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Jon Rafman

We Went to Frieze, Part One: Seagull Poop, People Poop, and Demon Poop

by Paddy Johnson and Michael Anthony Farley on May 4, 2017

Every year Frieze installs a massive tent on Randall’s Island and lures jetsetters from across the globe to its contemporary art fair. This year, the fair expanded its usual roster of contemporary art galleries to include a few secondary market stalwarts as well. Newcomers to the fair included Bernard Jacobson Gallery, Castelli Gallery, and Axel Vervoordt and Eykyn Maclean.

That’s not a huge change in the landscape of the fair, but notably the fair’s director, Victoria Siddall, told the Art Newspaper recently that there was a significant uptick in applications from galleries in this market. Is Frieze grooming the New York market for an edition of their London-based Frieze Masters (a fair focused on secondary market art works)? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, Frieze New York is much better than usual. Art fair standards that drag these events down—geometric abstraction, process based abstraction, and assembly line art works by A-list artists—were few and far between. Overall, the work on view seemed unusually fresh and thoughtful. Neither are words we normally use to describe art fair art, let alone that at Frieze.

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This Week’s Must-See Art Events: Skip Most Fairs, See The Real Hennessy Youngman

by Michael Anthony Farley on May 1, 2017

Plan comfortable shoes for the week: it’s another inundation of art fairs and satellite events.

Thankfully, Frieze and SPRING/BREAK’s new Brooklyn offshoot are the only big fairs we’re recommending by now, so fair fatigue shouldn’t be too much of a problem. But of course, the city is packed with art star openings, book launches, and more brunches than you can shake a croissant at. We’ve done you the favor of skimming only the best of the best events this week though, to save you from too much overload.

Highlights include Roxy Paine’s creepy interiors at Paul Kasmin Tuesday night, Martin Roth’s Twitter-fed lavender farm at the Austrian Cultural Forum on Wednesday, and Jon Rafman’s screening and book launch at Printed Matter on Thursday. If you’re not fair-pooped after Friday, check out Salon 94’s demon-wrestling solo show from Jayson Musson (of “Hennessy Youngman” fame) on Saturday and Columbia MFA candidates paying tribute to Walter Benjamin at the Jewish Museum on Sunday.

So much more below…

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Thursday Links: Artist Breeds Killer Chicken, George W. Bush Still Painting

by Paddy Johnson on September 15, 2016

ghw-bush-painting-600x450

I’ll be on Radio Free Brooklyn talking to Dr. Lisa today between 2-3. Phone in and talk to us! (718) 928-9732 [Radio Free Brooklyn]

George W. Bush is releasing a book of his paintings February 28, 2017. He’s only a marginally better painter than he was president, which is to say he’s terrible. Don’t buy the book. [Time]

Koen Vanmechelen has been breeding chickens for the last 20 years as part of an art piece called “Cosmopolitan Chicken Project”. In order to illustrate metaphorical ideas about diversity and multiculturalism, he created a super breed of chicken by using a diverse breeding pool. This chicken is healthier, lives longer, and adapts more easily to change. And it’s art, which means these chickens are available to collectors for purchase. [Smithsonian]

“Contemporary art at its worst is rarely so naive as contemporary architecture at its best,” begins a review of the Venice Biennale by Ian Volner. He claims this is because architects sometimes confuse design with power and that architecture is politics—a misunderstanding he sees as afflicting the Biennale. [ArtForum]

Vessel (a temporary name) by British designer Thomas Heatherwick is a 100 million public art work that will adorn the Hudson Yards. The design has been unveiled and it looks like giant glassware. [Gothamist]

Artist Jon Rafman is keeping a dream journal and illustrating those dreams with low resolution animations. [Facebook]

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ICP Enters the 21st Century with a Bunch of Mirrors

by Rhett Jones on July 1, 2016

For a prime example of ambitious curating standing in the way of excellent artwork, look no further than the convoluted mess of a show at the International Center for Photography’s brand new Bowery location. While I’m always up for seeing art that takes advantage of technology and addresses our weird wired world, this show is filled with wrong-headed assertions, painful hanging choices, and eyeball-straining design.

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Friday Links: Nothing But Dynasty Fights

by Michael Anthony Farley and Corinna Kirsch on July 10, 2015

Dutch designers Viktor & Rolf wrapped models in dresses that look like broken paintings at Paris Couture Week. Will painting always return to the “hot chicks on canvas” genre? These are really stupid. One redeeming quality: they remind me of that time Krystle fought Alexis in her painting studio on Dynasty. [Dezeen]
Ain’t no drama like Nicolas Bourriaud drama. The famed writer/curator was recently fired from his position at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts by French Minister of Culture Fleur Pellerin. Apparently the scandal involves a sordid extramarital affair! Talk about ministering to French culture! Amirite? Since then, there’s been a media outcry with accusations of nepotism, petitions, and sassy exchanges in the press. [artnet News]
In an epic story that spans the majority of the past century: how the Leslie + Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art became the world’s first gay art museum. [Smithsonian]
Apparently job growth in the “creative sector” has outpaced New York City’s traditional economic engines of finance and real estate. Over the past decade, jobs in the visual arts alone grew 24 percent. So, uh, how about an increase in wages? When cost of living is factored in, New York’s cultural workers are actually earning significantly less than their peers nationally. [Hyperallergic]
Is this in poor taste? It’s difficult to make me (Michael) groan, but it was hard to watch this unaired Saturday Night Live skit tackling the awkwardness of normalcy given the current state of race relations in America. [NBC]
Good news: President Obama has designated a swath of the Nevada desert as a “Protected Landscape.” The area includes sculptor Michael Heizer’s famed, gorgeous “City” which will now be spared from future development encroaching on the desert. [Review Journal]
Congratulations to Gary Carrion-Murayari of the New Museum and Alex Gartenfeld of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, who will curate the New Museum’s 2018 Triennial. [New Museum]
Tracing artist Jon Rafman’s work from his earlier, self-proclaimed romantic work, like “9 Eyes” and “Kool-Aid Man in Second Life,” to his current interest in the internet’s marginal communities. [Momus]
Ever lament the lack of criticism on the Internet? Well, Bookforum hands out daily reviews, y’all. Complain no more. [Bookforum]
Public Art Fund is hiring an associate curator. Jump on that application, you up-and-comers! [Public Art Fund]
Diva! Patti Lupone snatched a phone out of a texting audience member’s hand during a Broadway performance, all while never breaking character. [The Guardian]

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Hi, Artists! Autumn 2015 IMG MGMT Application Now Open

by The AFC Staff on July 6, 2015

We’re now accepting applications for our autumn 2015 IMG MGMT series! Deadline is August 1.

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Real Life Versus Instagram Life at the Armory Week Fairs

by Greg Allen on March 6, 2015

Greg Allen looks at the Armory week fairs through the lens of Instagram.

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Talking Heads: A Dual Review of the Armory by James Panero and Drank Pee

by James Panero and Drank Pee on March 6, 2015

Mr. Pee, an Art F City commenter and a member of the B…FU faculty, and Mr. Panero, executive editor and gallery critic at The New Criterion, take on Jeremy Bailey, Mona Hatoum, Andrew Ohanesian, Art Markit, Chris Wiley, Aiko Hachisuka, and Jon Rafman.

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