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    Self-Taught Artist William Scott’s Fantastical Utopian Visions Get Their First New York Show in Over a Decade—See Them Here

    As galleries and art institutions around the world begin to reopen, we are spotlighting individual shows—online and IRL—that are worth your attention.
    “William Scott: It’s a Beautiful Day Outside” at Ortuzar ProjectsThrough September 26, 2020

    What the gallery says: “If there is a proclivity to label self-taught artists as ‘visionaries,’ it is also because a lack of specialized training promises the subversion of disciplinary boundaries; allowing perception through and beyond the rigid systems that structure—and sometimes stifle, or close down—our expectations for art, for each other, our imagination, and ourselves. The principal vision that all Scott’s works in various media propose is a utopian world that exists in no time like the present, but instead draws on memories of the past, and collective hope in the future, to finally make peace with the condition of human frailty.”
    Why it’s worth a look: It’s the first New York show in more than a decade for the San Leandro, California-based artist William Scott. He is often categorized as a “visionary” or “outsider” artist because he is self-taught, the gallery says, but the lack of conventional training is a benefit to Scott’s freewheeling and imaginative practice.
    The exhibition, which spans decades of the artist’s career, showcases Scott’s layered and detailed imaginary worlds, populated by famous figures and ordinary people from his own life alike. The fantastical elements: citizen-ships that promise a “Skyline Friendly Organization” are bound for space with the likes of Janet Jackson, Curtis Johnson, and Deena Jones on board—a perfect sci-fi future in the artist’s eyes.
    A series of papier-mâché busts depicting Spiderman, Darth Vader, and Frankenstein’s monster are actually masks worn by the artist to assume a new identity. In detailed compositions of city streets that could serve as animation cels, the artist commits every aspect of his environment to the page from various angles, the earthly realm he dwells in while he imagines the limitless future of his imagination.
    What it looks like:

    Installation view, “William Scott: It’s A Beautiful Day Outside.” Courtesy of Ortuzar Projects.

    William Scott, Untitled (ca. 2007). Courtesy of the artist and Ortuzar Projects.

    William Scott, Untitled (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Ortuzar Projects.

    William Scott, Untitled (2019). Courtesy of the artist and Ortuzar Projects. More

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    Two Years Ago, Curators Conceived of a Riga Biennial as a Reply to Apocalyptic Narratives. They Had No Idea Just How Relevant It Would Be

    Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, the curator of the second Riga biennale, RIBOCA2, labored for two years with her team to mount an exhibition whose topic would be, in a nutshell, finding hope in the face of the end of the world. They did not expect that a mere two months before the biennial’s opening they would actually face the end of the world—or at least the world as they knew it.
    The original format of the exhibition, which had been slated to open across several locations in the Latvian capital this past May, was thrown out the window as the Baltic country went into lockdown on March 13. Plans kept morphing as the days went by, but it soon became painfully clear that gatherings and travel would be impossible.
    “But we knew this exhibition had to open this year,” RIBOCA2’s executive director, Anastasia Blokhina told journalists during a preview. “The show was about what was happening in the world!”
    Her hope became a reality. The young biennial, once a stop along what would have been a clogged art calendar, now stands out as one of the lone events to take place in a year of cancelations and dashed plans. The biennial finally opened to the public in a much reduced and altered format on August 20, with members of the art world gathering at a defunct and dilapidated industrial site by Riga’s port.
    The necessarily curbed ambitions of the biennial did not stop artists coming up with incisive reinventions for their planned pieces. As countries around Europe teeter towards another alarming uptick in infection rates heading into fall, RIBOCA’s title, “and suddenly it all blossoms,” hints at optimism—though Lamarche-Vadel that it contains ambiguity as well: “But what does this ‘it’ refer to?”
    Nikolay Smirnov, Religious Libertarians (2020). Commissioned by the 2nd Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art, RIBOCA. Photo by Hedi Jaansoo. Courtesy of the Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art.

    Curating with Covid-19
    “I have to acknowledge Covid-19 as my co-curator,” Lamarche-Vadel quipped during the press preview, referring not only to the many ways in which the artworks have been altered, but also to how differently they may be interpreted. The biennial, originally planned to run for five months, will remain on view for three weeks only.
    To compensate for the reduced duration, and capture the collision of its curatorial concept with reality, Lamarche-Vadel enlisted acclaimed Latvian film director Dāvis Sīmanis to produce a feature-length film on the show, with an original score by up-and-coming musician and producer Lafawndeh. The goal is to circulate it in the major film festivals and, hopefully, hold public screenings next spring and summer—abiding by whatever safety restrictions regarding large gatherings will make up the new normal by then, of course. 
    That RIBOCA2 could welcome visitors at all has largely to do with the fact that Latvia, and the Baltic region in general, reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic swiftly and uncompromisingly: the country went into full lockdown 11 days after the coronavirus had been confirmed to have arrived there, and reopened in late June. So far, less than 1,500 infections and 30 coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded. That good behavior certainly paid off in some respects for the biennial’s crisis planning: though the biennial consists of 85 percent new commissions, 60 percent of the artists are based in the Baltic region.
    RIBOCA2 port building venue at Andrejsala. Photos by Elena Kononova.

    A Balancing Act
    But the Baltic nations’ precautionary measures were not the only reason why the opening was possible. Lamarche-Vadel, who is the director of the Fondation Lafayette Anticipations in Paris, had already shaped the curatorial concept around imagining new ways of being in the world, focusing on the preservation of resources and the abandonment of extractive industries. Most of the 48 participating artists’ works were originally planned to be produced locally rather than shipped across the globe. By the time lockdown had been enforced, several of the works were ready. 
    Pieces that couldn’t be shipped were adapted to the new conditions. Ugo Rondinone’s wall installation Life Time, from the artist’s series of larger-than-life neon “rainbow poems,” didn’t make it over from Switzerland. Instead, it was recreated locally with plywood, and painted the colors of the rainbow flag on-site. It hangs over a small doorway cut into a brick wall in an enormous hangar, like an inscription over a gateway to the biennial’s sprawling post-industrial site.
    Behind that wall, US artist Bridget Polk presents an arrangement of temporary sculptures. As its title suggests, the installation Balancing Rocks and Rubble is made of rocks and construction debris stacked on top of each other without using glue or any reinforcement other than gravity. Potentially unstable, the enchanting formations could collapse at any moment.
    About a decade ago, Polk received the moniker “Rock Lady” as fans would gather to watch her balance rocks along the banks of the Hudson River. Recovering from addiction at the time, stacking became a meditative practice for her. She’s one of the few artists who traveled to Riga from the United States (an odyssey involving many stops and emergency calls to the Latvian team at every border) and here she will continue to stack—or sometimes purposely topple over—heavy rubble collected on location for the next three weeks.
    Daina Taimiņa Dreams and Memories (2020). Commissioned by the 2nd Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art, RIBOCA2. Photo by Heidi Jaansoo. Courtesy of the Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art.

    New Ecosystems
    Today, stray cats and street dogs roam the abandoned industrial complex, Andrejsala, its grounds overgrown with wild weeds and plants. Some of the biennial’s works pay tribute to the flora and fauna. Vija Enina, a Latvian herbalist, seed bombed the premises in late winter. As visitors walk through the open-air section of the show, they might notice the aromatic verdure sprouting from the cracks in the asphalt.
    Elsewhere, a pack of dogs replaces the humans who were supposed to be cast for Dora Budor’s work, now retitled In The Year Of (companion piece). The artist had intended to direct a group of “extras” to gather at random, as a nod to the dystopian site’s cinematic qualities. Now, four-legged creatures gather around a trainer with a bag of treats.
    Meanwhile, Danish artist Nina Beier’s installation Total Loss includes two marble lions, of the variety found in entrances to neo-classical mansions, lying on their side. Milk, an offering for the site’s feral cats, is regularly poured into the statues’ crevices. The use of milk is telling: our economies are designed to milk every resource; factory farming and dairy production are among the highest sources of CO2 emissions.
    But there’s more to the allegory of Total Loss. Beier’s installation was accompanied by a one-time performance on August 22, in which Range Rovers, parked outside the port building, offer shelter for a group of pregnant women. This pairing of one of the most wasteful vehicles ever designed and women about to bring children into an overpopulated world could be read as a comment on the bleak future of a human race obsessed with market growth.
    Augustas Serapinas, Mudmen (2020). Commissioned by the 2nd Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art. RIBOCA2. Photo by Hedi Jaansoo. Courtesy of the Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art.

    To be sure, the adaptability of artists and the art world will become increasingly important in the years to come. Lithuanian artist Augustas Serapinas also had to deal with botched plans for his site-specific installation for the biennial, but not because of the pandemic. He initially devised a plan to hang around snowy parks with a group of assistants and wait for people to build snowmen and then scoop up the icy creations, sneak them into van, and scan them to be replicated in other materials before returning them to their original spots.
    But it never snowed in Latvia due to record-high temperatures that hit Europe this year, and so Serapinas’s legion of Mudmen—a multitude of bulbous stacks of mud and hay—stand in their place. It’s an important reminder of what Lamarche-Vadel was already chipping away at before the pandemic brought it all into focus: Covid-19 may be an agitator, but the old world was already slipping away. It’s high time to imagine a new one. 
    RIBOCA2, “and suddenly it all blossoms,” is on view at Andrejsala, Riga from 20 August through 13 September, 2020.
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    Susan Chen’s Richly Layered Portraits of Asian Americans Make Their New York Gallery Debut—See Images Here

    As galleries and art institutions around the world begin to reopen, we are spotlighting individual shows—online and IRL—that are worth your attention.
    “Susan Chen: On Longing” at Meredith Rosen Gallerythrough September 19, 2020

    What the gallery says: “Chen’s work is a navigation of identity and belonging. Her practice embodies these themes both internally and externally: the painting process prompts inward reflection while the paintings themselves provide outward representation.
    Chen paints to answer questions about her own identity and to address the lack of Asian Americans in Western portraiture. When painting Asian Americans, Chen is at once powerful and vulnerable. As an artist, she can grant visibility to her community through her work. As an Asian American, she must confront her own fears and desires in every portrait. ‘On Longing’ represents her embrace of this dichotomy.”
    Why it’s worth a look: The layers of colors and textures in Chen’s portraits, not to mention the intricately detailed backgrounds her subjects populate, point to someone enamored with the practice of painting. Thanks to quarantine, Chen’s work in this show feels single-minded and true to its setting. You can hear the commotion from the street scenes and feel the warmth from a cozy-bordering-on-claustrophobic living room. In the painting Street Cars of Desire, the artist herself appears reading Jerry Saltz’s book How to Be an Artist as train cars chug around the canvas bearing the names of painters she admires both living and dead: Soutine, Matisse, Bonnard, Hockney, Susanna Coffey, Aliza Nisenbaum.
    As a first-generation immigrant, Chen found her subjects through chat forums for other Asian Americans, and as described by the gallery, invited some she encountered to be her models. Maybe that’s the reason why some of the characters in her work appear uncomfortable, but more likely it is the disquietude of being “other.” In the work About Face, a quartet of girls stand awkwardly in front of a university building, one of them holding a book with the title Racial Melancholia. 
    What it looks like:

    Installation view, “Susan Chen: On Longing” at Meredith Rosen Gallery. Photo: Adam Reich.

    Susan Chen, Arnie’s (2020). Photo: Adam Reich, courtesy Meredith Rosen Gallery.

    Susan Chen, Tadashi Mitsui (2020). Photo: Adam Reich, courtesy Meredith Rosen Gallery.

    Installation view, “Susan Chen: On Longing” at Meredith Rosen Gallery. Photo: Adam Reich.

    Susan Chen, About Face (2020). Photo: Adam Reich, courtesy Meredith Rosen Gallery.

    Susan Chen, Nude Self Portrait (2020). Photo: Adam Reich, courtesy Meredith Rosen Gallery.

    Susan Chen, COVID-19 Survival Kit (2020). Photo: Adam Reich, courtesy Meredith Rosen Gallery.

    Susan Chen, Yang Gang (2019). Photo: Adam Reich, courtesy Meredith Rosen Gallery.

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    ‘Anything Can Become Material for Art’: Watch Artist Pedro Reyes Turn Guns Into Musical Instruments and Marxist Theory Into a Puppet Show

    When the artist Pedro Reyes says “I believe anything can become material for art,” he truly means anything. To date, he’s turned guns into musical instruments, proposed crickets as an environmentally friendly source of protein, and staged puppet shows featuring Karl Marx and Adam Smith to explain the different ideas behind socialism and capitalism. For Reyes, being an artist isn’t about creating things, but rather creating experiences and ideas.
    A trained architect, the Mexico City native defines himself today as a sculptor. “I’m very concerned with form and materials,” he told Art21 in an exclusive interview. But as an an artist, “you’re requested to reinvent the rules,” he said. “Artists change the perception of things.”
    In practice, this gives Reyes a playful approach to making art. He encourages viewers to participate with his work, and sometimes even in its creation.
    Speaking to Art21 as part of the “Art in the Twenty-First Century” series, Reyes describes a project where he hosted a People’s United Nations, which featured role-playing participants who discussed social and political issues, adding an element of play to an otherwise serious exercise.
    “I love my life, it’s super fun,” he tells Art21. “You’re like a kid, and everybody gets to do what you wish and it happens. It’s amazing.”
    Watch the video, which originally appeared as part of Art21’s series Art in the Twenty-First Century, below.
    [embedded content]

    This is an installment of “Art on Video,” a collaboration between Artnet News and Art21 that brings you clips of newsmaking artists. A new series of the nonprofit Art21’s flagship series Art in the Twenty-First Century is available now on PBS. Catch all episodes of other series like New York Close Up and Extended Play and learn about the organization’s educational programs at Art21.org.

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    Top Contemporary Artists Put Their Stamp on Flower Paintings in This Beautiful Bouquet of a Group Show at Karma Gallery—See It Here

    As galleries and art institutions around the world begin to reopen, we are spotlighting individual shows—online and IRL—that are worth your attention.

    “(Nothing but) Flowers” at KarmaThrough September 13, 2020
    What the gallery says: “The flower persists throughout art history. It figures prominently across memento mori still lifes; huaniao hua bird-and-flower motifs; the intricate patterning of Mbuti bark cloths; the tendrils and palmettes of Islamic miniatures. Botanical symbolism spans libertine excess, Dionesian glut, and delicate innocence; it evokes vanity, fertility, and the mortal coil.
    “Yet most essentially for the present day, the tending and gifting of flowers is steeped in cultural practice. As balms of solace and support during times of remembrance and growth, blooms connote the sharing of emotion, and are given in sympathy, love, joy, or appreciation.”
    Why it’s worth a look: Walking around New York after dusk these days, it can almost feel like any other summer day, with lights draped across al fresco sidewalk dining rooms, dogs roving once again in grassy parks, and—yes—flowers blooming everywhere.
    This show at Karma is the artful equivalent of that bittersweet haze: some of the flora are drooping, or shedding petals as they near the end of their season, while others are pulsing with color and life.
    This group show—which includes works by Nicole Eisenman, Hilary Pecis, Peter Doig, Susan Jane Walp, and Henni Alftan, among others—features artists with as diverse backgrounds as the flowers they’ve committed to canvas, and is the perfect respite for a summer afternoon.
    What it looks like:

    Installation view, “(Nothing but) Flowers” at Karma.

    Susan Jane Walp, Blueberries with Hollyhock Blossom, (2000). Courtesy of the artist and Karma.

    Henni Alftan, Summer Shirt (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Karma.

    Installation view, “(Nothing but) Flowers” at Karma.

    Nicole Eisenman, Still Life with Takis (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Karma.

    Calvin Marcus, Begonia, (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Karma.

    Installation view, “(Nothing but) Flowers” at Karma.

    Peter Doig, Lemons (1989). Courtesy of the artist and Karma.

    Woody De Othello, Space for Growth, (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Karma.

    Gertrude Abercrombie, White Cat and Red Carnations, (1941). Courtesy of the artist and Karma.

    Installation view, “(Nothing but) Flowers” at Karma.

    Lubaina Himid, 2 Swallow II (2006). Courtesy of the artist and Karma.

    Zenzaburo Kojima, Roses (1951). Courtesy of the artist and Karma.

    Honor Titus, Jazmine Perfume, (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Karma.

    Jeanette Mundt, More Heroin – A Remarkable Time (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Karma.

    Installation view, “(Nothing but) Flowers” at Karma.

    Installation view, “(Nothing but) Flowers” at Karma.

    Installation view, “(Nothing but) Flowers” at Karma.

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    in Street Art

    Canyon Castator “A Clean Break” Print Release – August 19th

    Contemporary artist Canyon Castator will be bringing us his distinctive visual universe of symbolic, complex and dreamlike scenery which he has created. Carl Kostyál & StreetArtNews collaborated with Canyon to create out this limited edition print entitled “A Clean Break”. This artwork will be released this August 19, Wednesday, 5PM UK time.

    This screen print comes in an edition of 35 and measures 80 x 60 cm. It will be priced at 350$ and is signed and numbered by the artist.

    “When LA locked down with shelter in place orders, later leading to complete beach closures, I found myself constantly having surf dreams. Surfing is by design social distancing and the fact that the state made it illegal was absurd to me. I became more obsessed than ever with checking the live surf cams of completely empty beaches and waves. I started following all of new swell moving into the LA area, knowing that it would fall on vacant shores. ‘A Clean Break’ grew out of that obsession.”
    – Canyon Castator

    “A Clean Break” will be available on StreetArtNews store on August 19, 2020, Wednesday  5PM UK Time. (12PM NYC, 9AM LA, 2AM Melbourne, 12AM HK, 1AM Tokyo)
    Check out below for more images of the print.

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    in Street Art

    “Gardien de Crécerelle” by Telmo Miel in Boulogne, France

    Muralist duo from the Netherlands, Telmo Miel just worked on their second mural in Boulogne, France entitled “Gardien de Crécerelle”.  It is French for ‘Guardian of the Kestrels’; Kestrels are birds of prey, and in the surrounding area of Boulogne. This species of birds is now considered endangered.
    The mural depicts a woman that has four arms, expressing two different mind-sets. She’s standing with her arms folded, standing by, not lending a hand. But she’s also holding a stick of some sort, supporting the fragile Kestrels. This is to communicate the choice humans have in the matter, giving support or just standing by and watching. The city of Boulogne requested the artists to create an artwork translating this issue.

    Telmo Miel’s artworks are both surreal and realistically rendered, with a tremendous amount of detail and vibrant color. Able to work fairly seamlessly, their styles have combined to such an extent that they’re able to execute multiple areas in tandem, exchanging places and completing each other’s work.
    Check put below to view more images of “Gardien de Crécerelle”.

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    A New Gallery Show Scrutinizes the Legacies of Anti-Feminist Women, From Ayn Rand to Kellyanne Conway

    On August 26, 2020 the United States celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which ended the decades-long fight by suffragists for women to be allowed to vote. In her latest exhibition, opening at Brooklyn-based Theodore: Art to coincide with the occasion, the artist Michelle Vaughan is looking at feminist history. But instead of celebrating those who led the fight for equality, she’s taking a hard look at some of the women who have held it back.
    “A Movement of Women” features pastel portraits of some 40 women culled from the pantheon of conservative activism. Some are luminaries of a previous generation of anti-feminist women, like singer and anti-gay activist Anita Bryant, author and “objectivist” philosopher Ayn Rand, and anti-Equal Rights Amendment campaigner Phyllis Schlafly (recently also examined in the Hulu series Mrs. America). Others, like Betsey DeVos, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, or Kellyanne Conway, are familiar from recent headlines.
    Why train the spotlight on such figures? Vaughn tells Artnet News that the project actually began back in 2016, when history-making candidate Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the election. When post-election analysis revealed that educated white women had voted for Trump—even after the infamous Access Hollywood tape—she decided to look into conservative women, to “unravel what looked to me like a giant paradox.”
    A selection of portraits from Michelle Vaughan’s “A Movement of Women”  (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Theodore: Art.

    The show is presented as a genuine investigation, amassing a huge reserve of information about conservative women including a research library and archival materials in addition to the 40 pastels.
    Perhaps the most striking components of the show are the quotes Vaughan selected, presented as letterpress prints painstakingly hand-set on decidedly feminine-pink office paper, and juxtaposed with the beaming portraits. Each picks out one of the more despicable quips associated with the women in question.
    The more outrageous might sound like raw material for SNL skits or Twitter memes—e.g. Ann Coulter declaring, “[i]t would be a much better country if women did not vote.” Vaughn wants viewers to really scrutinize the words and the faces behind them and “ponder the complexities of American political history.”
    “Michelle Vaughan: A Movement of Women” is on view at Theodore:Art in Brooklyn from August 26–October 22, 2020. Before the show opens, prints are available at a discounted price of $80 (originally $100). 

    Michelle Vaughan, Ann Coulter (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Theodore Art.

    Michelle Vaughan, It Would Be (quote by Ann Coulter) (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Theodore Art.

    Michelle Vaughan, Phyllis Schlafly (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Theodore Art.

    Michelle Vaughan, What I am defending (quote by Phyllis Schlafly) (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Theodore Art.

    Michelle Vaughan, Suzanne Silvercruys (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Theodore Art.

    Michelle Vaughan, There are Practically (quote by Suzanne Silvercruys) (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Theodore Art.

    Michelle Vaughan, Anita Bryant (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Theodore Art.

    Michelle Vaughan, If Gays are Granted (quote by Anita Bryant) (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Theodore Art.

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