Is That All There Is?
As you all may have noticed the end of the world didnt happen last year.In the anticlimax of this none apocalypse I have curated a night of artists’ films at Import Projects in Berlin this Friday at 8pm. Artists included are Robert Boyd, Chris Dorland, Benedict Drew, Myles Painter, David Blandy and Ian James Marshall (pictured above). All details of the night are here.
Mike Nelson
Mike Nelson is one of those artists that make me get chills. I was very lucky to have interviewed him a couple of years ago for Dazed when he was installing at Camden Arts Centre.
His latest show at Matts Gallery is incredible. You’re only allowed in a certain number at time. Instead of a warren of rooms or an installation, Nelson has created a space filled with odd anthropomorphic sculptures. Odd pieces made from plaster, concrete, sleeping bags, vintage badges, chicken wire, pitchforms. The result is incredible and deeply atmospheric. One of those shows so worth making the pilgrimage to.
Sterling Ruby R & D
One of my favourite artists, Sterling Ruby, has an incredible tumblr esque section on his website which blew me away yesterday. The R&D (research and development) pages brings together some really odd and interesting visual references – from breeze blocks to body builders to scratched graffiti. These three below are a few of my favourites. Ruby also has an incredible monograph out now published by JRP Ringier.
Mike Kelley RIP by Taylor McKimens
Tom Sanford has curated a show (to coincide with his own solo) at Bravin Lee of artists doing portraits of important figures who have died this year. Taylor Mckimens‘ portrait of Mike Kelley blew me away. The PV is NYE 6-9pm for those New Yorkers who fancy some art to bring in the new year.
Scott King’s Philosophy Tea Towels
Scott King is a bit of a creative genius. The artist’s latest edition is a set of six rare or previously unseen quotes by the 20th Century’s philosopher-writers from Marshall McLuhan to Noam Chomsky.
The limited edition of 200 is printed in fluorescent orange on to 51 x 76cm, 100% cotton and presented in a 630gsm archival box. £100 for a set. Please contact: info@scottking.co.uk
2012 Top Ten
I admit I love an end of year list. My top ten art shows of the year can be seen at my own blog here but I thought I’d do a musical equivalent up here
1 Schoolboy Q ‘Habits and Contradictions’ (too many good songs to choose one)
watch?v=JvklxpQ3XmU
2 Kendrick Lamarr / Dr Dre ‘The Recipe’
watch?v=YpugK0RpEaU
3 Darq E Freaker/Danny Brown ‘Blueberry’
watch?v=B-92qAjbGDo
4 Chrome Sparks ‘Marujana’
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5 Fatima al Qadiri ‘Hip Hop Spa’ (this was released end of 2011 but the remix was out 2012… and I put the work in E-Vapor-8 in May so it counts)
watch?v=VsbG4pXrhr8
6 The Weeknd ‘What You Need’ (OK officially already out but letting it slide as part of Trilogy)
watch?v=RZvgwoT7z1g
7 Frank Ocean ‘Thinking About You’
watch?v=F15IjgyHd60
8 The Internet ‘Give It Time’
watch?v=xxj_JrmMGSI
9 Total Freedom ‘Dark Hearts With Sasha’s Song Told’
watch?v=QHqPLEL5GD8
10 Toto ‘Georgy Porgy’ – not from 2012 at all but I cant stop listening to it this year so why the hell not
watch?v=O6FvqkZkIMo
Image: Untitled (2012) Seana Gavin
Bronze Bronze Bronze
I can’t stop going to see this exhibition. I’ve been twice already and I think a third time is on the horizon. The Bronze show at the Royal Academy in London is so good, so well lit, so physical, so stomach tingling that I could almost forget about contemporary art (for a minute). The catalogue however is rubbish and its almost impossible to find a half decent photo online. The real thrill and drama is seeing these bronze objects from Africa to Rome, the Renaissance to Rodin to Brancusi. Yes everyone around you at this show is the average age of 70 but dont let that put you off. Bronze if obviously the materials of the Gods.
Image credits: (1) Dancing Satyr, 4th-century BCE, found in 1998 off the coast of Sicily. Museo del Satiro, Church of Sant’Egidio, Mazara del Vallo/Photo Sicily, Regione Siciliana – Assessorato Regionale dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana – Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana – Servizio Museo interdisciplinare Regionale “A. Pepoli” Trapani/© 2012/Photo Scala, Florence; (2) Benvenuto Cellini ‘Perseus and Medusa’ (3) Giovanfrancesco Rustici’s The Pharisee, St John the Baptist and The Levite from The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist, 1511, f
Valeria Napoleone’s Exquisite Recipes
Valeria Napoleone’s Catalogue of Exquisite Recipes is a book I’ve been anticipated for a long time partly due to Valeria’s own incredible personality. She is one of the foremost art collectors in London and specialises in collecting work by women. Completely down to earth, Napoleone is known for throwing dinners for artists and hangers on like me, where she cooks for everyone herself.
She has put together this stunning hardback collection of tasty as hell recipes and food themed artworks (with profits going to charity) over the past few years, with texts by Frieze’s Jenniger Higgie and restauranteur Mark Hix as well as images by Goshka Macuga (pictured below), Linder and Pae White. Essentially the best Christmas slash birthday present for food loving art lovers I have ever seen.
Aaron Moulton
Aaron Moulton is an incredible curator. He is one of the editors of AGMA, ran his own brilliant space Feinkost in Berlin Feinkost and is now Senior Curator at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. Working in Salt Lack City isnt exactly something that brings to mind cutting edge creative experimentation, but Moulton is doing amazing work. A case in point is this incredible show he curated in the middle of nowhere
Watch documentation here and be sure to read the concept below. Aaron also curated an in magazine exhibition for issue V of Twin magazine.
