In her layered paintings and installations Cecile Chong brings to life notions of “otherness”, how cultural filters make us see each other. Her departure point derives organically from her experiences since early childhood. Here she shares some of these experiences, the genesis of her diverse body of work, and her upcoming projects.
Cecile Chong, DNA Matching, 2018 Encaustic and mixed media on wood 11 x 8 inches, photo courtesy of the artist
Throughout her drawings and paintings Tamar Zinn has developed her own visual vocabulary, rooted in abstraction. Zinn shares with Art Spiel her growth as an artist, work process, and current art and curatorial projects.
Tamar Zinn, Pavane 21, 2017, pigmented charcoal and conté crayon on paper, 17 x 9”. Photo courtesy of the artist
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.
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”
When an exhibition feeds you, enlightens you, or centers you, it remains with you. Each of the three shows below resonate with me for very different reasons and collectively they create a rich and thought provoking reminder of why we look at art.
Sutures at Mark Straus Gallery presents works which rely in some way on fabric, thread, weaving and/or sewing. The title is shared with one of the show’s focal points: a Louise Bourgeois sculpture, that is itself worth the visit. Continue reading “Paint, Film, Thread: Three Current Shows”
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.
Just as it is hard to look at certain Matisse paintings and not feel the radiant sun of the Cote d’Azur, it is hard to see a piece by Linda Schmidt and not imagine a beautiful light-filled space. Recently she invited me to her studio that looks out over the low industrial rooftops of Bushwick, and seems, even on overcast days to be bright and filled with serenity.
Wild World: Ashley GARRETT, Catherine HOWE and Lily PRINCE, the current painting exhibition at at Cross Contemporary Art opened on Sat. September 8th. On Sunday, September 30th Richard Klin will be reading from his novel, Petroleum Transfer Engineer, at the Cross Contemporary Gallery in Saugerties, NY at 4:00 PM. Klin is also the author of two nonfiction books. Klin’s work–fiction and nonfiction–has been featured on Public Radio International’s Studio 360 and has appeared in the Brooklyn Rail, the Atlantic, the Forward, Flyover Country Review, Adelaide, NPR’s All Things Considered and others.
David Wojnarowicz , Untitled (Face in Dirt), 1991 (printed 1993). Gelatin silver print, 19 × 23 in. (48.3 × 58.4 cm). Collection of Ted and Maryanne Ellison Simmons. Image courtesy the Estate of David Wojnarowicz and P.P.O.W, New York
Like a gut-punch for the eyes, The David Wojnarowicz show History Keeps Me Awake at Night at the Whitney Museum of American Art hits the viewer with a visceral, almost-physical jolt of emotion. Bodies are veiled in photographic shadow and light, primary colors leap off large canvases stuffed with collage, lighted globes and spoken words combine to map out the passion and rage experienced by the artist in his relatively short life. There is such variety in the exhibition that my friend and I almost missed a whole gallery, mistaking it for a different artist’s work.
Ever since the Israeli born artists Keren Anavy and Tal Frank started working in their nearby studios in Tel Aviv, they have developed a unique artistic collaborative process in addition to their individual thriving art practices. Their collaboration has resulted in multiple imaginative and rigorous installations that have been exhibited internationally. For Art Spiel, each of the duo sheds light on their collaboration, individual art, and upcoming plans. They also share their recent formative experience at the Everglades National Park residency in Florida (AIRIE), where they have further perfected their work process dynamics.
Keren Anavy & Tal Frank, Compositions for Stones of Gold, 2018, Installation view, site-specific installation, wood, The Gallery of the Cultural Institute Mexico-Israel, Mexico City, oil on linen, each painting 76.7X37.4″, wood, Pyrite stones, video animation screening. Photo credit: Zony Maya.