Just wanted to give everyone a heads up. I have been working the past week or so on moving the Creep Machine to a new host. This is pretty intense, as the site has been up since 2007 and is image heavy. So there is a massive amount of images to go through and prepare for the next site. I am excited to have the new site released, and to get back to writing about art. Thanks for sticking around, and I hope to see you all on the new version of the Creep Machine soon.
I just wanted to make a post and let all the fans know that the Creep Machine is still here, even if there has been a bit of silence lately. This is longest I have ever gone without making a post and I am not very happy about it. Without getting into too much detail, I was recently laid off from a job (as many people have been this past year) and I needed to rearrange my life in order to take care of family. So this left me with little time to update the site, and for a bit I wasn’t even sure I would be able to keep the site alive during this hiatus.
It is my goal this year to get going with the site again, change the look, and even move to a more reliable server. I may have had bad luck with a job, but this could be an opportunity to work harder on this site. The Creep Machine Facebook page (here) has stayed active, with the help of the amazing Maria Pickering, so please make sure you check that out as well, she has done an amazing job with that page. It’s a tough economy out there, and while I would love to do nothing more than write about art, I refuse to allow this site to get cluttered with garish ads dominating the site. I am confident this year will bring new things, and a job will come soon. What happens when we get knocked down? We get right back up, swinging. Thanks to all the fans that have stuck around, and I hope all of you had an amazing holiday.
Huff and puff as much as you want, but New York Galleries are made of brick, fuck you very much, Sandy.
If you don’t already know, Hurricane Sandy has severely hurt the New York art scene. Gotham has never experienced this kind of thing before (we’ve been flooded, but not to this degree). Everyone living here was taken by surprise when the Lower East Side and Chelsea gallery districts both got badly flooded. Artist studios in Gowanus and Greenpoint areas of Brooklyn were not only flooded, but the waters that filled their buildings are known for being severely polluted. What objects survived have to be handled carefully with gloved hands, and likely discarded as unusable. Sandy didn’t really throw a lot of rain at us, but the surge that came in from the ocean filled up gallery basements and went up as high as 5 feet in ground floor spaces.
Here are some links showing images of the damage wreaked by the storm:
ArtInfo: Hurricane Sandy Leaves Greenpoint Studios Wrecked, Destroying Years of Work
From art critic Jerry Saltz: Saltz’s Devastating Tour Through Chelsea’s Ruined Art Galleries
Hyperallergic’s multiple reports:
New York’s Art World Assessing Impact of Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy Report, 2 Days After
Hurricane Sandy Report, 3 Days After
Hurricane Sandy Report, 4 Days After
Yet, on that negative note, I’m happy to report that many galleries have survived without damage and will be open for business as of this week. Life goes on. If you’re in New York and can make it out, please show these artists your support. Their exhibitions have been interrupted by the storm; they’ve largely missed out on what attention they should have gotten. If you’re not nearby, check out their work online. The list below consists only of Manhattan galleries, unfortunately. If I have time, I’ll expand.
Do send New York all your love and strength. On Wednesday, we’re expecting a furry and fanged nor’easter to try to blow our houses down yet again. Oh, hell no!
∞∞∞
Lori Field‘s exhibition, Wild Horses and Wallflowers , at Claire Oliver Gallery, open until November 24th:
Lori Field | I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did
Philadelphia artist, Paul Romano, previously mentioned on The Creep in 2011, just opened an exciting solo exhibition of new artworks at Articulated Gallery in San Francisco. Entitled Little Battle, it is a series of pieces that utilize an eclectic combination of symbols to explore the day to day challenges we endure. It is an exhibition of love and loss, hope and growth.
LEVELER Media created a wonderful video of
Paul working in his studio. It’s quite lovely, complimenting the mood of Paul’s artwork quite well. Go check it out here and, if you’re in San Francisco, don’t miss seeing the show which will be up until November 1.
The featured artist for August is now live, and I am very happy to announce that it is Christopher Ulrich. I have been a fan of his work for some time now and along with showcasing over 30 images of his work, we also have a short interview that talks about his working style, inspirations, and peek into his upcoming show at La Luz De Jesus this December. I would also like to thank last months featured artist Mia Araujo, her feature can now be found in the archives. Check out Christopher Ulrich here.
I have been a little behind with the featured artists, but now that I am done with moving it’s time to get that area back in gear. Thank to the previous featured artist Jeff Ramirez, you can still see his work in the archive. This month’s featured artist is Los Angeles based painter Mia Araujo. Mia recently opened her first solo show at the Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles entitled Into the Woods. I was able to send Mia some questions for a mini-interview, and we have some paintings, close-ups, and even some drawings/sketches to show.
Also, from now until June 5th, Mia is having a mini-print giveaway. If you head over to her blog you will see the full details and learn how to score a signed mini-print from her latest show. Mia Araujo Blog. After you have done that, click the image below to check out the gallery/interview.
The phrenetic artwork of Joshua Hagler is quite alluring and strange, visceral, grotesque and sensual. Many of his works are confusing blobs of flesh, cloth, blood, light, metal and water, churning and changing in gurgling currents. However scattered that may sound, what
forms and figures he uses are bluntly recognizable and intimately disturbing. His works explore ideas born from an “intense personal necessity” to utilize religious content and tear into those psychological trigger-points that confuse and test religious beliefs.
In his latest exhibition, The Imagined Chase, opening at Frey Norris in San Francisco next week, his paintings feature even more abstract forms that resemble rorschach tests and infer a reflection of sorts. More specifically, they explore the outcome of extensive interviews of four men that he executed and recorded over the past few years. This conceptual exhibition explores and remixes these interviews via new paintings, a 16-foot sculptural installation, and a multi-channel animated video projection that involves 3D models based upon the likenesses of each of the four interviewees. The video is a:
“…fictive apocrypha of ‘sacred history’ [that enlists] individual and shared feelings about mortality to accelerate experienced history towards myth. When projected externally, imagined scenarios about the mortality of the earth itself are integrated into the cultural evolution of mythology and religion in the present day.”
Regardless of your level of interest in more conceptual artwork, Joshua’s work is stunning to view. The exhibition will be on view from March 1 – through February 28, 2012 with an opening Reception on March 1, 5-8pm.
Thanks to artist Jeff Faerber for introducing me to this great artist!
All images courtesy of the artist and Frey Norris Contemporary and Modern
First of all I would like to thank last months featured artist Marco Mazzoni; if you haven’t seen the feature yet make sure to check it out (here). This months featured artist, or at least the end of February and rest of March, is photo-realist painter Jeff Ramirez. We sent over 5 questions that Jeff was kind of answer, and are featuring 24 paintings.
On February 11th, Last Rites Gallery in New York held the first part of the ArtFusion Charity event with a live painting day, and on Feb 25th will hold the gala and charity auction. ArtFusion bring together a over 15 talented, diverse, and well known artists to create collaborative works of art which will benefit The International Children’s Art Foundation (ICAF). Work by Ana Bagayan, Angie Mason, Annie Owens, Anthony Pontius, Billy Norrby, Brian Despain, Brian Murphy, Buddy Nestor, Chris Mars, David MacDowell, David Stoupakis, Dan Harding, Ewelina, Fred Harper, Genevive Zacconi, Jason D’Aquino, Jason Levesque, Jason Limon, Jennybird Alcantara, Mia Araujo, Michael Mararian, Paul Booth, Scott G Brooks, Vincent Castiglia, and many more can be seen during this event. The gallery sent out 15 canvas panels to be sketched on, which were then in turn painted by a group of selected artists to be collaboratively painted on.
If you head to the galleries homepage you will see the finished painting, as well as the drawing that was originally made. I love collaborative works, and this show has some outstanding examples of how great they can be. For example Dave MacDowell’s “Paul Booth” drawing painted by Scott G Brooks and Mark Elliot, as well as Chris Mars’ drawing painted by Paul Booth & David Stoupakis.
Check out the rest of the works: Last Rites x ArtFusion
Birdbath Publishing has just released two new prints by Michael Hussar. Its been quite a while since any new prints have been released, and these new ones are well worth the wait. The first print is Modern Devotional, and was first seen at Last Rites Gallery in 2008 for the 13th Hour Group show. The print is 8.5″ x 11″ on 100% cotton rag paper, signed and numbered in an edition of 88. The next print is a self portrait, and is based on a drawing. Not only is it rare when a new print by Hussar is released, but even more so when its a drawing such as this. The print is 15″ x 19″ on 100% cotton rag paper, signed and numbered in an edition of 44. Both prints also come with a certificate of authenticity.
Get em here: Birdbath Publishing
If you haven’t done so already, head on over and check out the Creep Machine Facebook page. Along with news featured on the site here, we also feature print releases, studio visits, and news from a wide variety of art sites. There are also random contests such as the one going on right now, in which fans can win a limited edition canvas print by Chris Peters (shown below).
A new has started and a new round of featured artists has begun, and to kick of the new year we have Marco Mazzoni as the featured artist for January. Marco creates these beautiful colored pencil portraits, and we even have a short interview with him. I would also like the think last months featured artist Edward Cao who can now be found in the archive. Head on over and check out the work of Marco Mazzoni.
