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Art Spiel Picks: Chelsea Exhibitions in November 2024

HIGHLIGHTS
Installation view, DWELVE: A Goosebump in Memory at Gagosian

Painting is infused with jagged jolts of adrenaline and endorphins this month, as evidenced by the markedly etched walls of white cubes sprinkled across Chelsea. Broad, gestural sweeps across canvases move into sculptural territory through the decisive claiming of space through prescient encounters. At Gagosian, Jadé Fadojutimi’s flourishing brushstrokes are illuminated by radiant pearlescent and neon hues that push and pull with hypnotic intensity. One is lifted off their feet and transported to an alternate world teeming with dance cards chock full of visual tangos with electric punctuations. At Seizan Gallery, Yashushi Ikejiri also embraces striking, colorful combinations through vibrant representations of the mundane, bringing an almost surrealist figuration of vignettes through a masterfully crafted language of paint. Pinaree Sanpitak’s presentation at Lelong & Co. takes a different approach through the limitations of color, where neutrals dominate with equal measures of intensity and fervor. Alteronce Gumby wonderfully bridges the two approaches of marrying bold colors with delicate textiles by showing two different bodies of work that tether these realms at Nicola Vassell. Light remained a constant inhabiting each gallery, moving across, through, or exuding from within each painting. As the brilliance of these colorscapes warms us from the inside out, each of these artists causes us to pause; the light they emit remains a constant with us as we move across our respective paths across the earth.

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Aggregate at Studio 9D

Installation view of Bradley Milligan’s Scrimmage, 2023, tinted joint compound, scrap wood, used drop cloth, oil on panel, cotton thread, hardware. 79 x 49 x 51 inches; Down the River, tinted joint compound, scrap wood, automotive polish, hardware. 85 x 71 x 5 inches

In the three person show Aggregate at Studio 9D, artists Sammy Bennett, Bradley Milligan, and James Bertucci channel New York streetscapes and detritus to relay an earnest and affecting impression of the city. Bertucci’s trompe l’oeil paintings, Bennett’s fabric installation, and Milligan’s rugged sculptures overlap in a reverence for craftsmanship. Labor and construction are this show’s subject and, in many ways, its medium. In its use of material and representation Aggregate is boldly literal in its translation of the city’s chaos and beauty.

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Fiat Lux: Matthew Lusk Illuminates Newburgh with his solo show at Elijah Wheat Showroom

Encyclopedia of Light (Today in Two Parts) at Elijah Wheat Showroom, installation view

On March 31, 1884, the Village of Newburgh became New York’s second municipality to receive electricity, just two years after New York City. On September 14, 2024, Matthew Lusk achieved a similarly electrifying milestone by launching his solo show, Encyclopedia of Light (Today in Two Parts), an outstanding exhibition running through December 1 at Elijah Wheat Showroom in Newburgh, NY.

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Running Line: Noga Yudkovik Etzioni at FORMah Gallery

A group of wooden objects on a white floor

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Noga Yudkovik-Etzioni, Running Line, detail

In Running Line, on view at FORMah gallery, objects stripped of function take on new roles: charged, amorphous, and poetic. Israeli artist Noga Yudkovik-Etzioni creates a space where memory, material, and form converge through elongated installations on the floor and a series of small wall-mounted paper-based reliefs

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Elizabeth Insogna: Exquisite Traces at Anne Reid ‘72 Gallery

Elizabeth Insogna, Veil, 2024, Glazed ceramic, 15×15”

Large-scale, multi-piece sculptures standing balanced by their own weight accompany ceramic tablets colored cream and periwinkle, which hang along the walls of Anne Reid ‘72 Gallery, echoing in their sudden coalition the deeds of a goddess from centuries ago. Hekate is her name, and she is a Greek goddess associated with fire, witchcraft, and transformation. In our search for the spiritual, returning to the philosophies of ancient times lends fresh wisdom, lighting compelling paths forward.

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All you need is JUST LOVE: Michela Martello at Pen + Brush

JUST LOVE, (Mimi), 2024, Acrylic, pigments, ink, pastel on interfacing, Installation view

In the heart of Manhattan’s Flatiron district, Pen + Brush, a 130-year-old nonprofit dedicated to championing women in the arts, proudly presents JUST LOVE, an immersive, large-scale installation and exhibition by Italian-born Brooklynite Michela Martello. Drawing inspiration from the renowned Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, Martello’s 360-degree visual experience invites viewers to embark on an introspective and exhilarating journey, exploring the blurred boundaries between reality and the imagined. The narrative woven throughout the exhibition transports viewers into mythical domains, where the sacred and the fantastical coalesce seamlessly.

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Art Spiel Picks: New York City Exhibitions in October, 2024

HIGHLIGHTS
The Object Library, photo courtesy of Yasmeen Abdallah

Mementos abound all around us in our day-to-day activities. Often, they hold dear memories: some we wish to keep, and some we wish to release so that we can move on to new experiences. Be it a trinket that houses memories of better days, a gift from someone we cherish, or a serendipitous discovery that found its way into our orbit, we become fused in inexplicable ways. What happens then, when we are asked or forced to part with such gifts? It can be freeing to release ourselves from materialism, but it can also be devastating, depending on the circumstances.

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Prejudice and Belonging – the Ethiopian Pavilion in La Biennale di Venezia

Tesfaye Urgessa, Pavilion of ETHIOPIA, Prejudice and belonging, 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Photo by: Andrea Avezzù. Courtesy: La Biennale di Venezia

The first national Ethiopian pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, housed in the elegant sixteenth-century Palazzo Bollani, may be challenging to find, but the effort is amply rewarded. In his solo exhibition Prejudice and Belonging, Ethiopian artist Tesfaye Urgessa presents figures that inhabit a broad and complex emotional spectrum where fragility and strength coexist. Ethiopian iconography and European modernist figurative painting converge, creating a striking visual dialect articulated throughout the ten large paintings and small portraits that fill the three interconnected rooms.

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kith and kin – the Australian Pavillion at La Biennale di Venezia

Photo Story
Photo by Matteo de Mayda. Courtesy: La Biennale di Venezia

Archie Moore’s monumental installation, kith and kin, for the Australian pavilion at this year’s Venice Art Biennale, has been awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation. It is a recognition well-earned. This multi-layered, profound installation more than fulfills the 60th Venice Art Biennale theme of “Foreigners Everywhere.” It does so with a poignancy, depth, and nuance that are increasingly rare in contemporary mega installations engaging with heavily charged subject matter, such as the history of Australian First Nations. kith and Kin confronts colonial legacies head-on while embracing humanity’s shared lineage. It serves as both a memorial to pain and loss and an understated reminder of our common ancestry.

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Art Spiel Picks: Boston Exhibitions in October 2024

Highlights
Signal to Signal by Crystalle Lacouture at Trustman Gallery, Simmons College in Boston, MA.

As Boston’s fall season unfolds, the city comes alive with a vibrant tapestry of exhibitions, from the creative heart of the SoWA Arts District to the bustling streets of Back Bay. University galleries join the celebration, offering a rich array of materials and themes that captivate and inspire. While the leaves change color and the evenings grow cooler, the art scene radiates warmth, keeping the city’s creative pulse strong and steady. Here are some standouts this month.

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