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Final Thoughts, Just Short Of A Rant, On Expo Chicago 2022 And, More Important, More Art

4/9/2022

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PictureWarrior King by Paul Keene (Dolan/Maxwell, Philadelphia)
by Patrick Ogle

Warrior King by Paul Keene is a painting that looms over you as you approach, living up to its name. The piece was shown by Dolan/Maxwell (Philadelphia).

Below are: carnival by Florian Krewer (Michael Werner Gallery , NYC, London), Green Rain by Ross Caliendo (Ross + Kramer Gallery, NYC, East Hampton) and Orion Mists and Fireflies by Eric Aho (DC Moore Gallery, NYC). All stood out for quite different reasons.

Krewer is a German artist who has been exhibiting for about ten years. He has pieces in the permanent collection of the Centre Pompidou, Paris and Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. There is darkness in the artist's work and plenty of distorted limbs and countenances. Yet there is something child-like too. This is meant as a compliment. There is something real in the work. Yes, I know that isn't terribly specific.

Caliendo's pieces are haunting, often depicting trees or architecture. Each has a predominant color like Green Rain. There is amazing depth to every painting.

Aho's work is deceptive. From a distance it looks like grass, sky but then, when you approach it it adds via subtraction. Trunks leap up, partially articulated. The painting makes you feel there is more there, something beneath the surface.

carnival by Florian Krewer (Michael Werner Gallery, NYC, London), Green Rain by Ross Caliendo (Ross + Kramer Gallery, NYC, East Hampton), Orion, Mists, and Fireflies by Eric Aho (DC Moore Gallery, NYC)
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Marco Castro shown by Machete (Mexico City)
Marco Castro's provocative and painterly pieces were shown by Mexico City's Machete Gallery. It didnt make any sense to take a photo of one of them. He says his work arises from his connections to nature and cultural rituals and this broad swath of his work shows what the artist's reference.

Skeletons of Society, below, is by Chris Rivers (Pontone Gallery, London, Augusta) was one of three related paintings by the artist There is a whiff of Hieronymus Bosch (but only a whiff). I loved how the glossy parts of the painting frame the center creating the impression of a space, a hole. What looks like pure abstaction is full of figures on close examination. The photo on the right is detail from the painting to the left.
Skeletons of Society by Chris Rivers (Pontone Gallery, London, Augusta)

The observations here about Expo Chicago have been less pithy than some aimed at fairs and art at Miami Art Week 2021.

Why?

For one Expo Chicago had virtually no art that looked like second and third generation versions of "Mr. Brainwash," an artist I figure was part of an elaborate joke (or if it wasn't a joke it should have been). There isn't a banana taped to a wall or any such PR generated art either.Every year in Miami there is something ridiculous that allegedly "sells" for some ridiculous amount of money and is just plain silly. The year before last it was a banana duct taped to a wall. No one with a functioning brain thinks these stunts are actually real work. Frankly there is no reason to do that here as no one would actually cover it . Whether this is because Chicago is more sophisticated or because the media here don't care about art I will leave to your judgement.

There isn't much to HATE about anything at Expo Chicago.

Isn't that a little bit of a problem? After all, think of all the memorable art fairs and events in history. Something, in some booth, should inspire hate or at least ire. Not EVERYTHING. Art can certainly be pleasant but a little controversy would liven it all up. But maybe that should be the function of MORE fairs held simultaneously in Chicago. Why does Miami manage it while Chicago doesn't?

A few artists and gallery owners/workers have told me over the years that this fair is one where they hope to sell to institutions and corporate collections. Those sort of collectors are usually not interested in art depicting Che Guevara peeing on Jesus. So be it. I get that. That may be why this is a solid,  impressive fair year in and year out. I've also had it suggested to me that Chicago doesn't have an art "scene" but several art scenes that won't even look at each other. I cannot speak to the veracity of this but it fits some observations I've made from the outside. While I am in Chicago I'm on the outside!
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Expo Chicago 2022 Observations, Art And Forgetfulness, Be Sure To Visit During The Last Two Days

4/7/2022

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PictureLos Ojos de la Cazadora by Danuel Méndez
by Patrick Ogle

Expo Chicago is running right now at Navy Pier and ends Sunday, April 10.

The galleries and artists shown here are not chosen at random but there is something random to it. The art is all outstanding but there is plenty that isn't depicted that is just as solid. What strikes people is often different.

This collection does include pieces I felt were among the best in the entire fair, notably the work by  Danuel Méndez shown by Cernuda Arte (Coral Gables). Los Ojos de la Cazadora is acrylic on canvas and El Huésped is oil on canvas. There is a mix of the real and the surreal here. The pieced even have a hint of defacement. It calls to mind post World War 2 that disfigured their work to make it reflect the damaged world of the time.

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El huésped by Danuel Méndez (Cernuda Arte, Coral Gables)
The three pieces below are all striking, for different reasons. The untitled piece by Perle Fine calls to mind Chagall for the color and  Kandinsky for the shapes. This is neither of them but rather Fine's own use of a peculiar geometry of her own making. This work is toward the dreamy side of her art rather than the more geometrical. The Fine piece is from McCormick Gallery (Chicago).

Should WE Become Bed & Breakfast People? by Jonni Cheatwood shown by Makasiini Contemporary (Turku, Finland) features the Brazilian-American artist's trademark psychological inquiry. The work is part domestic portrait and part interior monologue on canvas.

The third piece below by Ania Hobson and shown by Steve Turner (Los Angeles) has a hot carnal comic book vibe. There were other striking pieces by her as well and spending some time at this booth is a must.
Untitled by Perle Fine, Should WE Become Bed & Breakfast People? by Jonni Cheatwood and untitled by Ania Hobson.
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Charlie James Gallery (Los Angeles) showed amazing relief sculptures by Rigoberto Torres and John Ahearn. The two sculptors work independently and sometimes together. I believe these two are by Torres. These sculptures were made in Brooklyn, beginning in the late 1970s. The people were folks from the neighborhood in the Bronx and they were not kings or popes or presidents but regular people, the sort of people who didn't historically have relief sculptures made of them.

They often made the molds for the sculptures in storefront windows in the Bronx. This is really art of the community but it is more than that it is a memorialization of a time and the people of that time.
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VETA by Fer Francis (Madrid) showed the above piece and I cleverly neglected to get the name of it or the artist. It may be my favorite painting in the fair. I'm slipping in my old age.
The Last Giant (above) by Jacob Hashimoto and shown by Rhona Hoffman Gallery (Chicago) is a wall sculpture. It is bamboo, acrylic, paper, wood and Dacron.

The two larger pieces below are, obviously, wildly different in style.

Shulamit Nazarin (Los Angeles) had the piece on the right by Summer Wheat. Love Birds (left) is acylic paint and gouache on aluminum mesh. This makes me wish I looked more closely at this piece. That is an odd mixture of media!

Harpers (New York, East Hampton, Los Angeles) had work by Allie McGhee, the piece on the right. It is acrylic and enamel on canvas.
The Badr El Jundi (Marbella, Spain)/Pablo's Birthday (New York) had the pieces below. Click on them to look at the detail in these, for lack of a better term, wall sculptures.
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Expo Chicago Is Back Open To The Public 4/8 to 4/10, 2022 An Excellent Fair

4/7/2022

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PictureRhythmic Equations by Alia Ali shown by Foto Relevance
by Patrick Ogle

Expo Chicago 2022 is up and running at Chicago's Navy Pier. The fair provides a diverse (in every sense of the word) collection of art from around the world in a fairly manageable size.

Photo Relevance (Houston),  showed work by Alia Ali, a Yemeni-Bosnian-American artist. Her art is informed by her upbringing, specifically the notion that "translation" between languages has often done a disservice to particular communities. In her work she endeavors to focus on experience and critique ...well frankly it is a critique of almost everything. She frequently uses textiles in her work, although Rhythmic Equations doesn't.

The two untitled pieces below by Adrián Gaitán were shown by Galeria La Cometa (Bogata). The pieces are burned motor oil on recycled wood in a cardboard frame. The photo is striking but they are even more so in person.

Wilfflowers by Claire Sherman is sort of a naturalists dream piece. It combines realism but there is something ethereal in the piece, its depth and intensity. How many different types of green are there?

David Driskell was a curator and a scholar. He was also a painter. The young lady at the booth said he was a student of Romare Beardon, one of the handful of greatest African-American artists. The piece here, The Branch, is a painting and a collage but the collage part is so subtle and seamless you have to get practically against the glass to be aware of it. Reading about the artist it is startling to realize he was more well known for his scholarly endeavors. He was born in Georgia but lived and worked in Maryland.

Both Sherman and Driskell were shown by DC Moore Gallery (Washington DC).

Ghosts in Common... by Kysa Johnson was shown by Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art , (Houston). This is, in fact, not the full title of the piece. You are encouraged to click on the gallery link to see that--and more pieces by the artist.  Her work is a fascinating exploration of nature at extreme scales. Are we looking at flowers? Bacteria or sub atomic particles?  A hint? It isn't the first one.

Untitled (2) by Adrián Gaitán (Galeria La Cometa Bogata et al), Wildflowers by Claire Sherman & The Branch by David Driskell (DC Moore Gallery, NY) & Ghosts in Common... by Kysa Johnson (Nancy Littlejohn Gallery , Houston)
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The Watch is Not Over by Frank Coffie (Allouche Gallery, New York)
Frank Coffie. shown by Allouche Gallery (NYC) is a Ghanaian artist who mixes painting with textiles. This piece has a few discrete spots where thread is employed. It is difficult to see in a photo so you will ideally check his work out in person.

The two pieces below were shown by William Shearburn Gallery (St. Louis). Untitled by Donald Baechler and Effondrement huit lignes by Bernar Venet. The former is acrylic on canvas while the latter is oil stick on paper. It is more than just the media that are different.

Also below, from New York City's venerable and brilliant P.P.O.W. Gallery (NYC). Ann Agee's scupltures are just part of what they are showing. You can never predict style when it comes to P.P.O.W. but you can always predict thought provoking work.
Untitled by Donald Baechler and Effondrement huit lignes by Bernar Venet, Madonna of the Girl Child by Ann Agee ( PPOW Gallery, NYC)
Finally this work by Theda Sandiford via Ndr Nw Mgmt. Have you ever seen shopping carts as art?  The first word that might leap to mind when looking at these pieces is "exuberant." Isn't there always something exciting about art that uses an every day object as it's basis? These pieces are also best seen in person as the photo doesn't do them justice.
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Richard Norton Gallery (Chicago) Recently Moved, Won't Be At Expo Chicago 2022 But Are Right Around The Corner At Merchandise Mart

4/6/2022

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by Patrick Ogle

The first booth I run to at Expo Chicago won't be at the fair this year. Richard Norton Gallery is not attending. This is no comment on the fair. The gallery just finished  a big move .


"The Merchandise Mart needed to shift some showroom spaces in order to accommodate a new commercial office tenant on the 6th floor and they showed us a newly renovated, larger gallery space on the 14th floor, surrounded by numerous, bespoke and elegant design showrooms," says Richard Norton. "Because we are still unpacking & getting settled in this new gallery space, it was not tenable for us to attend a major art exhibition this spring."

Richard Norton Gallery has a sense of history not just in the sense most galleries have that sense but in a way that calls to mind a winemaker. It is almost a sense of terroir. They sell art, of course, but they also tell the story of that art and give it a place. Thee are the stories of the artists to be sure but also the tales of where the art and artists come from both literally and figuratively. After hearing these stories you have a broader context. That might be that a school of art, a culture or the time the artist lived. Many of the artists they show are from the Chicago area.

"Many early, Chicago Modern artists are a personal interest. Many of the artists that hailed from Chicago and the Midwest were working artists trained at one of the greatest art schools in the country, the Art Institute of Chicago," says Norton. "There was such a fascinating array of artistic styles practiced by these artists, namely Cubism, Surrealism, Urban Realism and Abstract Expressionism. These artists were well exhibited at prominent museums and galleries during their time. My aim is to bring forth and reintroduce the work of many of these artists to a contemporary audience.”

Select Past pieces on Richard Norton Gallery (this is by no means an exhaustive list)
William H. Dalziel 2019
Gertrude Abercrombie and Igon Adler 2018
Harold Hayden, Eugene Dana, Francis Chapin and Macena Barton 2016
Gertrude Abercrombie and Clayton Whitehill 2015
Hananiah Harari 2014
Visit their website HERE.

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While you cannot see their booth at Expo Chicago you can certainly make an appointment to see their collection on the 14th floor of the Merchandise Mart (#14-119).

"Our new space will be welcoming and of course a setting where one can find great & interesting works of art!" says Norton. "We are really enjoying the vibrance of the 14th floor of the Merchandise Mart."

The new gallery contains nods to the gallery's history including a collection of furniture models, the sign from the old gallery and Norton's collection of beer cans. Norton says he has collected these since he was young.

"I was always intrigued by their interesting colors and catchy designs. I consider them ‘steel canvases’." says Norton.  

They are not for sale but you can look.

The 14th floor of merchandise mart has an impressive collection of furniture and accoutrements for those putting together their space. Now it also has a fine art gallery to really create something meaningful and worthy of conversation.
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Miami Art Week 2021 Is Dead! Long Live Miami Art Week 2021!

12/8/2021

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by Patrick Ogle

One of the funniest things about Miami Art Week, every year, is that people (myself included) act like going to a bunch of art shows is analogous to  a tour in Afghanistan. I will excuse myself a LITTLE because I often drive back and forth between Miami and North Broward. Those who make that drive daily will tell you, it resembles a scene from a movie where people flee some disaster or alien invasion.

Even so, come on; it is looking at art not mining uranium. 

Shut up.

The next time I complain feel free to throw this in MY face.

There are some truly magnificent pieces at various shows this year. But at a number of shows I kept walking up to things thinking they were "Mr. Brainwash" and sadly they weren't. Why in the name of all that is holy would anyone imitate that? In my opinion it is a JOKE, something created to make fun of the art business and collectors. You can pretend to be "in on it" if you like but you really aren't.

Unless you are actually Banksy, you are not.

I suppose when something makes money it repeats like burping up a bad burrito. It is a sort of art Nigerian scam. Remember when "Mr. Brainwash" rented the giant place on Miami Beach for years? Did ANYTHING sell? And if so what museum bought the piece with Darth Vader holding a can of fucking Dr. Pepper? And what is its current value? When all the details come about about Mr. Brainwash comes out some day; it may well not harm the value of those pieces. But the people imitating it? I suspect there will be depreciation.

This wasn't just one fair, although Context seemed practically DEDICATED to this development.

Usually you see a large number of Andy Warhol pieces but I saw fewer this year. Do not FEAR! There were still plenty of paintings and mixed media works that LOOKED like Warhol. Lots of celebrity pieces and many of them were SPARKLY!

Fuck 8th generation pop art. Fuck sparkly photos of celebrities. Fuck Star Wars or Disney character pieces and fuck you if you think any of that is interesting or ironic or hip or whatever bullshit you tell yourself so you can pretend you have a soul. Also Banksy/Mr Brainwash has run its course. Early on it was provocative and fun but it is all now a parody of a parody of a parody. It is a Pussy Riot concert at a Vladimir Putin re-election party.  
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Is this pandemic related? Or has everyone lost their damned mind?

Then there is the old "this artist spent most of his life in a filthy insane asylum creating work using his own shit, we think he died of starvation. Would you like to purchase a piece for more money than the artist ever saw in their entire life?" problem. I don't go on about how the uber rich or corporations buy art. That has been the way since humans crawled out of our caves and it will be the way until the end or until we all live in some utopian society we create to eliminate such inequality. Yet there is something incredibly distasteful in selling the work of people who suffered, literally suffered, during their lives for insane amounts of money. I don't mean they "suffered for their art" while they worked at the post office or just generally "suffered in obscurity." 

That is the vast majority of humanity. 

I mean they had miserable, horrible lives and tried to make some sense of it through the creative process and were despised despite their talent. The very institutions selling and supporting their work after their deaths would show a living artist LIKE them to the door POST HASTE should they have the temerity to show up. Perhaps calling after them "get back to us after you die!"

Recognize these sorts of artists now, while they live.

Some folks will point out that I wrote something about the Gee's Bend quilters at Art Basel. Yes, I did. But those were proud women who took control of their lives and work. Supporting that work supports the artists who are still there, still creating right NOW (more on this soon).
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THIS is street art
Then there was Covid. It is starting to look like the new variant isn’t AS concerning as hysterical TV news people made it but we didn't know this a week ago.
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The coughing, maskless crowds remind me of Starbucks employees who have to put up with thoughtless customers. Some folks are willing to endanger others trying to make a bizarre point at some imagined intersection between medicine and politics. The employees (the artists and gallery owners) have to put up with the manner-less potential customers. I wasn't at many collector previews? But the word was that people were more polite and masked. Keep in mind. Most of the gallery people were masked but not all the fair employees were nor were the majority of fair attendees.

Most fairs made no effort whatsoever to enforce masks. Three of seven even asked for proof of vaccination and only one enforced masks, at least when I was there. There were a lot of reports talking about vaccination cards and enforced masks but ALL of those people went to previews, not the actual fairs. I am not knocking them for this. You cannot write a preview about the fair after it has opened. Even when I went to the previews, mask wearing was, at best, about the same as at a Publix.
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One day they will rule us
SO, what was good at this year's Miami Art Week?

First of all I saw some chickens behind the Ice Palace where NADA was held. I feel unlucky if I go to Miami and don't see wild chickens. Please don't sacrifice them. They are pretty. I literally watched one of the chickens thinking about crossing the road. It stood there. It looked back and forth at the traffic, ultimately deciding; “fuck it, I don’t really need to get to the other side.”

Not long before this, on the same busy street, I watched a young woman cross, against the lights, with cars coming from both directions. She never looked up from her cell phone. One day the chicken will be the dominant species.

Nada, as always, was a fun and interesting fair. Read more of my non ranting thoughts HERE.

Favorites from various fairs

Next, the scaled down nature of this week was a plus. Art Basel 2021 seemed less massive. There were less modern or impressionist masters, which belong ina museum, on display.   As a result there was more top shelf contemporary art on hand. The fair itself even seemed less frantic. Perhaps it was having two collectors days early. If so , maybe that innovation should be kept in place.

There were no ridiculous publicity stunts that received wide coverage. In fact the things that WERE for publicity were fascinating and even for good causes. You could call THIS a publicity stunt but it is also just plain cool.  The linked piece is from the Miami Herald and it is a wonderful story that happened at Art Miami. I did two pieces on Art Miami (one, two).


Then there were Untitled and Ink Miami which were both as good, if not better than usual. 

Untitled held its opening the day before the other fairs which was smart. They were the only game in town and it gave people, gawkers and collectors, a chance to look at their leisure without worrying about getting to the next fair. All of that would have been for nothing if they hadn't had one of, if not the best, collections of art in the entire week. I did three pieces (one, two, three) on the show. It could have been more than that but some photos didn't come out. Untitled also wins in the category of set up. Their fair is always set up to avoid crowding and it has wonderful light, not just this year but EVERY year.

​Ink Miami is held at the Dorchester Hotel and is free. They were the best about covid precautions of any fair and they also have the bonus of having pieces that are affordable scattered among the unaffordable (for most of us). You see pieces by Man Ray and then, in the next space, young artists starting out. This is always a fair to attend for quality and manageability.

Certainly there is a great deal that is gross about Art Week in Miami. The usual South Florida money grabs and faux celebrities desperately trying to be seen. The traffic sucks too but let’s be honest; all these things are endemic in South Florida. When was that idyllic time when there was no traffic on I-95? 

The week is a rare opportunity for people who enjoy art and not because you might get a glimpse of a privately held Picasso. It is because you will get to see a significant number of artists who are not yet in museum collections but one day will be.
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The train track I crossed to get to an art show I didn't bother to write about
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Art Basel Miami Beach 2021, A Mix Of Modern And Contemporary Art (Part 2)

12/6/2021

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by Patrick Ogle

Every piece shown at Art Basel Miami Beach 2021 was not contemporary. There were Picassos, Miros, Kandinskys and more. I just didn't take photos of them, instead concentrating on more recent art. The point here is, hopefully, to let people know about recent artists or even artists from the past that are less familiar.

I didn't IGNORE the historical!

Jean-Paul Riopelle's  Le puits hanté (1957) shown by Galerie Thomas (Munich) is an example of the artist's (fairly) early move into abstract.  He is a Canadian artist born in Montreal.  He was one of the principle proponents of Refus global, a manifesto that rejected academic training in art. It also rejected religion and was strongly anti-establishment. He traveled to Paris as part of a fellowship from the Canadian government.

His early work is associated with the Surrealists but the piece below was created well after his ongoing movement into abstraction. He lived with American Artist Joan Mitchell for some time. You can find out more about him at the Guggenheim Museum site. He stopped painting in 1992 and passed away in 2002.

​Elizabeth Glaessner's  Blue Recluse (2021) was shown by PPOW (New York). She is a California-born artist who lives in New York City. PPOW has, for years, represented a fascinating and diverse group of artists. Find out more at  elizabethglaessner.com.

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Le puits hanté (1957) by Jean -Paul Riopelle's
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Blair Thurman's Whip Stocking 2021 and Donna Huanca's  Espejo Alborotado (2021) were shown by Peres Projects (Berlin). I am not 100 percent sure of the title of Huanca's piece.

Yinka Shonibare's Moving Up is an installation representing the Great Migration--when millions of African-Americans moved from the rural South to the North and Midwest. The Great Migration changed America in fundamental ways. Shonibare is from, and currently lives, in London.

Ed and Nancy Kienholz The Grey Window Becoming  shown by Templon (Paris). Before 1972 Ed worked alone. After 1972 all the pieces were collaborative. Their work is always thought provoking and there is something charming about them doing it together. Regardless of marital status, artistic collaboration breathes new life into the process.

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Check out the work Andy Warhol did with Basquiat (in my opinion these rejuvenated Warhol, you can quibble about how much he contributed, of course).

Whip Stocking (2021) by Blair Thurman & Espejo Alborotado by Donna Huanca

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Moving Up an installation by Yinka Shonibare
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The Grey Window Becoming by Ed & Nancy Keinholz
Hayv Kahraman's IV, was shown by Jack Shainman Gallery (New York).  She is a painter, sculptor and performance artist. To me? This was the best painting at Art Basel this year. Period. Fight with me if you wish.

Her work is about the people regarded as "others." Immigrants, in particular. In America every generation of immigrants faces a unique, directed form of discrimination and dehumanization. This simple fact makes lots of white folks uncomfortable. Let me say, as an old white guy; fuck them.

This is the sort of art we need for the people coming to our country NOW. I know it won't help but maybe it makes people think. 

Forget for a moment the philosophy, the intent of the artist and look at the painting. There is an almost Dali-like precision there. It seems like every brush stroke has its own purpose and life. This is an artist who matters and will matter more as time goes on. Collectors should be throwing money at this gallery (and I rarely make such predictions).
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Find out more at hayvkahraman.com.

Sam Falls' Riverside is a lovely piece of work but I may damn with faint praise in this context. Many people with different world views and views of art might actually like this glazed ceramic, mounted on  cement board with a brass border piece better. It is beautiful and unencumbered with philosophical meaning and that has its place. The world needs pure beauty.
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IV by Hayv Kahraman
At the end of the last post featuring art, it may seem these artists are being "stuffed in." The reason is actually that these pieces are too memorable to leave out. One is a top three piece from the entire week. 

Let's start with that impressive piece, from the bottom up; Tiwani Contemporary (London) showed Tupac y Tupac, Time lords of the Andes. Or, a failed Fitzcarraldo  (2021)  by Umar Rashid .  Rashid's work always has the best titles and it is always nice to see colonialists being impaled at a fancy art fair (figuratively, of course). The artist is from Chicago and currently lives in Los Angeles.

Double Head with Blue Paintings by Mark Manders, was shown by Tanya Bonakdar Gallery (New York City). The piece is painted bronze, painted canvas, painted wood, wood and iron.

The remaining pieces are:

Morris, Gainesborough, Turner, Riley (2021) by Grayson Perry shown by Victoria Miro (New York ).

Pastoral Scene (2021) by ​Barthélémy Toguo shown by Galerie Lelong & Company (New York, Paris).

​Found Wanting by Christina Forrer shown by Luhring Augustine (New York).

Morris, Gainesborough, Turner, Riley (2021) by Grayson Perry,Pastoral Scene (2021) by ​Barthélémy Toguo &
​Found Wanting by Christina Forrer 

Double Head with Blue Paintings by Mark Manders 

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Tupac y Tupac, Time lords of the Andes. Or, Tupac y Tupac, Time lords of the Andes. Or, a failed Fitzcarraldo (2021) by Umar Rashid
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Art Basel Miami Beach 2021, Dialed Down, More Manageable And The Best Show For Casual Visitors In Years (Part 1)

12/5/2021

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by Patrick Ogle

Were there more contemporary artists at Art Basel Miami Beach 2021 or were these artists just more noticeable because there were fewer galleries packed with Picassos, Kandinskys etcetera? 

It is difficult to quantify but nonetheless the contemporary artists stood out. It also may be partly because this edition of Art Basel seemed scaled down, more manageable for the casual art fan, not looking for "investments" or something to impress the neighbors in the Hamptons.

I'm not disrespecting the notion of trying to impress the neighbors. I try to impress mine by shooting out street lights with a shotgun. Different  sorts of neighbors I suppose.


Afriart (Kampala) was one of the first galleries to catch my eye, with the joyful, ecstatic work of Sungi Mlengeya. One of the most common apologies on this website is  "the photos  do not do the work justice." It is true here even more so than usual.  You can see better images  on the gallery website linked above. Even those do not capture this series.

Mlengeya is a Tanzanian painter whose portraits are a celebration of the women who surround her.  If you can look at these works and not feel better about the universe? I am not entirely sure I want to know you. The composition too is intriguing. I couldn't help but notice that she often uses white in the way other artists use black, it is a background. Black is what matters in these paintings from a compositional standpoint.

In addition to the gallery website you can learn more about the artist at
sungimlengeya.com.

Rele (Lagos, Los Angeles) showed work by Marcellina Akpojotor. She works with a more colorful palette and employs collage in her work. She is featured on the gallery website as well.  The gallery link is to her show, Daughters of Esan.  Akpojotor's father was her introduction to art which she followed by studying at  Lagos State Polytechnic. She uses discarded fabric from fashion houses which calls to mind an earlier story from Art Basel on the Gee's Bend Quiltmakers. 

​You can find out more at
marcellinaakpojotor.com.

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by Sungi Mlengeya

An oak trees landscape by Shota Nakamura was shown by Peres Projects (Berlin). Nakamura was born in Japan and now lives in Berlin.  He is a graduate of Musashino Art University (Japan).  This piece is a landscape with a figure but there are other pieces that are more abstract and others that are more focused on the figure. Bright colors and geometric shapes seem common in his work. You can find out more about the artist at  shotanakamura.com.

James Castle is what was once referred to as a "folk artist"  or, more recently, an "outsider artist." And this often means someone who labored in obscurity on their art, then was "discovered" after their death.  Castle was from Idaho , was deaf and never ventured far from where he was born.

It is hard to imagine his work being welcomed in the world of fine art while he was alive. It is impossible to imagine him walking into a gallery in New York or San Francisco with these pieces during his lifetime and being welcomed.  But after his death he has been shown worldwide and his residence is a cultural center and sponsors "artist in residence" programs. 

I always cringe a little when I read stories like them, and I read them a lot. On the one hand? It is nice what he did with his life is being remembered. On the other hand? There are James Castles a plenty out there right now being scoffed at by people who curate shows of "outsider art" for sale. There are some who consider anyone without an MFA an outsider.

These pieces were shown as part of Art Basel's Kabinett sector; this  is entirely appropriate, of course.
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An oak trees landscape (2021) by Shota Nakamura
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Works by James Castle (Art Basel Kabinett Sector)

Soshiro Matsubara' shown by Union Pacific (London). Haunting and almost all varieties of green, the painting is transfixing. I did also wonder, briefly, why a gallery in England was called "Union Pacific '' but I didn't think to ask until I was halfway across the show.

Walter Price's Who can see forever on a clear day, was shown by The Modern Institute/Tony Webster Ltd. You can see more from the artist HERE. The piece is acrylic, enamel, photo collage, clothespins, various glues and staples on wood.
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Who can see forever on a clear day (2021) by Walter Price.
Sean Landers' Fox  (2021) was shown by Taka Ishii (Tokyo). The piece is oil on linen.

Guilleromo Kuitca's Idea de una pasion (1992) was shown by Sperone Westwater (New York). The painting is acrylic on canvas.

​Chantal Joffe's Jessica (2012) was shown by Cheim & Reid (New York). The work is oi on linen.

You will notice these three paintings (which you can enlarge by clicking) are from the past 30 years. The majority of these paintings, even those not dated, are from recent years.

All are artists worth discovering. 

Fox, Idea de una pasion and Jessica

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Art Miami 2021 Interesting And Sometimes Spectacular Contemporary Artists (Part 2)

12/4/2021

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by Patrick Ogle

Art Miami 2021 did have some interesting and sometimes spectacular pieces.

​Imperial Love by Alexi Torres falls into the spectacular category. It is oil on canvas and is 96 x 192 inches (that is 16 by 8 feet for the math challenged). The massive painting was shown by Contessa Gallery ( Palm Beach, Cleveland).

It was impossible to get a shot of the painting without people in front of it but you can see more of the Cuban-born artist's work HERE.​

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Gabrielle Graessle 's Hu hott (below) was shown by Yusto/Giner (Marbella, Madrid). Graessle is a Swiss artist and you might expect, her works are known for their use of color. They tend to be cheery and fantastical.

Below Hu Hott (forgive the missing umlat)  is Donald Sultan's Mimosa, August 28, 2021 shown by Jerald Melberg Gallery (Charlotte). Read an old interview with Melberg HERE. This piece is graphite, charcoal and conte (basically compressed powdered graphite/charcoal and clay). 
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Hu hott
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Mimosa, August 28, 2021
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Art Miami/Context Lots Of 8th Generation Pop Art, Significant Masters And A Smattering of Interesting Contemporary Artists

12/4/2021

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by Patrick Ogle

There sure is a great deal of 8th generation pop art out there. Likewise a bizarre amount of imitation of art that, it is highly likely, was intended as a joke. 

Money talks so someone must have bought the garbage for it to be imitated. 

The perfect antidote for garbage art is Cernude Arte (Coral Gables). They show Cuban artists from masters to contemporary artists.  This year, as always, they showed a who's who of Cuban artists going back decades. The two pieces here by Mariano Rodriguez and Demi come from 1944 and 1987 respectively. The choice of these photos was random and more based on the fact that Mapanare has run innumerable pieces on Cernuda (type their name into the search section on the site). These artists seemed under represented.

La Finca is oil on wood and was part of a solo show by the artist in 1944 at the Lyceum in Havana. In the same year his work was shown as part of a group show , Modern Cuban Painters, at MOCA (NYC).  The piece, like many Cuban paintings of the era, has a strong influence from the Paris school but there are twists on that theme. Cuban iconography abounds in the work. His work also has a strong Mexican influence. Find out more HERE. 

Demi was born in Cuba, then as a youngster she moved to Puerto Rico. Nine years later she came to the mainland United States. There is obviously a mix of abstraction and the figurative in her work which often relates to children. There are odd juxtapositions but they don't seem to be unsettling. They are more like the imaginings of a child. Find out more HERE. 

Below the Cernuda works are paintings by Lou Ros shown by Robert Fontaine Gallery (Palm Beach). These two pieces were tucked right by the passage between Art Miami and Context and are easy to walk past. Stop and have a look if you go to the last day. 

When you read about the French painter, he lives in Paris, you will see the words "figurative expressionist" and "abstract" quite a bit. While these are certainly expressionist (at least in the basic definition of the word) they are representational and lovely little pieces.​

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La Finca by Mariano Rodriguez
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Liquid Life by Demi
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First Haircut by Demi

Golden Tailed and Plum Throated by Lou Ros

Julio Larraz is a Cuban-born artist and these pieces were shown by Duque Arango Galleria (Medellin). Larraz began his art career as a cartoonist and caricature artists using his middle name, Fernandez.  He is a painter, draftsman and sculptor. He is  one of the most prominent living Latin American artists.

His father was a journalist who was imprisoned by one of the pre-Castro regimes and was owner/editor of the newspaper, La Discusion. When Castro came to power freedom of the press ended and the family, ultimately, came to the United States.  You can find out and see more at  juliolarraz.com.
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The king of diamonds by Julio Larraz
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The scout near Har Kardem by Julio Larraz
Louis K Meisel Gallery (New York)  showed Montauk Sail and Keep Palm + Carry On by Susan P. Meisel. The gallery is best know for representing and championing some of the great photo realist painters of the 1970s and beyond. These are , of course, not that. These are bright, fun paintings by half of the Meisel gallery's team. She is also a photographer and sells high end real estate. I hope the real estate is her HOBBY because her paintings are lovely.

There is a hint of Carribbean art here but it isn't anything derivative. There is something quite "New York" about it even with the palm trees. You are allowed to create fun art. Not everything has to be a pile of skulls.

Montauk Sail and Keep Palm + Carry On By Susan P. Meisel

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"G-sim"  Seyeon  was shown  by Galerie Bhak (Seoul). This piece is acrylic on canvas.  The brushwork is complicated and perhaps the concept is too. Is it an explosion or a bouquet of flowers? It has elements of both doesn't it? It likely has nothing to do with one of these things but it is truly a striking painting.

Below Seyeon's explosive work are paintings by women painters whose work comes from an era when women artists were dismissed. Which , it is sad to say, wasn't all that long ago.

​Tabletop Still Life by Mercedes Matter (left) was shown by Dean Borghi Fine Art (New York).  This piece is oil on canvas board and is from 1940. Matter was an American artist, born in Philadelphia, in an artistic family (her dad was Arthur B. Carles). She studied with a who's who of American modern painters, including Hans Hoffmann. She assisted Fernand Léger with his well-known WPA funded murals. She taught at NYU and Pratt and was also a writer. Yet, somehow her work was, and is, less well-known that some of her male contemporaries.  Her art is of similar quality to some of her teachers, including the one mentioned above (which is high praise). Find out more HERE.

Sin titulo (Aves) by Sofia Bassi was shown by Pablo Goebel Fine Arts (Mexico City).  The painting is oil on masonite. "Sin titulo," of course, means "untitled." Bassi was a Mexican surrealist painter, born in 1913 in Veracruz.  She didn't start painting until the mid 1960s and was self taught. Look at her work and marvel at that. The technique is impressive, refined.

She also murdered her son-in-law.

​There is some indication he may have had it coming.  Find out more about the non-art part of this HERE.  There are better sources but none that could be found readily online in English.​ This version is garbled and seems to be a poor translation of something but the idea general story comes through.
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"Sin Titulo (Aves) by Sofia Bassi & "Tabletop Still Life" by Mercedes Matter   

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NADA Miami 2021 Showed Work By A Plethora Of Artists From Galleries All Over The World, With Nary A "Mr Brainwash" Influenced Piece In Sight

12/3/2021

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by Patrick Ogle
(Yes, Im so tired I collapsed into first person)


Once I told a friend that NADA Miami was a fair where a significant percentage of the art looked like a school project. They thought this was an insult. It was, in fact, a compliment.

The comment referred not to a middle school project but an MFA project. There are no copies of copies of copies of bad pop art at NADA or if there are I didn't see it (nary a whiff of reverence for "Mr Brainwash"). There is art that is high concept, that has humor, that is technically brilliant, that is poignant and there are even some pieces that have all of these things.  This description also doesn't come close to covering all the variation at Nada, this year and every year.  This year may be one of the best editions in Miami.

The photos here are somewhat random. There was a great deal to see, even though the fair isn't massive.  80m2 Livia Benavides (Peru) showed the piece immediately below. I tried to find the name of the artist and the piece but was unsuccessful (I forgot it). If only there was some sort of implement where you could write things down to remember such information.

I can tell you that Raster (Warsaw) showed Skinformer, the second image below, and that it was created by Aneta Grzeszykowska. 

It is constructed of leather and wood.

It is unsurprising to find out that her work is held in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum, Pompidou Center, Hammer Museum and Fotomuseum Winterthur (she is  a photographer). In 2005 Grzeszykowska showed a collection of family photos with her own image removed from all the pictures. She lives in Warsaw.

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Shown by 80m2 Livia Benavides

Skinformer by Aneta Grzeszykowska

Sorry We're Closed (Brussels) deserves mention for their name alone. I have an image of people heading to a showing at the gallery, getting there and saying "Damn, they're closed." Of course in Belgium they would likely say this in French, Dutch or German.

Fortunately there was no need to include them for the name alone.  They had some lovely pieces including these two mischievous sculptures. Obviously there is something totemic here and I want to belong to the culture that erects such totems. The artist is Eric Croes and he is another artist bridging the gap between fine art and crafts. In fact the bridge is getting so big there is barely any reason to make any distinction.

​Artists like Croes are the reason. 

Folks who love art owe artists like him a debt and this is written without an ounce of irony and no tongue in cheek.
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by Eric Croes
Misako & Rosen (Tokyo) showed work by Brazilian artist, Tiago Carneiro da Cunha.  Sometimes when you look at a large amount of art your prejudices show. I am conscious of this so I look for work outside those I gravitate to. Carneiro Da Cunha's paintings, however, conform to what I love. I cannot always define it but part of it is certainly the juxtaposition of bright color with darkness, the expressive brush work and the fact each composition uses enough paint to cover a house.

These are paintings you cannot take your eyes off. 

By Tiago Carneiro da Cunha

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Aleksandra Waliszewska (top) & Marta Nadolle (below)

​If NADA is any indication Poland has some good things happening. Leto (Warsaw) showed work by Aleksandra Waliszewska an Marta Nadolle. The top piece is another of the blendings of fine art and craft. Basically it is a rug. It also is one of the most striking pieces at this fair (or any of the fairs). The photo doesn't do it justice.

Nadolle's pieces (and not just the one above) made me wonder if I was supposed to be amused or concerned when I looked at the character. The info in the booth said all these are events from the artist's life.

We've all had nights like that.

The booth didn't have information on precisely what medium or technique was used in either piece so a trip to the linked gallery page may be in order if you want to find out more.
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Shown by Towards Gallery (Toronto)
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Constant Gardener by Dale Lewis
The last two samples from NADA Miami 2021 (but certainly not the least) include a tapestry shown by Towards Gallery (Toronto) and one of a series of paintings by Dale Lewis shown by Edel Assanti (London).

The former is one of a series of tapestries made with various techniques and materials at a number of fairs. Some, like this one,  tell a story. I confess to not knowing what that story is but I want to. Getting someone viewing your work to think about it and wonder what is behind it? Means something. 

Guess what? This is also part of that crossing the boundary from craft to art, the very same border I've suggested barely exists.

Lewis's works, as a series, are among the best GROUP of paintings I've seen. They represent various public liaisons and I am not sure I've ever seen this represented in a similar fashion. There is nothing dark or seedy about the paintings. They are bright. They are joyful. They are a celebration. They made me want to go get a blow job in the park.

The paintings are also large. This one is  78 3/4 x 66 7/8 inches and the others are all of similar size. He uses a mix of acrylic and oil.
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