The second-floor Sarah Crown Gallery in Tribeca features a group exhibition with work by Stefano Caimi, Rachel Frank, Gayoung Jun, and Kirstin Lamb. The show immediately draws viewers in as 3 drawings by Gayoung Jun grasp the eye with striking blue tones and dual circular shapes that seem to be moving in the optical illusion. The work is only made more impressive upon closer inspection as the eye reveals the minor flaws of the hand.
Mixed media in Rachel Frank’s sculptural pieces juxtapose the more methodical and mechanical work in the show. Her organic forms – made mostly of fabric and ceramics – contrast the subject of cast milk crates that she covers with mossy matte glazes. The addition of bright zip ties pushes that contrast even further, making them the only ready-made elements in the work. This is particularly evident in Chrysalid Interchange: Hand and Pitcher Plant (Tropical Nepenthe), in which a human hand emerges from a portion of a milk crate, becomes an organic weave of sorts, and is then bound back by bright pink and orange zip ties.
When Frank’s work is placed side by side with Stefano Caimi’s digital prints of orchids and clematis flowers, there is a clear relationship between the rhythms within the pieces. The interwoven elements in Frank’s work echo the swirling, dancing particles within Caimi’s digital prints, a product of the curator’s keen eye. Caimi’s Phytosynthesis: Phalaenopsis, in particular, plays upon the organic rhythm of particles, making the piece both solid and transient-looking.
Ultimately, Kristin Lamb’s “stitch” paintings complete the conversation in the show by taking a digital product of stitch-by-number and processing it completely by hand in paint. The small-scale paintings appear as if they were woven from a template; however, both the imagery and the process are completely a product of the artist’s hand.
Within this group of artists the curator, Sarah Crown makes carefully placed connections between the works that meditate on relationships between the human and the mechanical environments. While not immediately apparent, the show grows both in meaning and complexity with observation of each piece.
Nexus, Echoes, and Connections—Stefano Caimi, Rachel Frank, Gayoung Jun, and Kirstin Lamb at Sarah Crown Gallery is on view through June 29th.
About the writer: Anna Shukeylo is an artist, writer, educator, and curator working and living in the New York Metropolitan area. She has written for Artcritical, Painters on Painting, and ArtSpiel. Her paintings have been exhibited in solo exhibitions at Kean University, NJ, Manchester University, IN, and in group shows at Auxier/Kline, Equity Gallery, Stay Home Gallery, among others. @annashukeylo