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Smoke and Spice: Arab artist CHOKRA

KisaLala — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:09:45 +0000

CHOKRA (Conscious Hoarding Of Kinetic Rage Associated) is an artist from United Arab Emirates, who uses pigment, smoke, scent, spices and powdered chilies to create mesmerizing performances that emphasize ritual and drama.

His pyrotechnic performances use multilingual rhythms set in Arabic, Urdu, Hindi and English. CHOKRA also explores trans-gender identity using sound animation, video and transnational costumes. His work is an incarnation of the cross-cultural and multi-ethnic potpourri feeding the construction boom in UAE, with immigrants bringing cultural contributions from the Indian subcontinent. The surge of art-traffic in connection with the Dubai art fair, and museums sprouting in Abu Dhabi increases the creative dynamic and encourages dialogue for Arab artists in the US.

CHOKRA | Al-Mtsaalh Haal (The Trucial Case) | December 18, 2010 from Watermill Center on Vimeo.

CHOKRA has performed at the Marina Abramovic Studio and was in residence at Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center in December 2010 and has been selected to perform at SCOPE Miami 2011

CHOKRA Performance of Al Mtsaalh Haal The Watermill Center- A Laboratory for Performance I Dec. 18 2010 Photo By Hronn Axelsdottir

CHOKRA: http://www.chokralovesyou.com/

New York Armory Week 2010

Jonathan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:58:29 +0000

By JRS

Sunday marked the closing of another successful Armory Week in New York. Following the trend of Art Basel in Miami, the aisles were teeming with enthusiasts, artists, collectors, and dealers who seemed not to be aware in the least about our turbulent economic climate. Damien Hirst prints had five and six stickers next to them, denoting sales. It truly was a collector’s fair.

Photo by Stacy Kimball

Made up of the Park Avenue Armory show, Scope, Fountain, and Piers 92 and 94, this was the most important week in New York for collectors and gallery-owners alike.

Mike Bevilacqua

James Casebere

James Nares

It seems to be a good rule of thumb to not expect to meet any artists when making your way around art fairs. As one fantastic art—who will remain nameless—told me: “Why do I want to walk around an art show? I’m just going to get frustrated looking at all the crap that’s selling and wonder why mine isn’t up there. It’s very hard to get inspired that way.” As I’ve come to understand it, art fairs are another way for big-budget galleries to boast to one another about who has the most fabulous pieces in their collections and who has the biggest artists in their respective stables. Deitch is always certain to have at least a few Warhols, Basquaits, Harings, Barry McGee installations, ad infinitum. Tony Shafrazi usually counters back with a fantastic collection of David LaChapelle, Dennis Hopper, and Jasper Johns. Expect to see Richard Prince, Picasso, Ed Ruscha, and a handful of other A-listers at Larry Gagosian’s monolithic booth.

Regardless of what you think about the fanfare behind the art fairs, they’re enjoyable to peruse. Until December’s Basel in Miami, stay tuned for more about these cultural instigators.

Photo by Stacy Kimball

Sven'tgolle Sven'tolle. Photo by Stacy Kimball.

Photo by Stacy Kimball

Mel Bochner. Photo by Stacy Kimball

Jacob Hashimoto. Photo by Stacy Kimball

Art Basel Miami 2009: A Week in Review

Jonathan — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 06:25:02 +0000

By JRS

Nothing could stop Art Basel from having another successful year in Miami. Not a recession, not adverse conditions—though heavy rain and flooding destroyed a few works of art—could keep the droves of people from returning to south Florida and jamming the aisles of all participating spaces and the streets of the Design District.

What felt like most of Miami—and New York, LA, and Europe’s art communities—flocked mostly to the Miami Convention Center in search of fine art and design. The more adventurous patrons made their way across the causeway and back to the mainland.

Comparing SCOPE to Art Basel at the Convention Center is like comparing the Uptown and Downtown scenes in New York; they’re total opposites. For those who have never been, Art Basel is made up of several different parts: Art Basel, SCOPE, Pulse, Art Asia, and the bevy of neighborhood galleries that fling open their doors during the week and curate exhibitions of their own. Truth be told, these are often the most interesting shows to experience, as they have no preconceptions and are akin to Dash’s old shows at Deitch circa 2005: completely uninhibited.

New York Street Artist Judith Supine's Newest Work

One such show was “Art Whino,” which was held at Charcoal Gallery on 1st Avenue in Miami. A somewhat industrial and raw space, the exhibition was curated with the likes of Barry McGee and early Shepard Fairey in mind. Silkscreens as far as the eye could see, paired with stencils on canvas…on top of other stencils on canvas, chunky oils, and collages. Paired with knowledgeable curators and the artists themselves mixing with their constituents, it had a refreshing absence of the structured art-fair feeling.

"It's Better to Burn Out Than to Fade Away," at Charcoal Gallery's Art Whino

In the big top, Gagosian and Deitch were the undisputed heavy-hitters. Jeffrey brought out his customary big guns—Julian Schnabel, Barry McGee, Shepard Fairey, Keith Haring, Swoon, and Ryan McGuiness—while Gagosian countered with the likes of Richard Prince, Basquiat, Warhol, and Jeff Koons.

Barry McGee's "99 Bottles on the Wall"

"Aung San Suu" by Shepard Fairey at Deitch Projects

Jeff Koons at Gagosian

Stay tuned for more Art Basel updates throughout the week.