Forgive my absence. February is a time of highs and lows. February 2nd brought good news from Staten Island Chuck that Spring was due early (again) this year. February 14th left an empty mailbox and an empty box of self-bought chocolates!
Family obligations (my mother's 85 birthday party) forced me to spend the President's Day weekend in Florida. But before I went, I did happen to take in a few shows before I left. Here are a few notables:
Christian Marclay @ Paula Cooper: "The Clock" was THE media event of February in Chelsea. Once more Mr. Marclay exercises his skill as editor and craftsman in this 24 hour long video. Seamlessly composed of film clips from the medium's earliest to most recent moments, Marclay not only chronicles the movement of time through cinema, but literally created a clock that takes the viewer through the history of cinema.
During the 48 hour non-stop screening of the video, people lined up down W 21 St in the freezing cold to experience this cinematic monument. An well worth it. But the piece definitely required return visits. And I did find it a bit strenuous to take in long stretches. By the end of 30-45 minutes I found I needed to stretch my legs and get some relief from the seamless editing! The piece strikes viewers in different ways at different times as clips become recognizable then vanish to re-emerge minutes later.
I must say that no matter how impressive this project is, I did not find it half as engaging and disturbing as his "Crossfire" piece which I saw at White Cube a few years ago (WC also screened "The Clock" to record crowds in London). That piece, which provided little escape from its onslaught, was more exacting and demanded a much more visceral response from the viewer
visually and aurally. Though I admired the technical and editorial savvy of "The Hours", I never felt bad about leaving it!
Tony Feher @ Pace Wilderstein - "Next On Line"
is Tony Feher's recent show. Tony was an artist I encountered early in his career at the Richard Anderson Gallery many moons ago. Richard had an uncanny eye for spotting new interesting work (Bill Jacobson's first blurry portraits were also displayed with Richard). I have a seminal memory of an early show of Mr Feher's there involving a grid of old milk bottles on the floor which contained a blue liquid portrait of a shark. Over the years Mr. Feher has toyed with various arrays of objects that were reminiscent of Barry Le Va with a post-modern twist. This show at Pace Wilderstein has the artist back in an element that he is most comfortable in: liquids. These witty, deliciously simple works return to the artist's most basic element: liquids and the line. It was infectiously fun yet scientifically precise. I loved these 'drawings' but would hate to have one in my collection!!
Martin Kersels @ Mitchell-Innes & Nash - "Charms. Stacks & Flotsam". The big man of CA art comes to NYC with an all out sensual assault! I've been a big Kersels fan from way back. His latest one-man show in NYC has him at a smart sassy apex! The artist's interest in weight and balance is still in the foree, but Kersels has used an fun and imaginative array of materials to intercede for the physical premise of the artist. The exhibit of beautifully rendered drawings and silly/serious objects dangling from the ceiling were lovely, but my true interests were in the "Stacks", small sculptural objects made up out of books. Hewn, cut, divided and re-assembled, these pieces showed the artist at great reserve yet working in his classic arena! I want two!!
Don't miss the Flotsam drawings along the back walls: delicate, intricate and negative, they show the artist as not merely material in a commercial sense but as a human one as well. Beautifully rendered, I never imagined this bumptious artist could produce drawings so heart-felt and delicate!
Fate (and family) brought me down to the Ivory
Coast of Florida this February (ie Fort Lauderdale) but fortune brought me to the Girls' Club of Fort Lauderdale. A private family foundation house in a fabulous home in the Las Olas Downtown art area. I stumbled upon two intriguing shows: Frances Twombly: Paintings and "Facsimile:, a group show. Beautifully designed, this alternate artists' space presented these two long-term installations that were both provocative and mutually stimulating. Ms. Twombley presented a series of canvases installed specifically in the Girls Club space.
Minimalist in their appearance, these canvases are all hand woven and develop a cultural dialogue between art and design. The more time I spent in the space, the more fascinating these monochromatic works became. Brava!! The group show upstairs collected a various and intriguing group of artists whose work mirrored Twombley's focus on production and the art of the material. Showcased in the gallery above Twombley's, it parallels the artists' fascination with material, production and art history. Stand outs include Tim Davis' "Rainbow Bread" and Jonathan Rockman's "Expand and Contract".
I was particularly smitten with Elaine Reichek "Swatches, Albers 1-3", 2007. Using programmed embroidery machines to recreate Albers' 'Homage to a Square', these works reflects upon art history while distilling it into a digital age. Ghada Amer, Orly Genger, and Jonathan Seliger add a sensible, sensual gravitas to an excellent group exhibit.
If in the FTL area, not to be missed!!
