Contemporary Art: Kara Joslyn´s Cosmic Dancer @ Gallery Perrotin New York

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Manhattan`s Lower East Side is slowly degenerating into a party district with a legion of fast food places & other dives. But there are still some fine art galleries, albeit fewer than some years ago. The French/American Gallery Perrotin on Orchard Street belongs to the stalwarts. I frequently see amazing shows there.

 

This week I spotted works by Kara Joslyn, the exhibition is called "This is Hardcore" (perrotin ). On top of this post you can see "Gotta Get Away from Me" (2022, Acrylic and polymer automotive paint on canvas panel, 182.9 × 243.8 cm | 72 × 96 inch)

 

Above follows "No Doves Fly Here" (2022
Acrylic and polymer automotive paint on canvas panel
61 × 83.8 cm | 24 × 33 inch)

 

 

Above follow "And So the Story Ended" (2022
83.8 × 58.4 cm | 33 × 23 inch, Acrylic and polymer automotive paint on canvas panel); "Alone Again Or" (2022,Acrylic and polymer automotive paint on canvas panel,83.8 × 58.4 cm | 33 × 23 inch) & "Cosmic Dancer (I danced myself right out the womb, I danced myself into the Tomb, and then again, once more)" (2022, Acrylic and polymer automotive paint on canvas panel, 182.9 × 106.7 cm | 72 × 42 inch)

 

The gallery has also a group exhibition. Above you can see images by Jean-Philippe DELHOMME: "Paysage Grèce 1" (2022, Oil on canvas, 114 × 162 cm | 44 7/8 × 63 3/4 inch) & "Paysage Grèce 13" (2022, Oil on pannel, 24 × 30 cm | 9 7/16 × 11 13/16 inch)

 

To be continued

Science Fiction: Belladonna Nights By Alastair Reynolds

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Alastair Reynolds is one of the brightest stars on the firmament of contemporary science fiction. The British author, who has a PhD in physics, started his career as research astronomer for the European Space Research and Technology Centre (part of the European Space Agency) until 2004 when he left to pursue writing full-time ( wikipedia). Since then he spezializes in hard science fiction and space operas. The short story collection "Belladonna Nights" shows works from the last decade or so (amazon  ).

There are 15 complex tales spreading from near future earth to space operas in the far future. My favorite is the novella "Night Passage". The captain of a space ship on an intergalactic flight awakes from his deep temperature sleep long before the supposed arrival time. He learns that the ship had suddenly stopped and a chain of scary events follow (this is a spoiler free blog). The plot is full with twists and surprises like a space opera by Hitchcock.

There are more favorites.

"Different Seas": A women, alone on a high-tech sail ship without a crew, gets into severe distress caused by a fierce solar storm which disrupts electronic systems on our planet. How can she survive?

"Holdfast" : The only human survivor from an epic battle against aliens is stranded on an exotic planet. The survivor is facing the only alien who also outlived of this battle. The story is interesting psychological take on alien encounters and futuristic wars.

"Murmuration" A bird watcher uses modern surveillance technology and advanced drones while trying to get his study accepted by science journal. 

Some stories are poetic & romantic others full of bizarre horror. The collection is highly recommended for all connoisseurs of science fiction.

Contemporary Art: Work From Home & More @ Thierry Goldberg, New York

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Manhattan`s Lower East Side is slowly degenerating into a party area with myriads of fast food places & other dives. But there are still some art galleries, albeit fewer than some years ago. Thierry Goldberg Gallery on Norfolk Street belongs to the survivors. Recently I saw there an group exhibition with erotic paintings (thierrygoldberg).

 

 

 

My favorites are the expressionist & flamboyant works by Caroline Absher. On  top of this post you can see "Butterfly Keeper" followed by "Martha"; "Lying Awake";  "Saw you in a Dream" & "Caught you in the rain". All oil on canvas.

Above this paragraph follow works by Anisa Rakai:"Dina" (pencil on wood board); "Me as a Molino Girl" (pencil on  canvas) & "Unexpected visit" (oil on canvas).

 

Above you can see "Work from Home" by Natalie Strait (Oil and acrylic on canvas)

 

 

 

and last but not least: Grace Bromley´s "Cold Shower, Hot Bath" & "A Three Rabbit Day". Both oil on canvas

To be continued.

Contemporary Art: The Opium Smoker`s Dream @ The Hole Gallery New York

(Drivebycuriosity) -  Some galleries have funny names. "The Hole" on Manhattan`s popular entertainment mile Bowery (312 Bowery, New York  theholenyc) seems to specialize in experimental & avantgardist art. They have frequently interesting shows. Recently I saw an exhibition with works  by Budapest-based artist Botond Keresztesi, called “The Opium Smoker`s Dream”.

 

  

On top of this post you can see "Liquid Metal Rider" (2022. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 55 x 55  inches, 140 x 140 cm) followed by "Bucolic Mindscape 3" (2021. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 71 x 71 inches, 180 x 180 cm); "Bucolic Mindscape 2" (2021. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 71 x 71 inches, 180 x 180 cm) & "Everything is Dying Except Your Browser History 1"  (2021. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 47 x 39 inches, 120 x 100 cm).

 

 

 

  

Above this paragraph follow "Bucolic Mindscape 4"  (2021. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 71 x 71 inches, 180 x 180); "Time Travelers" (2022. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 55 x 47 inches, 140 x 120 cm); "Sitting Venus" (2020. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 47 x 47 inches, 120 x 120 cm) & "Time Capsules" (2022. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 71 x 71 inches, 180 x 180 cm)

 

 

  

The paragraph above shows "Smoking Odalisk" (2021. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 47 x 47 inches, 120 x 120 cm); "Desert Gate" (2022. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 47 x 39 inches, 120 x 100 cm) & "Liquid Metal Rider" (2022. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 55 x 55  inches, 140 x 140 cm)




     

  

  

  

In an adjoining room I spotted moreworks by different artists.

 

To be continued

Books: The Mine By Antti Tuomainen

  (Drivebycuriosity) - Antti Tuomainen belongs to my favorite writers. I enjoy his dark humor & his descriptions of weird characters and situations in his novels "Little Siberia", "Palm Beach Finland" & "The Man who died" (my reviews Siberia  Palm   The Man Who).

Unfortunately Tuomainen`s novel "The Mine" - set in contemporary Finland like the other books - lacks the dark humor and the surreal touch (amazon ). Suddenly a father, who has disappeared 30 years ago, approaches his abandoned son and his mother. It doesn´t help that the father does murders for a living and the son is a investigative journalist with an environment agenda. The journalist inquires about a mine in Northern Finland which causes a lot trouble (this is a  spoiler free blog).

The plot is implausible. Suddenly characters appear and disappear and their are many holes in the story as in a Punch and Judy show for small children. I enjoyed Tuomainen`s intense & beautiful descriptions of snowy cities & landscape but these parts don´t fully compensate for the general flaws. 

 

 (source )

"The Mine" was published before the above mentioned much better novels. Maybe Tuomainen had developed and changed his style. I plan to read "The Rabbit Factor", Tuomainen`s newest novel, and will test my thesis.

Entertainment: Binge Watching Beforeigners

(Drivebycuriosity) - Imagine suddenly appear people from past centuries. How to deal with them? The HBO series "Beforeigner" has a very original and funny take (imdb ). Season 1 and 2 - produced in Norway - are available in Norwegian (with English subtitles) and also dubbed in English.

People from 3 eras, the stone-age, the 11th century (Vikings) and the 19th century, are submerging in the oceans. Soon the plot - focusing on Oslo - jumps 7 years into the future. Then the time immigrants became more or less part of the society.  The plot follows two investigating cops, a contemporary male and a female from the 11th century (this is a spoil free blog).

Season 1 is filled with hilarious situations, conflicts & misunderstandings. It´s very amusing to watch how the robust cavemen, violent Vikings & the distinguished people from 19th century deal with a modern society shaped by technology and tolerance - and how the Norwegians have learned to live with them. 

Season 2 continues the basic plot, but changes the character. The story-line is less hilarious and becomes more mysterious with more action and more sci-fi elements. 

The whole show is a very special buddy flick, a multi-cultural murder mystery and an absurd take on immigration issues, woke culture, cults, family issues and much more, spiced with absurd scenes. There is even a very special sex scene.

 

I enjoyed watching Krista Kosonen as the rustic ex-Viking cop Alfhildr Enginsdottir and Nicolai Cleve Broch
as her contemporary partner Lars Haaland. It was fun to watch Tobias Santelman as the Catholic Viking King and Oddgeir Thune impressed as a caveman, especially my wife had a lot fun with his appearance.

Highly recommended.

 

Contemporary Art: Emma Stern´s Pirates - More Sexy Than Johnny Depp

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Contemporary Art can be funny & sexy. At Half Gallery in Manhattan´s East Village, usual a cluster of dives and fast food places, I saw an exhibition with works by Emma Stern. The show is called "Booty!" ( halfgallery).

 

 

These pirates remind me a bit of Johnny Depp`s pirate movies, but they are much more sexy than Johnny. 

 

 

 

Apparently the pirates have looted a treasure. But the real treasure are they themselves.

 

 Who would not want to capitulate?

Stay tuned

Science Fiction: Sci-Fi Shorts Vol. 1

 

  (Drivebycuriosity) - I like science fiction short stories. Often a writer has an interesting idea which might carry a story over maybe 100 pages or less, but when she stretches the plot the story gets thinner and thinner and the text has too many fillers. Short stories come usually fast to the point and they are crisp.

The anthology "Sci-Fi Shorts Vol. 1" collects around sixty very short stories (500 words limit), called sci-fi flashes ( amazon). Apparently the book is the result of a writing program. The anthology shows the problems with contract works. The writers need to squeeze out a product to meet the deadline which is rarely a guaranty for quality. Ideas come spontaneous, not on demand.

I have read very short scifi stories before. Some of them were quite impressive. In one story (I don´t recall author, title & publication) someone sits in his garden, when suddenly a man appears. The arrival declares that he comes from the future - using a time machine. Unfortunately his time machine exploded at departure and blew the whole world apart. "Oh, from when in the future do you come?" The answer: "One hour from now!" 

The story "Bordeaux Mixture" by Charles Dexter Ward  is a funny take on tomatoes, genetic engineering & human pheromones (3 pages in Year´s Best SF 6 by David G. Harwell amazon ).  "The New Year Train” by Hao Jingfang (collected in the anthology "Broken Stars"  amazon  ) is another stunning flash story. People have disappeared. They were traveling with a high-tech vehicle which run on advanced technologies & phenomena like quantum mechanics and black holes. Apparently something went wrong. Spooky and thought provoking. 

None of the stories in this collection interested me. Science fiction can much do better. I will skip Volume 2 of this anthology.

 

 

Contemporary Art: Late Night Enterprise @ Gallery Perrotin New York

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Contemporary art is full of surprises. Recently I saw a show with fascinating abstracts @ Perrotin on Manhattan´s Orchard Street (my report). On their top floor was also a group exhibition, called "Light Night Enterprise (perrotin ). I display here my favorites, a very subjective selection as usual.

 

On top of this post you can see "Christmas Time in Providence" by Alina PEREZ (2021
Pastel and charcoal on paper, 127 × 264.2 cm | 50 × 104 inch).

 

Above follows Jennie by Sam MCKINNISS
(2021, 45.7 × 61 cm | 18 × 24 inch). According to the press release the image refers to "an iconic scene from Kids (1995) where 16 year- old Jennie, played by a young Chloë Sevigny, wanders through the club, dissociating after being given drugs mere moments before, searching for Telly to tell him of her H.I.V. diagnosis."

    

  

Above this paragraph you can see “Untitled 2” by Ming YING (2021 90.2 × 120.7 cm | 35 1/2 × 47 1/2 inch) followed by Robert YARBER`s "Regard and Abandon" (1985, acrylic on canvas, 182.6 × 243.8 cm | 71 7/8 × 96 1/16 inch) & James BARTOLACCI`s "Throughout the Night" (2021, Oil on canvas,91.4 × 121.9 cm | 36 × 48 inch).

 

 

Last but not least: Ryan WILDE`s "Club God" (2021, Leather, felt, steal, vinyl, resin, brass, wood, Installed : 76.2 × 68.6 × 55.9 cm | 30 × 27 × 22 inch)

To be continued