This weekend in NYC saw the return of one of the city’s most elusive artists to the formal gallery scene when Supertouch’s own PHIL FROST premiered his new solo show “Paperweight” at JONATHAN LEVINE GALLERY. Creating over 65 works on paper—the majority of which clocked in at a comfy and affordable 22″ x 30″—the show was an explosion of color (and white out) from the so-called “street artist”, who, despite gaining notoriety for first plying his trade on city walls, has strived to elude the misnomer in his professional career. A show of this kind has never before been mounted for Phil, whose imagery usually begins on canvases before spilling over onto all matter of physical ephemera, from baseball bats and footballs, to old mattresses, glass bottles, BMX bikes, and even suitcases, and proved to be an amazing spectacle in its well contained uniformity. Of course, Frost’s fanbase was out in numbers to greet their art hero and art collector and onetime funnyman MIKE MEYERS even patiently waited his turn in line for a photo with Philly Phil followed by chants of “I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy,” obviously not in reference to his performance in “The Love Guru.” HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

TG bros down with the master, Chuck Close at his “Champion Carnival” opening…

Perpetually one of our favorite young artists, Japanese painter TOMOO GOKITA never ceases to amaze with his unique and fluidly executed monotone visions. Moving effortlessly between pure abstract and his more recognizable hybrid figurative style, Gokita has created a beautiful body of solemn new work for his enthusiastically titled “Champion Carnival” show at NYC’s top-notch ATM GALLERY. Notoriously tight-lipped about his aesthetics and their meaning, the artist as always manages to maintain an air of unfettered mystery about his ghostly works by shunning self-reverent manifestos and self-penned dissertations, choosing instead to observe one of the modern world’s most underrated virtues: silence. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Supertouch buddy JR continues his global street art installation, “28MM: WOMEN” campaign with a new residency in Delhi, India. He checks in with us from the ancient city this week with a sneek peek at his latest handiwork. Fresh off an epic run of installations in Cambodia and Kenya, JR will no doubt have claimed all of Delhi as his personal outdoor art gallery by the time this new stage of his grand global plan is complete. Stay tuned to ST for more updates from the road…

Graphic artist turned fine art phenom RYAN McGINNESS unleashed his latest campaign of visual shock and awe at DEITCH PROJECTS last week with the opening of his epic (and refreshingly straightforwardly-titled) “Works” exhibition. Timed to coincide with the release of his retrospective Rizolli book of the same name, the show finds the young artist in peak form working in an array of different media from his trademark heavily layered silk-screened icon paintings to fluid graphic sculptures in a dazzling spectrum of color and fluid form. Of course the opening was a who’s who of NYC’s downtown hipster elite and with pieces moving at a quick pace it seems that good art indeed beats a dead economy every time. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

“Don’t Think About Doom,” and “The End” make for a masterpiece of mixed messaging…

Another artist undeterred by the recent downturn in the art market at this year’s annual ARMORY art fair was Supertouch homegirl CAMILLE ROSE GARCIA, whose solo “Ambien Somnambulants” show of new paintings and drawings was a major crowd pleaser at JONATHAN LEVINE’s eponymous booth at SCOPE. While her goth girl aesthetic tendencies can sometimes be perceived as a downer, this year, her spooky cobwebs and Snow White-gone-wrong dreamscapes seemed impossibly cheery. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

As Japanese Pop Art master TAKASHI MURAKAMI’s retrospective “© Murakami” show continues on its epic world tour, the grandiose GUGGENHEIM BILBAO museum plays host to its latest and most daunting stop to date. Settling into the swooping Frank Gehry-skinned art palace, the show—fresh off its recent stop in Frankfurt, Germany—replicates its general outlay previously established at the initial MoCA LA, and Brooklyn Museum stops, but this time the artist’s epic painted and sculptural works are finally housed in a venue as aesthetically compelling as the whole of Murakami’s oeuvre. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Japanese art sensation (he’s bigger than Murakami in his native land) YOSHITOMO NARA brought some much-needed heat to NYC last week with his eponymous new show of paintings, drawings and large-scale constructions at MARIANNE BOESKY GALLERY. Forming the centerpiece of the exhibition is a pair of large “Smurf houses” that double as mini art studios that were executed in conjunction with installation artists GRAF, who, together with Nara form the collective YNG (Yoshitomo Nara + Graf). Constructed from reclaimed wood, the forms of the two immense sculptures recall stylized tannenbaums, with their roof shingling evoking exaggerated tree needles. Small cutout windows and hanging lights punctuate the sculptures, providing them with the feel of a house or some surreal abode. The structures are hollow and present interiors replete with drawings and paintings all created in the artist’s hand, and with a multitude of stuffed animals from fans selected by the artist. Though Nara has previously exhibited these types of moveable spaces before, the dwellings in this exhibition have a quieted sentiment to them. Each object within feels carefully considered in its placement. The frenzy of personal effects including photographs, CDs and beer cans, all evoking the turmoil and inspiration in the artist studio, has been removed. Instead the stillness of the structures, with their looming spires, presents a protective shell to the interiors. Though possible to peer into the structures and glimpse their holdings, they cannot be entered and the viewer must be content to remain on the exterior. The paintings, rendered on both canvas and wooden billboards, depict lone portraits of dreamy-eyed figures. Pencil and colored pencil drawings on found envelopes and discarded papers similarly parse the psychological landscape of their subjects. A dedicated rock fanatic Nara’s opening included live performances by Japanese bands by OORUTAICHI and M.A.G.O., proving that normally stuffy Gotham art openings can indeed rock and or roll. Nara is yet another artist participating in the “Stages” charity art show to benefit LANCE ARMSTRONG’s anti-cancer LIVESTRONG foundation during his run in this year’s Tour de France. Keep an eye on ST for more details coming soon. Meanwhile, HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Mario keeps the ladies entertained with his futuristic visions…

The undisputed master of Sci-Fi abstract psychedelia, San Francisco-based painter MARS-1 (aka: Mario Martinez) continues to amaze with a new series of kaleidoscopic paintings and bronze sculptures in his new “Nuclear Mystic” show that just opened at Chelsea art hotspot JONATHAN LEVINE GALLERY. Perhaps the most distinguishing aspect of Martinez’ work is the painstaking detail that goes into each painting anchoring his seemingly abstract compositions with a seemingly incongruous dose of meticulous rendering. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »