Art Spiel – Page 116 – Contemporary Art and Culture

Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Patricia Fabricant – Weaving a Fluctuating Self

After November 2016 Patricia Fabricant‘s paintings shifted from dense and layered abstractions to self portraits depicting fluctuating expressions and altogether underscoring post election malaise. Fabricant developed an intriguing mechanism of observation and layering. Her gaze is meant to be neutral, just a stare into the mirror but throughout the weaving process, chance yields unintended emotions – knowing, anxious, sad. The artist describes in this interview for Art Spiel her process, ideas, and on going projects.

[caption id="attachment_2248" align="alignnone" width="500"] Patricia Fabricant, Emotions: Angry, Love, Confused, Sad, Shocked, Anxiety, 2016. Each gouache on paper, 16 x 12 inches, photo courtesy of the artist[/caption]

Exhibition Review by Sharilyn Neidhardt

Color Matters at Galerie Richard

Color is a function of reflected light and it is intrinsic to everything we see. Color is also freighted with emotion for humans – certain colors can excite or depress us even without our awareness – teases, shouts, whispers, sings. Color can be fugitive or it may sound an alarm. As a painter and former paint-maker, color has been a lifelong obsession for me. It’s also the focus of a new, stunning group show at Galerie Richard on the Lower East Side.

Exhibition Review by Etty Yaniv

Sarah Bednarek – ChiChi DooDad

In her sculptures Sarah Bednarek refers to minimalism with humor and love. She turns minimalism’s aesthetics on its head – utilizing minimalist language of precision to highlight the chaotic and unexpected . Her sculptures are on a human scale – witty and visceral through playful material and form. Bednarek shares with Art Spiel some insight on her life and her recent exhibition, ChiChi DooDad at Tiger Strikes Asteroid New York.

[caption id="attachment_2326" align="alignnone" width="400"] Sarah Bednarek, Hi There, 2018, mdf, velvet, paint, 33 x 68 x 10 in. , photo Courtesy of Yael Eban[/caption]

studio visit by Catherine Kirkpatrick

A Visit With Jaynie Crimmins

All photos by Catherine Kirkpatrick

[caption id="attachment_2208" align="alignnone" width="500"] Jaynie Gillman Crimmins in her studio[/caption]

Just inside Jaynie Gillman Crimmins studio is a small table with a mirror, a piece of coral, and jar of shells. By the time you leave, you understand what they say about her inspiration and concerns. But they’re quickly forgotten as you go further, encounter the artist’s work and fall under its spell.

Exhibition Review by Sarah Jackson

Austin Thomas – Lots of little things at LABspace

All images: Austin Thomas collages, photographed by the author

Austin Thomas’s drawings, Lots of little things, currently on view at LABspace, a small gallery in a tiny town, are diminutive in size but vast in scope. Arranged in three irregular rows on one wall, these forty-odd drawings offer the viewer enough to look at for several hours. I have been to the show three times and was sorry to leave each time. They seem to display almost everything drawing can be.

Exhibition Review by Etty Yaniv

Strange Girls at Garvey Simon

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk5LkDi4z68&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

Artist Melissa Stern says that the chance to work with dancer Louisa Pancoast on their Strange Girls Dance project at Garvey / Simon was a wonderful bit of serendipity. They met at exactly the right time. Pancoast is the Assistant Director of Garvey Simon Gallery, but her real passion is dance. “She is a gifted dancer and choreographer,” says Stern.

Melissa Stern, Clay, wood, resin, paint. 34 x 12 x 7 inches. 2018

Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Julia von Eichel – Portraits of Emotional States

Although Julia Von Eichel‘s sculptures appear to be fragile, at times almost on the verge of collapse, they are held together as if against all odds due to their obstinate resilience. Whether mounted on the wall, hanging on a wire, or drawn on mylar, her shapes embody a restless exploration of the dimensional form – how its defined by line and light. In this interview for Art Spiel the artist talks in depth about her thought and work process.

[caption id="attachment_2132" align="alignnone" width="500"] Julia von Eichel, I’ll eat you up, I love you so, 2016, silk, acrylic, wood, thread, plastic, and epoxy, 40 x 30 inches x 24 inches, courtesy of Julia von Eichel[/caption]

Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Jeanne Heifetz – Ordered Chance

Jeanne Heifetz‘s art has evolved from weaving and fiber early on to drawing and painting later on. While her previous body of work has typically derived from a process of material exploration, the impetus for her more recent work has been prompted by concept. As Heifetz puts it, “in spite of herself,” after the election it can also be seen as politicized. She was recently awarded a LABA fellowship for 2018-2019 at the 14^th Street Y, where she will study ancient Jewish texts on a given theme with other artists of different disciplines. In this interview for Art Spiel Jeanne Heifetz talks about her art, ideas, and projects.

[caption id="attachment_2180" align="alignnone" width="500"] Jeanne Heifetz, Pre-Occupied 18, 2016, silver graphite on flax paper tinted with iron oxide, 21″ x 29″ Photo: Paul Takeuchi[/caption]

Artist Interview by Etty Yaniv

Elisa Jensen: Gazing Inward

Elisa Jensen‘s imagery draws upon pre-historic narratives – ancient rock art scattered in pristine Irish landscapes, a Danish bog person sacrificed during the Iron age, or stone age burial mounds spotted in a Danish island. Her paintings and sculptures bring to mind mysterious rites and myths salvaged from a forgotten ancient past or perhaps from the depth of our collective unconscious memory. In her interview for Art Spiel Jensen shares some thoughts on her process, imagery, and context.

[caption id="attachment_2038" align="alignnone" width="500"] Elisa Jensen , Gold Boat detail, 2018, self drying clay, acrylic paint, gold leaf 2 x 7 inches, photo by Apiwich[/caption]

Exhibition Review by Sharilyn Neidhardt

Cadences at Equity Gallery

All Photos by Sharilyn Neidhardt

[caption id="attachment_2151" align="alignnone" width="500"] Artist Molly Herman (far right) greets gallery-goers in front of some of her smaller canvases (left to right) “Tremelo”, “Free Verse”, and “Sonal-Yello”[/caption]

Cadences, a lovely show in the Equity Gallery curated by Michael Gormley, teases at the language of abstract expressionism without overwhelming the viewer.