S Magazine, photography

Fall/Winter 2007

Exhibition of Issue 6 of S Magazine, ‘Verge’

Contributors:

Asger Carlsen

Boris Hoppek

Chloe Sells

Christian Friis

Enrique Badulescu

Ernesto Gonzalez

Felix Lahrer

Jens Stoltze

John Minh

Nguyen Mads

Teglers Manolo

Campion Massimo

Leardini Michael

Schmelling Nick

Dewar Parra

Ryan Michael Kelly

Ulla Puggaard

Vanina Zouravlion

Vincent Dilio

Warwick Sain

Sage Vaughn, FTW paintings

May 12 – June 10, 2007
“FTW,” paintings
Curated by Neil Grayson
Opening: Saturday, May 12, 7 – 9PM

“FTW”  For the Wild, wildlife and wildlives

Dactyl Foundation for the Arts & Humanities is located at 64 Grand Street (between Wooster and West Broadway) in SoHo, NYC. Hours: Tuesday – Friday 10:00 – 6:00 PM; Saturday 1:00 – 6:00 PM. Office: 212 696-7800 / Gallery: 646 329-5398 (during exhibitions times only). Subway: A, C, E, at Canal Street, or 1 at Canal Street. Open to the public. Admission free.

Reviews: “The Art of Sage Vaughn: An Overreaction to Beauty,” Malibu Magazine May 2007

Continue reading “Sage Vaughn, FTW paintings”

Deborah Sessel, paintings and drawings

April 19 – May 6, 2007
paintings & drawings
Curated by Victoria N. Alexander
Opening: Thursday, April 19, 7 – 9PM

Deborah N. Sessel is a representational painter, depicting, in painstaking detail, humble personal items left behind by Jews who suffered the Holocaust. Working in oil, she renders with care the silken folds of a delicate scarf, a silver Star of David on a chain, and Continue reading “Deborah Sessel, paintings and drawings”

Sage Vaughn, Where Eagles Dare

September 24, 2005-November 18, 2005
“Where Eagles Dare,” paintings
Curated by Neil Grayson
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 24, 2005, 7-9 PM

If at first glance this work seems to depict pretty bucolic suburban life, on second glance one notes that the sparrows and pigeons are tattooed with gang affiliations. Telephone poles replace totem poles and smoke stacks steeples in their sacred significance. The theme running through the series speaks of wild animals being partially domesticated and children going feral. This untraditional portrayal of nature is not necessarily sinister, but it’s edgier than it first appears.

Former graffiti artist, Sage Vaughn has been featured in Warped, Nylon, Juxtapos, PUTA and i-D magazines as “an artist to watch.”


“From A to B,” AKB Crew Group Show

July 14-August 13 2005
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 14, 2005, 7-9 p.m.

Nico Berry is a graphic designer and illustrator specializing in the urban youth market. He art-directed Thrasher skateboard magazine for 4 years, and currently freelances in New York City. Some of his recent clients include The Source magazine, Roadrunner Records and Fetish by Eve clothing. Nico’s website is www.nicoberry.com Continue reading ““From A to B,” AKB Crew Group Show”

Art of Motion

June 2 2005

7-9 pm
‘Art of Motion’ UXA Project,
An exhibition of works paying tribute to the action heroes of skateboarding curated by Alex Corporan.
Exhibition from June 2-June 30th. This exhibition is supported by Nike Skateboarding.

Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign

Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign

August 12 2004

6-9pm

Art Auction benefiting Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign fundraising committee: Mark Webber, Leo Fitzpatrick, James Ransone, John Buffalo Mailer, William Upski Wimsatt and Brendan Sexton III. Artists include: Ray Abary, Harvey Finkle, Tim Lynch, Melissa Farley, Squire Fox, Patrick Maisano, Melinda Stickney-Gibson, and Judy Glantzman. Curated by Gael Abary and Liz Ronk. Continue reading “Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign”

The Point, Benefit Exhibition

December 9 2003

DACTYL FOUNDATION  and ART+COMMERCE Invite you to give the gift of art this holiday season, all proceeds benefitting THE POINT CDC & BRONX CHARTER SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS, Offering the children and families of Hunts Point safe places to learn, create & grow.An evening of good cheer to purchase original works by professional and amateur artists of all ages while helping two non-profit organizations in the South Bronx. Continue reading “The Point, Benefit Exhibition”

Judy Glantzman, paintings, drawings & monoprints, exhibition

September 13th – November 8th 2003

“Paintings, Monoprints & Drawings” is Judy Glantzman‘s third solo exhibition at Dactyl Foundation for the Arts and Humanities. Since her first show at Dactyl, her career and work has continued to mature at both the professional and artistic level. Glantzman was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2001. A selection of her work is currently at P.S.1 (Museum of Modern Art) in a group show, “Site and Insight.” Dactyl Foundation has always appreciated Glantzman’s work as a tremendous contribution to contemporary art. Continue reading “Judy Glantzman, paintings, drawings & monoprints, exhibition”

Neil Grayson, Fundraiser

February 1-28 2003

Erotic drawings by Neil Grayson Proceeds to Benefit Dactyl Foundation Reception/Fundraising Benefit.

In these pieces, the artist’s gaze is so intensely focused on the nude that the images are abstracted to the point of becoming mysteriously potent icons of the erotic or bold graphic symbols of porn. Abstract art in this sense is representational, but it is so free of context that what it represents is not immediately obvious. The viewer is placed so close to the female buttocks that initially it is difficult to recognize. The first glance sees only the medium on the paper, the dark lines forming a cross and touches of color. In this way, these extraordinary drawings connect Eros with western culture’s most powerful symbol.
Each drawing is unique. Some are done on thick and irregular sheets of hand-made rag paper, some on Arches cotton paper, and others on canvas.The drawing is done in strong charcoal strokes that define the shape of the buttocks and the gap between the legs as the center of focus. Grayson conveys full body posture with just a few simple lines. In a few, the unseen rest of the figure would seem to be standing up straight; in others relaxed, hand on hip. Metal leaf overlays the drawing, delicately defining the smooth texture and luminosity of the skin. In several of these works, suggestions of viewfinders or sight scopes—-done in raw umber, ochre, or black oil paint-—float on a plane some distance from the image, nearer to the viewer. In all, the experience of these drawings is a viewer’s, how one sees-—intensely, obsessively—-rather than what one sees.
–Victoria N. Alexander, Curator

Jim Gilroy, before and after 9/11

September 3 – 28 2002

Before & After 9/11, paintings and drawings by Jim Gilroy.

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 7th, 6-8pm

“Before and After 9/11: Gilroy’s Falling Figure”
by Victoria N. Alexander and Maria Villafranca

Jim Gilroy has painted falling figures for the past five or so years. It is a theme that keeps insisting itself on his life in inexplicable and unexpected ways. When he was thirteen, he stood in a crowd of onlookers one afternoon in midtown Manhattan and watched a man jump to his death from Continue reading “Jim Gilroy, before and after 9/11”

Point & Shoot

June 1-29 2002

A collection of T-4 photography by pro-skaters, Alex Corporan, Elska Sandor, Giovanni Estevez, A-Ron the Don, Suekwon, Shadi Perez, Giovanni Reda, Mike O’Meally, Keith & Anne Hufnagel, Todd Jordan, Aaron Meza, Athena Razo, Leo Fitzpatrick, Ryan McGinley, Angela Boatright, J2, Dave Ortiz, and Carla Ullman.

Reception: Saturday June 1, 2002, 7-10pm;

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Archie Rand and John Yau, 100 More Jokes from The Book of the Dead

May 4-25 2002

An exhibition of hand-colored etchings and poetry by Archie Rand and John Yau (Meritage Press) Also celebrating the release of My Heart Is That Eternal Rose Tattoo (Black Sparrow),Borrowed Love Poems (Penguin) by John Yau, Simply Separate People by Lynn Crawford, edited by John Yau (Black Square), Me with Animal Towering by Albert Mobilio, edited by John Yau (Black Square); and Bayart by Pascalle Monnier, translated by Cole Swensen, edited by John Yau (Black Square).

Mike Piscitelli, Devolution

November 3

Curated by Neil Grayson

November 3 – December 8, 2001

Curated by Neil Grayson

In “Devolution,” artist Mike Piscitelli has re-rendered photographs in a striking collection of red and black painted bitmaps. Bitmaps are commonly used in image-editing computer programs to represent images through a grid of small squares known as pixels. Piscitelli has appropriated the bitmap technique to create paintings that reveal their images by breaking them apart.

As the name suggests, the works in “Devolution” follow a controlled pattern of deteriorating detail. As pixels are added and removed, the images they represent are surrendered and re-rendered at varying distances.

The paintings take their images from Piscitelli’s photographs of friends and models. The figures are starkly androgynous, suggesting a sexual, as well as graphic, retrogression. Thin and free from curves or irregularities, their bodies recall the innocent and straightforward, though nonetheless charged, eroticism of adolescence. Simple, direct poses and a preference for anonymous parts over expressive eyes reveal a decided rejection of the innuendo and role playing typical of the figure in art and fashion photography.

Piscitelli is a young, New York-based artist. Rather than the university or art school, Piscitelli came up through the ranks of porn, fashion photography, and music videos. His photography and video work displays an unusually perceptive connection to youth culture. A series of promotional video shorts Piscitelli directed for MTV earned him an Art Directors’ Club award for Outstanding New Talent.

The connection between popular and fine art is undeniable in contemporary culture. Rather than apprenticeships and a mastery of classical painting techniques, today’s sharpest talent digests a canon of music videos, movies, television, and fashion magazines. “Devolution” examines the source and product of a contemporary artistic lineage.

“Devolution,” curated by Neil Grayson, contains Piscitelli’s first collection of large-scale paintings, an interactive installation, and a limited-edition hand-made chap book.

Opening Reception: Saturday, Oct. 6, 2001 6-8pm
Exhibition Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 1-6pm

Continue reading “Mike Piscitelli, Devolution”