I officially dub SWELL summer’s premiere exhibition, an impressive, three-gallery survey of "surf-themed art produced by city dwellers," three gallery New York show, curated by Tim Nye (of Nyehaus) and Jacqueline Miró. Work inspired by surf and beach culture from that of over 70 artists is on view at Chelsea galleries Nyehaus, Friedrich Petzel, and Metro Pictures, by members of the group of Venice Beach artists known as Light and Space and Finish Fetish, pretty much the bunch from the Ferus Gallery, while moving forward to today’s are artists related to surfing, the southern California coast, with a lot of strong ties to Venice in particular.  

“The show historically contextualizes beach culture and its poetic and freeing nature on the beat generation, Assemblage, Light and Space, Finish Fetish, and early pop art. From this group of California artists, works by Wallace Berman, George Herms, Bruce Conner, Llyn Foulkes, Ed Kienholz, Billy Al Bengston, Tony Berlant, Ed Ruscha, Laddie John Dill, Dewain Valentine, Peter Alexander, John McCracken, Larry Bell, Craig Kauffman, and Helen Pashgian will be on view.

“One of the main axes of the show is the obvious yet sensual relationship between Shapers and the Finish Fetish movement of the '60s. As the show focuses on two cities, LA and New York, it attempts to place the Ocean and its proximity to both cities as an antidote to a cacophony of quantities, speed and competing images. It also addresses how later generations of artists have looked back at assemblage, ephemera and graffiti as a way to either incorporate or reject the piercing presence of branding, advertisement, and information technology.

“SWELL is a state of mind, but it is also our way of understanding distant forces, the beyond.”

Barry McGee surfboard

George Hermes

Raymond Pettibon (left); Susanne Melanie Berry (right)

CR Stecyk III

Dennis Hopper

Ben Brough, Wet n' Wild

Gregory De La Haba

Jacqueline Miró, co-curator; Steve Olson, Buy Sexual; Randall Mesdon (below)

Tony Berlant, Esteban Bojorquez, and Bruce Connor

CR Steyck III and Ned Evans

Steve Olson

Steve Olson and Jacqueline Miró

Glen E Friedman and son Eszio

The complete list of artists “to blow your ever-lovin’ mind”:

Billy Al Bengston

Peter Alexander

Charles Arnoldi

Natalie Arnoldi

Jay Batlle

Larry Bell

Tony Berlant

Wallace Berman

Susanne Melanie Berry

Ashley Bickerton

Sandow Birk

Wolfgang Bloch

Esteban Bojorquez

Olaf Breuning

Casper Brindle

Ben Brough

Thomas Campbell

Vija Celmins

Bruce Conner

Ron Cooper

Peter Dayton

Gregory de la Haba

Laddie John Dill

Phillip Dvorak

Roe Ethridge

Jim Evans

Ned Evans

Jeremy Everett

Herbie Fletcher

Llyn Foulkes

Daniel Fuller

Sally Gall

Jim Ganzer

Chris Gentile

Joe Goode

Michael Green

Michael Halsband

Mary Heilmann

George Herms

Gary Hill

Paul H-O

Garret Holden

Dennis Hopper

Jay Mark Johnson

Craig Kauffman

Ed Kienholz

Kristin Jai Klosterman

Bill Komoski

Jeff Lewis

David Lloyd

Robert Longo

Cameron Martin

Sister Mary Corita

John McCracken

Randall Mesdon

Andy Moses

Ed Moses

Lindsey Nobel

Steve Olson

Catherine Opie

Claudia Parducci

Helen Pashgian

Raymond Pettibon

Ken Price

Blake Rayne

Rob Reynolds

CR Stecyk III

Thaddeus Strode

Robert Dean Stockwell

Fred Tomaselli

DeWain Valentine

John Van Hamersveld

Alex Weinstein

Chris Wilder

Timothy Williams

Brian Wills

Norton Wisdom

Ed Ruscha

Dirk Skreber

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