BronzeCo.

New York based artist and Seoul, South Korea expatriot Do Ho Suh has often times with his work inspired viewers to look outside of themselves at a larger picture. However, his show “Perfect Home”, which just finished a four month stint at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan tells a much more personal story. These pieces, constructed out of steel armatures and translucent nylon fabric are recreations of the homes that he has lived, loved, lost, failed, and flourished in. The result of these constructions is nothing short of awe inspiring; the semi-transparent spaces he creates indicate an interesting intention. The artist becomes as translucent as the works themselves. This being said, no wall or stair is transparent, as no person truly is.

    Sharing with people the spaces that he cared for provides viewers with an intimate view of one level of his personal life, but without sharing so much detail that their story is obvious. We are not defined by where we live; we create the definitions of the spaces we choose to occupy by what we do in them.

(Source: bronzeco.com)

     After a long life and serendipitous late blooming as a professional artist, conceptual painter and sculptor Richard Artschwager passed away from a stroke at age 89.

     Artschwager was known for his ambiguous style, which adapted to and had a hand in influencing many movements in modern art, including minimalism, pop art, and mid-century modernism. He was always at heart a conceptual artist; his highly graphic pieces often incited a dialogue through their simplicity. He’s quoted by the New York Times saying, “Sculpture is for the touch, painting is for the eye. I wanted to make a sculpture for the eye and a painting for the touch.”

     The Whitney Museum just closed a major retrospective of his work, that was correlated with an installation of one of his longest running series, “blps” (pronounced blips), on the High Line in New York’s Meat Packing District. The simple, graphic blocks were stenciled, painted and stickered to areas he wanted to draw your attention to. 

     Artschwager had an early interest in art, however put it aside to support his family as a baby photographer in his twenties and thirties. His first solo show was in 1965 at Leo Casteli Gallery at age 42; he quickly gained momentum and became a major player in art and design history. After some time establishing himself, he was represented by Gagosian Gallery until his death.

     This is indeed unfortunate news, however one cannot discount that Richard Artschwager lived a unique and fulfilling life, and proved that it is never too late to pursue a dream.

Welcome to the inaugural post of Friday,Saturday, Sunday! As all of us know, there are a million and one places to go and things to see in New York; so many in fact that it becomes hard to whittle it down and can become so overwhelming that a weekend of Netflix seems more appealing. And who could blame you? Being sucked into a full season of Battlestar Galactica is, well, incredibly easy. However, it is imperative to continue to support the ever growing world of art, and being a part of these events is a very entertaining and wholly unique experience. They give you a chance to interact directly with the artists that created the work,  their professional peers and a slew of different appreciators to network and chat with. That being said, let’s get down to the nitty (and gritty).

Friday, January 4th

Alternative Histories: A Book Launch and Reception, Hosted by Eyebeam Art and Technology Center- This book tells the story of a collective of 140 different alternative art spaces through interviews and photography curated by Exit Art. Learn about the inception and growth of the alt New York Gallery scene from the first person perspective of the gallerists, artists, curators and staff that built it from the ground up. This looks like a great opportunity to hear stories about the incredibly rich (and awesome) history of many spaces that are now staples of the New York art scene.

Reception 6-8pm, Collective Welcome 7pm, @540 W21st St. New York, NY

Saturday, January 5th

Postmasters Gallery Presents Diana Cooper: My Eye Travels

A solo show featuring the quirky and graphic works of Diana Cooper. Her pieces range from relief and freestanding sculpture to paper cuts and photographic prints. Her pieces have an intrinsic playfulness that alludes to comic books and cartoons, but juxtaposes this idea to more intricate inspirations from engineering and architecture. This show is her own “personal memorial” to the work she lost in Hurricane Sandy.

Reception 6-8pm, @459 W 19th St. New York, NY

Sunday, January 6th

Nothing and Everything: a Group Show hosted by Marc Straus Gallery

This group show, curated by Tim Hawkinson, features minimalist work by several artists that intends to incite philosophical and existential conversations. The artists “have made artworks exponentially more complicated than the sum of their parts.” This show looks like a great conversation starter!

Reception 6-8pm, @299 Grand St. New York, NY

So there you have it. Three great events for an artsy night out that you might be lucky enough to see this blogger at! Big thanks to Artcards and ArtSlant for the info. Stay tuned for more news, critiques and features to come!

(Source: bronzeco.com)