Désir - group exhibition on view now in Berlin

On new now and running through September 16th, Désir (Desire) is a group exhibition at Instinct Berlin. Curated by Yves de Brabaner and Eric le Rouge. I’m showing three works from my Polaroid Collages - LA/CDMX (2022) series, installation views below. More info: www.instinct.berlin

𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘢'𝘴 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 - on view now in Los Angeles

On view in Los Angeles and online via Artsy is 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘢'𝘴 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, a group exhibition curated by Steve Galindo and Arushi Kapoor. Participating artists:

Evangeline Adalyrion, Alannah Farrell, Stuart Sandford, Little Ricky aka Ricky Sension, Mia Weiner, Sara Sandoval, Duane Paul, Naruki Kukita, Sophia Gasporian, Joey Brock, Miguel Reyes Angel, Ruben Esparza

Viewable only by appointment: steve@thestyleguyde.com

www.artsy.net/show/arushi-gallery-decoding-americanas-queer-sensibilities

Polaroid Collages - LA/CDMX, 2023 - book pre-order

My new book Polaroid Collages - LA/CDMX is now available to pre-order here with Men On Paper Art. This book collects the entire series of 36 works executed in 2022 and is available as an Artist Edition (of 25) with a signed Polaroid print of the cover image and also as a standard open edition.

Originally commissioned by the New Collection, the series builds on my existing ongoing Polaroid Collages series (2018 - TBA) but focuses on the two cities in which I've spent the majority of the last 10 years, Los Angeles and Mexico City. Creating a dialogue between these two vast, imposing, sometimes impenetrable mega cities, stems from two things, first my love for my adopted homes, and second, that as an outsider looking in, and depicts the people and places in both cities that continue to inspire and draw me there.

Marco Paez from The Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles has written the foreword to the book and texts are in both English and Spanish.

Polaroid Collages - LA/CDMX
2023
Soft cover
84 pages
21 x 21 cm / 8.2 x 8.2 in

Artists edition $300 / £250 (plus shipping)
Standard edition $50  / £40 (plus shipping)

Bribones Libertines: Jotxs y recuerdos

Pequeños Bribones invites you to Bribones Libertines: Jotxs y recuerdos on the 10th and 11th of February, 2023 at Cerrada de La Paz 37, Colonia Escandón, Mexico City (the opening will be held from 7 pm to 11 pm on February 10th / with an open house on the 11th, from 1 pm to 5 pm).

SPANISH TEXT BELOW

This is an exhibition curated by Tony Solis, photographer and editor-in-chief of Y- NOT Magazine and creator of Pequeños Bribones (art gallery). On this occasion, the work of three artists invited to collaborate is exhibited: Slava Mogutin (Russia), Rubén Esparza (United States) and Stuart Sandford (United Kingdom), together with Donovan Quiroz, a Mexican photographer, and Tony Solis. Bribones Libertines (Jotxs y recuerdos) addresses gender dissidence and new LGBTIQ+ masculinities from the multidisciplinary perspective and the contrast of these five artists, whose work ranges from queer documentary photography to disruptive poetry and activism.

Thus, the exhibition articulates the works of a lifetime (and the experience they entail) with an invitation to explore the non- binary phenomenon from new angles in the context of the post-pandemic. Body language, and the role that sensations play in said exploration, is a constant that runs through the work and that uses different techniques that clearly captures the current climate of what the "liquidity" of gender means in the West. The work goes beyond the limits of what is considered artistic and even leads to a particular activism. Such is the case of Slava Mogutin, a Russian-American multimedia artist, author, and activist exiled from Russia for his outspoken queer writing and activism, among his projects are seven books of writings in Russian, three monographs of photography and two illustrated collections of poetry publish in the US, his work examines the notions of displacement and identity, pride and shame, devotion and disaffection, love and hate. Rubén Esparza, for his part, portrays the events of the non-binary scene in Los Angeles, with pieces such as CUNT (2011) and Transexual Jesus (2019), who’s also the founder and director of the Queer Biennial, an international survey of LGBTQ+ art and culture. 

Building on his ongoing Polaroid Collages (2018-TBA) series, self labelled as “instant sculptures”, Stuart Sandford focuses on the male body and ideas of space/place/belonging to present works that explore the rawness of non-binary sexuality and chosen family.. On the other hand, Donovan Quiroz, who is co-director of Y- NOT Magazine, lightly synthesizes the sensuality and harshness of the homoerotic, from the portrait of limbs, bodies, gazes, and shadows that make his work a currentproposal on dissidence sex in Latin America. 

All this in conjunction with the pieces and curatorship of Tony Solis, a photographer who has worked and collaborated in national and international printed publications and has participated in multiple art fairs in different countries.

As a collaborative piece, all the participating artists will install a large collage across an entire wall, creating a huge shout of dialogue between all these disparate queer voices in real time before the opening.

Pequeños Bribones te invita a Bribones Libertines: Jotxs y recuerdos este 10 y 11 de febrero de 2023 en Cerrada de La Paz 37, Colonia Escandón, Ciudad de México (la inauguración será el día 10, de 7pm a 11pm / habrá open house el día 11, de 1pm a 5pm).

Esta es una exposición curada por Tony Solis, fotógrafo y editor en jefe de Y- NOT Magazine y creador de Pequeños Bribones (galería de arte). En esta ocasión se exhibe el trabajo de tres artistas invitados a colaborar: Slava Mogutin (Rusia), Rubén Esparza (Estados Unidos) y Stuart Sandford (Reino Unido), junto a Donovan Quiroz, fotógrafo mexicano, y Tony Solis.

Bribones Libertines (Jotxs y recuerdos) aborda las disidencias de género y las nuevas masculinidades LGBTIQ+ desde la perspectiva multidisciplinaria y el contraste de estos cinco artistas, cuyo trabajo va desde la fotografía documental queer hasta la poesía disruptiva y el activismo. 

Así, la exposición articula las obras de toda una vida (y la experiencia que conllevan) con una invitación a explorar el fenómeno no binario desde nuevos ángulos en el contexto de la pos-pandemia. El lenguaje corporal, y el papel que juegan las sensaciones en dicha exploración, es una constante que recorre la obra y que utiliza distintas técnicas que captan claramente el panorama actual de lo que significa la “liquidez” del género en Occidente. El trabajo va más allá de los límites de lo que se considera artístico e incluso conduce a un activismo particular. Tal es el caso de Slava Mogutin, artista ruso-americano, autor y activista exiliado de Rusia por su franca escritura y activismo queer, entre sus proyectos se encuentran siete libros de escritos en ruso, tres monografías de fotografía y dos colecciones ilustradas de poesía publicadas en Estados Unidos. Su obra examina las nociones de desplazamiento e identidad, orgullo y vergüenza, devoción y desamor, amor y odio. Rubén Esparza, por su parte, retrata el devenir de la escena no binaria de Los Ángeles, con piezas como CUNT (2011) y Transexual Jesus (2019), además fundador y director de la Bienal Queer, una encuesta internacional de arte y cultura LGBTQ+. Stuart Sandford se centra en el cuerpo masculino y las ideas de espacio/lugar/pertenencia para presentar obras que registran la crudeza de la sexualidad no binaria, presentando el proyecto Polaroid Collages autodenominado como “esculturas instantáneas” que viene construyendo desde 2018 a la fecha. Por su parte, Donovan Quiroz, quien es codirector de Y- NOT MAGAZINE sintetiza con ligereza la sensualidad y aspereza de lo homoerótico, a partir del retrato de extremidades, cuerpos, miradas y sombras que hacen de su obra una propuesta actual sobre las disidencias sexuales en América Latina. 

Todo esto en conjunto con las piezas y la curaduría de Tony Solis, fotógrafo que ha trabajado y colaborado en publicaciones impresas nacionales e internacionales y ha participado en múltiples ferias de arte en diferentes países. 

Como pieza colaborativa, todos los artistas participantes instalarán un gran collage en toda una pared, creando un gran grito de diálogo entre todas estas voces queer dispares en tiempo real antes de la inauguración.

Polaroid Collages - LA/CDMX online exhibition with James Freeman Gallery

Presented by James Freeman Gallery and Artsy, an online exhibition of selected works from my Polaroid Collages - LA/CDMX (2022) series is online now and runs through December 1st. All the info below.

James Freeman Gallery is pleased to present Polaroid Collages – LA/CDMX, a collection of new editions by the British artist Stuart Sandford. The imagery for these works are taken from a group of Polaroid collages originally commissioned by the New Collection, and explore the experience of living in both Los Angeles and Cuidad de Mexico as adopted homes.

Polaroid as a medium allows a moment to be captured and stored in unique physical form. This inevitably makes the photographs themselves special: precious, like the memories they hold, something which in turn we look to hold onto. In creating his collages, Stuart cuts across this special character and ruptures that unique object, but as a means to create something new, much like the process of leaving the past behind to find new life in new cities. Through juxtaposing scenes of intimacy with snapshots of the urban environment, Stuart’s works speak of the romance we can feel for places just as much as we do for people. The works in this collection take those unique collage images and enlarge them into archival prints in editions of 3. The original collages are also available on request.

For a full list of available works, please email info@jamesfreemangallery.com.

Photos from the inaugural London edition of the Tom of Finland Arts & Culture Festival

A few photographs by Martin Perry of the incredible inaugural London edition of the Tom of Finland Arts & Culture Festival which took place the weekend of October 8/9 at Second Home in London. What a pleasure and an inspiration to connect/reconnect in the flesh with so many beautiful, fierce, queer artists and creatives. As the tag line went, Tom really does unite.

Tom of Finland Art & Culture Festival 2022 - London and Los Angeles - 8/9 October

Tom of Finland Foundation (ToFF) is presenting the 27th Tom of Finland Art & Culture Festival — Tom Unites. The Festival is ToFF’s yearly programming effort to bring together artists, galleries and patrons from all over the globe in a socially friendly setting, so that they can network as well as buy and sell works.

This is the first time the Festival incorporates Second Home’s London outpost in Spitalfields.

This year’s event will bring together erotic artists, vendors, performers, DJs, and galleries. ToFF will also present its annual awards.

I’m delighted to be showing work in both Los Angeles and London as part of the 2022 iteration of the Tom of Finland Art & Culture Festival and tickets are available here for both events. The festival runs the weekend of October 8-9 at Second Home Spitalfields and Second Home Hollywood. In Los Angeles I’ll be showing a selection of my Polaroid Collages (2018-TBA) with Edward Cella Gallery and in London I’ll be showing my (long delayed!) life size bronze Adlocutio (Sean Ford), 2022, sculpture. I’ll be in attendance at the London festival so I hope to see you there.

UNIQUE : NATURE - group exhibition at ALMANAQUE fotográfica, CDMX

UNIQUE: NATURE

Charles Aguirre

Mustapha Azoroual

Aglae Cortes

Nicholas Janowski

Martin Levêque

Enrique Mendez de Hoyos

Stuart Sandford

Pavka Safe

Polaroid Collage XXII, 2022, 10.7 x 8.8 cm, unique work

Spanish follows below.

Unique : Nature

Unique pieces by artists who use image and photography as a tool to produce contemporary art, with methods and formats that range from transfer printing, the pinhole camera, photo-sculpture, video and NFT. The collective exhibition reflects on the representation itself and the materials that support art, based on our relationship with nature.

The abstract forms of the works are reminiscent of the organic, while the representations of the landscape refer to the digital. In the pieces, singularity and experimentation coincide with notions of the ecological that refer to those described by Arturo Escobar (UNAULA, Colombia) in Sentirpensar: Cultural forms of inhabiting the planet and its own territories that establish new relationships with nature and with others. human beings to maintain a spiritual and material balance with the cosmos.

The Metagraphies of Carlos Aguirre —a seminal artist of conceptual art in Mexico— are constructed with photographic fragments and design materials that recall his large installations or his early graphic work. These pieces of domestic carving are the portrait of a whole, made with pieces of times and spaces. In them, leaves and buildings are intertwined in different planes and scales, to generate a hybrid ecosystem between the natural and the digital, the classic and the contemporary, the flat and the voluminous.

During a trip to Bhutan in 2014, Shibu Arakkal captured the image on display with a pinhole camera, one of the forerunner techniques of photography, which generates dreamlike atmospheres in the film. The size and the montage compose a single image as proof of a long journey. This image is the only record whose evidence remains only in the memory of the artist who produces series of landscapes around the world.

Mustafa Azreoual refers to his work made with the ancient technique of photographic printing with polychrome rubber: No image is capable of reproducing illuminating light. My works embody what we see instead of representing it, their poetic engineering proposes a tangible world of the visible . Michel Poivert describes them as visual, tactile, sensorial and sensitive experiences; sometimes dazzling, sometimes guiding . His sculpture Of him Phenomenon is a photographic impression obtained in the darkroom, subsequently moistened and then solidified as synesthesia of various material and sensory states.

Aglae Cortés notes about the pieces that are part of her project as a member of the National System of Art Creators: On the one hand, they are an investigation of the desert, its sand, ashes, and urban land in my native Sonora to use them in the art of pigment transfer, one of the earliest forms of photography. And on the other hand, these are images that bring together ideas such as time, origin, nature. What we see is sensitized desert sand on silver photographic paper. If the earth contains everything, it is not represented; is presented to him . 

Nicolás Janowski expresses about his series of GIF's —available as NFT on the Zona Maco platform and soon to be exhibited by ALMANAQUE at Digital Art Hong Kong— The Liquid Serpent , one of his most emblematic photographic series:  The Amazon is not, nor is it human, nor animal. It is a hybrid of nature. The Amazon resists the overstimulated cities that invade it with a savage force, existing simultaneously as survival mechanisms. Even the disintegrated indigenous groups in the jungle, separated by their languages ​​but intimately linked by memory, share the same myths and religious convictions around them. In the transformation of the course of life, gradual but constant, the Amazon also modifies what is close to it.

Regarding the photographic series and the sculptures by Martin Levêque, the art historian Alberto Ríos de la Rosa points out: For Levêque, Arcadie is that idyllic space in which the overproduction and exploitation of natural resources is reduced by the reuse of its materials. The sculptures have been made from scrap metal taken from art production workshops in Mexico City. The photographs in the Archipel series present a set of involuntary sculptures that question the notions of space, time and form in abstraction. 

Enrique Méndez de Hoyos , Master of Arts from NYU, mentions from his video film Fables of the Anthropological Machine : The characters are at the crossroads of postmodernity, assuming the problem of the end of history and the position that humanity would adopt in relation to nature in a posthistoric world . Barbara Cuadriello points out about the piece : It explores the concepts of nature and culture; he swings between one and the other to stop in the image, a place where both intertwine. In the video it seems to represent —in the key of farce— a mythology without a clear geographical anchor. 

Stuart Sandford 's Polaroid Collages series suggests the original expression of collage: a decision, a cut and two stories that multiply. Taken by the artist himself among his friends and lovers, these instant sculptures   play with the notion of memory, desire and its context, questioning the physical nature of photography, the contemporary portrait and the posterity of images in times of Instagram.

Pavka Segura , a member of the National System of Creators, points out about her series awarded with the honorable mention of the Photography Biennial of the Image Center 2021: Although it was inevitable to wink at the pictorial still life, I think of these images as installations where time and light are a symbolic context to unfold a fragmented narrative. Also included in the exhibition is his Voluminescent Sphere composed of a threshold of light created with 36 layers of parchment paper that generates a light gradient. A subtle image that recalls the most recurrent form of nature present in the sun, the stars, cells or atoms.

The unique nature of these works reminds us that we are not in front of, on or in nature, but rather we are part of it. 
On view now at ALMANAQUE fotográfica in Mexico City. More info via this link.

Unique : Nature

Piezas únicas de artistas que usan la imagen y la fotografía como herramienta para producir arte contemporáneo, con métodos y formatos que recorren de la impresión por transferencia, la cámara estenopeica, la foto-escultura, el video y el NFT. La muestra colectiva reflexiona sobre la propia representación y los materiales que soportan al arte, a partir de nuestra relación con lo natural.

Las formas abstractas de las obras recuerdan a lo orgánico, mientras que las representaciones del paisaje remiten a lo digital. En las piezas coinciden la singularidad y la experimentación con nociones de lo ecológico que remiten a las descritas por Arturo Escobar (UNAULA, Colombia) en Sentirpensar:  Formas culturales de habitar el planeta y sus propios territorios que establecen nuevas relaciones con la naturaleza y con otros seres humanos para mantener un balance espiritual y material con el cosmos.

Las Metagrafías de Carlos Aguirre —artista seminal del arte conceptual en México— están construidas con fragmentos fotográficos y materiales de diseño que recuerdan sus grandes instalaciones o su obra gráfica temprana. Estas piezas de talla doméstica son el retrato de un todo, hechas con pedazos de tiempos y espacios. En ellas las hojas y edificios se entrelazan en diferentes planos y escalas, para generar un ecosistema híbrido entre lo natural y lo digital, lo clásico y lo contemporáneo, lo plano y lo voluminoso.

Durante un viaje por el Bhutan en 2014, Shibu Arakkal capturó la imagen en exhibición con una cámara estenopeica, una de las técnicas precursoras de la fotografía, que genera atmósferas oníricas en el  film. El tamaño y el montaje componen una sola imagen como prueba de un largo viaje. Esta imagen es el único registro cuya evidencia permanece solo en la memoria del artista quien produce series de paisajes alrededor del mundo.

Mustafa Azreoual refiere de su obra realizada con la técnica antigua de impresión fotográfica con goma policromada: Ninguna imagen es capaz de reproducir a la luz iluminando. Mis obras encarnan lo que vemos en lugar de representarlo, su ingeniería poética propone un mundo tangible de lo visible. Michel Poivert las describe como experiencias visuales, táctiles, sensoriales y sensibles; a veces deslumbrantes, a veces orientadoras. Su escultura Phenomenon es una impresión fotográfica obtenida en el cuarto oscuro, posteriormente humedecida y luego solidificada como sinestesia de diversos estados materiales y sensoriales.

Aglae Cortés anota sobre las piezas que forman parte de su proyecto como miembro del Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte: Son por un lado, una investigación sobre el desierto, su arena, cenizas y tierras urbanas de mi natal Sonora para utilizarles en la técnica de transferencia de pigmentos, una de las primeras formas de fotografiar. Y por el otro, se trata de imágenes que aglutinan ideas como el tiempo, el origen, la naturaleza. Lo que vemos es arena de desierto sensibilizada sobre papel fotográfico de plata. Si la tierra lo contiene todo, no se le representa; se le presenta. 

Nicolás Janowski expresa sobre su serie de GIF’s —disponibles como NFT en la plataforma de Zona Maco y próximamente exhibidas por ALMANAQUE en el Digital Art Hong Kong— La serpiente líquida, una de sus series fotográficas más emblemáticas:  El Amazonas no es, ni humano, ni animal. Es un híbrido de la naturaleza. La Amazonía resiste a las ciudades sobre-estimuladas que la invaden con una fuerza salvaje, que existen simultáneamente como mecanismos de supervivencia. Incluso los grupos indígenas desintegrados en la selva, separados por sus lenguas pero íntimamente ligados por la memoria, comparten los mismos mitos y convicciones religiosas a su alrededor. En la transformación del curso de la vida, paulatina pero constante, la Amazonía también modifica aquello que se le acerca.

Sobre la serie fotográfica y las esculturas de Martin Levêque, el historiador de arte Alberto Ríos de la Rosa señala: Para Levêque, Arcadie es ese espacio idílico en el que la sobreproducción y explotación de los recursos naturales se reduce ante la reutilización de sus materiales. Las esculturas han sido realizadas a partir de restos de metal tomados de talleres de producción de arte en la Ciudad de México. Las fotografías de la serie Archipel presentan un conjunto de esculturas involuntarias que cuestionan las nociones de espacio, tiempo y forma en la abstracción. 

Enrique Méndez de Hoyos, maestro en artes por NYU, menciona de su videofilm Fábulas de la máquina antropológica: Los personajes se encuentran en la encrucijada de la posmodernidad, asumiendo el problema del fin de la historia y la posición que adoptaría la humanidad en relación con la naturaleza en un mundo posthistórico. Barbara Cuadriello señala sobre la pieza: Indaga en los conceptos de naturaleza y cultura; se columpia entre uno y otro para detenerse en la imagen, sitio donde ambos se entrelazan. En el video parece representarse —en clave de farsa— una mitología sin un claro anclaje geográfico. 

La serie Polaroid Collages de Stuart Sandford sugiere la expresión original del collage: una decisión, un corte y dos historias que se multiplican. Tomadas por el propio artista entre sus amigos y amantes, estas esculturas instantáneas  juegan con la noción de memoria, el deseo y su contexto, cuestionando la naturaleza física de la fotografía, el retrato contemporáneo y la posteridad de las imágenes en los tiempos del Instagram.

Pavka Segura, miembro del Sistema Nacional de Creadores, señala sobre su serie premiada con la mención honorífica de la Bienal de Fotografía del Centro de la Imagen 2021: Aunque era inevitable hacer un guiño a la naturaleza muerta pictórica, pienso estas imágenes como instalaciones donde el tiempo y la luz son un contexto simbólico para desplegar una narrativa fragmentada. En la muestra también se incluye su Esfera voluminiscente compuesta por un umbral de luz creado con 36 capas de papel vegetal que genera un gradiente lumínico. Una imagen sutil que recuerda a la forma más recurrente de la naturaleza presente en el sol, los astros, las células o  los átomos.

La naturaleza única de estas obras nos recuerda que no estamos frente, sobre o en  la naturaleza, sino que somos parte de ella. 

Impulsive/Decisive: Works from the O’Neill Collection

A few install shots of Impulsive/Decisive: Works from the O’Neill Collection on view now at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The exhibition features two of my sculptural works, a maquette of Ouroboros, 2019, and a miniature version of the Sebastian (relic) no.1 in Yves Klein blue.

FEATURING WORK BY:

Adam Chuck, Allison Long Hardy, Andy Warhol, Armin Hofmann, Brandt Brinkerhoff and Katherine Walker, Brian Thomas McQueen, Carson Davis Brown, Christy DeHoog, Chuck Anderson, Cornel Windlin, Daniel Marin Medina, Harry Anderson, Hedi Slimane, Jason Murray, Jeremy Chandler, Jerrad Matthew, Jessica Joy, Joey Ruiter, Karlo Martinez, Kelly Allen, Krista Connerly, Mandy Cano Villalobos, Marjan Lulgjuraj, Mark Shepard, Martin Venezky, Matthew Schenk, Meridith Ridl, Michael Schaeffer, Michael-Birch Pierce, Saul Gray-Hildenbrand, Stuart Sandford, Tim Carpenter, Tom Bianchi, Tommy Allen, Troy Michie, Wolfgang Weingart, and Yinka Shonibare.