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William Powhida

Art

July’s 10 Must-See Art Shows

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At least one of the deer-hunting shots from I Am Legend, where Will Smith runs through deserted New York streets, takes place in the Chelsea gallery district, mostly likely during the summer. Even on a busy opening night, blocks full of art galleries almost always seem expansive and empty from the outside, and this gets more intense during the summer, when enough major players close up for the season to convince art lovers that there’s nothing to see. It’s worth reminding ourselves that I Am Legend isn’t real, and actually, there are a loads of galleries that are worth visiting during July, for reasons besides their offerings of air conditioning and shade. Here are ten of the best shows opening across the country this month. … Read More

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Art

The 30 Harshest Artist-on-Artist Insults In History

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Our recent author-on-author, filmmaker-on-filmmaker and musician-on-musician insults have proved that creative folk are only human, and occasionally enjoy a good rip on their industry compatriots. Artists are no different, albeit they do it a bit differently. What they lack in media exposure, they make up in specifics, attacking “sickly” lines and “filthy” shades or, like Salvador Dalí, outright making up verbs like “outuglying” to drive their insults. Naturally, a good portion of these revolve around artists cutting down each others’ relevancy — yesterday’s Renaissance “daubers” are today’s graffiti “toys.” Looks like the battle of egos will never go away. (Oh, good!) Here are 30 harshest historical and contemporary artist-on-artists insults. We’d love to hear yours in the comments. … Read More

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Art

William Powhida and the Art of Social Commentary

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William Powhida doesn’t mince words — especially when it comes to the art world. The Bushwick-based artist has built a career on creating work that lambastes misbehaving dealers, questions museum principles, challenges the economy of art making, and calls out the cattiness within this insular art industry. Now, in his latest exhibition, POWHIDA, which opens tonight at Marlborough Gallery, the artist surmises that we, “may never see an art gallery the same way again.” While this is a bold claim, as of press time, the contents of the exhibition are still shrouded in mystery, with the most tangible work on view being a sleek, Budweiser-stocked beer cooler (perhaps to aid any performative elements?); black leather couches (a nod to Duchamp?); and a glossy portrait of the artist that, given its aesthetic, was presumably painted by someone else (a critique on artists outsourcing their work?).

As an official sponsor of the show, Flavorpill was left wondering what we got ourselves into. However, if the artist’s previous work is any indication, we’re pretty sure the end result will be one of the wittier fuck you’s that Chelsea has seen in a while. We’ll find out when the show opens later today, in the meantime, we caught up with Powhida to talk about art world ills and why he’d rather be drinking than doing this interview. … Read More

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Web

What’s on at Flavorpill: Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

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Today at Flavorpill, we were in awe of Alexander McQueen’s last collection. We were happy to hear that Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe already has a new acting gig on Showtime. (Suck on that, Howard Stern.) We played an intellectually stimulating game of I spy with William Powhida’s latest art world send… Read More

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Art

Pic of the Day: William Powhida Gets into the Art Fair Spirit

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We’re on the record as fans of William Powhida, the artist who’s made a name in New York circles for needling the art scene from the establishment on down (including but not limited to: peers, curators, critics, galleries and dilettantes). In a well-timed maneuver for the advent of this week’s Armory Show, Jen Bekman’s 20×200 project has released a limited-edition Powhida print titled “Why You Should Buy Art.” Seriously, nothing says ‘culture’ like a big ass painting. Word.

For more on Armory Week, including an art fair roundup, stick around this here space for a word from our sister pub… Read More

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Art

The New Museum’s “Suicide” Thwarted by Urs Fischer

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Artist and provocateur William Powhida – who once predicted the post-boom odds of fellow contemporaries like Dash Snow – has issued a challenge to the New Museum on Bowery in his latest piece, which graces the cover of this month’s Brooklyn Rail. As an emerging artist in New York, Powhida’s satires of the art world cognoscenti hit close to home, and the skewering of the only museum in town that puts on shows featuring artists under age 31 is bold, if not itself suicidal. His drawing “How the New Museum Committed Suicide with Banality” depicts all the usual suspects, from critics Paddy Johnson and Tyler Green to museum director Lisa Phillips and curator Massimiliano Gioni. Urs Fischer, whose one-man show currently occupies floors two through four is referenced as well, though we beg to differ that his exhibition Margeurite de Ponty is contributing to the NuMu’s so-called “self-injury.” See why, after the… Read More

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