kevin Berlin sex & drugs new Y ork

kevin
Berlin
s e x &
drugs
n e w Y o r k
Du 4 au 15 Septembre, 2001
G a l e r i e Fa Ç a d e
30, Rue BeauBouRg, 75003 PaRis, FRance

On Cover :
“Berlin, with innocence, has nailed the robot gray
future. Disco Babbits smile, giggle, sulk, tinkle and
disappear into the (cocktail) crowd. Berlin, 2001
soylent green, NEW YORK CITY all-nighter Dawn
Patrol. ahhh in the cement wastelands of density &
stress, heart disease, cancer, aids, territorial neuroses
& separation of the sexes - good luck celebration city.”
The Velvet Rope, 2001, oil on canvas, 90 x 95.5 in.
Le Cordon Rouge, 2001, huile sur toile, 225 x 239 cm.
Peter Beard
July 17, 2001, NYC
“Avec innocence, BERLIN, a crucifié l’avenir gris et
robotique. Les ‘Babbits Disco” sourient, gloussent,
trinquent et disparaissant au milieu d’une foule, d’un
cocktail. La patrouille NEW YORK CITY 2001 de
Kevin Berlin, ‘soylent green,’ des nuits blanches jusqu’a
l’aube. ahhh au milieu du béton, de la pollution et du
stress, des maladies cardiaques, du cancer, du sida,
des néuroses territoriales et de la séparations des sexes
- Bonne chance ville festive.”
Peter Beard
17 Juillet, 2001, NYC

The Emperor’s New Clothes II
oil on canvas, 2001
90 x 95.5 in.
Le Nouvel Habit De L’Empereur II
huile sur toile, 2001
225 x 239 cm.

The Private Collection
gouache on handcut paper, 2000
19 x 53 1/4 in.
La Collection Privée
gouache sur papier, 2000
47.5 x 133 cm.

The Nonsmoker
oil on canvas, 2001
60 x 84 in.
Le Non-Fumeur
huile sur toile, 2001
150 x 210 cm.

The Bodyguard
oil on canvas, 2000
72 x 84 in.
Le Garde De Corps
huile sur toile, 2000
180 x 210 cm.
Private collection, Arizona
The Best Friends
oil on canvas, 2000
62 x 74 in.
Les Amies
huile sur toile, 2000.
155 x 185 cm.
Private collection, NYC

“In a place (New York) and at a time (the beginning of the third
millenium) when it seems that jadedness is compulsory and a healthy
eroticism in art all but impossible, we are lucky to have Kevin Berlin.
Even in the most melancholy and sophisticated of his works like ‘The
Velvet Rope’ the partially clad or nude female form glows with
freshness and the possibility of love. For Berlin’s version of the much
villified ‘male gaze’ is filled with a wonderful innocence, a simple joy
in the way a shadow bends across the curve of a girl’s gorgeous convex
midriff. And for me his ‘bellybutton series’ or ‘the red dress’ with
their exquisite headless torsos and proudly exposed pudenda are
powerfully redolent of long summer afternoons of lovemaking, here
in the steamy, anonymous City, afternoons spent not with any
particular girl, but with all of them.”
Jonathan Foreman
Film Critic, New York Post
August 2001

“ Dans un endroit (New York) et une époque (au debut du troisieme
millenium) ou les gouts blasés sont compulsifs, et l’erotisme salubre
dans l’art est quasiment impossible, nous avons la chance de voir les
peintures de Kevin Berlin. Mêmes dans les oevres les plus
mélancholiques et mondaines, tels que “Le Cordon Rouge,” la forme
de la feme - partiellement vêtue on nue - rayonne de fraicheur et de
possibilité d’amour. Le regard masculin de Kevin Berlin est remplit
d’une innocence merveilleuse, et d’une joie simple a la manière d’une
ombre arquée au travers du ventre splendide et convexe d’une jeune
fille. Les aquarelles de la série des “nombrils” ainsi que “La Robe
Rouge,” avec leurs corps sans têtes et leurs sexes exposées avec fierté
me transportent dans des aprés-midi d’été, longues, passées á faire
l’amour non pas avec une seule fille mais avec toutes.”
Jonathan Foreman
Critique de Cinéma, New York Post
Août, 2001

Bad Boy, Rolling Stone, Igloo, Motorola
gouache on handcut paper, 2001
8 x 14 in.
Bad Boy, Rolling Stone, Igloo, Motorola
gouache sur papier, 2001
20 x 35 cm.

The Red Dress
gouache on handcut paper, 2001
35 x 119 in.
La Robe Rouge
gouache sur papier, 2001
85.5 x 297.5 cm.

Downtown Bellybuttons
performance-runway show
Bruce R. Lewin Gallery
136 Prince Street, NYC 2001
photography by Thomas Kletecka

Downtown Bellybuttons
performance dance-défilé
Bruce R. Lewin Gallery
136 Prince Street, NYC 2001
photographie par Thomas Kletecka

Women Wearing Black
gouache on handcut paper, 2001
57 1/4 x 89 1/2 in.
Femmes En Noir
gouache sur papier, 2001
143 x 224 cm.

kevin Berlin
1965, Rochester, New York
Yale University, B.A., New Haven, Connecticut, 1987
Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, London, England, 1988
Currently lives and works in New York City
selected solo exhibitions:
Gallery Façade, “Sex and Drugs New York,” Paris, France, 2001
RVS Fine Art, “Orchids and Goldfish,” Southampton, NY, 2001
Bruce R. Lewin Gallery, “Downtown Bellybuttons,” New York, NY, 2001
RVS Fine Art, “Sex, Cellphones, and Late Nights,” Southampton, NY, 2000
Hit the Road Gallery, “Snacks Over Manhattan,” Chicago, Il, 2000
RVS Fine Art, “Snacks Over Manhattan,” Southampton, NY, 1999
The Empire State Building, “Snacks Over Manhattan,” New York, NY, 1999
Bergdorf Goodman Men, “Snacks Over Manhattan,” New York, NY, 1997
selected group exhibitions:
Bruce R. Lewin Gallery, “The Colossal Strappy Sandal,” New York, NY, 2000
Mark Miller Gallery, “New York Contemporary,” New York, NY, 2000
The Yellow Barn Gallery, “Eight Presidential Scholars,” Glen Echo, Maryland, 1998
New York Coliseum, “Colossal Strappy Sandal Monument,” New York, NY, 1997
Rockefeller Center, Rainbow Room, “Caviar Over Manhattan,” New York, NY, 1997
Madison Square Garden, “Snacks Over Manhattan,” New York, NY, 1997
Collections of:
Kim Basinger, David Letterman, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Quincy Jones,
President Jimmy Carter, Henry Buhl, Ron Rice, Howard M. Lorber, Jane Joel,
Nick Studds, General Motors, Carnival Cruise Lines, Hawaiian Tropic,
Resistol/Stetson Hats, Nat Sherman International
Media:
WNYC New York Public Radio, “The Next Big Thing,” New York, NY, 2001
WVVHTV, “Innerview in the Hamptons,” Long Island, NY, 2000, 2001
MTV Music Television, “Sexy Summer Swimwear,” 2000
WTTG Chicago, “Weekly Arts,” Chicago, IL, 2000
Tokyo Television, “Morning Satellite,” Tokyo, Japan, 1999
PBS Television, “National Arts Recognition and Talent Search,” 1985
Press:
USA Today, 2001 Southampton Independent, 2000
New York Post, 2001 New York Times, Sunday Styles, 2000, 2001
Ocean Drive Magazine, 2001 Hamptons Magazine, 1998, 2000
Miami Herald, 2000 New York Times, Sunday Magazine, 1998
PHOTO: WHITE HOUSE

g a l e r i e Fa Ç a d e
30, Rue BeauBouRg, 75003 PaRis, FRance
TÉl 01 48 87 02 20 / 06 10 90 59 54
Fax 01 47 66 01 13
d i r e C t o r : s e r g e P a n i j e l
new YoRk RePResenTaTion BY:
rvs Fine art
20 JoB’s lane, souThamPTon, new YoRk 11968
(631) 283-8546
Design by Deirdre Colligan • Printed by MG Prints NYC • Translations by Michel Ferry and Carole Hazan • © KEVIN BERLIN 2001 • www.kevinberlin.com