Art

We’re lucky we live in a generation of cross-pollination. From Skyping with your bestie who moved to Amsterdam to BBMing with that cool Caracas-based designer every so often, we’re the spoiled ones when it comes to drawing creative influences globally. In the world of Paris art galleries, things are no different. Indian artist Anju Dodiya is showing in the city for the first time at Galerie Daniel Templon this fall. Called Face a Face (d’apres Kuniyoshi), the upcoming solo show will feature a series of works on paper in watercolor and charcoal. Dodiya, one of India’s influential artists today, draws from everything from Japanese samurais (specifically from Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s famous wood carvings of his Faithful Samurai dated 1847-1848) to his own personal demons. His watercolor touches are especially strong – from dabs of translucent color to creating stormy moods. A must see between wandering around Le Marais and finding the perfect croissants. Continue…

Whether searching for everlasting love or a cafe that takes AmEx, life is full of mind-bending unknowns that often call for abstraction. New York-based painter Andrew Baron rises to the existential challenge with atmospheric works that delve into themes of impermanence, desire, and defeat with heavy brushstrokes and steely shades. With each piece featuring a piece of text that reflects the painting’s meaning – a purposeful addition by Baron to pull viewers out of the subjective space – Andrew belongs to a rarer group of Narrative Abstractionists. With a show coming up this fall in the Lower East Side organized by Salon Ciel called “Get It While You Can” and a Best in Show win at the recent SOHO20 group exhibit, Baron is poised to go from under the radar to prominent artist. FABRIC sits down with the Ohio import to discuss the human urge to paint, the wonder of Zen meditation, and why stale candy bars aren’t worth returning.

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French designer Jean Charles de Castelbajac isn’t shy of outlandish behavior. From stuffed Muppets as jacket decoration to throwing (faux) cash on the runway, JCDC seems to be perennially bubbling over with an indomitable cheeky spirit. This tireless energy is coming to a head this August and September. Firstly, Castelbajac is debuting a new store in Le Rive Gauche tomorrow (Aug. 17) that will carry both (that’s right, there’s two bien sur) ready-to-wear lines, Jean Charles de Castelbajac and JC/DC by JC de Castelbajac. Those in the City of Light can stop by 61 Rue des St. Peres for a look. Next, the designer is smartly plotting an online store to go live this fall and offering a pre-incentive. Those who register on his site, will receive €25 off their first purchase. Not too shabby considering the euro’s still mighty heft over the ol’ greenback. Continue…

The two great American subcultures: surf bums and skate punks come together in SURF/SKATE at Clic Gallery this summer. Nearly all of the artists featured are skaters or surfers themselves making for a truly personal experience. Montauk surf king Tony Caramanico, legendary surfer/artist, who published “Surf Journals” last year, New Yorker Paul Solberg, who documented the thriving surfer culture in Munich, and Hawaiian Pete Cabrinha, a surfing god best known for setting a world record for highest wave surfed (70 feet) will have works featured at this exhibit. Continue…

Curated by Sima Familant, Grass Grows by Itself is a mashup of creative minds old and new, including works by: Chakaia Booker, Mark Bradford, Dale Chihuly, Wade Guyton, David Hammons, Carmen Herrera, Jim Hodges, Wolfgang Laib, Cameron Martin, Daniel Joseph Martinez, Molly McIver, Virginia Overton, George Rickey, Leigh Ruple, Kianja Strobert, Rich- ard Tuttle, Charlene von Heyl, and Robert Žungu. Continue…

Sometimes we come across, in our daily online wanderings, some pretty fantastic stuff that not only dabbles in art skills of old but melds them in interesting ways with the present. Such is the case with our latest crush – we’ve been enthralled with Team Studio NY’s video/illustration collages. Aside from the lovely yet depressing indie music (we have a weak spot for those mood-bending tunes), we like the muted palette of their “The Sun Always Rises” video. Check it out here. Continue…

Jeffrey Deitch, en route to MOCA directorship in Los Angeles, held one last blow out opening at his SoHo gallery in NYC for his final show, May Day. Deitch Project’s doors will be closing with the end of this show which spans the month of May. May Day is an exhibition of new work by graphic and street artist Shepard Fairey. Continue…

It’s easy to be absorbed in our own homebred art stars – Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Terence Koh – but a worldly vision of art makes for a better rounded art education. Italian abstract artist Carla Accardi has a presence so huge that that New York Times critic Roberta Smith called her an “art star on the order of Agnes Martin in Italy.” Never mind that we’re not talking about present day here; Carla was one of the few female artists of the 1950s to show alongside notable male Italian painters. But as with her show at NYC’s Haunch of Venison attests, some artists get the last laugh. Continue…

As it turns out, people love playing with toys.  And if these toys happen to be interactive automated multimedia sculptures, then people love playing with art.  And for this reason the art happening, Automata, at the Candle Factory in New Orleans, was a hit. The Call to Artists asked for “kinetic, automatic, mechanic, and robotic sculptures” that invoked “wonder, craft, science, mathematics, and experimentation.”

Consistent with nearly everything Marina Abramovic has done in her career as a performance artist, she put no breaks on shock value to her current retrospective at MoMa. The signs that flank the entrance to the exhibit, warning that it “may be disturbing to some,” are surely a symbol of both concern for viewers and the purpose of the artist. The show is a mixture of video recordings of the artist’s epic performances from her career and a troupe of performance artists who re-enact various episodes of her work some of them, somewhat provocatively, in the nude. Continue…