From Sushi to Shanghai

Two Japanese chefs open very different restaurants.

1. Omido
1695 Broadway, nr. 53rd St.; 212-247-8110

Close enough to the Ed Sullivan Theater to guarantee some jokey mentions on the “Top Ten” list, this new Japanese restaurant has an AvroKO design, fifteen sakes by the glass, and dishes like gold-leafed bluefin toro tartare, courtesy of chef-partner Eiji Takase, a veteran of Match, Iso, Yujin, Sushi Samba, and most recently, Shibuya at the MGM Grand.

2. Wakiya
2 Lexington Ave., at 21st St.; 212-995-1330

When Ian Schrager’s plan to bring Alan Yau to New York fizzled, he turned to the Nobu crew for help replacing him. This week, salvation comes in the form of celebrity chef Yuji Wakiya, known in Tokyo for his artistic renditions of Chinese food, and his emphasis on individual plating over family-style.

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For Towa: Peace from the East @ Andrew Roth

For Towa: Peace from the East

July 5 - July 27, 2007

Andrew Roth presents a summer (July, 2007) exhibition of contemporary Japanese art. 47 works by 20 artists comprise the survey curated by Diego Cortez, a tribute to Cortez's friend, Japanese musician and DJ, Towa Tei. Tei is a founding member of Deee-Lite, and early proponent of the appropriated audio 'sample' as well as the post-modern 'scratch' technique in DJ methodology. Tei has positioned himself at the nexus of pure Japanese design, futur-musik and international contemporary art. He is one of the most celebrated 'synthetic' DJs in the world as well as a collector and art enthusiast of the highest order.

Tei represents the future not only of music, but of contemporary art as well, as do the 20 artists included in this show. Japanese art, a hybrid of traditional culture and the future, is represented by a diverse group of several generations of artists. (Ten micro-generations in 20 years?)

From conceptual/historical masters Moriyama, Araki and Miyajima, to 'infantilists' Aoshima, Mr. and Nara, to the eroticism of Araki and Nagashima, and the spiritual/theatrical found in works by Yokoo, Akasegawa and Ninagawa, "FOR TOWA," represents a 4-sided mandala of the psyche of Japan today by contemporary 'living treasures.'

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The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama

School of Visual Arts (SVA), in collaboration with the Rubin Museum of Art (RMA), is pleased to present The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama. The SVA exhibition compliments and expands upon the selection of art currently on view at RMA. A popular, beloved figure, the Dalai Lama has evolved to represent a range of different meanings. The exhibition reflects artists’ interpretations of the Dalai Lama and explores his multiple roles and iconic status, and how his work and identity resonate with people everywhere.

Over 80 contemporary artists from thirty countries have contributed works of art in a broad array of media, expressing their personal interpretations of and reflections on the Dalai Lama’s philosophies and ideals. School of Visual Arts will display approximately 25 works of art by such well-known artists as Richard Avedon, Anish Kapoor and Sebastiao Salgado as well as contemporary artists Sanford Biggers, SVA alumnus Long-Bin Chen and Katarina Wong. The balance of the works will remain on view at the Rubin Museum of Art’s exhibition, which opened on March 16 and runs through September 3.

The complete list of artists whose work will be on view at SVA is: Seyed Alavi, Richard Avedon, Tayseer Barakat, Sanford Biggers, Long-Bin Chen, Era and Donald Farnsworth, Peig Fairbrook and Adele Fox, Louis Fox and Free Range Graphics, Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison, Jesal Kapadia, Anish Kapoor, Kimsooja, Nefeli Massia, Yumyo Miyasaka, Gabriela Morawetz, Susan Plum, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Sebastiao Salgado, Salustiano, Andra Samelson, William Wiley and Katarina Wong.

The exhibition is organized by the Committee of 100 for Tibet and The Dalai Lama Foundation, and is curated by independent curator Randy Rosenberg.

The Rubin Museum of Art is located at 150 West 17th Street, New York City.
For more information visit www.rmanyc.org.

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Popcentric @ Gering & Lopex Gallery

GERING & LóPEZ GALLERY is pleased to present POPCENTRIC on view from July 11th through September 8th, 2007.

This group exhibition will feature new work by thirteen internationally known artists including Dimitrios Antonitsis, John Armleder, Guido Bagini, Michael Bevilacqua, Liz Craft, Dexter Dalwood, Carl D'Alvia, FISCHERSPOONER, KAWS, Christian Lemmerz, Bruce Richards, Mario Schifano and Francesco Simeti.

Curated by artist Michael Bevilacqua and gallerist Sandra Gering, this exhibition surveys a new generation of Pop artists continuing the exploration of pop themes while employing new techniques drawn from popular mass culture. Still inspired by an obsession with consumerism and commercial imagery, these artists are less concerned with literal renderings but rather allow an emotional connection to contemporary culture to fuel their work.

From music to politics, cinema to sexuality, imagery has become universal and these artists continue to incorporate such topics in their work. For example, Greek artist, Dimitrios Antonitsis presents a series of four photographic portraits of New York's infamous Leona Helmsley, graced with a touch of gold sparkle. Italian artist, Francesco Simeti uses repetition in his floor to ceiling wallpaper installation, Astro, which explosions and outer space imagery are taken from historical records such as newspapers and the internet. FISCHERSPOONERS' new release Get Confused, a single channel video projection, will be screened for the first time. Music, art historical and cinematic references can all be found in Bruce Richards' and Michael Bevilacqua's graphic two-dimensional work. Installation by Swiss artist, John Armleder, utilizes rubber tires as an indoor garden for fresh plants and flowers. Also included is a new painting, Altamont, by British artist Dexter Dalwood and quirky sculptures by American artists Liz Craft and Carl D'Alvia. Other works include two large-scale graffiti works by KAWS, a famous New York graffiti artist and limited edition toy designer.

For more information please contact Karen LaGatta, Director at 646.336.7183.

Gering & Lopex Gallery
730 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10019
tel: 646 336 7183
fax: 646 336 7185
email: info @ geringlopez.com

Gallery Hours
Tuesday - Saturday 10am-6pm

Summer Hours
June 22 through Labor Day: Tuesday - Friday 10am-6pm;
Saturday and Monday by appointment

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Jesper Just @ Perry Rubenstein Gallery

Perry Rubenstein Gallery is pleased to present A Vicious Undertow, Jesper Just's most recent work, filmed in the artist's native Copenhagen at the beginning of 2007.

Shot in black and white Super 16mm film and then transferred to video, the slick contrast, staged lighting and elegant camera movements in A Vicious Undertow are so aesthetically precise that film appears almost artificial. Just's protagonist, an older woman, plays out an enigmatic narrative alongside the film's two other characters, a timeless looking young man and woman, in a dramatic lounge constructed of lush wood-paneling. Whether these characters exist in real time or in a remote space within the older woman's memory, the charged exchange between the two lovers lingers just out of reach. Youth, beauty, and sexuality permeate the film's rich texture, while tones of melancholy and naiveté obscure the characters, their relationships, and the ultimately the film itself, with swaying currents of unrequited moments.

A Vicious Undertow opens like a dance, as the camera pans across a piece of fabric, slowly revealing its owner, Just's whistling female protagonist. Here, through song and movement, Just introduces his three characters with highly physical modes of expression; modes that form the basis of communication in all of Just's films. Until A Vicious Undertow, Just dealt mainly with the complexities of male relationships, usually between a father figure and a son. As in his previous films, there is the continuous suggestion of a storyline in the background, but ultimately Just leaves it to the viewer to tell the story, based on one's own personal memories and associations.

Often using visual and aural cues that reference mainstream film and television Just employs cinematic and narrative tropes from media and film history in order to dissect their conventions. He extracts the climax of a film—the point at which the viewer is completely seduced and rife with anxiety, when the music starts in and the plot is in its final stages of unfolding—but does not offer a single resolution.

A Vicious Undertow has been shown at the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam, the 'Five Year Anniversary Show' at Galleri Christina Wilson and the Montreal Biennale. It will be shown at the Beijing Center for Creativity in conjunction with the Millennium Art Museum this summer and at the inaugural exhibition of the MediaLabArt Museum in Moscow in the fall. This past year Just has had solo exhibitions at the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, the Vienna Kunsthalle, the Moore Space in Miami, FL, the Hirschorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C., and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Just graduated from the Copenhagen Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 2003. He was born in 1974 in Copenhagen, Denmark, and currently splits his time between Copenhagen and New York.

Concurrently on view at the gallery's 527 West 23 Street is a dialogue exhibition of paintings by Luke Dowd and Anja Schwörer.

Perry Rubenstein Gallery
527 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011
T 212-627-8000, F 212-627-6336, E info@perryrubenstein.com
www.perryrubenstein.com
Gallery Summer hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Members of the press please contact:
Sara Fitzmaurice / Dan Tanzilli
FITZ & CO
212-627-1455 x226
dan@fitzandco.com

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