Gearing up before my trek to Miami I tried to fit in as many gallery visits as was humanly possible. Some highlights are below.

Sarah Morris, Rings, 2008

First of all, if you get the chance you should definitely see Sarah Morris’s film “Beijing” at Friedrich Petzel Gallery. Clocking in at 86 minutes (I saw a little over an hour), it is similar in style to her previous films about various international cities: Los Angeles, Washington DC, Las Vegas, New York. The music by Liam Gillick is spellbinding and Morris’s ability to engage the viewer with spectacular imagery is a real gift.

Serra at Gagosian

Serra

Richard Serra at Gagosian does not disappoint. The two monumental works are labyrinths and it would be hard for viewers not to feel claustrophobic in their grasp. One is astounded and a bit fearful at the same time.

Borrowdale by Teresita Fernandez

Lehmann Maupin is currently showing unique works by Teresita Fernandez. Made entirely of graphite, both two and three-dimensional works fill the space. Using graphite in unconventional ways, the large center work refers to Borrowdale, England where graphite was first discovered. Fernandez creates a waterfall and turns “the idea of drawing into a tangible form, making a solid sculpture that is in effect a three-dimensional gestural graphite drawing, a line dragged through the gallery space.”

Fernandez Relief

Other works include relief sculptures that reflect the light with their various depth and natural lines.

Epic by Fernandez

And lastly in “Epic” she uses small pieces of graphite attached to the wall to create an atmospheric environment. Very cool indeed.

Installation shot Luhring Augustine

A group show at Luhring Augustine was one of my favorites. The Irreverent Object includes European sculpture from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s with work by artists such as Arman, Beuys, Bourgeois, Fontana, Manzoni, Pisotletto–to name a few. “These artists expanded the historically limited definition of the sculptural object through an elevation of non-traditional media and a rebellion against the accepted canon.” A must see!

William Cordova installation shot

William Cordova was introduced to me at a show in Boston at the ICA. I really enjoy his work. Best known for his collages on paper, he is heavily influenced by music and urban culture (grafitti and subways).

Cordova drawings and collages

On view at his show at Sikkema Jenkins is a work made of old school LP covers, a video as well as many collage works on paper.

Though I am usually not a fan of Eric Fishl, the show of paintings of bullfighters at Mary Boone’s Chelsea space is excellent and not surprisingly all sold out as a result.

And lastly, it is over now but I have to write about my experience at Foxy Productions with Sterling Ruby’s “The Masturbators.” An obvious homage to Vito Acconci’s work “Seedbed” in which he placed himself under a ramp at the entrance to the gallery and masturbated. The visitors to the gallery could not see him, but heard him as he had speakers to amplify the noises he made. Ruby uses porn stars as performers. Each nude man is in a small room with only a towel on the floor. They are given instructions to masturbate to climax. This is obviously a different set-up than what these performers are used to and so, the results are varied.

Upon first walking into the gallery and being surrounded by these “macho” men jerking themselves off, I was very uncomfortable. But as I watched more, the videos and the men in them just became pathetic and gross. Their bodies ripped to perfection and hyper-masculine, they just seemed so vulnerable and lame trying to be “all that.” I felt sorry for them and at the same time was very proud to be a woman.