James Kalm gets funky and invites viewers to join him as he takes a brief tour of the 2011 version of the "Outsiders Art Fair". With the current state of art and "critical theory" having reached a level of hermetic indecipherability, audiences and artists have sought more meaningful content. Authenticity had become the new measure of relevance and with a few exceptions Outsider art is being reconsidered as the locus of a revived humanism. Strolling through this fair we catch glimpses of works by many of the best known Outsiders including: Purvis Young, Howard Finster, Bill Traylor, William Hawkins, Michel Nedjar, George Widner et al. Among the Outsiders, there's always room for stunning surprises, and this fair is no exception.

James Kalm Sanford Smith Outsider Art Fair Purvis Young Howard Finster Bill Traylor William Hawkins George Widner Michel Nedjar folk naive painting sculpture drawing New York jameskalm

James Kalm appreciates painting, real painting. Having seen one of the two previous exhibitions by Grotjahn at this gallery, he had high expectations, and your reporter wasn't disappointed. Building up primitive "face" forms using arching streamers of rich oil paint Grotjahn pays homage to painterliness and brings it into a contemporary context. Hailing from Los Angeles, this young painter has received serious critical and institutional attentions including a one-person show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2006.

James Kalm Mark Grotjahn Anton Kern Gallery opening painting drawing sculpture Abstract Expressionism New York jameskalm

James Kalm has been a fan of Dave Hickey for years. The polemical Hickey has received a MacArthur Genius Grant, and used his ideas and prestige to establish a creative enclave at the University of Nevada at Los Vegas. Hes a provocative commentator on contemporary art, an essayist delving into deconstructivist theory, and a correspondent chronicling the American scene who melds the breadth of Mark Twain with the ultra-hipness of Hunter S. Thomson. This lecture was delivered at the School of Visual Arts September 17, 2009. Part one of four.

James Kalm Dave Hickey School Visual Arts art criticism jameskalm

Dropping in for an unscheduled visit, James Kalm rewards with a quick view of the new paintings by Katy Moran. Small, scrappy and authentic, these works seem to echo the influences of early American masters of modernism. Among those nuances are Ryder, Dove, and the assemblage works of Rauschenberg, Berman and Lauri. However these references never overshadow the uniqueness of Moran's personal practice.

James Kalm Katy Moran Andrea Rosen painting drawing sculpture Chelsea gallery art artist opening New York jameskalmroughcut

James Kalm braves intermittent drizzle on 9/11 to finish the last leg of New Yorks 2009 season opener with a jog through Williamsburg. Beginning at Canada on Chrystie Street (the Lower East Side) Spaced Out / On Time is a brilliant premise for presenting a multi-generational grouping of work featuring Joan Brown, Chris Martin, Dona Nelson, Sadie Laska, Otis Houston Jr., Agatha Snow et. al. Crossing the East River we drop in for Jane Fines Glad All Over at Pierogi. Scurrying east we pop in for the three person show at Klaus Von Nichtssagend of David Gilbert, Ian Pedigo and Jessica Stockholder. We wrap-up this marathon with Color, Time and Space a show of abstract paintings curated by Joanne Freeman and Kim Uchiama at Janet Kurnatowski.

Mostly Williamsburg Opener 2009 jameskalm

James Kalm circles back to central Williamsburgs Pierogi to bring viewers a season beginning report on the recent drawings of John J. OConnor. Using the humble materials of pencil on paper, OConnor expands both the scale and content of drawing and achieves some of todays most captivating abstraction. Combining brilliant color, obsessive patterning, bizarre correlations of data and a whimsical compositional sense, these drawings are sterling examples of what Ive termed Meta -Drawing a recent development in graphic practice that is extending the boundaries of what drawing can be. Featuring an in-depth interview with artist John J. OConnor.

James Kalm John oconnor Pierogi drawing painting paper abstract art gallery opening psychedelic obsessive Williamsbu jameskalm

James Kalm documents the genesis of the Blogger Show. The art world media which has dictated the canon, and limited the inclusion of artists into society's consciousness is being challenged. With this exhibition, curated and organized by John Morris, the on-line art blogging community is asserting itself as a vital new force. Over thirty artists, who also host blog-sites exploring a vast spectrum of creative activities, come together for this celebration. Featuring comments from various bloggers regarding a series of recent mainstream articles, particularly Charlie Finch's "A Not-So-Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy". Including interviews with John Morris, Stephanie Lee Jackson, Chris Rywalt, Libby Rosof, Bill Gusky and Nancy Baker.

James Kalm Blogger Show Agni Gallery opening East Village John Morris Stephanie Lee Jackson Chris Rywalt Libby Rosof Bi jameskalm

James Kalm motates to the Upper East Side for an intimate viewing of three decades of painting, by Mary Heilman. Some Pretty Colors is a selection of works that display the qualities which have attracted and increasing amount of critical and curatorial attention. With a seeming ease boardering on the nonchalant, Heilman constructs compositions with sophisticated structure and vibrant color. Recognized as a major influence on young abstract painters, shes also inspired artists of all stripes with her long-term commitment. Featuring an interview with Bobby G.

James Kalm Mary Heilman Zwirner Wirth abstract painting drawing Bobby Richard Flood Stephen Westfall Upper East Side jameskalm

James Kalm bikes to Long Island Citys PS1 Contemporary Art Center for a tour of an exhibition featuring Minus Space. Begun about five years ago by the husband and wife artist team of Matthew Deleget and Rossana Martinez, Minus Space has achieved international recognition as a focus of reductivist abstraction. This show gives an overview to the various stratigies being employed by artists which derive from the formalistic and conceptual approaches encouraged by the project. Including interviews with Manfred Mohr, Simon Ingram and founding partner Matthew Deleget.

James Kalm Matthew Deleget Rossana Martinez Manfred Mohr Simon Ingram PS1 art museum painting drawing sculpture jameskalm

James Kalm schleps back uptown in an attempt to bring viewers totally unauthorized footage of what is traditionally considered New York's most prestigious contemporary art exhibition. After getting busted and expelled from the museum, Kalm formulates a conceptual strategy to protect himself from stringent security. Fortunately confrontations are avoided, so viewers can accompany him on a brief stroll through this show.

James Kalm 2008 Whitney Biennial Patrick Hill Oliver Mosset John Baldessari Seth Price Robert Bechtle Lisa Sigal jameskalm

James Kalm visits Rene Lynch's exhibition of recent painting "Wonderland" and "The Gaze". This series of works exemplifies Lynch's efforts in rendering the melancholic and enigmatic emotional states of contemporary adolescent girls through narrative and fictional portraiture. With the resurgence of interest in figurative painting as exemplified by the Leipzig School, Lynch uses her unique vision of "Girl Power" along with references to Neo- Classical and Romantic painting to questioning society's indulgence in the exploitive presentation of teenage girls.

James Kalm Rene Lynch fine art opening Chelsea painting watercolor Feminism Girl Power New York Modern contemporary Chic jameskalm

James Kalm accompanies viewers through an historic retrospective exhibition of paintings by Jasper Johns. Gray, perhaps the most ubiquitous and miss perceived of all colors is the theme of this major presentation. Johns has exploited the coloristic and metaphoric potentials of this tone since he emergence as one of America's most recognizable talents. Covering nearly fifty years of painting "Gray" was organized by the Art Institute of Chicago, and sponsored by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

James Kalm Jasper Johns Metropolitan Museum Art painting sculpture drawing printmaking Pop Neo-Dada Leo Castelli Robert jameskalm

This group show marks both the end of the summer and beginning of the new season of gallery happenings. " Tunneling" is a title selected by Pappenheimer as a symbol of an exploratory process. Often ignored or overlooked, many eccentric and obsessive artists continue in solitary digging deep into their subjects and media with startling results. In a virtuoso manipulation of "New Media" Luke Murphy appropriates Albert Pinkham Ryder's The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse), and using computer technology, stretches its pixels to a mile in length. The mind-bending tedium involved in the fabrication of Meg Hitchcock's collages induces a brief period of meditative contemplation just to perceive. Designing a logo hacking iphone app, Mark Skwarek and Joseph Hocking remind users of their own complicity in the BP Gulf oil blowout.. Features an interview with curator William Pappenheimer.

James Kalm William Pappenheimer Tunneling Luke Murphy Albert Pinkham Ryder Meg Hitchcock Mark Skwarek Joseph Hocking Takuji Kogo Famous Accountants Bushwick Brooklyn art gallery New Media jameskalm

James Kalm schleps back uptown in an attempt to bring viewers totally unauthorized footage of what is traditionally considered New York's most prestigious contemporary art exhibition. After getting busted and expelled from the museum, he returns for this four part survey. This episode covers the third floor of the installation. Viewers can accompany him on "the low down" for a brief stroll through this part of the show.

James Kalm 2008 Whitney Biennial Art Museum Carol Bove Gardar Eide Einarsson Ellen Harvey Alice Könitz Sherrie Levine jameskalm

James Kalm wheels into Chelsea to sample the exhibitions of Amy Sillman and Anna Sew Hoy. If anyone was to be put forth as an example of where the current state of the "New York School" is, Amy Sillman qualifies. Her luscious and physical use of paint, strong drawing, strange figurative fragments and an adherence to the legacy of Ab-Ex have given her a local cult-like following as well as international recognition. Anne Sew Hoy mixes masterly craft skills with an appreciation of the suburban abject, rendered in the ubiquitous materials of denim, ceramics and shades.

James Kalm Amy Sillman Anne Sew Hoy Sikkema Jenkins Gallery opening art painting drawing sculpture Abstract Expressionism Modernism Chelsea New York jameskalm

James Kalm slips into Famous Accountants Gallery during the extremely tedious installation of "Obsession: The Book of Revelation from the Koran" by Meg Hitchcock. The artist conflates her practice of collage with a conceptually reflexive use of text based dogma, rewriting the Bible using letters cut from pages of the English translation of the Koran. This brief interview occurred Sunday February 13, during the final stages of the creation of this piece.

James Kalm Meg Hitchcock Famous Accounts painting drawing collage Bible Koran Islam jameskalmroughcut

James Kalm's art world reputation must have inched up a notch or two lately. As a video reporter whose covered the New York scene with a totally unorthodox style for the past five years now, your reporter has pissed off a lot of the "powers that be". His spontaneous and unscripted views behind the facade, has exposed a more "realistic" side of the local art world. Now, it seems, his perseverance has begun to be recognized. Invited to an intimate and exclusive studio preview of Peter Halley's new paintings, Kalm gives viewers a chance to slip behind the veil of privacy cloaking the creative practice of one of New York's most acclaimed painters. As a founding member and chief polemicist of Neo-Geo, and head of Graduate Studies in Painting and Printmaking at Yale University, Halley has been at the center of advanced painting for a quarter century. His unretractable commitment to severe geometric design, and his use of high intensity fluorescent color, has distinguished his paintings earning them a unique place in contemporary art history. Included in this program is a musical intro featuring Jazz legends trumpeter Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith and bassist Henry Grimes, recorded live at Zurcher Studio July 10, 2011.

James Kalm Peter Halley Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith painting studio drawing sculpture Modern art Post-Modern Neo-Geo abstract jazz Chelsea New York jameskalm

James Kalm hustles through this, the first installment of, the Bushwick Biennial and drags viewers along for the ride. With the audacity of youth, this neighborhood decides to organize its own Biennial and enlists over ten galleries and 120 artists studios to show the world that there is still creative life at the edges. We visit Grace Exhibition Space for the performance installation by Estonian dominatrix Sandra Jogeva titled Human Touch, Divine Touch. From there we drop in for a beer served from the breasts of Goddess Ben Godwards functional sculpture, then on for an evening visit and tour of the roof lounge at NURTUREART. The nest morning we pick up with a viewing of the Gods of Mars salon at English Kills, and wrap up popping in to see a drawing show at Norte Maar which keeps it all in the family.

James Kalm Bushwick Biennial painting drawing sculpture performance dominatrix party art gallery opening Williamsburg Brooklyn avant-garde New York jameskalm

Although James Kalm prefers to do the interviewing, after a chastisement at the MoMA Occupy Museums demonstration, he is confronted by an "occupational" reporter who puts the shoe on the other foot. Your reporter is questioned as to the motivations for his continuing critique of the OWS protest.

James Kalm Occupy Wall Street Museum Modern Art protest gallery critique jameskalmroughcut

James Kalm returns with viewers to take a more concentrated look at Martin Kippenbergers 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 Martin Kippenberger Ann Goldstein curator Museum Modern Art painting drawing sculpture graphics posters German Expressionism Post-Modern Berlin New York jameskalm

James Kalm makes a pilgrimage to "A Gathering of the Tribes Gallery" 235 East Third Street on the south side of Manhattan's East Village. "Being in A Lone Space" features paintings by Giustina Surbone and Robin Ross, these artists present paintings dealing with figurative subject matter, rich coloration, and hard won facture. This video features an extended interview with the Founding Director Steven Cannon.

James Kalm Giustina Surbone Robin Ross Steven Cannon Tribes gallery art painting drawing East Village Lower Side ab jameskalm

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 Heilmanns 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

James Kalm Mary Heilmann Julian Dashper Richard Flood New Museum Bowery painting drawing sculpture art gallery abstract jameskalm

James Kalm endures sweltering heat, and summer ennui to bike to the center of Chelsea for this block buster show. The inequality of female representation within museum collections is an almost endemic refrain. Though not reconciling this state of affairs, The Female Gaze does provide examples of some of todays most influential and accomplished artists work. From stalwarts of Post War American art like Louise Bourgeois, and Joan Mitchell, to the Essential Feminist works of Lynda Benglis, to the Post-Modern Conceptual works of Cindy Sherman, Jenny Holzer and Deborah Kass, this exhibition displays prime examples of reflective works inspired by images of women.

James Kalm Diane Arbus Vanessa Beecroft Lynda Benglis Louise Bourgeois Kathe Burkhart Jenny Holzer Roni Horn Marilyn Minter Alice Neel Joan Semmel Cindy Sherman painting drawing sculpture conceptual Post-Modern Chelsea New York jameskalm

James Kalm notches another art fair visit with this tour of PULSE New York. Having occupied the 27th Street Armory for the two previous two years, this expanded version on Pier 40 portends success. With a roster of over eighty international galleries, this fair is showing some of today's hottest selling and most provocative artists.

James Kalm Pulse Contemporary Art Fair New York Duke Reily Robert Sagerman Olivier Blanckart Michael Belivacqua jameskalm

James Kalm drops into Black and White and views the Project "This is What I Remember" by Isidro Blasco. After studying architecture, Blasco concentrated his efforts on becoming an artist and using his technical training to investigate society's assumptions about fabricated space. Given several weeks to create a bare bones architectural labyrinth in the sculpture garden at this Williamsburg gallery, viewers can wander through the structure and experience Blasco's whimsical distortion of inhabitable space.

James Kalm Isidor Blasco Black and White Gallery painting sculpture drawing architecture photography still life installation art jameskalmroughcut

James Kalm joins throngs of celebrity seekers and connoisseurs of the crappy in paying tribute to the Crown Prince of Kitsch John Waters. Rear Projection is the latest selection of Water works combining his love of cinema, and his unique take on Pop Art, larding it with a wickedly perverse sense of humor. Presents along with the photographic works are several sculptures that display a sardonic appreciation of everyday products. BONUS FEATURE: Allegiance to Satan. Are there dark unseen forces controlling the New York art world? This brief video explores the possible influence of "Satanic Magic". Allegiance to Satan or mere coincidence, you decide,

James Kalm John Waters Marianne Boesky gallery opening Jerry Saltz Rear Projection photography painting drawing sculpture kitsch underground film Pop Art Hollywood movies modern Chelsea New York jameskalm

James Kalm slides through this exhibition just before closing time to bring viewers a glance at works by one of todays most influential bad painters. Robert Williams has been a presence on the West Coast art scene for decades. He came to my attention while I was still in high school as the artistic director of Ed Big Daddy Roths studio. There after, he teamed up with the likes of Robert Crumb and S. Clay Wilson as a contributor to the iconic Zap Comix. In 1979 he birthed and became the Godfather of lowbrow and, in 1994 founded JUXTAPOZ Magazine. His aesthetic encompasses Hotrod and surf culture the seamy side of Hollywood grudge, punk, hipster, slacker, and scuzz, the epitome of current bad taste.

James Kalm Robert Williams Tony Shafrazi gallery painting drawing sculpture Surrealism lowbrow Pop art kitsch Chelsea New York jameskalm

Today's report documents a pop-up exhibition in Bushwick Brooklyn. This group of modestly scaled paintings displays the characteristic formal elements that Bromirski has employed for the last several years. Combining the repeated circular form with a broad spectrum of color and texture, these paintings achieve a classic balance, and harmony, while challenging the strict notion of what a painting can be. Includes an interview with Martin Bromirski.

James Kalm Martin Bromirski painting drawing abstraction Anaba blog spot Bushwick Brooklyn New York jameskalmroughcut

James Kalm wakes up early to peddle in for the press preview of Live Forever Elizabeth Peytons first museum retrospective. Since her appearance on the New York scene, Peyton has stirred controversy, with her pretty pictures. Eschewing the macho dictums of large scale, heavy paint and profound formalistic dogma, she has rather produced intimate works of a light, fresh and jewel-like quality that reflect her personal world of art historic heroes, Rock-n-Roll stars, friends, family and lovers in domestic settings. This exhibition organized by Laura Hoptman, Kraus Family Senior Curator, documents the arch of her development over the last eighteen years. Appearances by: Laura Hoptman and Larry Qualls.

James Kalm Elizabeth Peyton Laura Hoptman Larry Qualls New Museum painting drawing art gallery exhibition Modern contemp jameskalm

James Kalm is pleases to bring viewers exclusive unauthorized footage of this major exhibition. Richard Prince's style is one of the most recognizable in contemporary art. Since the late seventies, with his series of appropriated advertising photos, most notably the "Marlborough Man" images, Prince has used his particular perspective to critique American culture. Much of the resonance of the work comes from his recycling and redevelopment of previous motifs repeated, like his bawdy joke lines, until they become self-referentially antonymous. Opening statements by Thomas Krens and Nancy Spector.

James Kalm Richard Prince Thomas Krens Nancy Spector Guggenheim Museum photography sculpture painting appropriation art jameskalm

James Kalm celebrates the one year anniversary of the "Kalm Report" with this documentation of some of the challenges faced by your humble reporter. Beginning with a viewer's request, Kalm maps the process as he tries to comply with proper protocol for access to Kilinmik's current show. In the end, to file this "Report", Kalm again goes on the "low-down" for exclusive unauthorized footage.

James Kalm Karen Kilimnik 303 Gallery painting photography conceptual art Chelsea New York modern contemporary jameskalm

James Kalm scurries through a busy Thursday night of gallery openings in Chelsea to document this debut of Lisa Yuskavages recent paintings. Presenting lusciously painted images of young voluptuous women, the content balances precariously between the obviously pornographic and cutesy sweet realm of girly pulp. This ambiguousness has provoked critical attention and prompted Yuskavage to be considered at the cutting edge of contemporary figuration. Featuring interviews with Lisa Yuskavage, Jerry Saltz, Rick Prol and Wolfgang Petrick.

James Kalm Lisa Yuskavage Jerry Saltz Rick Prol Wolfgang Petrick David Zwirner painting drawing art gallery opening Chelsea Modern New York jameskalm

James Kalm has been documenting the work of William Powhida for several years now, and is constantly baffled. The press release states "The directors of Marlborough Chelsea are pleased to announce POWHIDA, a site-specific project by the eponymous artist". Well, I don't even know what the meaning of the word "eponymous" is, but this project/performance enters into the ever changing critique of the art world that has garnered Powhida at turns both enmity and esteem. Underlying POWHIDA is a cynical subversivness that plays on the art world's own narcissism and vanity, characteristics that are in no shortage here in Manhattan.

James Kalm William Powhida Marlborough Gallery art opening painting drawing sculpture performance conceptual Chelsea New York jameskalm

James Kalm is out and about again bringing viewers a popuri of recent exhibitions. "Solid Liquid" Eric Sall's latest group of paintings at ATM draws viewers in with their rich use of paint, luscious color and sophisticated abstract compositions. Daniel Richter is yet another of the wild young German painters showing with David Zwirner who have picked up the mantel of bold large scale painting. Fluctuating between figuration and abstraction, Richter employs jarring colors and spontaneous techniques to fashion his disturbing images. In the mid eighties, as Warhol's star was diminishing and Basquiat's was rising, their paths crossed. Van de Weghe Fine Art presents a show spotlighting this short and unique collaborative project, as they produced some of the decade's most striking paintings.

James Kalm Andy Warhol Jean-Micheln Basquiat Daniel Richter ATM Gallery David Zwirner Van de Weghe Fine Art painting dra jameskalm

James Kalm visits the studio of William Powhida for an interview as the artist prepares for his upcoming exhibition at Schroeder Romero Gallery opening May 11. Part two of an extended report.

James Kalm Powhida drawings drawing painting art gallery Williamsburg jameskalm

For the last five years Deborah Brown has painted images of her Bushwick neighborhood. During that time she has also been one of the area's most stanch supporters. But it wasn't until she opened STOREFRONT Gallery last year that things really started to click. Working as a local art activist, with her neighborhood focus, Brown has featured dozens of Bushwick, Williamsburg and Brooklyn artists in shows, and become a nexus of the artistic community. The painting are a testament to her appreciation of this local and show a fondness for its quirks and characters.

James Kalm Deborah Brown Lesley Heller Workspace Gallery opening painting drawing sculpture Lower East Side Bushwick Brooklyn Williamsburg graffiti jameskalmroughcut

James Kalm guides viewers through a Bowery studio visit with artist Fred Gutzeit, through the development of his Lee Wall mural, to the installation and the works debut at Pocket Utopia in Brooklyns cutting edge neighborhood MoJo. The enigmatic persona of Lee Lozano (1930-1999) is the inspiration and muse, which inspired Gutzeits project. Lozano was a ubiquitous force in the burgeoning early era of Soho. In a brief career spanning barely a decade Lozano moved through all the major art movements of the period, collecting eminent friendships among a broad cross section of the New York art world. Her pioneering actions are seen as provocative achievements in conceptual art, and led to her eventual expatriation from the New York scene.

James Kalm Fred Gutzeit Lee Lozano Ann Temkin Pocket Utopia Museum Modern Art masturbation fantasies painting sculpture jameskalm

James Kalm has been aware or the work or George Condo since an introduction by Don Baechler in the East Village in the early 1980s, This show, curated by Laura Hoptman, provides a glimpse of the arch of Condo's artistic practice over the last thirty years. George has mastered the notion of being a stylistic chameleon, mixing and matching trends and devices with the facility of a grand chef, but always with an ingratiating goofball nonchalance. He, like Philip Guston, has become an inspiration for a young generation of eccentric figurative painters here in New York.

James Kalm George Condo Laura Hoptman New Museum painting drawing sculpture Bad Post-Modern Surrealism Cubism Lower East Side York jameskalm

James Kalm (www.youtube.com and Loren Munk curated a show titled BROOKLYN ART NOW: 2011 SURVEY EXHIBITION in participation with Verge Art Fair: March 3 - 6, 2011 Here James speaks a bit about the show.

Verge Art Fair Brooklyn Art Now James Kalm joannkim 217

During a recent trip to Los Angeles, James Kalm took time to stop in and see the "Art in the Streets" exhibition at LAMOCA. During this visit, he paused to attend a lecture by Carlo McCormick on the Graffiti Art scene and it's historical precedents. Standing next to your humble reporter during this presentation was Museum Director Jeffery Deutsch. When the controversy surrounding the removal of the Blu mural was brought up and its image flashed on the screen, we view Jeffery Dietsch's response.

James Kalm Jeffery Dietch Blu Carlo mccormick Graffiti Street Los Angeles Museum Contemporary Art Graf jameskalmroughcut

James Kalm saunters through an exhibition of photos by cult favorite Lucas Samaras. Vertiginous is the series title, and ratty street worn chairs, are the subject matter. Each study is snapped as if by an ornithologist documenting exotic birds in their natural habitat. Extravagantly rich and quirky compositions are enhanced with digital manipulation and juiced up colors for a taste of the Surreal distilled from the urban mundane.

James Kalm Lucas Samaras manipulated photography Photoshop art opening Chelsea Alex Katz Chuck Close urban color modern jameskalm

James Klam safaris to the darkest heart of Williamsburg in search of the mysterious "Mudman." Kim Jones developed this infamous persona during the nascent phase of Californian performance art. Covering himself in mud and strapping on towering structures made of branches, sticks, string and tape Jones would complete marathon walking pieces that would encompass entire days and traverse the breadth of Los Angeles, and establishes his historical eminence on par with artists like Vito Acconci, Joseph Beuys and Chris Burden. The exhibited sculptures were employed for these unprecedented works. Featuring interviews with David Kramer, David Hunt and Kim Jones

James Kalm Kim Jones Davis Kramer David Hunt Pierogi sculpture painting drawing art gallery opening performance Williams jameskalm

James Kalm wraps up this years 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 Bridge art fair 2009 painting drawing sculpture installations video Florence Putterman Jenny Morgan Extremely Hungry Chelsea New York Post-Modern jameskalm

James Kalm escorts viewers through an abbreviated tour of this year's Outsider Art Fair. Über-hip bohemians and fashionably chic young collectors agree on the enigmatic appeal of authentic "outsider" art. As a last bastion of un-hyped creativity, these works strike a chord that goes beyond mere beauty and attracts us through complex psycho-social forces. Featuring works by George Widener, Morton Bartlett, Henry Darger, Agustin Lesage, Emery Blagbon and others.

James Kalm Otusider Art Brut George Widener Morton Bartlett Henry Darger Agustin Lesage Emery Blagbon self-taught pa jameskalm

Jennifer Dalton has garnered attention with her provisional compiling of data. By colleting and sorting images and figures, she forces viewers to consider their received knowledge regarding culture and art. "Making Sense" presents among other works a large hand painted wall chart documenting five months of responses to Jerry Saltz's facebook page, a new twist on institutional critique.

James Kalm Jennifer Dalton Flag Art Foundation conceptual institutional critique Jerry Saltz painting diagrams facebook jameskalmroughcut

James Kalm escorts viewers on an evening's trip to Williamsburg's Front Room Gallery for the annual WAGMAG Benefit Raffle. For over ten years the WAGMAG has guided throngs of art enthusiasts through the back streets and alleys of the 'Burg to the most exciting and innovative happening in this cutting edge neighborhood. With donated artworks by over seventy local artists, this raffle is an occasion for collectors to scoop up pieces by established and emerging artists at bargain prices.

James Kalm WAGMAG Front Room Daniel Aycock Wiliam Powhida Wagner Barry Hoggard painting sculpture photography Will jameskalm