James Welling, 0467, 2009 at David Zwirner
all the photos in this show were bombs of saturated color. most were uninhabited which gave them a bit of a creepy feel. it seemed like he had taken a photo to capture the aura of the spaces. which wouldn't have been a bad idea. these are photos of Philip Johnson’s Glass House, his residence and masterpiece. the one above was my favorite for its richness and relative minimal use of color - plus it reminds me of a cherry cordial! they reminded me of Jeff Bark's color infused, slightly disturbing photos at Charles Cowles Gallery which i posted here back in may.
Wes Lang, I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke, 2010 at Zieher Smith
i've been into this type of painting lately. something on the edge of painting, drawing, scribbling w/bold broad colors. check out the black shape/line that begins at the top and acts like a kind of chalkboard for the phrase, "Smile, it's a great day", which meanders to the left down the side then finally comes to rest just at the bottom's edge. there's a high school sketchbook meets tattoo parlor look to these that i really like which is due to the inherent rebelliousness of his chosen forms: skulls, naked ladies, snakes, booze, blood. these are countered by beautifully painted birds, smiley faces and roses. excellent!
Jackie Gendel, Fog, 2010 at Jeff Bailey Gallery
what's up w/these 2? girlfriend is not afraid of paint! she smears the shit on like frosting sometimes! i'm also very attracted to her palette; acidic yellows, greens, barbie pinks paired w/muddy tones. love that sweep of yellow/green paint underneath the body on the left. she seems on the verge of total abstraction - maybe only using portraiture as a means to play w/paint and color. i'd love to see her go completely buck wild and completely abstract. this was a great show!
Sarah Frost, Qwerty, 2009 at PPOW Gallery
i'm over art that is a large collection of similarly colored objects grouped together in various forms and sizes - really over it. but sarah frost's Qwerty is an exception because it creates an environment and the objects and concept isn't annoyingly shoved down your throat. this is an installation i could live with. she's created bit-mapped walls out of discarded qwerty keys. she actually transcended the materials to create something beautiful.
Donald Baechler, Two Balls, 2010 at Cheim & Read
really enjoyed the paper collages in the back gallery. ok, so i have been into collage lately so i may be a little biased, but i really felt these were the strongest pieces in the show. plus look at all those drips - fantastic! i love the build up of the collage, only to cover most of it up w/a big giant brightly colored soccer ball. check out his site for more collage painting goodness. the paintings that comprise most of the show seem waaay too big. cheim read's space is beautiful and large, but i don't think that all the artwork they show needs to compete w/the space - breathing room is a good thing.
Kukuli Velarde, Chola Puteadora Grubby!! Needs to be put in her place. Metale Mano.at Barry Friedman Ltd.
Velarde's Plunder Me Baby sculptures reveal folk tradition, evoke histories of ornament and craft, and disrupt normal aesthetic hierarchies. Removed from their natural environment and installed as if in an anthropological museum, these figurative characters appear as though awakened for the first time. Each figure exhibits strong reactions to their new surroundings including fear, disdain, and aggressive anger. With pejorative slurs as titles, such as Chola Puteadora, Grabby!! Needs to Be Put in Her Place, or Mendiga Perra Autoctona, Bites. Will Not Trust. Likes Tough Love, Velarde imbues these "plundered" artifacts with references to the struggles of indigenous populations as a result of European colonization. Velarde re-casts these appropriated figures as self-portraits as a means of defiantly reclaiming their ownership while giving them new meaning and context.
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