Rogue Santa: Fugscreens winter art show

We are pleased to be co-sponsoring the winter art show at Fugscreens Studios on Friday, December 3rd.  There will be prints, beverages, gift bags, music from Ornery Little Darlings, an appearance by Santa, and general yuletide merriment for all who attend. We'll see you at Fugscreens Studios (1735 N. Ashland Ave) starting at 7pm for this one-night-only event.

"You and your friends are all invited to come and show your support for the most wonderful time of the year along with our best group yet of Chicago-based screen printers! In keeping with the bustling holiday spirit, the shop will be filled with fun sights and activities. We'll have live, personal button-making, raffles, a mystery poster bin, newly designed t-shirts, and a goodie bag for all!  With a myriad of things to do and fantastic work to look at, you definitely don't want to miss this!"

Art In The Streets

Jeffrey Deitch's massive street art extravaganza at the Los Angeles Museum of Art is getting closer, and details are starting to come out.  We recently found out that there is going to be a companion book 'Art In The Streets' that will be published by Rizzoli in conjunction with the show.  We're loving the Twist mural on the book's cover.


This landmark exhibition traces the birth and dissemination of styles through "writers" and street artists around the world—including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Blu, Martha Cooper, Shepard Fairey, Stelios Faitakis, Futura, Phil Frost, Os Gemeos, Keith Haring, Todd James (REAS), Margaret Kilgallen, Lady Pink, Barry McGee (Twist), Steve Powers (ESPO), Lee Quinones, Retna, Kenny Scharf, Swoon, and Ed Templeton, among many others—focusing on New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, as well as international locations. Highlighting the connection between graffiti and street art and other vibrant subcultures, such as those that developed around Hip Hop in the Bronx and skateboarding in Southern California, Art in the Streets explores parallel movements in dance and music. A selection of new works created for the show is presented alongside the historical survey of approximately 30 of the most important artists seminal to the genre.   (via Rizzoli)


The book will be published on April 12, 2011 and is available for pre-order through Rizzoli.

FAILE's Bedtime Stories

The new FAILE show officially debuts tomorrow night at Perry Rubenstein Gallery in New York.  The Faile boys have set up a sneak peek of the work (which includes the sublime fashion chimps pictured above). In addition new FAILE stencil pieces have popped up on the street in Brooklyn (thanks to Sabeth for photographing the pieces).

'Bedtime Stories' opens tomorrow night at Perry Rubenstein Gallery and runs until December 23, 2010.

Love Flows Both Ways: pop up show update

Recently our neighbors over at Time Out Chicago were kind enough to write about our pop up show 'Love Flows Both Ways'.  Check out their article and pics of the show here.

The Chiguide wrote about the show as well, as did Chicagoist who used our quote "Art is the new bling" as the title for their arts roundup piece.  Thanks for noticing!

And in other pop up related news, we spotted President Bill Clinton across the street from our space the other day. That's him waving in our blurry phone pic below.  Unfortunately he wasn't able to pop into the space for a browse.  Next time we are going to get him to come in and view the show.

revolution outside our window...

One of the most interesting aspects of our pop up show has been the amazing variety of people we get to observe outside on State Street.    Along with art scene hipsters and bloggers, the show is drawing tourists, loop workers, design students and the occasional homeless person.  We also seem to encounter at least one demonstration a week from people angry about something.

If you haven't done so yet, you should consider stopping by the pop up space.  You never know what you will see while you're here. Sometimes the view outside our windows is nearly as interesting as what's inside the space.

'LOVE FLOWS BOTH WAYS: street culture x contemporary art' runs thru December 4th.  The show is located at 205 S. State Street (State and Adams) and is open Tuesday thru Sunday from 11:30 am until 5:30 pm.

Love Flows Both Ways: opening night

Sorry we've been neglecting the blog and the flicker a little bit lately.  The preparation and installation of our pop up show with the Chicago Urban Art Society was all consuming, and it has taken us a couple of days to catch up on sleep, emails, and all the posting we've missed.  To this end we bring you some photos from Thursday night's opening:

Mad thanks to everyone who turned out for the opening.  We hope you had a great time (and perhaps a little too much wine).  And a big shout to the staff at the Chicago Urban Art Society, without who's help we would have never been able to frame, wrap, transport and install over one hundred works in the short span of seven days.

In case you missed it: The Chicago Urban Art Society documented the installation of 'Love Flows Both Ways' and posted awesome pics of the process, the opening, and the art on their flickr.  And here are links to articles about the pop up opening on chicagoist, flavorpill, and fotoflow.

'LOVE FLOWS BOTH WAYS: street culture x contemporary art' runs thru December 4th.  The show is located at 205 S. State Street (State and Adams) and is open Tuesday thru Sunday from 11:30 am until 5:30 pm.

maxwellcolette x CUAS pop up gallery

  We've been threatening to do a pop up gallery here in Chicago for quite some time now, so we were delighted when our friends at The Chicago Urban Art Society offered us the opportunity to curate a show of the street art and contemporary art multiples that we love.  Housed in the raw space of a former bank, 'Love Flows Both Ways'  features work culled from a number of private collections, and seeks to explore the relationship between street culture and contemporary art.

  "Contemporary art's love affair with street culture is long and well documented, but street culture's return embrace for fine art is a more recent phenomena.  Designs from blue chip artists are now found at street level in the form of luxury objects like purses, in underground collectables like sneakers and toys, and in urban lifestyle accessories like skateboard decks.  Art is the new bling, and in a fit of populism people on both ends of the spectrum are buying."

We will be posting more details and some sneak peeks over the next week, so make sure you check the blog and the flickr.  And Chicago peeps, we'll see you next thursday at State and Adams!

Shepard Fairey murals in Cincinnati

Recently we found ourselves in Cincinnati.  After taking in some of the local cusine (a Skyline Chili "3-way"; yes that is the actual name) we decided to see if we couldn't find some of those Shepard Fairey murals that went up in conjunction with his retrospective show "Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand" at the city's Contemporary Art Center.

We figured that since Cincinnati was a hotbed of right wing, anti-art types (remember the prosecution in 1990 of Dennis Barrie for showing Mapplethorpe?), most likely the murals would have been painted over (like this one in Kentucky was within days of it's completion) or vandalized (like the Dietch mural).  Many in Cincinnati, no doubt, believe that Shepard Fairey was the Joseph Goebbles of the 2008 presidential election.  Surely they wouldn't allow for gigantic propaganda installations from a progressive, communist, socialist, fascist, muslim-loving, supporter of the destruction of traditional marriage like Shepard Fairey to go unchallenged.

To our amazement, many of the murals we were able to locate were pristine.  The others were only slightly damaged, exhibiting varying degrees of minor peeling, and some super light toy tagging.  There was also one individual with a can of brown spray paint and a small stencil of Michael Jackson (ca. 1971 / Jackson 5 era) who had left his mark on a couple of the larger installations, but that was the pretty much the extent of it. There were no visible political attacks directed towards the murals, anywhere. Way to go Ohio!

Check out the murals on our Flicker set.
Stay on top of all things Shepard Fairey related at OBEYGIANT.

why we continue to love Faile

With Faile Temple, the Brooklyn street art collective Faile have proven yet again why they are to be considered not just among the vanguard of the street art movement, but also the broader contemporary art world as well.  Similar to what they did for their Deluxx Fluxx Arcades last year, Faile have created a website for the Faile Temple project (which can be viewed here).  The site hosts all the pertinent information as well as fantastic photographs of the finished Temple.  This amazing piece of monumental sculpture is worth an in depth viewing.  If Mies Van Der Rohe was correct that god is in the details, then this is indeed a holy place.

View Faile Temple at www.failetemple.net.
Check out last year's Deluxx Fluxx Arcade at www.deluxxfluxx.com.
Keep an eye on Faile's website at www.faile.net.

why we love Faile

The last time we saw this image it was part of an original called "Falling Ecstasy" that was included in a print drop on Faile's website back in December 2009. We remember thinking that the piece was amazing, despite the oddly styled right hand. To be fair, maybe it's not the whole hand as much as the excruciatingly long thumb that gives it a decidedly claw-like feel. In any case we overcame our fear of the claw and attempted to score the piece. We were unsuccessful, but due to a technical glitch three other people all thought they had purchased the unique original piece. Two proved to be very unhappy campers...

We have been hopeful that this image would make it into an edition ever since. The new version at Paper Monster is titled "Ecstasy" and is a 12 color acrylic and silkscreen ink print with substantial hand painted Faile goodness. It is a 25" x 38", signed, dated and numbered edition of 175, and is available from papermonster.net.

In other Faile news, there is word from the Patricks that upcoming Faile releases will dump the Native American imagery from Lost In The Glimmering Shadows, in favor of "moving into the new images we've been working on this year". Bring on the visual madness of Deluxx Fluxx! Both of the "Deluxx Fluxx Arcade" installations were spectacular, and full of images we would love to see realized as prints. Dare we wish for some sort of Bast / Faile collaborative effort as well?!

And lastly, next month in Portugal the Patricks will finally debut their Faile Temple at the PortugalArte10 Exhibition. This "large-scale sculpture project that emblematizes the iconography of Faile" was originally slated to open a year ago, but was pushed back. We envy the lucky souls who will be there from July 16 - August 15 and who will be able to view the "full-scale church in ruins in Praça dos Restauradores Square in Lisbon". We will have to settle for pictures of this one...

You can read the complete press release about the Faile Temple project here, check out the new print "Ecstasy" on Paper Monster and keep an eye on Faile's website at faile.net.

NYC right now...

The current state of the Shepard Fairey "May Day" mural on the corner of Houston and Bowery as of 5/20/10. Thanks to Kurt for the pic.

the last thing that Jeffrey Deitch needs...

Last saturday someone accidentally fell and hit Jeffrey Deitch in the face with a blunt object at his gallery's big opening party for Shepard Fairey's new show "May Day" . The blow was hard enough to draw both blood and ire from the gallery owner. Luckily an astute fan was there to capture the response on a cell phone.

deluxx fluxx nyc

Papermonster have just announced on their blog that Bast and Faile are bringing the symbiotic retro madness of their Deluxx Fluxx show to Manhattan's Lower East Side. The location has not been released yet, but the opening of "Deluxx Fluxx NYC" will take place on Friday April 30th from 7:30-10:30pm. Keep an eye on the Papermonster blog for further details and preview pics...

To get in the mood for this show, we suggest you check out DeluxxFluxx.com. The website is the online home to versions of the video games, the original music (by Seth Jabour of Les Savy Fav), and images of the BAST and FAILE art from the original "Deluxx Fluxx Arcade 2010" at Lazarides in London. While you're there, make sure you download the BAST screen saver. It's fantastic!

why we love Mark Ryden

Mark Ryden is amazing. Not only does he craft the most gorgeous and disturbing little paintings, but he also releases wonderful prints and occasional toys. His fan base is rabid for the stuff, and it seems that everything he creates sells out immediately.

Today Ryden released a limited edition, signed and numbered poster for his upcoming show "The Gay 90's" at Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York. The lithograph poster is an edition of 500, is printed on heavy paper, and comes with a certificate of authenticity. It features an image of one of the works in the show, the painting "Incarnation". The posters were priced at $500 each and sold out in minutes. A quarter of a million dollars in poster sales is no joke, and that's why we love Mark Ryden!

Check out Porterhouse Fine Art Editions for details on this and future Mark Ryden releases.

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sneak peak: VINTAGE POP SHOP

We're very excited that 2010 will see us launch a series of online art shows. These shows will be available to view on our website maxwellcolette.com. In addition to posting all the work from our gallery shows, we will also debut a series of shows that will only be viewable on the site. Information about these "openings" will be following shortly, so make sure that you are signed up on our mailing list to receive the details. To be added to the list please send an email to gallery@maxwellcolette.com with the header "mailing list".

Our first web show of the year explores the nexus of street art and commerce and celebrates the democratic sensibility that embraces the artist multiple. "POPULIST TENDENCIES : SELECTIONS FROM KEITH HARING'S POP SHOP" is a look back at the timeless characters in neon colors, the broad consumer appeal and the marketing genius of Keith Haring.

The show is comprised completely of items which were originally available through Haring's Pop Shop. Included are 1980's vintage multiples and ephemera as well as limited edition prints. Twenty four years after the store was first opened "POPULIST TENDENCIES" provides us with the opportunity to celebrate Haring's role in transitioning the artist multiple out of the museum gift shop and into the world of serious art collections.

The show opens on FRIDAY MARCH 19 and will be available to view online only. For now you can click on the picture above for a sneak peak at some vintage Pop Shop goodies.

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