Nadiah Fellah
February 20, 2013, 8:30am
How Paul Chan is Destroying Books
The idea of destroying books—literally and figuratively—never occurred to artist Paul Chan, until a couple of years ago. His ebook publishing company, Badlands Unlimited, was participating in the New York Art Book Fair, when an argument broke out in front of their booth. Two women were having a heated discussion about whether or not publishers like Chan's were destroying books. One of the women argued that the shift to electronic books was inevitable, while the other vehemently disagreed, declaring, "They are burning books!" Although not present at the fair himself, when Chan heard this story, he says a light bulb went off.
February 12, 2013, 8:30am
Anj Smith at Hauser & Wirth
Portraits by the British artist Anj Smith appear at first glance to be those of young women. But careful viewing reveals elements that throw their portrayal of femininity into question—a few strands of facial hair, an Adam’s apple. Smith says the ambiguity is intentional, and that she was inspired to investigate issues of gender in her work by a close friend who recently underwent gender reassignment surgery. Her paintings are at once radical explorations of identity and sexuality, fused with a painting practice that has its roots in a fifteenth-century aesthetic and technique, a striking contrast that invigorates her work.
February 01, 2013, 8:30am
NAP Contributor Tribute
In case you haven't noticed, we have the best art writers in the world. Seriously, it's true. Our blog contributors are stationed all over the country, scoping out shows, visiting studios, and interviewing the best contemporary painters in the art world. Recently we asked our most prolific bloggers to answer a few questions about themselves and their thoughts on 2012. It's your chance to get to know a handful of the talented individuals that bring you the New American Paintings/Blog! There are many more writers, and we hope to feature them soon.
Thanks to everyone that contributes to our blog, helping us bring our readers rich and exciting content on a daily basis!
January 31, 2013, 8:30am
Art For Sandy Relief: A Closer Look at The Artist Relief Project
Like most New Yorkers, it was hard to look beyond our own basic necessities in the days leading up to Hurricane Sandy. Bottled water, flashlights, canned food. But as the winds died down and the storm’s damage was made known, the extent of its devastation proved bewildering. The homes, neighborhoods, and businesses in New York and New Jersey that took the worst of hits were highly visible news stories. But in the days and weeks following the storm there was another community whose irreparable damages came to light: those of the arts community. - Nadiah Fellah, NYC Contributor
January 28, 2013, 8:30am
Sandra Vásquez de la Horra at David Nolan Gallery
Chilean-born artist Sandra Vásquez de la Horra’s drawings are currently on view at the David Nolan Gallery in New York. In a show titled Entre el cielo y la tierra (Between heaven and earth), the figures and creatures that occupy her illustrations are amalgamations of biblical, mythological, and fantastical sources. Many of the drawings presented are new works, and a number are from her participation in the São Paulo Biennial last fall. - Nadiah Fellah, NYC Contributor
January 21, 2013, 8:30am
Francis Alÿs: REEL/ UNREEL
On view at David Zwirner Gallery in New York is a body of work by Francis Alÿs, originally produced for Documenta 13. For this summer’s iteration of the contemporary art fair, Alÿs showed a group of small paintings in a former bakery in Kassel, Germany, and a film entitled REEL/UNREEL in one of the fair’s satellite venues in Kabul, Afghanistan, which was produced in collaboration with Ajmal Maiwandi and Julien Devaux. The installation at David Zwirner reunites these works in the same place for the first time since their debut last June. - Nadiah Fellah, NYC Contributor
January 08, 2013, 8:30am
Wade Guyton: OS at The Whitney
Paper jams, leaking toner cartridges, formatting errors—there are few who haven’t been frustrated by the glitches and hiccups common to printers. But artist Wade Guyton depends upon these errors in the process of his art making. The “paintings” displayed in his mid-career survey at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York draw on his use of inkjet printing to create large-scale works on linen, as well as small-scale works on found magazine and book pages.
May 11, 2012, 8:30am
Libby Black: Nothing Lasts Forever
I caught up with artist Libby Black (NAP #67 and #85) at Marx & Zavattero gallery in San Francisco, where her show ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ is currently on view (through May 26th). Black has carefully selected and curated the images in the show, mindful of how flower paintings can be associated with ‘Sunday painters.’ To combat this tendency she has injected a layer of darkness and playfulness into the show through unique juxtapositions. For instance, between still-lifes of colorful bouquets is one of a high heel shoe with a penis extending from the toe, a design by Vivienne Westwood.
February 28, 2012, 8:15am
Controlled Chaos: John Cage at Crown Point Press
When one first encounters the prints by composer and artist John Cage, the lines, circles, and doodles that intermittently dot the pages could be described as simply abstract compositions. Some are monochromatic, others colorful. Some recall the sparse structure of a Jasper Johns, others the charred and distressed surfaces of a Robert Rauschenberg. While these artists were major influences in Cage’s life and work, the inclination to call the work derivative is hardly the whole story. - Nadiah Fellah, San Francisco Contributor
February 02, 2012, 8:15am
The Art of Occupation, Part II
This is a follow-up to a post written in November, The Art of Occupation, which dealt with the inception of Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Museums, as well as their artistic components. In this post I continue by reporting on the art and activities of the movements’ participants as they evolve and expand. - Nadiah Fellah, San Francisco contributor
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