-
Mind Leaves Body at Westbeth
When Elisabeth Condon noticed an Open Call for a show at Westbeth, she immediately thought of artists Alyse Rosner and Susan Luss, whose process-oriented approach perfectly matched her vision for a collaborative project. They all agreed to come together, planning to let the installation unfold over four days, allowing their work to merge and shape the exhibition dynamics. Their setup process—discussing, reshaping, and improvising in the gallery—revealed more profound interconnections. The trio’s improvisational method produced an exciting viewing experience analogous to a live jazz ensemble with distinct leitmotifs.
-
The Burden Archives
Featured Project A 1949 US Federal law set the stage for crisis-level upheaval. Cities across the country used the money it provided to launch “urban renewal” projects that often only added misery to the communities they professed to be helping. In San Francisco, a largely Black neighborhood in Western Addition was targeted on the premise that the vibrant ‘Harlem of the West’ was blighted. This misconception has gone unchallenged until now, thanks to the photographic documentation Ernest Burden III exposed in his late father’s immense photograph archive.
-
Among Friends
In Conversation In the summer of 2017, Beth Dary and Patricia Fabricant visited the Museum of Modern Art to see the Robert Rauschenberg show Among Friends. As they were looking at the exhibition, they separated and later found each other at the installation of Hiccups, which consisted of ninety-seven sheets of handmade paper with original Xerox transfer collages zipped together. “At that moment, we both had the same thought—we could hand out zipper papers to our friends to create a great collaborative show,” they recall. Patty had been simultaneously talking with Alexandra Rutsch Brock, who was similarly inspired by Hiccups…
-
Whisperings from the Wormhole with @talluts
Let’s Keep Thinking About Pollyanna Have you heard about a mysterious note found among Richard Diebenkorn’s papers that he made for himself in his later years? It’s a motivational studio credo titled Notes to Myself on Beginning a Painting and is comprised of ten tips. All ten are fascinating to think about, but number eight is the most enigmatic: “Keep thinking about Pollyanna.”
-
Kosuke Kawahara – Exotic Star at RAINRAIN
photo story Kosuke Kawahara’s solo show at RAINRAIN represents a multi-faceted approach to materials, exploring what are conventional ways of organizing knowledge? Or, perhaps, how cosmic, biological, and cultural systems intersect? Throughout the paintings, I recognize forms resembling distorted body parts and hinted symbols from astronomy, depicted with oil paint, acrylic, chalk, spray paint, fabric, and wood. When Kawahara’s surfaces manifest their materiality—a patch of exposed woodgrain or a peel of paint revealing found fabric—they suggest the existence of other dimensions and bring me to question the characteristics of processes like reproduction and decay.