"California Fantasy" Figure Drawing Night @ New Image Art in Los Angeles

"California Fantasy," an exhibition that just ended at New Image Art gallery in Los Angeles, explored "the myth, sparkle, and sensuality that exist within the California environs" and evoked "feelings of psychedelia and euphoria with and aim to awaken a perceived Californian paradise as manifested through vibrant paintings, ethereal drawings, and transcendental sculptures." The group exhibition presented the work of Lola Rose Thompson, Elena Stonaker, Meagan Boyd, Peter Makela, Meegan Barnes, Raul de Nieves, and Mymo. Last week, artists Stonaker and Boyd held a special one night only experimental life drawing class that verged on bohemian, erotic performance art. all photographs by Natalie Yang  

Last Few Days To Check Out Chloe Wise's Exhibition 'That's Something Else, My Sweet' @ Galerie Sébastien Bertrand in Geneva

For her first solo exhibition in Switzerland, Galerie Sébastien Bertrand in Geneva was transformed into a studio/work residency for a few weeks, during which Chloe Wise produced new artworks in the gallery space, creating sculptures and paintings of food (a subject she is already known for) and more precisely, producing works centered around what one might find at a picnic. In this case, Wise's picnic is an erotic and sumptuous one, boasting fake food, where cheese is placed alongside high-end brand logos, jam, models basking in the great outdoors, and nudes in fields, in a gratuitous combination of painting, sculpture and installation. That’s something else, my sweet is taken from E.E. Cummings’ poem If I. The tone of the passage is simultaneously condescending yet affectionate, as though spoken by someone who would console you after having tricked you moments before. Chloe Wise's 'That's Something Else, My Sweet' ends on July 4, 2015 at Galerie Sébastien Bertrand in Geneva. photographs by Annik Wetter.

Actress Jessica Lange at Her Photography Exhibit "Unseen" in Barcelona, Spain

After her ex-boyfriend, the actor Sam Shepard, gave her a Leica M6 as a gift, she embarked on a photographic journey throughout Mexico and the United States. Last month, Arts Santa Mònica in Barcelona, Spain presented 150 examples of her work. Today, The Eye of Photography published as a fascinating interview with the actress and lenswoman. You can also purchase a monograph of Lange's photographs here. photograph by Ieva Bluma

Go See Tattoo Artist Scott Campbell's Customized Crown Victoria On View Now @ Martos Gallery in New York

For "Crown Victorious," an exhibition on view now at Martos Gallery In New York, tattoo artist Scott Campbell decks out a Ford Crown Victoria police car with 24-carat-gold body paint - the windows are also etched. The exhibition will be on display until July 25, 2015 at Martos Gallery, 540 W 29th St New York. 

Alex Israel Emits Summertime Vibes in His Second Solo Exhibition at Galerie Almine Rech in Paris

For his second solo exhibition at Galerie Almine Rech in Paris, Alex Israel presents a series of recent works, entitled "Lenses," which are essentially large scale renditions of sunglass lenses that look as if they have been removed from the frame and propped against the wall. It is a nod to the easy breezy lifestyle of Los Angeles - a city that the artist romanticizes through multiple conceptualizations and mediums that range from sculpture to set backdrops to self portraiture to found objects and even a talk show. The show, entitled "As It Lays," features the artist in dark sunglasses asking off the cuff questions to the likes of Bret Easton Ellis, Larry Flynt, Vidal Sassoon, Rosanna Arquette and more - all against a backdrop of canvases painted with bright shades of orange in a depiction of a California in the throes of a permanent Summer sunset.  In fact, the "Lenses" in this exhibition are the same color as some of the backdrop paintings, for which Israel is known, that are also included in this presentation. You will also be able to find a miniaturized prop car - a Chevy Corvette - parked next to a tiny cactus; set against the fire orange backdrop painting, it gives the sense that you are riding off into the sunset in a classic Hollywood movie. Alex Israel "Summer" will be on view until July 27, 2015 at Galerie Almine Rech in Paris.

Artist James Georgopoulos Releases a Limited Edition Half Tone Pixilated Print Inspired by Astronauts and Aliens

"I chose to make this in iridescent green and black after reading a quote where Gordon Cooper talks about UFO spotting, which is rare for an astronaut to admit. So the green pearl color in the print is actually an homage toward Cooper and his belief in the iconic green martian." Click here to purchase a limited edition print by James Georgopoulos entitled "Space Race," silkscreened iridescent half tones, acrylic polymer, coventry rag paper.

Pathos and Vulnerability at "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" Group Exhibition On View Now @ Fraenkel Gallery In San Francisco

Fraenkel Gallery presents "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," curated by Katy Grannan. This group exhibition will present photographs and other objects by 18 artists, all of whom are being shown at the gallery for the first time. The title of the exhibition refers to Carson McCullers’ novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, and the poem that inspired it, The Lonely Hunter, written by Fiona MacLeod (aka William Sharp). The works selected for the exhibition resonate with pathos, obsession, and vulnerability, and speak to a fundamental source of artistic inspiration: the heart’s private longing. The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter will be on view until August 22, 2015 at Fraenkel Gallery, 49 Geary Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco. 

Go See Jannis Kounellis' Recreated Live Horse Installation on View Now At Gavin Brown's Enterprise

Italian based artist Jannis Kounellis first installed "Untitled (12 Horses)" in a garage in Rome, in 1969. From now until Saturday, you can catch the installation at Gavin Brown's Enterprise in Greenwich Village. It is the last exhibition in this location before the gallery moves to Harlem. Other artists on view include Rirkrit Tiravanija and Elaine Sturtevant. Jannis Kounellis’s “Untitled (12 Horses)” will be on view until June 27, 2015 at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise

Bunny Michael’s First Solo Exhibition Deals With the Beguiling Tangles of Human Consciousness

Alt Space presents "Etheric Double," Bunny Michael’s first solo exhibition, featuring new digital portraits and acrylic paintings that explore the beguiling tangles of human consciousness and relationships. Steeped in overwhelming positivity and self-love, Bunny Michael’s work bridges the divide between the self and self-awareness, the natural world and the future, reality and perception. With "Etheric Double," Bunny Michael uses her own “spiritual twin” as the conduit for expressing and advocating kindness, love, and acceptance of yourself and those around you. There will be an opening reception at Alt Space (41 Montrose Avenue, Brooklyn) on June 26 from 7 to 9pm, and the show will run from June 26 to July 12.

Marilyn Minter's Tongue Tied Billboard In Houston for Her Retrospective

"Tongue Tied" billboard for Marilyn Minter's retrospective, entitled "Pretty/Dirty," which is on view now at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston until August. For over three decades Marilyn Minter has produced lush paintings, photographs, and videos that vividly manifest our culture’s complex and contradictory emotions around the feminine body and beauty. Her unique works—from the oversized paintings of makeup-laden lips and eyes to soiled designer shoes—bring into sharp, critical focus the power of desire. As an artist Minter has always made seductive visual statements that demand our attention while never shirking her equally crucial roles as provocateur, critic, and humorist. "Marilyn Minter: Pretty/Dirty" features over 25 paintings made between 1976 and 2013, three video works, and several photographs that show Minter’s work in depth.

Go See Yoko Ono's Beautiful Exhibition @ the MoMA In New York

photograph by Evan Agostini

The Museum of Modern Art presents its first exhibition dedicated exclusively to the work of Yoko Ono, taking as its point of departure the artist’s unofficial MoMA debut in late 1971. At that time, Ono advertised her “one woman show,” titled Museum of Modern [F]art. However, when visitors arrived at the Museum there was little evidence of her work. According to a sign outside the entrance, Ono had released flies on the Museum grounds, and the public was invited to track them as they dispersed across the city. Now, over 40 years later, Yoko Ono: One Woman Show, 1960–1971 surveys the decisive decade that led up to Ono’s unauthorized exhibition at MoMA, bringing together approximately 125 of her early objects, works on paper, installations, performances, audio recordings, and films, alongside rarely seen archival materials. Yoko Ono: One Woman Show, 1960–1971 will be on view until September 7, 2015 at MoMA in New York. 

Tianzhuo Chen Performance at the Palais de Tokyo

Palais de Tokyo presents the very first solo exhibition in France of Chinese young artist Tianzhuo Chen, one of the most promising artists of his generation. Tianzhuo Chen uses a colourful, grotesque and kitsch imagery, dominated by direct references to drugs, LGBT hip hop, the London rave scene, Japanese Butoh, voguing in New York and the fashion world, to forge an intimate connection between his works and the collapse of moral attitudes and beliefs we see around us. The exhibition will be on view from June 24 to September 13, 2015 at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. 

Here Are Autre's Highlights from Art Basel 2015 in Switzerland

Art Basel 2015 is officially open to the public today in Basel, Switzerland. Art Basel has been described as the ‘Olympics of the Art World’. Approximately 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa show the work of more than 4,000 artists, ranging from the great masters of Modern art to the latest generation of emerging stars. The show's individual sectors represent every artistic medium: paintings, sculpture, installations, videos, multiples, prints, photography, and performance. Here are our highlights from the 2015 Art Basel in Switzerland, which will be in full swing until June 21, 2015. photographs courtesy of Art Basel

Six Dark and Dangerous Gallery Exhibitions On View Now In New York

1. See Delta blues musician, gravedigger and artist James ‘Son Ford’ Thomas's incredibly crude, but morbidly beautiful sculptures that are often made with real teeth and hair, on view at 80WSE Gallery 2. Female pop artist Marjorie Strider begs you to come hither and see some of her early masterpieces on view now at Broadway 1602 3. Deborah Kass reimagines Andy Warhol's 13 Most Wanted Men at Sargent's Daughters 4. Viewer DISCRETION...children of BATAILLE, curated by Kathleen Cullen, presents a group show of artists as disparate as Hans Bellmer, Max Snow and Picasso for an exhibition that explores erotica and the "permutations of our own desires."  5. Seth Price presents almost 80 works of art, with mediums such as airbrush and polymer paint, at Petzel Gallery 6. Los Angeles based photographer Torbjørn Rødland gets religious and erotic with his tongue-in-cheek, groin tingling work on view at Algus Greenspon. 

Go See Tom of Finland's Comprehensive Retrospective at Artists Space in New York

"The Pleasure of Play" is the most comprehensive Tom of Finland survey exhibition to date, including more than 190 drawings, gouaches from the 1940s, over 300 pages of collages, as well as early childhood work. Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen; Finnish; 1920, Kaarina – 1991, Helsinki), is considered to be the most iconic gay artist of the 20th century. 25 years after his death, the wide-reaching cultural impact of his work, in comparison to his global status, has only been infrequently presented, examined or discussed. Go see "The Pleasure of Play" at Artists Space until August 23, 2015 at Artists Space, 38 Greene Street, New York City. Click here to see our tour of the Tom of Finland Foundation. 

Artist Brad Phillips Leaves a Suicide Note Before the Opening of His Exhibition at Freddy Gallery In Baltimore

Tomorrow, Freddy Gallery in Baltimore will open "Problem Is You," a group exhibition featuring three artists: Aaron Carpenter, Philip Hinge, and the very much alive (but maybe not well) Brad Phillips. Instead of a traditional statement about the exhibition and the artists, the gallery offers a morbid, but brilliant, suicide note penned by Phillips, which probably sums up the exhibition more than any standard press release could. If you don't follow Phillips on Instagram, you should - it is an extenuation of the artist's unique practice that ranges from delicate near-photorealistic paintings to text based play-on-words to prose - his book Suicidal Realism is out now on the Swimmer's Group imprint. In the following suicide note, Brad Phillips offers his disdain for the mechanics of the art world and he narrates a spiritual journey of selfhood and artisthood in the midst of self doubt, depression and addition. Click here to read Brad Phillips' suicide note. 

Trish Tillman "Insoluble Bonds" @ Asya Geisberg Gallery

Asya Geisberg Gallery presents "Insoluble Bonds," an exhibition of sculptural assemblage by Trish Tillman. This will be the artist's first solo exhibition in New York. Tillman marries colorful ropes, flinty costume jewelry, strips of leather or fabric, and hair alongside industrial components as a means of exploring notions of gender play, ritual, and the presentation of the self. Elements alternately hang, drape or penetrate, often mirroring each other in symmetry, or opposing hard with soft, flow with stasis, or gravity with banality. Within her unique sculptural vocabulary, each boundary surprises - via attraction, repulsion, symbiosis, permeation, or thwarting contact. "Insoluble Bonds" will be on view until July 3, 2015 at Asya Geisberg Gallery, 537b West 23rd Street New York, NY

Watch Legendary Artist Jack Walls Talk About His New Exhibition at Rare Gallery In New York

In the above video, legendary New York artist Jack Walls talks about everything from his early experiences with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe to the AIDS crisis and his exploration as an artist. On view now at rare bookseller Glenn Horowitz's RARE gallery, the exhibition of new paintings, and the African carvings that inspired them is the first in a series of artist spotlights. The exhibition will be on view until June 27, 2015 at RARE Gallery, 17 West 54th Street New York, NY

A Group Show Entitled "To Hide To Show" Opens Tomorrow At MAMA Gallery In Los Angeles, Read Our Exclusive Interviews with the Artists →

Opening tomorrow night in Los Angeles, MAMA gallery will present To Hide To Show, a group exhibition derived from a contemporary French social anthropological study entitled Montrer / Occulter, which loosely translates to the exhibition’s title. The artists chosen to represent the ideas and concepts behind this study, and its conclusions, experiment with the notion of concealing and revealing on a societal, intellectual and creative basis. These artists include Clara Balzary, Zoe Crosher, Nana Ghana, Ariana Papademetropolous, Mattea Perrotta, Fay Ray, Lisa Solberg, and Johanna Tagada. Click here to read our interviews with all the artists.