Contemporary Art: World Eater @ Kravets Wehby Gallery, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - I like science fiction and contemporary art. Therefore I enjoyed an exhibiton @ Kravets Wehby Gallery in New York´s Chelsea district (521 West 21 Street
 kravetswehby ). The art dealer shows work by Stan Narten which is mixing both topics. The show is called "World Eater" (through June 25, 2016).

Maybe the paintings describe colliding black holes, merging galaxies and other cosmic infernos. Anyway I like the powerful compositions and the dynamics they radiate.  But let the images speak for themselves.


                               Cosmic Infernos

Enjoy!

Contemporary Art: The Beauty Of Natural Materials @ Paula Cooper Gallery, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - I like to visit art galleries. They are full of surprises, especially those who specialize in contemporary art. Take for instance Paula Cooper Gallery, one of the classy art traders in New York´s Chelsea district (534 West 21st Street  paulacooper ). Currently the gallery exhibits new work by Meg Webster (through June 24, 2016) - one of the most astonishing shows I spotted recently.


The press release explains "Meg Webster’s work finds inspiration in the intrinsic beauty of natural materials. Using metal, glass and organic elements like salt, soil, twigs and moss, the artist creates large-scale installations and precise structures rooted in the traditions of Land Art of the 1970s." ( release)

 

Above you can see "Mother Mound Salt" (2016, salt, approximately 42 inches high x 9 1/2 feet in diameter (106.6 x 289.5 cm.)

 

The girl is inspecting "Volume for Lying Flat" (2016, peat moss, green moss, soil, 25 x 59 x 81 1/2 in. (55.9 x 149.9 x 207 cm).

 

The work above is called "Stick Structure" (2016, various branches, twigs, and flowering plants, approximately 72 x 192 inches in diameter (182.8 x 487.6 centimeters).

 

The images above this paragraph are taken in the "Solar Grow Room" (2016, 4 raised wooden planters with grass, flowers and other vegetation, off-grid solar powered electrical system, grow lights, mylar covered walls, each planter: 42 x 50 x 50 inches (106.8 x 127 x 127 cm) in room 13'10" x 21' 6" x 21' 6")





Enjoy!

Stock Market: It´s Quite Expensive To Be A Perma-Bear

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - The media love the perma-bears. On Marketwatch, Bloomberg, Business Insider and other media platforms you can read daily that some pundits recommend to sell stocks. Perma-bears like George Soros, hedge fund mogul Ray Dalio, doom & gloom pope Marc Faber, the economists from Societe General & Royal Bank of Scotland and many more have been claiming for years that the stock market is way too expensive and that stocks will have to fall deeply ( driveby ).

These perma-bears are all on the losing side. Since spring 2009 the S&P 500, the gauge for the US stock market, gained more than 200%. Stocks are close to an all-time high. That´s very frustrating for those who have been sitting on cash and almost interest-free bonds for years. 

It´s worse for those who, like Soros, who have been betting on dropping stock prices via put options ore short selling (borrowing stocks from the bank and selling them immediately in the hope to buy this papers back later for a lower price) (Soros). Even in the ten-years period from 2006, which includes the recession 2008, US stocks climbed about 60%.

In the long run stock market gains are the normal. According to a study of the University of New York  the US stock market (S&P 500) created an average return of about 10% p.a since 1928! (dividends reinvested nyu.edu/ investopedia). 

It is quite expensive to be a perma-bear!

Street Art New York: A Documentary - May 2016 Edition

(Drivebycuriosity) - I am a connoisseur of street art nd collector of street art images. Living in New York City gives me a lot of opportunities.  Since my latest street art report (April 2016 driveby) I spotted more interesting new murals, stickers & graffiti @ Lower East Side, East Village, Soho and other Manhattan neighborhoods. As usual I document the newest street art in this area.

You can see this mural on the wall of rag & bone at the corner of Elizabeth & Houston. This fashion shop impresses with frequently changing art works.

Above some murals on a fence commissioned by New York`s Centre-Fuge Public Art Project, a collective of street artists who are frequently showing new works ( centre-fuge).  You can find these paintings along East Houston Street (close to 3rd Aveneu & Whole Foods).

I spotted this ballerina at a construction place on 3rd Avenue (former gas station).

This mural is somewhere in East Village close to Astor Place

Found this on Eldridge Street close to East Houston I believe.

The flood of stickers & stencils never ends.

To be continued!

Contemporary Art: Fresh & Sexy @ Garis & Hahn Gallery, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - The art gallery Garis & Hahn & on Manhattan´s traditional Bowery (garis) has frequently interesting shows (here my latest post driveby ). Currently they display works by the New York-based painter and illustrator Mike Perry. The exhibition is called "Intoxicating Pollen Wiggling in a Moist Journey of Constantly Blooming Tides" (through My 29, 2016).

I like the colorful paintings, they look fresh & sexy. The press release explains: "The large-scale paintings embody all the signature elements of Perry´s work - unnaturalistic colors, intricately distorted compositions, and a hand-drawn aesthetic - while also exhibiting many of the preoccupations with form shared by the Fauvists and German Expressionists; visible layers of impasto emphasize the two-dimensionality of the canvas, suggesting Matisse`s Dancers and Blue Nude cut-outs."

I display here my favorites from the show, as usual a very subjective selection. On the top of this post you can see "Light as a Liquid (I Dream of Picasso)" (2016, 68 x 84 inches, House paint, acrylic and gouache on canvas) followed by "Off We Go into the Unknown, Together" (2016, 24 x 36 inches, House paint, acrylic and gouache on canvas).

Above: "Self Portrait in River" (2015, 37.25 x 22.5 inches, House paint, acrylic and gouache) followed by "Bunkbed Pillars" (2016, 32 x 24 inches, House paint, acrylic and gouache on canvas) & "The Back of Her Hand Touches" (2016, 24 /2 x 6 /2 inches, House paint, acrylic and gouache on MDF).



                    Fireworks In A Tunnel

Above:"Pink Nude Study (Memorary of the First Painting I loved)" (2016, 27 x 27 inches, House paint, acrylic and gouache on canvas) followed by "Boisterous Bloom" (2015, 66 x 74 inches, House paint, acrylic and gouache); "Fireworks in a Tunnel" (2016, 70 x 70 inches, House paint, acrylic and gouache on canvas) & "Sleep and Comets" (2016, 30 x 64 inches, House paint, acrylic and gouache on canvas).





Enjoy!

Contemporary Art: New Abstracts @ Gallery Artifact, New York

(Drivebycuriosity) - New York´s Lower East Side has a vibrant art scene. There are about 130 art galleries. Gallery Artifact on 84 Orchard Street (artifactnyc) belongs to my favorites. The art dealer has frequently fascinating exhibitions which belong to the best shows in Manhattan (here another post driveby ).

Currently they exhibit abstracts by 4 artists I show here my favorites, as usual a very subjective selection. On the top of this post and this paragraph you can see a paintings by Lucas Moran and a detailshot.

Above an abstract by Timothy Atticus.

Above 2 paintings by Lorenza Aranguren.

 Above works by Tomonori Nishimura.


Enjoy!