Hrag Vartanian

Critic, Curator, Editor-in-chief and co-founder, Hyperallergic

Critic, Curator, Editor-in-chief and co-founder, Hyperallergic

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Links & Comments (2010-10-09)

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A painting by David Pettibone
A painting by David Pettibone at Greenpoint Open Studios 2010
  • This is too good. In Japan, Jersey Shore‘s title is “Jersey Shore: The New Jersey Life of Macaronia A–holes” http://bit.ly/du0UBW #
  • I’m really enjoying @Adnan_Z_Manjal‘s tweets that are criticizing and assessing this season’s fashion collections. #
  • I fuckin’ hate lazy artists. Though I love all the others. #
  • Where is that? Chelsea? Wall Street? Central Park? NuMu? Your studio? Your own mind? #confused // RT @Powhida: Into the heart of darkness. #
  • Maybe I should tweet name of artists who list their studios as open during Greenpoint Open Studios & when I get there they aren’t. #shaming #
  • What we need is online civics. Though talking about “civics” to Americans can sometimes be a nightmare. #readyforbacklash #

Tweets from Greenpoint Open Studios 2010

Happy Birthday, Abstract Art! A Party & Discussion at Storefront Gallery

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Wassily Kandinsky, "Untitled (First Abstract Watercolor)" (1910), Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris

Whether you’re an artist, critic, art blogger, collector, art historian, art fan or gallery owner, the term “abstract” is loaded with many associations and we plan to unpack some of its meanings at a special discussion/birthday party for abstract art on Sunday, August 22, 4-6 pm at Storefront Gallery (16 Wilson Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn).

One of the preeminent aesthetic accomplishments of the modern era, abstract art may be ubiquitous nowadays but that wasn’t always the case. Join us for a frank discussion about how far we’ve come since Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian and Franciska Kupka’s early abstract art experiments and whether the term is even useful anymore. We want to hear your thoughts and we’d love for you to join us for some birthday cake, coffee, and stimulating (if abstract) discussion about the state of abstract art and abstraction in 2010.
This party/discussion will take place on the final day of the “On Display” exhibition at Storefront Gallery, which features the art of Sharon Bulter, Joy Curtis, and Cathy Nan Quinlan, and is curated by Hrag Vartanian.
What: A Birthday Party (& Discussion) for Abstract Art
Where: Storefront Gallery (16 Wilson Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn)
When: Sunday, August 22, 4-6 pm
Why: Because it’s the centennial of abstract art
Who: Hosted by Storefront Gallery and the artists and curator of “On Display”

Photos from last night’s “On Display” opening at Storefront Gallery

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You know you’ve made it in the New York art world when James Kalm (aka Loren Munk) of The Kalm Report shows up to your opening and asks you some on-camera questions (pictured above).

It was a great night in general and in addition to all the participating artists (Sharon Butler, Joy Curtis and Cathy Nan Quinlan) and Storefront Gallery’s owners (Jason Andrew and Deborah Brown) there were tons of art bloggers, local art people, friends, art lovers and my amazing husband, Veken, in the mix. We set up a vodka shot table in the backroom and Sharon Butler was kind enough to paint the sign for the show on the front window — she did an awesome job — so all in all it was a successful night.

For those who may be interested, there are full-color exhibition catalogues available at the gallery for $5. I contributed an essay to the book and each of the artists wrote about their own work and process.

Check out more photos (including Butler’s sign) from the opening here.

Photo credit: Veken Gueyikian

Can I Call Myself a Curator Now? “On Display” at Storefront

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This Friday, August 6, a small show I’ve curated will open at Storefront Gallery in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn (6 – 9 pm). Check out the listing on ArtCat. If you can attend it would be great to see you there (make sure to say hi). Storefront is a tight space but I’m sure we can fit everyone in.

I’m very happy to that I will have the opportunity to show all three of these artists together. Their work is very different but I love the possibility of combining their work and seeing the result of this curatorial effort.

Artist William Powhida has been giving me a hard time about being a “curator” over Twitter, but that’s alright, I actually have no qualms about jumping from criticism and art writing into the world of curation. I think after a decade of writing, reviewing, and thinking about exhibitions (and other efforts in the field of visual arts) I think I can do this. It’s a great opportunity that I have Deborah Brown and Jason Andrew (both of Storefront) to thank for. I also appreciate the artists who have entrusted me with showing their work (yes, they are insane). All that is left to do at this point is hang the show (which happens later this week).

I’m excited to see the work of Sharon Butler, Joy Curtis & Cathy Nan Quinlan together. I hope it will work in person as well as I imagined. We’ll have to wait and see.

The show has a small catalogue with an essay by yours truly and I will post my essay later this week. Until then I am offering five free catalogues (the cover is posted above) to the first five people to email via the CONTACT PAGE or DM me via Twitter.

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Caught My Eye

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  • An Interview with Artist Swoon — Gothamist
    Street art photographer Jake Dobkin interviews Swoon about her Swimming Cities project, Jeffrey Deitch leaving New York, her recent project in Zambia, and her new book.
  • Tracking memes on their native turf: Viral anthropology at ROFLcon — Nieman Journalism Lab
    Joanne McNeil reflects on memes and I particularly loved this line, “The huckster with a formula for making your brand ‘go viral’ is the Brooklyn Bridge salesman of our time …” and this tweet she includes about the conference is really insightful, “unlike most conferences, the audience are the experts & the panelists are outsiders. And *they* are the creators.”
  • Coptic Symposium in Toronto to Reveal Ancient Egyptian Graffiti — Heritage Key
    “What can graffiti tell us about ancient cultures?That’s just one of the questions being explored at a Coptic Studies symposium to be held on May 29 at the University of Toronto.” Nice to see my alma mater doing awesome things. /via c-monster.net
  • Rethinking Packaging — Big Think
    Maria Popova writes about two projects (one by the Puma corporation) to rethink the utter waste that is packaging. Both of these are innovative, beautiful, and I hope this sort of thing catches on.