Post-modern Videos

James Kalm slips in and records a walk through of this exhibition by Gerhard Richter before he is bounced from the gallery.

The basic reason for this; (thematically) was to re-contextualize these conflicting image sets through a technical treatment that uniformly marries the two through method. Instead of harmonizing them through traditional methods of juxtaposition or allegory. The two sequences differentiated in tone still establish a sameness in the conflict. 16mm Footage shot directly off of a TV Screen and some Appropriated, or Found Footage that was heavily processes and treated. Then it was all smacked together with an odd little song I wrote specifically to make for this video. This is from Late 2004.

Get another hit of mom and summer in this knock-em-down-drag-em-out episode! ... funny "office comedy" "white screen" greenscreen postmodern "generation x" "generation y" "baby boomer" millennial hippie "reality show" mother daughter drinking texting "text message" family adolescence ..

James Kalm is performing urban recon when he discovers New World an exhibition by one of the outspoken advocates of the Pictures Generation , Thomas Lawson. These recent paintings demonstrate the distance Lawson s practice has progressed from the norms of the early 1980s. Depicting figures in modern dress, and presenting an image referring to contemporary Youth Culture, this series was nevertheless inspired by the 18th Century fresco The New World by Tiepolo, and displays a strong foundation in art history, an ironic return full circle from the a-historical crisis of the Pictures Generation . Includes excerpts from a discussion with Gerard Hemsworth and Rachel Baum.

James Kalm has been watching the progress of this extensive installation for weeks. Black Acid Co-Op is the collaboration of Justin Lowe and Jonah Freeman, and this piece explores the dark manic recesses of meth-lab culture and its analogues relationship to middle America, and the glamorous New York art world. Entering through the basement, visitors ascend through a labyrinth of burned out trailers meth-labs and art galleries in a journey through an hellatious environment of cultural debris.

James Kalm slides through the night to the Chelsea opening of Spring in Park Lane recent paintings by cult favorite Thomas Trosch. With an exhibition resume stretching back years, Trosch is still an acquired taste. Combining the unlikely elements of fashionable high society damsels, narratives that might be borrowed from British soap operas, and a sumptuous technique, the artist produces works redolent of history and oil paint. With an underground reputation among painters, Trosch s works nevertheless deserves a wider consideration.

James Kalm wraps up this year s round robin of art fair visits with Bridge 2009. As one of the youngest and rawest of the fairs, Bridge attracts an international group of likeminded galleries. Discoveries include Florence Putterman, an octogenarian who began painting at age forty, the dioramic multi media installations of Extremely Hungry and the evocative nudes of Jenny Morgan.

James Kalm, in his attempt to provide viewers with the most comprehensive art fair coverage available, ventures uptown to take in SCOPE New York. This fair features a broad cross section of young galleries with a Post-Modern tinge, many featuring conceptual objects in lieu of painting. A visit to the special project Cheap, Fast and Out of Control presents a version of Relational Aesthetics tuned for local hip slackers.

James Kalm returns with viewers to take a more concentrated look at Martin Kippenberger s estimable legacy as a painter. Receiving his first recognition in the late seventies as a painter and draftsman and despite the various projects and installations he engineered, Kippenberger maintained a consistent practice as a painter. This exhibition chronicles his graphic versatility as well as his masterful facility with the medium. These talents were incorporated in Kippengergers provocative challenge to the status quo and the art world establishment. Features an interview with Ann Goldstein, Senior Curator, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).

James Kalm ventures to Western Chelsea in an investigation of reported sightings of strange animal behavior. Monkey Brains is an artistic critique focusing on the juncture between Consumer Capitalism and corporate morality, as exemplified by Big Pharma . Hogin uses classical technique and a pastiche of historical naturalism and jazzy psychedelic color to focus viewers attention on the over prescription of psychoactive drugs. With humor and a satirical bite, her paintings deliver a sharp focus analogy that contrasts the cute with the pathetically intoxicated. Featuring an extended interview with Lauri Hogin

James Kalm visits the debut of the film JG Reads by Rirkrit Tiravanija. As a leading member of what has become known as Relational Aesthetics Tiravanija seeks an interaction with his audience, encouraging a precipitorial engagement that questions the standard artist/viewer classification. As the former husband of Elizabeth Peyton, Tiravanija shares her infatuation with the notion of celebrity and hyper-fandom. Jerry Salts has recently called the Relational Aesthetic artists the most influential stylistic strain to emerge in art since the early 1970s .

James Kalm brings viewers along for the much anticipated reappearance of Sandro Chia. As one of the driving forces who revitalized painting with his particular version of Neo-Expressionism, Chia has received worldwide acclaim. Promoted along with Enzo Cucchi, and Francesco Clemente as the Three Cs and the Italian Trans-Avantgarde, their return to a figurative based imagery hastened the demise of the moribund formalism and Minimalism that had strangled much of the painterly creativity in New York and spawned a reevaluation of it potentials. This exhibition features signature works that continue that legacy.

James Kalm slinks back to the Bowery to report on the first retrospective exhibition of Mary Heilmann. Presenting over forty years of work, this show gives viewers a chance to examine the themes, mediums and developments that Heilmann has consistently worked with. From her earliest pieces Heilmann s taken an insightful understanding of modern formalist conventions and tweaked them with a whimsical nonchalance that is nonetheless elegant and innovative. Richard Flood, Chief Curator organized this exhibitions presentation at the New Museum. Featuring comments by Julian Dashper