In just over a decade, the artists collective known as The Barnstormers has transformed dozens of buildings, walls and canvases across the country. In doing so, they have also transformed the way people view large-scale public art. The group formed in 1999 after a pilgrimage of 25 artists to the rural town of Cameron, North Carolina, where they painted barns, tractor-trailers, shacks, and farm equipment. It was a way to inject some color and new life to a previously abandoned building or piece of equipment. As their numbers grew, so did the Barnstormers’ projects. A 2005 project included the disassembly/re-location/re-assembly of a barn captured on video in a time-lapse flurry of activity. With their backgrounds ranging from graffiti art to classical painting, the members were able to create memorable murals, installations and videos in both secluded communities as well as major city centers. Improvisation, in spirit and practice, is the Barnstormer ethos.

This week, the Barnstormers touch down in New York, not for a collaborative project, but rather for a collaborative group show, exhibiting works by 35 of the group’s individual artists. The show will include both live installations and interactive exhibits, as well as sketches, paintings and videos highlighting a mix of street art and modern art. The goal is to showcase the diverse talents that make up the Barnstormers, and reveal a little bit of their unique, individual strengths and personalities.

The show runs until April 17th at the Joshua Liner Gallery at 548 West 28th Street in New York. The opening reception is this Thursday from 6-9 pm. Check out all the details on the flyer below:

- TC

Earlier this year we picked New York electro outfit LCD Soundsystem’s upcoming album as one of our most anticipated of 2010. Well if the anthem they debuted while performing at Yves Saint Laurent’s recent show at Paris Fashion Week is any indication, our selection will be more than justified. According to the band’s label, the song is a reinterpretation of “Beginning of The Heartbreak” a 1979 number by experimental composer Peter Gordon and The Love Of Life Orchestra. Coupled with YSL’s epic seventies-influenced collection, it’s also a sublime example of how the perfect song can elevate a fashion show to soaring new heights. Check out the video below.

-Daniel Barna

Join us for cocktails and music at the Rendez-Vous show tomorrow night. Details on the flyer below:

If you’ve never heard of Canadian artist Marcel Dzama, check out this wonderfully macabre video for freak folksters Department of Eagles‘ “No One Doesn’t Like You”. Notice the ghosts in the background? Pure Dzama. Now Montrealers can see the in-demand wunderkind’s work for themselves, as earlier this month The Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal kicked off Marcel Dzama’s largest solo show.

While the video he co-directed with Patrick Daughters introduced plaid-adorned scenesters to this artist’s creative mind, austere, tie-wearing curators and gallerists already had him under their radar. After moving from Winnipeg to New York to get closer to David Zwirner (one of the top contemporary art galleries today) in 2003, his pieces are now featured in the MoMA collection and have been shown at the Whitney Biennale and all over Europe.

So it is with some excitement that Montreal welcomes this solo exhibit. Dzama’a ghosts and soul-searching amputees are there, as well as his armies of Napoleon-like figures and mini skirt dancing terrorists. Presenting a multitude of his drawings, sculptures, dioramas, and collages, the show gives an overview of the artist’s signature style; works with a muted palette, melancholic figures and eerie scenery that very often hide uncanny topics charged with sexuality and violence. To all our readers in Montreal: this show is not to be missed.

Marcel Dzama: Of Many Turns runs until April 25.

-Chloe Roubert

Fashion bloggers-turned-super couple Scott Schuman and Garance Doré are in town this week for New York Fashion Week but they’re not just here to cover the shows and streeters. The two are teaming up for a joint seminar this Wednesday focused on social media in fashion.

Schuman, a veteran of sales and marketing for high fashion designers, is now better known as The Sartorialist, and runs a popular fashion blog. Doré, meantime, is an illustrator and photographer who’s also gained a loyal readership for her Paris-based blog. The couple will share their insights into how social media will change the fashion industry — a topic that might not even have been relevant as little as five years ago! The seminar takes place at Tribeca Skyline Studios Wednesday night from 7-8 pm, followed by a one hour cocktail reception. Space is limited and tickets may be purchased online HERE. More details on the flyer below: