Leila Heller Gallery

December 2013 Newsletter Events CURRENT  SHOJA AZARI FAKE: Idyllic Life Through December 14, 2013 Leila Heller Gallery 568 West 25th Street Leila Heller is pleased to present new painting installations and video works by Shoja Azari that seamlessly intertwine myth with reality, quotation with intervention in order to examine the integral role played by history and context in depictions of the islamic world. Press Release Catalogue Image: Shoja Azari, The Dance of Alema or The Ugly Hamza, 2013, Oil on canvas, 58 x 40 in (147.3 x 101.6 cm) JAY SHINN Neonish 24.7 Through January 11, 2013 11th Avenue Windows Leila Heller Gallery 568 West 25th Street Leila Heller Gallery is pleased to present Jay Shinn. Press Release Image: Jay Shinn, Empire #3, 2013, Neon, 56 x 80 x 7 in (142.24 x 203.2 x 17.78 cm) ROYA AKHAVAN Through December 14, 2013 Viewing Room Leila Heller Gallery 568 West 25th Street Leila Heller Gallery is pleased to present works by Roya Akhavan in the viewing room. Image: Roya Akhavan, Breakthrough, 2013, Sculpture installation SHOJA AZARI and SHAHRAM KARIMI Magic of Light Through December 28, 2013 Mana Contemporary 888 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ Mana Contemporary presents, in collaboration with Leila Heller Gallery, Shoja Azari's Magic of Light, a solo show on the first floor gallery by the internationally renowned artist and filmmaker. Among the works on view will be a groundbreaking four-piece series done in collaboration with painter Shahram Karimi titled Silence. Read more Image: Shoja Azari and Shahram Karimi, Spring, 2007-2008. Video projection on painted canvas, 50 x 89 in (127 x 226 cm), Edition 2 of 3 SHOJA AZARI Come Together: Surviving Sandy Through December 15, 2013 Industry City, 220 36th Street Brooklyn, NY To commemorate the one year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy—and the resiliency of New York City’s arts community, which was hit especially hard by the storm—the Dedalus Foundation, the Brooklyn Rail, the Jamestown Charitable Foundation join with Industry City Associates to present a nearly 100,000 square-foot exhibition entitled Come Together: Surviving Sandy, Year 1. Among over 200 hundred participant artists are those who were victims of Sandy and those who are showing in solidarity.  Read more Image: Shoja Azari, Toil (still from The King of Black), 2013, HD colour video with sound AYAD ALKADHI Doris Duke's Shangri La - Architecture, Landscape, and Islamic Art Through December 29, 2013 Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University 2001 Campus Drive, Durham, NC Doris Duke’s Shangri La is the first exhibition to allow audiences, beyond visitors to the house, the opportunity to experience Shangri La’s distinctive blend of architecture, landscape and Islamic art. To achieve this purpose, 60 works of Islamic art are featured alongside architectural sketches, archival photographs, videos and large-scale color photographs of the estate. In addition, eight artists who have participated in Shangri La’s artist-in-residence program, including Ayad Alkadhi, have contributed new work to the exhibition.  Read more Image: Ayad Alkadhi, I am Baghdad XV, 2013, Charcoal and acrylic newspaper on canvas, 48 x 48 in (122 x 122 cm)            RAN HWANG Freedom: Just Another Word For...  Mass MoCA (Kidspace) Through May 28, 2014 1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, MA The Kidspace @ MASS MoCA Words & Images exhibition project FREEDOM features six world-renowned artists of Asian descent including Roger Shimomura, Ang Tsherin Sherpa, Ran Hwang, Gonkar Gyatso, Long-Bin Chen, and Xu Bing. Shimomura, born in Seattle, Washington, who was in a WWII Japanese-American internment camp as a child, will include his pop art paintings of himself as various cartoon characters and superheroes. Sherpa, born in Nepal, puts a pop art twist on traditional Tibetan thangka paintings. Hwang, born in Korea, will show her meditative installations depicting caged and un-caged birds made from buttons. Read more Image: Ran Hwang, Dreaming of Joy, 2008, Buttons, pins, stainless steel bars, 195 x 101 in 6 panels (495 x 257 cm) UPCOMING  LA2 December 19, 2013 - January 8, 2014 Opening: December 19, 2013 6 - 8 pm Leila Heller Gallery 568 West 25th Street Leila Heller Gallery is pleased to present its second annual Young Collectors Exhibition.Following the success of last year's exhibition which was attended by over 600 art enthusiasts, Leila Heller Gallery presents this year's Young Collectors exhibition dedicated to a solo show of legendary graffiti artist LA2. Taking place from December 18, 2013 – January 8, 2014, this show is curated for the emerging collector and will feature artworks priced at $5,000 and under.   Press release Image: LA2, Installation view LEILA PAZOOKI A Bomb, With Ribbon Around It December 14, 2013 - January 18, 2014 Opening Reception: December 14, 5 - 7pm Queens Museum, Partnership Gallery, New York City Building Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY We are pleased to announce Leila Pazooki's participation to the South Asian Women's Creative Collective (SAWCC) Annual Visual Arts Show, A Bomb, With Ribbon Around It, curated by Raúl Zamudio. The exhibition’s title is inspired by the Surrealist André Breton’s famous remark upon encountering Frida Kahlo’s art: “A ribbon around a bomb.” Read more Image: Leila Pazooki, This Is Not Green, 2009, Illuminated neon tubes, 19.29 x 78.74 in (49 x 200 cm) SHOJA AZARI Artist Talk December 13, 2013 Viewing exhibition: 5:30 - 6:30pm Panel discussion: 6:30 - 7:30pm  We are pleased to announce Shoja Azari's FAKE: Idyllic Life, artist talk. Featuring Shoja Azari, Shirin Neshat, Shiva Balaghi, Phong Bui, Dan Geist, and moderated by Amy Kisch. Seating is limited, RSVP required: RSVP@leilahellergallery.com Read more Image: Shoja Azari, Oriental Interior or Bunnies R Us, Oil on canvas, 28 x 22 in (71.1 x 55.9 cm),Oriental Bath or Bunnies R Us, 2013, Oil on canvas, 35 x 22 in (88.9 x 55.9 cm) JULIA MANDLE Artist Talk December 13, 2013 ArtEZ, Studium generale Zwolle, The Netherlands An interview with performance artist Julia Mandle about how her work helps you realize how much power you have over your own life. Read more Image: Julia Mandle, Thank you, 2010, Performance BOOKS ART STUDIO AMERICA Editor, Hossein Amirsadeghi Executive Editor, Maryam Eisler Leila Heller Gallery is pleased to announce the publication of the book, Art Studio America: Contemporary Artist Spaces, which features original interviews with and specially commissioned photographs of 115 leading artists who are active in America today. From Jeff Koons and Shirin Neshat to Alex Katz and Andrea Zittel, this extraordinary book gives a rare insight into the thoughts, dreams and ideas of the artists in the landscapes in which they work. Exceptional essays by art-world luminaries Robert Storr, Mark Godfrey and Ben Genocchio augment the artists’ profiles. This is a wonderful opportunity for a special holiday gift! Read more Promo video To order a copy of the book, click here, you can use the Promo Code ASA01 for 25% Special Holiday Discount Leila Heller Gallery in the News ARTINFO  "Shoja Azari Takes the Long View" [VIDEO] by Aaron Sherman November 22, 2013 A buzz of activity greeted me when I entered Shoja Azari's vast second-floor studio, located above SoHo's bustling Canal Street, on a late-summer afternoon. Read more COMPLEX ART+DESIGN "Shoja Azari Explores Perceptions of the Middle East in New Show at Leila Heller Gallery" by Dale Eisinger November 22, 2013 Iranian artist Shoja Azari explores the idea of Western perception of the Middle East in a new show, on display now at Leila Heller Gallery. In “FAKE: Idyllic Life,” Azari has been working over the last seven years to meld Iranian mythology and culled imagery of violence and turmoil grabbed from YouTube videos. In this show, on view now until December 14, he explores the distorted perception of the West through multilayered works. Read more Image: Shoja Azari, Queen of Houries (The King of Black), 2013, Lenticular 3D depth on acrylic sheet, 30 x 41.5 in (76.2 x 105.41 cm) ArteNews "Shoja Azari: Examining the inauthentic in both past and present" November 22, 2013 Azari aggressively examines the inauthentic with both past and present, infusing ancient history with contemporary technology. As the title of the exhibition suggests, FAKE: Idyllic Life seeks to deconstruct misconceptions and stereotypes perpetuated by politicized media and art historical exoticism. Read more Image: Shoja Azari, still from The King of Black, 2013, HD color video with sound Huffpost Arts & Culture "Artist Uses YouTube And 19th Century Orientalist Paintings To Explore Views Of The Middle East" November 2013 How do westerners view the Middle East? Iranian-born artist and filmmaker Shoja Azari explores the complexity of the question in his exhibition "FAKE: Idyllic Life." Azari weaves together past and present, mythology and current events, painting and video to capture a vivid and multilayered rendering of the convoluted perception. Read more Image: Shoja Azari, The Snake Charmer or The Anatomy of the 21st century Savage, 2013, Oil on canvas, 40 x 58 in (101.6 x 147.3 cm) AIR "Shoja Azari//Fake - Idyllic Life//Leila Heller Gallery" November 18, 2013 Born in Shiraz, Iran in 1958, Shoja Azari is an artist and filmmaker who has lived in New York since 1983. His work has been exhibited globally, with solo shows throughout Europe and North America. Azari has participated in exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, at museums such as the Haus der Kulturen, Germany and the MUSAC, Spain, and at art fairs including Art Basel, Switzerland, ARCO, Spain, and Art Dubai, UAE. Read more Image: Shoja Azari, Fanatics of Tangier or The Muslim Rage, 2013, Oil on canvas, 62 x 82 in ( 157.5 x 208.2 cm) Examiner "New Works by Shoja Azari at Leila Heller Gallery in Manhattan" by Daniel Gauss December 5, 2013 For some time now the Leila Heller Gallery has been adding an important element of diversity to the Manhattan art gallery scene. Since 1984 Heller has been regularly showcasing emerging and established Middle Eastern artists and continues to do so with the current show: New Works by Shoja Azari. Read more Image: Shoja Azari, The Mourners (The King of Black), 2013, Lenticular 3D depth on Acrylic sheet, 30 x 41.5 in (76.2 x 105.41 cm) Art Asia Pacific "FAKE : Idyllic Life, Shoja Azari" by Bansie Vasvani December 2013 Referencing famous 19th-century Orientalist paintings by Jean-Léon Gérôme, Eugène Delacroix, and Jean-Auguste Dominique-Ingres, that depict slaves waiting on reclining odalisques, Azari attempts to re-envision the objectified female body by making its objectification explicit. This is also an effort to challenge Western perceptions of the Middle East by generating more empowering narratives.  Read more Image: Shoja Azari, Idyllic Life (Video still). 2012, HD video Forbes "We've Tried War, Politics, Money, Religion - Let Us Support Those Who Try Culture" by Melik Kaylan November 29, 2013 In New York, we’ve seen a wave of Iranian contemporary art exhibitions at several galleries. The new Taymour Grahne and Shirin galleries, Leila Heller’s longstanding gallery, and that of Ethan Cohen Fine Arts, have all done resplendent, probing shows.  Read more Image: Leila Heller FT Wealth "Culture Clubs" by Liz Bolshaw December 6, 2013 Galleries such as The Third Line and Isabelle van den Eynde in Dubai, Rose Issa, Rossi & Rossi, Kashya Hildebrand and Bischoff Weiss in London, and Leila Heller, Taymour Grahne and Shirin in New York regularly show contemporary Iranian work. Iran Modern, showing at the Asia Society in New York, runs until January 5. Read more Image: Installation view, Magic of Persia Modern Painters "Trends//Sneak Peeks//Newsmakers//PORTFOLIO" October 2013 London, Mitra Tabrizian's 2012 photographic series "Leicestershire" - on view at the Wapping Project Bankside from October 25 - strikes at the heart of the West's post-industrial reality.  Read more Image: Mitra Tabrizian, Leceistershire III, 2012, C-type print, 47.6 x 98.4 in (122 x 155 cm) Edition of 5 + 2 AP  PaperCITY "A Fine Mind" by Amy Adams December 2013 To describe the incandescent Lisa Fine as versatile feels a bit like identifying Meryl Street as "that actress who's good with an accent." Read more Image: Rachel Lee Hovnanian, Texas Beauty Queen Cream, 2010, Unique Photograph With Mixed Media on Canvas The National "The capital unveils its culture at the fifth Abu Dhabi Art" by Anna Seaman November 18, 2013 The fifth edition of the fair, which opens on Wednesday, has such a vastly beefed-up programme that even if you don't think you're interested in art, there's almost bound to be something of interest. The heavyweights of the art world - Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Lisson, Leila Heller - will also be in town.  Read more Image: Richard Hudson, Egg, 2001, Polished bronze, 9.4 in (24 cm tall) Edition of 25 Canvas Daily "Who would you like to tour the fair with?" November 19, 2013 With Richard Armstrong and his amazing team from the Guggenheim such as Valerie Hillings, Reem Fadda, Sasha Kalter-Wasseman and Hanan Syed Worrell. Read more Image: Rostarr, Decade I, 2011, Ink and acrylic on handmade paper, 22 x 30 in (55.9 x 76.2 cm) Canvas Daily "Price Point" November 21, 2013 Part of the If Words Could Kill series, this work by Ayad Alkadhi incorporates aslamic calligraphy with depictions of hands and swords. Read more Image: Ayad Alkadhi, Cross Words, 2013, Acrylic, charcoal and pencil on heavy paper, 30 x 40 in (76.2 x 101.6 cm) Canvas Daily "The Art of Script" November 22, 2013 In this Untiteld work, Iranian-born Charles Hossein Zenderoudi transforms traditional Persian calligraphy to create new abstract shapes and gestural marks. Read more Image: Charles Hossein Zenderoudi, Untitled I, 1981, Oil on canvas, 38 x 51 in (96.5 x 129.5 cm) Canvas Daily "5 Minutes With..." November 22, 2013 Yasmina Alaoui, artist showing at Abu Dhabi Art through Leila Heller Gallery. Read more Image: Yasmina Alaoui, Untitled, 2013, Ink and acrylic paint on watercolor paper, 34 x 34 in (86.4 x 86.4 cm) Los Angeles Confidential "7 LA Artist to Watch" by Michael Herren October 2013 "Make your first line, commit to it, commit to each line that follows, and inevitably-hopefully-you have a painting, "says Alexander Yulish. Inclusion in a young collectors' exhibition last winter at Manhattan's Leila Heller Gallery followed, as did having his paintings snapped up by several of the Annenbergs. Read more Image: Alexander Yulish in his studio Leila Heller Gallery in now collaborating with Fever We are pleased to announce our collaboration with Fever, a new social discovery platform that is changing the way people make plans. It provides a curated list of the most interesting events going on in your city personalized for you. Additionally, the application gives users the ability to RSVP or purchase tickets for events either that same day or a week in advance.         ,.