Last night was Jonathan Allen’s big solo show at the Lu Magnus gallery in the LES. JC Hallman was in town, & we met Adam Courtney & some friends at the gallery, where Amelia & Lauren had worked hard to put on an amazing show. Having published Jon’s work in book form, we brought along some BAP copies to sell. “Layer Cake” was my favorite of his new works. The top layer is comprised of cut-up dollar bills. I love it immensely:

 

Many people were intrigued by a large piece aptly titled “Behemoth,” seen below. Behemoth, Jon explained, was one of God’s monsters, more or less a pet, along with Leviathan. The word has many associations and connotations, of course, & in this piece takes on a socio-economical meaning, a stacking that amounts to a blockade, both over- & underdeveloped; empty, beautiful structures facing all directions; it reminds me of the favela shanty towns built up along Rio de Janeiro’s hills, the same where artist JR placed his faces.

You can visit Jon’s site at: JonathanAllen.org

Then we all went to a secret bar in the back of a closed art gallery (from the Home Sweet Home folks) & celebrated through the night, taking a break to grab tacos & some delicious high-end tequila. Saw some folks I hadn’t seen in a while, like the always vivacious Jason Colvert & the newly married Ed Berrigan. All-in-all a wonderful night.