• Barack Rainbowbama

    16 May 2012 by Morgan Jacobs

    Artist Adrian Piper was right on target when she conceived of her piece, "Barack Rainbowbama", for Between the Lines: Vol. 3 almost a year ago.

    On the back of President Obama's public support of gay marriage, the cover of this week's The New Yorker features the White House with rainbow-colored columns.  Cover artist Bob Staake said, "I am honored to be doing this cover.  It's a celebratory moment for our country, and that's what I tried to capture...I wanted to celebrate the bravery of the President's statement--a statement long overdue--but all the more appreciated in this political year.  We are on the right side of history."(1)

    We love Piper's prophetic piece, which she colored in for RxArt below, and we applaud our President's declaration.  Staake's cover, entitled "Spectrum of Light," can be seen below.

    Adrian Piper, "Barack Rainbowbama," for Between the Lines: Vol. 3, 2011

    "Spectrum of Light," Bob Staake, The New Yorker, May 21, 2012.  Image courtesy of newyorker.com.

    (1) "Cover Story: Obama's Gay Marriage Announcement."  The New Yorker, May 11, 2012.  http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/05/cover-story-spectrum-of-light.html

  • Holton Rower at The Hole

    15 May 2012 by Catherine Kim

    Holton Rower's first solo exhibition in New York opened at The Hole on April 28th. A stark contrast to the bare white walls, Holton's psychedelic pour paintings erupt from the walls in a wild array of colors. Rower creates these paintings by pouring doctored paint onto plywood. Though the process seems simplistic, it yields beautiful and unexpected results: paintings that look like coral, geodes, petrified wood, surfaces of distant planets, marble, the Aurora Borealis and more. See photos below!

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  • Frieze Art Fair

    10 May 2012 by Catherine Kim

    RxArt took a field trip out to Randall's Island for the New York Frieze Art Fair. With 180 participating galleries, a sculpture park, and a D.A.P book shop, there was a lot to see. Though we missed Mark Ruffalo and Gavin Brown cooking up sausages on the opening day, we had a great time strolling through the fair and seeing all it had to offer (and we spotted Natalie Portman with baby in tow). Exhibited were some of our favorite artists and collaborators, as well as many others we hope to work with in the future. See photos below for more!


    David Shrigley


    Rob Pruitt

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  • SNAPS: Dior Party

    04 May 2012 by Catherine Kim



    WHO: Holton Rower
    WHAT: Painting live at the Dior dinner + party
    WHERE: The Hole Gallery
    WHEN    : May 3rd

  • Staff Pick: Thomas Kovachevich at Show Room

    12 April 2012 by Morgan Jacobs

    With New York's unpredictable weather swings, it seems only fitting that the work currently on view at Show Room makes use of the seasonable effects.  Thomas Kovachevich's show, Alpenglow, is breathtakingly beautiful in its simplicity.  The long, narrow entranceway is lined with monotone, nearly geometrical shapes obscured by a layer of cotton parchment.  Because of their translucence, the pieces invite closer inspection; I found myself perched awkwardly trying to peer (unsuccessfully) between the layers of parchment.  The pieces are reminiscent of Kazimir Malevich's Suprematist works, if his strong shapes and bold colors were to be occluded and softened by a layer of fog.  Kovachevich seems here to introduce the concept of the natural environment's impact on the viewer's perception of manmade materials, which continues in the gallery's main room.

    Show Room defines the exhibition's title, Alpenglow, as the "optical process that creates glowing colors observed in the sky near mountains.  Humidity and temperature can alter the color.  It is also known to induce contemplation."  With this definition in mind, Kovachevich's works in the main gallery space assume characteristics of the natural landscape, altered by the other, unseen, medium in the room: the air itself.

    In the naturally-lit space, Kovachevich has taken the simplest of materials - white packing tape and grosgrain ribbon - and created three separate pieces that feel at once sculptural and painterly.  Each piece consists of long strips of grosgrain ribbon pinned at the top and bottom over a thicker piece of packing tape.  Hung in a row, they create a striped square of color that morphs both as one moves through the space and as the humidity of the space itself changes.  When the air is dry, the packing tape curls around the ribbons, obscuring the colors and creating fragile paper cylinders around the ribbons.  However, when the humidity increases, the tape lies flat against the wall and allows the colors to truly burst forth.  Each piece of tape behaves differently, so one may catch glimpses of color peeking through a gap in the "tube", while other ribbons lie fully exposed.

    Kovachevich's choice of materials is particularly interesting: the packing tape and grosgrain ribbon both suggest the wrapping or encapsulating of something.  Kovachevich has imbued the materials with new meaning, creating something that speaks to externality and an open landscape while defying the interiority of a gallery space.

    Below are installation shots, courtesy of Show Room.  The show is only on view until Sunday, April 15th - don't miss it!

  • RxArt TV: Will Cotton

    09 April 2012 by Catherine Kim

    Will Cotton from RxArt on Vimeo.

    Artist Talk is a series in which RxArt visits our favorite artists and collaborators to talk about their work and inspirations.

    In this installment of Artist Talk, RxArt visits painter Will Cotton at his Manhattan studio. We talk about his process, inspirations, and what it was like to work with Katy Perry on her video for "California Gurls"! Click the video to watch!

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  • Avant Garde Preschool!

    26 March 2012 by Rena Stein

    This Sunday was our first Avant Garde Preschool class!  The Avant Garde Preschool program was originally started by Andy Spade and Anthony Sperduti, owners of Partners & Spade, a storefront and studio on Great Jones Street in Manhattan. Catering to children ages 5-12, the program has previously been led by artists such as Karen Kimmel, Donald Baechler, and Confetti System.  

    To kick off the new partnership between Partners & Spade and RxArt, Dan Colen hosted the inaugural class.  The young participants spent a fun-filled afternoon using brightly colored flower petals and an assortment of M&M's to create vibrant, nontraditional works of art.  Dan encouraged the kids to create their works using whatever methods came to mind, reminding them that when it comes to art, there are "no rules".  While some of the kids stuck to the "traditional" method of working while seated at the table, many kids created their masterpieces by putting the materials on the floor and jumping up and down on the paper!

    We can't say we had as much fun cleaning it up as we had creating it ( check out Partners & Spade's "Aftermath" photos to see why!), but a great afternoon was had by all and we are so thankful to Dan Colen for leading such an amazing class and Partners & Spade for hosting us!

    (*The cost of the class was $40 per child and all proceeds went directly to RxArt.)

  • Staff Pick: Duro Olowu

    29 February 2012 by Heidi Sanders

    With the weather in New York tending towards the dreary, rainy, and slushy in late February, our Vitamin D-deprived minds are longing for sunnier climes. In lieu of a week in the Caribbean, the next best thing is to walk down the block from RxArt's space to the Duro Olowu exhibit at Salon 94 Freemans. The show, beautifully curated by the Nigerian-born, London-based fashion designer Olowu, is a treasure trove of contemporary art, furniture, fashion, jewelry, books, and photography by the likes of Juergen Teller, Hamidou Maiga, Laurie Simmons, Philip Kwame Apagya, and Lorna Simpson among others, all of which is set against brilliant pops of colorful vintage West African textiles. All of these elements coalesce to transform the small space into a cabinet of curiosities that makes lingering indoors a pleasure. 

    Some of our favorite pieces include handpainted book covers by Glenn Ligon created specifically for Olowu, mirrors by architect David Adjaye, glazed ceramic milk crates by Mattias Merkel Hess, and the arresting studio portraiture of Malian photographer Hamidou Maiga. Of the eclectic mixture, Olowu states on Salon 94's site: "My work, like my eye, is certainly international in its aesthetic, offbeat yet focused. As such, I am always open to the surprise of the new, the technique and skill of the past and the ability of fashion and art to challenge preconceived ideas of taste and culture."

    See photos below the break and better yet, check out the show before it closes March 31! All photos courtesy of Salon 94.

  • Studio Visit with Dustin Yellin

    18 January 2012 by Catherine Kim

    RxArt and Half Gallery took a trip to Red Hook to visit artist Dustin Yellin at his studio in Brooklyn. Yellin is a both drawer and sculptor: using ink, acrylic, and collage, he renders images on multiple sheets of resin or glass and then layers them on top of one another. Like an insect caught in amber, Yellin's drawings are encapsulated worlds suspended in time.

    In addition to his studio, we also got a peek into his 24,000-square-foot industrial warehouse, which he is converting into an artist workspace and gallery. See the photos below!

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  • A tribute to a friend

    12 January 2012 by Heidi Sanders

    RxArt mourns the loss of bookseller John McWhinnie, who died tragically in a water accident while on vacation in the British Virgin Islands last Friday. A friend and key supporter of RxArt, John served on the benefit committee for multiple galas and generously donated artwork to the auctions throughout the years. His kaleidoscopic knowledge of books and art was unparalleled, and his kindness and loyalty will never be forgotten.

      

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