News

Gary Taxali Retrospective on Hi-Fructose

Posted on by Mike

Artist Gary Taxali’s First Retrospective Gallery Exhibition in Canada

Gary Taxali poses in front of his artwork, on view at Design on Riverside in Canada.

For Canada’s foremost ‘pop artist’ Gary Taxali (first featured in HF Vol. 4), the artist’s first major retrospective exhibition in Ontario was a long time coming. Currently on view at Design on Riverside, “Here and Now: The Art of Gary Taxali” features hundreds of Taxali’s personal and professional works over the years in a salon-style presentation of paintings, toys and objects, and assemblages of his most popular prints. The artist is recognized worldwide for his tinted illustrations of cartoon characters and vintage-inspired typography, which have appeared in the likes of New York Times, GQ, and Rolling Stone. His art has even appeared on Canadian currency. Taxali has a particular penchant for Depression-era graphics, which he implements to comment on the flaws of the human condition and contemporary culture. Viewers can learn more about his process in the short documentary film “Gary Taxali: The Art of Whimsy” which is also featured in the exhibition. It’s his conceptual approach that sets Taxali apart from commercial illustration and where the line starts to blur into fine art. Blurring the lines, Taxali says, is a conscious decision that comes from doing purely what he loves. Take a look at more photos from the installation below, courtesy of the artist.

“Here and Now: The Art of Gary Taxali” is now on view at Idea Exchange, Design at Riverside through September 20, 2015.

http://hifructose.com/2015/07/21/artist-gary-taxalis-first-public-gallery-exhibition-in-canada/

 

 

 

 

 

 

JLG Now Accepting Dash Payments

Posted on by Mike

Jonathan Levine Gallery Now Accepting Dash Payments 

Jonathan Levine Gallery, one of the more prestigious art galleries in New York City, is now accepting cryptocurrency payments in the form of Dash (Digital Cash). The choice for digital currency payments was made due to their instantaneous transactions and ease-of-use, compared to dealing with cash payments or bank transfers.

Jonathan Levine Gallery – Dedicated To The Avantgarde

The name Jonathan Levine Gallery is renowned in the New York area, as underground art with a unique counterculture point of view takes center stage at this location. Jonathan Levine, the man himself, has made quite a name for himself over the past two decades. His legacy began to take shape ever since he started independently curating exhibitions at alternative and punk rock venues in both New Jersey and New York.

Business in New York picked up since 2005 when Street Art and Pop Surrealism found a home at Jonathan Levine Gallery. Fast Forward to today and over 300 artists have worked with this art gallery, which has always remained true to its mission presenting the New York art market with an alternative viewpoint.

The acceptance of Dash, a popular alternative digital currency to Bitcoin, has been made possible by Node40. Now that the infrastructure necessary to send and receive money instantaneously around the world has been provided by Node 40, Jonathan Levine Gallery can now accept Dash payments for any and all of the artworks present on their premises.

Node40 is the premier Dash cryptocurrency service provider in the world. Originally founded by Perry Woodin, Node40 removes the entry barriers to accepting cryptocurrency payments in the form of Dash. Additionally, Node40 allows its customers to turn their Dash investment into a revenue stream.

Dash operates in a similar fashion to traditional online banking, as the coins are stored in a digital wallet and transferred in true peer-to-peer fashion with no middleman involved. As a result, transactions are subject to miniscule, or no fees, funds can not be frozen during the process and there are no arbitrary limits in place.

Jonathan Levine Gallery can guarantee customer anonymity due to Dash’s privacy-centric structure. Similar to cash payments, only the people involved will know the transaction ever took place. On top of that, Dash can easily be converted to Bitcoin, the leading and most popular digital currency in existence.

Source: DashPay Blog

http://insidebitcoins.com/news/jonathan-levine-gallery-now-accepting-dash-payments/33674

 

 

Jonathan LeVine Gallery Now Accepts Dash (Digital Cash)

Posted on by Mike

Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to announce we will now accept Dash (Digital Cash), a cryptocurrency that allows for instantaneous transactions.

The cryptocurrency service provider Node40 assisted Jonathan LeVine Gallery in setting up Dash, allowing us to effortlessly send and receive money anywhere in the world. Using a system comparable to online banking, Dash is stored in a digital wallet and transferred directly from person to person without a middleman, meaning there is little to no fee to transfer funds, funds cannot be frozen and there are no prerequisites or arbitrary limits. These benefits are making Dash increasingly popular worldwide, so much so that one out of every three people in Australian prefer using cryptocurrency over traditional banking.

Dash is a privacy-centric currency. Transactions are visible only to you and the other party involved, giving our clients the opportunity to remain anonymous while making payments, similar to using cash. Payments are received almost immediately and advanced encryption ensures complete security. Dash can also be easily converted into other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.

For more information about Dash and to setup your digital wallet, please visit: www.dashpay.io/.

ABOUT NODE40
Node40 is the premier Dash crytopcurrency service provider. Founded by Perry Woodin, the organization removes the technological hurdles involved with setting up Dash masternodes and allows customers the opportunity to turn their Dash investment into a revenue stream.

 

EVOL on ArtSlant

Posted on by Mike

Evol Brings East Berlin to Chelsea, with Talk of Gentrification

By Stephanie Berzon

Gentrification is the big bad wolf in the modern day urban party. Never formally invited, it heard of the gathering by word of mouth and will restlessly attempt to enter even if it has to blow the entire structure down. No one likes it—neither the apologetic gentrifier nor the displaced community who lack enough financial clout or power to resist or keep up with the shift. It barrels forward as if it has no memory of itself, all history lessons completely erased. After it passes, the area has a new face: cultural and physical landscapes are transformed, a coat of fresh paint is at once attractive and hollowing.

In his show Unreal Estate at Jonathan LeVine artist Evol brings a familiar conversation back to New York’s Chelsea art district, a place where art itself played a role in transforming a neighborhood and changing the real estate market.

Freudenberg (left)

Altering streets is nothing new to Berlin-based Evol. His trompe-l’oeil paintings of residential buildings in East Berlin are deceivingly realistic and commonly found on surfaces common to the streets: on cardboard boxes to be framed and placed inside of an art institution, or on outdoor electrical boxes and cement slabs that remain in their native environments. The tenements he recreates in miniature are usually depicted in daylight and in a state of vacancy—as if they house a working class who use the space for little more than sleep. There is a continual awareness of the ordinary, established city block. Tears and holes on the façade of his painted buildings are cleverly matched the defects that his cardboard canvases already had; tears, folds, tape residue, and packing labels become features in his painted buildings, the imperfections suggesting the neighborhood’s history and battles.

HHHaus

These architectural scars (in the artwork and in real life) may be charming to a visitor, but to Evol they “symbolize the possibility of a certain freedom.” In less affluent neighborhoods, there is more room to self-govern, to try and start a business or to openly struggle. With the rise of luxury condos comes a shift for the responsibility of culture—the ability to create culture versus consume it—and this exchange is mirrored in the architecture.

In the front of the gallery there is a broken window painted on a cardboard box. Through the holes of another painting we can see construction undertaken inside a building’s gutted shell. InWho’s afraid of Yellow, Orange and Blue?, a long, warehouse-like structure is covered in graffiti; the sun casts a shadow of scaffolding on a residential building in Shadows of Things to Come. Moving towards the back of the gallery, the work becomes more surreal and also more like an installation.

A funhouse mirror hangs opposite the show’s only sculpture, which is a typical Evol city building spray-painted on a cardboard box, leaning against the wall. However a sticker on it reveals a New York City address. All reflections in the mirror are warped: the building along with the gallery hopper viewing the artwork along with the leisurely white walls of the gallery. Everything is caught in the eye of gentrification, participating in its rituals, brought together by this moment of awareness in the artwork’s contorted reflection.

All photos courtesy of Frankie Galland

http://www.artslant.com/ny/articles/show/43401

 

 

Phil Hale featured on Beautiful Bizarre

Posted on by Mike

The Dynamic Works of Phil Hale

By Allie Schaitel

Phil Hale has been involved in the contemporary art scene for a few decades now. His impressive resume shows he has had his hand in many creative endeavors including illustrations in magazines, book covers, portrait commissions, and gallery shows. Even without the knowledge of his success, prestige and credibility as a leading figure in representational figurative art, one is able to understand the brilliance and genius of this man just by viewing his works. His work is careful and deliberate but manages to find its way into a realm of expressiveness typically saved for abstract artists.

There are several themes and styles Phil has explored over the course of his career, most notably a series of dark, fragmented pieces conveying devastation, impending doom, and distress. This series, Life Wants to Live, was showcased at the Jonathon Levine Gallery in New York this past February. The striking images he created with oil provide an unsettling showcasing of the unreliability of recounting events and narratives. If you look carefully, you can see the influence of photography in these fragmented pieces. There is a suggestion of a story; but his real but expressive way of applying paint allows for room for interpretation- a glimpse of a stressful scene combining figure and debris with spontaneous abstraction. This isn’t art for the weak, or those looking to be comforted.

Phil’s past work’s includes dynamic, colorful portraits and figurative work showing his talent for creating raw, real, and captivating paintings. His abilities shine through with his inclination to not only emulate the human form, but to manipulate it and make it come to life with the help of expert handling of oil paint. Movement and complexity are the themes Phil pulls off exceptionally well. His figures are rarely stagnant and always enchanting.

https://beautifulbizarre.net/2015/07/02/the-dynamic-works-of-phil-hale/

 

 

Dan Witz Teams up with PETA

Posted on by Mike

Monkey Street Art Takes Aim at NIH Experiments
Street artist Dan Witz has painted baby monkeys across the Washington, D.C., area in support of PETA’s protest against NIH experiments

By Kelly Seegers

A street art campaign by artist Dan Witz has left paintings of imprisoned baby monkeys scattered throughout the Washington, D.C., area.

The artist says his work supports PETA’s campaign against experiments by the National Institute of Health (NIH) that separate infant monkeys from their mothers soon after birth. PETA Director of Laboratory Investigations Justin Goodman says the experiments are designed to scare the monkeys.

NIH has said the goal of the monkey studies is to learn the effects of social environments on infant development, according to a review released in December. Doctors acknowledged that the experiments place some stress on the baby monkeys, but the research center says the stress is necessary to learn how genetic and environmental factors affect the cognitive development of children. NIH did not comment directly about the street art, but released a statement affirming that it takes animal welfare seriously and have put protocols in place to ensure ethical treatment of the monkeys.

Witz began placing his paintings around Washington, D.C., on Thursday with the hope of raising awareness about the experiments, and now has pieces near NIH in Bethesda as well as in the District, near the Department of Health and Human Services, the Capitol and the National Mall.

Witz said that he paints on plastic in his studio and then glues the artwork to an object where it will blend in, such as signs, electrical boxes and doors.

A public information officer for the Montgomery County police department said Tuesday that the department had not received any reports about the placement of Witz’s artwork in the county, but the act would be considered vandalism.

Most of Witz’s paintings in the D.C. area feature monkeys staring out from behind the bars of what appears to be a ventilation grate. The artwork depicts photographs that PETA obtained from NIH through a Freedom of Information Act request, some of which can be found on their website. PETA did not ask Witz to create the street art or tell him where to place it, according to Goodman.

“The artworks are meant to blend into the environment and almost catch you by surprise,” Goodman said. “You think you are looking at a ‘Do Not Enter’ sign that has always been there and then after a moment you realize there are some monkeys…they give you some haunting images throughout the [District] to peak people’s interest and educate them about an issue that is relevant.”

Witz got his start painting hummingbirds around the streets of New York City in the late 1970s, before the term “street art” existed. He has since done work in dozens of cities around the U.S. and Europe, including in Rome, London, Berlin, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Witz previously highlighted a different PETA campaign with works in London. In London, he molded chicken feet and placed them in grates or public gardens around the city to raise awareness about the suffering of animals as a result of the meat industry.

“I think it is an interesting development for street art to be using it for activism,” Witz said Monday. “It is a kind of art form that exists in the public commons and I enjoy that the art form has evolved into having a social responsibility. I am really happy to be a part of that.”

Near each piece of art placed in the Washington, D.C., area, there is a hashtag that people can search on social media to find more information. Some of the hashtags that Witz is using for the monkey art are #actualvictims, #NIHmonkeytorture and #truthtopower.

Witz said he hopes to invoke shock in onlookers when they see his artwork on objects that they walk past every day. He hopes they will become curious about the treatment of the monkeys.

“We know about these things and we are like ‘Well, what can I do?’…because there are so many other things clamoring for your attention, but maybe if you have an encounter with a piece of art, maybe it will lodge it somewhere up in your conscience and you will pay attention to it more,” Witz said.

Street artist Dan Witz put up this work across from the Health and Human Services building in Washington, D.C.

 

A Witz work in Dupont Circle

http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Beat/2015/Monkey-Street-Art-Takes-Aim-at-NIH-Experiments/

 

‘Trifecta’ Print Release Details

Posted on by Mike

In conjunction with the group exhibition Trifecta we are excited to announce three limited edition print releases with Handiedan, Mimi Scholz and Sandra Chevrier. Please read the following release details carefully:

–Trifecta show prints will be released at Jonathan LeVine Gallery from 12-2pm on Saturday June 27 at Suite 9E, 529 West 20th Street
-Remaining prints will be available on opening night from 6-8pm on Saturday June 27 at Suite 9E, 529 West 20th Street
-A limited amount will be for sale on our online store from 6pm on Saturday June 27

IMPORTANT NOTE: Entire editions will NOT be available for the in person release

Print Details

HANDIEDAN
Amphitrite, 2015
Giclée on Hahnmuhle Museum Etching 350 GSM
Paper Size: 22 x 28 in.
Edition of 125
$225.00
 

MIMI SHOLZ
Havoc, 2015
Giclée on 300 GSM Smooth cotton archival rag
Paper Size: 18 x 24 in.
Edition of 50
$250.00

SANDRA CHEVRIER
La Cage immunisée à ses charmes, 2015
Giclée on 300 GSM smooth cotton archival rag
Paper Size: 23 x 28 in.
Edition of 50
$450.00
Hand embellished (First 10): $700.00

 

 

 

Trifecta Preview on Beautiful Bizarre

Posted on by Mike

 

TRIFECTA @ JONATHAN LEVINE GALLERY

How could I resist sharing with you an early “taste” of this brilliant exhibition featuring three amazing female artists, two of which have been featured in beautiful.bizarre, collage artist Handiedan (issue 004) and digital artist Mimi Scholz (issue 008). The third is traditional painter, Sandra Chevrier, whom is confirmed for the coming December 2015 issue!! Together all three artists reveal their new body of work in ‘Trifecta’ at Jonathan LeVine Gallery from 27 June.
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When I saw curator Yasha Young of Urban Nation Berlin begin to show sneak peeks of the work, I was smitten. Yasha shares her vision for ‘Trifecta’ ~ “This exhibition addresses the fact that art created by women has been historically dismissed as craft as opposed to fine art, affecting the development of women in art throughout history. I would like to open doors for women artists and encourage them to step out and up.”
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Enjoy a little of what is in store below.

Trifecta

A group exhibition curated by Yasha Young

Featuring work by Handiedan, Mimi Scholz & Sandra Chevrier

Opening Reception:
 Saturday, June 27, 6—8pm

Exhibitions Dates:
June 27 — July 25, 2015

Jonathan LeVine Gallery

529 W 20th St #9E
New York, NY 10011

Handiedan

Dutch artist Handiedan pushes mixed-media collage to a higher level by digitally creating classic female pin-ups using ornamental components such as currencies, sheet music and her own cartoon drawings. Handiedan rebuilds these digital designs into multi-layered hand-cut collages that end up with a distinctive three-dimensional quality. Her pin-ups look like something between an orientally adorned femme fatale from a noir film, a sexually joyful pin-up from a 1950’s calendar and a tattooed rockabilly girl. Each work is a treasure trove of symbols, with a focus on cosmology, Eastern philosophy and sacred geometries.

Mimi Scholz

Mimi Scholz is based in Berlin and creates digital paintings that sarcastically comment on clichés regarding the female psyche and sexuality. Starting with a detailed sketch and then using a tablet to add multiple layers of color, her compositions are printed on canvas and have an airbrushed quality that closely resembles oil painting. Known for her subject matter of “unpredictable women with attitude” and often accompanied by strange creatures, her works are set in a manically imagined world where the lines between good and evil, sane and insane are blurred.

Sandra Chevrier

Sandra Chevrier merges painting and collage in works that reflect upon the self-imposed limitations within our world and the underlying tragedy of oppressed female identity. In her series Cages, finely hand-painted portraits of women are masked with pages from comic books, symbolizing the struggle of having to uphold unrealistic expectations of beauty and perfection. By imposing these strict limitations, society is placing women in prisons of identity and asking them to become superheroes. In the greater body of her work, the images used within ‘cages’ range from scenes of conflict, triumph and defeat. Often focusing on the latter, the artist highlights the fragility of the superhero, their personal weaknesses and exposes the humanity within the superhuman.

Trifecta @ Jonathan LeVine Gallery

 

Short videos by Parra

Posted on by Mike

Besides devoting himself to his clothing company by Parra and his vibrant paintings filled with surreal creatures, Dutch artist Parra is also part of electronic music group Le Le, “a Champagne based trio with a unique force within the modern day music industry”. Le Le released their first album “Flage” in 2008 followed by “Marble” in 2009 and “Party Time” in 2012, but recently they created the coolest project: An Instagram album with 9 tracks, each 15 seconds, featuing a short video by Parra. You can check out some of these tracks below and also go to their Instagram account to see the rest. Don’t forget to turn up the volume! 

 

 

 

 

 

Eloy Morales featured on 20 Minutos

Posted on by Mike

  

The "Self-Portrait – Heads" from Spanish realist painter Eloy Morales debut in New York

Eloy Morales (Madrid, 1973) refers to a quote attributed to Freud to explain his thoughts on self-portraits, that now, we should call “selfies” by imposition of the pseudo cultural rules of the silicon. “All artworks are self-portraits even if you paint a chair,” declared the painter who likes to call his work realistic, not hyper realistic when talking about his paintings which possess almost photographic clarity.

Morales’ opinion on selfies is relevant at this moment. In a few days, on May 16th, the artist will open his first solo exhibition in the US. It will be at the prestigious Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York, and will be on view until June 13th. The title refers to the almost exclusive theme Morales works on, About Head.

Self-Representation
For many years, obsessed with showing the most emotional part of the body, the artist has painted close up self-portrait heads. In his paintings, the large scale oil painting heads face the canvas with determination, patience and pride. The artist not only paints “selfies”, but also paints portraits of other people. Since childhood, the artist has been interested in the self-image represented.

Morales, whom the New York gallery shows as a “hyper realistic painting master” exhibits 14 large-scale portraits featuring close ups of human heads. By focusing on the face, the artist is “given the opportunity to interact to the psychological aspects of his viewers through the communicative power of the gaze.”

Not A Photo
The portraits often have elements that add color and texture, faces smeared with paint or clay. The process for hyper-realistic painting often includes the use of photographs, but the artists intention is to “never duplicate an image”, rather “utilize an image as support” to explore his limits and “transcend reality”.

“I try to stay on the line where reality coexists with my inner world. I believe in the immense power of images and their infinite possibilities”, says Morales, whose works not only represent the human form but also “broadens awareness and understanding of reality” of viewers.
 

 

Los ‘autorretratos-cabeza’ del pintor realista madrileño Eloy Morales debutan en Nueva York

Eloy Morales (Madrid, 1973) acude a una cita atribuida a Freud para explicar lo que piensa sobre los autorretratos, que ahora, al parecer, debemos llamar selfies por imposición de las reglas pseudoculturales del silicio. "Todas las obras son autorretratos aunque pintes una silla", ha declarado este pintor al que gusta llamarse realista, aunque tampoco chocaría añadir el sufijo híper para hablar de sus cuadros de una nitidez casi fotográfica.

La opinión de Morales sobre los selfies es pertinente en este momento. En unos días, el 16 de mayo, el artista inaugura su primera exposición en solitario en los EE UU. Será en la prestigiosa Jonathan Levine Gallery de Nueva York, estará en cartel hasta el 13 de junio, y el título tiene que ver con el tema casi único de la paleta de Morales: About Head (Acerca de la cabeza).

Representación de sí mismo
Desde hace varios años, obsesionado con mostrar la parte más emocional del cuerpo, pinta autorretratos-cabeza, óleos de gran tamaño y en primerísimo primer plano en los que se enfrenta al lienzo con decisión, paciencia y cierta actitud de orgullo inmutable. No sólo hace selfies —también pinta retratos de otras personas—, pero la exposición de sí mismo aparece en la batalla temática porque desde niño, precisa, siempre le interesó la imagen respresentada de sí mismo.

Relacionarse con los espectadores con el poder asombroso de la mirada Morales, a quien la galería neoyorquina presenta como "maestro de la pintura hiperrealista", lleva a la exposición 14 retratos a gran escala con figuras muy recortadas de cabezas humanas. Al concentrarse en la cara, añaden, el artista "se concede la oportunidad de relacionarse con los aspectos psicológicos de sus espectadores a través del poder comunicativo y asombroso de la mirada".

No duplicar una foto
A menudo incluye en los retratos elementos externos que añaden color y textura, los rostros aparecen embadurnados de pintura o arcilla. El estilo hiperrealista procede a veces del uso en el proceso previo de fotografías, pero la intención del artista "nunca es duplicar una imagen", sino "utilizarla como soporte" para explorar sus límites y "trascender la realidad".

"Trato adherirme a la línea donde la realidad coexiste en forma natural con mi mundo interior. Creo que en el inmenso poder de las imágenes y sus infinitas posibilidades", dice Morales, cuyas obras no solamente representan minuciosamente la forma humana, dado que pretenden "ampliar la conciencia y la concepción de la realidad" de los espectadores.

http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2458227/0/eloy-morales/pintura-hiperrealista/debut-nueva-york/

 

Josh Agle (Shag) in Paper Magazine

Posted on by Mike

 

THE 12 NEW ART SHOWS TO SEE THIS WEEK

By Gary Pini

Jonathan LeVine Gallery (557 West 23rd Street) presents their fifth solo show, "All My Bones," with SoCal artist Josh Agle, aka SHAG, opening on May 14, 6 to 8 p.m. The paintings — in his distinct mid-century modern style — were inspired by a children’s book of Old Testament stories. Up until June 13. LeVine also opens solo exhibitions by Scott Musgrove and Eloy Morales on May 16th, 6 to 8 p.m., over at his 529 West 20th Street space, and also up until June 13.

http://www.papermag.com/2015/05/new_art_openings_new_york.php