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Chelsea: arts&lifestyles
Photos courtesy Brazilian “Boi” by Speto, spray paint on canvas, from the “Ruas de Sao Paulo” show, through March 17 Talking shop with Jonathan LeVine By Shane McAdams It’s safe to assume that if you’re intent on heading to gallery openings, Thursday evenings from 6 — 8 p.m. is the best time to go. However, there are exceptions to this rule, and Jonathan LeVine’s gallery is one of them. I knew enough that his openings always take place on Saturdays, but when I attempted to enter about forty five minutes before anyone else arrived, I initially thought that the particular exhibition of Jonathan Wiener’s just happened to be poorly attended. An hour later I was in extremely close company with about a hundred new friends, all densely packed into LeVine’s then modestly sized gallery. (Be forewarned then: Jonathan LeVine’s openings always begin at 7 p.m. and end when things die down.) That was two years ago, and the crowds on Saturday evening openings since then have only grown larger. LeVine’s success has recently provoked an expansion which he will be able to enjoy by the end of this month. Speaking with LeVine last week, I learned that the road to his success was long, bumpy, and somehow, went through New Hope, Pennsylvania. It seems strange because the type of work Jonathan LeVine shows — the hyper-resolute, graphic street aesthetic — doesn’t seem to make any connection with a conservative town in the hills of Pennsylvania. LeVine began curating art shows along with playing music in the East Village in the early ’90s. This came with moderate success, but like so many movers and doers in New York, as rents climbed, he ran into trouble funding his projects. He decided against the odds to try to propagate his idea for a gallery in the small town of New Hope with the goal to then transport it back to New York at some point. I don’t think most people would have thrown their wallets at that business plan, but ten years later here he is smack in the middle of the art capital of the universe. In spite of his address, however, his relationship to his neighbors is challenging, and, more likely, adversarial. LeVine champions a type of art that the high art world has scoffed at; a do it yourself aesthetic, practiced by illustrators, street kids, and artists that are otherwise outside the Chelsea fray. Practitioners like Ray Caesar, Shepard Fairey, and Dave Cooper are probably as well known as many of the high-art luminaries, only LeVine’s artists don’t grace the cover of Art Forum, and he prefers it that way. This counter aesthetic has been his bread and butter, and now, years after dedicating himself to the idiom, the rest of the art world probably wishes it could have traded in some of its Schnabel’s for a piece of LeVine’s action. After an educational and altogether enjoyable meeting with Mr. LeVine, I asked him what his feelers were out for lately. My current show features eight Brazilian street artists from Sao Paulo. None of them have ever been to the U.S. I have been to Brazil and it’s very different from here. It is funny to see how they react to things. They are very excited to be in NY and experiencing the city. They have a raw and untamed energy that I find very inspiring. They have grown up with so little financially and they find so much pleasure out of simple things. Their creativity is endless. The show is called Ruas de Sao Paulo, which means the Streets of San Paulo in Portuguese. This exhibition is an exercise in patience and perseverance. Try arranging travel accommodations for 14 Brazilians who haven’t been to the U.S. before. The money involved in this project is astronomical for a gallery of my size but I felt it was a really important show to do. The hope is that it will pay off in the long run. All the artists are from Sao Paulo Brazil and don’t have traditional educations. They usually paint on the streets and not in galleries. Many have not even gotten past the 7th grade but they have picked up some English along the way. It’s quite inspiring how resourceful and positive they are. They spent a week installing their exhibition in our gallery. We have had some trouble because a few of them were caught on the roof of my building tagging it up, so our building manager wasn’t so happy. The next day the neighbor called the police on us because the fumes were rising into his space because the artists were painting on the gallery walls with spray paint. Then the police came with the fire department, so it has been a bit of a fiasco. I’m really surprised by the success of the British graffiti artist Banksy. In Europe it seems like it is really giving the whole street art movement a lot of credibility. In London in particular the market is very strong and dealers are making a lot of money off of other street artists as well. I suspect it’s only a matter of time before American dealers figure there is money to made. I’m not sure if this is going to be a good thing or not and I wonder how it will effect my business. I just finished reading the book “Our Band Could Be Your Life” that Michael Azzerad of the Village Voice wrote a few years ago. I had read some of it before but I wanted to revisit it to give me some perspective. It’s about the American indie underground music scene from 1981 to 1991. This was a big inspiration for me growing up and still informs what I do in spirit and my ideas of DIY consciousness and politics. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Sonic Youth and how they developed. Bands don’t exist like this nowadays. Another image from the book that stuck in my head was a story from the chapter on the Butthole Surfers. The Butthole Surfers were playing in Europe at a big music festival. Gibby Haynes, the lead singer, took some acid and ended up running through throngs of people naked and yelling profanities. I see him some times as we have a mutual friend. It’s funny to think this about him now that he is pushing 50.
David Choe, “City Girl,” mixed media on wood, 2007 David Choe My last show was with David Choe, an artist from California. He has developed a name for himself for being a reckless graffiti artist. Against my better judgment I gave him a solo show after he was highly recommended by three artists I work with. Surprisingly it was one of the most well received exhibitions we have put on. The work was very diverse and spoke to many people. There is no accounting for the magic some artists have. I saw the movie Pan’s Labyrinth a couple of weeks ago. I still can’t figure out if the main character was making up a fantasy or if it was real. In the past month I watched both seasons of “Lost.” It’s a really great show. I hope they actually end it in a couple more seasons. No one needs another “X-Files” happening again. That show went on way too long and just became more confusing and less interesting. Most of the questions were never answered. How lame.
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