It would seem reasonable to conclude that Marco Brambilla wants us all dead. Not in the immediate ?I?m going on a violent, grotesque killing spree that would harm victim and loved ones all at once? sense, but more of the ?I?m interested in what humanity?s inevitable decline will look like.? The director of the 1993 post-apocalyptic ?Demolition Man? has shifted course over the last two decades into the formal field of visual arts, with video and photography works shown at the Guggenheim, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Kunsthalle Bern and the ARCO Foundation in Madrid. Brambilla enters uncharted territory again; this time, as creator of the first video artwork designated as an Official Selection at the 68^th Venice International Film Festival entitled ?Evolution?.

For one night only, the ten-minute film will be screened at the Sala Perla in Lido, Venice amidst an array of nineteen Out of Competition films selected by a distinguished international jury. The gravitas of Brambilla?s achievement, as the first and sole entrant producing a work of silent video art versus a scripted narrative, is alluded to even in the published opening statement by Paolo Baratta, President of the Venice Biennale. ?Technologies are in constant evolution,? says Baratta, ?with the spreading of digital and 3D techniques ? and the ways in which audiences experience cinema are constantly changing too.? No great irony there, as Baratta (wittingly or not) mentions the title, media and working techniques all fundamental to Brambilla?s entry.

The film is built upon a seamless flow of roughly 400 film excerpts, all reflecting humankind?s milestones in a grandiose, meta-historical fashion. Using the existing language of Hollywood?s versions of life, death, existence and destiny, Brambilla weaves a satirical tapestry of popular, cherished cinematic memory. The film made its initial debut during Art Basel Miami Beach last year, in an intimate poolside screening at the Standard. It was also included in a larger corpus of works from Brambilla?s solo exhibition ?The Dark Lining? at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. The enthusiastic response to the film can only be magnified now, as it ascends to a new level of global artistic mastery.

What?s most engaging is that Brambilla seems to retain a love and respect for his ?parent? profession in Hollywood, appropriating some of its most memorable tales to allow his own unique vision to surface. The satire seems neither bitter nor disparaging; rather, it appears to lightheartedly address the cycle of human existence from beginning to end (thoughts of our demise are miserable enough, why not throw in a few associations with favorites such as ?E.T.? or ?Star Wars? or Monty Python?) with a humorous lilt.

In every way, Brambilla casts humanity as a mere walk-on role in the cinematic epic of natural existence. With ?Evolution?, this extraordinary 3D moving montage renders us spectators and the spectacle all at once. Adding a bit of bravado and two decades of sincere pop-cinema appreciation, you can almost hear Brambilla call out: lights, camera, apocalypse!

Article by Shana Mason for XXXX Magazine

Opening its doors in February 2011 in Miami?s Wynwood Art District, the Robert Fontaine Gallery offers a unique selection of internationally established and emerging artists, centered around genres of Pop Art, Urban/Street Art (translated into portable edition format), and contemporary photography. The Robert Fontaine Gallery, in its mission to provide viewers with an engaging, vibrant contemporary program throughout the year, is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition in the US of British artist Nick Gentry.

Gentry adopts an approach to contemporary portraiture in the guise of photo-mosaic, in particular, using outdated or dissolved technological methods or objects. As a generation of young artists are stepping into the realm of ephemeral, mobile digital technology, individual elements such as VHS an cassette tapes, floppy disks and Polaroids become not only obsolete machinery, but memory triggers in and of themselves during their period of birth and subsequent death. This inaugural US solo exhibition will display Gentry?s contribution to contemporary art which comments on the rampant, irreversible path of human progression in dialogue with the life cycles of innovation.

Nick Gentry ‘Body Language’ (2011) Mixed paint and used computer disks on wood, 150 x 90 cm

At its core, Gentry?s work is a subtly aggressive inquiry into the technology leviathan: what happens to the people in the process of invention? The melancholy snapshots of Generation X act as a bridge between those faded personalities who had laid the foundations of present-day technology and the new consumers who may know of those antiquated objects only by rumor or a convenient browse on Wikipedia.

‘Base Jumper’ (2011)?Mixed paint, used computer disks on wood,?150 x 90 cm

Gentry is a graduate of Central St. Martins in London.?Notable exhibition venues include Art Paris, Verge Art Fair (Miami) and appearances at Bonham?s and Dreweatt?s Urban Art Auctions in London. International press for Gentry has included the Mirror, the Huffington Post, La Repubblica, Juxtapoz Magazine, Wired Magazine and the Wooster Collective. Gentry lives and works in London. Invicta Watch Group (having commissioned an exclusive model designed by Gentry) and Ocean Drive Magazine will act as sponsors for Gentry?s opening reception to kick off the contemporary art season in Miami.

The Robert Fontaine Gallery is located at 175 NW 23^rd Street in the Wynwood Arts District in Downtown Miami.

Photos courtesy of Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami

Miami has earned a reasonably steadfast reputation as a designer?s heaven; with the Design Center of the Americas stationed in Fort Lauderdale, the Miami Design District (which continues to expand both in size and scope) located in Downtown Miami and more than fifteen publications exclusively dedicated to interior and applied design, it?s difficult to miss the signposts.

There?s a continuous struggle, however, to successfully meld the fields of fine art (pointedly manifested from a creative source transcending ?practical? or ?utilitarian? efforts) and design without one overpowering the other or, worse, the entire operation turning into the safe (but monotonous) tones of IKEA. In Miami, especially, as fine art is just beginning to make its international presence known outside the auspices of Art Basel Miami Beach, such an endeavor is equivalent to walking a tightrope set on fire.

So either Dmitry Prut, director of Avant Gallery in Miami Beach, has the cooling touch which manages to tame art and design seamlessly into a single space, or he?s a masochist. ?I think our uniqueness lies in that our concept is very different,? Prut says, ?it?s a special hybrid.?

Dmitry Prut, Director of Avant Gallery

Formerly located at the edge of the Miami Design District, Avant Gallery will officially open its location across from the W and Gansevoort South Hotels in South Beach in time for Art Basel Miami Beach this December. ?We?ll be back in the Design District in early 2012, when our bigger and more centrally-located space is ready,? Prut notes, ?our Miami Beach outpost will take us through Art Basel, making it more accessible.?

CubeWorks by Josh Chalom (installation view) ‘Falling Apart’ (2010) 50″ x 56″

Avant?s contemporary art roster is a diverse circus of maverick Pop and Urban art forms: representing young and emerging talents such as Alec Monopoly, Alejandro Vigilante, Arno Elias and the Toronto-based CubeWorks collective. As for design, Avant holds the distinction as one of the sole distributors of the Airline 009 Chair, designed by Cory Grosser exclusively for Walt Disney Signature, as well as other eye-ticklers such as Dal??s Leda Chair (part of the Dal? Furniture Project) and the futuristic Hi-Can high fidelity canopy bed by Edoardo Carlino.

Arno Elias ‘Bardot Escape’ (2011) Mixed media on dibond, 48″ x 48.”

How does this glorious?madness come together? ?We?re always evolving and keeping up with that I think will be in demand,? Prut says, ?and hopefully,?half the time, I am right. I?m happy to see our growth and diversification in our programming, such as adding a street art element with Alec Monopoly as well as something on the opposite end of the spectrum, exemplified with the re-launch of Walt Disney?s favorite chair, the Airline 009.?

Avant Gallery will keep walking the burning tightrope straddling art and design, and with the momentum already achieved, there?s certainly further surprises in store as the busiest months of the year descend upon the ?Magic City.?

Alec Monopoly ‘Running America’ (2011) Acrylic on vintage American flag, 26″ x 52″

Photos Courtesy of Avant Gallery, Miami

In the global cultural imagination, Miami doesn?t immediately come to mind as a destination for the summer. Too hot, too empty, and still too hot well until October or even November, right? Wrong.

The Wynwood Arts and Miami Design Districts hosted their monthly contemporary art smorgasbord known as Second Saturday this past weekend. Notably, the exhibitions on view were as well-presented and intellectually stimulating as those constructed for the discerning crowds during Art Basel Miami Beach. More importantly, this particular Second Saturday demonstrated that the quality of Miami?s galleries and their respective programs have not diminished during a non-seasonal period. In point of fact, specifically in the last two years: they never lessened at all.

Installation view, ‘Mayami Son Mach?n’
Courtesy of Gallery Diet, Miami

?We decided to hold our openings on an earlier night, but this doesn?t mean that we?re not excited about Second Saturday,? said Gallery Diet director Nina Johnson, ?it?s a different crowd, but we love the diverse viewer base.? Her space was filled with multimedia works organized by Guatemala City-based Proyectos Ultravioleta in a show cleverly entitled ?Mayami Son Mach?n? (referring to three individual words roughly translating into ideas regarding Miami as a tourist/immigrant destination, the undertones of Latin music in a sexualized context, and the changing modes of Latin masculinity. Of course, Gloria Estefan?s band is the phonetic reference.)

Jorge Chirinos Sanchez?’Untitled’ (2011)
Mixed media on paper
Courtesy of Black Square Gallery & CS Gallery, Miami

Next door at the Black Square Gallery, director Anna Milashevych presented new paintings in collaboration with the CS Gallery (North Miami) from their director Jorge Chirinos Sanchez?s solo show ?Twenty Eight.? Sanchez displayed a raw, sensuous energy in his portraits which seemed to reveal a fashion-inspired sensibility: a reflection of beauty delivered frantically through the paint.

Joseriberto Perez ‘Birdman’ (2011)
Acrylic and oil on canvas
Courtesy of Butter Gallery, Miami

A steady stream of viewers filed into the Butter Gallery, directed by local favorite Francisco ?Paco? de la Torre. Joseriberto Perez?s solo effort, ?Which Way Is Up?? gave off a quiet, almost Minimalist vibe with his abstract compositions. Perez?s technical skill is easily visible (which might have something to do with his first-class training at the Art Institute at the University of Chicago). Neatly presented and thoughtfully executed, Perez?s generously layered surfaces was pleasant and powerful all at the same time.

The Fredric Snitzer Gallery hosted a nostalgic tribute to, arguably, the father of installation art Kurt Schwitters and the revolving project inside his family home known as the Merzbau.? A?veritable Dada-ized exhibition space, Schwitters and his colleagues reworked Merzbau over a decade (1923-33) until it was destroyed by the Allied bombing raids in 1943. Snitzer?s own artists including Michael Vasquez, Bert Rodriguez and Jos? Bedia imagine a new creative space in ?Merzbau ? Now.?

Installation view (Mette Tommerup and Troy Abbott)?’Home: Dream Home’
Courtesy of Praxis International Art, Buenos Aires/New York/Miami

Orchestrated by Praxis International Art and local filmmaker Grela Orihuela, ?Home: Dream Home? was part fun-house, part haunted-house in a rich tapestry of works identifying, problematizing and reconciling the concept of the ideal living space. Ably populating the large warehouse were works from locally-celebrated artists who collaborated to create a home, which is pointedly meant to feel not so cozy.

Antonia Wright?’I Scream, Therefore, I Exist’ (2011)
Film still?Courtesy of Dorsch Gallery, Miami

One last note is for the Dorsch Gallery?s closing night of ?Noise Field,? curated by former assistant director Annie Hollingsworth. As usual, the hypnotic vibe of past Dorsch shows pervaded the space with works that crossed, violated and submitted to the borders of discernible language and communication methods all at once. Using light, film, painted, drawn and installation works to transmit ideas about speaking, reading and signing, the exhibition held on tightly and didn?t let go until the doors closed at 10pm.

The Pavement and the Beach Exhibit

Paradise Row Gallery

74 Newman Street
London W1T 3DB

8 July- 13 August

‘Sous les pav?s, la plage’

The group exhibition includes a range of works by twenty-three artists, including the exhibition?s curators, Guillaume Paris and Mick Finch. Among the artists present in the exhibition are the galleries longstanding artists, Margarita Gluzberg, Shezad Dawood and Mounir Fatmi - all of whom have exhibited their works in Paradise Row on a number of occasions. Nick Hackworth, Paradise Row?s founder, procured the title of the summer exhibition from a section of graffiti he found?scrawled on a wall in the central quad of University College London during the recent education protests in London. The phrase, he recalls, ?re-appeared in a ghost-like manner? having originally been used forty years earlier in France, May 1968, on a Parisian shop wall during the largest student protests in history.

The both thought-provoking and cynical phrase, Sous les pav?s, la plage - ‘Beneath the pavement, the beach’ acted as the starting point for the exhibition. It crucially defines an historical moment in history which can be seen to echo in society today.

The significance of the phrase lies within the dichotomy it sets up between the ?pavement,? and ?the beach.? On one side it brings to surface the critique of a society so exhaustingly contingent upon the manufactured world of power, efficiency, subjugation, work, consumerism and regulated thought which deposit on the symbolic ?pavements.? The nationally and internationally eminent image of Queen Elizabeth II?s head, present in Finch?s piece ?Constellations 3,? alongside the ransacked supermarket shelves in Jean-Michel?s piece ?Super #1,? provide subtle critiques of this aspect of society. In contrast to these pieces, the bold slogans present in Guillaume Paris? ?Kids? and Steven Le Priol?s ?Yes We Can? stand out as forthright propagandist works with a critical message against the exhibition?s metaphorical ?pavements.?

On the other hand, the exhibition?s ?beach? stands for the opposing utopian world of radical leisure, freedom and imagination. The task set up for the artists is to attempt to regain or draw on the notion of freedom wrapped up in the metaphorical ?beach? by provide critique of the causes of its loss. As the exhibition?s description point out, ?The sphere of leisure and entertainment has become an arena in which power insidiously dreams itself into new disciplinary forms.? Whether engaging with the phrase directly or with a symbolic approach, the exploration of perceptions of capitalism lodges itself in the forefront of the exhibitions aims. Each artist approaches the subject in hand from their own individual standpoint. To this end, as Nick Hackworth states, the accumulative collection of works ?leaves the viewer to decide whether or not the artworks succeed.?

Forty years on from the unprecedented protest events of ?68, Mick Finch and Guillaume Paris, place a political frame around the works of art present in the exhibition. In doing so, they work with the Situationist International belief that all artwork must have a political agenda. The exhibition reflects on the historical shift that has undercut the utopian hopes encapsulated in the slogans of May ’68.

?The Pavement and the Beach? will run from 8^th July to 13^th August.

Eltono, Espacios Flexibles in La Qui?onera

On June 30th, 2011, the exhibition, ?Antes de la Resaca? opened at MUAC (Museo Universitario de Arte Contempor?neo de M?xico DF). The retrospective exhibition of Mexican art focused on re-installing back into contemporary society the creative spaces and innovative and radical proposals put forward by Mexican artists during the 1980s and 90s. Legendary art spaces such as, La Qui?onera, Temistocles 44, and La Panaderia sought artistic experimentation and collaboration amongst artists to create public dialogue which reach beyond the local. Artistic institutions were introduced to develop a sensitivity, openness and attentiveness towards the new artistic vocabularies that were surfacing. Collective and community art programs established the production of minimalistic and conceptual art. At the time, many members of society scorned such institutions with distrust.

Since the 1980s, La Qui?onera, has remained one of the most emblematic spaces of the Mexican art scene. Located in Coyoacan, in the south of Mexico City. The house, with its rambling construction and gardens, have both hosted and inspired multiple creative experimentations from diverse and well-known artists. This independent space is still providing a platform for artistic works that involve a conscientious posture and critical analysis of the social and political problems in Mexico City and beyond. ?It acts as an area where political and social expression can be harvested and released as an art form.

Curators initiated the exhibitionat MUAC as a means for reassessing and re-appreciating the work produced by a particular group of artists and the extent to which their work during the 80s and 90s has played out on and affected contemporary art in Mexico. Included in the exhibition are Mexican artists such as Francis Alys, Gabriel Orozco, Teresa Margolles, Grupo Semefo, M?nica Castillo, Boris Viskin and Gabriel Macotela, as well as iconic Mexican bands such as Santa Sabina & Caifanes.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Nestor Qui?ones organized the show ?Espacios Flexibles? in collaboration with Anonymous Gallery (New York) and La Curtiduria (Oaxaca) to give continuity to La Qui?onera as an exhibition space in parallel with the MUAC program.

Renowned public space artist, Eltono was invited to participate in Anonymous Gallery?s first public project in Mexico City. Working since 1989, Eltono has exhibited his art around the world in cities such as San Paulo, Paris and Korea. His unique affinity for unuasual, often abandoned, materials gives his work absolute freedom. Deriving his abstract, often colourfully geometric style from classic grafitit writing, Eltono has developed a unique form of abstract minimalism which has led to his involvement in outdoor projects at galleries such as the Tate Modern in London and the Liverpool biennial as well as showing his work in 12 countries. His artistic ventures are triggered by the impulse to emphasise the gaps in public spaces, counteracting and subverting advertising signs and posters which he views as being imposed on society by force. His painting, in contrast, promotes a ?kind of visual rest? ? they exist within an aesthetic state of compositional harmony. Eltono wishes to push the boundaries of mass communication.

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Emma Corbett for XXXX Magazine

FACTORY ? PROJECT

JULY 8TH

PRESENTED BY WEST LONDON ART FACTORY & GRAFFIK GALLERY

6PM – 10:30PM? RED BULL STUDIOS,155-171 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2JP

A NIGHT OF CONTEMPORARY ART EXTRAVAGANZA, ENTERTAINMENT & A CHARITY AUCTION

FEATURING A VIDEO ART INSTALLATION BY?INDIRA CESARINE of XXXX MAGAZINE

LIVE PAINTING BY ARTISTS: STIK ? FIN DAC ? BEN SLOW ? COSMO SARSON – MAC1 ? DANIEL EMO

AUCTION FEATURING CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS:

INKIE ? MILO ? JEWEL ? JOANNA SCISLOWICZ ? ATA ? BELINDA FRIKH ? STUDIO PHILLY ? DS ? LAURA TINALD ? LEEKS ? ALEC
MONOPOLY ? LUCY SPARROW ? DREW & ELI ? AMAR STEWART ? GEORGE MORTON -?CLARK ? CARNE GRIFFITHS ? OTTO SHADE ? ZEUS

AUCTION PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT THE “PAINTINGS IN HOSPITALS” CHARITY PATRONED BY THE PRINCE OF WALES

Paintings in Hospitals is dedicated to reducing sickness, anxiety and stress, through the display of art, in healthcare facilities across the UK. Our charity improves the clinical outcomes of patients by offering healthcare facilities access to a diverse art library and specialised artist-in-residence services.
Art displayed in clinical environments can improve the outcome of treatment and the well-being of staff and the general public. The work of our charity supports the lives of many thousands of people each year by bringing interest, warmth and colour into clinical environments which might otherwise appear cold and sterile.?Paintings in Hospitals receives no regular public funding and relies on grants and donations to continue its services.

6PM – 10:30PM

RED BULL STUDIOS, 155-171 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2JP

AFTER PARTY

THE HOSPITAL CLUB: 24 Endell St, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9HQ

For More Information or to RSVP for the event please email: EVENTS@XXXXMAGAZINE.COM

On June 13th, Valentino sponsored the Junior Spring Benefit for the Lincoln Center?Institute for the Arts in Education. ?The event, chaired by Rightor Doyle, Mamie Gummer, Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan and Lily Rabe took place on the rooftoop of the Gramercy Park Hotel, and featured a sit down dinner followed by a special musical performance by Karen Elson as well as tunes by DJ?Chelsea Leyland.

The Lincoln Center Institute brings ?brings dance, music, theater, and visual arts from diverse cultures into public school classrooms across the curriculum.??and uses it to teach kids important skills like imagination and critical thinking.

The event was attended by a hit list of young talent including ?Zoe Kazan, currently starring in?A Behanding in Spokane; Lindsey Lohan,?Mamie Gummer and her fianc?, Benjamin Walker, who’s stars in?Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Nina Freudenberger, Lily Rabe, who’s currently in rehearsals with Al Pacino for the Shakespeare in the Park production of?The Merchant of Venice, Actor Paul Dano,?as well as XXXX Magazine contributing artist Andrea Tese among many others.

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Event Coverage by Indira Cesarine

Photography by Jeffrey Gamble exclusively for XXXX Magazine

AOL and Friends of the High Line invited XXXX Magazine to the opening celebration on?Tuesday, June 7, ?2011?of High Line Section 2 and the exclusive preview of Rainbow City, an interactive public art installation of vibrant air-filled sculptures. Created by Friends With You and presented by AOL, the event took place at the 16,000 square foot outdoor space at 30th St. and 10th Avenue in Chelsea.

The High Line, once an above ground feight railway up the West Side of Manhattan, lay unused for decades before the Friends of the High Line formed and began petitioning to reclaim the space. After nearly ten years of working to convert the High Line into a public park, the High Line is now open to the public.

To celebrate the success of the complete opening of the park, Friends With You brought their brightly colored scuptures to New York City. Friends With You is a collective that specializes in creating playful and imaginative larger-than-life worlds. The two founders, Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval from Miami created a playful inflatable garden in New York City that invites guests, both adults and children to enjoy the lighter side of life, and according to Sandoval and Borkson, to reach a euphoric and “spiritual” realm through the return to play. Each piece can be bounced, bobbled, or at times, even entered.

“Built for adults and kids alike, FriendsWithYou has created a set of minimalist forms that borrow aesthetics from toy-like geometry and design, with each element towering over guest at heights from ten to forty feet. The space will be open daily, free to the public, and will create a unique summer destination spot for New Yorkers, students, and tourists alike. Additionally, Rainbow City will serve as the site for a variety of educational programs, organized by AOL and FriendsWithYou, geared toward developing children’s creativity and engagement in an artistic environment. AOL’s support of the High Line and partnership with FriendsWithYou is the latest affirmation of AOL’s commitment to empowering creativity and engaging the community.”

The Lot and Rainbow City are located at 30th Street and 10th Avenue.

Open until July 5, 2011, you can view the installation during the following hours:

Mon – Wed: 11AM to 10PM
Thurs – Fri: 11AM to 11PM
Saturday: 11AM to 11PM
Sun: 11AM to 11PM

In Chicago, Illinois on June 2, 2011, a spectacular golden textile, conceived and created by Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley in Madagascar from silk thread collected from over one million Golden Orb spiders (Nephila madagascariensis), was the breathtaking highlight of a special preview and dinner party at the Art Institute of Chicago last night, to celebrate the opening of the new galleries of African art and Indian art of the Americas.

Hosted by the Art Institute’s President and Director James Cuno, Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley, the inaugural celebration was attended by museum trustees, curators, notable Chicagoans and other luminaries of extraordinary achievement including philanthropist Marjorie Benton, powerhouse couple Eric and Cheryl McKissack, Chicagoans of the Year Ernest Wong and Gunny Harboe, pre-eminent architect Ronald Krueck, marketing guru Denise Gardner, Dr. Anita Blanchard (who delivered President Obama’s children), art dealer Douglas Dawson and notable art historian and film maker Susan Vogel, who produced a series of two-minute, three-channel projections to complement the African art collection in the new galleries. New Yorkers Lady Liliana Cavendish, Geraldine Paz, Maya Stendhal and Susan Shin rounded out the exclusive guest list.

Guests enjoyed Gossamer Dream champagne cocktails and delectables by Bon App?tit, against the backdrop of the Morton staircase as they previewed the spectacular Spider Silk textile before the new galleries open to the public and before a seated dinner. Event designers Morgan & Heffernan transformed the Trustees Room in the Modern Wing, by suspending webbed scrims bathed in gold light which cast patterned shadows on the amber lit walls and configuring diagonally, the long dinner tables which were adorned with bespoke light boxes covered in gilt filigree and Gloriosa lilies in slanted mini-vases, interspersed with tendrils of burnished gold painted ferns and fronds — all evocative of spiders and their webs. Philippe Starck ghost chairs completed the sleek and yet rich atmosphere, an apt metaphor for the interdisciplinary nature and universal appeal of the unique Spider Silk textile.

Nicholas Godley, co-creator of this remarkable work of art mused that “it is art, fashion, culture, anthropology and science. What one object can encompass all those things?” Co-creator Simon Peers added, ” … imbued with metaphor and poetry, with nightmare and phobia, with tales and myths that resonate within us all, the Spider Silk textile encompasses an extraordinary history with contemporary resonance, embodying diverse meanings and associations that inspire and fire the imagination.” On that front, a wonderful surprise awaited the guests, as the artists unveiled a stunning satin Spider Silk opera scarf created specifically for the opening celebration – providing a visceral experience that thrilled everyone who touched the delicate and yet incredibly strong cloth, with tassels that were slightly sticky to the touch, evincing more than a frisson of awe. The only other existing piece made of spider silk is the shawl which was made for the debut of the Spider Silk textile at the American Museum of Natural History and which now is part of an exhibition organized by Fondazione Giorgio Cini on San Giorgio Maggiore during the Venice Biennale.

Drawing upon an eccentric and little known history of attempts to use the silk of spiders in weaving that began in?early eighteenth-century France and then evolved in places as distant as Paraguay and Madagascar, Mssrs. Peers and Godley have revived and reinvented the process of collecting and carefully extracting by hand the lustrous, golden- colored silk from living spiders, which are then released into the wild. It took almost 5 years and thread from more than a million spiders for the artists to create this dazzling brocaded textile that is hand woven with the beautiful motifs and patterns of historic royal weaves from highland Madagascar. To imagine a cloth made from the gossamer threads of spiders has long been the stuff of dreams and fairy tales. Mssrs. Peers and Godley have taken the impossible from the realm of myth and turned it into the warp and weft of a unique and fabulous cloth. This extraordinary work of art casts its own spell and fascination on the viewer, leaving no one indifferent.

Having completed a very successful showing at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where it was regarded as one of the most popular stand-alone exhibitions in recent years, the Spider Silk textile is on special loan to the Art Institute and will be displayed in Gallery 137 from June 3 through October. It will be the last opportunity to behold this extraordinary textile before it leaves the United States.?Often referred to as the “8th Wonder of World” the Spider Silk textile will be exhibited next at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London beginning January 2012.