Tag: sculpture

Posted on , 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.
Continue reading “Austin Thomas – Lots of little things at LABspace”

Posted on , by Etty Yaniv

Strange Girls at Garvey Simon

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 Continue reading “Strange Girls at Garvey Simon”

Posted on , 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.

Elisa Jensen , Gold Boat detail, 2018, self drying clay, acrylic paint, gold leaf 2 x 7 inches, photo by Apiwich

Continue reading “Elisa Jensen: Gazing Inward”

Posted on , by Etty Yaniv

Nancy Cohen – One Substance from the Start

Nancy Cohen‘s sensibility for the ephemeral is evident throughout her wide range of forms – from small sculptural pieces to large scale room installations. With fluid agility she utilizes diverse material such as glass, paper, rubber, and ceramics, to form a thematically rigorous body of work – both visceral and inquisitive. The artist shares with Art Spiel some of her ideas on process, use of material, themes, and projects.

Nancy Cohen, Merge, 2018, Handmade paper, 81 x 68 inches, photo courtesy of Edward Fausty

Continue reading “Nancy Cohen – One Substance from the Start”

Posted on , by Nina Meledandri

Paint, Film, Thread: Three Current Shows

By Nina Meledandri

All Photos courtesy of Nina Meledandri

 

Louise Bourgeois, Sutures, 1993, Mixed Media

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”

Posted on , by Etty Yaniv

Katya Grokhovsky’s Rigorous Play

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.

Katya Grokhovsky,Bad Woman, 2017, video still

Continue reading “Katya Grokhovsky’s Rigorous Play”

Posted on , by Etty Yaniv

Melissa Stern – Walking the Line

Melissa Stern‘s artworks depict abstracted narratives with complex emotional layers,  projecting altogether an urgent psychological presence. The figures  in her drawings and sculptures inhabit an absurd universe which is  darkly funny  in a deeply felt way. Her imagery is precise, poetic,  and overall underscores  a close affinity with language – bringing to mind an artist who is both an acute observer and a witty commentator.  That said, it is Stern’s sensibility of raw and expressive forms that makes her not only an observant narrator but also  an empathetic participant in her own human comedy. The artist  shares with Art Spiel her modes of thinking, process of making, and some plans, including her solo show opening on Oct 11 at Garvey Simon Gallery.

Melissa Stern, Red Boots 30 x 8 x 10 inches, Clay, graphite, object, linoleum, 2016

Continue reading “Melissa Stern – Walking the Line”

Posted on , by Etty Yaniv

Size Matters

Chris Ketchie, “WEST”1000 Paintings of Then, 2015-2017 Ink and Acrylic on Wood, 130” x 275” x 2.5”, photo courtesy of the artist

In Size Matters artist and curator William Norton brings together seventeen visual artists and four performance artists from Japan, China, the USA, and the UAE, for whom the notion of scale is central.  The curator questions in what ways does scale impact form? How does it affect meaning? And more specifically, how is our perception of scale affected by cultural differences between Asian and Western cultures? Continue reading “Size Matters”

Posted on , by Etty Yaniv

Shari Mendelson: The Beauty of Objects Left Behind

First Look: Shari Mendelson: Glasslike at UrbanGlass

Shari Mendelson, Walking Animal with Vessel in Net, 12″ x 6″ x 9″, Repurposed plastic, hot glue, acrylic polymer, metal, resin, paint, mica, 2018, photo credit: Polite Photographic

The glasslike sculptures in Shari Mendelson’s current exhibition at UrbanGlass conjure mythical narrative with an urgent sense of the present. Based on rigorous study, the artist draws upon primarily glass artifacts from ancient Rome and early Islam, to form imaginative, witty, and playful sculptures made of throwaway plastic bottles. While avoiding simple mimicking of ancient artifacts, Mendelson’s vases, urns, animals, and figures alike create forms and forge narratives that link present to past in fresh and multilayered ways, as the show curator Elizabeth Essner puts it – “the previous lives of her [Mendelson’s] materials emerge: the bottoms of bottles are reborn as faceted ornament, a milk jug becomes an animal, the visage of a figure appears, formed from the tiniest bits of plastic.” Continue reading “Shari Mendelson: The Beauty of Objects Left Behind”