NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 5, 2015) - The Quin, New York's Quintessential lifestyle hotel located at 57th Street and Sixth Avenue, will feature "Bill Mack: A Quin Arts Retrospective," from May 7-14 on the hotel's popular video art wall. Mack, an accomplished filmmaker, producer, and artist in his own right, has been integrally involved with the Quin Arts program since its inception more than a year ago. Serving as an "artist behind the artists," Bill has worked with each of the Quin's artists-in-residence to create original displays for the hotel lobby's video art wall. Mack begins with the artists' handpicked selection of photographs or paintings and translates these pieces into dynamic bodies of work that move across the 13-piece, 15-foot digital display, which is featured in the Grand Salon of the hotel lobby. Bill Mack has brought the Quin Arts video art wall to life with this interdisciplinary mash up -- a unique craft that marries technological dexterity with his keen aesthetic sensibilities. This exhibit marks the first full-scale examination of Quin Arts' founding year, showcasing collaborations with Elliott Erwitt and Magnum Photos, Eric Zener, CORNO, Blek le Rat, and Robert Christian Malmberg, as well as a look ahead to the upcoming exhibition featuring Wulf Treu, launching on May 14 during Frieze New York.
"Bill Mack: A Quin Arts Retrospective," launches at the Quin with an artist salon on May 7th hosted by Bill Mack, turning the spotlight on this prolific filmmaker himself. Bill began his creative career as an actor, starting with appearances on Sesame Street at the age of 3. He went on to become a regular on the soap opera All My Children and performed in numerous TV commercials. Bill studied film at NYU then went on to Yale University where he majored in Psychology and Film Studies. He produced and starred in the Student Academy Award-winning film Short Change in 1996.
Bill started a multimedia production company based in Harlem in the 1990's and for the next 10 years he produced films, developed websites, and managed ad campaigns for numerous startups, artists, NGOs and large corporations. He also supported independent filmmaking by hosting screenings of works in progress and teaching underprivileged youth.
Bill has also always had a passion for sports. In the mid 2000's he began playing ping pong avidly in the New York underground subculture. The inveterate entrepreneur started a pop-up tournament in Tribeca and two years later co-founded SPiN, Manhattan's ping pong mecca.
Since 2011, Bill has been running both his production company Cinomadic, and PIPS, a small table tennis bar / art gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He spends a portion of his time traveling the globe making videos and producing independent films. When here in New York, he can often be found either supporting the artist community or schooling someone in the art of ping pong.
Whatever role he is tackling, Mack earns the respect and gratitude of artists, colleagues, academics and industry veterans. Jon Andrews, a filmmaker and Instructor of Film Studies & Art at Yale University, commented, "Bill is the consummate artist and collaborator: a humble seeker of truth and beauty to whom idea and execution mean everything and personal gain and glory mean nothing at all. Bill lives every day with the artist's commitment to honesty and risk, and this commitment is reflected clearly in the authenticity and dynamism of his work, in all its forms -- from video installations to social spaces to feature films."
Artists with whom Bill has worked as part of the Quin Arts program were no less effusive. Photographer Robert Christian Malmberg commented on Mack's work in translating Malmberg's photos to the video art wall, "Bill made the experience easy and seamless. His ability to build creative presentations, problem solve, and collaborate on a technical level combined with his personable nature give him a humanistic edge that is so important. His recent digital presentation of my work featured a dozen high-resolution images of my collodion fashion portraits. These were warmly received by patrons and hotel guests!"
After Mack collaborated with legendary French street artist Blek le Rat during his 2014 exhibition at the Quin, Blek commented, "It was a great experience at the Quin and the result was really interesting in term of the impact on people. I was amazed to see my work displayed in this way. In three words 'I loved it!'"
After working with Bill for his Quin Arts exhibition, popular photo-realist artist Eric Zener said, "I've always liked video art and film so I was thrilled to have a chance to present my work in that format. Bill was great to work with, and moreover, great to collaborate with, given his creative ideas on presentation and installation. It gave the exhibition a great 'wow factor' that helped support the paintings and other work I created."
"Bill Mack: A Quin Arts Retrospective" takes a look back at the first year in the life of Quin Arts, in what has emerged as a dynamic program under the direction of curator DK Johnston.
Quin Arts has featured:
Magnum Photos, "Heritage" February 2014
Quin Arts' public programming launched at the Quin Hotel in January of 2014 with an exhibition produced in conjunction with the international photographic cooperative Magnum Photos and The Arts Fund, titled, "Heritage." The title was an appropriate one given the hotel's own artistic heritage. The immersive exhibit, including photography applied to the video art wall, celebrated what Magnum co-founder Henri Cartier-Bresson has called "a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on, and a desire to transcribe it visually." Heritage featured the work of photographers Burt Glinn, Erich Hartmann, Dennis Stock and Elliott Erwitt and was co-curated by DK Johnston and Gary Hoenig.
The Quin Arts team was honored that legendary photographer Elliott Erwitt was among those personally attending the artist salon launching the exhibition. Known for his iconic black and white documentary photographs, Erwitt has been awarded The Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship, and the International Center for Photography's Infinity Award, for Lifetime Achievement.
Eric Zener, April 2014
Eric Zener, a leading photorealist painter whose annual solo gallery show in Chelsea at Gallery Henoch has become a popular draw, was the second artist-in-residence for Quin Arts. In addition to hosting an intimate artist salon at the Quin, Zener created original art for the Quin's permanent collection and curated a dynamic display of some of his most renowned pieces for its video art wall during his residency.
Zener's mixed media work is produced through a process that involves mounting photographic transparencies of his paintings on a wooden box painted with iridescent pearl paint and then covering them in resin. Best known for figure paintings of subjects immersed in water, Zener's work celebrates memory, solitude, transformation and moments of suspension. The natural subjects of these paintings offer what Zener has described as a, "sanctuary... a break from the chaos of everyday life." The theme is appropriate for the Quin itself, which offers a refined refuge in the midst of the city.
While Zener's "Water" series was represented on the video art wall, he accepted a challenge from Quin Arts curator DK Johnston to display a different side of his work to patrons and guests at the Quin, and Zener's "Land" series was displayed in the drawing room and on lobby walls. The series reflected a compelling tension between the artist and the natural environment.
CORNO, "Creative Chaos" September 2014
In September of 2014, the Quin welcomed internationally renowned painter CORNO as artist-in-residence and launched the "Creative Chaos" exhibition. Co-curated by Channing Norton of MOCA Miami and DK Johnston of the Arts Fund, Creative Chaos opened with an invitation-only reception and artist salon at the Quin on September 17th. The celebrity portraits in the exhibition fittingly evoked a certain Warholian quality, and featured renderings of icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Kate Moss, Basquiat, and Warhol himself. While CORNO shares an inclination toward popular luminaries, she defines herself through the way in which she captures emotion from within. CORNO celebrates the enduring spirit of these stylistic visionaries and their singular approach to visual representation of complexity, independence, and individuality -- all of which are also synonymous with the artist herself. Such energy is evident in all of her pieces, and as with Warhol, New York City has proven to be a catalytic canvas.
The dynamic and fiery collisions of color, texture, and pop culture also commanded attention on the video art wall, as Bill Mack executed CORNO's work to thrilling effect.
Blek le Rat, "Escaping Paris" October 2014.
The Quin arts program took an exciting step forward in October of 2014, when Paris-based street art pioneer Blek le Rat arrived as artist-in-residence, in partnership with the New York Academy of Art. The exhibition, "Blek le Rat | Escaping Paris." curated by DK Johnston, featured 10 large-scale original Blek le Rat paintings, as well as an edition of 25 unique multiples and lithography the artist created at the New York Academy of Art during his tenure at the Quin especially for the hotel's exhibition. The ambitious exhibition of monotypes and lithography was the result of the artist's collaboration with the team at NYAA and launched with a reception and artist salon on October 8th.
Widely recognized as the "Father of stencil graffiti," Xavier Prou first rose to prominence under the pseudonym, Blek le Rat, in Paris in the 1980s. The rat, a symbol of the persistent spread of street art and an anagram for the word art, is an apt marker for the influential artist. Inspired by the early graffiti of the 1970s in New York City, particularly the work of TAKI 183 and UK transplant Richard Hamilton, Prou's iconic work rapidly spread throughout Paris and Europe. Today, Blek le Rat is celebrated globally and is credited for having paved the way for street artists such as Banksy, Shepard Fairey, and Kaws.
The Quin's permanent collection includes Blek le Rat's "Love America" on the 14th floor and loaned works from DK Johnston of the "Great Wedding" on the second floor in the Penthouse, and "What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen" in the Boardroom, and "Tango" in the Drawing Room. Most recently, the artist commemorated this collaboration on the Quin's façade with an image of Andy Warhol. "Andy Warhol" by Blek le Rat can be seen on 57th Street near Sixth Avenue.
Robert Christian Malmberg, "INcognito" March, 2015
Photographer Robert Christian Malmberg was Quin Arts' first artist-in-residence of 2015, launching his exhibition "INcognito" at the Quin with an artist salon and reception on March 5. Malmberg's distinctive approach in blending old world technology with contemporary subject matter has earned an international following for both commercial and fine photography. For INcognito, the fine photography and mixed media series curated by DK Johnston offered a colorful and dynamic assemblage of macro photography paired with iconic New York City street scenes. The limited edition prints were hand colored and toned by the artist especially for the Quin and sold-out rapidly during the spirited opening reception. The exhibit explored concepts of masculinity, femininity, good, and evil through 20 original prints blending photography with watercolor painting and eight large-scale prints on aluminum. Malmberg continued this study with eight images of the clothed human form, as examined through an antique lens and collodion camera, on the digital art wall.
A purist by principle, Malmberg rarely utilizes image-altering programs like Photoshop but rather employs high end digital, large and "mammoth" format collodion cameras, as well as Polaroid, Super 8mm, and medium format film cameras. His work has become widely recognized due to the slight, random "imperfections" associated with alternative mediums, which retain an old-world ambiance or atmosphere. Malmberg also held private portrait sessions at the Quin over a period of several days, which proved to be an engaging aspect of his residency.
About The Quin
The Quin, New York City's newest luxury lifestyle hotel is located on the corner of 57th Street and 6th Avenue. At the intersection of art, music, and fashion, its privileged Midtown location provides effortless access to Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, The Museum of Modern Art and Fifth Avenue couture. The Quin melds modern opulence with its rich artistic heritage in each of its 208 thoughtfully appointed guestrooms including 28 suites. Guests enjoy urbane and intelligent services, from the Attaché, who curate a guest's New York experience, to distinguished amenities like an Executive Boardroom, state-of-the-art Technogym fitness center, Apple equipped drawing room, Dux® beds by Duxiana®, Fresh® Spa Products and a two-story, 130-seat artisanal American seafood grill, The Wayfarer, showcasing a menu of fresh regional seafood. Renowned architecture and interior design firm, Perkins Eastman, has transposed a contemporary masterpiece on the classical foundation that was once home to cultural icons like pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski and artist Georgia O'Keeffe. Resonating with refined repose, the Quin is the Quintessential New York Hotel. http://www.theQuinhotel.com/
About Quin Arts
Quin Arts brings a global community of artists, patrons, and guests together through an ongoing series of culturally significant events, exhibitions, and performances. This multi-media initiative extends to a substantial permanent collection, along with an artist-in-residence program, digital displays on the lobby's 15-foot abstract video art wall, and intimate salons with participating artists. Curated and co-founded by DK Johnston, previous exhibits include Creative Chaos, a vibrant collection of new large-scale paintings by CORNO, an exclusive preview of Eric Zener's land series, which was exhibited at Gallery Henoch, and Heritage -- a collection of iconic photography from Burt Glinn, Erich Hartmann, Dennis Stock, and Elliott Erwitt, presented in partnership with Magnum Photos. Blek le Rat, the "Father of stencil graffiti," created a series of unique lithographs, collectively entitled Escaping Paris, at the New York Academy of Art for the Quin during his tenure as artist in residence. The artist commemorated his residency on the Quin's façade with an image of Andy Warhol. The Quin's permanent collection also includes Blek le Rat's "Love America" on the 14th floor and loaned works the "Great Wedding," "What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen," and "Tango," as well as original work from YZ, Wulf Von Treu, "the German Basquiat," and Patrick Graham, plus 15 new pieces from Bristol-based street artist, Nick Walker. Quin Arts has garnered critical acclaim in publications ranging from Forbes to Conde Nast Traveler and Harper's Bazaar Art and was nominated for the "Most Creative Collaboration" Award at LE Miami.
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