Flavorwire: Staff Picks: Petite Noir, ‘The Ghost Network,’ and ‘Black Spider Memos’

by Ona Abelis, Editorial Apprentice

Argentine painter Matias Cuevas plays with fire, and the result is glorious—as seen in his dramatic, eye-catching solo show titled The Fire in the Mirror that quietly opened at the Lower East Side’s Cuevas Tilleard Projects on Thursday (on view until June 28th). Partly the result of an epiphany Cuevas had in a hardware store and partly a nod to Cuevas’ classical training, the twelve paintings are a unique exploration beyond the traditional boundaries of medium. Using everyday items like buckets and household carpeting alongside acrylics and paint thinner (plus the aforementioned fire), Cuevas transforms a familiar texture (carpet) into a series of unexpectedly striking, polychromatic works of art.

Billabout: Chancing With The Stars

Pablo Picasso said the purpose of art is to wash the dust of daily life off our souls. By Thursday, most of us living in the world’s cultural capital start feeling a little dusty, which is why we suggest you wash your soul with some art (and a drink!) to celebrate the launch of independent pop-up gallery Cuevas Tilleard Projects. It’s the work of Australian Caroline Tilleard, a Melburnian in New York since 2009, and her American colleague Anna Maria Cuevas. When it comes to art, these ladies know the score: Caroline has both a Masters of Architecture and of Art History, while Anna Maria majored in Art History at Williams College. They both have day jobs at Skarstedt, a secondary-market contemporary art gallery on New York’s Upper East Side, but have teamed up to find the best and brightest young emerging artists through Cuevas Tilleard Projects. In curating a series of short-run exhibitions, they hope to squeeze their favorite collector friends, favorite artworks, and favorite artists into temporary spaces downtown for pop-up events. The first of these is ‘Chancing With The Stars,’ an exhibition of work by Matias Cuevas, Rob Davis and Max Warsh. The artists will be present at the opening party on Thursday night, so you can learn more about their work by discussing it with them, or with Caroline and Anna Maria. They love art even more than they love dressing up like Wayne and Garth.