Contemporary Art and Culture
Many wonderful artists wielded their prowess in and around New York this month, in a myriad of ways and media. Moving around the city in the height of summer can be a daunting task, but these shows draw you into other realms that make you forget all about humidity and glad you made the trip. From Brooklyn to Governors Island to Storm King, here are some standouts that were definitely worth the journey.
Continue reading “July in NY – In & Outdoors Around the City”
In a recent conversation at Barro Gallery in New York, the Sue and Eugene Mercy assistant curator Ana Torok (MoMA, prints and drawings), likened Matías Duville’s artistic process to “throwing a lance” at the canvas. Indeed, Duville is not kind to his materials. His artistic oeuvre is replete with scratched metal and burned wood. For his paper works, charcoal is inflicted, not applied. When I had the good fortune to speak with the artist about his current exhibition at Barro Gallery, Vertices of Time, I asked what kinds of materials he had used for his paintings. One material stuck out as particularly harsh: “heat gun.”
Continue reading “Snubbing the Earth: Matías Duville’s Vertices of Time at Barro Gallery New York.”
Chelsea has multiple exciting shows this summer, ranging from large group shows to solo retrospectives. We will highlight three shows with different curatorial premises. The Swimmer, a large-scale group show sprawling over the 9th and 10th floors of the FLAG Art Foundation, centers around the narrative of John Cheever’s short story from 1964, presenting works that dig into its themes and imagery. Another impressive large-scale group show surveys the increasing presence of weaving, textiles, and embroidery in contemporary art, featuring an international and intergenerational group of artists whose works push the boundaries of these traditional mediums. Lastly, at Pretzel, there is a beautifully curated retrospective of Malcolm Morley, offering a glimpse into the fascinating work of the late artist (1931–2018).
Continue reading “Art Spiel Picks: Chelsea Exhibitions for July 2024”
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.
Continue reading “Nexus, Echoes, and Connections – Stefano Caimi, Rachel Frank, Gayoung Jun, Kirstin Lamb at SARAHCROWN Gallery”
London-based artist Francesca Mollett is now on view at the GRIMM gallery in a new solo exhibition titled Corso. In this second solo show at the gallery, Mollett presents more daring monumental canvases with bold colors, a contrast to the artist’s previous work. The work mirrors the subtlety of Vuillard and semi-recognizable abstraction, but the artist’s maturity and confidence make this a must-see in Tribeca. The show runs through June 22nd.
Continue reading “Anna’s Art Picks: Must-See Tribeca Exhibitions in June 2024”
A golden, shimmering drapery cascades from the wall—the skin-like surface of Soft Embrace is from Lesley Bodzy’s experimental work with acrylic paint. She uses the liquid pigment as a sculptural material, shaped into a malleable cloth, reminding of Lynda Benglis’s poured latex on the floor or Eva Hesse’s visceral and alluring sculptures. The sensuous object evokes a tactile experience, an imagination of how touching it might feel, through looking. Matter surprises, entering a threshold between fluid and solid, elasticity and delicacy. Jamaica Kincaid’s 1978 story Girl tells a mother-daughter dispute about how a girl should behave. “…on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming…” The mother’s advice seems endless and castigating, instructing every aspect of daily living. Side-by-side, Bodzy’s curved drapery recalls ‘how girls should behave,’ as it seemingly hides things beneath and its smooth surface presents an image of flawless elegancy, concealing feelings in a muted position.
Continue reading “Womanhood 102: Lesley Bodzy and Katie Commodore Challenge Gender Norms”
Beverly Fishman, I dream of Sleep, 2020. Installation. Courtesy of the artist and Miles McEnery Gallery
This is part of a series of articles for the upcoming exhibition, The Greatest Emergency at the Circulo de Bellas Artes of Madrid. The exhibition is based on Santiago Zabala’s book, Why Only Art Can Save Us: Aesthetics and the Absence of Emergency. In this exhibition, ten contemporary artists rescue us into our greatest emergencies, that is, those we do not confront as we should. Each article in the series will contextualize these artists’ practices and explore how they are linked to Zabala’s aesthetic theory and the exhibition’s themes. The first article in this series highlights the work of American artist Beverly Fishman.
Unlike many art historians and art critics, philosophers do not look for works of art that are necessarily beautiful or interesting. Most of us—at least those educated in the continental tradition of Hegel, Nietzsche, and Arendt—instead look for works that disclose a theoretical stance. Martin Heidegger’s writing on Van Gogh’s shoes paintings, Arthur Danto on Andy Warhol’s Pop Art, and Jacques Rancière on Alfredo Jaar’s photographs are paradigmatic examples. This does not mean we do not care about the artist’s effort in creating such work; rather, we focus more on whether the work discloses an aesthetic notion, political idea, or anthropological concept that has meaning for society at large. Artists, for us, have the same ontological purpose as scientists or politicians. A great work of art, new scientific discovery, or progressive policy can change people’s relationship with reality. If these works, discoveries, and policies change this relationship, it is not necessarily because they are “better” than others but because they touch our existence to a greater degree.
Continue reading “Beverly Fishman’s Greatest Emergency”
One of my guilty pleasures is binge-watching creativity reality shows, especially from the UK. We’ve got the Great Pottery Throw Down, where the judge, a great hulking potter in overalls with a Wallace and Gromit face, bursts into tears every time he sees a beautifully made ceramic. There’s Blown Away, a glass-blowing show with lots of macho folk blowing glass sweatily. And there’s Landscape Artist of the Year. But my all-time favorite is Sky Art’s Portrait Artist of the Year.
Continue reading “Whisperings from the Wormhole with @talluts”
Over-Compression, a group show featured in Ridgewood Open Studios, is the culmination of Eunice Chen Yuyue’s curator-in-residence program at Level Gallery, supported by Rockella Space. From February to April 2024, Eunice visited over 20 artists in their studios at One Eyed Studios and Brown Bear Studios. The exhibition highlights the work of Brooklyn and Queens artists, including Christine Abraham, Luis Aguilera, Britt Harrison, Ben Blaustein, Alexander Brewington, Sir, King David, Karryl Eugene, Yunierki Felix, Joe Gray, Kristen Heritage, Jason Karolak, Teddy Lane, Sheila Lanham, Sfera Louis, Spencer Patrick, Jean Rim, Alejandra Rojas, Chimera Singer, Md Tokon, and Amanda Valle. Over-Compression is displayed across five galleries at One Eyed Studios, running from May 3rd to May 19th, 2024.
Continue reading “Over-Compression in Ridgewood Open Studios, curated by Eunice Chen”
The Space Between, curated by Tracy McKenna at Platform Project Space, combines works in paint and fiber by Lauren Luloff, Tessa Greene O’Brien, Mark Olshansky, and Amy Kim Keeler. They all share a sense of desire to capture the elusive space in between—where the artist’s perception and hand meet your gaze.
Continue reading “The Space Between at Platform Project Space”