Amerika
by Shalom Neuman

on view
September 27 - November 20

In producing his multiples of branded products Andy Warhol seemingly played the role of Johnathan Swift when he in a semblance of literary satire found a circuitous yet direct way of informing American society that it was turning out products and celebrities to no end as a supped-up producer of items, and so Warhol also created "The Factory". Shalom Neuman in turn offers us his take on American products and production in the form and formatting of his "Amerika," series. This is his battalion of talking heads made from found objects and other materials constructed into portraits of the many writers he knows or has known. This is his take on products and in a sense these products are his.

In his "Fusionism", Neuman believes in bringing together, the convergence of all materials and disciplines. So, it follows nothing is dismissed, toys, dolls, fabric. random objects and all manner of bric-a-brac are hand-picked by the artists and turned out on fabric-fielded square boards and have soundtracks wherein each writer speaks. These works are sound and motion action activated and begin speaking at the slightest prompt, thus when in a room with a critical mass of these works, they become a sudden multi-sensory instillation.

So here he presents the product objects from the multisensory experience which arises, "Amerika".

In the history of multi-sensory multi-artist collaborations of the twentieth century, it is the ballet "Parade" that stands out. When at the behest of the impresario of the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo Sergei Diaghilev; Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Leoinde Massine Massine, and Erik Satie came together to create the work for which the term surrealism was coined. Neuman has taken a different track, having had a choice of whether to take on high art and the Avant-Garde and its components, he chose instead those who surround him the raucous rabble of writers and poets known as "the Unbearables" to embrace and celebrate, thus creating a discordant cacophony congruing towards resonance as if Les Misérables sans the violent revolution. So here he presents the product objects from the multisensory experience which arises, "Amerika".

Lee Klein, 2024

PAST EXHIBITIONS

Off the Grid featuring Anthony Haden-Guest & Todd Monaghan runs July 22, 2024- Sept. 14, 2024 at ilon Art Gallery, Harlem

About the artists and their work: Off the Grid will knock your socks off! Since both Anthony and Todd are artists and writers I asked Anthony to write about Todd’s work and to write about Anthony’s work. So, without further ado, Here are their brilliant words….

Todd Monaghan by Anthony Haden-Guest

Todd Monaghan is an unusual presence on today’s teeming artscape. The coming together of abstraction and figuration has been a central element in much recent artmaking and usually a highly visible one, that being their point, and Monaghan is making such work, but in a wholly different manner. He uses collage for instance, but not to bring reality into abstraction, as did the Cubists, nor to create jarring conjunctions Surrealist manner. Sometimes, as with his Frank Sinatra, collaged images make their presence felt, but as a contribution to the composition, not as a Daliesque finger in the viewer’s eye. And he likes working upon found objects, paintings, for instance, such as The Last Supper which some foolhardy soul had dumped onto the street.

Several artists have channeled pareidolia, namely the tendency of the human eye to discover faces or animal forms in any congregation of objects or abstract shapes. So indeed does Monaghan, but absolutely not because he wants such faces or animal forms to be readily spotted by the viewer of his art. He is similarly given to drawing upon the venerable human catalogue of symbolic forms – the eye, the halo – without making these references overt. Monaghan in short channels such workings of the eye and brain to energize the viewer’s experience of his art.

And it works. Monaghan’s pieces can be wildly dissimilar. His oeuvre includes many pure abstractions, such as round paint-speckled canvases, but also standing oblongs of white-painted wood sculptures upon which he will identify the black-painted shapes as lips. Likewise a found photograph upon which he has daubed thumb-sized blobs of white pigment and a gold canvas upon which he has collaged an Asian goddess. But all of it is absolutely unmistakeably the work of Todd Monaghan.

Anthony Haden-Guest by Todd Monaghan

His name is at once recognizable to any seasoned artist or collector as someone with an uncanny eye for art. Someone who cuts through all the BS that can sometimes clutter the perspectives and perceptions of the art world. Someone who tells it like it is, honestly and thoroughly. Anthony Haden Guest or AHG, as his friends refer to him, is a long-standing force in the New York Art Scene. AHG told me early on that he is not an art critic but in fact an art writer. In reality, he is so much more than that.

A British-American writer, reporter, cartoonist, art critic, poet, and socialite who resides in both New York City and London, AHG made his name by contributing to major magazines and penning several books on the art world. He won a New York Emmy for writing and narrating a PBS documentary about “Eurotrash,” rich immigrants who descended on Manhattan and the New York Art Scene in the 80s.

I met AHG many years ago at the annual MOMA Garden Party, an exclusive event that opens Armory week here in New York every year. While working out career frustration on the dance floor, AHG would be the first important voice in the world of art who I would get to know. We danced, he in his unmistakable dancing boxer step and me in my street, Capoeira-inspired style. It was funny, liberating and unforgettable all at the same time.

Over the years I came to know AHG as both a mentor and friend. His cartoons shine a bright light on the art world and its uncanny ridiculousness and humor. Over the years, AHG’s cartoons have become more fine-tuned and pointed. What makes AHG’s work so unique is that he lives and breathes the life of an artist and has done so for his entire long and productive life. Even now in his eighth decade, he is a constant figure out and about on the art scene.

AHG has an unmistakable and unique take on what it is to be an artist and to spend one’s life making art. He lives, breathes and dances it every single day of his life. He is my inspiration.

opening Thursday, August 22 runs thru Sept. 14, 2024

Summer of Love:

Annie Leibovitz and Layla Love

vintage Mark Morris at White Oak Plantation by photo by Annie Leibovitz printed by Jim Megargee

About the Exhibition: The “Summer of Love” exhibition joins ilon Gallery’s current exhibit, “Off the Grid,” curated by Loni Efron, and featuring the works of Anthony Haden Guest and Todd Monaghan. This captivating collection will highlight the artistic synergy between Layla Love’s evocative portraits of musicians and Annie Leibovitz’s legendary images of music icons.

Layla Love’s journey in the art world began with inspiration from Annie Leibovitz’s groundbreaking photography. After meeting Leibovitz in Brooklyn as a young artist, Layla was encouraged to pursue her passion for portraiture, a passion that has now come full circle in this collaborative exhibition. Layla’s work in this show explores themes of duality and connection, portraying musicians alongside their loved ones or in reflective moments.

Loni Efron conceived this exhibit after viewing portraits of Rickie Lee Jones by both Leibovitz and Love. The show will feature these side-by-side: Leibovitz’s masterfully crafted style contrasted with an intimate backstage moment captured by Love.

This marks Layla Love’s debut in showcasing portraits of musicians, including Pink, Pussy Riot, and members of the Graham Nash family, among others. For those unable to attend in person, the exhibition will be available online via Artsy, where additional works.

BOYZ FROM THE MUSEUM
featuring:
SCOT BOROFSKY
CHRISTOPHER HART CHAMBERS
LINUS CORAGGIO
AL DIAZ
KEN HIRATSUKA
RICK PROL

from April 15, 2024 - August 20, 2024

Ford Crull’s Sheilds from April 19, 2024 - July 20, 2024 at ilon Art Gallery

VOYEUR ARCADE
featuring
ROYCER AND MATT SIREN
February 2 - March 30, 2024

Judith Kaufman Weiner

Then and Now
January 1- January 31, 2024

EVE

November 2- December 31, 2023

FEATURING:
Edwina Sandys
Athony Haden-Guest
Ken Regan
Karen Kertesz
and Len Speier
______

welcome Clown Soldier

Temtation by Edwina Sandys

Funny Things, Joke….Not Always by Anthony Haden-Guest

Amber by Karen Kertesz

Ali by Ken Regan

ilon Art Gallery x Swopx

New York’s Future and past Art Legends

FEATURING ART LEGENDS
Layla Love
Al Diaz
Todd Monaghan
Brian Leo
Roycer
&
Anthony-Haden Guest

It’s all about NFT | September 20, 2023 | World Trade Center’s Oculus, NYC

New Works | Summer 2023

FEATURING
Layla Love
Al Diaz
Carlos Pinto
and Ken Hiratsuka

Wall of Smalls 2

FEATURING
Todd Monaghan

August 8 - October 1, 2024

Butterfly Effect Divine by Layla Love

As Seasons Rotate by Al Diaz

New York State Birds by Carlos Pinto

God’s Sake by Ken Hiratsuka

Wall of Smalls #2 by Todd Monaghan

3 Shows: Old Classics, Artist Tribute & New Works, June 2023

June 1, 2023 - July 20, 2023

Lynn Gilbert’s classics “Women” & “NYC 70’s Kids”
Todd Monaghan's “Tribute to Tadasky”
Brian Leo’s new works in “Eu·ca·tas·tro·phe”

Women by Lynn Gilbert

70 paintings by Brian Leo in Eu·ca·tas·tro·phe

Tribute to Tadasky by Todd Monaghan

T2 Kuwayama: Tadasky and Teru

March 24, 2023 - May 24, 2023

Featuring Father & Son:
Tadasky & Teru Kuwayama

by Tadasky Kuwayama

by Teru Kuwayama

NEVER GIVE UP 2023

January 13- March 10, 2023

FEATURING
Robots Will Kill
Duel
Early Riser
Ohio Mike

by Robots Will Kill

ABSTRACTED

September 9, 2022 until November 11, 2022

FEATURING A GROUP SHOW
Kurt Boone
Linus Corraggio
Al Diaz
Isabelle Ewing
Anthony Haden-Guest
Gail Albert Halaban
Todd Monaghan
Charles Osawa
Konstance Patton
Maggie Reilly
Judith Kaufman Weiner

Brain + Love +

by Ellen Sandor and art(n)

April 28 - June 25, 2022

An Exhibition of PHSCologram Sculptures, Virtual Reality Experiences and NFT’s,

View catalogue here.

Harlem, NYC – April 28th opened the latest in-person exhibition by Chicago-based experimental art collective (art)n. “Brain+ Love+” marks the group’s first solo show in three years with a sweeping survey of 15 artworks dating from 2001 to 2020, created with nontraditional materials and methods including VR experiences and Sandor’s proprietary PHSColograms–prototypical images of virtual reality invented in the 1980s. “Brain+ Love+” remains on view through June 25th at boutique art space ilon Art Gallery in Harlem, NYC.

After earning her MFA in Sculpture from SAIC in 1975, Sandor completed a commission for the first-ever large scale 3D postcard, re-focusing her existing neon and sculptural practice on more revolutionary media. Sandor founded (art)n in the early 1980s and perfected the methodology for PHSColograms, which digitally interleave views captured with photography, holography, sculpture and computer graphics to render scenes with iridescence and dimension. As PHSColograms and VR are necessarily collaborative endeavors, (art)n formally facilitates collaborations. Notable partners include Fermilab, Scripps Research Institute, and NASA Ames.

Time has transformed Sandor’s practice from an intellectual, vocational exploration into a deeply personal pursuit. Witnessing the AIDs epidemic, her friends’ struggles with cancer, and her own grandson Caleb Sandor Taub’s challenges with nonverbal autism inspired Sandor to harness her creativity and push scientists to see new angles in their own research. As such, (art)n has transcended the art making at their core by working directly with scientists in their labs to catalyze new directions in burgeoning research.

“Brain+ Love+” presents PHSColograms like “Crypto Biology: Reconstructing Identity” (2001) and “Brain + Love” 2010, shimmering and shifting as viewers navigate each work. “Pruning of the Neuronal Forest” & “Mighty Microglia” (2019) pair PHSColograms with sculpted frames, inspiring one of two VR experiences on an Oculus rift that transport viewers into (art)n’s visual universe–the depths of neuroscience. Six smaller PHSColograms from the early 2000s highlight Sandor’s collaboration with the late Chicago Imagist painters and outsider artist Mr. Imagination. Sandor continues this legacy by working with trailblazing women in STEM like Nobel Prize recipient Jennifer Doudna, Beth Stevens, Cynthia K. Thompson, Carolina Cruz-Neira and mentoring women in new media to be fearless with their life's work and pursuing their dreams.

ABOUT (art)n

(art)n is a tech savvy and scientifically-minded collaborative art organization and working lab space in Chicago, IL. Since its founding by Ellen Sandor in the 1980s, major themes (art)n has explored include breakthroughs in STEM and art, alongside visual history, art history and tolerance. The (art)n group primarily works with PHSColograms as immersive, backlit digital 3D photos, PHSCologram sculpture installations, and related VR experiences.

The works of Ellen Sandor and (art)n have been exhibited internationally and are in the permanent collection of The Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, International Center of Photography, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Victoria & Albert Museum, Fermilab, Smart Museum of Art–University of Chicago, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art–The University of Oklahoma, and private collections. Commissions include: The Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Jewish Heritage–A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, The City of Chicago Public Art Program, State of Illinois Art-in-Architecture Program, and SmithBucklin Corporation.

ABOUT Ellen Sandor

Ellen Sandor is a new media artist, and Founder/Director of the collaborative artists’ group, (art)n. In 1975, she received an MFA in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her MFA studies at SAIC led her to explore the relationship between photography, sculpture, and video art, while being inspired by the spiritual nature of Outsider Art. In the early 1980s, Sandor had the unique vision to integrate these elements with nascent art forms including computer graphics, resulting in a new medium she called PHSColograms–3D barrier-screen computer-generated photographs and sculptures.

Sandor co-invented U.S. and international patents awarded for the PHSCologram process. She co-authored published papers in Computers & Graphics, IEEE and SPIE. She is a recent Visiting Scholar of Culture & Society, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In 2014, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2016, she was awarded Fermilab's Artist in Residence. In 2017, she was honored by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for her longstanding commitment to integrating art and science. She is co-editor and contributor of the herstory book: New Media Futures: The Rise of Women in the Digital Arts, University of Illinois Press.

Sandor is additionally Chair of the Advisory Board of the Gene Siskel Film Center–School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Board Member, Governors for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and Life Trustee, The Art Institute of Chicago. She is Secretary of the Board of Eyebeam; Board Member, American Friends Musée d’Orsay; and Board Member, Fred Jones Museum of Art–The University of Oklahoma. In 2012, she received the Thomas R. Leavens Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts through Lawyers for the Creative Arts. In 2013, she received the Gene Siskel Film Center Outstanding Leadership Award. She is also co-founder of the Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Collection,

ABOUT ilon Art Gallery & Loni Efron

ilon Art Gallery opened its doors to create a space for artists and art enthusiasts to congregate over great art. Situated in a historic brownstone with rich original details, ilon art gallery is a boutique fine art gallery in the heart of Harlem, New York City. Debuting as a fine art photography gallery in 2014, the gallery opened fresh doors after a pandemic reset, refocusing its program on painting, street and outsider art. In 2021 ilon Art Gallery went virtual and added a storefront on Artsy. Always true to our roots while at the forefront of technology, in 2022 ilon Art Gallery’s NFT shop opened. At the gallery, Founder & Director Loni Efron has curated nearly two dozen exhibitions working with emerging and world renowned photographers and artists.

Efron has always recognized the importance of technology in creating art, as well as preserving it. Before ilon Art Gallery was ilon and Company, which started in 1996 with two clients–Annie Leibovitz and David LaChappelle, one of the first archive firms in the country. Adding new artists all the time, the roster has grown to include legends like Joel Meyerowitz, Robert Mapplethorpe, Mark Seliger and Keith Richards. Her mission remains; to preserve and monetize artists’ archives and create a legacy while always employing current technological solutions. As a software developer, Efron created iArchive database as a complete database archive solution for artists.

Efron has been a professional archivist and photo editor/curator for nearly three decades, working with the top artists, living and deceased. Please visit www.ilon.com and @loni_thearchivist on Instagram.