New Events / Hanoch Piven at New York’s Society of Illustrators

November 5, 2009 | New Events | by Casper Johansson |

Hanoch Piven, multiple award-winning illustrator, will lead a hands-on collage workshop for professional illustrators who want to free their inner child. Piven’s workshop will focus on the idea of playing intuitively with objects, maximizing trial-and-error and taking advantage of serendipity, which are all very useful tools to explore any creative medium. Piven is known for using ordinary objects to create striking celebrity portraits for such clients as Time, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The New York Times and Random House. The workshop takes place on Tuesday, November 10, between 6:30 – 8:30pm, and will be produced by Fernanda Cohen.

New Events / Kill Pixie’s Supreme Beings in Berlin

November 5, 2009 | New Events | by Michelle Wilding |

My fellow Germans — or anyone willing to fly to Berlin — should go check out the solo exhibition Supreme Beings by emerging Aussie artist Kill Pixie (aka Mark Whalen). His latest series of geometric paintings are on display at Berlin’s Merry Karnowsky Gallery until December 19. I’m particularly intrigued by Kill Pixie’s use of candy colours coupled with his depiction of masked puppet-like characters set in celestial and futuristic scenes. Supreme Beings meticulously ‘questions the games people are forced to play, reinterprets the universal human struggle and what will be necessary for survival in the future of our world’.

New Events / Typographic month in NYC

November 3, 2009 | New Events | by Deanne Cheuk |

November is shaping up to be Typographic month in New York. On November 5 there’s the official opening of Lubalin Now — the inaugural exhibition at the newly re-located Herb Lubalin Study Center at the Cooper Art Union, featuring beautiful typography from the likes of Alex Trochut, Huntergatherer and Non-Format [featured above]. Read more

New Events / William Powhida at LA’s Charlie James Gallery

November 2, 2009 | New Events | by Chris Rubino |

Fellow alumni William Powhida has a fantastic new exhibit up at Los Angeles’ Charlie James Gallery, No One Here Gets Out Alive. In this new Series Powhida’s aptly named fictional character, Powhida, flees the New York Art World for a stab at destroying LA, indulging in all of our favorite vices, booze, coke, sex and sometimes art. We read about this debauchery in Powhida’s trompe l’oeil notebook pages, newspaper articles and obsessive lists. I even found myself enjoying an issue of 944. Incredible! The show remains open until December 5. Read more

New Events / Sixth Pommery Exhibition Sons & Lumieres

October 30, 2009 | New Events | by Ilana Kohn |

How much better can it get than little dollops of contemporary art interspersed throughout the breathtaking setting of Champagne Pommery’s Domaine in Reims, France. The most interesting part here is that this is an ongoing tradition at Champagne Pommery, going all the way back to the 19th century ‘when Madame Pommery commissioned sculptor Gustav Navlet to carve four bas reliefs for the estate and later had the famous cabinet maker and glass artist Emile Gallé create a solid oak Pommery barrel that holds up to 19,816 gallons (100,000 bottles). This barrel was displayed at the 1904 Worlds’ Fair in St. Louis’. The upcoming Sixth Pommery Exhibition, Sons & Lumieres, will be curated by French artist Bertrand Lavier and will include ‘everyday objects often set in difficult spaces’. Read more

New Events / Whoop Dee Doo this Halloween in Kansas City

October 30, 2009 | New Events | by Alison Zavos |

Whoop Dee Doo is a performance art group based out of Kansas City, Missouri, and hosted by Jaimie Warren and Matt Roche, alongside fifteen or so other cast and crew members. They travel internationally to put on random shows that, visually at least, remind me of a G-Rated John Waters movie. The idea of Whoop Dee Doo shows is based upon kid-friendly faux public access TV programs (they are filmed but don’t actually air) that appear highly entertaining for adults as well. Last year, they performed at Deitch Projects’ holiday party, amongst other places. Read more

New Events / Robyn Sweaney at Sydney’s Iain Dawson Gallery

October 28, 2009 | New Events | by Casper Johansson |

Says curator and gallery owner Iain Dawson of Australian artist Robin Sweaney’s work: ‘I first saw Robyn Sweaney’s exquisite paintings when I was invited to a curatorial panel event by the Visual Arts Network and Arts Northern Rivers in 2006. What immediately enthralled me was Robyn’s attention to detail and obsessive capturing of the scene’s she surrounds herself with. The stillness of the works and the contemplation on these uniquely Australian dwellings work strongly on many levels. Firstly the paintings and drawings are aesthetically beautiful and incredibly evocative. Secondly, I’m increasingly fascinated by the subjects of these works, these wonderful houses, soon to be lost to the collective consciousness, superseded by the McMansions of the new millenia. Robyn’s works are a link to our heritage, our collective nostalgia for a simpler, less flashy world’. Her latest series, Home Beautiful, is showing at the Iain Dawson Gallery between 10-21 November. Read more

New Events / Bid on artistic Dosh Wallets

October 27, 2009 | New Events | by Michelle Wilding |

Australian company Dosh wallets turn the necessity of carrying money into a daily fashion parade thanks to their sleek extra thin designs. Even more intriguing is Dosh’s recent Wallets As Art project. Some of the world’s finest contemporary artists have teamed up with Dosh to splash their creative vision across blank wallets, which are now available exclusively to the public via auction. Bidding for individual wallets ends on the evening of November 2, so get in quick if you want a memorable chunk of Kill Pixie, French, Stefan Marx or Jonathan Zawanda adorning your Dosh wallet.

October 23, 2009 | New Events | by Melissa Banigan |

If you haven’t yet witnessed the genius that is The Mimi & Flo Show, catch them Thursday, November 10 at Comix Comedy Club. Joining them will be The Hazzards (New York’s most best ever ukulele band), as well as guest stars Becky Yamamoto and Michael Cyril Creighton.

New Events / Krewe de Soul Masquerade Ball charity event

October 22, 2009 | New Events | by Melissa Banigan |

Do you live in the New York area and wonder what you’ll be doing Thursday, October 29th? How about you get your Halloween-prepped-dancing-ass to the Bell House for the Krewe de Soul Masquerade Ball to check out musical acts such as The High and Mighty Brass Band, Mighty Fine, and Tunde Adebimpe, from TV on the Radio [picture above]. Seven bands and three DJs are lined up to make you move your rump, which will be necessary to work off all of the free food you’ve consumed (get there early for the gastronomical delights). Oh, and feel good, too, knowing that proceeds from the event will benefit the Abeola House of New Orleans; a non-profit formed by parents whose children attended one of 200 schools and daycare centers that didn’t reopen after Hurricane Katrina.

New Events / Food glorious food, unless you can’t eat it!

October 21, 2009 | New Events | by Zolton |

Question: what’s the definition of torture? Answer: Being on a self-inflicted raw food diet during the New York Food and Wine Festival. Yup, this was hard. Walking through the cavernous surrounds of the Grand Tasting room, eying off the special offerings from some of New York’s finest chefs, and not being able to taste a morsel of it. Well, maybe a morsel. We did, afterall, come upon a tasty Tomato and Watermelon Salad with Goat Cheese, Arugula and Juniper by chef Todd Mark Miller. But the rest? Well, you can look but you can’t gobble down. And this was a food lovers’ hedonism: table after table of delicious treats, washed down by an endless selection of wines and spirits. There were cupcakes from Kyotofu, steaks from The River Cafe, and an Iron Chef station featuring a real time challenge. Still, the diet won. No treats for me that day, but instead a glimpse at how the other half live. Even if it was for just a few hours. [photos by Alison Zavos] Read more

New Events / Tea Seduction at the New York Food & Wine Festival

October 20, 2009 | New Events | by Ilana Kohn |

Finger sandwiches, tea and a burlesque dancer in pasties dancing with a two foot tea cup and tea bag. What more could anyone possibly want on a Sunday afternoon? I had the pleasure of attending the Food & Wine Festival’s event, Tea Seduction with Tracy Stern, recently and it was definitely a treat. Being seated, we were immediately presented with ginger scones served with the most incredible made-that-morning raspberry jam, orange marmalade and clotted cream. I can’t say I wasn’t in love with a single thing placed before me for the duration of the event. Earl Grey Tea with Sherry, delicious salmon and creme Fraiche finger sandwiches, cut out with a heart-shaped cookie cutter, and some of the most amazing Chai tea — Tracy Stern’s own Salontea Chocolate Chai Tea. Nothing beats a Sunday afternoon spent being entertained by a burlesque dancer and sipping on endless cups tea. Read more

New Events / Australian International Animation Festival

October 19, 2009 | New Events | by Casper Johansson |

Between October 21-24, the Australian International Animation Festival is heading to Newcastle, just out of Sydney, where 110 films from 26 countries will amaze, delight, amuse and confuse — perhaps all at the same time. There will be ‘two international programs, a showcase of Australian animation, highlights of SIGGRAPH Asia, a digital program for for the brave, a late-night hour of oddness in Late Night Bizarro, and for those under 18, there’s a special kids program of international animated treats’. Tickets are $5 per session or $30 for festival pass to see all eight programs. No pre-sale — at the door and cash only. If you’re in the area, be sure to check it out. Read more

New Events / Girls Against Gold at Sydney’s Blank Space Gallery

October 16, 2009 | New Events | by Laura McWhinnie |

With the price of gold hitting an all time high, it was only a matter of time before designers took a hard look at what this metal represents. But just because gold has never been more unattainable, doesn’t mean our jewellery box has to suffer. That’s where Sydney design group Ten More Girls come in. Standing true to this philosophy, their latest exhibition Girls Against Gold kicks off this Saturday at the Blank Space Gallery in Sydney’s Surry Hills. They believe that preciousness lies not in the materials used, but in the piece’s emotional value. Crafting silver, brass, wood and bone, they’ll have you lusting after a whole new array of materials. Read more

New Events / Meatpacking Uncorked at NY Food and Wine Festival

October 15, 2009 | New Events | by Ilana Kohn |

When I found out I was going to have the opportunity to cover the Food & Wine Festival’s Meatpacking Uncorked event I was beside myself. Not really sure what to expect, I skipped lunch. I wanted to leave every square inch of gut vacant and ready to accommodate delicious food. Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised by the street fair slant of the event. I had expected to be corralled into a tight area, pressed shoulder to shoulder with other enthusiastic foodies, gasping for air between gulps of wine. Not at all. Read more