GROTTAFERRATA, ITALY.- This exhibition, opening on September 19 at the Museo D’Arte Contemporanea Roma, will feature a tightly knit group of sixty New York-based artists whose work captures the drama, danger, speed and dynamism of New York’s diverse creative activities and reflects the leading tendencies in new art making in New York today including Street Punk, Wild Figuration and New Abstraction. The exhibition will feature large-scale installations, site-specific murals, specially designed sculptural components and integrated video projects. This is the first exhibition in Europe to feature this glamorous group of artists who turn their lifestyles into the very product of their art. There will be a series of collateral events related to the exhibition, including concerts, film screenings, performances and DJ sets that will transform the exhibition into a live happening. New York Minute is curated by Kathy Grayson.

The expression “New York Minute” refers to the speed that New Yorkers react to stimuli, with a bit of impatience, a bit of ingenuity and a lot of smarts. The sixty artists in the exhibition show a rapid and resourceful response to current cultural events and issues specific to their generation. Their work explores some of the leading tendencies in new art making in New York such as: updating action painting and abstraction with the toughness of the streets, synthesizing low pop culture into handmade, heartfelt hybrids, taking conceptualism to new and absurd ends, organizing collectives and bands and taking interdisciplinary art on tour, and bringing downtown punk attitude to assemblage, collage and sculpture.

The Street Punk artists in the exhibition including Dash Snow, Terence Koh, Nate Lowman, Gardar Eide Einarsson Aurel Schmidt and Ryan McGinley use the dark energy of the streets to make frank, confrontational, collage, performance, music and sculpture projects. They’re attracted to the danger and lawlessness of the city and make gritty artwork that reflects this attraction.

The artists in the Wild Figuration group including Chris Johanson, Jim Drain, AVAF, Paper Rad, Takeshi Murata and Jules de Balincourt favor prismatic pigment explosions along with handmade and found objects. They use graphic and comic references along with lowbrow pop imagery to breed new beings and radiant animals. Their communal way of working is reflected by their interest in collectives and rock bands.

A third group of artists are exploring New Abstraction. Whether updating New York School abstraction with the energy of the streets, like Dan Colen, Rosson Crow or Sterling Ruby, or revitalizing outmoded conceptual approaches to abstraction with current digital-era concerns like Tauba Auerbach, Xylor Jane or Ara Peterson, the new abstract painters are not cerebrally remote, but urgent and immediate.

Highlights of a New York Minute include “Downtown Don” Aaron Bondaroff’s pop up shop with all the fanzines, records, stickers, t-shirts and books produced by the artists in the exhibition. Rafael de Cardenas will be designing this space that will include special artist projects by Neckface, Fuck This Life, Jason Dill, Kembra Pfahler and Nico Dios. Tinyvices creator Tim Barber will be curating his own small section of the exhibition with contributions from his network of artists including Jaimie Warren, Andrew Kuo, and Slava Mogutin. There will be a free performance by Gang Gang Dance and A.R.E. Weapons at the opening.

Featured Artists
Aaron Bondaroff / Agathe Snow / Alan Vega / Ara Peterson / Aurel Schmidt / Avaf / Banks Violette / Barry Mcgee / Ben Cho / Ben Jones / Brian Belott / Brian Chippendale / Brian Degraw / Chris Johanson / Cory Arcangel /Dan Colen / Dash Snow / Dearraindrop / Eddie Martinez / Ester Partegàs / Evan Gruzis / Francine Spiegel /Gang Gang Dance / Gardar Eide Einarsson / Hanna Liden / Jd Samson / Jim Drain / Joe Bradley / Jules De Balincourt / Katherine Bernhardt / Keegan Mchargue / Kon Trubkovich / Lizzi Bougatsos / Mat Brinkman / Martha Friedman / Matt Leines / Michael Bell-Smith / Michael Cline / Mitzi Pederson / Nate Lowman / Paper Rad / Patrick Griffin / Peter Coffin / Rosson Crow / Ry Fyan / Ryan McGinley / Scott Campbell / Spencer Sweeney / Sterling Ruby / Steve Powers / Takeshi Murata / Tauba Auerbach / Taylor Mckimens / Terence Koh / Threeasfour / Tim Barber / Tomoo Gokita / Valerie Hegarty / Xylor Jane / Yuichi Yokoyama