New York Times

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Art Observed was on site Tuesday, August 24th for the opening of Miles Mendenhall’s solo show at Half Gallery. The exhibition is the product of Mendenhall’s first off-screen collaboration with ‘Work of Art’ judge and Half Gallery co-owner Bill Powers.

On view are eight new works that echo the artist’s black-and-white screenprints from the Bravo show’s finale. His large-scale manipulations of digital imagery feature luminous geometric patterns, which reflect the artist’s enduring fascination with technology and, in particular, “the computer’s inability to compute certain visual information.” For more on Miles work in this exhibition and his artistic practice, watch the exclusive AO interview with the artist and Half Gallery owner Bill Powers.

Miles Mendenhall, Half Gallery

more images, story and links after the jump…

(more…)

Half Gallery, opening reception. Image by ArtObserved.

AO was on site June 8th for the opening of “A Ways A Way,” the new exhibition at Half Gallery.  Curated by Meredith Darrow and Devendra Banhart, A Ways A Way offers synoptic views of work by artists Scott Campbell, William Eadon, Kevin Long, Megan Marrin, Keegan McHargue, Fabrizio Moretti, Angeline Rivas, Adam Tullie, and Banhart himself.  Coming from various corners of the artistic field, these men and women form a motley roster of familiar names: in addition to be being creators of fine art, Campbell is a renowned tattoo artist, Eadon is a deisgner, Long skateboards and plays guitar, Moretti is the drummer for The Strokes and Little Joy, Rivas and Tullie co-own Cavern Collection, Banhart is a singer-songwriter, Marrin works in mixed-media, and McHargue choreographs.  In attendance last night were Cynthia Rowley, Kathy Grayson, and a repletion of artists, gallerists, friends, and passerby.  Viewers spilled jocundly onto the surrounding sidewalk, chatting and enjoying a lovely night outside of the diminutive, buzzing gallery.

Anonymous Portrait, Fabrizio Moretti, 2010. Image by Oskar Proctor for ArtObserved.

Text, images, words form the artists, and an interview after the jump…
(more…)