DaWire

Respublica acier, aluminium, cablage, ampoules 370 x 1240 x 150 cm, 2009.

For his first solo exhibition at Galerie West in the Netherlands titled Blue, White, Red, Black, French artist Nicolas Milhé (1976) presents a politically charged oeuvre that examines notions of nationalism, language and politicized individualism. The title of the exhibition plays off the colors of the French flag (the infamous symbol of ‘liberty’ bleu, blanc et rouge) and adds to it the color black, manifesting a dark and somber reality behind the quintessential French symbol of national pride.[...]

Installation view at AREA’s project room

Supported in its entirety by business man and collector José Hernández Castrodad, AREA has been now for five consecutive years one of the only artist residency programs and project rooms in Puerto Rico, providing a space for young artists to show their work and develop projects. For its 5th anniversary celebration, artist Norma Vila Rivero organized a collective project titled “Construcciones, instalaciones y ensamblajes” that comprised works by Migdalia Luz Barens Vera, José “Quique” Rivera, Christto Sanz, Manolo Rodríguez, René Sandín, Melissa Raymond, Omar Obdulio Peña Forty and the tinsmith DUA, which comprised Michelle Gratacós-Arill’s conceptual proposal; while artist Abdiel Segarra presented a documentation project of AREA’s history.[...]

For his third solo exhibition at Andrea Rosen Gallery in NYC, José Lerma takes on three ideas that have preoccupied him in the past couple of years: the Bankers, the Reflective Curtain and the Keyboards. Under the title I am sorry I am Perry, the show gathers painting and installation. The title, although possibly strange for many, is the punch line of a popular joke in Puerto Rico, where an English-speaking fox (zorro) and a Spanish-speaking dog (perro) bump into each other and in apologizing, reflect the complexities of bilingualism, translation and a jagged political situation.[...]

Regina José Galindo, Hermana, video still, 2010

ROLLO Contemporary Art’s exhibition Regina José Galindo: 12 Years presents works from 1999 to the present date, including two new commissions, and surveys the dominant themes of Galindo’s ground-breaking performative practice, where the artist typically uses her own body as a raw material that is subjected to violent and dangerous acts. The exhibition brings together performance-video works from Galindo’s 12 year career in the artist’s first solo exhibition in London, including two new works never before exhibited, which Galindo has created especially for ROLLO Contemporary Art’s exhibition; Hermana and Joroba.[…}

Jason Mena, untitled (destruction is no longer an uncalculated event), digital print on tempered glass, used tires and paper, 2010

For his first major solo show at Luis Adelantado Gallery in Valencia, Spain, Jason Mena constructs a visually engaging landscape that ranges from discarded tires to sublime skyscapes. The exhibition, titled We all shall play in the ruins, displays a sense of faux urgency arising from current events, reflecting on subjects such as destruction, waste, pollution and its paradoxically sublime effects. Transforming a seemingly ugly and distasteful object or image into a thing of beauty seems to be Mena’s predominant predilection.[...]

Aby Ruiz, La ley  2010. Oil and spray paint on canvas. Image courtesy of the artist.

Sea un Payaso, at the Arecibo Museum of Art and History in Puerto Rico, gathers new paintings and drawings by artist Aby Ruíz, where he continues to pursue an ample exploration of the clown as an entertaining but deceitful character. Ruíz uses a combination of oil, acrylic and spray paint on canvas to produce his works. In them, the clown is displayed in its typical attire and makeup, but something in their regard evokes sinister sentiments.

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Abraham Cruzvillegas, Untitled 2010. Wood, beer caps, bulbs, roots, fabric, iron Variable dimensions. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Chantal Crousel Photo : Florian Kleinefenn

“It is necessary to be an artist in order to be a citizen” – Raqs Collective, 2010.

Abraham Cruzvillegas, on his recent exhibition at Galerie Chantal Crousel, draws from his experience living in Paris to speak to the contradictory fragments that compose an almost intangible personal identity. The artist approaches three and a half years living in the Parisian city, by focusing on a middle point between time and space. That moment where one’s sensations begin to arise and a personal narrative is constructed. In its entirety, the exhibition functions similar to an assemblage that investigates the cultural hybridity of the artist and the city in question.[...]

Felipe Arturo, Estación móvil para hamacas

Over the last decade there have a been a number of exhibitions dedicated to Miami artists. These have been excellent at presenting a generation of homegrown artists, and explaining its internal dynamics and its relationship to previous generations that migrated to, and continue to work in, the city. What these exhibitions haven’t done as consistently is place the work of Miami artists alongside that of their international generational peers in a concrete way–that is, by literally presenting the work side-by-side, on equal footing.[...]

Koen Vanmechelen, Cosmopolitan Chicken Project, photo courtesy Galerie West

Since 1998 Belgian conceptual artist Koen Vanmechelen has been working  on a project titled the ‘Cosmopolitan Chicken Project,’ where he cross-breeds chickens and uses them to address issues related to multiculturalism, globalization, ethics, genetic manipulation and the meaning of life.[...]

X.J. Vadera, X, 2010. Metal, acrylic, and pigment, 103/4 x 9 x 3/4”

Catch it while you can or else bring it to a gallery near you.

On a long stroll up the Upper East Side of NYC I decided to finally pop into ELSE, the current exhibition at the Tilton Gallery, co-curated by Derrick Adams and Jack Tilton. After just a couple minutes in the exhibition space the eccentric hood poppin’ sophisticated mind of Adams was clearly visible.[...]