A WALK THROUGH CHELSEA

Dropping our postcard entry off at VisualAIDS, we took a quick peek at a few exhibits in Chelsea. Here's what we saw:

NORBERT SCHWONTKOWSKI "ANGSTRŒM" @ MITCHELL-INNES & NASH - A remarkably delightful show of paintings by this 60 year old German artist in his first New York solo exhibition. Schwontkowski has taught in Germany for years and he makes me want to enroll for my MFA over there. A gracious mix of fancy and simplicity, these are some of the most painterly paintings I've seen in NY in quite some time. A Balthus-like precociousness presents images that are disarmingly naive yet show a masterful hand in drawing and application of paint.

Up until January 9, 2010 - DON'T MISS!!

ANNA JÓELSDÓTTIR "priest chews velvet haddock" @ STUX GALLERY - A compelling installation by this Icelandic artist. A frantic, ecstatic energy charges through these works, especially the installation works that have a Mad Hatter quality. The work that provides the title for the show is a phantasmagorical cascade of mylar tattooed and tinted in a highly detailed fashion.

Up until January 9, 2010 - WORTH A LOOK!!




PETER FISCHLI/DAVID WEISS "SUN, MOON & STARS" @ MATTHEW MARKS - An encyclopedic work by the leader alchemists of the art world. A dizzying series of tables provide a chromatic study of magazine advertisements that also follow a bizarre uncanny narrative. Entertaining and engaging up close, I had wished there was a bit MORE room in the gallery to display their larger essence. "CLAY AND RUBBER" at the gallery's 24th St Outpost is another anthology, this of 24 everyday objects cast in one of the two title materials. Masterfully done, I couldn't help get the feeling I was in a really high-end Home Depot!
Up until January 16, 2010 - WORTH A LOOK!




LYNDA BENGLIS @ CHEIM & READ - Large scale bronze wall hangings and free-standing objects. I like the general drift of these pieces, especially the two "Swinburne" pieces which are cast in tinted polyurethane. I start to run into problems here with the general surface of the work, which can be best described as wormy scatological. The two pink pieces redeem an otherwise unremarkable show.
Up until January 2, 2010 - TAKE A QUICK PEEK!




Also seen:


CHARLES RITCHIE "BOOKS & PAGES: 2004 - 2009" @ BRAVINLEE PROGRAMS - A lovely show of works on paper. Beautifully illumined pages are peppered with spidery script-scrawl. Masterful watercolors. Worth a trip in the 526 W 26th St building. STRAIGHTFORWARD & HONEST.


MATTHEW RITCHIE @ ANDREA ROSEN GALLERY - A monumental multimedia installation. Ambitious in scope it doesn't hold together as well as ANNA JÓELSDÓTTIR Anna Joeldottir's installation @ Stux. Make a walk through to take in the small Gallery 2 show of Pop icons, most notably a soft Oldenburg clothespin! Philadelphia Freedom!! MAKE A WALK-THRU.


CLIFFORD ROSS @ SONNABEND - Ross continues his study of ocean waves, an oeuvre that I not taken to in the past. But the artist has given these new prints are wider horizontally, echoing a film screen, and printed the image with archival pigment inks which provie these works a depth and substance they lacked previously. AN IMPRESSIVE STEP FORWARD.


SEAN SCULLY @ GALERIE LELONG - Luscious unremarkable paintings by a major American painter. one painting, LANDBAR, struggles to break the mold. IF YOU MUST.


ERIC FISCHL @ MARY BOONE - An uneventful exhibition by a major player on the painting scene. Matadors and nemeses in flashy style. Wonder where Mr. F will vacation next. SKIP IT.