For the 1000 DAYS exhibition, artist Mark Mulroney will present a new site-specific wall painting. The images shown are studies from the artist’s sketchbook in preparation for the new piece, which is being created at the Scion Installation Space in Los Angeles over the next few days.

The artist’s work is linked together by an unmistakable humor and graphic sensibility. Mulroney moves seamlessly through several types of media, including installation, painting, drawing and photography, not allowing any one medium to define his practice. Similarly, the artist freely selects pop-cultural sources to serve as inspiration for his works, pulling from magazines, cartoons, and advertisements. Synthesizing these sources with disconnected personal memories, Mulroney’s work results in an array of irreverent imagery infused with unsurpassed wit.

Mulroney is a graduate of Casino and Gaming Management Degree Program at Morrisville State University. This year, the artist has exhibited Follow the Nosebleeds with Mixed Greens in New York City and Wet With Glee at ArtSpace in New Haven, Connecticut. Mulroney has also participated in countless group exhibitions including works at Evergreene Gallery in Geneva, Switzerland, RAID Projects in Los Angeles and the National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, Poland.

All this week, DailyServing.com will feature the artists of 1000 DAYS: Selections from the DailyServing Archives, opening this Saturday May 23rd at Scion Installation Gallery in Los Angeles. 1000 DAYS marks the first curated exhibition for DailyServing, and celebrates a milestone as we quickly approach 1000 daily features. If you are in L.A this weekend, come out and celebrate with us!!

Artist, Michael Rea, creates large-scale, highly imaginative, technological objects out of obsessively constructed wood. However, the very material used renders the objects useless, opening a dialogue about a world of possibilities that simply can never be. The artist often utilizes fictitious objects related to pop-culture movies and television shows, allowing the work to recreate the essence of the object while forcing its reality to remain only a dream. The large, insensible objects construct an absurd story that couldn’t exist in real life, similar to the movies from which they are sourced, offering a sense of humor and wit that allows the work to be accessible and imaginative.

Mike Rea is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He recently completed a solo exhibition at The Co-Prosperity Sphere (C-PS), an experimental cultural center in Chicago, and participated in the Wisconsin Triennial at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Madison. The artist’s work was also recently acquired by the West Collection and will travel internationally though the SEI Investment firm.

Now on view at the Chicago Cultural Center is The Big World: Recent Art From China. The exhibition focuses on art in various media by approximately 20 artists living and working in China today. “The Big World” alludes to the vast, almost unimaginable scale of contemporary Chinese art in the international art scene, but the title also references a large and storied Shanghai amusement park. The attraction became a general reference for Shanghai and China’s urban centers to the East by those in Western rural China. Various aspects of the changing Chinese landscape and daily life are analyzed in this selection of some fifty works by artists who range from emerging talent to fairly celebrated international artists.

The exhibition examines contemporary Chinese art’s dissemination to the world and museums’ interest in new art from China. Unlike several recent exhibitions based on private collections from the United States or Europe, this project engages directly with the artists in China. Beyond the “super stars” of the Chinese art market, this exhibition highlights the emerging artists of significant artistic accomplishment, including: Bu Hua, Chen Bo, Jin Shi, Liu Bolin, Liu Ding, Liu Wei, Ma Jiawei, Qiu Xiaofei, Rong Rong & inri, Shi Yong, Wang Chengyun, Wang Qingsong, Wang Wei, Xiong Yu, Yin Xiuzhen, Zhou Liang, Zhou Tao, Zhou Wenzhong, and Zhou Yi.

Courtesy Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

Nicelle Beauchene Gallery in New York City’s Lower East side opened Ruby Sky Stiler’s first solo exhibition, High and Low Relief, on Saturday, May 9th. For the show, the artist has transformed the gallery into an attic space by shortening the headspace and installing distressed (and creaky) wooden floor boards. This altered space houses four of Stiler’s recent sculptures: An Earlier Vessel, A Second Hand Market, Stretch, and No Legend, all constructed of utilitarian materials such as foam, wood, nails, acrylic, and resin.

The converted gallery space reframes Stiler’s objects, which often evoke human attributes while referencing classical and authoritative art history. An Earlier Vessel, 2009, composed of acrylic gouache, archival foam core, and hot glue recalls red and black figure vase painting techniques from ancient Greece, but drips with thermoplastic adhesive. The juxtaposition of modern materials and classical iconography question ideas of authenticity, value, and historical accuracy.

Courtesy Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

Stiler received her B.F.A. from Rhode island School of Design and her M.F.A. from Yale University in 2006. The artist currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. High and Low Relief will remain at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery until June 14th.

On view at Salon 94 Freemans until June 13 is Marilyn Minter’s exhibition entitled, Green Pink Caviar. Minter is known for her interest in exploring the boundaries between high and low art. Not only does the work itself express this dichotomy, so does her method of exhibition, choosing to display her photographs on billboards and commercials, as well as in the gallery. Evident through her extensive use of erogenous zones as subject matter, Minter considers the body to be steeped in yearning and desire. Green Pink Caviar is a collection of photorealistic paintings and graphic photographs. Salon 94 describes the process, in which “[Minter] directed her models to lick brightly colored candy on a sheet of glass and then photographed them from the other side.”The glass sheet can be compared to a canvas, the candy as paint, and the body as brush.

Minter was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. She received her BFA from University of Florida and MFA from Syracuse University. Recently, her work has been exhibited at Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She has upcoming shows at the Contemporary Art Center Cincinnati, Regen Projects, Santa Monica, and La Conservera, Spain.

Last Thursday marked the opening of Adriana Varejao’s new exhibition at Lehmann Maupin, Two Paintings and Ten Drawings, which will run through July 10. The works in the show appear more subdued than many of her previous works, but don’t be fooled. After more consideration, the viewer is confronted with an exhibition full of art historical references and cultural histories. The lines and forms are reductive and analytical, recalling aspects of both minimalism and cubism. Her dynamism is reflected by her skill in many disciplines, focusing for this exhibition on painting and drawing. The works range in size from small graphite on paper pieces to the largest work, O Iluminado (The Shining), which is oil on linen. The architectural drawings of an otherwise sterile sauna are imbued with an emotion through color and light.

Varejao is one of the most significant contemporary artists to come out of Brazil. Born and raised in Rio di Janeiro, her work continues to be influenced by her experience growing up in South America. Her accomplishments include pieces in collections at the Tate Modern, London, Guggenheim, NYC, Hara Museum, Tokyo, and Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego.

Caleb Weintraub

Opening Saturday, May 23rd will be the exhibition 1000 DAYS, presented by DailyServing.com and Scion. The exhibition will take place at the Scion Installation L.A. Gallery in Culver City, California. 1000 DAYS celebrates a milestone for DailyServing.com as the online contemporary art publication approaches 1000 daily features. Since the fall of 2006, DailyServing.com has highlighted a cross section of contemporary visual art from around the world. Honoring this commitment, 1000 DAYS delivers an exciting mix of emerging talent, focusing for this exhibition on artists in the United States.

Christina Seely

1000 DAYS also marks the first curated exhibition for DailyServing.com, bringing together eight emerging artists. The exhibition will feature recent works by Caleb Weintraub, Chris Scarborough, Christina Seely, Julie Henson, Michael Rea, Mark Mulroney, Matt Phillips and Tivon Rice. These artists, all of whom have been previously featured on the site, work in a variety of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and new media. The diversity of the artwork in 1000 DAYS celebrates the myriad of influences utilized by visual artists today. Collectively, these artists address many of the major issues found in contemporary art, combining a range of conceptual and aesthetic elements while highlighting topics such as pop culture, technology, and current social issues, often through the lens of art history.

Throughout next week, DailyServing.com will highlight each artist featured in the exhibition and will present rare photos of the installation and images of the artist’s work. A full color catalog will accompany the exhibition.

1000 DAYS will be on view from May 23rd until June 13th, 2009.

Tivon Rice