by Helen Homan Wu on August 10th, 2010
Last week, while walking south of Houston (SoHo) I noticed a group of people huddled around a circle, looking bogged down from the heat waiting to make a move. They turned out to be architects and local artists creating a series of urban mini-landscapes down the narrow strip of Allen Street in the Lower East Side.
by Gabriella Radujko on August 8th, 2010
Excavations Non Objective, Michael Filan’s solo show of abstract paintings are on exhibit as part of the Intercultural Church’s 50th anniversary celebration through the end of August, 2010. Filan uses brilliant enamel paints, which he refers to as light, the intensity of color serving as his “mystical guide”. Dripped, poured and sprayed on recycled monoprints, with paper pulled away in some areas, exposing the work beneath it, a new genre of painting is brought forward, fueled by curiosity and impulse.
These handsome “pictures of nothing,” Kirk Varnedoe’s coinage for abstract art, are brushless and daringly drippy inventions which have been skillfully curated by Frank DeGregorio on free-standing, staggered walls with negative space above and below the paintings, allowing viewers to mix’n’match paintings in groupings from a variety of angles with great affect.
Enthusiasts of abstraction will see the influences of de Kooning, Frankenthaler and the lesser known Morris Louis, and more importantly, the quiddity of the art form in the delightfully, joyful gallery space known as the Treasure Room.
by Howard Hurst on August 6th, 2010
Lola
When it comes to the summer season, New York has a lot to offer. From the infamous dumpster pools to free concerts in the park, those of us who can’t afford to escape to the Hamptons have our choice of activities. Unfortunately, when it comes to the art world, the dog days get a bad rap. August is often referred to as “off season.” It’s true that those looking for flashy blockbusters will likely be disappointed, however one key element is often overlooked – the group show.
The Annual Summer Invitational at Jonathan Levine, which opened Wednesday night, is an excellent example of why I love the slower pace of the art world in the summer. The gallery is chiefly known for its street art meets gallery, low brow, counter-culture influenced aesthetic–one which is not necessarily my own. With past shows by Shepard Fairey, Blek le Rat, Jeff Soto, and Invader, I have come to expect something very specific when I enter the doors of the Levine gallery.
Evol
by Helen Homan Wu on August 3rd, 2010
Sitting in complete darkness I closed my eyes and brought myself closer to the Dreamachine.
The potential hypnotic, hallucinatory effects that this machine promises is a huge expectation for its sitters, myself included. Of course, at the time when Brion Gysin manifested this machine his state of mind was more or less LSD- or hashish-induced. A poet, painter, performer, inventor, and thinker, Gysin collaborated closely with beat poet William S. Burroughs. Their tight friendship is evident in correspondence letters and openly shared in the exhibition Brion Gysin: Dream Machine. Gysin is one of the founding fathers of the Beat movement, and well respected for his endless experimentations with words and images, which eventually led to sound recordings as well. This man traveled greatly both in the physical and spiritual world, freeing himself to what has been taught, searching for the unknown.
As the yellow light continuously flickers on my face at 78 rpm, I cannot imagine what Brion Gysin saw, in my sober state, instead I heard sounds from some distant land. And shed a tear.
Brion Gysin: Dream Machine
at The New Museum until Oct. 3, 2010
by Helen Homan Wu on August 3rd, 2010
Carol Irving likes to interrogate “the truth” in a gutted manner. She has been examining that “truth” not only in herself but also in over 600 volunteers through multiple “truth” happenings held at office spaces in Manhattan. I had the opportunity to meet with Carol at Carriage Trade, in which her piece PL/90-0559A is part of the group exhibition entitled Mistaken Identities. Using an original polygraph, which is an old-fashioned lie detector, on herself and on others for a period of over 18 years, Carol is onto something here. The results of these tests look strangely familiar, with marks and symbols that we seem to relate to, although not quite sure why or how. Then the questions begin to surface, such as Have you noticed your smells have changed as you’ve grown old? Do you know anyone named Art? Her images may seem surreal and fictitious but these polygraphic tests were once forced on individuals up until the late 80s. Being interrogated can be an unbearable experience, but transforming this into an art form becomes an attractive practice. I’d certainly be interested to surrender myself to become lines and numbers rendered by a guilt detecting device.
by Gabriella Radujko on August 2nd, 2010
CF000313 (Chris Jordon, 2009)
Exit Art tackled the notion that “global environmental struggles are creating an aesthetic” by mounting the photographic exhibit Ecoaesthetic: The Tragedy of Beauty on the main floor and hosting the SEA Poetry Series No. 4 in its cozy subterranean digital theatre on July 27, 2010.
The photographic highlights pictured here include Chris Jordan’s Midway Project, 2009, which documents the devastating impact plastic pollution has had on Midway Atoll albatross chicks in collage-like compositions, and Susannah Sayler’s Glacial, Icecap and Permafrost Melting XLVII: Cordillera Blanca, Peru, 2008 documenting a vanishing glacier, juxtaposing the limitations of attempting to capture geological time pitted against human time, capturing stasis as a positive state.
by Howard Hurst on August 1st, 2010
Retratos Pintados the current exhibition at Yossi Milo Gallery, presents a unique look at a little known and fascinating photographic tradition from Northeastern Brazil. The 150 vintage painted photographs stem from a practice popular in parts of rural Brazil since the late 19th century. Until the 1990s local artisans were commonly employed to embellish black and white family portraits using washes of oil paint and other techniques indigenous to the area. The practice was not wholly decorative. Long before the denizens of Myspace were photoshopping themselves into oblivion, Brazilian families were wrinkle free, had white smiles and full heads of hair.
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