That's A Damn Fine Painting: An Interview With Adam Parker Smith On His Fantastical Solo Show On View Now In New York

Painting. Multi-media. Installation. Sculpture. All of these tags have been applied to the practice of New York-based artist Adam Parker Smith. All of these tags are or have been correct in their labeling of Smith’s work. But as wild and conceptual as Smith’s work gets at times, he roots his art in the fundamentals of painting. Whether he’s making mylar balloon sculptures or putting together an exhibition of works stolen from other artists (as he did with his Lu Magnus Gallery exhibition Thanks), he’s doing so with acknowledgement of the fundamentals of painting: “I think my work can be jarring but a lot of times it is smooth and cumulative,” he says while laboring over the installation of his current solo show at The Hole in NYC, entitled Oblivious the Greek. “The work moves well, it’s balanced, and its colors compliment it. One of the elements that make a work successful is being attractive.” Click here to read. 

Pop Music Is Not A Dirty Word: Read Our Exclusive Interview With Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor On His Beautiful New Solo Album

For the past 16 years, the quintessential British electronic group Hot Chip has been releasing album after delicious album, with a bevy of catchy tracks that are pop magic at its majestic finest. At the core of Hot Chip is a singular voice that is longing, soulful and demonically angelic. That singular voice belongs to Alexis Taylor, who this month released a new solo album, simply titled Piano, that is perhaps best described as antithetical to the grand pop balladry of Hot Chip, or even his own past solo records, but still maintains that signature wistful expressiveness. If Hot Chip is music to get high to, and to dance the night away to, Taylor’s newest album is music for reflection, introspection and soul-searching. Click here to read more. 

Ren Hang "What We Do Is Secret" @ MAMA Gallery In Los Angeles

Perhaps inadvertently, Ren Hang’s subject matter and seemingly simple technique have transcendent ramifications. His subjects project an irreverence that directly disrupts the restrictive realm of heteronormativity and presents alternate sexual and aesthetic realities. The title of Hang’s exhibition, What We Do Is Secret, references the music of punk band the Germs, which aligns with the provocative spirit of the artist’s images. Antagonism abounds in Hang’s work with a counterculture-fueled rebellion lying at its core. Ren Hang "What We Do Is Secret"  will be on view at MAMA Gallery until July 23, 2016. 

"The Art Of Nexus" At The Japanese Pavilion for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016

With the additional sense of loss that arose in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred on March 11, 2011, Japanese society is currently on the verge of a huge turning point. While the notion of a happy family life in the city, created by the modern state, has collapsed, a new community, based on “sharing” (values, lifestyles, etc.) has appeared in its place. How is our architecture changing to fit this new era? And where is our architecture headed? Many of the things that we are now focusing on have the potential to exert huge changes (at least superficially) on beautiful decorative elements such as architecture magazines (a propaganda tool for Modernism), and the architectural framework shaped by the modern state that is concealed in many buildings. This is why it is essential to place a strong emphasis on altering the state of society and various relationships – or in other words, the en (connections, relation, ties, chance, edge, fringe, rim), which serve as the theme of this exhibition. The Art Of Nexus will be open to the public throughout the 15th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia from 28 May to 27 November 2016 - at the Giardini. photographs by Sara Kaufman

Very Little Bad Vibes: Read Our Interview With Cult Comedic Hero Tim Heidecker On His New Album

Most people know Tim Heidecker from his brilliant Adult Swim series ‘Tim & Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job!’ and ‘Tim & Eric’s Bedtime Stories.’ While it’s easy to use colorful adjectives to describe his brand of humor, it’s even harder to define it. Whatever it is, he’s developed a massive cult following. He’s an everyman that blends a sort of slobbish machismo with the mind of a stoner philosopher, but there is also something sinister about his wit and irreverent spin on, well, everything. Like every great comedian, Heidecker doesn’t identify himself as one. His role in Rick Alverson’s 2012 film The Comedy proves Heidecker is a brilliant, natural actor with an ability to show a haunting, dispossessed vulnerability that encapsulates a very distinct ennui and disillusionment belonging to the comedown between youth and middle age. As he gets wiser, Heidecker exudes a certain suburban boredom – a boredom that he makes seem exciting in his new album In Glendale. Click here to read more.

Richard Prince "The Douglas Blair Turnbaugh Collection (1977-1988)" @ Edward Cella Art & Architecture In Los Angeles

Edward Cella Art & Architecture presents a rare collection of artworks, ephemera, and personal correspondence by artist Richard Prince. This private collection was assembled by New York writer and producer Douglas Blair Turnbaugh. The archive dates to the artist's earliest and most formative years (1977-1988) and offers an intimate glimpse into the unique relationship and confidential rapport shared by this influential artist and his devoted early patron. In Turnbaugh's own words: "Some of the pieces in this collection may at first glance be seen merely as common objects. But Richard is a master prankster, provocateur, poet, alchemist, prestidigitator — he can transform a material object, without altering its physicality, into an idea, into art, into an icon." Richard Prince: The Douglas Blair Turnbaugh Collection (1977-1988) features notable highlights from the collection, offering visitors a museum-like experience. Richard Prince "The Douglas Blair Turnbaugh Collection (1977-1988)" will be on view until July 16, 2016 at Edward Cella Art & Architecture, 2754 S. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles

Denise Scott Brown "Wayward Eye – Venice To Venice" As Part Of The Venice Architecture Biennale @ Palazzo Mora

"Wayward Eye – Venice To Venice" by Denise Scott Brown, as a part of the Venice Architecture Biennale collateral event "Time, Space, Existence", hosted in Palazzo Mora from 28th May to 27th November 2016. photographs by Sara Kaufman