NANCY STAUB LAUGHLIN @ NOHO GALLERY
January 9-February 17, 2007
Nancy Staub’s work is technically impressive and uses a unique process for layering imagery. I found her process to be more interesting than the work itself because I had a difficult time relating to her subject matter and color palette. While I am generally fascinated by reflections and technically challenging renderings the choice of sequins, polka dots, and postcard images of Christmas trees in an almost universally baby pink, green blue color scheme was a turn-off. It struck me as superficial and brainless. Maybe that was the point she was trying to get across, but it defiantly got in the way of my ability to relate to the work. On the other hand I can see there being a large market for her for the same reason. Any piece from this series would fit right into a parlor on the Upper East Side. I was much more drawn to her photographs, which she uses as source material for the pastel paintings. Having seen these photos I was doubly impressed with Nancy’s technical proficiency and artistic vision. Not only did she photograph materials with various transparency overlaying each other, but she also photocopied previous photos of the same materials and worked them into new photos. Some of the images had at least 3 or 4 layers that had been created this way. The beauty of the photo was that you could see which was which – and also that it revealed just how abstract and crazy the pastel drawings actually were. If I had to choose one piece to buy it would be one of the photos, but I also feel like it would be a crime to buy one of Nancy’s pastels without also having a photo to accompany it.
As openings go this one was a bit stuffy – there were a couple Art Bitches in designer dresses talking shit about their friends to their I-Banker dates/clients. Some interesting old people, decent red wine, and very tasty goat cheese and water crackers. It was on the 4th floor and I noticed that there are a shitload of galleries located nearby so I will defiantly be going back to check them out soon.
Noho Gallery
530 W 25, 4th flr
Ny, NY 10001
Phone: 212-367-7063
URL: http://www.nohogallery.com/
Hours: tues-sat 11-6
UDOMSAK KRISANAMIS @ GAVIN BROWN’S ENTERPRISE
January 20 – February 17
The second opening I went to – Udomsak Srisanamis – also featured layered photocopied imagery. However, Udomsak’s use was far more sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing to me than Nancy Staub’s. Granted, his layering was more graphic and I have a personal bias toward graphic work. However, his process is equally as interesting even though his xeroxes are not as complex as Nancy’s. He has a series of black & white 11×17 photocopies that he tiles onto canvas and then paints on top of. For the most part the painting is very methodical and grid-like. The photocopy compositions are made up of broken text and what appears to be SCSI pins. Udomsak uses rollers to continue the quasi-perfect grid lines as he masks out parts of the photocopies in black paint. Some of the paintings had splashes of color peeking through – yellow orbs painted between the photocopies and the black overpainting in a pair of large canvases; colored photocopies peeking through on another one. At first glance I thought that there were only 2 versions of the photocopy compositions, but at closer inspection I could decipher at least 4 – some with very slight variations. A couple of the walls were pasted in them so it was very easy to see the relationship between the compositions and the canvases. I think that curation decision made the work especially interesting to look at.
There was also a German artist named Franz Ackermann in the front “project” room. The 3-D graphics painted on the walls and neon colors were kind of cool. The crowd was much different from the Chelsea scene I had just left. There were at least 10 men in their 40’s 50’s and 60’s that resembled hobos and were meticulously examining the art- I assume they must have been artists. A couple of them were chatting up 2 stunningly gorgeous tall black women (who I don’t think knew each other). I paged through a book about Udomsak and there was an absurd passage that ineptly tried to compare his work with Roland Barthes’ theory. I created quite a roadblock in the hallway writing the citation down in my journal – Fragmente einer Sprach der Liebe (1977). There was white wine and beer, and a tip jar for the bartender who insisted on touching my hand whenever he handed me a cup of Pinot Grigio.
Gavin Brown’s Enterprise
620 Greenwich
btwn W Houston & Morton
New York, NY 10014
phone: 212-627-5258
fax: 212-627-5261
email: gallery@gavinbrown.biz
URL: gavinbrown.biz
Hours: tues-sat 10-6
Also noteworthy:
MIGUEL LUCIANO @ CUE
December 7- January 27
I slipped into CUE Art Foundation minutes before closing and bought a program for Miguel’s show because I loved the work so much. In particular there is a series of Tarot card paintings with a mixture of Consumer, Taino, and Puerto Rican iconography. The Roland Barthes commentary would have been much more appropriate here! There is a series of paintings called Louisiana Porto Ricans which could be called derivative of some political African-American art using historical racist branding from the South. However, I think he’s covering new territory, especially given that he is working from a Puerto Rican perspective and currently Puerto Ricans can be drafted but cannot vote. Because of this Miquel has the authority to examine the problem of colonialism as a contemporary and relevant topic. The program includes a well-written essay by Chen Tamir as a part of the Young Art Critics Mentoring Program run by CUE and the International Association of Art Critics.
CUE
511 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10001
email: info@cueartfoundation.org
URL: cueartfoundation.org
Hours: tues-sat 10-6
ALSO – INFO FROM FLIERS
INDUSTRIA NATURAL
Art-Music Exhibition
7 pm Friday January 26th – 7PM Friday Feb. 16th
Supreme Trading
213 N8th Street
Between Driggs & Roebling Ave
www.supremetradingny.com
fourshadows@hotmail.com
MOVE #15 “THESE BAGELS ARE GNARLY”
Large Group Drawing show – all ballpoint pen
Jan 17 – Feb 18
Cinders Gallery
103 Havemeyer Street
Between Hope & Grand Street
718.388.2311
www.cindersgallery.com
W-F 2-9pm; Sat 12-8pm, Sun 12-7pm
THE VIEW FROM HERE
14 Artists embody the brooklyn viewpoint on the world
Jan 11 – March 3
Bed-Stuy Restoration Corporation Skylight Gallery
1368 Fulton Street
www.restorationplaza.org
IT’S SUCH A SMALL WORLD
Jan 5 – Feb 4
AG Gallery
103 N 3rd Street
Between Berry & Wythe Ave.
718.599.3044
www.aboutglamour.net
Mon-Sat 12-10pm; sun 12-8pm
HOW CAN YOU BE TWO PLACES AT ONCE WHEN Y OU ARE NOT ANYWHERE AT ALL?
Jan 13- Feb 4
Live With Animals Gallery (Inside Monster Island)
210 Kent Ave @ Metropolitan
livewithanimals@gmail.com
fri-sun 1-6pm
DROPPING KNOWLEDGE
How is wealth really measured? Ask yourself.
Http://www.yourquestion.org
This isn’t really art, but it is interesting. I guess you could say it’s conceptual art. But you could say that about anything.
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