Newsletter: April 2009
Oliver Herring, Untitled, mixed media, 2009
The MoMA Junior Associates entered the Prospect Heights studio that Oliver and Peter share to find a long and narrow immaculate space with Peter’s paintings along the sides and Oliver’s work on the walls at the far end. Oliver, originally from Germany, looked like he had stepped out of a John Currin painting. He has a very thin neck and a large head (not in an unattractive way but in a fascinating and aesthetically pleasing way). He has been in NYC for 19 years and received his MFA from Hunter College. Somehow along the way he became sidetracked by knitting. As he explained it, it became a tool for him to figure out whether or not he should be an artist as he originally wanted to study medicine. It all began when a friend of his committed suicide due to his HIV status. As a gay man in New York City, Oliver was freaked out by this and as a reaction, he created a figurative piece using tape, previously he had only painted. For many years he knit the same piece over and over. It was a way for him to free up his mind. However, it began to feel anti-social and so when he had a pinched nerve in his arm and he was unable to knit, he began to experiment with video. It was a more collaborative process and he enjoyed it.
“Task,” a participatory event that includes raves in which a designated area is covered with mylar and a whole group of props are brought into the space is an ongoing event that Oliver initiated many years ago. The participants are asked to write a task and put it in the pool. They then take a task and are supposed to realize it in some manner. When you are done with that task you write a new one. Oliver explained that since its inception, it has taken on a life of its own.
Oliver Herring, Photosculpture
As an antidote to the spontaneous videos Oliver works on he also creates photosculpture. This process involves affixing photos of a person’s body to a lifesize sculpture of that person. The photos are printed in various colors and shapes almost creating a mosaic. It is a tremendously tedious and detailed process, but one in which unique and haunting works are created. It is clearly cathartic for the artist as well.
Oliver was highlighted in the wonderful PBS series ART21 Season 4 and you can read more about him and see more images of his work at
http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/herring/index.html#
Peter and Oliver in the studio with Peter's painting
Peter explained that his work has always been an expression of his interests, talents, and values. Unlike Oliver who works in a variety of media, Peter has always painted. He may change the strategies he uses to make paintings based on subject matter, but he considers himself first and foremost a painter. During his first two years in New York he was overwhelmed by the big city and his method for coping with that was to paint only umbrellas. Next he painted multiple protraits of Oliver using camera obscura which were influenced by a particular work by Matisse in which he painted a green stripe down the face of his subject. Next Peter turned to self-portraits in which he distorted his image using mirrors. He began to really abstract his subjects. Peter explained to us that there has always been tension between figuration and abstraction in his work. By following his values as a person he has recently become very active in community politics and that has informed his artwork a great deal. His work continues to be an expression of his experiences but he never imagined he would be making this kind of work.
Ben Weiner Studio Visit
- Ben Weiner, Giant Pearls, 2008, oil on canvas, 64 x 98 inches
I first met Ben at the Aldrich Museum last fall but have been familiar with his work for a few years (I have written about his work in previous newsletters). One of my clients even purchased a work on paper after I fell in love with it at a satellite Miami fair back in 2006. Recently, he was gracious enough to let me come for a studio visit which gave even more meaning to his luscious and sensual paintings for me.
Amidst notes written in Sharpie tacked to the walls containing lists for grant possibilities, artists he wants to learn more about, and rules for getting work done in the studio such as only checking email 3 times a day, I sat down with the artist to discuss what he is currently working on. Right now he is in preparation for his upcoming show at Mark Moore Gallery in May of 2010 so the studio was fairly stark . The white walls contained grids of nails on which to hang canvases of different sizes. The one work in progress hanging on the far wall is about 20 x 40 inches with mustard and amber tones. He explained to me (after I asked what the subject was) that the subject was lipstick and mascara submerged in perfume. A color printout of the photograph that he was basing the painting on hung next to the canvas; it was full of demarcations with different numbers. It turns out that this is the system behind the organization of his paint colors. He showed me a palette which astounded me–there were at least one hundred different colors used and this particular work was a fairly monochromatic one.
Ben’s current projects are video works he will have in the Los Angeles exhibition alongside his paintings. He has been creating video works for years but his upcoming show will be the first time that he has shown this work to the public in an exhibition. He uses time-lapse that is often so slow it makes movement or change almost imperceptible. To him, the subtle changes that occur using certain subjects in a video is much like the subtle changes a painter makes during his/her process in the creation of a finished work. One of his ideas for a video that he shared is time-lapse imagery of a gel ant farm. The ants would not be seen, just the tunnels they create in the gel. Ben likes that the gel is somewhere between a solid and a transparent object. It is the same thing he focuses on in his paintings which gives a liminal quality to his works.
His paintings are all based on photographs he takes of real objects in his studio. In the past he has used actual film because of the quality it produces –it makes it easier for him to capture the exact textures and surfaces in paint. Now, he has used a digital camera for the first time. It was a teacher at Wesleyan, Tula Telfair, who first encouraged him to work from photos and the hyperrealist style has stuck with him ever since. He mentioned the artists Rosenquist, Koons, and Glenn Brown as artists who influenced him.
Ben seems to enjoy the fine line he walks between reality and fantasy in his works. Initially he was drawn to subjects with rich textures and items that had certain qualities when light fell a particular way on them such as hair gel, pearls, paint, aluminum foil–things that were already a part of his environment. He continues to use objects from his own life but his focus has narrowed. He enjoys the way that mundane objects (deodorant, MSG crystals, corn syrup, etc.) take on different qualities when looked at up close. They reveal different things about our world. He sees a connection between beauty products and art supplies in that beauty is often taboo in high art and can be relegated to kitsch. Ben attempts to put these objects from both the high and low brow worlds on the same plane. He creates illusions in his work where unnatural objects are presented as organic; he tries to naturalize manmade objects. They become an environment in which the viewer loses himself. One is drawn in by the seductive quality of the works but is then cut off at a certain point. The viewer is not always able to determine what it is that he/she is looking at and Ben is okay with that. His newer work focuses in more closely on objects which creates even more abstraction and intrigue for the viewers of his wonderful works.
Please visit www.benweiner.com to learn more about the artist. In addition you can visit www.markmooregallery.com and www.colletteblanchard.com as both galleries represent the artist.
AIPAD (Association of International Photography Art Dealers) Fair
I was pleasantly surprised by this manageable fair. Not only were there some good works on view, but dealers were also in good spirits. There were even sales at some booths on items below a certain price point. Works that caught my eye were:
Mary Mattingly, Kart, 2008
1) Kart by Mary Mattingly who has a show opening up at Robert Mann Gallery in New York. She creates interesting photographic compositions utilizing Photoshop by creating amalgamations of different images. The environment thus created is surreal and intriguing. Price: $3500
2) A photograph of the Brooklyn Bridge by William D. Richardson from the late 1920s like none I have ever seen before. It included people and focused on an atypical view; the artist was clearly not going for the typical tourist shot that is ubiquitous. Price: $5500
Rudensky, Tambov Refrigerator, 2005
Rudensky, The Park, 2005
Rudensky, Bazarnaya Street, 2005
3) At the booth of Gallery 19/21 there was work by Sasha Rudensky who recently completed her MFA from Yale. I found not only the carefully constructed compositions but also the colors and starkness of the work refreshing. The larger works are in editions of 5 for $2500 and the smaller size are editions of 15 and cost $1200.
Titarenko, Untitled (San Marco in Water), 2002
4) As cheesy as it may sound I really enojyed works by a St. Petersburg artist named Alexey Titarenko at Nailya Alexander Gallery’s booth. On view were photos from his Venice series which showed the typical Venetian landmarks (Piazza San Marco, The Doge’s Palace) but there was something new and refreshing about his take on them. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he uses a darkroom as opposed to a computer when developing the photos. The works are in an edition of 10 and start at $4200 and go up from there.
Pillsbury, Le Grand Foyer Opera de Paris - Palais Garnier, 2008
Pillsbury, La Victoire de Samothrace Le Louvre, 2008
5) Matthew Pillsbury, who currently has a show up at the gallery at fiaf (French Institute Alliance Francaise) in midtown Manhattan, is one of my favorite photographers. Not only have my clients bought his pieces, but I am actually lucky enough to own one of his works myself. The works on view at the fair are from a recent trip to Paris (where Pillsburty lived as a child). As the fiaf website states, “Mr. Pillsbury’s photos address the themes of movement, transience, and cosmopolitan spaces. Using natural light, each shot requires a very long exposure time. The naturalism of the light source distorts the human form, rendering figures nearly ethereal in their flurry of activity.” The larger works in the series are $5000 and up depending on what number they are in the edition and the smaller start at $1800.
Zoe Leonard at Dia at The Hispanic Society of America
- Zoe Leonard, Analogue, 1998-2007
Leonard, detail from Analogue, 1998-2007
Zoe Leonard took photos of the Lower East Side in Manhattan where her studio was from 1998-2007. This exhibition shows the series, “Analogue,” which includes 400 photos of storefronts that are grouped for display in grids by subject. The imagery includes laundry, food items, signage, metal fronts that protect the business when it is closed, drawings which indicate what type of business it is, bags, brushes, shoes, tvs. There are no people in her photographs which makes this neighborhood seem desolate and abandoned. Her imagery is attempting to remind us that “consumer products are produced elsewhere and reach us through an intricate system of exchange”….[it asks questions] “like where are you in the world, how are you connected to places elsewhere, and what are the ways by which you can document and trace a path through the world?”
Francisco Goya, The Duchess of Alba, 1797
On another note, imagine my surprise when I walked in to the Hispanic Society of America and looked up to see Francisco Goya’s famous painting Duchess of Alba staring back at me. I studied it in so many of my art history classes, perhaps it made a lasting impression because this woman confidently looks out at the viewer while aggressively pointing to the ground. Who knew that that museum had such a treasure?
Jenny Holzer at the Whitney Museum of Art
- Installation shot at Whitney, For Chicago, image from New York Times
For those of you unfamiliar with this mid-career artist’s work, Holzer uses language as her medium. Works in the show include her writings from 1977-2001; she also uses other writers’ text in her work. The title of the show, “Protect Protect” has a two-fold meaning. It comes from texts detailing plans for the Iraq war but also as the wall text explains, “relates to the problematic power of personal desire.” Stepping off the elevator at the Whitney, one is bathed in a saffron neon light where ten LED strips are laid across the floor in a work entitled For Chicago. Text runs both up and down these vertical bars making their meaning extremely difficult to determine. But the glow created prepares the viewer for what is to come. The sparse rooms with only one or two works per space allow one to truly become enveloped in the work and to take one’s time with it.
- Green Purple Cross, Blue Cross, image from New York Times
Whether 12 bars criss- cross with the bottom half displaying one message while the top conveys another in subtle tones of blue, teal and purple or 19 semi-circles alternate text using jarring pink, red and blue, the work is powerful. While standing there reading the words, I began to wonder how and why she selected certain colors for her words and certain shapes for her LED screens.
Some quotes I caught as the words flashed by were: “Push yourself to the limit as often as possible;” “Religion causes as many problems as it solves;” “Romantic love was invented to manipulate women.”
- Red Yellow Looming, 2004, image from New York Times
A work called “Red Yellow Looming” from 2004 also made quite an impression. In a hallway 13 rows of double-sided LED screens are stacked like a ziggurat with red text flying across on one side– amber text fills the reverse. The words are almost in unison on the 13 screens, but not quite which makes for a disconcerting experience; it seemed appropriate that the work jar the viewer a bit since the subject matter consists of text from Iraq war documents.
- Lustmord Table, 1994
Another work that I would have never associated with Holzer is called Lustmord Table from 1994. Human bones are arranged on a wooden table. They are categorized by type of bone but nothing is explained. “Lustmord” apparently refers to the rape and murders that occur during times of war. The piece is striking due to the fact that you know they are human bones and you have no context for them. These bones represent the dead that are mentioned in her texts.
Interspersed amongst her light works are her works on canvas revealing internal government documents from the Iraq war that have been declassified. The documents touch on topics such as the experiences of detainees, US soldiers statements, and general Abu Ghraib information.
- Hand, 2008, image from New York Times
Hand, from 2008, is made up of 36 large canvases showing handprints taken for official documents. The handprints have all been scribbled out in various ways in an attempt to create anonymity. The way they are displayed here, the markings become patterns which are pleasing to the eye –but they never lose their association as identity markers for humans.
I enjoyed this show and thought it was well curated but it was nothing I had not seen before. I didn’t really learn anything new about her or her work by seeing the exhibition. That being said, if you are in the neighborhood, pop in and check it out.
MoMA Junior Associate Visit to Dieu Donne
- Mel Bochner, Process Shot, image courtesy of Dieu Donne
In 1976 Dieu Donne was founded by Sue Gosin and Bruce Weinberg, and in 1988 it became a non-profit organization. Its mission is to pursue handmade paper making as a contemporary art form with artists who are used to working in many different media. The artists work with a trained paper maker and collaborate on projects. They offer Workspace residencies to emerging artists that last around a week. Only six artists per year are selected for this prestigious honor. They also work with mid-career artists in their Lab Grant program and the process becomes all about promoting the creation of new work in an oftentimes unfamiliar medium for the artists. The processes can vary from those that are similar to printmaking to sculptural 3-dimensional works. It is important to keep in mind that they are all made of handmade paper and therefore every edition is hand painted and highly labor intensive. It was neat to see how creative the artists could be about what to make–it certainly often appears to take some thinking outside of the box. The beauty of an organization like this is that the editions are often small and the work is affordable so when an artist such as Chuck Close creates pieces, it allows collectors who might not otherwise be able to afford his work to obtain a piece. Dieu Donne’s recent collaborations have been with Do Ho Suh and Ursula von Rydingsvard, both artists I have written about previously and whose work I quite enjoy. It will be interesting to see what they come up with. Some works currently available that I thought were great and exceptionally good buys are below:
- Mel Bochner, Language is Not Transparent, 40 x 30 inches, ed. 16, image courtesy of Dieu Donne, $10,000
- Sonia Blesofsky, Cinder Blocks (original works), image Courtesy of Dieu Donne, $1200 each
- William Steiger, Aerial Tramway - Green, 20 x 16 inches ed.20, courtesy of Dieu Donne, $1600
- James Siena, When I Was Ten, courtesy of Dieu Donne, $2800
- side view
- James Siena, Floppy Combs, 18 x 14.5 x 0.25, ed. 15, $2800
In addition to the tour, we got to speak to Chuck Webster who is the current Workspace Resident. He is normally a painter so he explained to our group what the challenges and differences were between his preferred medium and working with the handmade paper. He shows at ZieherSmith Gallery on 25th Street in Chelsea and I have included two of his paintings for you to look at.
- Chuck Webster
- Webster, Like Butter, image courtesy of ZieherSmith
Ann Hamilton at Gemini Gel
Last night I had the pleasure of visiting Joni Weyl’s lovely space on Madison Avenue where new works by Ann Hamilton are on display. I also got to meet and talk to one of the founders of Gemini Gel, Sidney B. Felsen. Wearing a fedora, a bow tie and looking quite dapper, I asked him about how he started in the art world many years ago and boy did he have stories. A charming and kind man, I hope our paths cross again.
legend, 2009, lithography collaged and mounted by the artist on cotton, 7' x 8', courtesy Gemini Gel at Joni Moisant Weyl
The works on view, both two and three-dimensional, range in price from a very affordable $950-20,000.
script p, 2009, 15 1/2 x 21 inches, courtesy Gemini Gel at Joni Moisant Weyl
script e, 2009, 24 x 24 inches, courtesy Gemini Gel at Joni Moisant Weyl
script j, 2009, 29 1/2 x 23 inches, courtesy Gemini Gel at Joni Moisant Weyl
The least expensive small works resemble, as the press release states, “the blankness of empty grid paper, music sheets or open journal/diary pages.” They appear representational but also abtracted at the same time. I love their minimalism and simplicty.
gauge (fuschia), 2009, 38 1/4 x 56 inches, courtesy Gemini Gel at Joni Moisant Weyl
warp and weft I, 2009, 38 1/2 x 56 inches, courtesy Gemini Gel at Joni Moisant Weyl
Other prints come from Hamilton’s rubbing of silk organza with a wire brush. The resulting prints almost look like fine pen drawings in their detail. The show closes next week but if you visit the website, all of the works available are on view.
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