Art

MAGO’S JOURNAL

MARKET ART & DESIGN 2021

By Mago

assisteD By JorDyn axelroD

MAGO is an internationally acclaimed artist, specializing in graffiti and pop culture. He is also the curator at the RJD Gallery, and advises private clients. MAGO is experienced in the worlds of fashion, TV, video production, and photography, and this wealth of cultural knowledge he intends to use to inform this column. Contact MAGO at mago@sociallifemagazine.com or 212.203.7582

From August 12th to August 15th, I had the honor of working at the beautiful Market Art & Design, located at the Bridgehampton Museum. After two long years without this art fair, it was incredibly heartening to see local galleries and artists show up and showcase such great work once again. Among all the stunning artwork, my favorite standout pieces came from Chase Edwards Contemporary Gallery, The White Room Gallery, and The Mark Borghi Gallery.

Theo Pinto, From Sky to Sea, oil on resin, 60 x 60 in, (Chase Edwards Contemporary)

This circular beauty is an exploration of light when day meets night and sky meets sea. Theo’s work is a deep dive into how we experience the sky; not as an external image but as a shared moment. It is an invitation to contemplate how the sky is the common denominator bringing all people — from all times —closer together, both physically and cosmically. Bo Bartlett, The Promised Land, 2015, oil on linen, 88 x 120 in.

With a powerful ability to discern and amplify the magical possibilities of ordinary life, Bo Bartlett exemplifies the potential for exploration in narrative figurative painting with his informed and technically skilled interpretation of contemporary portraiture. Based in Columbus, Georgia, Barlett dissolves formal distinctions between portraiture and self-representation, exploring the unspoken implications of identity as well as relationships within an image and the viewer-subject relationship. Bartlett’s subjects are rendered fully as individuals, and his articulation of realism transcends mere mimesis. Often approaching the fantastical, the artist’s meticulous control inflects each painting with an uncanny psychological resonance. In single and group portraits, Bartlett takes up the influence and concerns of American realists like Andrew Wyeth and Thomas Eakins to capture the elusive coexistence of physical reality, emotional experience, memory, and dreams.

Glenn Ligon, Untitled (Hands with Grit) 1999, oilstick and grit on printed card laid on panel, 5 x 7 in.

Glenn Ligon is a Bronx-born multimedia Conceptual artist, best known for his textual paintings that explore the history of race and sexuality in America. Ligon’s early career was in Abstract art, but progressed to Conceptual ideas in the late 1980s when he began to create his famous textual paintings. In these paintings, Ligon uses repetition of text taken from well-known writers such as Zora Neale Hurston and Ralph Ellison to tell visual stories of sexuality, race, and identity. The majority of Ligon’s work focuses of African-American identity, and more recently, interracial gay sex.

Mr. Brainwash, Balloon Girl, 2020, silkscreen and mixed media on canvas, 44 x 33 in.

For more than a decade, Thierry Guetta, under his moniker Mr. Brainwash, has been pushing the envelope of contemporary art. The orchestrated collision of street art and pop art has been his balancing act. The tipping point for Mr. Brainwash was his groundbreaking footage from the widely-acclaimed documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop. This Oscar-nominated film demonstrates the evolution of the street art movement with Mr. Brainwash, who, alongside Banksy, brings art to the masses.

Michael Arguello, MAGO, Nina Whittington Cooper, Sandy Cohen and Julia at the Market & Design 2021 Fair

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

ZAREBINSKI

zarebinski.com | Instagram @studio_zarebinski

Zarebinski is an abstract painter based in New York City. His work focuses on scale, monumentalism and obsession with lines. His visual identity is embedded in geometric shapes which are forced into minimalistic forms while endlessly searching for simplicity and elegance. His minimal painting style is unapologetically bold yet poetic with traces to Scandinavian mid-century aesthetics. Trained as a still life photographer, his fine art practise carries “less is always more” attitude into painting. Zarebinski’s devotion to Danish modernism and minimal approach, visibly translates to his original artwork. Zarebinski has group shows coming up in September 2021 at Galeria Azur in Madrid and art3F ART FAIR in Paris.

RICK FRIEDMAN

HAMPTONS FINE ART FAIR

By Bennett MarCus

Rick Friedman in front of art by Jackson Pollock

ART FAIR MAESTRO

A must this Labor Day weekend is the first-ever Hamptons Fine Art Fair, September 2 through Septembr 5, at the Southampton Arts Center (SAC). A fundraiser for SAC, this art expo is unique, says its producer Rick Friedman, one of America’s foremost art fair promoters. “The fact that this is a popular arts center in the heart of Southampton village is significant,” says Friedman, an art world veteran. “This esteemed Southampton Arts Center building and grounds, formerly the site of the highly respected Parrish Art Museum, has been a beacon of the Hamptons art scene for 100 years.”

Friedman has enlisted two philanthropist friends who agreed to match the gate receipts for Friday and Sunday as an additional contribution to SAC.

DE KOONING & POLLOCK PAVILIONS

Friedman believes this is the only art fair ever to be held in an art museum. Augmenting the site will be three tent pavilions, the de Kooning and Pollock pavilions, and a VIP lounge. You can wander through the sculpture garden and find inspiration for enhancing your own property — pieces by major names like Louise Bourgeois, Larry Rivers, and David Salle are for sale at up to $5 million. Fifty galleries from around the world will be exhibiting at the fair and online, and an additional 20 will show only online, because travel restrictions are challenging for some international galleries.

JEWEL BOX OF A FINE ART FAIR

The art on view is significant, with works valued at a minimum of $10,000 and up into the millions. “It’s a boutique, high-caliber, sophisticated fair,” says Friedman. “It’s not a big show like the Armory Show or Art Basel with 250 exhibitors and where you can get lost in it. It’s the right size; it’s like a little jewel box with really excellent art.” Many galleries applied, and organizers curated the 50 best.

THEMES: BLACK & FEMALE ARTISTS, ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISTS

Contemporary Black artists and women artists are two of the themes explored at the Hamptons Fine Art Fair. Another is Abstract Expressionism, a rediscovery of certain second-generation artists who painted in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s and remain a bit under the radar. “We’re focusing on those artists to sort of reevaluate their contributions to the art world,” says Friedman.

INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS

Some participating galleries will display work by an eclectic group of international Contemporary artists from Cuba, Russia, Argentina, and elsewhere. “Hamptonites are open to discovery, they’re open to new things as long as it’s quality-driven, and we’re very conscious of that,” says Friedman. “I think that people are really going to have a great time exploring and seeing.” However, he notes the oldies but goodies are there too. “We have the classics, as well. You can get an Andy Warhol dollar sign painting for seven figures if you want it. There’s something for everybody.”

Linjie Deng with Just Love Me Willem de Kooning, Untitled (Seated Woman), 1965, acrylic and charcoal on paper, 23 x 18 in.

five countries, and it was named one of America’s fastest-growing businesses. This was in the early 1990s, and on his advisory team were top tech executives, including Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. “It’s hard to believe, but I worked with Gates, I worked with Jobs, I got to know them and their idiosyncrasies.”

STUDIO 54 & DANCE FEVER

During the late 1970s Friedman was on the marketing teams of famed discotheques Studio 54 and Regine’s, where he created a series of disco dance contests that he sold to Merv Griffin and

BLACK & WHITE GALLERY / PROJECT SPACE

Tatyana Okshteyn’s Southampton-based Black & White Gallery / Project Space will have a booth devoted to the work of her late husband, Shimon Okshteyn. The solo show will be a retrospective of his five-decade career, including his critically acclaimed abstract and figurative works. Okshteyn’s works have been collected by the Whitney Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art, and New York State Museum.

CARLTON FINE ARTS

Charles Saffati of Carlton Fine Arts is showing new works by the NYC conceptual multimedia artist Linjie Deng. Deng is currently on the cover of Art Bodega Magazine, which is one of the fair’s leading sponsors.

ENTREPRENEUR, ART SHOW MAGNATE & COLLECTOR

Rick Friedman pioneered the concept of regional, luxury fine-art fairs around the nation. A Southampton resident, he founded Art Hamptons, which he later sold, and more recently produced a series of fine art fairs in affluent markets, including Aspen, Houston, San Francisco, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Silicon Valley, and Jackson Hole. His renown is why SAC tapped Friedman to stage this fundraiser.

BILL GATES & STEVE JOBS

A serial entrepreneur, Friedman has also dabbled in fields other than art, including a stint running a company that produced computer-oriented magazines, books, and trade shows with offices in which became the basis of the syndicated TV show Dance Fever. “I originally was the emcee of the show at Regine’s. I am a former dancer myself, and I was quite an entertainer, and basically, [TV host] Deney Terrio became me,” he says with a laugh.

ANDY WARHOL

At Regine’s, Andy Warhol was one of the celebrity judges of the dance contests, and he kept offering to do Friedman’s portrait for a fee of $25,000. The sum was unimaginable to Friedman, who was in his early 20s at the time. “I was a kid, I mean 25 grand in those days was a car, or maybe a house. I just thought he was crazy, and what a mistake because it would be worth a lot more now.”

MODERN & POST-WAR ART

More recently, Friedman has done a few other things, like a design and décor show and a jewelry show, but art was always his true passion. “My heart wasn’t in it. I’m a serious art collector myself. I have 300 museum-quality paintings, and have done national museum tours from my collection.”

His collection consists of mainly modern and post-war art, and he has the largest collection of the most acclaimed woman artists of the New York School of the 1950s and ’60s that has been shown at various museums. “It’s like a hobby became a business, and I’m fortunate to be able to be in that position.”

Hamptons Fine Art Fair hamptonsfineartfair.com

CHARLES FAZZINO

COMMEMORATING 9/11 WITH POP ART

By alexanDra Moyen

Peter Alonzo and Charles Fazzino Bernie Williams, Charles Fazzino and Charles Safatti, 9/11 A Time Of Remembrance

The legendary pop artist Charles Fazzino wants the 9/11 first responders to be “touched” when viewing his new work 9/11: A Time of Remembrance at the Carlton Fine Arts Gallery on Madison Avenue. “I’m hoping that when they look at the artwork, they feel the same way I did creating it,” the NYC artist said. “That it’s a triumph and a milestone of 20 years of putting that behind us because it’s changed all of our lives.” The NY Mets star Pete Alonzo helped unveil the work at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, and a portion of all sales of the art and the prints will go to the museum.

carltonfa.com

SUPERBOWL & GRAMMY AWARDS

Fazzino’s love for 3D pop art stems from his childhood fascination with pop-out books. He appreciates the wow factor 3D pop art can bring. When Fazzino’s art commemorates milestones for events such as the Superbowl and Grammys, his works are colorful, lighthearted, and bright. To move away from this for his 9/11 memorial piece, Fazzino said was difficult. To draw inspiration, he did try to overlook the sadness and horrors of the 9/11 terrorist attack and instead looked to the future. “I researched 9/11 and I just physically and mentally put aside the horrors and I said, “Okay, this happened and I’m going to then draw the outcome of that and how that makes me feel, and it’s great that I can do that,” Fazzino said.

THE TWIN TOWERS

Fazzino says it’s an honor to have his art shown in the 9/11 Museum and Carlton Fine Arts and believes moments like these are what artists live for. Fazzino’s dramatic work commemorating the 20th anniversary of 9/11 has an ethereal depiction of the Twin Towers that look as though they’re disappearing into an American flag –– with, of course, a pop twist. “I live to have people, the masses, see the artwork. Unless these organizations show your work, it doesn’t do anything to have it hanging in your art studio and no one seeing it,” Fazzino said. “For me it was such an honor –– all of these organizations that have taken to my artwork –– it’s just humbling.”

ART JOURNEY

Fazzino grew up with art being made all around him. His mother sculpted and make clothes from recycled material, and his father sketched shoe designs for stores like Saks Fifth Avenue.

Born in NYC, Fazzino took his first formal art class as a seventh grader and at 16 started selling what he calls “little paintings” at an arts and crafts show in Westchester. He then pursued a bachelor of arts degree and graduated from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. “When I went to the school of Visual Arts in New York, back in the ’70s, I wanted to stand out as an artist. I put two ideas together — my love of 3D pop-out books and my love for art that is colorful and whimsical,” said Fazzino.

MICHAEL JACKSON & JULIA ROBERTS

Over the years, Fazzino has gone from selling his art in galleries to being commissioned for events such as the Grammys and the 2016 Rio Olympics. His art is in collections in 25 countries, and his collectors include Julia Roberts and Michael Jackson. At the Grammys Fazzino walked the red carpet, which he says is something “you can’t even imagine.” Although one part of him felt like he didn’t deserve to be there because he’s not a musical artist, another part of him recognized that he is, in fact, an artist who contributed to the evening. His artwork for the event was seen on the tickets, the program cover, and the official poster. Since then, his works have been on display in the Grammy Museum.

3D ART ENHANCES LIFE

Fazzino says he has become known as “the artist who does 3D artwork of New York and other cities,” and is proud that his work is well received. But what makes him proudest is, a new generation finds his work to be cool and fresh. “The fact that this age group looks at my artwork like they’ve never seen it before is inspiring for me.”

Fazzino’s artwork is extremely detailed, which takes a great deal of time. To lose track of time and keep his work fresh, Fazzino blasts contemporary jazz and pop music in his studio. “I like listening to contemporary jazz and pop music because it keeps me working faster, and it works with what I’m doing,” Fazzino said. “My work is very up, young, and fresh and I think the music helps me to keep it that way.”

FIRST LOVE

Fazzino says he wouldn’t trade the life he has made for himself for anything. He noticed how his siblings were so “damn miserable” going to 9-to-5 jobs, whereas he couldn’t wait for the weekend to end so he could go back to his studio. “I think all artists have a different way of viewing the world. I think being an artist, and having a creative outlet has enhanced my life,” Fazzino said. “I think that’s what it is for artists, that when you’re doing something super creative, it’s not a job. It’s because it becomes your first love. And that’s how it is for me.” fazzino.com

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