Neo Rauch at David Zwirner

 Die Warte, oil on canvas by Neo Rauch 2011

Fundgrube, oil on canvas by Neo Rauch 2011 

The artist Neo Rauch is currently showing at David Zwirner in NYC (533 West 19th St.) Nov. 4th thru Dec. 17th, 2011. The show is called "Heilstatten". 

LINK to more images. 

Shown above are two paintings that demonstrate his amazing ability to meld narrative, surreal images into utterly fascinating, nostalgic works with a command of colors and highly unusual compositions. My eyes immediately travel to the the familiar-looking bright yellow forsythia bushes in Fundgrube (like those in my own backyard) and the green tornado of a figure in Die Warte (my favorite color is green, especially that green). But, there are plenty of things going on in his canvases to keep you transfixed and unsettled for hours, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Neo Rauch's skewed perspectives are wonderful things.

UPDATE: Here's an interview w/ Neo Rauch that I just found in the Art Newspaper, if you are curious.

The Art of Amy Crehore

Two exhibits at the Frick and the Clark that I would love to see

 Sleeping Peasants 1919 by Picasso

 Pierrot and Harlequin 1920 by Picasso

Woman with Flowered Hat 1921 by Picasso 

All works shown above copyright 2011 Estate of Pablo Picasso/ ARS/ New York

Picasso's drawings from 1890-1821 are currently being shown at The Frick Collection in NYC, 1 East 70th St.(Oct 4, 2011 thru Jan 8, 2012). If you can't make it to the show, the exhibit is online HERE

There is also a catalogue that you can buy: HERE.

And, I would love to see this exhibit at the Clark Art Institute which just opened yesterday: "Two Young Artists: Rembrandt and Degas" (Nov. 13, 2011 thru Feb 5, 2012) 225 South Street, Williamstown, MA. Here's the special website for this show: LINK  There is a nice slide show sneak peek on their BLOG. 

Shown below, a couple of works by Rembrandt that inspired the young Degas.

Rembrandt self-portrait with curly hair- etching 1628

 Rembrandt self-portrait oil 1629

Degas self-portrait oil 1855

Actual film footage of Degas, plus sketches that look like the Tramp.

Here's a film of Edgar Degas walking down a Paris Street with a woman in 1914.

One of Degas' sketchbooks (dated 1880) can be found on the Morgan Library website. Shown below is a page from the sketchbook showing sketches that almost look like costume designs for Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character (which was created in 1914). Interesting. I wonder if Chaplin could have seen this book. I also wonder if Degas could have seen Chaplin's film in 1914 even though his eyesite was terrible at the time.

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE (Page from Degas' sketchbook)

Real Film Footage of Renoir, Monet, Rodin and Degas

Here is a film of Pierre-Auguste Renoir painting. He had severe rheumatoid arthritis, as you can see here, but he kept on painting. Also, films of Rodin, Monet & Degas on YouTube.

Now in Paperback: Made by Hand by Mark Frauenfelder

This book would make a great gift. Mark Frauenfelder's gem of a book, Made by Hand, is now in paperback! I blogged about it when it first came out. 

More information about the book and where to purchase it can be found here .

Mark is the founder of BOING BOING and the Editor in Chief of MAKE.

NEW! Limited Edition, Silk-Screened Print Set by Cloudy Collection

NEW: Art by Amy Crehore (3-color silk-screen print, limited edition- click image to enlarge)

Oh boy, oh boy! The newest print set by Cloudy Collection has just been released and I am in it. In this set, there are 12 different 6"x 6" 3-color screen prints by 12 unique artists. It is a very special edition with only 50 sets available. That's right, you get 12 individual fine art prints suitable for framing in each set. This print set also happens to be a "2012 Calendar of the Impending Apocalypse". Each artist picked a month and interpreted the theme. Shown above: my own version of what would happen if a giant Krampus took over the earth (month of December).

Artists in this set include: Emory Allen, Joe Alterio, Ana Benaroya, Kali Ciesemier, Amy Crehore, David Huyck, Adam Koford, Joe Lambert, Phil McAndrew, Luke Pearson, Vincent Stall, Jaime Zollars.

To view each fine art print in this unique 2012 calendar set and to buy, 

please follow this LINK 

Cloudy Collection has been producing fine art print sets for a couple of years now and I was lucky enough to be part of the very first letterpress edition that they ever produced. (Thanks, David Huyck!) 

The Art of Amy Crehore 
(follow this link for more prints by Amy Crehore)

Also, be sure to CHECK out Amy Crehore's NEW BOING BOING MONKEY T-SHIRT!

Walton Ford at Paul Kasmin, NYC (YouTube)

Amazing apes! Giant, detailed watercolor paintings. If you can't get to the Walton Ford exhibit in NYC, you can watch this: Thanks, ballenato63. The show is up thru December 23, 2011. Here is the gallery LINK