DaWire

Visiting artist Tim Portlock talks to La Práctica about the relationship between his work and the conventions of 19th century American painting traditions. 2012

Beta-Local is an organization and a physical space in San Juan, Puerto Rico founded in 2009 and devoted to aesthetic thought and practice. Most of what we do comes out of three main programs: La Práctica, an interdisciplinary production-based fellowship program, The Harbor, an artist residency program in support of La Práctica, and La Ivan Illich, an open school. [...]

At DaWire we have been indulging in some much needed time off. Our Summer reading list is long, but we have two gorgeous publications that we will be reviewing soon that we want our readers to keep an eye on: Jac Leirner in Conversation with Adele Nelson, published by the Fundación Patricia Phelps de Cisneros and Cold America: Geometric Abstraction in Latin America (1934-1973), catalogue for the exhibition of the same name at the Fundación Juan March in Madrid. Extended reviews to come in September. See you soon and enjoy the rest of the Summer!

Hector Madera, Untitled, mixed media, 2009-2010 (Detail)

AREA arrives to the metropolitan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico with a new space and an innovative program. METRO plataformaorganizada is José Hernández Castrodad’s new initiative in San Juan that brings together a group of young and talented Puerto Rican artists based in Puerto Rico and abroad. METRO is a self-sustainable artist-run space to promote Puerto Rican artists locally and internationally through individual and group shows, curated projects and collaborations. Castrodad, an avid collector and art enthusiast highly respected by the local artistic community, already funds and supports AREA, an alternative art space and residency program in Caguas, Puerto Rico.[...]

An image from our most popular post in 2010: Luis Adelantado’s Inaugural Exhibition in Mexico City This year has been quite a ride for DaWire. We have grown in numbers and expanded our network of contributing writers and websites. But most importantly, we have successfully carved our little niche in the online world. DaWire is [...]

Sean Raspet at The Kitchen

New York’s Fall gallery openings is on agenda. Yesterday I went to the Whitney and to a couple of Chelsea openings. So for this week’s wrap-up, just a couple of pictures from Christian Marclay’s Festival and last night’s hurried gallery hopping.[...]

I’m always reading articles published on online newspaper editions, art blogs and magazines. So why not compile a weekly list of ‘best of the web’? So for your reading and viewing pleasure, here is my weekly wrap-up of the top three articles/posts that I found this week.

The first article is from our pals over at ArtLurker about artist Bob Snead’s most recent project: Is Not Broke and the recession proof wallet. Handmade wallets (by Snead himself) with a twenty dollar bill printed inside for each holders peace of mind.[...]

Image via Whitney Museum

Lately I’ve been lusting about the exhibitions I want to see while in New York. I’m only going for a few days, a New York minute so to speak, but I intend to make the best of what might become a hectic show hopping trip. One of the privileges of visiting New York is the opportunity to see long awaited retrospectives and the possibility of discovering emerging talent. All seems to indicate that it will be a good season.[...]

Looks like the superstars of contemporary art of the last 10 years have not resisted the economic crisis, and it will take them a couple of years to get back on the wagon. According to Bloomberg’s analysis, certain works by Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst have descended up to 50% of their market value, dethroned by works of modern artists, old masters and Asian art.[...]

Celebrations that invite us to observe a historical occurrence are still strongly practiced in contemporary culture. Halloween, as celebrated in America, profoundly depicts the strongest features from gothic and horror literature, film, TV, and graphic arts. Among the repertoire of traditional characters, the zombie distinguishes itself for possessing the biology and behavior of a normal human being, yet lacks consciousness. This exhibition uses the vernacular of the mythological zombie as a starting point to engage in ideas of death, mindlessness and symbolisms for the occult and inexplicable. The term zombie also intends to address issues referring to the mindless self in a social spectrum: leading and following; acts of automatism and fanatic behaviors.[...]

Opening on September 13th until November 30th, SculptureCenter in New York presents a video installation entitled A Voyage of Growth and Discovery, the first collaborative project between Mike Kelley and Michael Smith. A six-channel video and a 30-foot tall junk sculpture is included in the installation, both featuring Baby IKKI, a character Michael Smith has been performing for more than 30 years.[...]