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California Dreaming....

2012-01-26T12:36:00.000-08:00

The exhibition Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982, examines swimming pools in photographs from 1945 to 1982 as representations of the ideals and expectations associated with Southern California.

These images of individual water-based environs in the arid landscape are an integral part of Southern California's identity, a microcosm of the hopes and disillusions of the country's post-World War II ethos. As a private setting, the backyard pool became a stage for everything from sub-culture rituals to clandestine desires. As a medium, photography became the primary vehicle for embodying the polar emotions of consumer optimism and Cold War fears.

For the first time, this exhibition, its catalogue, and accompanying programs trace the integrated histories of photography and the iconography of the swimming pool, bringing new light to aspects of this complex interaction.

"Probably the most exciting thing about the exhibition is the range and caliber of the photographers that were included. The exhibition features works by Slim Aarons, Herb Ritts, Ed Ruscha, Diane Arbus, David Hockney, Julius Shulman, John Baldessari, Bill Owens, Maynard Parker and Rondal Partidge, and references a unique blend of photography styles in post-war America."
~~ Bob Bogard, Director of Marketing Communications, Palm Springs Art Museum

Backyard Oasis is currently on view at Palm Springs Art Museum.

Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982

Bill Owens, Hockney Painted This Pool, 1980, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

© Bill Owens

Michael Childers, The Hockney Swimmer, 1978

Courtesy of Michael Childers © Michael Childers

Bill Anderson, Edris House, ca. 1954

Collection Palm Springs Art Museum © Palm Springs Art Museum

Anthony Friedkin, Woman by the Pool, Beverly Hills Hotel, CA, 1975

Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Luisotti © Anthony Friedkin

David Hockney, John St. Clair Swimming (from Twenty Photographic Pictures), 1972

Sonnabend Collection, New York © David Hockney; photo credit Richard Schmidt

Leland Y. Lee, Silvertop - Hollywood Dawn, 1972

Courtesy of the artist and Michael H. Lord Gallery © Leland Y. Lee

Herb Ritts, Richard Gere - Poolside, 1982

Courtesy of the Herb Ritts Foundation, Los Angeles © Herb Ritts Foundation

Edward Ruscha, Nine Swimming Pools, 1968, one of nine c-type prints

Courtesy of Ed Ruscha © Ed Ruscha

Lawrence Schiller, Marilyn Monroe, 1962/printed 2011

Courtesy of Judith and Lawrence Schiller; Lawrence Schiller © Polaris Communications, Inc

Mel Roberts, Rich Thompson, Indio, 1963
Estate of Mel Roberts © Michael H. Epstein & Scott E. Schwimer

Mel Roberts, Robert and Cliff, Sherman Oaks, 1980
Estate of Mel Roberts © Michael H. Epstein & Scott E. Schwimer

Lawrence Schiller, Palm Springs Fashion, No. 8, 1964/printed 2011
Courtesy of Judith and Lawrence Schiller, Lawrence Schiller © Polaris Communications, Inc.

Courtesy Palm Springs Art Museum, CA

Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982

January 21 - May 27, 2012
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Alexis Mabille: Haute Couture Summer/Spring 2012

2012-01-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

Paris was blooming with Alexis Mabille's stunning creations and most striking were the gorgeous flower headpieces made to match the color of the clothes. No nose rings for his models, but instead painted faces to match the enormous paper petals.

The catwalk show took place at the lovely Shangri-La hotel, an ideal setting for Mabille's extravagant collection.

Here are some of my favorite pieces.

Alexis Mabille, Haute Couture S/S 2012

Images, courtesy GoRunway

Seb Janiak; A Visionary Artist

2012-01-23T08:36:00.000-08:00

Graphic designer, photographer, producer, video director, author-script writer, Seb Janiak is a worldwide recognized artist. Noticed for his free and creative approach, far away from the motionless imagery of the 80s, Seb Janiak always kept his integrity and sincerity, without any concession.

Regarded as one of the pioneer of numeric photography, which he explores the possibilities since 1986, with the revolutionary "Paint Box", imported from Japan, Seb Janiak contributes to a new dimension, and proposes a visionary art. Creator of "Digital matt painting", this hyperrealist can inlay several photographs in one to obtain homogeneous images, striking of realism.

Several new photographic pieces are featured in Janiak's first Art book, released in October 2011 and published by Zauberkind Edition. From Soon International to Daft Punk, Berlin to Miami Beach, Seb Janiak brings a new dimension to his work.

Foreword by Philippe Starck
" Seb has shown that the impossible can be achieved, he was the first, I believe, to create places, atmospheres and creatures from nothing. As a pioneer, he has laid the foundations of an art often since imitated but this always in poor taste - sinking into futility, or even vanity. Without his soul, such copies can only be sterile"......

Seb Janiak lives in Paris and his work is often exposed in the biggest International Photography Art Fairs.

Seb Janiak

Naomi Campbell, Soon International Magazine, 2011

© Seb Janiak

Naomi Campbell, Lighted Darkness, 2011

© Seb Janiak

"Laser" Soon International Magazine, 2011

© Seb Janiak

Laetitia Casta, 1998

© Seb Janiak

Nadja Auermann, 1997
© Seb Janiak

Uchrony, parking Notre Dame, 1989

© Seb Janiak

Uchrony, Place Vendome, 1994

© Seb Janiak

Uchrony, Grand Palais, 1996

© Seb Janiak

The Kingdom, Moon above Clouds, 2008

© Seb Janiak

The Kingdom, Sun above Clouds, 2008

© Seb Janiak

The Kingdom, Bardo Thodol, 2010

© Seb Janiak

The Kingdom, Moment of Choices, 2010

© Seb Janiak

Courtesy Seb Janiak / VISIONAIRS GALLERY

SEB JANIAK

On exhibit at VISIONAIRS GALLERY, Paris
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After Hats comes Staging Fashion at the Bard Graduate Center

2012-01-17T11:22:00.000-08:00

Beginning in the late nineteenth century, actresses became key figures in the international cult of celebrity that flourished in the context of a nascent mass media and mass consumerism. Formerly ostracized as women of dubious morals, actresses were presented - and presented themselves - as role models for women across the social spectrum.

Through printed ephemera, exquisite dresses, and accessories, the exhibition Staging Fashion, 1880-1920: Jane Hading, Lily Elsie, Billie Burke explores the roles played by actresses as internationally known and influential fashion leaders at the turn of the twentieth century. This exhibition focuses on Jane Hading (1859-1941), Lily Elsie (1886-1962), and Billie Burke (1884-1970) as case studies through which one may investigate the actress as trendsetter and examine the objects that were instrumental in the creation of her public image and persona.

From January 18 to April 8, 2012, the Bard Graduate Center (BGC) presents Staging Fashion, 1880-1920: Jane Hading, Lily Elsie, Billie Burke. The exhibit is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue edited by the curator Michele Majer, with contributions from Lenard Berlanstein, Sheila Stowell, Marlis Schweitzer, and BGC students.

"Although many people might not be aware of it, our present-day obsession with celebrity actresses goes back to the turn-of-the-twentieth century with the rise of mass media. Glamorous stage performers like Jane Hading, Lily Elsie and Billie Burke were adulated by male and female fans who bought millions of postcards with their images, read thousands of magazines that featured their 'private' lives, and, in the case of women especially, closely followed and often copied their every fashion move."
~~ Michele Majer

Catalogue Cover: Foulsham & Banfield (English, 1906-1920)

Postcard of Lily Elsie as "Angele Didier" in The Count of Luxembourg, ca. 1911.

Postcard of Billie Burke, ca. 1907, published by Dover Street Studio

Private collection. Photographed by Bruce White

Billie Burke. Cover of The Theatre (Oct. 1908). Private collection
Photographed by Bruce White

Reutlinger Studio (French, 1850-1937). Postcard of Jane Hading in La Pompadour, ca. 1901
Private collection. Photographed by Bruce White

Paul Boyer. Jane Hading in Plus que Reine. Cover of Le Theatre (May 1899)
Private collection. Photographed by Bruce White

Reutlinger Studio (French, 1850-1937). Postcard of Jane Hading in La Pompadour, ca. 1901
Private collection. Photographed by Bruce White

Charles Poynter (English, 1853-1929) for the House of Redfern (English, 1881-1929)
Evening gown, ca. 1904. Museum of the City of New York
Photographed by Bruce White

Foulsham & Banfield (English, 1906-1920). Postcard of Lily Elsie in The Merry Widow, ca. 1907
Private collection. Photographed by Bruce White

Foulsham & Banfield (English, 1906-1920). Postcard of Lily Elsie in the Merry Widow, ca. 1907
Private collection. Photographed by Bruce White

Foulsham & Banfield (English, 1906-1920). Postcard of Lily Elsie in The Merry Widow, ca. 1907
Private collection. Photographed by Bruce White

Joseph G. Darlington and Co., Philadelphia (American, active early 20th century).
Woman's hat, ca. 1908-10. Philadelphia Museum of Art

Courtesy the Bard Graduate Center, New York

Staging Fashion, 1880-1920: Jane Hading, Lily Elsie, Billie Burke

January 18 - April 8, 2012
Click here to see the exhibit on Hats at the BGC.
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Cerise Doucede: " LOST "

2012-01-12T15:17:00.000-08:00

In this series of photographic installations titled Lost, French photographer Cerise Doucede shows a varied panorama of small daily hallucinations, in which we all can be the protagonists. Lost in thought, the characters are projected into chaotic settings where surrounding objects fly, collide and gather ... These brief moments create a confusion between reality and fiction.

Recently selected for a special commission for the Royal Monceau-Raffles Paris, Cerise Doucede will be awarded 20,000 Euros for the creation of her photographic project, destined to join the Royal Monceau collection, which currently hosts 320 works, spread throughout the rooms and suites of the hotel. Cerise was among the five finalists of the Royal Monceau Competition for Photography, that was established in 2011 to highlight and support young photographers. On this occasion, the finalists expose their work at the Art District, the gallery of the hotel.

In Lost, each portrait is a reflection of the desires, fears, obsessions, fantasies of the central person - and how they affect their imagination.
~~ Cerise Doucede

Lost - Egarements (2010-2011)
© Cerise Doucede

Courtesy Cerise Doucede

Images © Cerise Doucede

Lost is on view at Art District / Royal Monceau-Raffles Paris until January 28, 2012
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Maurizio Anzeri; MakeUp Art or Embroidered Portraits

2012-01-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

Maurizio Anzeri makes his portraits by sewing directly into found vintage photographs. His embroidered patterns garnish the figures like elaborate costumes. The antique appearance of the photographs is often at odds with the sharp lines and silky shimmer of the threads. Obscuring part of the photograph, Anzeri both hides and enhances certain features of the face. His precise juxtapositions transform the discard image, giving his portraits a disquieting and psychological presence.

"I see portraits as landscapes. And I explore them in order to layer them with my own maps of orientation. I have always been fascinated by Darwin's ideas of evolution. With my embroidery I invent other possible evolutionary dimension for the people pictured. I re-invent them and enmesh them into new forms of visual kinship, another way to capture reality."
~~ Maurizio Anzeri

Maurizio Anzeri was born in 1969 Loano, Italy. He lives and works in London. His embroidered portraits are currently on exhibit at A Palazzo Gallery until March 11, 2012.

Twins

© Maurizio Anzeri

Arianna

© Maurizio Anzeri

Ben

© Maurizio Anzeri

Boo

© Maurizio Anzeri

Dora

© Maurizio Anzeri

Jerome

© Maurizio Anzeri

Pierre

© Maurizio Anzeri

Veronica

© Maurizio Anzeri

Victoire

© Maurizio Anzeri

Courtesy Maurizio Anzeri / A Palazzo Gallery

MakeUp

December 15, 2011 - March 11, 2012
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The Stunning Art of Gemma Land; Metamorphosis, A Photographic Series

2012-01-06T08:33:00.000-08:00

Fusing photographic art with fashion, award-winning British artist Gemma Land draws inspiration from architecture, using symmetry to create impossible structures and hallucinogenic patterns. Her aesthetic lies between the romantic and gothic, with stunning imagery. Gemma is keen to push the boundaries of photographic print in fashion and exhibit her artwork in galleries around the world.

Gemma Land's first collection, Bourgeois Utopias, features digitally printed black-and-white images of English suburban houses. Her second collection of print silk scarves is a series of monochrome and color prints of London's much-loved Strawberry Hill House. Printed with the finest quality and hand finished in Britain, the Strawberry Hill collection features Land's unique style, fusing her photographic art with the function of scarves.

Gemma Land is one to watch: she has won recently the Wolf & Badger Graduate Design award and she was shortlisted at the 2011 Fashioning The Future Awards.

For the Strawberry Hill collection, the artist collaborated with film-maker Xu Ming Long Tong to create a set of images inspired by Land's designing methods. The results are these stunning metamorphic shapes.

Metamorphosis

Courtesy Gemma Land
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Damien Hirst: The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011. An Exhibit of Candy-Color Dots

2012-01-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

British artist Damien Hirst's best known works are his paintings, medicine cabinet sculptures, and glass tank installations. For the most part, his paintings have taken on two styles. One is an arrangement of color spots with titles that refer to pharmaceutical chemicals, known as Spot paintings. The second, his Spin paintings, are created by centrifugal force, when Hirst places his canvases on a spinner, and pours the paint as they spin.

Hirst's first spot paintings were made for the exhibition Freeze, which he organized in an empty warehouse in the London Docklands district, while he was a student at Goldsmiths College in 1988. Twenty years later, Hirst has produced more than six hundred such paintings on canvas.

The exhibition The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011 by Damien Hirst will take place simultaneous at all Gagosian Gallery's eleven locations in New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles, Rome, Athens, Geneva and Hong Kong, opening worldwide on January 12, 2012. Conceived as a single exhibition in multiple locations, The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011 makes use of this demographic fact to determine the content of each exhibition according to locality.

Included in the exhibition are more than 300 paintings, from the first spot on board that Hirst created in 1986; to the smallest spot painting comprising half a spot and measuring 1x1/2 inch; to a monumental work comprising only four spots; and up to the most recent spot painting completed in 2011 containing 25,781 spots that are each i millimeter in diameter, with no single color ever repeated.

In conjunction with the exhibition will be the publication of The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011, a fully illustrated catalogue of all spot paintings made by Hirst from 1986 to the present.

I was always a colorist, I've always had a phenomenal love of color.... I mean, I just move color around on its own. So that's where the spot paintings came from - to create that structure to do those colors, and do nothing. I suddenly got what I wanted. It was just a way of pinning down the joy of color.
~~ Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst: The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011

Methoxyverapamil, 1991

Photo by Prudence Cuming Associates