The Skirt “reality tunnel” installation. Image: courtesy of Ortega y Gasset Projects
“Please Watch Your Head” reads a curious sign taped to the metal door of Ortega y Gasset Projects in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Opening the door I realize how this instruction is essential to navigate the jewel toned gauntlet of brick-a-brack curtains cascading from the ceiling in a slender corridor that leads to the main gallery space. Ben Pederson’s solo show “Some Stuff You Forgot About” represents two mature bodies of work which reveal the depth of Pederson’s philosophical approach, as well as the synergy between the artist and the curator Eleanna Anagnos.
Microscope Gallery, Underdonk, Transmitter, TSA New York, Studio 10, Amos Eno, The Border Project Space, Green Door Gallery, Scholes Street Studio
Microscope Gallery, Underdonk, Transmitter, TSA New York
Above are just a handful of hints and glimpses of notions of formal analogousness I noted among four quite different works by four different artists in four different excellent exhibits, all of which opened at the 1329 Willoughby building in Bushwick on the same night earlier this month.
At top left, an instant of a video involving a ‘vectorial world’ by Lisa Gwilliam & Ray Sweeten at Microscope Gallery . At top right, one of Amy Butowicz‘s amusingly alt-quotidian metamorphs in her bizarrely joyous solo show at Underdonk . This piece in particular seemed immediately suggestive of Humpty Dumpty’s pants, or The Penguin’s pants, or the pants worn by some bloviating politician in a parodical caricature by Daumier. I’m not sure if they’re supposed to be anything of the sort. I am sure I want pants, or I guess culottes, of just that sort. Moving along, the painting to which those pants, or maybe ‘pants,’ point is by Alessandro Keegan. It’s one of several strong works he’s showing in “Heed,” a winning two-person show at Transmitter that features also very strong work by Angela Hiesch . At bottom left, a sculpture that seemed to imply a distilled tincture of time frozen still in atemporal liquid motion, or something of such a strangely wordable sort, in “Object of Desire,” a large group show curated by Amanda Martinez at TSA .
Elena Soterakis is an artist and curator who has explored the intersection between art and science throughout her whole artistic practice. She shares with Art Spiel some background on BioBAT Art Space, her upcoming curatorial project with Jeannine Bardo, as well as some insight on her own artwork.
Simona Prives, Black Matter, Collage on paper with Sumi ink, monotype, xerox transfer,and graphite.
Time Waves, the new upcoming exhibition at John Doe features collage and animation by Simona Prives. The Brooklyn based artist examines in her new body of work our complex relationship to the environment. The structures within each of her compositions prompts the viewer to piece together an alternative reality, created out of imaginative juxtapositions between growth and decay, the organic and man-made.
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.
Sarah Bednarek, Hi There, 2018, mdf, velvet, paint, 33 x 68 x 10 in. , photo Courtesy of Yael Eban
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. Continue reading “A Visit With Jaynie Crimmins”
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.
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
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 14th 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.
Jeanne Heifetz, Pre-Occupied 18, 2016, silver graphite on flax paper tinted with iron oxide, 21″ x 29″ Photo: Paul Takeuchi
This is my cheat sheet for BOS 2018. It is by no means comprehensive but these are some of things I plan to check out over the weekend. I look forward to seeing many friends and colleagues out at the studios.
Katya Grokhovsky‘s performances and sculptural works embody raw energy fueled by her rigorous and uncompromising process. Grokhovsky’s work is extreme, fearless, cohesive, and ambitious. With great agility she combines media like performance, video, drawing, and sculpture to create immersive environments that delve us deep into a chaotic unknown – the complexity of self, the duplicity of social norms, the twilight zones of life and art. In this interview for Art Spiel Grokhovsky elaborates on her impetus, ideas, and projects as a prolific artist and curator.
