This creative mélange dissolved the cliché of stylistic and esthetic differences often used to separate—and conceptually ghettoize—West and East Coast art. Because the curators discarded this outworn trope, viewers were able not only to see works by important West Coast artists, who exhibit in New York all too infrequently, but also to connect the art historical dots in fresh and provocative ways. Read More »

rom Artillery Mag: Killer Text on Art

SWELL: ART 1950-2010 @ Nyehaus, Metro Pictures, and Friedrich Petzel Gallery

In Hollywood it would be called “high concept,” but in Artwood terms it was almost refreshingly low: “a survey of surf-themed art produced by city dwellers.” Of course it was dominated by art from California, with which co-curators Tim Nye and Jacqueline Miro are understandably enthralled; but they found some New Yorkers (Mary Heilmann, Robert Longo, Ashley Bickerton) and others (Olaf Breuning) – as well as ex-Californians (Vija Celmins, Fred Tomaselli, R. Crumb) – to leaven the argument.

Steve Olson, artist featured in SWELL, plays a roll in this quirky new skateboarding film.

This is your last chance to catch the show before it comes down! Tomorrow is the final day of the show. However, keep up to date with SWELL developments, as we will continue to update the blog with some exciting upcoming projects. In the works is a SWELL book, a comprehensive surf-art document that will feature the show’s work, as well as expand upon some of the ideas presented in SWELL. Everyone at Nyehaus would like to thank all those involved with the show, and we’re excited about what’s yet to come.

As some of you may have noticed, we have slowly posted some photos taken by a few of our SWELL artists. Some of these photos were taken during the show’s installation, some during opening night, and other are just a documentation of a few artist’s trips from California to New York. You can view photos from JIM EVANS, BEN BROUGH, CR STECYK, and JACQUELINE MIRÓ.

“TIM NYE, the bon vivant, Park Avenue heir and Chelsea gallery owner, has a theory about art openings. ‘You’ve got to do something that makes them say ‘Wow.’ By that standard, the festivities for Swell, a three-gallery exhibition on surfing-inspired art that opened last month, lived up to expectations.” Read More.

“Pettibon verbalizes a passion that fuels the entire show. In his hand-lettered words, declares a sincere awe for the ocean: ‘The romance of it, the sport of it and the smashing of it, the pleasure – an endless pleasure – of balancing to the swell: well, it’s over.’” Read More.

“Nyehaus has on display a set of never-before-seen black-and-white snaps of the Venice gang, including Ed Ruscha and macho dealer Jim Corcoran, taken by Jim Ganzer, who in his spare time launched the legendary Jimmy’Z brand of surf-wear. We hear that the trove even includes a shot of Metro Pictures’ own Helene Winer playing pool with Billy Al.” Read More.

We got an invite from our favorite resident surf-shop Mollusk, located in Williamsburg, for a screening of surf films. You should check it out, starts tomorrow (Thursday) at around 8:30. You can find Mollusk at 210 Kent Ave, Brooklyn. Visit their Website. From Mollusk:

“Hello friends. Come out tomorrow night for some sidewalk grilling and a selection of surfy films. We’ll be showing a selection of shorts from Joey Gallagher, Jason John Wurm and Sam Salganik before our feature, Paul Witzig’s psychedelic transition era surf film “Sea of Joy”. This is a BYO event… to grill and drink… films will start around 8:30 or as soon as its dark enough!”