Today we stopped by Deitch Projects to preview STAGES, an exhibition of 23 works commissioned by Lance Armstrong and Nike CEO Mark Parker to raise money for cancer research. Armstrong, an avid art collector, brought together big names like Richard Prince, Tom Sachs, Raymond Pettibon and Dustin Yellin to create works rooted in the artists' personal connections with the disease. One of our favorites was Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang's expressive "Tree With Yellow Blossoms" (above), created using gunpowder on a four-panel folding screen. Guo-Quiang, the subject of a solo show at the Guggenheim last year, allowed a photographer to capture his process as he "drew" with mini-explosions. Those photos can been seen below:
STAGES opens tonight, October 30, at Deitch Projects and runs through November 22. All proceeds go to the Lance Armstong Foundation.Above: Gunpowder on paper, mounted on wood as a four-panel folding screen, 230cm x 310cm. © Cai Guo-Qiang.
