Urban Art Association

really looking forward to Colman's and Revok's releases, wish there was a bit more information about the future releases. I guess you don't have a choice but to play the hype game nowadays

Just received an official press release regarding Louis Buhl and their upcoming releases.


Newsletter / July 26 2017


We are pleased to publicly announce the launch of Louis Buhl & Co., a Detroit-based contemporary art gallery and project space highlighting emerging and mid-career artists. With a multidisciplinary focus on medium and scale, we are interested in the exploration and expression of collaborative projects with artists representing diverse points of view.

Louis Buhl & Co. will engage in a multifaceted approach to its programming. Its core mission is to aid in the facilitation and creation of new works, objects and multiples in an effort to democratize art collecting. The subsequent gallery space will provide opportunities for exhibition programming to further enhance the experience of viewing art in Detroit. Louis Buhl & Co. will also house creative projects and give artists a chance to explore new work with our support.

Detail of SAM FRIEDMAN'S Reed, 2017
"Louis Buhl & Co. was created as a platform for continued exploration and experimental exhibition programming that provides a resource for artists looking to push the boundaries of their traditional studio practice," said partner Anthony Curis. "We see this space as both complementary of and distinctly different from its associated gallery, Library Street Collective."

The work presented at Louis Buhl & Co. will allow artists to cultivate special projects and explore ideas in an environment that allows for creative flux and experimentation. We believe these projects will revitalize the space not just as a gallery, but as a place for our community to connect with art in an accessible yet contemporary atmosphere.

KARL WIRSUM signing an upcoming edition with Louis Buhl & Co.
Jordan Nickel (Pose) is a visual artist known for his inventive use of everyday objects, illustration and lettering within a contemporary aesthetic. His studio practice includes a wide range of paintings, objects and sculpture but he has been praised for the attention given to his prints and multiples. Jordan, also a partner in Louis Buhl & Co., understands the importance of this aspect of his studio practice and remarks: "As an artist, I am incredibly proud to be part of a business whose focus is as direct as enabling an artist's progression while extending the abilities of collectors. I see Louis Buhl & Co. as an opportunity to systematically ease the burden on artists and enable them to focus on the continued progression of their work."

Several projects are already underway with an exciting list of artists. As seen above, Karl Wirsum's work is characterized by visceral imagery and a surrealist quality that lends his figures a wonderful sense of movement. Wirsum, the founding member of the Hairy Who and the Chicago Imagists, remarks on his process, "I think about what part of the body it is [I'm drawing] and how I can make some association to it but bring a strong abstraction." The abstraction in these works often comes about as jarring movements or forms. The artist's attention to movement is not only evident in his figures, but in his ability to move between media as well. Many of Wirsum's pieces start out as sketches and become sculptures, or 'puppets,' so named because they are made to be positioned and repositioned. Karl Wirsum's zeal for figuration and movement shows through in his work, which we are proud to present at Louis Buhl & Co.

RICHARD COLMAN, Shame, 2017
Richard Colman's work is known for blending figurative imagery and bold geometry. Typically using symmetrical compositions, Colman explores thematically dark paintings using vibrant colors, often approaching subjects like sexuality, hierarchy, politics, religion, and conflict. In addition to the irony that the colors bring to Colman’s work is the setting they create for the figures who make frequent appearances. Colman creates a space for these figures to inhabit that is both integral to and separate from the artist’s view of our own world. In this way Colman simultaneously distances the viewer from and confronts him with the truth of his actions, as if holding up a distorted mirror.


JASON REVOK, Spirograph Edition in process
Los Angeles-based artist Jason Revok is currently working on two projects with Louis Buhl & Co. The artist's work explores deeply shared themes involving place and human experience using the very materials that make up the environment around him. Above is an image of one of his Spirograph works, which is a part of a series devoted to process and evolution. These works are conceptually driven, using materials and processes that emerge from both mechanical and phenomenological ways of thinking and working. There are only 10 unique works in the Spirograph Edition and each was produced on 60" aluminum panel.

JASON REVOK, Tape Loop, 2017
The image above represents a print edition based on another series of works from Jason Revok. Unofficially coined the ‘Tape Loop Paintings’, the paintings are driven by the work of avant-garde composer William Basinski, who in the 1980s set out to convert old easy listening tapes to digital but instead watched his cassettes break apart as they moved through the spool. He kept recording despite the interference and created an unprecedented series called The Disintegration Loops, where the music dissolves into bits before droning, interference and silence bring it to its end. Revok creates a similar effect though paint - imperfect concentric lines interrupted by diagonal composition - which he builds up through the methodological use of a paint roller coiled in tape. As the roller spins on the surface of the canvas, the tape shifts, tears and falls off. The result is a series of works that vibrate with intensity and this edition is a perfect representation.

Detail of BEVERLY FISHMAN's Color Study, 2017
Yet another exciting project in the works is a print edition by artist Beverly Fishman. Fishman is fascinated by our tendency as a culture to aestheticize the symptoms of disease as well the substances that cure it. From painkillers to antidepressants, pills for erectile dysfunction, obsession, anxiety, weight loss, and mood disorders, modern day medications have become the solution to every ill. In her most recent works, the artist appropriates the iconography of pills and tablets, giving them a glossy finish in order to demonstrate the potency of medicine and the advertising industry that supports it. Fishman, a celebrated figure at the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art, studied color theory at Yale and has explored its infinite implications alongside her decades of research into Big Pharma.

AJ FOSIK, Shadow Projection Release, 2017
For our opening project, we are excited to announce an edition with AJ Fosik, titled Shadow Projection Release. The edition draws inspiration from the artist's sculptural work, providing the characteristic dimensionality that he so often evokes. Shadow Projection Release explores the idea of beauty in the ephemeral, a theme that will appear in the artist's upcoming exhibition at Library Street Collective.

AJ Fosik is a Detroit-born artist whose use of intricate materials and bold colors lend his anthropomorphized figures an empathetic quality. His interest in folk art, taxidermy, and cultural rituals are clear and purposeful in his artwork and fortify the humanity that his figures communicate. Fosik’s sculptural works are hand-carved and painstakingly assembled in such a way that it is impossible to ignore their intricacy, and yet, the figures seem autonomous. The same attention to detail paid to the artist’s sculptures is applied the Shadow Projection Release prints.

AJ FOSIK, Shadow Projection Release, 2017
On the experience of working in print, Fosik remarks, “Obviously I work dimensionally so creating a faithful representation of my work in print form has always presented a unique challenge. When I decided on the embossing process for these prints I immediately recognized the potential, but the size and scope of what we wanted to do is way beyond what’s normally done with the technique. Fortunately I was able to find an amazing group of printers to collaborate with and I couldn’t be happier with the result.”

The process of creating the works for Shadow Projection Release was in a way its own ritual; much specificity and care went into the production of Fosik’s edition from the specialty printing process to the weight and weave of the paper. On the production of this work, Fosik’s assistants shared: “The design was flat stamped with a gold metallic foil on the initial pass through the press. The next step added the embossed, three-dimensional texture using a hand sculpted brass die with fiberglass counter surface. This brass die was carved by hand using reference images to gauge the desired effect. Finally, a fiberglass counter was created based on the die. Upon passing through the press, the print was placed between the two surfaces while intense heat forced it into the desired shape.”

We look forward to sharing AJ’s work with the community and beginning our mission to make art more accessible to the public. A Detroit native himself, Fosik is very excited to be involved in the upcoming project, and even shared that he has loved seeing “the transformation that is happening in Detroit right now.” The artists’ involvement in our upcoming projects and exhibitions are so valuable to us, and we are sure they will do much to strengthen the fabric of Detroit’s artistic community.

AJ Fosik
Shadow Projection Release, 2017
Foil Stamp & Blind Emboss on 130# Neenah Classic Crest Smooth Finish Epic Black
16” x 20” (40.64 x 50.8cm)
Edition of 150
$250.00

Click here to sign up for information on Shadow Projection Release by AJ Fosik. The edition will be available at louisbuhl.com on Thursday, August 3rd at 12pm EST. Follow us on social media for additional updates and announcements.

* Prints will ship after August 17th. They will be flat-packed in a crush-proof box to protect the three-dimensional aspects of each print.

All the pictures are here: mailchi.mp/34ac72c44305/louis-buhl-co-detroit-based-contemporary-art-gallery-and-project-space

Loving the look of that Sam Friedman print.

yes. It looks great, love that entire series of his. I've yet to hear any news re: edition size and pricing, UK import could sting on this one.. I'd expect this would ship flat too. 

Yeah looking forward to this one hopefully I can bag one.

Speaking of Revok, anyone interested in splitting the 4 print set at LSC? Love the image but don't want 4 and missed it when they were available as singles.

Big fan of Fosik, but prefer the more sculptural original works.