News from Chet Zar:
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"We Are The Shadows"
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 10th, 2008 (8pm - 11pm)
May 10th, 2008 - May 31st, 2008
2525 Michigan Avenue T5. Santa Monica, CA 90404
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"Ugly American"
Opening Reception: Friday, June 13th, 2008
65 Hanbury Street, London E1 5JP
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MicroCoSM Gallery Press Release:
Fantastic Realism: Works By Robert Venosa
May 16 - June 18
Opening Reception: Friday, May 16, 6.30pm - 8pm
Exhibited worldwide, Venosa's art is included in major collections, including those of noted museums, rock stars and European aristocracy.
"Bravo Venosa! Dali is pleased to see spiritual madness painted with such a fine technique." - Salvador Dali
542 W27th St.
4th Floor
New York
NY 1000
Tue - Sat, 11am - 5pm
Right: 'Castor' - Robert Venosa - Oil on Canvas - 28 x 39 inches
‘Carnivora: The Dark Art of Automobiles’ from Barany Books
Themed art books can be a tough sell: where do they fit on the bookshelf? When more than one artist is represented, it gets hard to determine the best way to market such an animal: exploit the better known names? play up the variety? promise a new and unexpected treatment of a certain aspect of art? provide a unique insight into the 'post-romodern' life that we all inhabit?
'Carnivora: The Dark Art of Automobiles' on the new imprint Barany Books (more on that in a moment), does a very fine job of covering all the bases. The layout and design are flawless, and decidedly clever; it will appeal to the aesthetics of the visually inclined, as well as to the gearheads out there (which, apparently, has a great deal of cross-pollination). The look of the book is impressive: the cover is eye-catching and has a list of all contributors printed on the back. The sheer scope of the book - stated purpose of which is to explore our societal obsessive love and loathing with the modern chariot on a variety of fronts - is incredible, featuring not just masters of the recent past, such as H.R. Giger and Robert Williams, but also an amazing list of other established - as well as up and coming - artists between pieces of prose ruminating on the way cars have impacted everyday life.
Some of those ways, as the title implies, are not for the faint of heart…
The book is a companion piece to the C-Pop Gallery exhibit in Detroit of the same name, now moving on to Los Angeles, to L'Imagerie Gallery. Les Barany (the editor, and Giger's agent for some time now) has done a fine job in bringing together over 100 different artists and writers (and their perspectives) and creating a coherent, cohesive whole. A wide swath of different styles and techniques are represented: a cursory flip through the tome reveals cartoon, literature, photo-montage, sculpture, mixed-media, acrylic and oil painting and digital imaging, to name just a few. While some pieces work better than others, there is more than enough material to satisfy even the most discerning palette, be it a preference for modern, edgy, surreal imagery, dark landscapes or bizarre machine/human juxtapositions. There is a smattering of eroticism, but only a few true nudes; the sexual elements (perhaps wisely) are left more to the imagination - in the guise of some very good written memoirs - rather than presented in purely graphic terms.
Exceptional written works abound, and will ultimately change from person to person (or, for some folk, moment to moment), but a few are worth pointing out. Notable remembrances are on display from William Levy (intense and poignant), William F. Nolan (historical and wide-ranging), Steven Cerio (concise and quirky; he also contributed an interesting illustration), Rick Manore (thought-provoking), Carlo McCormick (pensive and introspective) and Daphne Graham (grueling and sad). Harlan Ellison is also accounted for, with his excellent short classic Along the Scenic Route.
The imagery, though, is where this volume shines, and there is no disappointing; it delivers on the questions postulated in the first paragraph of this review, and then some. Standouts include, in random order: Gregory Brotherton, Marshall Arisman, Zdzislaw Beksinski (middle right), D. Hwang, H.R. Giger (below right), Jason D'Aquino, Coop, Andre Lassen, Tanino Liberatore, Stanley Mouse, Robert Williams, J.K.Potter, Winston Smith, J.U. Abrahamson, Tomi Ungerer, Vincent Castiglia, Demetrios Vakras, Hugo Schuhmacher and Chet Zar. Remember, this is just the tip of a very large iceberg, but a helpful mini-biography section in the back places the contributors in good context, as well as offering the casual reader insight into their personalities, via the inclusion of their personal vehicles (or lack thereof!).
Overall, Carnivora has tremendous impact: whether the interest is cars, modern life, sexuality, death, consumerism, anecdotes about personal experiences or just awesome art, it’s hard to put down, and impossible to go wrong.
News from Brett Ingram of Bright Eye Pictures:
Bright Eye Pictures is thrilled to announce two new exclusive DVD releases for retail, wholesale, and institutional buyers. Just visit the store at our new website: www.brettingram.org
PROMETHEUS’ GARDEN (28 minutes, 1988) is the only film over which legendary stop-motion animator Bruce Bickford maintained complete creative control. Bright Eye Pictures is making PROMETHEUS’ GARDEN available to the public for the first time since its completion two decades ago. The DVD features a commentary track by Bickford, an alternate score by Shark Quest’s Laird Dixon, and the half hour documentary featurette, LUCK OF A FOGHORN: the Making of Bruce Bickford’s Prometheus’ Garden, directed by Brett Ingram.
Synopsis: Inspired by the Greek myth of Prometheus, a Titan who created the first mortals from clay and stole fire from the gods, Prometheus’ Garden immerses viewers in a cinematic universe unlike any other. The dark and magical images of this haunting film unfold in a dreamlike stream of consciousness revealing an unlikely cast of clay characters engaged in a violent struggle for survival. Enchanted forests, animated torture chambers, hamburgers that morph into mythical monsters, and epic battles between giants, fairies, and anachronistic historical figures populate just a small corner of Bickford’s animated universe. Like all Bickford films, Prometheus’ Garden defies description and simply must be experienced. In Clay Animation, film scholar Michael Frierson writes: “Bickford offers us a visionary landscape, a hallucinogenic retreat into magical settings where figure and ground may transform into the other at any moment, enchanted settings in which modern technocrats are easy villains and nature is under siege.” Bickford is an underground artist who has mystified animation critics and inspired generations of animators, while somehow eluding fame. He has been described as the world’s only “outsider artist” working in the medium of animation. He has been recognized as a “genius” by Frank Zappa and countless other iconoclasts. Under employment by Frank Zappa, Bickford relinquished creative control of his work (which was edited and scored by Zappa). Consequently, Prometheus’ Garden is Bickford’s most comprehensive and least compromised vision.
Best known for his collaborations with rock iconoclast Frank Zappa in the 1970s (THE DUB ROOM SPECIAL, BABY SNAKES, THE AMAZING MR. BICKFORD), underground animator Bruce Bickford has influenced generations of artists with his startlingly original vision.
What the critics are saying about PROMETHEUS’ GARDEN:
“Wildly imaginative and morbidly funny” - SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“Surreal, absurd and metaphorical” - ANIMATION MAGAZINE
“Psychedelic metamorphosis” - ANIMATION WORLD JOURNAL
We are also happy to announce the exclusive release of the new MONSTER ROAD “Collector’s Edition” DVD. This new version features a DVD-9 encode for superior image quality, plus the movie soundtrack by Shark Quest and 45 minutes of extras, including rare Bickford animation and deleted scenes from the documentary. MONSTER ROAD is a feature length documentary exploring the wildly fantastic worlds of legendary animator Bruce Bickford. Tracing the origins of Bickford’s iconoclastic worldview, the film journeys back to Bickford's childhood in a competitive household during the paranoia of the Cold War and examines his relationship with his father, George, who is facing the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. MONSTER ROAD was directed by Brett Ingram. MONSTER ROAD won “Best Documentary” at the 2004 Slamdance Film Festival, eventually screening at more than 90 festivals around the world and winning sixteen awards, before premiering on Sundance Channel in 2005.
Joshua Liner Gallery's Inaugural Group Exhibition, "Locked and Loaded", is now open. The show runs from the 12th of April through until the 5th of May. The exhibition features artwork by Shawn Barber, Crash One, Mike Davis, Ron English, Jeremy Fish, Blaine Fontana, Futura, Robert Hardgrave, Naoto Hattori, Kenji Hirata, Zach Johnsen, Jessica Joslin, Josh Keyes, Koralie, Kris Kuksi, David Choong Lee, Travis Louie, Tomokazu Matsuyama, Chris Mendoza, Aiko Nakagawa, Pat Rocha, Greg "Craola" Simkins, Damon Soule, Stash, Heidi Taillefer, Ben Tour, Mark Dean Veca, and Oliver Vernon.
A selection of work from the exhibition is now available to view online.
Joshua Liner Gallery, 548 W. 28th Street, Suite 334, New York NY 10001
News from Ron English:
"Abject Expressionism" by Ron English (hardcover, colour, 184 pages)Published by Last Gasp
"Abject Expressionism is a comprehensive survey covering 20 years' of English's career, from staged photography to neo-Surrealist oil paintings to street art."
"Son Of Pop - Ron English Paints His Progeny" by Ron English and Justin Garcia (hardcover, colour, 98 pages)Published by 9mm Books
"Son Of Pop …showcases the source of his own artistic inspiration being his 2 children Mars and Zephyr English. Ron English’s progeny have starred in over 100 of Ron’s funniest and most satirical paintings from clowns to kiss kids, and super heroes to cartoon characters."
Comes with a CD of Songs sung by Ron English and his son Mars and daughter Zephyr English.
News from Siegfried Zademack:
Siegfried Zademack's solo exhibition will run from April 20th until May 12th, 2008, at Kulturhof Heyerhofen. Twenty-nine paintings from four decades will be shown at the exhibition. The opening reception will be held on April the 12th.
Visit Zademack's site for his online catalogue.
Kulturhof Heyerhofen
Heerstedter Muhlenweg 13
27616 Beverstedt (near Bremen)
Germany
News from Jessica Joslin:
"Curiosa"
Opening Reception: April 3, 2008, 7-9pm
Lisa Sette Gallery
April 5, 2008
4142 N Marshall Way
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Book signing for new book Strange Nature: April 5, 1-3pm
Hardbound, 152pp., 140 full-color plates
Exhibition now online at Lisa Sette Gallery
News from Les Barany:
Carnivora - The Dark Art of Automobiles: May 3 - June 14, 2008
Grand Opening Reception: Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 7pm
L’Imagerie Gallery, 10555 Victory Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91606
L’Imagerie Gallery proudly invites you to join in celebrating its inaugural exhibition at its spacious new location with a gala star-studded grand opening reception. The LA presentation of this incredible sampling of the world’s most notorious artistic renegades coincides with the official publication release of the book. L’Imagerie will have on hand for sale the first exclusive West Coast copies of the edition, a truly significant chronicle and commentary on arguably the most critically defining icon of modern civilization.
In addition to the 62 artists exhibited at Detroit’s C-POP Gallery, Carnivora book artists Eduard Anikonov, Steve Cerio, Chris Conte, Cam deLeon, Mike Diana, Brian Horton, Travis Louie, Eric Joyner, Craig LaRotonda, Shag, Greg “Stainboy” Reinel, Jeral Tidwell, Keith Weesner, and Robert Williams will join the exhibit at L’Imagerie Gallery, plus new original works are being produced for the show by Guy Aitchison, William B. Hand (above right), David Trulli, Brian Viveros and Kenneth Williams. Four excellent artists who came to our attention after the book went to press are creating new Carnivora paintings for the L’Imagerie Gallery exhibition: Ken Keirns, Chris Peters, Bart Powers and Charles Wish.
Below right: D. Hwang - GS-02 Large, 2007 - Fabricated steel
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