SO EXCITED

Posted on 2021-07-26

So Excited, is a group exhibition curated by Brittany Tucker that considers artmaking as a form of hacking. It features two and three-dimensional works by four American artists–Bianca Fields, Auriea Harvey, Charlie Mai and Brittany Tucker.
A hacker is primarily thought to be someone who gains access to a computer system illegally in order to disrupt, destroy or steal. However, there is a lesser known definition of a hacker–someone who is immersed in the programming subculture and who spends their time to creatively solve technical computing problems. This is the definition that inspired this exhibition. Each of the participating artists takes an already established visual language and uses technical and creative skills to address complicated political histories and underrepresentation. “Hacking” also describes the challenge of making physical art in a digital age. By assigning a digital-age term to the age-old challenge of making relevant art, Tucker seeks to bridge a gap and plant new seeds.

Opposite – Charlie Mai, Ama (Wack Wack Wack, Another DiSatisfied Customer), 2020

Exhibition runs through to September 11th, 2021

Steve Turner
6830 Santa Monica Blvd.
CA 90038
Los Angeles

steveturner.la

  

ALVARO BARRINGTON – WAVE YOUR FLAGS II

Posted on 2021-07-26

This new group of paintings features large and medium-scale hibiscus flowers painted in the flag colours of the Caribbean nations presented in sculptural frames that speak to the ubiquitous materials used for housing structures in the region. As the national flower of Jamaica, Barrington has often abstracted the hibiscus motif through gestural painting as a symbol for community, celebration, sexuality and nostalgia, and here repeats the image across the exhibition in a nod to Andy Warhol’s Flowers series (1964) and ideas around tradition and mechanical reproduction in the context of cross-cultural exchange.

Opposite – Jamaica, 2021

Exhibition runs through to September 11th, 2021

Sadie Coles HQ
1 Davies Street
W1K 3DB
London

www.sadiecoles.com

  

DANA POWELL – DRINKING DUST

Posted on 2021-07-26

Continuing the portrayal of transitional spaces and moments of suspense, Powell’s newest paintings explore ideas around environmentalism and the place of humans in nature. Change comes fast, now more than ever, on a planet that seems to be heating up and running out – of space, resources, and time. In Drinking Dust, the human is inherently present though never visually portrayed. Intervention comes in the form of graffiti, picked clovers, trails in grass, and a hole in a frozen pond. These paintings are charged with an anxiety felt all over the world, but also include moments of humor and joy, beauty and respite. For Powell, this paradox is the epitome of being human. Wonder is found in simple acts, like looking at the moon, or traveling through a landscape transformed by the sheer force of weather. Despite an ever-present fear of collapse and change, there is some reassurance that to be human is to be a vital part of nature.

Opposite – Night watch, 2021

Exhibition runs through to August 28th, 2021

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
1010 North Highland Avenue
CA 90038
Los Angeles

www.tanyabonakdargallery.com

  

EMMA STERN – BOY, IT FEELS GOOD TO BE A COWGIRL

Posted on 2021-07-19

Emma Stern paints virtual women, taking avatars as her muses. Stern plays with sultry, or even pornographic, codes and representations in the virtual world by combining traditional painting methods with 3D modeling methods. In her work, Stern interprets the consequences of the biases and preferences prevalent in the male-dominated arena of software and technology, and magnifies the effects of those same preferences and biases on the female body and its popular representation in cyberspace. Her fantastical, pastel-colored avatars borrow from familiar tropes in gaming, as well as from the visual vocabulary of niche online communities such as furries, fandom, and erotic 3D art message boards.

Opposite – Blossom + Fang (dusk), 2021

Exhibition runs through to August 14th, 2021

Almine Rech
64 rue de Turenne
75003 Paris

www.alminerech.com

  

APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL & LU LEI

Posted on 2021-07-19

ShanghART Beijing is pleased to present the fourth chapter of special project ‘First Spring’. Featured in the final instalment will be two works of art: ‘Fireworks (Fans)’ by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and ‘The Parentheses Corridor and Hand Washing Basins’ by Lu Lei.

Opposite – Installation view

Exhibition runs through to August 29th, 2021

ShanghART
261 Caochangdi, Airport Side Road
Chaoyang District
100015 Beiji

www.shanghartgallery.com

  

ALEX GARDNER – FREE-FOR-ALL

Posted on 2021-07-19

The titles of his works dictate the reading and let the highly emotional and familiar moments overturn immediately. One leans back because the other is doing the unpleasant work. He is the shift leader of a troll factory, according to the title, where people flood the Internet with political commentary for a fee. The other seeks physical closeness and reaches out because it is possible. “Cheap Ain’t Cheap,” Gardner reminds us, admonishing and warning. And shows that the burden literally always rests on someone else’s back. Be it human or animal. There is no privileged person without a disadvantaged person. “Don’t Hate Yourself”, he demands, where two people seem to be in each other’s arms and fight each other at the same time. “Predict Behavior Eliminate Threat,” he advises. Think and act with foresight, loosening your grip before it becomes too tight. In the picture, this moment has long since passed, and both are gripping hard.

Opposite – Cheap Ain’t Cheap, 2021

Exhibition runs through to August 29th, 2021

König Galerie
St. Agnes – Alexandrinenstr, 118-121
10969 Berlin

www.koeniggalerie.com