Armory week, day 2. Volta, Pulse, Verge.

Feet still aching from 6 hours at the piers yesterday, I slogged back into the belly of the beast, face still black with art soot. Today's art-coalmine schedule would start with Volta, the sister-by-marriage of the Armory Show. Volta, as many of you know, has a solo show philosophy; one artist per booth. This makes for an artist friendly atmosphere, and definitely ramps up the focus on which artist the gallery chooses from their roster. I usually enjoy Volta as an experience, but find it wanting in the art satisfaction department. This year was no different. I find I am usually somewhat in the minority opinion when I poll my art friends about Volta. Again, this year was no different. Many voices I trust found this to be a satisfying, nourishing fair, so take my view with the shaker of salt it deserves.

The day as a whole yielded very little in the way of photography I felt compelled to include here. My favorite of this fair (though not without reservations) was Svätopluk Mikyta at Emannuel Walderdorff Galerie. Mr. Mikyta takes photos from found sources like yearbooks and catalogs then modifies and transforms them with various overlaying techniques. Like David Maljkovic, who I mentioned yesterday, this artist references memory (or the fading thereof) in a distinctly eastern european accent. The artist professes no political bent to the work, but it's hard for me to see them without projecting a Stalin-era veneer on those faces. I will be eager to follow this artist's career. Worth a look.

 

 Also worth a look were Roberto Pellegrinuzzi's layered photo-based works at Pierre-François Ouelette Fine Art.  Though I wish this artist would embrace a subject more suited to his layering process than landscapes, I find the work visually stimulating, and I enjoy its tension between obliterated abstraction and simple representation. The work is complex to reproduce, so it's best seen on the gallery's website.

On to Pulse Fair. Baer-Ridgway, who rarely disappoint, had photo collage work from Brion Nuda Rosch. Though they strongly recalled John Stezaker in many ways, the best examples held their own. 

My favorite photo-based work at Pulse was by Sam Messenger at Davidson Contemporary.

I loved how the artist has crammed imagery into a space but made it inaccessible in every way except as a promise. This promise would only be important to collectors and galleries which fires this wonderful tension between the images we'll never see and his promise of uniqueness and exclusivity. Great. (Click on the photos to enlarge.)

There were some other galleries at Volta showing photography, but I think you've heard me comment on them before or you've seen them yourself. The same cannot be said of Verge Fair. I have never commented in this blog on anything I saw there, and I suspect you've never seen any of the work on display. This is as it should be. That's all I'll say on the subject. Attend at your own peril.

Tomorrow: ADAA, Independent, and Scope.

Armory week, day 1. All day at the piers.

Well, we're off and running. As promised, here is installment number 1 of my personal preferences for the photographic work I saw  in my 6 hour slog through piers 92 and 94. In no particular order and without much elaboration, definition, or comment from me:

Iran do Espirito Santo had 4 photograms at Sean Kelly which were overlaid with graphite pencil. The photogram was on a mirrored surface, so the silver of the backing referred to the silver of the emulsion, which referred to the silver in the graphite. Very satisfying and a beautiful counterpoint to the mirrored wall constructions next to it by the same artist.

Jack Shainman had his usual spectacular booth. I never tire of seeing new Nick Cave soundsuits or El Anatsui wall hangings. The Rashid Rana photo construction was a bit disappointing, though. We've seen too much of this kind of computer generated photomontage, and Joan Fontcuberta still did it best.

Gallery Sfeier-Semler showed a typology easily mistaken for a Becher grid. But instead of watertowers, we were looking at Israeli watchtowers - heavily armed and fortified - by Palestinian artist, Taysir Batniji. A wonderful political twist on the flat, formal constructions of the Bechers.

 I saw some of the photo collage and video of Croat artist David Maljkovic at one of the Berlin Biennials. I was impressed and wrote a brief paragraph here in May of 2008. Galerie Georg Kargl from Vienna has a solid display of new work which continues to explore architecture and it's role in memory. Take a look. My crappy jpegs really don't communicate the work:

London's Corvi-Mora had Anne Collier's ongoing exploration of representations of the eye. The work continues to speak to me and impress.

Zeno-X from Antwerp had a few Dirk Braeckmans. These photos break no new ground, but I always love to see them.

 

 Barbara Probst was the principal photo artist at Murray Guy, but there was also an intriguing series from Moyra Davey(whose work deserves wider play). I have not always been a fan of Probst's work, but she continues to grow within her practice of multiple perspectives from multiple cameras fired simultaneously. I liked these especially:

 Galerie Filomena Soares had a few examples from Helena Almeida. I love many of the explorations this artist creates with photos, but this was not high on my list. Still, an artist not seen enough in the US.

Seventeen Gallery was showing Graham Dolphin which is not strictly photographic but a personal favorite. On the photo front, they had Abigail Reynolds' collages; manipulated constructions made of found pages from guide books and atlases. She successfully breaks the 2 dimensional plane of a photograph while simultaneously traversing multiple moments of time. Great work.

If more proof were needed that San Francisco has a vibrant gallery scene, Altman Siegel would be fine evidence. Trevor Paglen's cosmic musings (introduced to me by Becky Smith of the departed Bellwether Gallery) and Matt Keegan's photo deletions were both examples of the excellent program at this gallery. Sorry, no pics.

Last and by no means least I would like to praise Sicardi Gallery from Houston. Year after year this gallery puts together a remarkable booth with spectacular examples from Latin America especially the op-artists. Leon Ferrari, Jesus Rafael Soto, and Carlos Cruz-Diez are particular favorites of mine, but there were others as well. On the photographic front, I was introduced to the modernist work of Geraldo de Barros. The negatives date from the 50s and are made from visually arresting combinations of photogram, negative manipulation, and reflection. Unfortunately, these were not vintage prints, but perhaps this can be forgiven in the cause of wider posthumous distribution for a neglected artist. If I'm the only one who hasn't heard of him (I hope so!), then I'll enjoy my new, personal find. If he's new to you, too, check it out. Great work.

 

Tomorrow, Volta and whatever other fairs I can cover. Comments and additions welcome.

Calm before the storm....

The New York art world is gearing up for the gallery tsunami known as Armory Week. There are at least 9 fairs happening next week with 2 more major fairs (ADAA and AIPAD) happening in the succeeding weeks through March. Bill Mindlin of Photograph Magazine created a special broadside issue featuring the myriad events coming to New York in the coming weeks. I'm honored that he highlighted Fugitive Vision in this issue as one of two blogs mentioned to be covering the fairs. You can see the special issue online here: http://www.photographmag.com/photographNYC/.

I've been moving Fugitive Vision more towards an essay blog and away from daily small posts about current shows. But, in light of Mr. Mindlin's support, I will try to report daily on what I'm seeing at the fairs. Expect less in-depth commentary (perhaps to be supplemented at a later date for truly memorable work), and a focus on photographic finds. I'll be thinking of myself as an advance scout sending back dispatches for those with less time to scour every booth at every fair. As usual with Fugitive Vision, I will concentrate on the positive. Check in daily for highlighted favorites and recommendations rather than ranting about pet-peeves or disappointing work.

As always, I welcome comments, additions, and corrections. Below please find a list of the fairs with URLs for each so you can begin to explore your options virtually before the madness of the week begins. See you on the other side.....

The Armory Show March 4-7. Pier 92, 94 at 55th St, Thur-Sat noon-8pm, Sun noon-7pm, thearmoryshow.com.

 

Pulse NYC March 4-7. 330 West St at W Houston St, Thur-Sat noon-8pm, Sun noon-5pm, pulse-art.com

 

Scope New York March 4-7. Lincoln Center Damrosch Park, 62nd St and Amsterdam Ave, Thur-Sat noon-8pm, Sun noon-7pm, scope-art.com

 

Volta NY March 4-7. 7 W 34th St, Thur 2-8pm, Fri-Sun 11am-7pm, voltashow.com

 

Independent March 4-7. 548 W 22nd St, Thur 4-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-8pm, Sun noon-4pm, independentnewyork.com

 

Red Dot New york March 4-7. 500 W 36th St, Thur noon-6pm, Fri-Sat 11am-8pm, Sun 11am-6pm, reddotfair.com

 

Verge Art Fair March 4-7. Dylan Hotel, 52 E 41st St, Fri-Sat noon-8pm, Sun noon-6pm, vergeartfair.com

 

Fountain art fair March 5-7. Pier 66 at 26th St, Fri-Sun 11am-7pm, fountainexhibit.com 

 

Pool art fair March 5-7. Gershwin Hotel, 7 E 27th St, Fri-Sun 3-10pm, poolartfair.com

 

The ADAA art Show March 3-7. Park Avenue Armory, Park Ave at 67th St, Wed-Sat noon-8pm, Sun noon-6pm, artdealers.org

 

THE AIPAD Photography Show New York March 18-21. Park Avenue Armory at 67th St, Thur-Sat 11am-8pm, Sun 11am-6pm, aipad.com

The cheapest word in an expensive business

I recently read the article/interview you see below and was struck by the word "curator". In what way was Shaq the curator for the show at Flag Art Foundation? Perhaps the pass/fail multiple-choice parlor game that was the basis for his curatorial debut makes for interesting locker room chat, but it devalues the term when compared to the actual hard work and long hours done by the scholars museums call curators. While some curators I know would be no stranger to the kind of self-aggrandizing, auto-hagiocracy that Mr. O'Neal seems to enjoy, I think most of them would agree that, whatever noun you might want to use to describe his involvement in the Flag Foundation show, curator would not be the word that comes to mind.

Now despite the fact that this article made my snob gland swell, I'm actually all for a big, inclusive tent in the art world. I think that having celebrities like Mr, O'Neal become part of the art process is at worst harmless, and at best good PR which shines more light on a business that can be seen as only for the intellectual elite. He's certainly entitled to his taste, opinions, and all the access that his wealth brings him. I would never for a moment suggest that he should be excluded, and, on the contrary, I respect his eagerness to explore areas outside of the usual wealthy athlete stereotype. But I wonder if the respect is a two way street. What if David Rockefeller, by virtue of his wealth, decided not only to buy a sports team, but to coach it on a daily basis? His players would be forced to call him "coach", but he would not be a real coach for lack of knowledge, experience, and training. He would get lots of help, suggestions, and support, of course, but then he'd fail in every way possible because he's just not qualified. And Shaq would be the first to cry foul.

So how come some rich athlete gets to walk in a gallery, point his finger at 20 art works, and get called "curator"? Isn't there another word that fills the void more accurately? It seems to me that, considering the incredible amount of wealth at play in the art world, some things come cheap.

Art Curator Shaq Is His Own Masterpiece 

By Linda Yablonsky 

Published Feb 7, 2010

(Photo: Michael Tran/FilmMagic)

Despite holding down a demanding day job, Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal has published two memoirs, cut six records, acted in seven movies, starred in a reality show, served as a reserve police officer, and studied for a doctorate in “human resource development.” Now he’s curating “Size DOES Matter,” an exhibition opening February 19 at the Flag Art Foundation in Chelsea. Shaq made 66 selections for the show—which features works ranging from the ginormous (Andreas Gursky’s billboard-size photograph Madonna I) to the microscopic (a Shaq portrait by Willard Wigan)—out of over 200 images that founder Glenn Fuhrman and director Stephanie Roach showed him over dinner after a game.

How did you make your choices?
Art is a process of delivering or arranging elements that appeal to the emotions of a person looking at it. It’s what you feel. I picked those things because they were beautiful. The thing about size—if it’s big or small you have to look at it. Because I’m so big you have to look at me. I think of myself as a monument. But sometimes I like to feel small.

Do you ever get time to visit museums?
I used to go a lot with my kids. Donald Trump is a great friend, and he has four or five Picassos on his plane. And that’s where I would look at them. One time, I was at a museum and tried touching a Picasso. You break it, you buy it, they said. I was told it would cost $2 million.

Have you ever tried painting?
No, but I’ve met a lot of artists who wanted to paint me. LeRoy Neiman was one. He did it from a photograph. He made 20,000 copies, and we sold them all. Now I’m working with the greatest artist in the world, Peter Max.

Do you buy art?
I have six kids, and if they ripped something, I’d be devastated. Maybe when they grow up, I’ll buy. I’d like Ron Mueck [whose Untitled: Big Man appears in the show] to do a sculpture of me. I would like to make it twenty feet tall and put it in the middle of a residential neighborhood—make it two stories high and in the head I’d have my office.

You like people looking at you.
Yeah. When I go to New York I like to stand in the street and see what happens. When you look at a painting and try to figure it out—you look at me [the same way]. Everything in the world is art.

Including basketball?
To me, it’s ballet, hip-hop, and kung fu. The ballet is grace, the hip-hop is cool, and the kung fu is kill the opponent.

Read more: Shaquille O’Neal on Curating the 'Size DOES Matter' Exhibit
http://nymag.com

New edition + new blog

 I was just made aware of a blog which highlights books, editions, and budget-minded prints written by Andrew Phelps called Buffet. I'm adding a link under "blogs I like". The reason I heard about it is because he wrote about a new edition done by my friend Raphael Dallaporta's Domestic Slavery series. Follow the link here for the specific post. Raphael is a fabulous artist, certainly one to watch, and will be the recipient of an Infinity Award from ICP this year in the artist under 30 category. His website: http://www.raphaeldallaporta.com/. Check it out.

Paper!Awesome!

I've written about newcomer gallery Baer Ridgway before in reference to their excellent nascent editions program. Well, they've come up with a super work on paper show that runs the gamut of work form talented MFAs to well established artists. With more than 100 artists in the show, it's hard to single out any one contributor, but the online exhibit is well worth combing through for pleasure and bargains. Also note that they'll be in NYC in 2 weeks for the Pulse fair. Here's their mini press release for the show and a hyperlink to their site. Check 'em out:

Paper!Awesome

February 20 - March 27, 2010

Baer Ridgway Exhibitions is pleased to present PAPER!AWESOME!, a group exhibition of new works on paper by over 100 artists. Curated by gallery artist Brion Nuda Rosch, this exhibition contains over 300 8.5 x 11 inch brand new works on paper by an incredibly varied group of artists. Works by internationally recognized artists will hang side-by-side with those by artists just emerging, all of whom have been asked to work with the most basic of canvases, an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper.

(In)Visible Export

I recently got an email from Risa Needleman of Invisible Exports Gallery. I like everything about it: it's a direct, honest approach, the art is interesting, and it's a win/win for the artist and the collector. Invisible Exports has been getting solid, consistent reviews for their editions program including their Artist of the Month program. This is a great way to start checking them out. Recommended. Here's the email:

The filmmaker Marie Losier has been filming Genesis for the past four years, working towards her first feature film, a portrait of Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, and h/er band Psychic TV. The film, in its current form, was presented at both The Centre George Pompidou in April, and at the Cinemathèque Francaise this past September.  

We are trying to help Marie raise the last bit of money she needs to complete the film, so we are offering a limited edition print from her OUTTAKES series created in collaboration with Bernard Yenelouis.  
The photograph is an edition of 50, and is available for only $200. All the money from this print goes directly to the completion of the film. You can buy it directly from our website here: http://invisible-exports.com/editions.html 

The other works from the OUTTAKES series are available in an edition of 5 and will also go to help Marie. You can view them at this special link here: http://invisible-exports.com/artists/marielosier/marielosier.html 

We are offering them first exclusively to friends of the gallery who have expressed interest in Genesis and h/er work, and to people who we think might be interested in adding this wonderful photograph to their collection.
 
PS_If you have not seen the new BREYER P-ORRIDGE works at Renwick Gallery, please do. They are absolutely terrific. And mark your calendars: Genesis will be lecturing at MoMA on Monday, March 22, 2010.
------------------------------------ 
Invisible-Exports, 14a Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 226-5447 
www.invisible-exports.com 
www.artistofthemonthclub.com