Omul Negru Group Show @ Nicodim Gallery in Los Angeles

Spanning forty artworks, Omul Negru is an anthropological occurrence, one comprised of both cultural enactment and ritual embodiment, invoked to explore the varied notions of the Boogeyman. It is a celebration of civilization’s most important character, a figure that has transcended in the 21st Century into a monster of ever-expanding applications. This spectrum of visual culture’s darkest corner is traced through artists, martyrs, serial killers, madmen, and monsters; to explore the many faces as well as the facelessness of the Boogeyman. It traverses the origins, stereotypologies and embodiments of the Boogeyman through contemporary, historical, and archetypal lenses - staging an ominous atmosphere of summoning and possession. Omul Negru will be on view until August 20, 2016 at Nicodim Gallery in Los Angeles. photographs by Sara Clarken

Joan Jonas "From Away" @ DHC/ART In Montréal, Canada

From Away is the first retrospective in Canada devoted to the American multi-media artist Joan Jonas (b. 1936). It will give insight into the artist’s œuvre, spanning over five decades. It begins with her early choreographic works and pioneering video performances, such as the Organic Honey series, and culminates with her most recent piece They Come to Us without a Word, which was presented in 2015 at the Pavilion of the United States for the 56th edition of the Venice Biennale, and will premiere in North America at DHC/ART. The multimedia installation and performance They Come to Us without a Word is emblematic of the artist’s long-term interest in environmental politics, the landscape and ghost stories of Nova Scotia as well as the writing of the Icelandic author Halldór Laxness. Joan Jonas "From Away" will be on view until September 18, 2016 at DHC/ART 451 & 465, St-Jean Street Montréal, Québec.

Modes Of Conduction Group Show Presented by Overnight Projects @ The Moran Plant in Burlington, Vermont

Overnight Projects presents the group exhibition Modes of Conduction, which invites Germany-based artists Vesko Goesel, Peter Miller, and Viktoria Strecker to create site-responsive, installation-based works in the abandoned Moran Plant on Burlington, Vermont's waterfront. The Moran Plant functioned as a generator of energy. A machine whose massive turbine generators and switchgear assemblies were activated by workers-like-conductors to set off a daily assemblage of sounds. The machine, a monstrous skeleton of steel wrapped in skin of cinderblock, emitted a cacophony of industry: harmony, rhythm, and melody, the chorus of grinding gears and humming motors. Each day, workers-like-spectators witnessed the light moving across Moran's vast interiors, changing its colors from blue to amber, signaling the end of the day, the end of the concert. In this exhibition, Goesel, Miller, and Strecker will reactivate the machine that is Moran, and conduct through material interventions, a series of sounds, sights, and phenomena: Goesel through large, reflective fabrics, Miller through works imbued with uncanny sensations, and Strecker with automatic musical instruments and sounds created with rainwater collected in the building's inner troughs. Modes of Conduction is on view now by appointment only – there will be an artist lecture at Burlington City Arts on Thursday, August 11th at 6pm, and a closing event at Moran on Sunday, August 28th from 5-8pm. photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper

Shaky Towns Group Show Organized By The Battery Art Program @ The Alter Space Gallery In San Francisco

Alter Space presents Shaky Towns, an exhibition in two parts. Featuring work by fourteen artists currently living and working in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Shaky Towns will be held in two parts simultaneously at Alter Space and The Battery. Conceived and co-organized in conjunction with The Battery Art Program, the exhibition functions as a visual dialogue between the two cities, while concurrently addressing their divergent attributes. Thematic for its emphasis on work produced by a selection of contemporary artists working in California, Shaky Towns is uniquely attuned to the variant of the two physical spaces, reflected in the selection of work. Shaky Towns will be on view until September 17, 2016 at Alter Space Gallery in San Francisco. photographs by Bradley Golden

Breakfast and Chill: Watch "Croissant Castles" A New Fashion Film From Down Under

Starring Helen Bedz from Folk Collective and directed by Amy Dellar, aka Indoor Fountains, Croissant Castles is a fashion film for breakfast gluttons, featuring clothing by Base Range and new Melbourne fashion by Sister Studios and Nylons jewellery – all styled by Cecile Huynh with makeup by Rob Povey and hair by Xeneb Allen. The short film also features original music by Mitchell Wood from Leisure Suite and production design by Sara Glaoua. 

Pennies From Heaven: Read Our Interview With French Actress and Director Maïwenn →

Maïwenn is little known in the United States, but in France, she has made an indelible mark on the world of cinema. Most Americans remember her as the seductive, singing alien, Diva Plavalaguna, in Luc Besson’s cult classic, The Fifth Element. However, her future acting and directing endeavors have indisputably eclipsed this small role she played as a teenager. Her acting career started at a very young age, when she moved to Los Angeles and became a child actor. As a director, she has a remarkably intuitive gift for creating masterful scenes that are powder kegs of emotion – with the fuse often lit during the first frame of the movie. The pacing, the chemistry and the fluidity – there is a preternatural authenticity. Over the past ten years she has directed four feature films and one short. Her most recent films Polisse (2011) and Mon Roi (2016) – the latter of which will be released next week in theaters – have won her critical acclaim and a multitude of highly coveted nominations. These accolades include, but are not limited to, the Palme d’Or, the César for best film, best director, and best screenplay. Her film Polisse won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Click here to read more. 

Expansion and Retraction: Read Our Interview With Rising Melbourne Based Musician Oscar Key Sung →

Oscar Key Sung is a rising name in Australia's independent music scene, coming out of Melbourne. He's been steadily releasing music through collaborative projects and on his own for the past few of years, but it is his unique approach to blending experimental electronic beats with RnB vocals yet keeping a pop-style element to his sound, that has gained him attention as an emerging solo artist. His latest single 'Hands' from his anticipated debut full length album see's him continue to captivate us sonically and visually with a music video that features minimalistic contemporary dance and lighting effects. Ahead of his album to be release later this year, we spoke to him about the new record, how he defines his distinctive style and his introduction into music. Click here to read more. 

Ed Ruscha Books & Co. @ Gagosian Gallery In Los Angeles

Gagosian Gallery presents “Ed Ruscha Books & Co.,” an exhibition of artists' books by and after Ed Ruscha. The exhibition is organized by Gagosian director Bob Monk. In the 1960s, Ruscha was credited with reinventing the artist's book, producing and self-publishing a series of slim volumes of photography and text. By turning away from the craftsmanship and luxury status that typified the livre d'artiste in favor of the artistic idea or concept, expressed simply and in editions that were unsigned and inexpensively printed, Ruscha opened the genre to the possibilities of mass-production and distribution. “Ed Ruscha Books & Co.” presents Ruscha's iconic books together with those of more than one hundred artists from all over the world—from Russia to Japan to the Netherlands—who have responded directly and diversely to his lead. Many books are installed so that viewers can browse their pages. After presentations in New York, Munich and Paris (2013–15) the exhibition run will conclude in Ruscha's home city of Los Angeles. The exhibition will be presented in conjunction with “Ed Ruscha Prints and Photographs.” Ed Ruscha Books & Co. will be on view until September 9, 2016 at Gagosian Gallery, 456 North Camden Drive

The Interminable Apprentice: Read Our Interview Of Fine Jewelry Designer Elie Top On His New Collection and Working With Yves Saint Laurent →

Elie Top may just be one of the most glamorous men in Paris. Working silently under the likes of Yves Saint Laurent before his passing, and Alber Elbaz for Lanvin before Elbaz left the helm of the fashion house, Top has gained a keen and sharp insight into the world of luxury jewelry and accessory making. Elbaz’s exit was a perfect excuse for Top to take what he learned as an interminable apprentice and start his own eponymously named label. His new collection, entitled Mécaniques Célestes, is an insight into the ornamental aesthete’s lifelong fascination with all things baroque, classical and talismanic. Gold, diamonds, precious stones and other metals reinterpret the armillary sphere – tiny universes atop a finger, atop a breastbone; perfect and encapsulated. When we met Top, we ambushed him with an interview proposal during a cigarette break from hosting his recent pop up at Maxfield’s in Los Angeles (it was his first ever visit to Los Angeles). Our conversation oscillated between his memories of working with Saint Laurent, his love for jewelry and his new collection. Click here to read more. 

"Lifeforce" Group Show Curated by Kelsey and Rémy Bennett @ The Untitled Space In New York

The Untitled Space and Indira Cesarine present LIFEFORCE, an all female group show that explores the feminine in the context of a genderless future curated by sisters Kelsey and Rémy Bennett. Inspired by Donna Haraway’s essay, A Cyborg Manifesto, the feminist science fiction and Afrofurturists of the 1970s, the exhibit will feature performance, sculpture, painting, comics, and photography that aim to re code normative expectations celebrating the LIFEFORCE that is beyond human matter and closer to it’s essence. The work focuses on the all encompassing power of “the female” on both physical and metaphysical levels – transcending constructs of race and gender, reclaiming representation, & exploring intersections with science & technology. Lifeforce will be on view until August 6, 2016 at The Untitled Space in New York

An Exclusive Sneak Peek At "Piston Head II – Artists Engage The Automobile" Opening This Weekend @ Venus Los Angeles Gallery

Venus Gallery in Los Angeles presents Piston Head II, an exhibition which explores the relationship and parallels between art and the automobile, featuring new works in which the car is considered as both a cultural icon and sculptural form. The exhibition includes works by César, Katherine Bernhardt, Will Boone, Keith Haring, Matthew Day Jackson, Olivier Mosset, Richard Prince, Sterling Ruby, Peter Shire, Lawrence Weiner, and Jonas Wood. Additionally, VENUS is delighted that Garage Italia Customs, the creative hub founded by Lapo Elkann and dedicated to tailor-made customizations, will personalize a selection of vehicles exclusively for the exhibition. As the quintessential machine of modern life, the car has both shaped human experience and inspired countless artists over the years. With the power to convey status and identity, the automobile reflects the desires and dreams of its owners. The artists included in the exhibition have approached the car as both object and subject in numerous ways—from Olivier Mosset’s bikes recontextualized in the gallery space to Sterling Ruby’s caged-in bus to a quintessential Richard Prince muscle car. In a collision between the automobile and contemporary art, the exhibition explores the tensions between aesthetics and utility. Piston Head II will open July 30 and run until September 30, at Venus LA, 601 South Anderson Street, Los Angeles, CA

Watch The Music Video For "Killer Road" by Soundwalk Collective with Jesse Paris Smith featuring Patti Smith

Nomadic experimental trio Soundwalk Collective has shared a new video for “Killer Road” from their collaborative album of the same name with Jesse Paris Smith and Patti Smith. Killer Road is a tribute to Nico, featuring immersive soundscapes by Soundwalk Collective and Jesse Paris Smith with Patti Smith reciting lyrics and poetry from throughout the Velvet Underground singer’s life. The album is due out September 2nd on Sacred Bones and is now available to preorder HERE.

"Grind" Group Show Curated By Joshua Nathanson @ Various Small Fires Gallery In Los Angeles

I grew up with the feeling that our cities would evolve toward some kind of extreme state; utopian commune, technological wonder, total apocalypse etc. I think I absorbed these notions from our culture. But I’ve come to believe that the current nature of the city is likely its default state. Its apex more mundane than I (or anyone) had imagined: comfortable with its dysfunction, cozy in its chaos. Conversations regarding the eventual state of the city feel irrelevant, as the future seems folded into the past; self-driving cars amble along streets originally paved for horses, Pokemon are projected onto 19th century brownstones, and 3-D programs dutifully render simulations of rusted cans. The city is a churning mess of ancient/current/future. Grand hopes now seem naive and it’s really a bummer. Yet the city is still an ecosystem fueled by enormous forces. Although its trajectory may be circular it still gives birth to cultures that thrive along the periphery. And the feeling that the future is indefinitely delayed makes it possible for artists to gaze into the present with an unflinching eye and a twisted sense of glee at the unfathomable strangeness of it all. In our paradigm the city is rarely an overt subject but rather the de facto setting for art’s production and reception – where the city’s emergent forces manifest. This show will feature artists whose work reflect urban life from our current position. It’s a sketch of the city – incomplete, oblique and at times pessimistic, but evidence of life flourishing within the persistent clutter. text by Joshua Nathanson. Grind will be on view until August 27, 2016 at Various Small Fires Gallery, 812 North Highland Avenue Los Angeles, California