Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present

If you are in NYC, you must check out Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present at the MoMA. This retrospective of Marina's work includes her collaborative work with Ulay. Marina and Ulay performed together for 12 years. I was told that they had not spoken until the opening day of this retrospective when he showed up to confront her about this performance. I should do some fact checking on that statement, but what an incredible pair. I was completely in awe of the entire exhibition. There were pieces I knew, like Imponderablilia, show here:

Photo credit: Huffington Post 

but mostly I was experiencing these performances (re-enactments) for the first time. Marina hired 39 performers to reenactment 5 pieces. Just incredible.

Watch The Artist Is Present live here during museum hours.

Marina Abramović will be performing The Artist Is Present March 14–May 31, 2010

To learn more, check out these great resources:

Fear Factor, Judith Thurman for The New Yorker 

MoMA page with interviews and commentary

Wikipedia: Marina Abramović

Taking a Ride with Action Artist Matt Cheney

The Glovebox team caught up with Matt Cheney this week to discuss final adjustments to the upcoming show. Matt told us what drives him to create Action Art.

    "Being an Action Artist, you can feel the energy on the canvas and the action which occurred to create it." Matt Cheney tells Glovebox, "Through the physical challenge, the spontaneity of the movement and capturing that moment in time, the work is a portrayal of my self expression. It is an evolving work, whether driven by aggression or passion; it captures emotion."

Images shown are of Matt's recent bike series in one of his studios, details of the bike series images and a ramp with work in color.

More posts to come on the installation of Matt's 12-foot ramps! 

Join us Friday, April 9 from 7-9 pm at Midway Studios: 15 Channel Center, Studio 402, Boston, MA 02210. The show will consist of Matt Cheney's artwork against the backdrop of the bike ramps used to create the work. With a mix of new mediums, including the oxidized iron series, Cheney uses this exhibition to shift the focus from the actual performance to the painting that "captures the moment in time."

Matt Cheney, Action Artist

Action Art: (v) spontaneously placing paint on an canvas. Emphasizing the physical act of painting is the essential aspect of the finished work.

Here is a sneak peak at the work of Action Artist Matt Cheney who will be showing with Glovebox in April. Mark your calendar for Friday, April 9, 2010. This is a show you don't want to miss!

Cheney's recent work (shown below) was done in the woods near Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. "To keep these pieces as natural as possible I used iron powder on canvas and a mild acid to speed the oxidization process, giving it the rust effect." Cheney explained, he added that he found materials for the painting while hiking -- one example is finding elements to create the red "paint."

"The red paint on the tree bonk is made from beets. I enjoy the idea of being rough with the canvas and that the nature of these materials will change with time."

For those of you wondering what the heck a tree bonk is: (snowboarding): To hit something (especially a tree) with one's snowboard, especially while in the air. Check it out below-

Paint Bonk from MATT CHENEY on Vimeo.

See more of Matt's work at his website: www.MattCheney.com