Kenny Scharf, Americana (2012). All photos courtesy Honor Fraser.

Hodgepodge aptly describes the nature of Kenny Scharf’s current solo exhibition, on view now at Honor Fraser.  Since the 1980s, Scharf has created realms of fantasy fueled by his fascination with television, nature, and outer space that are manifested in all of his work. Hodgepodge is thoroughly imbued with this funfair, while the critical undertones that are present in all of his paintings seep closer to the surface.

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KAWS, Untitled (HTLD2) (2011). All images on site for Art Observed by Megan Hoetger.

Amid a crowded fall season in Los Angeles, Honor Fraser hosts “Hold the Line,” the newest show of works by New-York based media and urban culture phenomenon KAWS. Dubbed an “art entrepreneur,” Brian Donnelly, a.k.a. KAWS, has created an industry around his troupe of animated characters.

KAWS, Companion (2011).

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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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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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Her Daddy’s Money and Her Momma’s Good Looks, Rosson Crow (2009). Via Honor Fraser

The summer show ‘Bitch Is The New Black’ at Honor Fraser, Los Angeles will continue until August 29th. Curated by a former editor at ArtReview, Emma Gray, the exhibition showcases the work of 14 local female artists.

Thematically, the exhibition was inspired by the Anne Sexton poem, “Consorting with Angels”. The title comes from an altogether different source; a snippet of dialogue broadcast on Saturday Night Live during the 2008 Presidential Election. During the aforementioned sketch, Tina Fey celebrated the idea of a woman president as a “bitch” by reasoning that “bitches get things done“.

Untitled, Catherine Opie (1993). Via Honor Fraser

RELATED LINKS:
Honor Fraser Homepage [HonorFraser.com]
‘Bitch Is The New Black’ exhibition page [HonorFraser.com]
Consorting with Angels by Anne Sexton [Google Books]
Art Review: “The New Black” at Honor Fraser [Los Angeles Times]

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The Long Way Home the show’s title work by KAWS via Honor Fraser.

Now on display at Honor Fraser Gallery in Los Angeles is street artist KAWS’ solo show The Long Way Home. The show marks the artist’s first solo show in Los Angeles and follows previous solo shows at Gering and Lopez in New York City and Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin in Miami. On display are both paintings and sculptures that re-contextualize familiar pop culture. Paintings that feature the Smurfs and SpongeBob SquarePants are displayed along with sculptural works that resemble the Michelin Man and bronze casts of the artists head in a number of colors. Unique to this show are several new acrylic works that are encased in plastic packaging. KAWS began his work as a graffiti artist in Jersey City, New Jersey in the 1990’s defacing billboards, freight trains, and water towers and has recently expressed surprise at his own success in the gallery world. “When I grew up, I never thought I could enter a gallery,” KAWS stated in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, “I looked at them as these pretentious places that did not welcome me.” KAWS gallery achievement follows the artist’s commercial success with both his own line OriginalFake, and a number of collaborative efforts including work with Marc Jacobs, A Bathing Ape, and most recently KAWS worked with Kayne West to create the cover art for the hip-hop artist’s most recent album.

Press Release [Honor Fraser]
Tag, this artist is definitely it [LA Times]
KAWS documentary airs on CBS [Supertouch]
KAWS’ “The Long Way Home” at Honor Fraser Gallery [Supertouch]

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New York Stock Exchange After Bond Rally 1919 (2006) by Rosson Crow, currently on display at the White Cube Gallery, Hoxton Square, London; picture via White Cube

Rosson Crow’s ‘Texas Crude,’ which explores themes from American history and myth, is on display at Jay Jopling’s White Cube Gallery in London through February 21st, 2009.

Crow’s paintings depict locations set during historical periods or evocative of culturally significant events, devoid of people yet retaining vestiges of their presence–or rather, theatrical vestiges of their most Dionysian, excessive behavior. The settings tend to be large rooms at bars, hotels, or theatres, painted on a scale that inserts the viewer into the space.

‘Texas Crude’ continues in the vein of her previous works, with the titles of the paintings serving as a guide to their contents: ‘Wildcatting in Paradise’ serving as an exploration of the early days of Texas oil prospecting and its impact on the physical and economic landscape of Crow’s home state, while ‘New York Stock Exchange after Bond Rally 1919’ conjures the moment between the end of World War I and the Roaring 20s. Similarly, ‘Lincoln’s Funeral’ references the death and assassination of the President; a somber hearse carriage is the background to an explosive palette of red, white and muted blackish blue found in flowers and ribbons intersecting the painting. Crow’s style incorporates a wide array of influences, from Impressionism to Las Vegas to Baroque interior design.  The paintings in this show, like her oeuvre as a whole, reflect these influences and inspirations while tying them together in a very unlikely fashion, creating a very original and unmistakable aesthetic.

Crow, who graduated from Yale’s MFA program just over two years ago, and being born in 1982 is relatively young amongst those represented by the gallery,  is showing at White Cube for the first time.  Crow is also represented by Honor Fraser in California and CANADA in New York.  The artist, who was born in Texas, currently resides in California.

TEXAS CRUDE
by Rosson Crow on display through Feb 21, 2009
White Cube Gallery
48 Hoxton Square
London, England

Exhibition page: Texas Crude
Artist page: Rosson Crow

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