Brendan Lynch, Not Quite Spring (2015), via Art Observed

The Still House Group has always presented something of the enigmatic in their works and performances, lifting objects and materials directly from the quotidian landscapes of modernity and refashioning them as something of a compositional element, or a compositional subject in their own right.  Take Brendan Lynch for example, the young painter whose work has embraced slurs and gobs of paint, concrete, and plastic water bottles as elements for surreal installations.  A certain commodity element dominates Lynch’s work, blended in with a certain material fascination with surfaces and textures. (more…)

Nam June Paik, Reclining Buddha (1994), via Art Observed

Nam June Paik’s ongoing retrospective, Becoming Robot at the Asia Society is considerably minimal in execution.  The exhibition takes up only a few small rooms in the uptown museum, including a full room dedicated to his (color feedback work) and another dedicated to his continued collaborations with cellist Charlotte Moorman.  But the selection of works on view make up for their spare arrangement with their depth and multi-textual possibilities, not to mention their strong correlations to the tech-centered art of the present day. (more…)

BBC 4 has launched a series of new station identifiers, created by British artists.  The short clips include work by 2013 Turner Prize winner Laure Prouvost, 2014 Turner Prize nominee James Richards, film-maker John Smith, and Sebastian Buerkner, and follow a perceived attempt at the BBC to embrace more arts-minded programming and content. (more…)

BBC Two has commissioned a feature-length documentary on the life and work of David Hockney, focusing on the life and work of the iconic British painter.  HOCKNEY, as it has been titled, will air next year, and will be made by the same filmmaking team behind the popular Lucian Freud: Painted Life.  “David Hockney stands as one of Britain’s seminal and most important artists, and I’m delighted to be showing this major film on him on BBC Two,”  says BBC Two Controller Kim Shillinglaw:  Arts on BBC Two is all about bringing the biggest and best documentaries to the broadest of audiences, and I know this film will be a riveting and inspiring watch.” (more…)

Dealer David Zwirner was on Charlie Rose this past week, discussing the current state of the art market, the “philosophy” behind the artists that he chooses to work with, and his taste in minimalism.  “Minimalism brought modernism to its natural conclusion,” he says. “The intellectual rigor of bringing a work to its logical consequence, and trying to find the pure, absolute form is very appealing to anyone in my position.” (more…)

The first episode of Ambiance Man, a project by artist Alix Lambert for MocaTV, has gone up on the Museum’s YouTube page, starring Fred Armisen as the titular superhero, with Jack Black and Jibz Cameron taking on the role of his nemeses “Unidentified Odor” and “Buzz Kill.” (more…)

Drawing on a long history of interplay between contemporary art and comedy, MOCA’s online television station, MOCA.Tv has announced Ambiance Man, a new comedy series that will air on the channel, featuring appearances by Fred Armisen, Jack Black, and Jibz Cameron.  “Ambiance Man is a series about a super hero who fixes what we really need fixed in our day-to-day lives. While most super heroes are focused on preventing the end of the world, Ambiance Man is focused on transforming the moments that feel like the end of the world.”  Says creator Alix Lambert. (more…)

Erika Vogt, Stranger Debris Roll Roll Roll (2013), Courtesy New Museum, New York Photo: Benoit Pailley

The back room in the New Museum lobby is currently draped with hanging anchors, plaster molds,  and other myriad items, a bizarre assemblage of pieces and materials that forces visitors to duck their heads and tread cautiously as they move through the narrow room.  This installation, newly created for the museum by artist Erika Vogt, is Stranger Debris Roll Roll Roll, a surreal video and sculptural piece that playfully toys with the raw materialism of the works on view.

Erika Vogt, Stranger Debris Roll Roll Roll (2013), Courtesy New Museum, New York Photo: Benoit Pailley (more…)

German television station ikono has announced a 3 week, 24/7 video art festival, streaming on their channel and online next month.  The On Air Art Festival will begin September 6th, and will feature work by Bill Viola, Alfredo Jaar, William Kentridge, and A.K. Dolven, among others.  “I thought why not achieve for the arts with TV as radio has been achieving for music? Why not use this mass medium for bringing the entire world of arts into the homes of an international public? ” Says station founder Elizabeth Markevitch. (more…)

For the launch of Lily Cole’s television show Art Matters, on British television channel Sky Arts, the actress and model will interview sculptor Antony Gormley, visiting his studio as well as traveling to the location of some of his most famous public works.  The show will also feature a selection of interviews with curators and critics on Gormley’s practice. (more…)