| The New York Optimist September 2008 |
The September 4th Art
Crawl, 2008
By
Stephan Fowlkes
Crawl, 2008
By
Stephan Fowlkes
Well, it’s official. The red carpets have been rolled
out, the A/C cranked, lights lit and art hung on the
walls, and the doors thrown open to the tanned
masses reluctantly back on the island. The season
kicker and grand re-opening of the Chelsea art scene
came with great anticipation and fanfare, with over
70 galleries hosting openings Thursday. And that
doesn’t take into account the Friday or Saturday
openings either.
The art I saw frankly surprised me to be honest.
Not in the OMG shock factor sort of way that we’ve
all come to expect, but in the exact opposite way.
Maybe the gallerists all actually listened to me, or
maybe they just came to their senses. The shows,
for the most part, presented work that showed
serious investigation into the materials as with the
paintings I saw, and a certain professionalism when
it came to the subject matter and presentation of the
photography shows. What also caught my attention
was the apparent lack of sculpture. It almost seems
as if the gallerists are cautiously navigating the
current recession, by presenting work that is easier
to sell to the masses, work that actually can look
good in the living room over the sofa. There were
no piles of garbage posing as art; there was no
hardware on the walls pretending to be something
else. And this is what surprised me, for I have
gotten used to what the galleries put forth as the
“new” and different. Instead of trying to out-do
each other with sensationalist work or trying to push
the boundaries of the definition of art, these shows
showed great restraint, almost taking a step
backwards to the time when painting was allowed to
exist as a material and process and vehicle for
expression, as opposed to merely a referent to some
ideologically driven concept you have to read about
to understand. And there actually seems to be a
trend to return to subject matter in the paintings as
well; it is not only about the materiality of the
medium...no pure action painting or monochromatic
works. A lot of the work I saw showed clear
understanding of the medium balanced with a healthy
respect for the tradition of painting, some with
innovative and captivating subject matter, others
more traditional.
Natacha Ivanova’s paintings at Cueto Projects,
“Icons of Diana the Huntress” show a range from
surreal dreamscapes to straightforward portraiture,
though with a twist. Her large painting in the front
room presents us with a crowd of 50 nurses, each
unique in regard and expression, yet meticulously
painted. She manages to balance abstraction and
realism to create eerie and weighted atmospheres for
her subjects, often symbolically charged: her imagery
including swans, paratroopers, Jesus, and deer. Her
work is very personal, often coming straight out of
her own dreams, yet presented in a way that is very
accessible and welcoming to the viewer. Her larger
works are very easy to get lost in, pleasantly.
“Icons of Diana the Huntress”
Natacha Ivanova at Cueto Projects
551 W. 21st Street
September 5-October 18, 2008
out, the A/C cranked, lights lit and art hung on the
walls, and the doors thrown open to the tanned
masses reluctantly back on the island. The season
kicker and grand re-opening of the Chelsea art scene
came with great anticipation and fanfare, with over
70 galleries hosting openings Thursday. And that
doesn’t take into account the Friday or Saturday
openings either.
The art I saw frankly surprised me to be honest.
Not in the OMG shock factor sort of way that we’ve
all come to expect, but in the exact opposite way.
Maybe the gallerists all actually listened to me, or
maybe they just came to their senses. The shows,
for the most part, presented work that showed
serious investigation into the materials as with the
paintings I saw, and a certain professionalism when
it came to the subject matter and presentation of the
photography shows. What also caught my attention
was the apparent lack of sculpture. It almost seems
as if the gallerists are cautiously navigating the
current recession, by presenting work that is easier
to sell to the masses, work that actually can look
good in the living room over the sofa. There were
no piles of garbage posing as art; there was no
hardware on the walls pretending to be something
else. And this is what surprised me, for I have
gotten used to what the galleries put forth as the
“new” and different. Instead of trying to out-do
each other with sensationalist work or trying to push
the boundaries of the definition of art, these shows
showed great restraint, almost taking a step
backwards to the time when painting was allowed to
exist as a material and process and vehicle for
expression, as opposed to merely a referent to some
ideologically driven concept you have to read about
to understand. And there actually seems to be a
trend to return to subject matter in the paintings as
well; it is not only about the materiality of the
medium...no pure action painting or monochromatic
works. A lot of the work I saw showed clear
understanding of the medium balanced with a healthy
respect for the tradition of painting, some with
innovative and captivating subject matter, others
more traditional.
Natacha Ivanova’s paintings at Cueto Projects,
“Icons of Diana the Huntress” show a range from
surreal dreamscapes to straightforward portraiture,
though with a twist. Her large painting in the front
room presents us with a crowd of 50 nurses, each
unique in regard and expression, yet meticulously
painted. She manages to balance abstraction and
realism to create eerie and weighted atmospheres for
her subjects, often symbolically charged: her imagery
including swans, paratroopers, Jesus, and deer. Her
work is very personal, often coming straight out of
her own dreams, yet presented in a way that is very
accessible and welcoming to the viewer. Her larger
works are very easy to get lost in, pleasantly.
“Icons of Diana the Huntress”
Natacha Ivanova at Cueto Projects
551 W. 21st Street
September 5-October 18, 2008
| Selected Works Anna |
| Gameroom |
| Derek Buckner ‘s subject matter is the humble marshmallow, yet what he achieves with his paint in rendering these modest forms makes me think of Monet’s Water lilies or of a Turner sunset. The luminosity he creates in his marshmallow crowds transform them into clouds of sorts or Candy land landscapes. His palette is seductive just as his subject is sweet. “Marshmallows” Derek Buckner at George Billis Gallery 511 W. 25th Street September 2-October 4, 2008 |
Derek Buckner
Marshmallows #2, oil on linen, 30 x 40",
2008
Marshmallows #2, oil on linen, 30 x 40",
2008
Then Scott Redden gives us some slightly more stylized landscapes in “The Farmland
Paintings” at Dillon Gallery. With a very bright and dynamic palette, he presents us with
barns, farmhouses and silos in sparse landscapes, in a fun, light--even playful fashion.
Think Wyeth meets Hopper meets Cézanne. His stylized trees and clouds complete the
landscapes, and while initially they came across as almost folksy works, they quickly grew
on me with their almost innocent appeal.
“The farmland Paintings”
Scott Redden at Dillon Gallery
555W. 25th Street
September 4-October 4, 2008
Paintings” at Dillon Gallery. With a very bright and dynamic palette, he presents us with
barns, farmhouses and silos in sparse landscapes, in a fun, light--even playful fashion.
Think Wyeth meets Hopper meets Cézanne. His stylized trees and clouds complete the
landscapes, and while initially they came across as almost folksy works, they quickly grew
on me with their almost innocent appeal.
“The farmland Paintings”
Scott Redden at Dillon Gallery
555W. 25th Street
September 4-October 4, 2008
Judy Glantzman’s paintings at Betty
Cunningham are somewhat rooted more in
the older traditions of painting: Renaissance
and Baroque atmospheres permeate the
compositions where you almost expect to
see angels and cherubs, but there is also a
Giacometti quality to her brush strokes in
the figures. Again, these works show a
serious attitude toward her medium, a
healthy respect for the process and the
composition.
Judy Glantzman at Betty Cunningham
Gallery
541 W. 25th Street
September 4-October 11, 2008
“New Walls From Europe,” a group show
at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery presents
us with works from ten European artists, a
nice comparison to what we’re doing on
this side of the pond. There are a good
variety of styles, yet again; all work shows
a certain caliber of investigation and
workmanship that is refreshing to see
(maybe they’re reading my columns over
there as well!).
“New Walls From Europe”
Sundaram Tagore Gallery
547 W. 27th Street
September 4-September 22, 2008
Cunningham are somewhat rooted more in
the older traditions of painting: Renaissance
and Baroque atmospheres permeate the
compositions where you almost expect to
see angels and cherubs, but there is also a
Giacometti quality to her brush strokes in
the figures. Again, these works show a
serious attitude toward her medium, a
healthy respect for the process and the
composition.
Judy Glantzman at Betty Cunningham
Gallery
541 W. 25th Street
September 4-October 11, 2008
“New Walls From Europe,” a group show
at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery presents
us with works from ten European artists, a
nice comparison to what we’re doing on
this side of the pond. There are a good
variety of styles, yet again; all work shows
a certain caliber of investigation and
workmanship that is refreshing to see
(maybe they’re reading my columns over
there as well!).
“New Walls From Europe”
Sundaram Tagore Gallery
547 W. 27th Street
September 4-September 22, 2008
| Judy Glantzman Untitled 2004 oil on canvas 90" x 80" |
| Even John Connelly presented two painters in the front and back rooms who were not trying to make statements beyond the canvas (unlike his previous show...remember? Think yoga mats and brass hooks). In the front, there is a reductive, fine-brushed body of paintings by Jeronimo Elespe, and in the back room, more small, seductive, abstract works by Molly Zuckerman-Hartung. Elespe’s works are small in stature, 4” x 4” to 10” x 15” yet meticulously rendered, presenting us with haunting portraits and semi-abstract land/ dreamscapes. The scale does not diminish the impact of the work, yet draws the viewer in closer for further satisfying scrutiny. Jeronimo Elespe, Molly Zuckerman-Hartung John Connolly Presents 625 W. 27th Street September 5-October 11, 2008 |
To depart from pure painting, the works by Noam Rappaport at the
ATM Gallery blur the lines between painting and sculpture.
Particularly effective are his wood and paper constructions, where
the relationship between the two materials and the formal aspects
blend to create powerful visual narrative, with strong formal qualities.
Noam Rappaport at ATM Gallery
619b W. 27th Street
September 5-October 11, 2008
All in all there was a very light and playful quality about much of the work,
which is a refreshing departure from all the overly idea-based work of last
season. But this is not at the expense of quality and skill. Much of the
work I saw leads me to believe that the renaissance of traditional
values--without compromising innovation--is on the rise. Life is cyclical as
are the trends in art, and I welcome this new turn in the evolution of the art
market, like a fresh breeze hinting at the first days of Fall.
And thanks to all my co-crawlers for making the evening so entertaining
and enjoyable! See you next Thursday. -SF
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