LeVine, who started out with a humble Philadelphia gallery called “Tin Man Alley” that he opened with a $40,000 loan from his parents, has marked the occasion of his anniversary with with a group show (info here) featuring new and old work from artists like Eric White, Shepard Fairey (who the Trenton-born dealer launched), Parisian stencil-art legend Blek Le Rat, and Brazil’s Titi Freak.

ARTINFO spoke to LeVine about to see how he got to where he is today, where the the market for his art is trending, and whether he’s positioned to benefit from the forthcoming closure of Deitch Projects.

ARTINFO | Jonathan LeVine Gets No Respect :

So you’ve been here for five years. How do you feel about getting to this moment?
It’s actually my ninth year in business, but it’s my fifth year in New York. I started curating when I was 26, out of bars in New York. Maxwell’s,CBGB’s, Max Fish — that was the foundation of me opening my business. I’ve built my business from the day I’ve walked in. It’s a much different entity than it was five years ago.

How so?

Much larger staff, bigger space, more outreach. My artists are more high-profile than they were five years ago, people know who I am. I’ve had a lot of successes.

Perhaps because you‘ve been able to achieve such successes with street art, some peg you as more of a shrewd businessman than an inspired art connoisseur. Is there any truth to that?

I would say that’s completely untrue. It’s exactly the opposite. If I was a shrewd businessman, I wouldn’t be in this business. Anyone who knows me knows I’ve been involved with this before it was anywhere close to being what it is. Most dealers are shrewder than me. I come from an art background as a fine artist, I have two art degrees, I used to play music. I didn’t want to be a businessman. I happen to be very good at business naturally.

How would you describe your clients? Isn’t there a tendency in street-art circles to sell to people who are interested in design-driven areas like cartoons and toy culture but don’t necessarily know much about art?

That’s who a lot of other dopey street-art dealers sell to. I’m an old school dealer. And the collectors I sell to I’ve been selling to for years, and they’re very well educated. I’m not selling to Wall Street guys, I’m not selling to people with stupid money. I’m selling to people with taste, who are connoisseurs. They may not necessarily be the biggest collectors, but I do sell to big collectors, I sell to celebrities. But I don’t sell to those middle-American people. That’s what Opera Gallery does. That’s what the British market was doing. I don’t want to exploit my artists. The reason I do this is because I believe in this as a movement, and I believe it should be accepted into the art world just as much as anything else is.

What would you say to people who don’t consider your artists to be fine art because of their pop-culture approach and subject matter?

Well, that’s their opinion. The artwork that I represent represents a generational shift. The art market is like, “Oh this is cartoon work, it’s not serious.” Whatever. Murakami’s doing it, right? Jeff Koons is doing it, right? My generation, our generation, grew up on TV. Our culture is pop culture. They’re using this imagery because it’s their reality to access something deeper. It’s not that I’m selling a lot of art just because I’m shrewd, there’s a whole movement — it’s humongous, it’s international, and it’s a parallel universe to the fine-art market. My friends just had a show of Brazilian street artists at MASP [the São Paulo Museum of Art], in one of the biggest cities in the world, at one of the biggest contemporary art institutes in South America. They did it with young, living street artists and 300,000 fucking people showed up.

Continue reading at ARTINFO.

Jonathan LeVine Interview is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

The New York based design company, DBA was founded in 2008 with the goal of developing unique products that combine aesthetic strength, technical innovation, and ecologically effective principles. These biodegradable pens are a direct reflection of their unique design philosophy.

Comes in packs of 3 for $8USD at the DBA store here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

DBA 98% Biodegradable Pens is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

This time last year Umbro announced their collaboration with fashion designer Aitor Throup on a redesign of the England football team’s new away kit. Titled “Tailored by Umbro”, the new kit features a sleek minimal styling and a unique 3-panel construction designed with a utilitarian approach. The new England kit has now been released and can be purchased from the Umbro online store here.

DesignBoom recently interviewed Aitor Throup and Catherine Rees or Unbro about the project, giving great insight into the thoughts and and creation process of the kit. Take a look at the designboom interview here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Aitor Throup Interview | Tailored by Umbro is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Image: UC Hiroshima

Nike Sportswear x undercover x fragment design Match Classic HF is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

The Apollo 11 mission has been called the single most historic event of the 20th century: On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins met John F. Kennedy’s call for a manned Moon landing by the end of the 1960s. A decade of tests and training, a staff of 400,000 engineers and scientists, a budget of $24 billion, and the most powerful rocket ever launched all combined in an unprecedented event watched by millions the world over. And no one captured the men, the mood, and the machinery like Norman Mailer.

Illustrating this volume are hundreds of the best photographs and maps from the NASA vaults, magazine archives, and private collections. Many of them previously unpublished, these images document the development of the agency and the mission, life inside the command module and on the Moon’s surface, and the world’s jubilant reaction to the landing. This edition includes an original introduction by Colum McCann and captions by leading Apollo 11 experts, explaining the history and science behind the images, citing the mission log and publications of the day, and post-flight astronaut interviews

The 348 page Hardcover book is available for £ 27.99 at Taschen and also at Amazon.

Or if you have a few hundred thousand euros lying around, you can even consider buying the Lunar Rock edition (comes with a moon rock housed in a Marc Newson designed case) !!

Take a look at the images from the book below.

Make sure you take a look at the leaf-through of this amazing book here.

Norman Mailer Book | Moon Fire: The Epic Journey of Apollo 11 is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Available now at OiPolloi

Yukuten Spring/Summer 2010 Collection is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Thanks to Arrested Motion for the info.

Banksy vs. Robbo Continues is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Info: GQ

Maison Martin Margiela x Barney’s New York German Trainer is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Here is a look at part two of the VBS.tv feature of Spike Jonze Spends Saturday With… Opening Ceremony (Part 1 here.)
A very insightful look at what is possibly one of the best fashion retailers (and label) at present. The second part sees again great conversational interviews with the founders Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, in this episode about their work with Ace Hotel.

Spike Jonze Spends Saturday With Opening Ceremony – Part 2 is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Here is a look at an official video of JR’s much talked about “Women Are Heroes” Exhibition held last year at Île Saint-Louis in Paris.  Pasting photographed images of women from Africa on the walls along the Seine River. Definitely one of the best large scale exhibition we’ve seen.

JR: Women Are Heroes Exhibition | Video is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Here is a look at the Harvest by Haroshi: Skate and Destroy Exhibition we told you about a few days ago (here). Currently on show at plsmis gallery in Tokyo till the 27th. Haroshi creates a series of playful artworks making use of old skateboards and broken decks.

“Skate decks eventually see its life shortened by snapping, cracking and/or wearing out. Purchasing new decks is a never ending cycle and this was evident by the tower of old decks that were reaching to the ceiling of my room. We can’t throw away these decks because they hold sentimental meanings to us. I looked at these unusable decks every day and thought there must be something I can make with these.

I decided to make some accessories with the old decks and this was the birth of Harvest. The works of Harvest are through the perspectives of a skater and as an artist. As a skater, I want to take responsibility of reusing skateboards when they were no longer useable. Also, as an artist I want to explore the possibilities of what can be done with skateboards.

We see the care and effort that a skater can have for his/her deck and we also acknowledge the origins of a skateboard. We believe that if the small things we do can connect to sustainability then we’re doing something right. We’d be satisfied in our effort when people look at products and start thinking of ways to recycle.”

Take a look at the images from the gallery courtesy of Brandon Shegeta.

Harvest by haroshi Exhibition: Skate & Destroy Recap is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Info: houyhnhnm

Shanana Mil U.S. Navy Deck Parka is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Jonathan LeVine Gallery 5th Anniversary Exhibition
February 27th, 2010
529 West 20th Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY

Jonathan LeVine Gallery Five Year Anniversary Group Exhibition is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Currently on exhibit at plsmis in Tokyo is an exhibition titled Skate and Destroy by haroshi (Harvest). Making sculptures out of broken and old skate decks. The show will be on show for a week in plsmis gallery till the 27th of February.

“Skate decks eventually see its life shortened by snapping, cracking and/or wearing out. Purchasing new decks is a never ending cycle and this was evident by the tower of old decks that were reaching to the ceiling of my room. We can’t throw away these decks because they hold sentimental meanings to us. I looked at these unusable decks every day and thought there must be something I can make with these.

I decided to make some accessories with the old decks and this was the birth of Harvest. The works of Harvest are through the perspectives of a skater and as an artist. As a skater, I want to take responsibility of reusing skateboards when they were no longer useable. Also, as an artist I want to explore the possibilities of what can be done with skateboards.

We see the care and effort that a skater can have for his/her deck and we also acknowledge the origins of a skateboard. We believe that if the small things we do can connect to sustainability then we’re doing something right. We’d be satisfied in our effort when people look at products and start thinking of ways to recycle.”

More information on the exhibition here.
Take a look at an interview with Haroshi about this exhibition here (Japanese).

Make sure you take a look at our coverage of the exhibition here.

Harvest by haroshi Exhibition: Skate & Destroy is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Kaneko Optical worked together with nonnative to create a range of eyewear as a part of their Spring/Summer 2010 Collection. Over the years, Kaneko Optical has provided eyewear for many of our favourite Japanese labels the likes of Sophnet, Uniform Experiement, as well as being the parent company of the highly sought after eyewear label Tai Hachiro. Available now at nonnative stockists for 22,890 yen. Take a look below.

Kaneko Optical for Nonnative | Courier Sunglasses & Dweller Glasses is a post from: SLAMXHYPE