Sexy Beast is a celebratory evening of contemporary art, revelry and performance in support of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles (PPLA). Bid on works by masters like Robert Mapplethorpe, Barbara Kruger, and Ed Ruscha to support PPLA’s life-saving reproductive health services to 150,000 patients annually. You can bid on works here. There will also be an event to celebrate the auction at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Purchase tickets here. above work by Josh Kline
Slow Culture and Playboy presents Playboys & Girls, a group exhibition celebrating the iconic culture of Playboy. As one of the world’s most recognizable brands, Playboy's legacy has influenced generations of artists and forward thinking minds alike. We have gathered 20 members of our creative community and tasked them with creating new, original work that embodies Playboy culture. From illustrators, photographers, tattoo artists and more, a diverse range of all mediums will be represented. Playboys & Girls will be on view until September 27, 2016 at Slow Culture in Los Angeles. Click here to purchase work from the show. photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper
Gagosian Gallery presents FLASH FLASH FLASH at the New York Art Book Fair at MOMA PS1. The "flash," a stereotypical tattoo design drawn onto a piece of cardboard, and offered on the walls of tattoo parlors, occupies a particular place in industrial and graphic design--art conceived for the human body is now its own genre of drawing. This year at the New York Art Book Fair, Gagosian will install a tattoo parlor offering original, readymade flash designs commissioned from artists Devendra Banhart, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Douglas Gordon, Kim Gordon, Max Hooper Schneider, and Richard Wright. Professional tattoo artists from Brooklyn's Flyrite Tattoo will be on hand in the booth to permanently tattoo these designs onto recipients during the fair, mixing the subculture of flash art with high art. Click here to reserve your appointment.
Jack Walls' exhibition of new paintings will be on view until October 31, 2016 at Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson Valley. There will be an opening event on September 3, 2016. Click here to read our interview with the artist. video by Shane Gambill
Villa Marlene is a project devised by Francesco Vezzoli, who retraces his work devoted to the mythical figure of Marlene Dietrich over more than 15 years. Between new works made specially for the exhibition and works present in large private collections, Villa Marlene proposes a fictional circuit in an abode which might have welcomed the actress, decorated with portraits in her likeness produced by the most important artists of her day and age. The artist here creates a fantasy mise en scène-like presentation of the diva’s life and alerts viewers to this as soon as they arrive: “Everything that you will see in this exhibition is just pure fiction”. Francesco Vezzoli "Villa Marlene" will be on view until September 11, 2016 at the Nouveau Musée National In Monaco, Villa des Pins - B 8, rue Honoré Labande
photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper
Voyeur Voyager Forager Forester is a continuation of Birnbaum’s practice of collecting obsolescent objects and repurposing these collections with whimsy and aesthetic rigor. The installation comprises more than forty used, wood-paneled mini-refrigerators stacked in totems of varied height, which will be positioned close together filling the main space of the gallery. The interiors of the fridges house micro-worlds of color-coordinated elements from Birnbaum’s collections and miniature objects he has fabricated. The viewer will be able to explore the interiors of the fridges, inviting an experience of voyeurism and discovery. The fridges will be plugged in and humming, moving the air in the space, so that the experience of the exhibition will not only be visual and tactile, but also aural and olfactory. Many of Birnbaum’s projects have featured domestic objects, and are thus informed by Birnbaum’s interests in design, consumer culture, and notions of private and public space. Birnbaum’s work engages with the legacy of Duchamp in his use of the readymade object, humor, and voyeurism, as well as Minimalism in his use of everyday materials, shifts in scale, and formal concerns. Voyeur Voyager Forager Forester will be on view until August 26, 2016 at Denny Gallery, 261 Broome Street, New York
The first major solo exhibition by accessories designer, art director and fashion stylist Judy Blame. Safety pins, buttons, badges, pearls, bottle tops, cutlery, plastic bags, toy soldiers and keys form an inventory of objects that Blame has adapted to create his trademark jewelry and other accessories. Judy Blame "Never Again" will be on view until September 4, 2016 at the ICA, 12 Carlton House Terrace London
Something about returning to my hometown of Pittsburgh always makes me really horny. One night, after Tinder-ing for awhile I came across a dude named Ed - profile picture was slick and mysterious, black and white, him in a Gucci bucket hat, sunglasses, and a Public Enemy hoodie. Swiped right. This was not a typical Pittsburgh guy. Why not? The mystery man with great style turned out to be Ed Piskor. We matched and met up that night. Click here to read more.
SVA’s fall 2016 art programming launches with “The Beat Goes On,” an exhibition featuring work by Elia Alba, Kevin Beasley, Paul D. Miller, a.k.a., D.J. Spooky, and Tameka Norris, a.k.a. Meka Jean, and curated by visual artist Derrick Adams. For “The Beat Goes On,” the SVA Chelsea Gallery has been transformed into four distinct listening rooms, each presenting a solo show by one of the featured artists. Encompassing photography, sculpture, installation, performance and video works, each room takes music and the history of recorded and transmitted sound as its inspiration. “The Beat Goes On" Curated by Derrick Adam will be on view until September 17, 2016 at SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, New York. Photographs by Adam Lehrer
Times Square marquees, roadside signs, and advertising logos are the stock-in-trade for giant neon signs. Martin Creed has adapted the medium for his own colossal sign, proclaiming a word rather than selling a product. His chosen word, “understanding,” is fundamental to communication between people. Spelled out in ten-foot-tall letters mounted on a 50-foot-long steel I-beam, Understanding rotates 360 degrees, constantly shifting our perspective on the work. The beam spins at varying speeds, the rhythm determined by a computerized program designed by the artist. Developed by former Public Art Fund Curator Andria Hickey, Understanding can be viewed until October 23, 2016 at Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York.
Palais de Tokyo has invited Marguerite Humeau for her first major solo exhibition. The artist has produced an entire series of new work for the project; a physical and sensory experience at the crossroads between research and fiction. Myths, speculations and fantasies are at the heart of Marguerite Humeau’s artwork. The development of each project includes a phase of extensive research and collaboration with numerous specialists and scientists. At Palais de Tokyo, Marguerite Humeau re-enacts the origin of life and the development of conscious life forms in an ominous atmosphere. Marguerite Humeau "FOXP2" will be open until September 11, 2016 at Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
Singer-songwriter Lail Arad reunites with photographer/filmmaker Flo Kohl and filmmaker and editor Ellis Pendens for a remarkable video and live music event. This collaborative performance piece has been composed for the second series of Ron Arad's groundbreaking Curtain Call, an immersive 360° video experience at the Roundhouse in London. This piece submerges the viewers in a virtual undersea environment, and invites them to dive in to Arad's playfully poetic lyrics and flowing melodies. Shot in six locations in four countries, the video is a celebration of Arad's second album, The Onion, released by The Vinyl Factory in April 2016. Flo Kohl co-directs the video with his longtime collaborator, Ellis Pendens. Drawing visual inspiration from their shared early-childhood fascination with fountain pens and inks, they have crafted an aquatic kaleidoscope of in-camera effects, bringing movement to Kohl's acclaimed stills. As Arad's lyrics flicker across the enormous screen of flexible silicon rods, they dissolve in tides and rapids, are swept away by waterfalls and float through inky seascapes. Ron Arad's "Curtain Call" will be open, on and off as a canvas for other live performances and happenings, until August 29, 2016 at in the mainspace at Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London. photographs by Flo Kohl
Jordan Reznick's exhibition Queer Babes will be on view until August 27, 2016 at Romer Young Gallery in San Francisco. photographs by Bradley Golden
