THE NEW FUCKIN IDIOTS [DETAIL], 2009; JPG SMOKE BOMB IN AN ELEVATOR, 2010; PERFORMANCE “The internet has dramatically increased the availability of documentation of art produced and exhibited around the world. This increase has corresponded with a new reliance on images as a means of consuming art and art exhibitions. For many exhibitions, the audience for the installation views outnumbers visitors to the venue itself. As a result of this shift, the photographers who produce these images and the institutions that edit them mediate our understanding and experience of art. Despite decades of art and criticism deflating the aura of objectivity surrounding both institution and photograph, they continue to wield substantial influence over how we see and read art exhibitions. What is the role of the physical exhibition venue in the era of immaterial reproduction?This show subverts the traditional relationship between object, exhibition and documentation, a relationship built on the economic model of galleries and museums and objects for sale. Using photographs of the exhibition site empty and images of artworks photographed elsewhere, composite images are created as installation views of a hypothetical exhibition. These composited installation images are then distributed by the gallery’s website. The exhibit will culminate in a projection of these images directly from the gallery’s website within the gallery itself. This circular presentation is meant to challenge the boundaries of where we locate value in art. The institution, the first hand experience and digital documentation are all melted into one, leaving the viewer to decide where art took place.” IMAGES OF WORK BY BRAD TROEMEL AND LOUIS SCHUMACHER, VIA THEJOGGING.TUMBLR.COM AND WORSE.TUMBLR.COM RESPECTIVELY; TEXT TAKEN FROM REFERENCE GALLERY; “MIRRORS” RUNS FROM JANUARY 23, 2010 TO FEBRUARY 6, 2010 AND FEATURES WORK BY BRAD TROEMEL, FORREST NASH, AND LOUIS SCHUMACHER

THE NEW FUCKIN IDIOTS [DETAIL], 2009; JPG

SMOKE BOMB IN AN ELEVATOR, 2010; PERFORMANCE

“The internet has dramatically increased the availability of documentation of art produced and exhibited around the world. This increase has corresponded with a new reliance on images as a means of consuming art and art exhibitions. For many exhibitions, the audience for the installation views outnumbers visitors to the venue itself. As a result of this shift, the photographers who produce these images and the institutions that edit them mediate our understanding and experience of art.


Despite decades of art and criticism deflating the aura of objectivity surrounding both institution and photograph, they continue to wield substantial influence over how we see and read art exhibitions. What is the role of the physical exhibition venue in the era of immaterial reproduction?

This show subverts the traditional relationship between object, exhibition and documentation, a relationship built on the economic model of galleries and museums and objects for sale. Using photographs of the exhibition site empty and images of artworks photographed elsewhere, composite images are created as installation views of a hypothetical exhibition. These composited installation images are then distributed by the gallery’s website. The exhibit will culminate in a projection of these images directly from the gallery’s website within the gallery itself. This circular presentation is meant to challenge the boundaries of where we locate value in art. The institution, the first hand experience and digital documentation are all melted into one, leaving the viewer to decide where art took place.”

IMAGES OF WORK BY BRAD TROEMEL AND LOUIS SCHUMACHER, VIA THEJOGGING.TUMBLR.COM AND WORSE.TUMBLR.COM RESPECTIVELY; TEXT TAKEN FROM REFERENCE GALLERY; “MIRRORS” RUNS FROM JANUARY 23, 2010 TO FEBRUARY 6, 2010 AND FEATURES WORK BY BRAD TROEMEL, FORREST NASH, AND LOUIS SCHUMACHER
COMMENTS;
Jan 21
Permalink
ALL IMAGES OF MICHAEL MAGNAN’S APARTMENT, ASTORIA, QUEENS; ROOM AVAILABLE MARCH 1, 2010; CONTACT WICKEDPHOBIC@GMAIL.COM FOR RENTAL INFORMATION

ALL IMAGES OF MICHAEL MAGNAN’S APARTMENT, ASTORIA, QUEENS; ROOM AVAILABLE MARCH 1, 2010; CONTACT WICKEDPHOBIC@GMAIL.COM FOR RENTAL INFORMATION
COMMENTS;
Permalink
ALL IMAGES TAKEN FROM THE SERIES WWW.DOMAIN.JPG BY KARI ALTMANN, 2010; GUEST POST BY KARI ALTMANN FOR 2THEWALLS.COM

ALL IMAGES TAKEN FROM THE SERIES WWW.DOMAIN.JPG BY KARI ALTMANN, 2010; GUEST POST BY KARI ALTMANN FOR 2THEWALLS.COM
COMMENTS;
Jan 13
Permalink
[1] “In the 1990s, Starbucks was opening one new store per day. Green mermaid logos popped up on retail facades everywhere, sometimes within feet of one another, making the sameness from store to store all the more noticeable. But it’s not the ’90s anymore, and when Starbucks stock began dropping in 2007, the Seattle-based company realized, among other things, that the cookie-cutter approach to store design had fallen out of fashion. Last year, Starbucks announced it would renovate its thousands of company-owned stores, in 52 countries, to be more sustainable and to look, well, less global and more local. In several Seattle neighborhoods, Starbucks’s design team — led by the company’s president of global development, Arthur Rubinfeld — has introduced the first of its revamped stores, testing concepts it will apply to locations around the world. If these stores offer any glimpse of what’s to come, the new Starbucks will be subtler, earthier and conscious of its surroundings.” [1] [2] [3L/3R] “In neighborhoods teeming with hipsters, how does a Starbucks fit in when residents regard its opening as a sign that their neighborhood is turning yuppie? In this case, it starts by losing the Starbucks sign. 15th Ave. Coffee & Tea’s lack of obvious branding, aside from the curious “Inspired by Starbucks” on the facade, might lead passers-by to think that this is just another locally owned coffeehouse. Submerging the brand illustrates Rubinfeld’s experimental approach, but this otherwise excellent coffeehouse does offer a valuable lesson: No matter how quirky the neighborhood, Starbucks should not hide the fact that it’s still Starbucks. Otherwise, it feels like corporate trickery. With its variety of seating — from cupping tables to repurposed theater chairs — and pages of Plato lining the walls, the place lacks the consistency of the classic Starbucks experience. However, the espresso bar and ordering counter are Starbucks at its best — a warm blend of European mercantile and American modern that Rubinfeld has carried out in other locations (albeit with greater success). Likewise, the use of repurposed hardwoods and open-air displays of whole-bean coffees and full-leaf teas near the entry are fine examples of how sustainable materials reinforce the organic nature of the Starbucks product.” [1] [4] “Linda Derschang, owner of Smith, emailed earlier this morning to say that her blood is boiling about the faux-new faux-neighborhoody neighbor next door. ‘Have you seen the color of the new Starbucks on 15th? Noticed the salvaged wood wall outside which is the same as my salvaged wood planter box in front of Smith? Poke your head in and check out the salvaged wood frames on the walls, the vintage industrial light fixtures, and the old wooden seats. A friend asked me yesterday if I was opening a coffee shop next to Smith because it looked so similar—like a sister business. I was in there yesterday to see it. I asked the designer if she had ever been to Oddfellows [also by Derschang], and she said ‘Yes, of course.’ They have been in Smith almost daily. I can’t believe that anyone, whether a hair salon or a coffee chain, would just go ahead and knock off their next door neighbor’s exterior… We’ll see what the rest of the design looks like as they get ready to open next week.’ [2] [5] [6] “If imitation is the kindest form of flattery, the restaurant and bar known as Smith is feeling … well … flat-out worshiped. Located next to the Starbucks store that will now be called 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea in Capitol Hill, Smith owner Linda Derschang said Thursday that everything from the paint color to the light fixtures inside the coffee shop have been replicated to match her rustic, mountaineer-like bar. ‘It’s got a lot of salvaged wood, it’s the same paint color inside as Smith and some of the wood framed chalkboards look very, very similar,” she said. ‘If they had decided to do that look in a different neighborhood or city that would be one thing, but trying to position themselves as an independent coffee house? Where’s the independent spirit in knocking someone off?’ The remodeled Starbucks store, which will serve beer and wine as well its usual caffeinated fare, is making attempts to reflect its neighborhood location, spokeswoman Anna Kim-Williams said. The 15th Avenue store was expected to close last year but is being remodeled instead. ‘We’re continuing our commitment to delivering specialty coffee excellence while refreshing our store design approach with an amplified focus on local relevance,’ Kim-Williams said, citing the earthy store at First Avenue and Pike Street as an earlier example of the guise. ‘Ultimately, we hope customers will feel an enhanced sense of community and a deeper connection to our coffee heritage.’ But Derschang said she wishes Starbucks Corp. had approached her to ask if it was OK that the store is painted almost the same deep woods brown color as hers. All five of her restaurants, bars and coffee shops throughout Seattle have a signature look Derschang designed. Managers at another bar of hers, Oddfellows Cafe and Bar, said they saw Starbucks designers frequent the store to observe its motif.” [3] IMAGES [1] AND [2] OF 15TH AVE. COFFEE AND ROY STREET COFFEE, RESPECTIVELY, AS TAKEN FROM T MAGAZINE; IMAGES [3L], [3R], [4] AND [5] OF ODDFELLOWS, SOURCED NUMERICALLY; IMAGE [6] OF SMITH SEATTLE, VIA SMITHSEATTLE.COM; TEXT [1] TAKEN FROM T MAGAZINE, AS WRITTEN BY BRIAN JAMES BARR; TEXT [2] VIA THE SLOG, JULY 16, 2009; TEXT [3] BY SARA KIESLER FOR SEATTLE PI, JULY 20, 2009

[1]

“In the 1990s, Starbucks was opening one new store per day. Green mermaid logos popped up on retail facades everywhere, sometimes within feet of one another, making the sameness from store to store all the more noticeable. But it’s not the ’90s anymore, and when Starbucks stock began dropping in 2007, the Seattle-based company realized, among other things, that the cookie-cutter approach to store design had fallen out of fashion. Last year, Starbucks announced it would renovate its thousands of company-owned stores, in 52 countries, to be more sustainable and to look, well, less global and more local.

In several Seattle neighborhoods, Starbucks’s design team — led by the company’s president of global development, Arthur Rubinfeld — has introduced the first of its revamped stores, testing concepts it will apply to locations around the world. If these stores offer any glimpse of what’s to come, the new Starbucks will be subtler, earthier and conscious of its surroundings.” [1]

[2]

[3L/3R]

“In neighborhoods teeming with hipsters, how does a Starbucks fit in when residents regard its opening as a sign that their neighborhood is turning yuppie? In this case, it starts by losing the Starbucks sign. 15th Ave. Coffee & Tea’s lack of obvious branding, aside from the curious “Inspired by Starbucks” on the facade, might lead passers-by to think that this is just another locally owned coffeehouse. Submerging the brand illustrates Rubinfeld’s experimental approach, but this otherwise excellent coffeehouse does offer a valuable lesson: No matter how quirky the neighborhood, Starbucks should not hide the fact that it’s still Starbucks. Otherwise, it feels like corporate trickery. With its variety of seating — from cupping tables to repurposed theater chairs — and pages of Plato lining the walls, the place lacks the consistency of the classic Starbucks experience. However, the espresso bar and ordering counter are Starbucks at its best — a warm blend of European mercantile and American modern that Rubinfeld has carried out in other locations (albeit with greater success). Likewise, the use of repurposed hardwoods and open-air displays of whole-bean coffees and full-leaf teas near the entry are fine examples of how sustainable materials reinforce the organic nature of the Starbucks product.” [1]

[4]

“Linda Derschang, owner of Smith, emailed earlier this morning to say that her blood is boiling about the faux-new faux-neighborhoody neighbor next door.

‘Have you seen the color of the new Starbucks on 15th? Noticed the salvaged wood wall outside which is the same as my salvaged wood planter box in front of Smith? Poke your head in and check out the salvaged wood frames on the walls, the vintage industrial light fixtures, and the old wooden seats. A friend asked me yesterday if I was opening a coffee shop next to Smith because it looked so similar—like a sister business. I was in there yesterday to see it. I asked the designer if she had ever been to Oddfellows [also by Derschang], and she said ‘Yes, of course.’ They have been in Smith almost daily. I can’t believe that anyone, whether a hair salon or a coffee chain, would just go ahead and knock off their next door neighbor’s exterior… We’ll see what the rest of the design looks like as they get ready to open next week.’ [2]

[5]

[6]

“If imitation is the kindest form of flattery, the restaurant and bar known as Smith is feeling … well … flat-out worshiped.

Located next to the Starbucks store that will now be called 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea in Capitol Hill, Smith owner Linda Derschang said Thursday that everything from the paint color to the light fixtures inside the coffee shop have been replicated to match her rustic, mountaineer-like bar.

‘It’s got a lot of salvaged wood, it’s the same paint color inside as Smith and some of the wood framed chalkboards look very, very similar,” she said. ‘If they had decided to do that look in a different neighborhood or city that would be one thing, but trying to position themselves as an independent coffee house? Where’s the independent spirit in knocking someone off?’

The remodeled Starbucks store, which will serve beer and wine as well its usual caffeinated fare, is making attempts to reflect its neighborhood location, spokeswoman Anna Kim-Williams said. The 15th Avenue store was expected to close last year but is being remodeled instead.

‘We’re continuing our commitment to delivering specialty coffee excellence while refreshing our store design approach with an amplified focus on local relevance,’ Kim-Williams said, citing the earthy store at First Avenue and Pike Street as an earlier example of the guise. ‘Ultimately, we hope customers will feel an enhanced sense of community and a deeper connection to our coffee heritage.’

But Derschang said she wishes Starbucks Corp. had approached her to ask if it was OK that the store is painted almost the same deep woods brown color as hers. All five of her restaurants, bars and coffee shops throughout Seattle have a signature look Derschang designed. Managers at another bar of hers, Oddfellows Cafe and Bar, said they saw Starbucks designers frequent the store to observe its motif.” [3]

IMAGES [1] AND [2] OF 15TH AVE. COFFEE AND ROY STREET COFFEE, RESPECTIVELY, AS TAKEN FROM T MAGAZINE; IMAGES [3L], [3R], [4] AND [5] OF ODDFELLOWS, SOURCED NUMERICALLY; IMAGE [6] OF SMITH SEATTLE, VIA SMITHSEATTLE.COM; TEXT [1] TAKEN FROM T MAGAZINE, AS WRITTEN BY BRIAN JAMES BARR; TEXT [2] VIA THE SLOG, JULY 16, 2009; TEXT [3] BY SARA KIESLER FOR SEATTLE PI, JULY 20, 2009
COMMENTS;
Permalink
ALL IMAGES AND TEXT CAPTURES OF THE ICE CAVE” AND “GREEN ROOM”; VIA NEWYORK.CRAIGSLIST.COM

ALL IMAGES AND TEXT CAPTURES OF THE ICE CAVE” AND “GREEN ROOM”; VIA NEWYORK.CRAIGSLIST.COM
COMMENTS;
Jan 11
Permalink
“There is no question that what Goldin offers encompasses a religious dimension. The aesthetic that suffuses many, if not most, of her best-known images is blatantly Catholic in both atmosphere and iconography. Her countless beds, for example, whether occupied or empty, New England plain or Berlin bordello chic, invariably evoke an Annunciatory pathos. A good many of her interiors are tantamount to ecclesiastical decors, inflected as they are (and indeed as decors often were in East Village walk-ups, circa 1980) by idiosyncratic shrines, santos, votives, crucifixes, and other devotional artifacts bought cheap at neighborhood botanicas. Her various rooms at detox clinics over the years are very much like convent cells, complete with simple cross placed over the cot[.]” ALL IMAGES OF DANA LAREN GOLDSTIEN’S APARTMENT, AS TAKEN BY DANA LAUREN GOLDSTIEN, VIA THE ARTIST’S BLOG; TEXT TAKEN FROM “GOLDIN’S YEARS” BY LISA LIEBMANN FOR ARTFORUM, OCTOBER 2002

“There is no question that what Goldin offers encompasses a religious dimension. The aesthetic that suffuses many, if not most, of her best-known images is blatantly Catholic in both atmosphere and iconography. Her countless beds, for example, whether occupied or empty, New England plain or Berlin bordello chic, invariably evoke an Annunciatory pathos. A good many of her interiors are tantamount to ecclesiastical decors, inflected as they are (and indeed as decors often were in East Village walk-ups, circa 1980) by idiosyncratic shrines, santos, votives, crucifixes, and other devotional artifacts bought cheap at neighborhood botanicas. Her various rooms at detox clinics over the years are very much like convent cells, complete with simple cross placed over the cot[.]”

ALL IMAGES OF DANA LAREN GOLDSTIEN’S APARTMENT, AS TAKEN BY DANA LAUREN GOLDSTIEN, VIA THE ARTIST’S BLOG; TEXT TAKEN FROM “GOLDIN’S YEARS” BY LISA LIEBMANN FOR ARTFORUM, OCTOBER 2002
COMMENTS;
Jan 08
Permalink
ALL WORK BY WYNE VEEN, VIA THE ARTIST’S WEBSITE

ALL WORK BY WYNE VEEN, VIA THE ARTIST’S WEBSITE
COMMENTS;
Permalink
“IF Elizabeth Khinda, a 28-year-old algebra teacher, had her way, she would live in a world of pink ruffles and floral-patterned pastels, a place as frilly and feminine as the inside of a jewelry box. ‘When we buy a house,’ said Ms. Khinda, who is engaged to Thomas O’Donnell, 32, a telecommunications worker, ‘I’d like to have a very girlie room with a vanity and a very feminine chair and lots of pinks and florals.’ ” [1] “In cinematic hard core we encounter a profoundly “escapist” genre that distracts audiences from the deeper social or political causes of the disturbed relations between the sexes; and yet paradoxically, if it is to distract effectively, a popular genre must address some of the real experiences and needs of its audience. Writing of the utopian function of mass entertainment in general and the movie musical in particular, Richard Dyer (1981, 77) argues that although mass entertainment offers an image of something better to escape into, it does not necessarily fashion an entire model of utopian society. Instead it is content merely to suggest what utopia would “feel like.” Dyer (pp. 180-185) goes on to construct several categories of the movie musical’s utopian sensibility, each of which offers a solution to various real inadequacies in the social realities it addresses. Energy, for example, is the solution to exhaustion, abundance to scarcity, intensity to dreariness, transparency to manipulation, and community to fragmentation. In Dyer’s view, entertainment does not simply give people what they want; it also partly defines wants through its orientation of problems. Abundance, for example, is often interpreted narratively as mere consumerism, energy as personal freedom. In order to be satisfactorily resolved, the real social problems that these categories of the utopian sensibility point to must first be aroused. Dyer calls this arousal “playing with fire.” His point is that utopian entertainment only plays with those fires that the dominant power structure—capitalism (and patriarchy)—can put out. And so the problems that mass entertainment tends to avoid are usually those most stubborn and fundamental problems of class, sex, and race.” [2] “Just as the Four Seasons restaurant in Manhattan rotates the design of its menus and its waiters’ uniforms to reflect the seasons, so Ms. Khinda adjusts the decorative accents in the apartment. In autumn and winter, the color scheme is cream, green, orange and red; the filmy curtains in the living room are cream, for example, and the throw pillows on the sofa ($16.95 each, on sale at Pier 1) are green. Come spring and summer, the palette for the pillows, curtains and the like shifts to blue.” [1] “Mr. O’Donnell’s dresser is small and bare except for a tiny television monitor. Ms. Khinda’s dresser is twice the size and topped with an assortment of jewelry boxes, including one with a twirling ballerina that she received when she was in the third grade. Mr. O’Donnell can live with these discrepancies as long as no one messes with the 46-inch flat-screen television in the living room. ‘When we buy a house,” he said, “that TV will definitely be on the wall before the couch goes in the door.’ “ INTERIOR IMAGES AS TAKEN BY TINA FINEBERG FOR “HABITATS”, THE NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 30, 2009; COMMENT IMAGES TAKEN FROM DECORNO; TEXT [1] TAKEN FROM “DON’T LIKE THE DECOR? WAIT A MINUTE” BY CONSTANCE ROSENBLUM, NYT; [2] TAKEN FROM “HARDCORE: POWER, PLEASURE, AND THE ‘FRENZY OF THE VISIBLE’ ” BY LINDA WILLIAMS; IN-TEXT CITATIONS [2] TAKEN FROM “ENTERTAINMENT AND UTOPIA” BY RICHARD DYER

“IF Elizabeth Khinda, a 28-year-old algebra teacher, had her way, she would live in a world of pink ruffles and floral-patterned pastels, a place as frilly and feminine as the inside of a jewelry box.

‘When we buy a house,’ said Ms. Khinda, who is engaged to Thomas O’Donnell, 32, a telecommunications worker, ‘I’d like to have a very girlie room with a vanity and a very feminine chair and lots of pinks and florals.’ ” [1]

“In cinematic hard core we encounter a profoundly “escapist” genre that distracts audiences from the deeper social or political causes of the disturbed relations between the sexes; and yet paradoxically, if it is to distract effectively, a popular genre must address some of the real experiences and needs of its audience. Writing of the utopian function of mass entertainment in general and the movie musical in particular, Richard Dyer (1981, 77) argues that although mass entertainment offers an image of something better to escape into, it does not necessarily fashion an entire model of utopian society. Instead it is content merely to suggest what utopia would “feel like.”

Dyer (pp. 180-185) goes on to construct several categories of the movie musical’s utopian sensibility, each of which offers a solution to various real inadequacies in the social realities it addresses. Energy, for example, is the solution to exhaustion, abundance to scarcity, intensity to dreariness, transparency to manipulation, and community to fragmentation. In Dyer’s view, entertainment does not simply give people what they want; it also partly defines wants through its orientation of problems. Abundance, for example, is often interpreted narratively as mere consumerism, energy as personal freedom. In order to be satisfactorily resolved, the real social problems that these categories of the utopian sensibility point to must first be aroused. Dyer calls this arousal “playing with fire.” His point is that utopian entertainment only plays with those fires that the dominant power structure—capitalism (and patriarchy)—can put out. And so the problems that mass entertainment tends to avoid are usually those most stubborn and fundamental problems of class, sex, and race.” [2]

“Just as the Four Seasons restaurant in Manhattan rotates the design of its menus and its waiters’ uniforms to reflect the seasons, so Ms. Khinda adjusts the decorative accents in the apartment. In autumn and winter, the color scheme is cream, green, orange and red; the filmy curtains in the living room are cream, for example, and the throw pillows on the sofa ($16.95 each, on sale at Pier 1) are green. Come spring and summer, the palette for the pillows, curtains and the like shifts to blue.” [1]

“Mr. O’Donnell’s dresser is small and bare except for a tiny television monitor. Ms. Khinda’s dresser is twice the size and topped with an assortment of jewelry boxes, including one with a twirling ballerina that she received when she was in the third grade.

Mr. O’Donnell can live with these discrepancies as long as no one messes with the 46-inch flat-screen television in the living room.

‘When we buy a house,” he said, “that TV will definitely be on the wall before the couch goes in the door.’ “

INTERIOR IMAGES AS TAKEN BY TINA FINEBERG FOR “HABITATS”, THE NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 30, 2009; COMMENT IMAGES TAKEN FROM DECORNO; TEXT [1] TAKEN FROM “DON’T LIKE THE DECOR? WAIT A MINUTE” BY CONSTANCE ROSENBLUM, NYT; [2] TAKEN FROM “HARDCORE: POWER, PLEASURE, AND THE ‘FRENZY OF THE VISIBLE’ ” BY LINDA WILLIAMS; IN-TEXT CITATIONS [2] TAKEN FROM “ENTERTAINMENT AND UTOPIA” BY RICHARD DYER
COMMENTS;
Jan 07
Permalink
ALL IMAGES OF STUDIO TOOGOOD’S “HATCH” INSTALLATION, FOR TOM DIXON/LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL; PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM MANNION FOR THE WORLD OF INTERIORS, JANUARY, 2010

ALL IMAGES OF STUDIO TOOGOOD’S “HATCH” INSTALLATION, FOR TOM DIXON/LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL; PHOTOGRAPHED BY TOM MANNION FOR THE WORLD OF INTERIORS, JANUARY, 2010
COMMENTS;
Jan 06
Permalink
Bright Bedroom, 2009, 84 x 132”, oil on canvas “Leo Koenig Inc. is pleased to announce the opening of a solo exhibition of new paintings by Les Rogers entitled Last House. In previous work, Rogers has incorporated quotation and appropriation from a variety of sources, both historical and popular. In this show, Rogers continues to move away from this, creating his own visual dictum, eschewing quoting particular works while instead making gestural references that give cues to a variety of antecedents The exhibition Last House is partly inspired by new surroundings. Moving between the diaphanous haze of memory and the sharp focus of the immediate, Rogers creates paintings that beguile with possibilities. Originating with a glance at something vaguely familiar, the paintings unfold themselves to the viewer gradually. The large and medium scaled works allude to wide genus of painting ranging from landscapes to interior scenes; still lifes to nudes. Rogers’ approach encourages a sort of mimetic syncopation, providing a palette that is at once comforting and slightly foreboding, In the fragmentary nature of this body of work, we are given snippets of information, slivers of light that illuminate a transitory moment, but the “whole” is never revealed. Form gives way to atmospheric perspective, as the canvases present narratives that are open-ended and questioning. The artist’s effortless merging of abstraction and realism; the familiar and arcane, allows entry into a world that the viewer can ultimately make his/her own.” Large There, 2009, 96 x 120”, oil on canvas Couple, 2009, 54 x 84”, oil on canvas Becoming Home, 2009, 89 x 75”, oil on canvas ALL IMAGES OF WORK BY LES ROGERS, TAKEN FROM THE ARTIST’S WEBSITE AND FROM LEO KOENIG, INC.; TEXT VIA LEO KOENIG, INC.; “LAST HOUSE” OPENS JANUARY 8 6:00 TO 8:00 PM

Bright Bedroom, 2009, 84 x 132”, oil on canvas

“Leo Koenig Inc. is pleased to announce the opening of a solo exhibition of new paintings by Les Rogers entitled Last House.

In previous work, Rogers has incorporated quotation and appropriation from a variety of sources, both historical and popular. In this show, Rogers continues to move away from this, creating his own visual dictum, eschewing quoting particular works while instead making gestural references that give cues to a variety of antecedents

The exhibition Last House is partly inspired by new surroundings. Moving between the diaphanous haze of memory and the sharp focus of the immediate, Rogers creates paintings that beguile with possibilities. Originating with a glance at something vaguely familiar, the paintings unfold themselves to the viewer gradually. The large and medium scaled works allude to wide genus of painting ranging from landscapes to interior scenes; still lifes to nudes. Rogers’ approach encourages a sort of mimetic syncopation, providing a palette that is at once comforting and slightly foreboding,

In the fragmentary nature of this body of work, we are given snippets of information, slivers of light that illuminate a transitory moment, but the “whole” is never revealed. Form gives way to atmospheric perspective, as the canvases present narratives that are open-ended and questioning. The artist’s effortless merging of abstraction and realism; the familiar and arcane, allows entry into a world that the viewer can ultimately make his/her own.”

Large There, 2009, 96 x 120”, oil on canvas

Couple, 2009, 54 x 84”, oil on canvas