contemporary art – Page 33

April 22, 2024April 22, 2024, by Etty Yaniv

Eccentric Abstraction at MoCA L.I.

Photo story

A group of art pieces in a room

Description automatically generated — Installation view

John Cino, curator of Eccentric Abstraction at MoCA L.I, first encountered the works of Eva Hesse, Jackie Winsor, and Linda Benglis during his undergraduate years, an experience that deeply influenced him. He draws a throughline from their pioneering works to the current exhibition, “For each of the artists in the show—Stephanie Beck, Sky Kim, Christina Massey, and Sui Park—the process of making is a visible element of the work, and the forms they create are evocative with minimal narrative, Cino explains.

April 18, 2024April 15, 2024, by Etty Yaniv

Anne Sherwood Pundyk: Beauty Out of Bounds at East End Arts

Featured Exhibition

A room with art on the wall

Description automatically generated — Beauty Out of Bounds, East End Arts 11 West Gallery Installation. Painting on the left: Moonset. Painting on the right: The Center Will Hold. Photo courtesy of the artist

Anne Sherwood Pundyk’s solo exhibition, Beauty Out of Bounds, features a vibrant selection of her color-intensive works, many on public display for the first time. Her large, unstretched paintings reveal layers of stained drop cloth canvas interspersed with geometric shapes, cascades of color, bold stitching, sharp lines, and imprinted grids of paint. Her smaller pieces on stitched paper reflect the experimental approach of her larger works. A series of photographs that obscure handwritten journal entries bridge visual art and literature, underscoring the artist’s dual identity as a painter and writer. At the heart of the exhibition is Pundyk’s artist’s book, The Garden, which integrates printed pages and narratives prominently along the gallery walls. Her artworks collectively navigate themes of trauma and forgiveness. “By setting aside received wisdom, I make room for curiosity, investigation, and especially vulnerability”, Pundyk asserts. The exhibition spans both locations of East End Arts Galleries in the Arts District on Main St., Riverhead, NY, and includes various events designed to expand the dialogue.

April 15, 2024April 9, 2024, by Art Spiel

Simona Prives: towards the noise of dark waters at PRACTICE

Photo Story

Simona Prives’s latest installation at Philadelphia’s PRACTICE Gallery, towards the noise of dark waters, combines projection and collage to explore themes of renewal and decay. This site-specific installation by the Brooklyn-based multi-disciplinary artist features life-sized projections of collages built upon densely packed drawings, ink paintings, and various printmaking techniques. These collages suggest maps, geological patterns, and industrial imagery, creating abstract yet recognizable worlds.

April 9, 2024April 9, 2024, by Etty Yaniv

Mind Leaves Body at Westbeth

A large room with art on display

Description automatically generated — Gallery partial view, main entrance

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.

March 23, 2024March 23, 2024, by Etty Yaniv

Kosuke Kawahara – Exotic Star at RAINRAIN

photo story

A room with paintings on the wall

Description automatically generated — Right: Kosuke Kawahara, Forever Waiting, 2018-2023, Oil color, encaustic, spray paint, ink, pencil, gesso on wood panel, 773⁄4 x 621⁄2 x 3⁄4 inches / 197.49 x 158.75 x 1.9 cm. Left: Kosuke Kawahara, New Poison, 2023-2024, Oil color, acrylic, encaustic, spray paint, ink, gesso on synthetic fabric, 311⁄4 x 261⁄4 x 11⁄4 inches / 79.38 x 66.68 x 3.18 cm

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.

March 20, 2024March 18, 2024, by Art Spiel

Aliens R Us: Dasha Bazanova at Space 776

In Dialogue

*installation view at Space 776 Gallery, photo courtesy of the artist*

In her first solo show at Space 776, Dasha Bazanova’s oil paintings and ceramic sculptures engage with the theme of “alien” from various angles: the cultural alienation intrinsic to her Russian roots and her identity as an “alien” in the United States. She draws upon the 1970s, a period rich with alien conspiracy theories tying these themes to our present. The exhibition includes ceramic sculptures of Russian grandmothers, standing as symbols of endurance amid the aftermath of calamities and prompting contemplation on the legacy of alienation across generations. Bazanova elaborates here on the body of work in her show.

March 18, 2024March 18, 2024, by Art Spiel

Way finding: Caroline Burton at the New Jersey State Museum

In Dialogue

Installation view of *Caroline Burton: Way Finding* at the New Jersey State Museum (September 23, 2023 – March 31, 2024). Photo courtesy of Sarah Vogelman

The New Jersey State Museum, part of the NJ Department of State, has served the public for nearly 130 years, showcasing diverse collections in Archaeology & Ethnography, Cultural History, Fine Art, and Natural History. Assistant curator Sarah Vogelman dedicates herself to the Fine Art collection, focusing on its care, expansion, and exhibition. With over 12,000 works, the collection emphasizes American art and notably highlights New Jersey artists, positioning their contributions within the broader American art history context. Through the New Jersey Artist Series, featuring exhibitions like Caroline Burton: Way Finding, Vogelman aims to spotlight New Jersey’s vibrant contemporary art scene and foster local artist collaboration. By curating this series and organizing exhibitions that offer wider or even global art historical perspectives, she strives to convey that New Jersey’s art is a vital part of a broader cultural dialogue. “I want our visitors to see that art from New Jersey transcends our state’s borders,” says Vogelman.

March 14, 2024March 14, 2024, by Art Spiel

Transgressing Lands at the Boiler

Hot AIR

*Transgressing Lands: Eleven Contemporary Artists Reimagine a Horizon* Installation View. Photo: Martin Seck

The current group exhibition at The Boiler | ELM Foundation, Transgressing Lands, curated by A.E. Chapman, features work by Jeannine Bardo, Nancy Cohen, Cristina de Gennaro, Deborah Jack, Natalie Moore, Itty S. Neuhaus, Nazanin Noroozi, Lina Puerta, Corinne Teed, Elizabeth Velazquez, and Letha Wilson, who interpret the horizon’s role as a foundational element for understanding our place in the world. The artists confront pressing issues—preserving landscapes under threat, the ramifications of climate change, the realities of displacement and conflict, the significance of mindfulness, challenging colonial legacies, and the ever-present cycles of destruction and rejuvenation. Chapman’s direction for the exhibition invites viewers to engage with how landscapes can anchor us in the present moment and our collective history.

March 13, 2024March 8, 2024, by Eva Zanardi

Hudson Valley Artists: Bibliography Sourcing Inspiration at Dorsky

Words evoke a myriad of visuals; images encapsulate words, concepts, and ideals. This symbiotic relationship, the dance between the written word and visual art, is the crux of Bibliography. On view at the Dorsky Museum at SUNY New Paltz through April 7, this exhibition documents how books conjure different facets of the exhibiting artists’ thoughts. Books function as a thematic thread, connecting the artworks on view to broader references of knowledge and providing entry points for understanding their aesthetic, social, or political implications. Exhibiting artists include Osi Audu, Alta Buden, Shari Diamond, Kerry Downey, Stevenson Estime, eteam (Franzisa Lamprecht and Hajoe Moderegger), Aki Goto, Adam Henry, Matthew Kirk, Niki Kriese, Melora Kuhn, Catherine Lord, Sean Sullivan, and Audra Wolowiec. 

March 11, 2024February 23, 2024, by Art Spiel

Hovey Brock-Daniella Dooling-Valerie Hegarty at Catskill Art Space

HOT AIR

A close-up of a carpet

Description automatically generated — Hovey Brock, *A Golden Spike for the Anthropocene,* 2020, 30” x 40”, acrylic media on panel

Hovey Brock was a member of the Catskill Art Society (CAS) before its rebranding as the Catskill Art Space. Originally a low-key regional arts center, the transformation began under the guidance of Executive Director Sally Wright. In October 2022, Wright inaugurated the new exhibition halls, featuring on-loan installations by Sol Lewitt and James Turrell, signaling CAS’s ambition to bring world-class arts programming to Livingston Manor. This initiative marked a significant milestone in the cultural revival sweeping the entire Catskill region, with CAS playing a pivotal role. “Since so much of my work is about the Catskills, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to show my pieces at CAS, especially in the company of fellow artists Daniella Dooling and Valerie Hegarty,” Brock says.