Considering that it is the beginning of the fall season in the art world and the galleries have reopened with a renewed energy, I have chosen to write about all of my favorite shows I have seen in brief as opposed to just listing three in my recommended shows section of the website.

Sally Mann, The Quality of the Affection, 2006, Gelatin silver print, 15 x 13 1/2 inches

Sally Mann at Gagosian–The photographs in this show are gorgeous. Though you are aware that you are viewing the human body, because of her technique the form is quite abstracted and oftentimes you are unsure exactly what it is that you are looking at. Due to their intimacy in scale and subject matter looking at the photos the viewer feels a bit of a voyeur. However, I find these works less disquieting than previous works I have seen. The works, taken over a six year period, are photos of her husband Larry who has muscular dystrophy. What is also interesting to note about this show is that typically the artist is usually a male whose subject is a female. Mann reverses that idea and in her artist’s statement explains, “The act of looking appraisingly at a man, making eye contact on the street, asking to photograph him, studying his body, has always been a brazen venture for a woman, though for a man, these acts are commonplace, even expected.”

Jaume Plensa, In The Midst Of Dreams, 2009, Installation of polyester resin, fiberglass, stainless steel, marble pebbles, and light

Jaume Plensa at Galerie Lelong–The main gallery hold giant busts of heads made of resin and surrounded by painted white rocks. The works are lit from within and therefore glow highlighting the words emblazoned across the cheeks and foreheads of the three heads: hunger, disease, insomnia, desire, ignorance, wrath, anxiety, panic and hysteria. I personally like his drawings in the show much more than these works, but the ideas behind this work are admirable. Plensa is exploring what portraiture means in an increasingly diverse world community. As the press release explains, he uses computers to alter real life images of women so that race and gender aren’t able to be determined. The words on the head relate to various states of human emotion and the human condition.

Mark Bradford, Red Painting, 2009, Mixed media collage on canvas

Mark Bradford and Kara Walker at Sikkema Jenkins–I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE Mark Bradford fan. Ever since his work appeared in the Whitney Biennial and he won the Bucksbaum, I have been following him. Unfortunately his works are too expensive for my own personal collection and a Bradford print just doesn’t cut the mustard. The justification for a show with both these artists whose works seems so different is that they both use text in their work as well as collage and assemblage in order to address societal and cultural issues. Not to be missed.

Chris Ofili, Afro Margin Four, 2004, Pencil on paper, 40.16 x 26.46 inches

Chris Ofili at Zwirner–Unlike his last show at Zwirner which I was not impressed with, the drawings in this exhibition were enjoyable and more along the lines of what I have grown to like from Ofili. Afro Margin is the title of the series which includes eight pencil drawings by Ofili. I love the intimacy of the works; they force you to look closely and recognize that the small black oval and circular shapes are afro heads that line the paper. As the press release explains, “Here the ‘margin’-created by darkened ‘afro heads’ piled vertically into columns and varying in size-suggest gothic towers and aboriginal totems.”

Zak Prekop, Untitled, 2008, Oil and paper on canvas, 72 x 48 inches

Jon Pestoni and Zak Prekop at Lisa Cooley–I really enjoy Lisa Cooley’s space. The dark wood floors contrast with the white walls but it lacks the pretension of a modern white cube. Instead it is bare bones and approachable as are the current works on view. I was particularly fascinated with the works of Zak Prekop. Reminiscent of Tomma Abts in their abstraction they are larger in scale and more human. The hand of the artist is ever present in his work. Prekop uses graphite, collage and oils to create lines that break the canvas into planes creating patterns and an overall balanced composition. Of course the three works that I inquired about are all on reserve. They are affordable and beautiful. A great combination. Visit www.lisa-cooley.com for more information. 

Carter, And Within Area Although 1, 2009, digitally altered, folded and defaced laser prints, acrylic ink, paint, and gel medium on paper and on canvas

Carter at Salon Freemans–I love the large works on view in this show. I have been intrigued by Carter ever since I saw him speak in 2006 at the Whitney, the year he was in the Biennial. Digitally altered and collaged photographs are used in these new works. “The photographic images of 1940’s and 1950’s interiors serve as stages for an unseen action. The artist’s markings and erasures are the remnants of the past lives of the rooms.”

Franklin Evans, Installation view

Franklin Evans at Sue Scott–This work is very difficult to describe, one must just go and experience it. Comprised of an installation taking over the whole gallery, it is filled with color and line. the viewer must delve into every nook and cranny of the gallery in order to catch it all. Evans uses tape, paint, watercolor, bubble wrap, art books, etc to create his work. The idea of a finished work is one which he frowns upon. He chooses to present materials in less familiar ways. For example the floor is a part of the work and tape crosses over  parts of the watercolors on paper obscuring details of the work. But it is intentional. The visual stimulation is intense, but it is worth the wild ride.

James Ensor at MoMA

Skeletons Warming Themselves, 1889

I was excited to see this show because I knew little to nothing about this artist before I went on a curator led tour. James Ensor (1860-1949) was a major figure in the Belgian avant-garde which was a precursor to Expressionism. He influenced generations of artists who came after him. The 120 works on view examine his contribution to modernity–allegorical use of light, satire, and his bizarre interest in carnival and performance and role-playing. This is the first showing of pieces in all the media he worked in since the 1970s. The vast majority of his work is still in Belgium with roughly 75% of the work in this exhibition coming from Belgian public and private collections. The curator worked on it for 3 years and made 20 trips to Belgium. Interestingly enough her vision for the show had to be drastically altered when she was told she would have to use the same gallery configuration that had existed in the Miro show in order for the museum to save money. She decided on a combination of a chronologic and thematic show. Ensor grew up in Ostend along the Belgian coast; a place where the wealthy went to summer. His father took over his wife’s family business and bankrupted it. He drank himself to death and as a result, women played a hugely important role in his life. He only left Ostend for 3 years during his whole life. He lived in the attic of the family house that housed the store on the first floor but he never wanted for money. He makes a conscious decision to paint everything he can see in his world. The period from 1880-1890 was his most creative period. And as the curator explained to us, “our appreciation of these works is clouded by what we already know.”

The Red Apples, 1883

Ensor painted still lifes in a similar manner to that of Cezanne before Cezanne. An example is The Red Apples from 1883. His interiors evoke thoughts of Bonnard and Vuillard, but again, he is doing this years before they are. Ensor began exhibiting in the traditional salon shows but he always experimented with his work as well. He was a member of a group that he and his friends cofounded called “The Twenty” which focused on artistic freedom of expression. They reacted against French Impressionism and early on he established himself as the leader of that group.

The Oyster Eater, 1882

Part of this stemmed from a work he painted called The Oyster Eater. In it he depicts his sister eating oysters. It was refused from the salon “because of the unfinished character” which really meant because there was a problem with the subject matter. In this case, it was unacceptable to show a woman enjoying a meal of aphrodisiacs by herself. Shortly after this period, in an attempt to make himself stand out from the group, he decided to put aside painting and focus on drawing and light. He created works using a vibrating line so that no distinct contours exist in the works. He believed that this caused everything to meld together and be diffused by light.

Christ's Entry into Jerusalem

Two monumental drawings from Ghent are shown in the exhibition on a different colored wall which was meant to highlight their importance. This is the first time they have been seen in the United States as they are considered Belgian “Mona Lisa’s.” The detail in his drawings is remarkable as is the radiating light. He also shifts from rendering what he can see to what he can imagine. The French and Belgian artists competed as to how to best render light. Georges Seurat exhibited A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte at the same show in the 1880s that Ensor had contributed work to. Seurat prevailed as a master of light and Ensor became increasingly reclusive. He felt misunderstood and he became obsessed with the idea that people will eventually see him as the artistic genius he was. Printmaking became a focus because he believes they will last for eternity.

Self-portrait

He was still in touch with what was happening in the outside world, but his inside world took over and the last painting in the show is a self-portrait using an image from an earlier self-portrait he had created as a young man. However now he is an old man and it is therefore very artificial. He is surrounded by imagery from his own interior fantasy world.

Yinka Shonibare MBE at Brooklyn Art Museum

Leisure Lady with Ocelots, 2001

Shonibare, of Nigerian descent, was born in Britain in 1962. His work spans many media in its attempts to touch on ideas about African identity and the “legacy of European colonialism.” Most famous for his use of “Dutch wax fabric” this exhibition on through September 20th highlights 12 years of his work including installations, photography, film and sculpture. He first used the “Dutch wax fabric” to replace linen canvases but it has now become a means to make statements about social class and colonialism. The fabric, produced in Europe for West African markets in the 19th and early 20th centuries, was inspired by Indonesian batik. For Shonibare, “it symbolizes the complex web of economic and racial interactions between Europe and Asia and Africa.” It is now a signifier of African identity and for Shonibare, “All African exotic implications remain fake. And I actually like that fakeness.”

Shonibare’s sculpture often features headless mannequins clothed in elaborate costumes from the period just before the French Revolution when European aristocracy controlled vast wealth, land, and power. This is a nod to the beheading of the aristocracy during the French revolution, but it also removes direct connotations of race or identity. Referencing art history , in particular the Rococo period with its depictions of luxury and privilege, Shonibare portrays romanticized narratives as well as imagined scenes of sexual decadence and violence. He states, “To be in a position to engage in leisure pursuits, you need ….spare time and money buys you spare time. Whilst the leisure pursuit might look frivolous…my depiction of  it is a way of engaging in that power.” In 2005 Shonibare was awarded the title: Member of the Order of the British Empire. He uses this title now to further explore colonial legacy, class structure and social injustices that exist in the country he calls “home.”

The Swing (After Fragonard), 2001

In 2001 Shonibare created The Swing (After Fragonard) in which he transformed a well-known European painting The Swing from 1767 into a three-dimensional installation with a twist. Fragonard depicted the upper class at play and in the original work he painted a woman on a swing with her shoe flying through the air. We are introduced to the exhibition with Shonibare’s installation depicting a similar scene. It pulsates with a sense of whimsy and delight.

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters

In the next gallery hang Shonibare’s most recent photos which are based on Goya’s etching, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters from his “Los Caprichos” series. The artist restages the original image in five variations, each representing a world continent by means of the sleeping figure.

Gallantry and Criminal Conversation, 2002

image courtesy of Yinka Shonibare.co.uk

 

Gallantry and Criminal Conversation, 2002

image courtesy of Yinka Shonibare.co.uk

The installation Gallantry and Criminal Conversation from 2002 fills a large gallery in the middle of the show. The work was inspired by the idea of the Grand Tour which the wealthy used to take through Europe in the 17th through the 19th centuries. It focused on introducing the elite classes to art, culture and history in Europe. The installation explores “slippings between public and private life revealing hidden intimacies and exchanges.” The Grand Tour is shown to be filled with sexual exploration. Headless men and women are shown in Dutch wax attire with legs splayed, heads under dresses and men entering from behind all with traveling trunks scattered around and a lifesized stagecoah hanging above implying travel.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, another photo series, a handsome young man gives his soul in order to remain forever young, but a hidden portrait captures the effects of his age and his increased moral corruption. In 1945 it was made into a film and Shonibare borrows the film still idea in the creation of this series.  

Film Still, Un Ballo in Maschera, 2004

Un Ballo in Maschera from 2004 is considered by the artist to be a “moving tableau.” It is his first film and the titles comes fro Verdi’s 1859 opera. In it, people clad in Venetian masks and decorative “Dutch wax” costumes participate in carefully choreographed dances that are quite beautiful. I was unable to stay for the entire work but it appears to play forwards and then proceeds to play in reverse in one full cycle.

Film Still, Odile and Odette, 2005

Another film I very much enjoyed was Odile and Odette from 2005. Inspired by Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, he explores themes of blackness and whiteness and the associations of evil and good that go hand in hand with them. The film consists of one black ballerina and one white dancer dancing the exact same steps in what appears to be a mirror separating the two. However, the viewer quickly discerns that it is simply a frame. It is quite beautiful but the underlying themes are powerful indeed.