Issue 123
May 2009

In the May Issue: Jonathan Griffin reflects on the work of the influential British artist Eric Bainbridge who is fascinated by surfaces and disguises, the exotic and the mundane.

Bruce Hainley finds parallels in the careers of Alex Bag and Harmony Korine, artists who rose to youthful notoriety in the 1990s and who have recently returned with a museum show and a feature film.

Dominic Eichler exposes the rich layers of reference and discursive discordance in Stephen Prina‘s installations, performances and objects.

Martin Herbert discusses animism and imagination in Phillip Allen‘s painterly abstractions.

Kirsty Bell explores the unique language of Charline von Heyl‘s paintings, developed in the face of information streams and image overload.

Jennifer Allen sees the society of the spectacle reflected in disco balls, Joseph Clarke looks at how architects are dealing with the problems of housing the 600 million people in China who are moving from rural areas to major cities, and Jace Clayton assesses the highs and lows of ‘Auto-Tune’ software.

From this issue

Leo Steinberg's erudition, Pablo Picasso, James Joyce and fine dining

BY Robert Storr |

The animism and imagination of Phillip Allen’s painterly abstractions

BY Martin Herbert |

Archives, accordions and protest songs

BY Chris Fite-Wassilak |

For three decades, the influential British artist Eric Bainbridge has been fascinated by surfaces and disguises, the exotic and the mundane

BY Jonathan Griffin |

Confession, amateur porn, vulnerablility and a complicated mother-son relationship

BY Christy Lange |

If you could live with only one piece of art what would it be? This is an impossible question

BY Fiona Tan |

Unused props and clearance goods; photographs with absent bodies

BY Burkhard Meltzer |

Having risen to youthful notoriety in the 1990s, Alex Bag and Harmony Korine have moved on to something darker and more searching

BY Bruce Hainley |

Goss Michael Foundation, Dallas, USA

BY Jonathan Griffin |

Pilar Corrias Gallery, London, UK

BY Kathy Noble |

Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK

BY Tom Morton |

The Curve, Barbican Centre, London, UK

BY Michelle Cotton |

Charline von Heyl’s paintings reveal a unique language developed in the face of information streams and image overload

BY Kirsty Bell |

Stephen Prina’s installations, performances and objects are characterized by their rich layers of reference and discursive discordance

BY Dominic Eichler |

Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, USA

BY Benjamin Carlson |

Extra City Centre for Contemporary Art, Antwerp, Belgium

BY Aaron Schuster |

Pompidou Centre, Paris, France

Heinrich Heine, emails, art and friendship

BY Tirdad Zolghadr |

Disco balls and the society of the spectacle

BY Jennifer Allen |

Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary

BY Simon Rees |

The Monks (Light in the Attic, 2009)

BY Daniel Trilling |

Blaffer Gallery, Houston, USA

BY Kurt Mueller |

Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Russia

BY Max Seddon |

Various Venues, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

BY Max Andrews |

Ed. Bruce Jenkins (MIT Press, Cambridge, 2009)

BY Melissa Gronlund |

ACME, Los Angeles, USA

BY Christopher Bedford |

Eduardo Paolozzi and David Brittain (Four Corners Books, London, 2009)

BY Maria Fusco |

Sunn O))) (Southern Lord, 2009)

BY Frances Morgan |

Ruth Hemus (Yale University Press, New Haven, 2009)

BY Sally O'Reilly |

The highs and lows of ‘Auto-Tune’, the software used in almost every pop song released today

BY Jace Clayton |

Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Thailand

BY Brian Curtin |

In an ongoing series, frieze asks artists and filmmakers to list the movies that have influenced their practice

BY Gerard Byrne |

In a culture swamped with dystopic images, perhaps it’s time to resurrect the lost art of looking forward

BY Jonathan Griffin |

How architects are dealing with the problems of housing the 600 million rural immigrants moving to Chinese cities

BY Joseph Clarke |

Giò Marconi, Milan, Italy

BY Ara H. Merjian |

Goethe Institute, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

BY Chris Fite-Wassilak |

IBID Projects, London, UK

BY Sarah E. James |

Galleria Emi Fontana, Milan, Italy

BY Barbara Casavecchia |

Alexander Nut (Rinse, 2009)

BY Sam Thorne |

Gagosian Gallery, New York, USA

BY Ara H. Merjian |

Raven Row, London, UK

BY Kate Forde |

The Cooper Union School of Art, New York, USA

BY Ingrid Chu |

Tomio Koyama, Kyoto, Japan

BY Katie Kitamura |