FOUNTAIN ART FAIR 2012

Como ya os comentaba en el post anterior, el fin de semana pasado se celebraba en Manhattan la FOUNTAIN ART FAIR, una de las muchas ferias de arte que durante cuatro días han tenido lugar por todo Nueva York. Todas estas ferias se enmarcan dentro de la ARMORY ARTS WEEK, un evento dedicado al arte contemporáneo y que debido a sus descomunales proporciones, se divide en diferentes muestras dependiendo del tipo de arte, artistas y galerías participantes.

Nacida en Brooklyn, la FOUNTAIN es la feria dedicada al arte emergente; pequeñas galerías, artistas medianamente desconocidos… siempre con un carácter bastante independiente y que se intenta desmarcar del tradicional sistema de mercado del arte. Aquí no hay poses ni pretensiones. El acceso al arte y a la información es fácil, relajado y muy directo. Una señal del ambiente distendido de esta feria es que con el precio de la entrada (10 dólares) se incluye una consumación y si os soy sincero, creo que no hay nada mejor para darse una vuelta por una feria de arte que llevar una cerveza fría en la mano.

El año pasado se celebró en un barco en los muelles de Chelsea, pero en esta edición el lugar elegido fue el histórico 69th Regiment Armory, en Lexington Avenue. El hecho de que una feria de arte consiga su propio “arsenal” en Nueva York, es un indicativo claro de que esta haciendo las cosas bien. Me hizo gracia saber de la mano de CARLO DE LUCA, que este enorme edificio albergó en 1913 una exposición bastante importante (y polémica) en la que el público americano pudo ver por primera vez las nuevas tendencias del arte que se estaban haciendo por aquel entonces en Europa; más concretamente, el cubismo y el futurismo. Dicha muestra fue inaugurada por Theodore Roosevelt (entonces reciente expresidente de los Estados Unidos) el cual expresó su rechazo hacia este tipo de arte tachando a sus autores de “extremistas europeos”. 

 

La Galería MARIANNE NEMS trajo la obra de dos clásicos: UGLY KID GUMO y LA2… pero me dejaron bastante frío:

Sí que me gustaron mucho las casas para pájaros vanguardistas de XAM, que incluyen paneles solares e incluso antena de televisión por satélite:

STEVE JOESTER SOLO EXHIBIT MAY 15th

Steve Joester is a British born photographer & mixed media artist, now working and living in New York City.

Joester was a leading rock & roll photographer in the 70's and 80's. His iconic images of the greatest rock performers, Bob Marley, The Stones, Neil Young, The Clash, Queen and many more rock giants  have appeared on album sleeves, posters, in exhibitions and leading magazines around the world.

" I loved working in the 'pit', the band is right in your face and I could capture the raw energy of the live performance that is the essence of rock and roll."

In an explosive interpretation of the rock icons that left their indelible mark on our generation, Joester's mixed media works transcend his photography. using an unconventional mix of materials on his canvases, Joester invigorates the energy of rock and roll in the raw with his own interpretation of the emotion and power of live performance.

Joester was the first mixed media artist to be represented by 'The Morrison Hotel Gallery, opening their Bowery Gallery with a solo show. His work is in collections around the U.S and Europe.

Thierry VAN BIESEN

Thierry VAN BIESEN's Photogrpahy at Marianne Nems Gallery NY

Of Lebanese and Belgian origin, Thierry Van Biesen was born in Beirut in 1965. When he was 10 years old, the Lebanese civil war broke out and changed his life dramatically. In order to survive the horrors all around him, he suppressed the violence and developed a way of seeing that was unusually optimistic and uplifting. Little did he know that this selective filter would consciously be applied to his work years later.

At the age of 16, Thierry’s father sent him to Belgium in order to distance him from the war. A few years later, he landed at Polytechnic Institute where he was destined for a career in mathematics and engineering. It’s here that he first began to take photographs. The lab owner who processed his first roll of images was so impressed by his natural aptitude for composition and color that he encouraged him to nurture his innate talent. 

In 1989, Thierry moved to New York to assist prestigious photographers Ralph Gibson, Sarah Moon, Duane Michals, Art Kane and Arthur Elgort. They gave him insight into their mastery and inspired him to think about his own visual style. Thierry then returned to Beirut where he opened his first commercial photo-studio with friend and world-renowned photojournalist Patrick Baz. The studio reinforced his technical skills and gave him the opportunity to shoot a wide range of subjects for advertising clients including KODAK, SEIKO, PLAYTEX, MARLBORO, TANG, PROCTER & GAMBLE and numerous local Lebanese businesses. In 1997, he moved to London to “play with the big boys.” It’s here that the realm of fashion photography offered him the opportunity to start cultivating his personal style and experimenting with a visual language infused with his signature buoyancy. 

Thierry’s vision was instantly recognized, and he soon collaborated with major fashion magazines such as TANK, MINED, ELLE Japan, DON’T TELL IT, MADAME FIGARO, JALOUSE, DEALER DELUXE, IT, AD!DICT!, MARIE- CLAIRE, ZINK! And OMEN. The recognition that his fashion photography brought him attracted worldwide advertising clients including SONY, AMAZON.COM, FIAT cars, SOCIETE GENERALE, GUINNESS, CASTELBAJAC PERFUME, ISSEY MIYAKE, KATE SPADE, MACY’s, OLD NAVY, NEIMAN MARCUS, SHINSEGAE department stores in South Korea and CLUB MEDITERRANEE.

In 2000, his work was exhibited alongside Guy Bourdin, Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Klein, Nick Knight, Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, Paolo Roversi and 50 others as part of the group exhibition “Archeology Of Elegance” at The Hamburg Museum Of Modern Art. Dealing with the correlation between art and fashion, the exhibition included the most succinct and influential photographers of the 80s and 90s.
Convinced that those who change the world for the better are the dreamers, not the cynics, Thierry continues to create imagery that vibrates with joy, movement and poetry. Collaborating again with Patrick Baz, he’s revisiting his past with an exhibition for the 2013 Festival of War Photography in Bayeux, France. By modifying Patrick’s hyper real images of war, Thierry will finally be able to share his revisionist version of the Lebanese civil war, one filled with nonchalance and oblivion.

 

Steve Joester

Upcoming exhibition May 2012 (previous exhibition SOLD-OUT)

is a British born photographer & mixed media artist, now working and living in New York City.

Joester was a leading rock & roll photographer in the 70's and 80's. His iconic images of the greatest rock performers, Bob Marley, The Stones, Neil Young, The Clash, Queen and many more rock giants have appeared on album sleeves, posters, in exhibitions and leading magazines around the world.

" I loved working in the 'pit', the band is right in your face and I could capture the raw energy of the live performance that is the essence of rock and roll."

In an explosive interpretation of the rock icons that left their indelible mark on our generation, Joester's mixed media works transcend his photography. using an unconventional mix of materials on his canvases, Joester invigorates the energy of rock and roll in the raw with his own interpretation of the emotion and power of live performance.

Joester was the first mixed media artist to be represented by 'The Morrison Hotel Gallery, opening their Bowery Gallery with a solo show. His work is in collections around the U.S and Europe.