[divider] TWFineArt is thrilled to be collaborating with designer Surya Graf on the interior of TWFineArt's GuideShop. Our GuideShop is a new age gallery. Gone are the days of the stuffy gallery experience, our concept is Art for All & All for Art, we want you to touch, feel, talk and learn about our artists and their work while interacting with our website and guides (or art experts) to curate the perfect selection of art for YOU.   Surya Graf Studio is a design practice with a background in both Architecture and Industrial Design. The philosophy behind the studio is materials led and process driven, with outcomes focused on functionality and a refined simplicity of form. The portfolio of work spans across a diverse range of product, interior and urban design. Surya has crafted the most gorgeous pieces to compliment our concept and style. To view his current portfolio visit Surya Garf online at http://suryagraf.com. [divider] Stay tuned. The TWFineArt GuideShop opens it's doors June 8th! SHOP 4, Centro 2 on 31 James St Fortitude Valley. BRISBANE  

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TWFA's Chris Trueman will be exhibiting XX" at the PULSE Contemporary Art Fair in NY May 8-11. Trueman's work references a synthesis of historical abstract movements including Abstract Expressionism, OP art computer graphics, 3D modeling, Primitive Cave Paintings et La MODE. He mines the history of visual culture to create fresh, dynamic work that captivates on all levels.

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In May of 1951 the 9th Street show opened to an overwhelming reception and introduced the world to the Abstract Expressionists. To celebrate the 63rd anniversary of the ground-breaking show, we have collaborated with the Estate of Michael Goldberg to bring you four limited edition Transfer works on newsprint from 1992. [divider] [caption id="attachment_7963" align="alignleft" width="447"] Transfer - Green, Michael Goldberg 1992[/caption] To remove wet paint from the surface of his artwork, Goldberg would apply newsprint to the surface and then scrape a large pallet knife over the newsprint to lift off excess paint. Doing this allowed him to work quickly without muddying the paint. This studio practice inspired a series of paintings where the markings on the newsprint became the focus of the work. By making deliberate movements with the pallet knife, Goldberg was able to create punchy gestural expressions of color that boldly capture a moment in time.

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New York City in the 1950’s was a pretty remarkable place. After WWII the city was a relative shell comprised of dilapidated buildings and neglected neighborhoods, with most people opting to live in the suburbs far away from the potential military target. Living and working amongst the derelict buildings was a group of young pioneer artists, bursting with intellect and creativity, yet struggling to have a voice in the art world. In 1951, art dealer Leo Castelli and a group of these young New York City artists joined forces to create the infamous 9^Th St Show, a self-funded exhibition that in many ways changed the course of art history forever. Europe was losing its edge and what was relevant, current and exciting was happening in America’s own back yard, despite being overlooked by the local art scene. At that time, there was only a small number of galleries in Manhattan, all were clustered around 57^th street and all dealed primarily in European art. The collective rented an abandoned antique store at 60, East 9^th Street for $40 and together put on a ground-breaking exhibition that ‘appropriated a visibility that American Society had denied them for so long’. The Abstract Expressionist Movement burst onto the scene and caught the attention of not only critics but the culture at large. These artists ultimately became some of the most celebrated and valued of all time. One of the youngest exhibitors in the 9^th Street show was TW Fine Art’s Michael Goldberg. At that time Michael Goldberg had changed his name to Michael Stuart to avoid the association with his aristocratic family and his father. Goldberg told stories of taxis lining up down the street with crowds of people amassing outside the space on opening night. The New York Times labeled it an ‘uncommon exhibit of the New York avant-garde spectacularly coming together’. Over the next 50 years the focus of the art world would shift from Europe to America and today there are over 1500 galleries in Manhattan alone. People have returned to the city. The end of the Cold War boosted people’s confidence in the safety of the metropolis and slowly but surely people began to gentrify the forgotten neighborhoods to create the New York City of today. It’s unheard of for artists to be able to rent an exhibition space for $40 anymore – the thought makes today’s artists green with envy! The creative community that existed in those days is now geographically dispersed since Manhattan is for the most part unaffordable for the young avant-garde - the artist interested in the art and not the sale. Goldberg used to loathe walking through Chelsea (the modern art hub) “I fucking hate Chelsea, the content of the work is money no matter what it masquerades as”. In many ways, what he said is true – Mike was about art, not the money that came from today’s art celebrity culture. “I consider myself an old-fashioned modernist in that I think painting can change the world. And the desperation is about the fact that I know it can’t.” Our own artist collective now lives all across the world although our roots are in New York City, where we all gathered as students, mentors and young artists. The Internet serves as our club and although separated by geographical distance, our bonds are strong and our art has been globalized in a manner that in many ways may now represent the future trajectory of the art world.      

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DRAWING ALGORITHM: Begin with 1cm horizontal line drawn in 7 colors, stacked vertically in top left corner. Move horizontally & follow with 1cm vertical line in 7 colors, stacked horizontally. Move horizontally & follow with 1cm horizontal line in 7 colors stacked vertically.   Move Vertically & follow with 1cm vertical line in 7 colors stacked horizontally & REPEAT [divider] This simple (albeit made up) example of a visual algorithm shows how an image can be created using the same self-imposed, predetermined sets of rules or algorithms used in the mathematical calculations that drive things like computer programs. When combined with an artist’s hand and a certain amount of unpredictability, generative art can produce some stunning results. TWFA’s Briony Barr has collaborated with physicist Andrew Melatos in Drawing on Complexity, an initiative that creates ‘art experiments’ in the form of large-scale, rule based floor drawings made by groups of participants using colored electrical (PVC) tape. Barr and Melatos invite external participants to create a drawing based on a set of devised rules. The artists do not direct the drawing process, instead they let the participants (agents) create the artwork just as much as the rules they are following. Over time, the interactions between the agents and the rules accumulate to create ripple effects that feed back into the artwork (or system) changing it's course. This happens over and over again, making the drawing complex and unpredictable. The artists document their work in time lapsed video with a written account of the project that is then uploaded to their website. This month the pair coordinate Drawing/Undrawing at NGV community hall in Melbourne. Stay tuned for future projects and be sure to check it out and contribute! Below is the pairs documentation for Experiment #4 at the National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art in Seoul. [divider] Experiment #4 Duration: 5 hours Agents: 24 Size: 12 x 12 m Location: The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea Date: 2013 The drawing was structured using an underlying pencil grid, providing two ways for the different agents to move around; on top of the lines articulating the grid (S1) or inside each grid square (S2). In phase one of the drawing, we allowed agents to have only four ‘children’ (four collaborations) before moving on. In phase two, agents working together were allowed to combine their genetic material as many times as they wanted. This rule variation resulted in many agent duos choosing to have rather a lot of ‘children’. In almost every drawing experiment we see this tendency towards the most efficient way of doing something. In the case of Experiment #4, working as a couple over a longer period of time, repeating the same act, means better strategies can be developed for getting things done (i.e. making a collaborative drawing). This is common sense and also a fundamental tendency of nature; to take the most energy efficient route.

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