Kembra Pfahler installation at Participant (2012). All photos by Ryann Donnelly for Art Observed

On view through October 14 at Participant Inc. gallery in New York City’s Lower East Side is a new solo show from multi-media artist and performer, Kembra Pfahler. The sculptural objects included in the show are inspired a new song by Pfahler’s rock band, The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black.

Opening at Participant Inc., New York City (more…)

Desi Santiago’s mass 2 (2012), image: Aniko Berman for Art Observed

On Saturday, July 28th, the Watermill Center hosted The Big Bang, its 19th Annual Summer Benefit. Held on the performance art center’s expansive Southampton grounds, the event commenced with cocktails for over 1,200 guests, all of whom were invited to explore over twenty site-specific performances and installations scattered throughout the center’s indoor and outdoor spaces, as well as to bid in a silent auction featuring works by Marina Abramovic, Sandro Chia, Shirin Neshat, Dennis Oppenheim, Terry Richardson, Will Ryman, Spencer Tunick, and Aaron Young, among others. A tented dinner for over 650 guests followed, including a live auction led by Simon de Pury, where works by artists such Michelangelo Pistoletto, Anselm Reyle, and Willem de Kooning were offered. Inclement weather threatened the evening, with unwelcome downpours impeding the guests’ ability to view the outdoor works. Nonetheless, the event raised more than $1.5 million for the center, which has actively promoted the creation and dissemination of performance art since its founding by leading “theater artist” Robert Wilson in 1992.

Guests in front of Paul McCarthy‘s Butt Plug (2012)

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T Magazine exposes the ‘punk, haute glam and horror’ blend that is the life of artist Kembra Pfahler, “I would rather do concerts in the parking lots of 7-11’s across the country than do a show at the Louvre.”

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Kembra Pfahler and Spencer Sweeney. All photos on site for Art Observed by Samuel Sveen.

E.V. Day and Kembra Pfahler have collaborated on a series of photographs in the French gardens of Claude Monet‘s Giverny estate, displaying the project within a thorough installation simulacrum thereof at The Hole Gallery in New York City. A pebble walkway through tulips and trees, around a lilly-padded pond complete with Monet’s famous Japanese bridge, guided the likes of Jeffrey Deitch, Terence Koh, Spencer Sweeney, Aurel Schmidt, and gallerist Kathy Grayson, among a full house Friday night. A clothed Pfahler—of the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black (see video)—had an unclothed red ‘Femlin’ in tow, the artist’s strong feminist creature originally inspired by a character of Playboy.com, which happened to fund the entire exhibition.

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Kathy Grayson mid-smooch. Image courtesy Taylor Derwin for Art Observed.

Currently on view at the new art outfit, The Hole, on 104 Greene St. in Soho is “Not Quite Open for Business.” The show, which opened to much hype last night, runs until August 21st. The Hole is run by former directors at the legendary and now-closed Deitch Projects, Kathy Grayson and Meghan Coleman, in collaboration with former Executive Director at Deitch Projects, Suzanne Geiss. With the gallant goal of filling a hole in the downtown community, they are off to a running start.

The first exhibition is called “Not Quite Open for Business,” a conceptual group show of unfinished art, unfinished poems, and unfinished symphonies. The installation is designed by Taylor McKimens and the show includes over twenty artists from the community.

Left: Ben Jones, Unfinished Video, 2010, single channel DVD, edition of 5. Right: Kunle, Vomit, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40 in.

More text, images, and an interview with Kathy Grayson after the jump…

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The First Annual Art Awards via Guggenheim.org

Last night, October 29, marked the inauguration of a new annual art event: Rob Pruitt presented The First Annual Art Awards at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New Yorkin association with the city’s oldest alternative art space, White Columns.

The awards were conceived by artist, Rob Pruitt, as a performance-based artwork; for the occasion he recruited the characters of Index Magazine’s wry satirical web series, Delusional Downtown Divas. The New York Times have reported that “…the Divas schemed to infiltrate the art establishment by any means possible. In one segment they pitched a tent in the Guggenheim, doing their laundry in the lobby fountain.”

Jeffrey Deitch and Kembra Pfahler at The First Annual Art Awards at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum via style.com

More images, text and related links after the jump….

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Dash Snow (co-author of NEST), Brian McPeck (of A.R.E. Weapons) and Kembra Pfahler (of The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black and author of Beautalism) at Santo’s Party House; photo taken by Bijoux Altamirano

Last Monday night, September 15th, AO was on site at Santo’s Party House for Deitch Projects’ book launch. Deitch Projects has released two new books, NEST by Dash Snow and Dan Colen and Beautalism by Kembra Pfahler. The celebration was kicked off by performances by The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, led by Kembra Pfahler, the author of Beautalism and frequent collaborator of Deitch projects, and a short set from TV Baby.

CURRENT READING: Nest: Dash Snow Dan Colen: Deitch Projects [The Imagist]
Nest and Beautalism Book Launch at Santos Party House [The World’s Best Ever]
Deitch projects book launch [ArtLoversNewYork]
Hint Tip: Deitch Projects [Hintmag]
Nest: July 26, 2007 to August 18, 2007 [Deitch Projects]
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black [MySpace]

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