Friday, April 8, 2011
1001 Chairs For Ai Weiwei




Artist and activist Ai Weiwei is an internationally regarded figure who has fought for artistic freedom and for freedom of speech throughout his distinguished career, envisioning and shaping a more just and equitablesociety through his work. He has been missing since his arrest on April 3rd in Beijing. 

Steven Holmes was inspired by facebook discussion on what art communities can do to support the safe release of Ai Weiwei. He proposed to reenact Ai Weiwei's project Fairytale: 1,0001 Qing Dynasty Wooden Chairs—an installation which was comprised of 1,001 late Ming and Qing Dynasty wooden chairs at Documenta 12 in 2007 in Kassel, Germany—in front of Chinese embassies and consulates around the world.
This Sunday, April 17, at 1 PM local time, supporters are invited to participate in 1001 Chairs for Ai Weiwei, by bringing a chair and gathering outside Chinese embassies and consulates to sit peacefully in support of the artist’s immediate release.

Event on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=163478807041517
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Friday, April 1, 2011
"TO JAPAN WITH LOVE" Fundraising Event



Asian American Arts Centre
Together with 
Morning MUSUKO & Tender Hearts Crusade

Presents

TO JAPAN WITH LOVE 

Featuring live performance by Morning MUSUKO
Participatory art mural for all to join in - done by Mike Ming and Hiro Kurata.

DATE: MONDAY, APRIL 4TH, 2011
DOORS OPEN @ 7:45PM
LIVE PERFORMANCE STARTS @ 8:30PM

ENTRANCE FEE: $11 (suggested donation, more is welcome)


LOCATION: TENRI CULTURAL INSTITUTE, 43 West 13th St # A, New York, NY(212) 645-2800 ‎


A collaboration between Japanese and non-Japanese musicians, Morning MUSUKO was formed in December 2010 by New York City based trombonist Joe Beaty. A funky mix of New York and Japan, Morning MUSUKO is expanding Japanese pop music to a wider and diverse audience while giving J-Pop hits a New York music scene twist. This event on April 4th will feature a live performance by Morning MUSUKO, Una Aya Osato & Akiko n’ Nana doing a special tribute song "Tsunami".

Morning MUSUKO is developing a community that actively creates and supports the cross- cultural understanding between Japan and other nations and peoples. Their music seeks to inspire and connect a growing and willing international community to accept and incorporate different cultures, music, and ideas. 

Participatory art mural done by Mike Ming and Hiro Kurata will enable personal messages to be sent to the earthquake victims in Japan. All attendees are invited to contribute a message, drawing, or poem on the mural prepared by Mike & Hiro, which will be displayed in Japan. 

At the door $11 is the suggested donation (more is welcome) for the March 11,2011 Earthquake and Tsunami relief efforts. 

The members of Morning MUSUKO include: Joe Beaty & Daniel Barnidge for Arrangements, Daniel Barnidge Conducting, Trumpets are Jonathan Powell, Miki Hirose, Takuya Kuroda, Jon Crowley, on Trombone are Joe Beaty, Adam Dotson, Frank Cohen, on Alto Saxophone are John Beaty, Naoki Iwane, on Tenor Saxophone are Chris Ward and Matan Chapnizka, on Flute is Kaoru Watanabe, on Guitar isAki Ishiguro, on Piano is Senri Oe, on Bass is Jim Robertson, and on Drums is Tomoaki Kanno. 

“I found the performance of Morning Musuko to be really amazing, At times, to me it was a blend of pop music meets the big band era with a bit of Jazz thrown into the mix. Truly unique and memorable.” - Michael G. re: Gerswhin show 12/20/10

100% of proceeds will go to Japan Platform. The Japan Platform is a consortium of 32 different NGO organizations in Japan, and are supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan as a trustworthy humanitarian aid organization. Donations going to the Japan Platform will be distributed to multiple small organizations that are currently working in the affected areas. Japan Platform accepts credit card donations, which is not common for smaller organizations in Japan (wire transfer to a bank account is the most common there). Their website: http://www.japanplatform.org/E/index.html

For more information, contact Asian American Arts Centre rlee@artspiral.org or Morning MUSUKO morningmusukonyc@gmail.com
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Friday, March 18, 2011
Breathing @ Po Kim Art Gallery

B r e a t h i n g

March 29 - April 26, 2011
Location: Wald and Kim Gallery, 417 Lafayette Street, 4th fl. New York, NY 10003
Reception: March 29, Tuesday, 6-8 pm

Artists: Alain Kirili, Byoung Ok Min, Choong Sup Lim, KyungWoo Han, MiKyung Kim, Po Kim, Rakuko Naito, Raquel Rabinovich, Robert C. Morgan, Ruth Hardinger, Shen Chen, SungHo Choi.
Curator Soo Jung Hyun/Asst. Curator Sung Ho Choi.


Go to http://waldandkimgallery.org/ for more info.
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The Monologue of Ice @ Rubin Museum of Art

Atta Kim's Melting Ice Buddha

To mark the closing of the Grain of Emptiness exhibition, South Korean photographer Atta Kim will document the melting of a five-foot-tall ice sculpture of the Buddha. Visitors can participate in the work by collecting the melting water with the injunction that they use it to tend to new growth—for example, a new spring seedling.
The melting begins on Friday, March 25 at 6:00 p.m. during the K2 Lounge, and the museum will be open after hours so that it can be viewed through the night and into the weekend.
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Friday, March 4, 2011
Asian American Arts Centre presents.. BOOM BOX

BOOM BOX


Location: Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, NYC
Dates: March 17 - March 30, 2011
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 17, 5:00pm-8:00pm

Artists: Amy Chan, Ming Fay, Jung Hyang Kim, and Hyungsub Shin.
Curated by Eun Young Choi.

Featuring four artists who create beautiful visual harmony inspired by nature Boom Box, like the compact portable stereo, overflows with various rhythms and melodies that combine together to create a complex yet intimate visual symphony. The white walled rectangular gallery is transformed into a vibrant celebration of colorful blooms, pods, branches, and burgeoning flora. The exhibition includes intricate multi-layered dreamlike abstractions of Jung Hyang Kim, a fruit-laden lush urban jungle installation by Ming Fay, delicate yet quietly mesmerizing surreal landscapes by Amy Chan, and painted abstractions and delightful wire constructions that straddle the boarder between nature and artificiality in the form of rhizomes and stolons by Hyungsub Shin.

Eun Young Choi is an artist and curator based in Brooklyn. She has an MFA from the School of Visual Arts and studied Museum Studies at City College, CUNY. Some of the venues that she has curated at include Gallery SATORI, Number 35, Arario Gallery New York, Lumenhouse, and the NARS Foundation in New York City and Gallery Factory in Seoul. She has also exhibited her work international in Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, and the US.

For more information, go to http://www.artspiral.org/new.html
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Friday, February 25, 2011
I Am Still Alive: Politics and Everyday Life in Contemporary Drawing




I Am Still Alive: Politics and Everyday Life in Contemporary Drawing

Date: March 23–September 19, 2011
Location: The Paul J. Sachs Drawings Galleries, third floor , MOMA


In 1970, Japanese artist On Kawara sent a series of telegrams to his Dutch gallerist that proclaimed, “I am still alive.” The simplicity of the message, coupled with the austerity of the medium, creates the ambivalent impression of a profound truth expressed in almost immaterial form. This exhibition brings together works from the 1950s to today that exemplify such expressions of a personal existence in the world with decidedly conceptual, ephemeral, even opaque means. Embracing formal languages that can seem startling or difficult in their conceptual conceits or idiosyncratic references, the artists in this exhibition nonetheless comment—often directly—on the state of the world around them, highlighting their place within it or simply attesting to the existence of an outside reality full of conflicts, politics, and life. Additional artists in the exhibition include León Ferrari, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Marine Hugonnier, 
Lee Lozano, Mangelos, and Robert Morris, among others.


Go to MOMA for more info.
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Thursday, February 10, 2011
Mansheng Wang: Art and Artlessness



Date: Feb 15 - May 27, 2011
Location: Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Queens College, Queens, NY


Organized in conjunction with Queens College's "Year of China," this retrospective of over 80 works reveals the inspiration for Mansheng Wang’s serene, contemplative creations, in relation to centuries-old Chinese art, uniquely interpreted by the artist in a modern idiom. It includes landscapes, botanical studies, iconic Buddhist imagery, and calligraphy.

From Taiyuan, a city in north central China, Wang was classically-trained at Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts but works in an individual style deeply informed by the artist-scholar tradition and art as a meditative practice. The exhibition explores the ways in which Buddhism and Chinese tradition have influenced Wang’s form and content, and shows how he transforms traditional subjects and conventions in personal interpretations that intersect with Western culture.

Wang realizes his delicately rendered, figurative art through a number of media, including ink and color on various papers, ceramics, and woodblock and other printing techniques.  Selected Chinese objects from the Museum's collections will contextualize the artist's sources and inspiration, along with objects from the artist’s personal archive of the calligraphy of various dynasties.


Go to Godwin-Ternbach Museum for more info.
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Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Jugaad Urbanism: Resourceful Strategies for Indian Cities





Exhibition: February 10 - May 21, 2011
At the Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place
Curated by Kanu Agrawal


Opening Reception: 7 - 9 pm Thursday February 10, 2011.


Set in the radically uneven urban landscapes of Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune, India, Jugaad Urbanism explores how the energy of citizens "making-do" is translated by architects, urban planners, and governmental and nongovernmental entities into efficient and inventive strategies for sustainable urban growth. From energy generating spinning wheels to the extensive skywalks of Mumbai – the exhibition highlights how "jugaad" interventions (a term in Hindi used to describe an innovative, resourceful approach) are challenging traditional spatial hierarchies and mechanistic planning principles.

The work of Indian artists, including Raqs Media Collective, will also be included in the exhibition, offering insights into the complex and oft cited "messy" urbanism of India.

Go to Indo-American Arts Council for more info. 
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Saturday, January 29, 2011
Walk in Manhattan's Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade with the Asian American Arts Centre!

Beverly Flannory @ FIT
Parade: Sunday, February 6th, 2011
Starts: 12:00pm (noon)

We would like to show that the arts are alive in Chinatown while celebrating the Year of the Rabbit!  Help represent the Asian American Arts Centre and show your own artistic creativity by wearing a costume and walking with our banner in the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade.

Lets show the arts through creative costumes!  As of now, costume ideas are open to your own interpretation, but lets focus on a slant of positivity, to promote the Asian American Arts in Chinatown, the New York City community and in celebration of Lunar New Year.

*You are welcome to invite others to join you.
*Costumes are not required but are highly encouraged.
*Collaborative costume ideas might be a good idea to make a greater impact.
*No political or religious agendas or confrontations

*The parade takes place on February 6, 2011 and participants must be able to arrive by 12 noon at a designated meeting spot (TBA)
*Lets make this a fun time and way to engage in the community through this band of costumed artists

Please RSVP to this email tlee@artspiral.org ASAP, and let me know if you plan on participating.  Please also give me an idea of your costume idea, if you know, and if you will be bringing others with you to march and how many.

You can let me know later what your costume idea is, but let me know ASAP if you would like to participate so we can get a count.

More details will follow!!



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Friday, January 28, 2011
Infinite Mirror: Images of American Identity

The exhibition is currently taking place at SUArt Galleries' . 
Duration of the exhibition is from January 25th to March 20th, 2011.




Curated by Blake Bradford, director of education at the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia; Robert Lee, executive director of the Asian American Arts Center, New York; and Benito Huerta, associate professor & director of the Gallery at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Paul Keene,GenerationsLithograph, 1996
This exhibition features 63 multi-media works including paintings, works on paper, photographs and video by culturally diverse artists from across the United States. Infinite Mirror is realized through the collective efforts of Artrain, Inc. and a group of independent curators selecting works of art by established and emerging American artists.


The central theme is the use of portraiture and figuration as symbols for emotional and social ideas. Artwork in the exhibition uses portraiture to depict circumstances and experiences of multicultural populations in present-day America. The artwork is personal, reflective, autobiographical and of a high technical quality, creating an exhibition that is both visually beautiful as well as socially relevant. The exhibition includes the work of first generation Americans and emerging new immigrant artists that examines issues and themes of race, gender, religion, history, politics and family.


Tomie Arai, Peach Boy, Etching, 2003
Included are such internationally renowned artist as Luis Jimenez, Tomie Arai, Elizabeth Catlett and Faith Ringgold. Infinite Mirror was awarded grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Arts. Addition support from MetLife Foundation, the Michigan Council for the Arts and the International Fine Print Dealers Association.

More information at...
Artrain USA
International Arts & Artists
Syracuse University Art Galleries
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Friday, January 7, 2011
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'Never sorry' is the first feature length documentary on one of the most controversial
and iconic chinese contemporary artists of our time, ai weiwei whose voice on human rights issues
in china have resulted in his detainment, as well as the order to demolish his newly completed
work studio in shanghai, among other events. directed by beijing-based journalist and filmmaker
alison klayman, the film offers an intimate and scholarly portrait of the cultural figure,
whose art and activism has made headlines not only in his native homeland of china,
but around the globe.

Ai Weiwei's latest work 'sunflower seeds', fills the tate modern's turbine hall with millions of life-sized
hand-painted porcelain sunflower seeds. the installation is on view until may 2nd, 2011.

Here is a little teaser of what to expect from 'never sorry':

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry TEASER from Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry on Vimeo.


Produced by MUSE film and television, 'ai weiwei: never sorry' is set to be released later this year.
for more info and updates you can visit the film's facebook page and twitter.
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Thursday, January 6, 2011
Sky Kim's solo exhibition at The Earville Opera House entitled SAMSARA


Date: Jan 8 - Feb 19, 2011
Location: Earville Opera House, Earville, NY 12222


 Sky Kim - Untitled work #1, (42 inches x 10 yards) 

The title of the exhibit is "SAMSARA" - It is a Sanskrit word meaning the eternal cycle of life.
Sky Kim works in a series of abstract painting/drawings that she would say captures the vital energy of all living beings through microscopic scanning.  The unusual size of the works show that Kim wishes to suggest a new boundary to drawing with her pieces that begin with a 10 yard roll of paper.

On an unconscious level, Kim's work is influenced by the loss of her twin sister at birth.  She believes that remembering her in her art is a way to complete her being in this life. Her scroll series is a record of the energy that she produces at the very moment of creation.  It records her personal time and space, as well as her raw emotion.  The work tells a story that develops over the length of the scroll.  She hopes for her audience to be able to ask themselves who they were before and who they are now as they view the work.  "Following one dot after another all the way into the core of my drawing and connecting dots of their own..." that might lead them to the center of their beings to discover wholeness.

More info: http://skykim.net/
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Wednesday, November 17, 2010
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LONDON— In a tale that goes way beyond the wildest dreams of any Antiques Roadshow aficionado, a brother and sister found a dusty Chinese vase while clearing out their deceased parents' suburban London house and put it up for sale at Bainbridges Auction House — where it fetched $85 million, a world record for any work of Chinese art at auction. The siblings, who have so far remained anonymous, were stunned by the rapidly-ascending bidding, with the sister leaving the room at one point to get some fresh air. Bainbridges, a small West London auction house specializing in estate sales, and whose previous sale record was £100,000 ($185,000) for a Ming bowl, had estimated the Qianlong vase at £800,000-1.2 million ($1.3-1.9 million), the London Telegraph reports. After 30 minutes of frenetic bidding in which six men in the salesroom and three telephone bidders vied for the elaborately-decorated piece, a paddle bidder in the room — said to be a Beijing-based advisor — emerged victorious, declining afterward to comment on his purchase. The hammer price was £43 million, with the commission and VAT bringing the total price to £53 million ($85 million). This sum handily surpasses the previous record for a Chinese artwork, set by a calligraphic work that sold for $64 million at Beijing's Poly International Auction Company last June. Moreover, the vase more than doubled the previous record for Chinese porcelain, set just a month ago by Sotheby's in Hong Kong with the sale of another Qianlong vase for $32.4 million.


Read more at Art Info 
(Image courtesy of Brainbridges)
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