A's skirt, digitally modified to fit the mood of the day.On two Saturdays in March I made a jaunt down to NYC for some art oriented expeditions. On the 7th, A and I headed down together to Pulse. We then parted ways as she met up with her pal Peggy, and I headed down to SOHO to check in on the Habitat for Artists installation at the recently opened NY outpost of Ecoartspace. After hanging you with the HFA contingent that had made its way down for the opening, I hustled up to Denise Bibro Fine Art to catch the Artbloggers panel that was organized by Olympia Lambert and which included Joanne Mattera, Hrag Vartanian, Libby Rosof and Roberta Fallon , Bill Gusky, and Brent Burket.
Saturday morning soccer action on the pier outside of Pulse.
Habitat for Artists at Ecoartspace.
The blogger panel at Denise Bibro Fine Art.On the following Saturday, I met up with Peter Acheson to do a late morning run through some galleries.
We started off at Josh Smith's show Currents at Luhring Augustine, where we spent much time debating Smith's intentions. Both of us responded positively to the show. I like straight out stream of production - good and bad- represented in the show. I also respond to the flattening out of the hierarchy of material, presenting paintings on canvas side by side with digital prints of paintings pasted on panel at the very same scale as the works on canvas. In some ways, his work speaks about slaying the sacred in art, but I found a certain structure within the gathered works that he did not betray. Certain types of mark making seemed relegated to the paintings and a particular set of the mixed media painting/collages, but another selection of collages were completely devoid of the same treatment. I'm not sure if this was part of a deep seated aesthetic strategy, or an abiding to some invisible barrier, either way, it served to undercut the entire, balls to the wall approach he seems to want to embody.The different bodies of work within this entire body were divergent enough that the works themselves seemed to provide a palate cleanser. As some work was more memorable than the rest, the lesser works...or whichever ones appeal to you less take on the role that empty wall space would provide - giving a buffer between the vibration of the pieces that matter. I picked up the exhibition catalog, and if image per dollar cost is any measure of worth, then it's a real value, clocking in at around 600 images for $40. The catalog, showing two images per page with no text equates to a cache of film frames rolling through a barrage of works, some of which I learned from the gal at the counter were not even finished. Knowing this really brought it home for me. I dig the flat, holistic apporoach to his process.
above and below: more Josh Smith.
Dana Schutz at Zach Feuer, through Apr 25.
The highlight of the day was discovering Jim Lee's work at Freight and Volume. This show lacking in the spectacular provided so much of a thrill to both of us. the inventiveness and quietly clear vision of this work forces air in to my lungs. I can't say enough about this show. I certainly don't have any smart words to lend it's description. F&V's website has more detailed images of the work.
A trippy Carroll Dunham at Mary Boone.
Our selection of gallery visits was rounded off with a stop into the Leon Kossoff show at Mitchell Innes and Nash. Really sumptuous, physical work from the '50's that been rarely seen as the artist has stringently guarded these pieces. My favorite piece is in a back room, but all of these works have so much presence, and given the generally muted palette, there's a lot of chromatic life eminating from all of these works.
a detail of Kossoff's oozing layers.
"Render unto Ceasar What is Caesar's: the World Died Screaming"mixed media on cigar box
Denver artist Russell Bay McKlayer died last month at the age of 48. Russell was one of the founding members of EDGE gallery. His work has always been graphically bold, and editorially direct, loaded social and political content.
Russell's passing is yet another loss to the EDGE family in recent years. Roger Beltrami died in early 2004. Roger and I exhibited concurrently at EDGE in 2002 just before I ended my six years as an associate member of the gallery and moved to NY. That occasion gave me an opportunity to get to know Roger better. I didn't have the same opportunity of spending one on one time with Russell, but I liked him very much, and I appreciated his presence in the group. As it happens, when I was back in Denver last October, I stopped into EDGE on an evening when Russell's most recent opening was being held and we were able to chat briefly. Ken Hamel of denverarts.org posted a few photos of Russell with his work in that exhibit called "I never said that I was brave".
Here are two images that I snapped of Russell's show:
In my view, both Russell and Roger lent a more pointed, radical nature to the character of EDGE as an entity and the losses of both remarkable individuals in relatively short order is profound.
In 2005 I organized an exchange show between the members of EDGE and a group of artists from Beacon NY. The concept of the show revolved around work that would fit into a standard flat rate USPS priority mailing box. The work of the Denver artists was on exhibit at Spire Studios here in Beacon. The image at the top shows Russell's contribution to the show. The work is paint and collage on a wooden cigar box which fit into the mailing box in its folded position and when opened, expanded into a vertical diptych.
My thoughts go out to Russell's family and friends.
The exhibit For The Love Of Art opened last week at the Hat Factory in Peekskill, NY. A grid of nine Genesis paintings are on view. The participating artists were invited to submit work that was then reviewed by a curatorial panel. Thanks to Michael Anthony Natiello who invited me to show.. Apparantly, prior to the opening, once the work was installed, there was some discussion among the curatorial panel regarding how appropriate the work is for public consumption with some wanting to yank the work. We'll see how it rolls. The exhibit will remain on view through March 15.
Here's a little snippet from a story in the Journal News that I thought was cute: Christopher Albert, Beacon, creates abstract works in various media. His oil painting "Genesis 18" (2007) brings new meaning to the phrase "biblical knowledge" as it is painted on pages from the adult magazine Genesis.
I'll be exhibiting a number of the Genesis Paintings from Feb 15 to March 15 in a show called For the Love of Art at the Hat Factory in Peekskill. For the Love of Art is a cooperative effort on the part of Yamet Arts Inc, The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Collaborative Concepts, the Peekskill Arts Council and the Hat factory.The exhibit features 30 artists in the Hudson Valley ranging from Mt Vernon, NY to Hudson, NY. A healthy number of the selected artists hale from Beacon. There's obviously a lot of us here, but there's an inordinant number of quality artists as well. Here's the total line up: Chris Albert, Emil Alzamora, Deb Davidovits, Matt Harle, Jill Reynolds, Angelika Rinnhofer, Eleanor White, Beacon; Michael Ricardo Andreev, Mt Vernon; Curt Belshe, Carla Rae Johnson, Peekskill; Dina Bursztyn, Catskill; Erik Odin Cathcart, Leslie Pelino, New Paltz; Mimi Czajka-Graminks, Red Hook; Cristina DeGennaro,Scott Goodman, Mamaroneck; E.Y.E, various locations; Gretchen Kelly, Hudson;
Leslie Lew, Mohegan Lake; Nathan Margoni,Alec Spangler Purchase; Lael Morgan, Croton; Laura Moriarty, Kingston; Lori Nozick, Crompond; GeneFree (Gene Panzcenko, Peekskill/Marcy B. Freedman, Croton) Jaanika Peerna, Cold Spring; Bruce Richards, Dobbs Ferry; Camilo Rojas, Millerton; Donna Sharrett, Ossining; Kate Vrijmoet, Pawling.An opening reception will take place on February 15 from 2-5pm. The Hat Factory is located at 1000 N. Division St in Peekskill, NY. Updated information is being posted on the Yamet Arts website.
I've spent some time over the past two Saturdays at Van Brunt Gallery working on stuff. I intend to do a series of drawings tied specifically to the experience of working in the gallery - akin to the Depletion Drawings done in my habitat over the Summer. In this new set of drawings I'm using oil pastel, a medium I'm not terribly comfortable with, and I've arbitrarily limited myself to two colors - a brown and a sort of fuschia. I'm also working on some tiles that are being added to the Habitat mix. The one below is taking a while; layering strips of newspaper. I've really gotten into building up the profile of this piece. Who knows if I'll finish. I'm enjoy seeing certain topographies being telegraphed as new layers are added.
There's got to be a culture somewhere in the world that considers an occurrence such as this a portent of fortuitous times to come.
A delicate procedure to separate these conjoined grapes was unsuccessful and both twins succumbed--TO MY TUMMY!
I just returned from installing Evangelist (above) at Van Brunt Gallery as part of phase two of the HFA project that is occupying the gallery for the next six weeks. Phase one of the exhibit opened last Saturday. Beginning today, Simon Draper has relegated 2/3 of the gallery space as interim studio/social space. The gallery is now constricted to an approx. 12 ft x 12 ft exhibition space that is dominated by three other large works beside mine; a piece by Todd Sargood and two by Richard Bruce.Below is an image of a pastel preparatory drawing for Evangelist.
The Habitat For Artists exhibit/project/fundraiser opened this weekend at Van Brunt Gallery. The gallery will serve as the conduit for the activities at the heart of the project. There will be some screenings, talks, and the space will be partially transformed in to a work space for the duration of the show.So I'll be spending a portion of the upcoming weekends at the gallery tinkering and cavorting and I'm looking forward to it.Above is an image of my "insulated tile" which is part of the initial stage of the exhibition. Participating artists created work on 14" tiles which conform to a modular format which can be used as the skin of a shed habitat - or make for a lovely little objey for the den. The colorful striations on the piece are one-by-two's that formed a grid from last Summer's hab at Spire Studios. I used some surplus paint from a few jobs to punch up the wood, then sliced them up and randomly re-gluing the pieces. The packing peanuts are held in place by plastic sheeting stretched over the piece. It's a sketch, really. It's silly, it's colorful, it's stupid. I love it.As I've discussed before, I'm into the aspect of maximizing resources that is a central component of the project. Not just material, but spacial, and intellectual resources. It's a highly resonant topic, now given the "hard times" we're currently experiencing. I feel moments like this can be rather exciting as they shake up the status quo, imposing another level of resourcefulness from more people.There's not a lot of bad in that, as I can see. Difficulty, sure, but not bad really. Ok, maybe some bad, but bad goes away. Hell, things are difficult even in times are supposedly good. Change is good too, and difficulty fosters change. So in a way, let's embrace doing things the hard way. That's almost a mantra for me. Throw in a constraint or an obstacle here and there and see what comes up. As Donovan says, you've got to pick up every stitch. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but it feels apropos, and it just started running through my head.I made a trip yesterday down to Brooklyn to attend a salon hosted by Sharon Butler and Austin Thomas at Thomas' place Pocket Utopia. The vibe and the activity at PU parallel that which I hope HFA will engender while at Van Brunt. I spoke briefly with C-Monster on the blessedness of the marginal space (and by extension -in my view- the beauty of the unexceptional), which will undoubtedly see a rise in these uncertain times.
A shot of Pocket Utopia as Sharon (seated at table) kicks of the discussion.
Shortly thereafter, the space filled to capacity.I must have mentioned here, somewhere before, an idea with which I have been fixated with since I don't remember; the thought of using every part of the buffalo (what a weird lookin' word). Somewhere along the way in school, I learned that the Indians Native Americans didn't let any portion of the buffalo go to waste, and it is now a hardwired fascination that I have. In fact, I've absorbed this notion so fully that it's part of my chemistry. It feels less a thought than an instinct, and without a doubt, a compulsion. I've known Peruvians to have the same approach to the pig. I've still got the cacophonous crunching of pigs feet in my head to prove it.So I appreciate the approach the Pocket Utopia is taking in its sliver of a storefront down in Bushwick. It feels fully occupied.In this same vein, I was really excited to learn recently (via bad at sports) of spcmkr.com. Nick Lucking and Tim Ivison established this Wiki site to assist "culture producers" to "institutionalize their resources" by sharing what they have in surplus with others in the form of establishing small residencies for other artists. This an exciting concept and it advances the cause of the gift economy while it serves up a sense of shared self sufficiency. I'm trying to see what scenario I can cook up that would fit within then tenets of the concept. The habitats fit right in with the spirit. And although not a living situation, the habs can offer a traveler a residency of a couple of hours to process some thoughts. A commenter on C-Monster's post about the kork project suggested creating a writing residency at DBB's office in addition to the other projects that are going on there. Regardless of whether that would actually work out in this situation, it's a great idea, and the right type of thinking.
Starting this Saturday and continuing for six weeks thereafter, Van Brunt Gallery in Beacon will be transformed into the equivalent of a thirty six square foot shed - except that it's not that small, and there's even indoor plumbing. Habitat for Artists is moving shop to Van Brunt for an exhibit/project that will take the spirit and concepts behind the project, and transfer them to the gallery. It's the gallery as nest, meeting place creative haven, community hub.....or that's the idea. We'll see how it rolls. Much of the gallery's new space will be transformed into a work space, open to all takers. It's like an uber-mini public residency, a couple of hours at a time.
I plan to be there for some length of time on most Saturday's and Sundays, churning out some magic.
A variety of events are planned throughout the run including talks, screenings and a couple of workshop performances courtesy of Flying Swine.
Habitat for Artists at Ecoartspace.
The blogger panel at Denise Bibro Fine Art.
We started off at Josh Smith's show Currents at Luhring Augustine, where we spent much time debating Smith's intentions. Both of us responded positively to the show. I like straight out stream of production - good and bad- represented in the show. I also respond to the flattening out of the hierarchy of material, presenting paintings on canvas side by side with digital prints of paintings pasted on panel at the very same scale as the works on canvas. In some ways, his work speaks about slaying the sacred in art, but I found a certain structure within the gathered works that he did not betray. Certain types of mark making seemed relegated to the paintings and a particular set of the mixed media painting/collages, but another selection of collages were completely devoid of the same treatment. I'm not sure if this was part of a deep seated aesthetic strategy, or an abiding to some invisible barrier, either way, it served to undercut the entire, balls to the wall approach he seems to want to embody.
Dana Schutz at Zach Feuer, through Apr 25.
The highlight of the day was discovering Jim Lee's work at Freight and Volume. This show lacking in the spectacular provided so much of a thrill to both of us. the inventiveness and quietly clear vision of this work forces air in to my lungs. I can't say enough about this show. I certainly don't have any smart words to lend it's description. F&V's website has more detailed images of the work.
Our selection of gallery visits was rounded off with a stop into the Leon Kossoff show at Mitchell Innes and Nash. Really sumptuous, physical work from the '50's that been rarely seen as the artist has stringently guarded these pieces. My favorite piece is in a back room, but all of these works have so much presence, and given the generally muted palette, there's a lot of chromatic life eminating from all of these works.
