TWO ARTISTS ON THEIR ROADS: NICOLAS WINDING REFN and SANDOW BIRK

We've had our eye on him forever. Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn is a man of the world. As an artist, I think of him as a wild, escaped convict on the run, making dire decisions, spontaneously and intuitively.

His robust filmography is fascinating. There's nothing clean about it. He likes to get his hands dirty. You know him best from the critical and box office success of 'Drive' (2011) with Ryan Gosling and Cary Mulligan. Clearly, this artist is one of the few filmmakers who have not aspired to direct a Marvel film. Refn takes chances and chases a whim. He is following a vision.

His current film "Her Private Hell" has been panned quite unanimously. Just another bump in the road. Like his recent near death experience, Refn works viscerally.

If I may, I would like to turn your attention to one of the director's most fascinating narratives. If you love true crime, noir, thrills, threats, blood, sex, and life's misfortune, I heartily recommend his very noir miniseries "Too Old To Die Young," (2019) on Amazon's Prime Video. It's a wild ride. I think it may be his respectful goodbye to the influence of noir tropes.

In truth, this series of ten films is a true experiential event. The curiosities make you think. The episodes linger. You must relent to the filmmaker, the artist. Refn is in charge. You must pay attention and interact at his pace. No interruptions, like running to the refrigerator or the bathroom. This is art.

This experience, and its beautiful cinematography, should be seen on something larger than a tablet. In a dark room. The exemplary soundtrack by longtime collaborator Cliff Martinez has a life and personality of its own. Sound is a key element in this narrative.

Often jaw dropping, "Too Old To Die Young" is a dark journey with a few laughs. This rabbit hole of bleak humanity burrows deep into the canon of Noir and hits every Station of its Cross.

We're rooting for you Nicolas.

In our Sunday Lounge!, we present a dossier on the new work of Sandow Birk, soon to close at Track 16. This is worth a look-see. Click here and scroll down for all of the artist's surprises.

We are at a time when the velocity of the spinning earth is moving at quite a fast clip. Most of the artists I know are overwhelmed and staggered. Not Sandow. He looks out upon the maelstrom, grabs his surfboard, and starts paddling into our raging world.

Sandow Birk is prolific. He creates a great deal of work, most of which is not easy to produce. There is nothing artificial about it. He thinks. He draws. He etches. He paints.

As the myopic artworld is tap-tap-tapping its white cane toward the future, we all need to remember the simplicity of the artist's pursuit. New tech may be sexy, but now, today we can see how short-sighted that was. The race for the new has been so exhausted, the only standard left to regard is old fashioned merit.

Birk has been playing the long game, following his heart and mind in very interesting ways. He is, and most importantly always has been, an arch social warrior. And another recent body of work shows a very personal side with the influence of home and hearth. These disparate surf-related works are notable for many reasons. The light is one; Birk gets the seascape light right. Click Here.

In our merchandise-minded art world, most artists are easily pegged and typified. You can't catch Birk. He's moving too fast for most of us.

We rooting for you Sandow.

Art Report Today .com