Pattern Pulp

Chicago: Examining Frozen Moments




Doug Smithenry’s paintings are based on seemingly inconsequential events that occur on the web. Plucking scenes straight out of youtube videos they tell the collective sad story of how lessons go unlearned and heartfelt desires remain unfulfilled. Micro-celebrities and viral videos make frequent appearances, demanding our attention. Smithenry’s artwork tends to reflect on social media and its implications, recording in paint that which we never necessarily intended to be permanent, making us look at it closely and examine the lines between art reflecting life and vice versa. Click here for more info.

Packer Schopf: 942 W. Lake St. Chicago, IL 60607

 

September 26, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

London: Plentiful Patterns




Barry McGee’s work has taken over London’s Modern Art Gallery with an explosion of color and pattern. By infusing a strong presence of line, geometry, abstraction and tessellations in addition to street art influences, such as tagging and vandalism, McGee has created a recognizable and unique style.

His pictorial sense touches on the global reach of unsanctioned art that takes place within the fabric of urban architecture. Hundreds of uniquely painted panels and objects are puzzled together, butted against one another in an immersive, site-responsive show that is a direct result from McGee’s openly intuitive working method. For more info, click here.

Modern Art Gallery: 23/25 Eastcastle Street, London W1W 8DF

July 8, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

Sante Fe: Consumed & Informed




Michael Freitas Wood’s intricate patterns mounted onto wooden boxes are an interesting sight. Built with multiple overlapping grids of contrasting pigmented modeling paste, Wood explores, in his own unique way, the overwhelming amount of visual information we encounter on a daily basis from tv, the internet, digital images and motion pictures.

With hopes of breathing life into a static medium, Wood “offer[s] paintings that explore this issue by creating intensely compacted, highly charged visual designs.” For more info, click here.

Box Gallery: 1611-A Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501

June 1, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

San Francisco: Borchgrave's Paper Dresses




Isabelle de Borchgrave is a painter who also happens to love textiles and costume design. Painting intricate patterns onto rag paper, Borchgrave manipulates each design into a fantastic trompe l’oeil dress inspired by the lush depictions early iconic European fashion.

To see such fashion finery as depicted in the Renaissance, gowns worn by Elizabeth I and Marie-Antoinette, designed by grand couturiers Frederick Worth, Paul Poiret, Christian Dior, and Coco Chanel would be a treat unto themselves, but seeing them recreated in paper brings the wonder of these magnificent garments up to a whole new level.

This retrospective of Isabelle’s work is expansive and if you love fashion, costume history, paper art, patterns, or design in general, you’ll be sure to find something to enjoy about this show. Click here for more info.

Legion of Honor: Lincoln Park, 100 34th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121

May 27, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

San Francisco: Painted Roses




Sergio Lopez’s new collection of work, Painted Roses, presents soft nudes merging in and out of the background juxtaposed with patterns of feminine and delicate roses.

The varying positions of flowers on both the body and canvas hint at the dark, urban nature of floral tattoos, demonstrating how our real and perfect beauty is usually not visible or exposed. For more info on the show, click here.

Modern Eden Gallery
403 Francisco Street
San Francisco, CA 94133

May 24, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

New York: Michael Riedel's Text Displays




Michael Riedel is known for using text as his source material and utilizing a wide range of media to examine interesting effects. His latest exhibition features silk-screened “poster paintings,” which were created by accessing websites where his works were mentioned.

By first highlighting, then copy and pasting the text into InDesign, the words appear in a linear but nonsensical order. Included are algorithmic commands, search keywords, and links, intermixed with miscellaneous sentences on the artist, copyright phrases, and contact information. The portions are affixed with circular shapes that resemble the ever-dreaded spinning wheel computers display when processing too much information at once.

The posters are hung on wallpaper covered in text from the gallery’s website creating an interesting text-based art experience. The quirky and playful title, a pangram generally used display typefaces and to test typewriters and computer keyboards, is used here to underscore the staccato relationship between text, canvas, paper, and architecture. For more info, click here.

Opening: February 17th 6:00 PM – 8:00pm

David Zwirner
533 W. 19th Street
New York, NY 10011

February 16, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

Tracking Repetitive + Awesome.
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