Contemporary Art: Sterling Ruby @ Gagosian, New York

(Drivebycuriosity) - Sterling Ruby is one of the super stars in the contemporary art scene. According to Wikipedia his work reflects "diverse range of sources and influences including aberrant psychologies (particularly schizophrenia and paranoia), urban gangs and graffiti, hip-hop culture, craft, punk, masculinity, violence, public art, prisons, globalization, American domination and decline, waste and consumption" (wikipedia).

Anyway,  I like the roughness and the generous use of colors. Gagosian, a global art seller empire, has now a show with new works by the Los Angeles based artist (through April 15, 2017 @ 980 Madison Avenue, New York   gagosian). I liked the exhibited paintings & sculptures, even that I think that his wall filling murals, which I have seen 2014 @ Hauser & Wirth in Manhattan (here my report driveby ), are more powerful & impressive. I display here my favorites from this show, a very subjective selection as usual.

On top of this post you can see "Crux.Yell" (2016, Acrylic, oil, elastic and fabric on canvas, 57 × 43 1/2 inches (144.8 × 110.5 cm).

Above more paintings which reflect his powerful style.

Above this paragraph you can see "Hot Flat Light" (2017, Acrylic, oil, elastic and cardboard on canvas 57 × 43 1/2 inches (144.8 × 110.5 cm) followed by "Engulfed Corolla" (2017, Acrylic, oil, elastic and cardboard on canvas, 57 × 43 1/2 inches (144.8 × 110.5 cm) & "BL. RGB"  (2016, Acrylic, oil, and treated fabric on canvas, 24 × 19 1/2 inches (61 × 48.3 cm).

Above some of his sculptures including "Basin Theology/ Sacrum/Sacral"  (2017, Ceramic, 20 × 66 × 43 inches (50.8 × 167.6 × 109.2 cm).

Enjoy!

Books: Grain Of Truth By Zygmunt Miloszewski

(Drivebycuriosity) - Do you like crime novels? Then you might enjoy the "Teodor Szacki" series by the Polish author Zygmunt Miloszewski. There are 3 novels available in English translation which have all seperate plots. The books are set in Poland and describe murder investigations conducted by the prosecutor "Szacki". The author follows the tradition of Scandinavian thrillers which combine political & social issues with thrilling plots, often very sinister, but Miloszewski has an unique approach.

I just finished reading "Grain of Truth", number 2 of the series (amazon). It is again an who-dunnit-story (this is a spoiler free blog). I enjoyed the elaborate & pivoting (sorry the German word "fintenreich" does not exist in English) plot which reminded me of the British classics in combination with Miloszewdki´s psychological insights & his sarcastic remarks about society, sex, history, architecture, politics & more.

"Grain of Truth" shows that crime novels can entertain and be intelligent and intellectual satisfying as well. 

Contemporary Art: Antoni Tàpies @ Nahmad Contemporary New York

(Drivebycuriosity) - I like Antoni Tàpies. The Spanish painter, sculptor and art theorist (1923-2012) created elegant & unique compositions by using basic materials.  I discovered his works while visiting his hometown Barcelona (here my post driveby ). The gallery Nahmad Contemporary on New York`s Upper East Side ( 980 Madison Avenue nahmad) has now a show with his paintings from 1970 - 2003 (through April 22, 2017 ). I present here my favorites from this exhibition, a very subjective selection as usual.





                                                  Marble Dust, Sand & Cement

On top of this post you can see "Escuma i fustes/Foam and Wood" (1986, Foam, twine, and mixed media on wood panel) followed by "Matèria-Base/Bae-Matter" (1995, marble dust and paint on wood panel); "Ovals i Objectes/oval Objects" (Oil, sand, and mixed media on wood panel) & "Negre amb Escuma/Black with Foam" (1987, Oil on canvas and oil and mixed media on wood Panel).

Above follow "Jo Parlo amb la Mà/I Speak to the Hand" (1999, Oil and sand on wood panel); "Manchas Negra y Flechas/Black Mark and Arrow" (1976, Acrylic on woolen blanket laid down on canvas) & "Mà sobre Terra/Hand on Earth" (2000, Wicker, oil, sand and cement on wood panel).


 

Enjoy!

Technology: Welcome To The New World Of Medicine - Impressions From Interphex 2017 New York

(Drivebycuriosity) - The world of medicine is changing fast, driven by new technologies.  This week my wife and I visited Interphex 2017, an expo & conference which showed the latest development & manufacturing technologies for the pharmaceutical & biotechnological industry (interphex). The organizers had amassed more than 800 exhibitors in Manhattan´s huge Javis Center I believe. The show was - as one exhibitor put it  - "seasoned by science and fueled by curiosity". 

The vast exhibition looked like the set of a science fiction movie, a certainly non-dystopian version. We could see a lot of robots and other machines & structures. I am an economist and no expert in medical technologies, but I was fascinated by the exhibits. Many had a beauty of their own.

My favorite robot was the Festo Aqua Jelly (festo.com) exhibited by the German company Festo. The device is "an artificial autonomous jellyfish in water, a self-controlling system which emulates swarming behaviour". Like their natural model, the AquaJellies glide elegantly and seemingly effortlessly through the water". According to their website "Festo is visualizing potential and ideas of how efficient systems in the field of water technology may look in the future".










                                                               Levitating Freely

The booth of Levitronix (levitronix) impressed me as well. They call themselves" the worldwide leader in magnetically levitated Bearingless Motor technology, specializing in supplying medical blood pumps to the medical community and ultra-pure fluid handling devices for Microelectronics, Life Science and Industrial applications". Above you can see a metal ball just trapped by magnetic powers -  seemingly levitating freely in the air.

Many exhibits looks like some avantgardist sculptures & installations you can find in art galleries and in places like New York`s New Museum. The dryer by FluidAir is really an eye catcher and seems to be very useful (fluidairinc).

Some of the devices blend shiny elegance with sheer power.

Others fascinated by their filigree structures like sophisticated watches. Above vacuum systems by Symex (symex.de) & sensors by sensors by Crane (cranecpe).





                                         A Glance Into A Spaceship?

I have no idea what this machines are doing but they look like they are imported from the future

Some areas of the huge exhibition looked like a glance into a spaceship.

Welcome to the new world of medicine!

Contemporary Art: Mark Tansey`s Reverb @ Gagosian, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Mark Tansey is one of my favorite artists. I admire how he mixes reality with fiction and plays surrealist games on canvas. Gagosian, a global art seller empire, has now an exhibition almost exclusively for a new work by this artist. On Manhattan 821 Park Avenue, just a small room on the ground floor, they display his painting "Reverb" (2017, oil on canvas, 84 × 60 inches unframed (213.4 × 152.4 cm). The show runs through March 25, 2017 (gagosian). 

 

According to the press release is "each of Tansey's paintings a visual and metaphorical adventure in the nature and implications of perception, meaning, and interpretation in art" (mark-tansey).

 

From the press release:
"At the center of a composition, a man and a woman in evening dress stand before a wall of framed pictures, engaged in conversation. The woman, reflected in a mirror, gazes out at the viewer while the man gestures towards her. In the images on the walls, drawn from magazines and newspapers, cultural icons—Woody Allen, Diana Vreeland, Marilyn Monroe, Groucho Marx, and many others—are seen, making similarly conversational and theatrical gestures. The frames recede, morphing into the swooping lines of diagrams drawn by physicist Richard Feynman. The diagrams, which describe the mathematical relationships of subatomic particles, speak to the connections that Tansey has set up between his principal figures".


As a bonus there also is table-like sculpture, called "Wheel": "Three concentric wooden circles rotate independently of one another. On top of each circle, he engraved a myriad of phrases such as “ideological butterflies” or “the archive.” As the circles rotate, phrases align in different combinations, producing statements to be translated into imagery".


Enjoy!


PS If you want to see more works by this great artist you might visit the Broad in Los Angeles which has a nice Tansey collection (here my report driveby).

Street Art New York: A Documentary - Winter 2016/17 Edition

(Drivebycuriosity) - Finally the winter comes to an end. It seems that the chilly season slowed down the New York street art scene. On my hikes in southern Manhattan I discovered fewer new murals & stickers as usual. But anyway, here is my harvest from the recent months.

Above you can see images from the famous graffiti wall on Bowery & Houston Street. The mural is a creation by the Spanish artist duo PichiAvo & commissioned by the real estate owner Goldman Properties.

I spotted the mural above on the wall of rag & bone at the corner of Elizabeth & Houston. This fashion shop impresses with frequently changing art work of high quality.

I discovered this one on Orchard Street between Delancey & Broome Street. There is another place for spotting funny street art, commissioned by another fashion shop.

There also were some nice shutter door illustrations and stencils.


In order to compensate for the meager yield below some favorites from last year:

To be continued.