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Current exhibitions:
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C
HANGED
Following the return of the
HANGED exhibition after nearly 8 years, a group show featuring some of that group show's artists
plus some other great artists:
VIPER the parrot
JOHNNYV
PATTI SMITH
CHRISTOPHER PENNOCK
JOHN NIKOLAI
BRETT MACFADDEN
JON LANGFORD
DANIEL JOHNSTON
HEATHER JEAN
PATTI HUDSON
GODLIS
JAD FAIR
DAVID FAIR
CHRISTINA DELAINE COSTALAS
BRANDY DeCAN'TER
GAYE BLACK
CAITLIN ARMITAGE
Curated by John Gonquin Nikolai
April 2013
at
JP ART MARKET
36 South Street
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
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Past
exhibitions:
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HANGED
The return of the HANGED
exhibition after nearly 8 years featuring artwork by:
VAMPIRA / MAILA NURMI
PATTI SMITH
CHRISTOPHER PENNOCK
JOHN NIKOLAI
JON LANGFORD
DANIEL JOHNSTON
PATTI HUDSON
JAD FAIR
DAVID FAIR
GAYE BLACK
Curated by John Regrette
Nikolai
February 28 - March 31, 2013
at
JP ART MARKET
36 South Street
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
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Past Exhibitions - including shows
by Nikolai's students at MIT
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Sales Gaspillée!
A one-day, first anniversary
group exhibit featuring work by all the artists whose work has been featured in past Sales Gaspi
llée! exhibitions.
February 1, 2012; 5pm - 12am
The Irish Pol
45 S. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
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Sales Gaspillée!
A one-day, three-artist group
exhibit featuring work by Amanda Lynn McCarty, John Nikolai and Zack Traum.
April 6, 2012; 5 - 10pm
The Irish Pol
45 S. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
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UNTITLED
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UNTITLED
January 14 - 31, 2012
A group photography exhibit at MIT (Building W20,
the 2nd floor, The MIT Stratton Student Center at 84 Massachusetts Ave,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.) featuring work by:
Gleb Akselrod
Liv Gold
Greg Kuperman
Thery Mislick
Sebastian Neumayer
John Regrette Nikolai
Ta-Chung Ong
Manohar Srikanth
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DAM
MIT
!
An Exhibition of photos
celebrating 35 years anarchy, chaos and destruction from THE DAMNED! At MIT! December 1 - 17,
2011; on the 2nd floor of W-20, The MIT Stratton Student Center at 84 Massachusetts Ave,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Closing
Reception:
Friday, Dec. 16th
from 7 - 9pm
In October 2011, John Nikolai
and his MIT Street Photography class members Gleb Akselrod, Greg Kuperman, Sebastian Neumayer and
Ying Rock Song plus class alumni Despoina Chatzikyriakou and Wesley Graybill photographed two
different shows by UK punk legends THE DAMNED on their 35th anniversary tour. The exhibit,
approved by The Damned themselves and featuring text written for the show by current and past
members of The Damned including Captain Sensible, Stu West, Monty Oxymoron, Patricia Morrison,
Pinch, Alan Lee Shaw and Spike T. Smith will feature photos of those shows plus some of Nikolai's
images of The Damned from years gone by. The photo exhibit will hang at MIT from December 1 - 17,
2011. Come to the closing reception at MIT on Friday, December 16, 2011 from 7 - 9pm,
DAMMIT!
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RAISING SPIRITS
An Exhibition of Street and
Live Music Photos
Featuring the work of:
GLEB AKSELROD
NATHAN JONES
GREG KUPERMAN
THERY MISLICK, SEB NEUMAYER
JOHN NIKOLAI
TA-CHUNG ONG
YING ROCK SONG
MANOHAR SRIKANTH
December 16 - 31, 2011; on
the 2nd floor of W-20, The MIT Stratton Student Center at 84 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
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The Phoenix and Other Works in
Parallel Dimensions
An exhibition of paintings, sculptures and
photographs including stereoscopic images.
MAY 1 - MAY 15, 2011
at the J.P. Art Market in Jamaica Plain,
Massachusetts
36 South Street
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday,
May 4th, 6-8pm.
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HERE TODAY,
GONE TOMORROW
* ONE DAY ONLY - Sunday, January 30,
2011
from noon to 10pm.
Nikolai's first mixed media solo
exhibition since 2007. There will be no opening or closing reception (no band, no wine and no
zebra cakes), just the artwork and Nikolai removing and adding different paintings, photos and
sculptures as the day progresses. Not entirely a solo exhibit, collaborative pieces will include a
painting done with Patricia Morrison (his beautiful cousin, formerly of The Damned, The Sisters of
Mercy, The Gun Club and other great bands) and a painting done with Nikolai's feline sons, Bela
Lugosi and Ouzo (who he bribed with sushi to work with him).
@
The Arcade; MIT's Stratton Student Center; 1st floor of 84 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge,
Massachusetts
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FAITHFUL DEPARTED
A memorial tribute show dedicated to
the memory of some of the men and women who Nikolai has photographed over the years who are no
longer among us.
@
The Arcade; MIT's Stratton Student Center; 1st floor of 84 Massachusetts Ave. (next to the
convenience store), Cambridge, Massachusetts
January 17, 2011 - January 29,
2011
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An exhibition of street photos by
the students of John Nikolai's Fall 2010 Street Photography class at MIT.
@
The Wiesner Gallery; MIT Student Center; 2nd floor of 84 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge,
Massachusetts
Hangs throughout December 2010
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An exhibition of street photos by
the students of John Nikolai's Summer 2010 Street Photography class at MIT - Melis Anahtar, Aileen
Charleston, Edward K. Chung, Hoda Eydgahi, Florence Gallez, Yasemin Gokce, Chewie LIn, Yin Ren,
and Logan Williams.
@
The Wiesner Gallery; MIT Student Center; 2nd floor of 84 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge,
Massachusetts
Hangs throughout August 2010
Opening reception: August 5, 2009
from 7 - 9pm
with live music from Peter Whincop
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SCHOOL OF THE STREETS
An exhibition of street photos by
the students of John Nikolai's Summer 2009 Street Photography class at MIT - David Appleyard, Liv
Gold, Ta-Chung Ong, Alex Reben - with Kat Wong (a former student of Nikolai's from his Rock 'n'
Roll Institute of Technology photo class at MIT.
@
The Wiesner Gallery; MIT Student Center; 2nd floor of 84 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge,
Massachusetts
November
1 - November 30, 2009
Opening reception: November 19, 2009
from 7 - 9:30pm
with live music from THE BEACHCOMBOVERS
(featuring
Thomas White Trash of Unnatural Axe( at 8pm!
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METROPOLIS
APOCALYPSE
A kickass
group exhibition curated by Johnny V, Judy Sim and Chris (of Iconocide).
@
Supreme Trading, 213 North 8 Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
October
9 - October 31, 2008
Check
out the Metropolis
Apocalypse's myspace page. This show features dozens of artists
(see list in lower graphic).
Photos
from the opening reception on October 9, 2008 can be seen here.
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"Feeling Lucky?" starring Alison Little
and, as the white rabbit. Removed from a Nikolai solo
show at ZuZu by the venue for being too explicit, this piece and others
were welcomed into a group show at The JP Art Market after Nikolai
cancelled the ZuZu show this had been a part of.
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UNTITLED
A group exhibition at The JP Art
Market
@ The JP Art Market
36 South Street
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
617-522-1729
August 4 - August 28, 2007
The show features the artwork of:
John Steck Jr., Steven Bacon,
Renee
Rives, Kristen Pulcifer, Tyshawn Taylor and John E. Coli Nikolai
The day that Nikolai removed his exhibit
"ASK
YOUR MOM HOW MUCH I ROCK" from where it was showing at ZuZu in
Cambridge, Massachusetts after the venue removed 8 pieces of work from
the show that they deemed too offensive to show at their establishment,
Nikolai moved some of the core pieces of the exhibit into an already-in-progress
group show at The JP Art Market, a great gallery he always hoped to
show in. He wishes to thank the gallery's owner, Patti Hudson, for showing
the artwork that ZuZu was unwilling to show.
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"ASK
YOUR MOM
HOW
MUCH I ROCK"
SHOW
DISMEMBERED DUE TO THE REMOVAL OF 8 PIECES OF ART BY THE VENUE DUE TO
IT BEING DEEMED OFFENSIVE OR OBJECTIONAL TO VIEWERS. ON AUGUST 13, 2007,
NIKOLAI REMOVED THE SHOW FROM ZUZU AS HE FELT THE OVERALL ATTITUDE AND
IMPACT OF TH THE EXHIBIT HAD BEEN DILUTED AND COMPROMISED BY THE MANAGEMENT'S
REMOVAL OF CERTAIN KEY PIECES OF HIS ARTWORK. SELECTED PIECES FROM THE
SHOW HAVE BEEN MOVED STRAIGHT INTO A GROUP EXHIBITION IN PROGRESS AT
THE
J.P. ART MARKET. SEE DETAILS ABOVE.
What
happened??? Click here or here
for the press' explanations.
@ ZuZu!
August 5 - September 1, 2007...NO,
make that August 5 - August 13, 2007.
OPENING RECEPTION:
Monday, August 6, 2007 from 8:30-Midnight
at ZuZu!
UNNATURAL
AXE rocked the reception.
474 Mass. Ave; Cambridge, Massachusetts
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A BENEFIT FOR BELA LUGOSI, NIKOLAI'S YOUNGEST
CAT
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"Ceci
N'est Pas Une Pipebomb"
A benefit
for Bela Lugosi, Nikolai's youngest cat
@ ZuZu!
May 5 - June 4, 2007
OPENING RECEPTION: May 27, 2007 from
7-9pm at ZuZu!
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Newsflash
- 4 days before the opening reception for this show,
Nikolai
has announced that the exhibit is now a benefit show for his Bela Lugosi,
his youngest cat and baby, who has been diagnosed as being in the early
stages of kidney failure. All money generated by the sale of artwork
in this exhibit will go towards Bela's healthcare and future medical
bills.
Nikolai's first solo show since 2005 finds
him back at ZuZu, his favorite place to show in Cambridge, after only
having shown there a month earlier. Once again ZuZu found itself without
an art exhibit after someone cancelled at the last minute and Nikolai
stepped in to fill the void. (Sort of) named after a Magritte painting,
Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipebomb (or, in English, "This Is Not A Pipebomb")
is a show that features many of Nikolai's more surreal and/or sensual
photos, including some of his rarely-seen early work and two paintings
he's never exhibited before. "I'd Give My Stripes To Fuck You,"
Nikolai's infrared photo of a zebra trying to fuck a giraffe in Mexico
City, is back at ZuZu again after appearing there in "4-Day Hangover"
(see below).
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"4-DAY
HANGOVER"
An exhibition of works by Asa
Brebner,
Jon Strymish and John E. Coli Nikolai
@ ZuZu!
March 9 - March 31, 2007
Cambridge, Massachusetts
An exhibit organized by Nikolai on
EXTREMELY
short notice in which he's lucky enough to once again exhibit with Asa
Brebner and Jon Strymish. The show came together in a total of four
days and, as the three men have shown together before in the last HUNG
exhibition, this show was christened "4-Day Hangover." The
show features the 3-D sculpture/paintings of Asa Brebner (www.asabrebner.net),
the photography of Jon Strymish (www.strymish.net)
and never-before shown-in-New England works by Nikolai (mostly paintings).
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"Max's
Kansas City Project presents a Punk Rock Exhibition"
A charitable auction and reunion party
@ Gibson/Baldwin Showrooms, 421 West
54th Street, NYC
Thursday, December 14, 2006
The exhibit features the up-for-auction
artwork of John Waters, John Nikolai, Jayne County, Godlis, Marcia Resnick
and others. Jayne County will perform as well as Ricket Rivets (ex-NY
Dolls) Band and others. Doors are 6:30 for the auction. Auction and
show are $75 and the show only is $40.
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"Run(a)way Bride"
AKA "The Bride I Am Denied"
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"Sex,
Death, Rock 'n' Bones"
A group exhibition curated by CBGB
@ CBGB 313 Gallery, 313 Bowery, NYC
March 13 - April 14, 2006
Opening reception: March 15, 2006
The show features the artwork of:
Janette Beckman, Erin Finley, Stephanie
Crabe, Nikki Johnson, Patty Heffley, John E. Coli Nikolai, Deems, Morgan
Rankin, Deacon Von Haze, Christopher Mealie
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Above :Hilly Kristal hanging
out at CBGB, 1997
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"HUNG"
CBGB's
32nd Anniversary Art Show
A group exhibition curated by John Nikolai
featuring the work of kickass rock 'n' roll artists. The second coming
of HUNG!
@ CBGB 313 Gallery, 313 Bowery, NYC
November 27, 2005 - January 6, 2005
Opening reception: Wednesday November 30th,
6pm
with special appearances
by Godlis, John Holmstrom, Arturo Vega, Roberta Bayley and Leee Black
Childers talking about their work. Other special guests TBA. *UPDATE:
The reception was a huge success. Thanks to everyone who came. Arturo
Vega was unable to speak due to not feeling well and Asa Brebner was
added to the speakers at the last minute.
For photos of HUNG at CBGB and from
the reception, click here.
HUNG features the artwork of:
Michael
Alago - A late addition to HUNG, CBGB has decided that his work
may not be suitable for viewing by all who may enter the club. His work
has been removed from the exhibit for the time being but hopefully only
temporarily.
Roberta
Bayley
Asa Brebner
Bunni
Bruce Carleton
Leee Black Childers
Peter Costalas
Jayne
County
David Fair
Jad
Fair
Phyllis
Galembo
Godlis
John Holmstrom
Knox
Jon Langford
Josie Montserrat
Niagara
John Nikolai
Richie Parsons
Cynthia
Plaster Caster
Dee Dee Ramone
Jamie
Reid
Marcia
Resnick
Jon Strymish
Johnny V.
Arturo Vega
Lyn
Z.
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Above: Arturo Vega, Artistic
Director of The Ramones
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"HUNG"
@ The Gallery of Club Passim
July 4 - September 24, 2005
An exhibition of art by rocker/artists,
HUNG was curated by John Nikolai and includes work by:
Arturo Vega (Artistic
Director of the Ramones; www.Ramonesworld.com)
Bunni (The
Boston pinup photographer)
Cynthia Plaster Caster (Cynthia's
plaster casts of rock royalty's penises and breasts are known worldwide.
To the curator's dismay, Club Passim banned Cynthia's piece of Jimi
Hendrix from the regular HUNG exhibition but allowed it to be shown
at the kick ass opening reception on the 25th of July. Except for that
day, an empty frame has hung in the gallery in place of the piece as
a gesture of support and respect for Ms. Plaster Caster and her work.
Visit her online at www.CynthiaPlasterCaster.com)
David Fair (New
papercutouts from the founding member of Half Japanese and other essential
musical outlets who wrote the definitive essay on how to play guitar)
Dee Dee Ramone (His
paintings are punk rock on canvas)
Godlis (Legendary
photographer of the NY scene; www.Godlis.com)
Jad Fair (New
papercutouts and paintings from the prolific Mr. Fair, founder of Half
Japanese and countless other crucial musical collaborations and projects, www.jadfair.com)
Jayne County (The
legendary Ms. County exhibits her paintings and drawings for the first
time anywhere ever! www.jaynecounty.com)
John Holmstrom (Head
honcho and founder of PUNK Magazine)
John Nikolai (The
curator and the disease behind HUNG shows some new paintings and photos; www.Official-John-Nikolai.com)
Jon Langford (Paintings
of country music icons and more from the frontman of The Mekons and
The Waco Brothers; http://www.mekons.de/yarddog/index.htm)
Jon Strymish (Veteran
photographer of Boston's music scene; www.Strymish.net)
Knox (The
frontman of The Vibrators shows his paintings in the USA for the first
time ever; www.knox76.com/Kpaintings1.html
)
Niagara (Paintings
never before exhibited in Boston by the frontwoman of Destroy and Monsters
and Dark Carnival, www.Niagaradetroit.com)
The opening reception was on July 25, 2005
and featured talks by and audience Q&A with
Arturo Vega, Godlis and John Holmstrom. It was the biggest, best-attended
art opening Club Passim has ever had. Oldschool Boston punk heroes Unnatural
Axe played a scorching set at the reception. To take a virtual tour
of the show, click here.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Above: Jayne County &
Dee Dee Ramone, NYC, late 1990s.
Above: The unreasonably
talented Jon Langford.
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"HANGED"
Check out the online
gallery of the second installment of the two-part group exhibition
produced by John Nikolai featuring the artwork of rocker artists. Exhibiting
artists in part two, "HANGED," included:
Arturo Vega (Artistic
Director of the Ramones; www.Ramonesworld.com)
Bunni (The
Boston pinup photographer)
Cynthia Plaster Caster (Cynthia's
plaster casts of rock royalty's penises and breasts are known worldwide.
Although her cast of Jimi Hendrix's axe is banned from the Club Passim
exhibit by the management, The Zeitgeist Gallery has no problems with
displaying Cynthia's cast of Peaches' breasts. Visit Ms. Plaster Caster
online at www.CynthiaPlasterCaster.com))
David Fair (New
papercutouts from the founding member of Half Japanese and other essential
musical outlets who wrote the definitive essay on how to play guitar)
Dee Dee Ramone (His
paintings are punk rock on canvas)
Godlis
Jad Fair (New
papercutouts and paintings from the prolific Mr. Fair, founder of Half
Japanese and countless other crucial musical collaborations and projects, www.jadfair.com)
Jayne County (The
legendary Ms. County exhibits her paintings and drawings for the first
time anywhere ever!
John Holmstrom (Head
honcho and founder of PUNK Magazine)
John Nikolai (The
Curator and the disease behind "HANGED" shows some new paintings
and photos; www.Official-John-Nikolai.com)
Jon Langford (Paintings
of country music icons and more from the frontman of The Mekons and
The Waco Brothers)
Jon Strymish (Veteran
photographer of Boston's music scene)
Josie Montserrat (Giving
Canadian rock photography a good name; www.blackmoonphotography.com)
Knox
(The
frontman of The Vibrators shows his paintings in the USA for the first
time ever; www.knox76.com/Kpaintings1.html
)
Niagara (Paintings
never before exhibited in Boston by the frontwoman of Destroy and Monsters
and Dark Carnival)
Winston Smith (The
controversial collage artist will exhibit a classic piece of punk history; www.winstonsmith.com)
@ The Zeitgeist Gallery
July 19 - August 1, 2005
Opening reception: July
23, 2005
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"GUMBY AND FRIENDS:
The First 50 Years"
@ The Lynn House Gallery; Antioch, California
May 2005
An exhibition about Art Clokey's most famous creation,
the show featured Nikolai's portrait of Mr. Clokey and his clay creations
in front of a photo of Mr. Clokey's stepfather, whose slanted hairstyle
was the inspiration for the shape of Gumby's head. Nikolai only found
out in June 2007 that the portrait appeared in the exhibition, so this
show wasn't added to this list until two years after the fact.
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"ALL AJA"
Images of the insanely beautiful
Aja
@ All Asia Cafe in Cambridge,
Massachusetts
March 2005
Opening reception on
March 5, 4-7pm
The reception featured a
live set by one of Aja's favorite bands,
LIVESEXACT
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"COVER ART"
Nikolai contributed one piece to the
"Cover Art" group show that appeared at ZuZu in Cambridge,
Massachusetts in December 2004. The exhibition featured over 30 artists
rendering their favorite album covers in mixed medias. Nikolai contributed
The Mekons' "The Quality of Mercy is not Strnen," taking the
actual album cover and pasting a photo of George W. Bush's face over
the face of the chimpanzee at the typewriter, mistyping a Shakespearean
quote. Har har hardy har
har!
The show moved to an undisclosed location
in New York City, that meaning that the organizers never told him where
the NY version of the show was or the dates it was hanging.
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"VOICES OF REASON IN A TIME OF
MADNESS"
An anti-Bush photo exhibition
@Club Passim
August 15- October 16, 2004
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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"NEVERMIND NOSTALGIA:
The
Last Photo Exhibition on Punk Rock (Part One)
"
@ZuZu!
June 20 - July 18, 2004
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Read articles about the show in The Boston Phoenix
(click
here) and The Boston Globe (here)
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"NEVERMIND NOSTALGIA:
The
Last Photo Exhibition on Punk Rock (Part Two)
"
@The Zeitgeist Gallery
July 6-11, 2004
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Read articles about the show in The Boston Phoenix
(click
here) and The Boston Globe (here)
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"KEEP OUT - The
Dogs of Cuba"
@ ZuZu!
March 2004
Cambridge, Massachusetts
The Unnatural Axe Trio
played the reception and covered The Stooges "And Now I Wanna Be
Your Dog."
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"SOMETHING BETTER
CHANGE"
Images
of revolutionary individuals who have changed the world
@ Zeitgeist Gallery
November 2003
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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"CAROUSEL DERAILMENT"
Yawning cats, circus sideshow
photos, morbid miscellany and other oddities, abnormalities and curiousities.
Carousel Derailment was an abstractly autobiographical sideshow that
accompanied the larger "Something Better Change" exhibition.
@ Zeitgeist Gallery
November 2003
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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"WE'RE DISPARATE,
Get Used To It:
Images
of the Great Minds of MIT and Harvard and the Pioneers of Punk"
@ Massachusetts Institute
of Technology
February 2002
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Untitled
The summer that Nikolai
bought his first camera, he did a solo exhibition of his work at this
coffee house in Cleveland. He showed a concert photo of Wayne Kramer,
a portrait of Cheetah Chrome, and he has no recollection of what else.
Possibly a photo of severed pigs heads in a butcher shop.
Summer 1996
@ Midnight Sun; Cleveland,
Ohio
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