VIERNES, EL DIECINUEVE DE NOVIEMBRE, VIENTE-DIEZ
Another exhibition invitation to another group exhibition I'm in, this time in Barcelona, Spain:

CMTV Gallery invites you to the exhibition:

AWAY FROM DIOS
The Seven Deadly Sins
Opening: 7:30pm, 9th December, 2010

10th of December 2010 - 29th January 2011

The Seven Deadly Sins are a classification of the human vices found in Christianity and Catholicism. As mentioned in the first lessons, they have been part of Western tradition for centuries. Artists have addressed these vices and have made interpretations that serve as a cultural and moral witness to specific eras of our history.

CMTV Gallery, with the aim of updating this topic, commissioned eight international artists to create an artwork of predetermined format (90 x 90 cm). based on one of the cardinal sins. The objectives of this exhibition are to reflect on these ever-current vices, while promoting artistic dialogue between continents and countries.

Each artist has their own unique style, yet there are common elements running throughout the exhibition including irony, metaphor; the desire for beauty, the combination of religion and popular culture; the influence of surrealism and the return of the human form - aspects that reflect contemporary art practice in this time.

List of guest artists: Spain: Gonzalo Rueda (Pride), José Luis Serzo (Greed), Dani Torrent (Gluttony), Rubenimichi (Lust); USA: Tim Hooper (Envy), Bethany Marchman (Sloth); New Zealand/USA: Matthew Couper (Wrath).
Sergio Mora (gallery manager) curator of the exhibition.

Artist Website links:
Matthew Couper www.mattcouper.com
Tim Hooper www.mrhooperart.com
Dani Torrent www.danitorrent.carbonmade.com
José Luis Serzo www.joseluisserzo.com
Rubenimichi www.rubenimichi.com
Bethany Marchman www.bethanymarchman.com
Gonzalo Rueda www.gonzalorueda.com
Sergio Mora www.sergiomora.com

More information:
www.comomevesteveras.com/awayfromdios
www.comomevesteveras.com/galeriacmtv
www.comomevesteveras.com/blog

Tel: + 34 93 319 0819
Sant Pere Mes Alt 36
08003 Barcelona
España

JUEVES, EL DIECIOCHO DE NOVIEMBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
An invitation to a group exhibition I'm part of at Mahara Gallery, Waikanae, Wellington, New Zealand. I'm not exactly sure which work of mine is in the exhibition, but I'll update you as soon as I hear.

LUNES, EL QUINCE DE NOVIEMBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
Today, my painting 'Half and Half' (which is on display at present at the New Dowse, New Zealand, as part of the 2010 Wallace Art Awards) is featured in John Seed's Huffington Post Blog, 'Five Paintings, Five Palettes: F. Scott Hess, Peter Zokosky, Sarah McKenzie, Nathan Oliveira, Matt Couper'.
The main idea of the blog is to compare and contrast artist's palettes. So far, mine is the skankiest, with paper plates sitting on the ground with a mess of brushes.

DOMINGO, EL CARTORCE DE NOVIEMBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
A fantastic '84 J-M Basquait acrylic and silkscreen painting titled 'Logo' up for sale in the latest Sotheby's Contemporary Art auction in Paris. If you've got a spare 800,000 EURO lying around, better check if your mum can pick up the hammer-down commission if you win the bid.

MIERCOLES, EL CIEZ DE NOVIEMBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
It feels very satisfactory to squeeze out a tube of paint and have your brush stand up in it. A photo taken in preparation for priming the 3 new canvases (see previous posts)

MARTES, EL NUEVE DE NOVIEMBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
Have been distracted - starting some new large pantings, which are taking up all my time, hence the gap in blogging. Here's a pic of my studio from Sunday. I've finished a new version of 'Half and Half' from earlier this year. It's slightly different and was definitely as fun to paint as the previous one. This one is called 'Syncretism Of The Halves'.
I'm intending on making a triptych painting out of the three new primed canvases hanging on the wall.

SABATO, EL SEIS DE NOVIEMBRE, VIENTE-DIEZ
Last night was First Friday, had a great time and saw some great work, including Todd Mitchell's molotov cocktail with 'urban renewal' written on the label. Both Jo and I had work in the Dia De Los Muertos exhibition at Blackbird Studios on Commerce St.

VIERNES, EL CINCO DE NOVIEMBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
A new ex-voto about the recent mid-term elections here in the States.

JUEVES, EL CUATRO DE NOVEMBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
Friday night is Ben Pearce's exhibition opening at PAULNACHE in Gisborne. Here's what the email says:

'Pearce explores the personality of memory. Acknowledging its amazing range and various abilities, Pearce’s art explores memory and reconciles it with a recent and common ‘ancestor’ to us all: childhood. He strives to make visible the quirks and tragedies of our mind’s recording machinations, to materialize the emotional states that can cripple our bodies and which often distort the way we record time and memory. The nature of this internal landscape is of interest to Pearce; his sculptures may exist within his internal world but they also seek to co-exist as time-travellers in our own.

Within Pearce’s work, internal spaces are visited sculpturally. Here memory is visualized, scrutinized and retold. Spirits and stories of past lives or of family history are bought forth from the dark inner recesses they once occupied to our current time and place. Several recent works, The Red Trike and Deadline have explored the metamorphic phenomenon as a metaphor for the shape shifting self that occupies the mind.

Pearce creates sanctuaries in which memories can shelter from harm, loss and anonymity. Adapted, weathered and polished, these places seem more like manifestations of emotion rather than representations of the actual objects themselves. Dislocated, they allude to both survival and demise, creation and destruction. It is these notions of creation and destruction that interest Pearce sculpturally and this is reflected in the way he re-constructs his works after inflicting wilful damage upon them. He longs to bring sculpture closer to the practice of drawing; immediate, expressive and correctable. The idea in his work is that of dualism between the functions of mind and body. He feels that the body can retain the overflow of memory, storing unprocessed emotions in various areas, relieving the mind to gather its more receptive stimuli.

Replacing organs such as ears and a brain with a plethora of rocks suggests these may have been magically turned to stone by a spell or curse or, alternatively, that they could be suggestive of a particular state of mind. In the work Cavern No.1 (2009), a corridor-like portal emerges from (or retracts into) the corner of a room engulfing the messy and recently vacated space within its walls; at once seemingly inviting, it is also oddly aggressive. Where rocks feature in Curse (2009) and Cavern No.1, they are stacked precariously as if a totem for worship or occupation, an occupation where they can only be tenant to themselves and their consciousness.

Pearce’s works seem scarred or defunct of use, purpose and sometimes beauty, existing in an undefined space that is both grotesque and eloquent. Pearce’s works are nearly always parasitical in some way, inasmuch as they are forms which deem it necessary to clasp on to found objects: from trikes or chairs to re-made everyday objects and sometimes even the spaces they find themselves resting in, anything, it seems, is fair game.

Born in 1982, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Pearce completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2003, majoring in sculpture at Wanganui Quay School of Fine Arts.Exhibiting regularly in New Zealand, Pearce has work held in the public collection of the Sargeant Gallery, Wanganui and in private collections throughout New Zealand, England and the USA. Pearce’s work is also held in the James Wallace art collection after becoming a finalist in the Wallace award in 2008, and in the 2009 awards Pearce's work Cavern No.1 won people's choice. Pearce has also recently been included in Warwick Brown's new book ‘Seen this Century’, which features 100 artists, and his work 'Great Grandfather Clock' (which will feature as part of his November exhibition) won him the 2009 Waikato youth award.'

(Words and images courtesy of the artist)

MIERCOLES, EL TRES DE NOVEMBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
In keeping with the Guston theme, I also bought these two (out of a series of three) catalogues of Guston's lithographs, produced my Gemini GEL based in Los Angeles. When opening the first catalogue, this note (on the right) fell out. A touching tribute to Guston just after his death on July the 7th, 1980.
The catalogues are ex libris, originally from the Philadelphia Museum of Art library, a museum we hope to visit in the not too distant future.

MARTES, EL DOS DE NOVEMBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
I recently purchased a second-hand copy of the new Philip Guston 'Roma' catalogue, that's been produced for the current touring exhibition in Rome and Washington DC. It is another stunning Hatje Cantz publication, again, hardback and a little bit bigger than 8" x 10" (following their Guston Works on Paper catalogue from 2007).
I was pleasantly surprised to find, when opening the book, that it was signed by the editor, Peter Benson Miller.
I have yet to delve into the essays, but have read the poetic diary entries of the Guston's trip to Rome by Musa Guston, which are stunning, all the small details that triggered off memories of our Rome trips.
I can't wait to see the show in DC in Feb.

LUNES, EL UNO DE NOVEMBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
I was saddened to hear that Phill England passed away on Saturday. Phill was the amazing director and cameraman of The Gravy (amongst other things) and we met when he was filming the Whanganui episode of the series. I painted this ex-voto for the episode, for Ross Liew to fill in, which features Phill holding an excessively large camera with added ephemera attached it it.
RIP Phill.

EL CRUZ DE LA DIA, DOMINGO, EL TRIENTE Y UNO DE OCTUBRE, VIENTE-DIEZ

Today we visited the huge Swap Meet in North Las Vegas. We'd been there in 2004 and 2008, so this was our first visit back there since moving. I picked up a lovely, almost complete crucifix with wooden inlay. It's had a new halo and skull and bones added.

SABATO, EL TRIENTE DE OCUTBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
I posted the image on the left a while back, here on this blog. The image on the right, a reverse-glass painting, is from our collection. I did a copy of this work, in the same technique, for an exhibition at the gallery I exhibit at in Wellington, 2009. I don't think many people looked at it, understood the complexity of the technique, nor the symbolism of the imagery. I've been collecting examples of this particular Momento Mori image since 2006. They're easy to find in reproduction, but hard to find originals. Both works below are dated mid 18th century. The title of the etching on the left is translated as 'An Aspect Of The Story Of The Legend'. The text under the skull is more direct, stating 'The Wages Of Sin Is Death'. I've decided to exhibit the reverse-glass painted work with my work, Reloj de Recesion at Blackbird Studios in Las Vegas for their Dia De Los Muertos exhibition opening on the 4th, as I want to show my influences, not pass off the work I do as 'original', which is such a silly Modernist notion anyway. The devotional work I do always has to have a source to be able to pinpoint the dedication. Good artists and good work just doesn't fall out of the sky. Everything has a lineage.
I also want to write more about the reverse-glass painting technique as it's such an interesting process, mostly of the mind because everything in the process of painting is reversed, which really reinforces Leonardo Da Vinci's statement on how painting is an activity of the mind. I think it would also be good to discuss in regards to New Zealand painting, as an artist who borrows this technique, recently won the Wallace Art Award.

VIERNES, EL VEINTINUEVE DE OCTUBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
Today is Nevada Day, so everyone here is on holiday. Quite a nice feeling.
Last night Jo and I got a sneak preview of 'The Radiant Child', at Centerpiece Gallery. It's a new documentary on Jean-Michel Basquiat that is to be released in cinemas soon. It's an interesting documentary in that it has interviews with him, candid as they're taken by close friends of his, while he escaped to LA later in his short career. It's some what eulogized though, only touching briefly on his drug habit and his secondary-market presence. I think what found most interesting was that I thought about the movie in regards to "Manuel Ocampo: God Is My Co-Pilot", a similar kind of documentry, with a lot of the same players: Aninna Nosei, Fred Hoffman et al. and how Basquait, despite his plight, has become a template for 'minority' artists who can be bartered and manipulated for their ethnicity rather than their work.
Here's my drawing of J-M Basquiat as part of the the '27 Club':

JUEVES, EL VIENTIOCHO DE OCTUBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
The ex-voto below, dated Nov 1st - 2nd, 2010, was painted for Dia De Los Muertos and will be exhibited at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, from the 29 Oct - 2 Nov, 2010.
Please click on the image to enlarge it.
This ex-voto is number 201 in the series of ex-votos started in Whanganui, New Zealand, 2006.

MIERCOLES, EL VEINTISIETE DE OCTUBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ

Another invitation to an exhibition, this time it's Sanjay Theodore in Wellington. The exhibition is titled 'M-13, an installation'. I'm not sure if the title is also a play on the film ratings system or not (Sanjay's a big B-grade movie buff), but here's the write-up about the exhibition:

"Like the group of stars in the milky way, from which the exhibition derives its title, the paintings, photographs and objects in the this show, M-13, are installed to be seen and experienced as a cluster – with the whole something more than the individual components. Within a framework Dadasim, the early 20th century art movement which challenged the conventions of what art could be and do, Theodore brings together disparate elements, from east and western traditions, to create an environment which draws attention to the rituals of looking both in the gallery and out.
Sanjay Theodore was born in India and came to New Zealand as a child. He studied art at Canterbury University, the West Texas State University and the New York Studio School. In the mid 1990s, before leaving New Zealand for almost a decade, he was included in several significant public gallery group exhibitions. Theodore is now based in Christchurch and exhibiting in New Zealand and the United Kingdom."

His exhibition opens at Bartley+Co Art, Wellington, on the 2nd of November.

MARTES, EL VEINTISEIS DE OCTUBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
Here's an invitation I received via email. It's for a 2-person exhibition, ceramics by Mark Rayner and paintings by Anthony Behrens. Mark co-runs Rayner Bros Gallery in Whanganui, NZ and I believe he's putting images of this work up on the Rayner Bros website as Thermostat Gallery doesn't have an active website.

LUNES, EL VEINTICINCO DE OCTUBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
If you have a spare two million, a good art purchase would be this large Philip Guston painting that has recently come up in the Sothebys Contemporary Art Auction.

DOMINGO, EL VEINTICUATRO DE OCTUBRE, VEINTE-DIEZ
Kid Meets Cougar's Courtney Carroll vs. TVNZ 3's news presenter, Carolyn Robinson