A STROLL THROUGH CHELSEA

Since our invitation to a studio visit to the Upper East Side was rescinded we strolled the Hi-Line then took in some art. Here's what we saw:

JANET CARDIFF & GEORGE BURES MILLER @ LUHRING AUGUSTINE GALLERY -Fabulous fun. Cardiff and Miller continue to produce smart works that demand the visitor's attention. Aural and narrative exploration are the words-dejour here. Three 'antique' black telephones adorn the wall when you enter the gallery. Definitely sit in on the bleary dream Cardiff recounts on the rightmost of the three. Mid-Gallery contains The Carnie, a large loud carousel with two small children floating above it. Make your way through as quickly as you can and get your behind into the last gallery which contains a lovely old wooden library filing cabinet. The piece is called "The Cabinet of Curiousness". Open a drawer and a sound or a voice or piece of music emerges from the drawer. Drawers can be opened and closed in random order which made for great viewer interaction. This piece drew me in so deeply and contentedly that i never listened to the final telephone pieces. On my next visit, because I intend to come back!
I would love to concertize on this instrument!! GO NOW!!
Up until May 1, 2010 - DO MOT MISS! TOTO AND I BOTH SAY GO!!




URSULA VON RYDINGSVARD @ GALERIE LELONG - Large, raw wooden sculptures. A variety of inside-outside vessel objects are crafted with the artist's usual attention to rough-hewn detail. Impressive in a Teutonic-fetish way. Ouch!!

Up until May 1, 2010 - WORTH A LOOK!




DONALD BAECHLER @ CHEIM & READ - Baechler continues to institutionalize his naïf style. Large flowers, soccer balls and skulls float on enormous tarps of spattered paint and newsprint. Theses pieces are big! And absolutely nothing new.


Up until MARCH 27, 2010 - IF YOU MUST. DEFINITELY FOR PAINTHEADS!!




CATHERINE OPIE  @ GLADSTONE GALLERY- Beautiful butch lesbians. Opie's color work is rich and straightforward. Her small black and white are fiercely fetishistic and don't really dull their porno appeal. Opie is highly capable and highly over-rated.
Up until April 24, 2010 - HOT HOT HOT??


Also seen:


APRIL ROSS-HO:  "Somebody stop me" @ MITCHELL-INNES & NASH- A nice New York debut by this California based artist. Very girly, very gold. My hat is off to anyone who makes their own pegboard! And we love the enormous inverted gold clown pin and gold chain ornaments. WORTH A LOOK.


ANDRE BUTZER: "Nicht fürchten! Don´t be scared!" @ METRO PICTURES GALLERY - Large, thick lavish paintings. Messy and derivative. Standouts are Grablegung von Winnie Puh (Entombment of Winnie the Pooh) and Nicht fürchten! (3) (Don't be Scared! (3))!! WORTH A WALK-THRU.


WES LANG: "Smile, It's a Grey Day: @ ZIEHERSMITH GALLERY - More paintings, large and small. Memento Mori moments galore. The smaller works are more successful, especially the 'black' paintings, simpler and more evocative. FLIP A COIN.

WILHELM SASNAL @ ANTON KERN GALLERY - A talented Polish painter working in the German School of Everystyle. Dim, wishy-washy and uninspiring. IF YOU MUST.


BARBARA KRUGER @ MARY BOONE GALLERY - A large scale multichannel video of humorless humor "artfully" projected. SKIP IT.