| September 18, 2008 Chelsea Art Crawl and September 25, 2008 Chelsea Art Crawl by Stephan Fowlkes Once again, this week’s crawl left me pleasantly surprised and surprisingly pleased. The trends seem to be turning in my favor, as I happened upon several shows where I was truly delighted with what I saw: Beauty, Competence, Technical Skill, Mastery of Materials. How refreshing! The show I feel best embodies these traits is Jay Kelly’s Sculptures & Drawings at Jim Kempner Fine Art. Kelly’s sculptures are a true delight to behold, intimate and reductive in scale--often no larger than four inches tall. There is a delicacy about these pieces, and often a feeling that these pieces are possibly moquettes for larger, monumental sculptures. However, the attention to detail and the finishes clearly demark these as the finished works. The transitions from wood to metal are seamless and the finishes applied to the works present a sense of age, a history to the pieces. There is a seeming familiarity to these pieces, as if they have been lurking on the periphery of my imagination, with an inherent playfulness and freedom like that of a child. As with Haiku, less can effectively be more, and much of the strength of these works comes from the intimate scale, as if these were the concentrated essence of much larger works. I strongly encourage you to get lost in these powerful visual musings. Sculptures & Drawings Jay Kelly at Jim Kempner Fine Art 501 W. 23rd Street September 13-October 25, 2008 |
| The New York Optimist October 2008 |
| Untitled #1754 |
| Untitled #140, 2008 |
| And for a very different yet equally satisfying sculptural experience, there are Raoul Hague’s large, wooden sculptures from the 1960s and 1970s at Lennon, Weinberg. “Alternately respecting and challenging the natural structure of the material, [Hague] exposed hidden geometries and created formal rhythms. He juxtaposed void and volue, curved surface and defined edge, with a tremendous eye for the pure shape of the thing and the profile that shifts with each new point of view.” Although primarily abstract, there is a very figurative or anatomical quality to these carved forking trunks. The “treeness” has simultaneously been preserved and obliterated, emphasized and contradicted, resulting in very meditative yet dynamic forms that beg to be caressed (though ask the galleristas for permission before handling). Selected Sculptures 1962-1975 Raoul Hague at Lennon, Weinberg 514 W. 25th Street September 11-October 25, 2008 |
| Untitled, c. 1962, 45 x 38 x 38", walnut |
| Untitled, 1965, 48 x 37 x 32", walnut |
| Lee Ufan’s show at PaceWildenstein could at first be taken as one of those that elicit a “now why is this art?” initial response. Boulders on iron slabs and white canvasses do not immediately jump out at you as well thought out execution, but it is in the subtlety of the relationships created that the strength of this work emerges. It is in an Eastern aesthetic that these simple relationships between the weight and physicality of the massive iron slabs and boulders and the ethereal quality of the paintings, between object and illusion. There is a very spiritual atmosphere to the gallery space, serene, almost sacred. Think less, feel more, and enjoy the complex simplicity of the concept, execution and presentation of the work in this show. Lee Ufan at PaceWildenstein 534 W. 25th Street September 18-October 25, 2008 We then came upon Joanna Pousette-Dart’s new paintings at Moti Hasson Gallery. These are large, shaped panels painted in vibrant warm colors, supposedly influenced by the Southwest. Though the color palette supports this, the shapes of the panels to me strongly suggested native art from the Northwest. And it was either the palette or quality of line that brought to mind the work of Brice Mardsen. Definately fun to look at, these works conveyed a much different atmosphere when compared with Ufan’s exhibition. Joanna Pousette-Dart at Moti Hasson Gallery 535 W. 25th Street September 9-November 1, 2008 |
| From winds |
| Joanna Pousette-Dart |
| Joanna Pousette-Dart |
| For a very different atmospheric experience, Nalini Malani’s installation “Remembering Mad Meg” at the Arario Gallery is a must-see. This was the piece-de- resistance in this massive show of mostly reverse paintings on acrylic. One of the largest Chelsea galleries, Arario Gallery put forth a show one can almost get lost in: room after room of works seemed almost overwhelming compared to the standard size of most Chelsea shows, yet it offered a profound understanding and insight into the mind and intention of Malani’s oeuvre. Listening to the Shades Nalini Malani at Arario Gallery 521 W. 25th Street September 18-October 25, 2008 Then there were Jenna Gribbon’s paintings at Priska Juschka Fine Art which offered a glimpse into her view of the world, as seen from the perspective of her bed. “Acts of procrastination, thought processing, ceiling gazing, sleep and sex find various expressions in her layered works....the bed is thus presented as a place that bears witness to our most harrowing private experiences, as well as our most benign. This highly intimate place, whosevery surface is shaped by our physical touch, functions as a microcosm of reality where our discomforts, fears and pleasures come to light upon it.” This body of work coalesces into a larger statement than any one of the works. Together they present an intimate insight into the workings of Gribbon’s mind, views, passions, dreams and fears, like that space reserved between waking and sleep. Visions of an Insomniac Soothsayer Jenna Gribbon at Priska C. Juschka Fine Art 547 W. 27th Street September 18-November 1, 2008 |
| And for those of you who may find yourselves around Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, a few blocks from the Brooklyn Museum, I strongly recommend you visit Pluto, a gallery currently featuring “Young” a two-person show curated by Steve West. The show offers the sculptures of Lisa Beckner and the paintings and drawings by Kirsten Kramer. Kramer’s works focus mainly on adolescent girls as subject matter. There is a deeply psychological, somewhat disturbing, sexual undertone to these meticulously painted and drawn pieces. Remarkably haunting, these works both entice and repel the viewer. Her figures tend to float in the void, giving little insight into any concrete reality, playing more toward an emotional landscape, or lack thereof. The viewer is not given enough information to fully understand the impulse or intention of these works, and it is this ambiguity that makes the works so alluring. Young, curated by Steve West Lisa Beckner and Kirsten Kramer at Pluto 730 Classon Avenue, Bklyn, 11238 September 20-October 26, 2008 |
September 25th Art Crawl
At the tail-end of the September openings, this week was pretty quiet, so
again I got to see some of the prior openings I had missed earlier. One
show which cannot go unmentioned is Andres Serrano’s “SHIT” at Yvon-
Lambert. Finally, you can have something on the wall where when
someone says “That work is a real piece of shit,” you can say with pride,
“why, yes it is, thank you.” Serrano raised the bar pretty high when he
unveiled his “Piss Christ” but he manages here to continually shock.
The large photographs, beautifully presented, induce both revulsion and
fascination as “Serrano gives us a selection of ‘shits’ that he dubs Good
shit, Bad shit, Bull shit, Hieronymous Bosch shit, Romantic shit and
Deep shit, humorous, insightful and often literal titles which further
illustrate Serrano’s provocative point of view.
SHIT
Andres Serrano at Yvon Lambert
550 W. 21st Street
September 4-October 4, 2008
At the tail-end of the September openings, this week was pretty quiet, so
again I got to see some of the prior openings I had missed earlier. One
show which cannot go unmentioned is Andres Serrano’s “SHIT” at Yvon-
Lambert. Finally, you can have something on the wall where when
someone says “That work is a real piece of shit,” you can say with pride,
“why, yes it is, thank you.” Serrano raised the bar pretty high when he
unveiled his “Piss Christ” but he manages here to continually shock.
The large photographs, beautifully presented, induce both revulsion and
fascination as “Serrano gives us a selection of ‘shits’ that he dubs Good
shit, Bad shit, Bull shit, Hieronymous Bosch shit, Romantic shit and
Deep shit, humorous, insightful and often literal titles which further
illustrate Serrano’s provocative point of view.
SHIT
Andres Serrano at Yvon Lambert
550 W. 21st Street
September 4-October 4, 2008
Hieronymus Bosch Shit
| Vic Muniz dazzles once again with his obsessive attention to detail, this time through representation, recreation, and forgery in “Verso” at Sikkema Jenkins. Upon entering, one is faced with the backs of stretched and framed canvases purporting to be Master paintings by the likes of Picasso and Van Gogh, all leaning against the wall, as about to be hung. With convingingly forged labels of provenance and shows the work travelled to, hanging instructions and even repairs to the mounting and frames, these pieces come across as potentially the real thing, and it is frustrating not to be able to see the other side. We are only given enough information to have our interest piqued and no more. These sculptures of paintings are perfectly reproduced, with attention to every last detail. If you can’t afford “Starry Night,” this may just be the next best thing! Verso Vic Muniz at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. 530 W. 22nd Street September 6-October 11, 2008 The event that stole the cake though was Eyebeam’s opening “Untethered: A sculpture garden of readymades.” “Untethered is a sculpture garden of everyday objects deprogrammed of their original function, embedded with new intelligence, and transformed into surrealist and surprising readymades, including a photocopier that reads the night sky; a PDA turned guitar; and a piano that plays the Internet. The exhibition features pieces by 15 artists working at the intersection of art and technology, including current and former Eyebeam residents and fellows, as well as leading international artists.” Many of the works were interactive, responding to sound or movement of the viewer (think: making the sound of a blender to make the blender run). There is a very playful atmosphere, and the quality of work is exceptional, beautifully fusing traditional practices with current technological innovation. Compared to the prevailing “Do Not Touch” mentality of so much of the art scene, this show often encourages touching, and it is fun to watch the public’s interaction with the work as much as the work itself. And who was it who said that art can’t be fun anymore? This show sheds the seriousness, the almost reverential atmosphere that so many spaces prescribe to these days. Untethered: A sculpture garden of readymades, curated by Sarah Cook Eyebeam 540 W. 21st Street September 25-October 25, 2008 Return to Home Page |
| Verso (Starry Night), 2008 Mixed media object 29 x 36.25 x 12 inches 73.7 x 92.1 x 30.5 cm |
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