Speechless is an evolving series that reviews, discusses and/or comments on art works and exhibitions using images, screenshots, videos and other visuals.
Art
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Ackermann and Guston Go Toe-to-Toe, One Loses
Franklin Parrasch Gallery’s exhibition Rita Ackermann + Philip Guston is the third in a series of two-artist, cross-generational shows. Included in this show are two works on paper by Guston (dating from 1966 and 1971), and a new painting by Ackermann (2012).
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Kuwaiti Censors Shut Down Art Show Because of Complaints
KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — On the evening of March 5, contemporary Kuwaiti artist Shurooq Amin opened her anticipated solo exhibition in Kuwait’s Al M. Gallery. A large crowd of people was in attendance, and many pieces were sold immediately after the doors opened at 8 pm. But by 10 pm local police ordered the exhibition closed and started questioning the artist and gallery owner on-site.
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Fresh Work from a Member of the Old Avant-Garde
This week I had the opportunity to check out the newest exhibition at Brennan and Griffin Gallery, “Guy Goodwin: Recent Works.” It’s one of those exhibitions you feel good about from the moment you enter the room.
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Without Elaboration (Part 2)
In 1981, Bess was reintroduced (or, for many of us) introduced by way of a small one-person exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Barbara Haskell organized the show and there was a small pamphlet available for free. According to the pamphlet, the symbols in Bess’ work were based on “obscure sexual references” and there was something “lurid” about them.
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Second Sight: The Photographs of George Hendrik Breitner
It’s unlikely, half a century from now, that a shadow oeuvre will appear among the personal effects of many contemporary artists, a secret body of work that parallels or even exceeds their public output. This is what happened with the Dutch painter George Hendrik Breitner (1857–1923), whose several thousand photographs emerged from obscurity only in 1961 and might plausibly have been lost forever.
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The Uses of Dismemberment: MoMA’s Exquisite Corpses
Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, as discussed in last week’s post, was assembled out of discarded body parts — an exhumed limb here, a torso there — with everything “awkwardly sewn into a corporeal pastiche.”
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What to Do with Useless Objects or the Playful Political Art of Máximo González
LOS ANGELES — The Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) in Los Angeles is a gem of a museum. Small, but certainly limber, the museum is bringing the worlds of contemporary art and craft together with its ongoing shows. Taking up the largest third floor gallery — or the place of honor, as I’d like to think of it — is Maximo Gonzalez, a Mexico City-based Argentinian artist who makes delicate and fanciful art infused with a slightly subversive message from castaways.
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A Finnish “Yes” at a New Gallery in Jersey City
Studio 371 is a new gallery in downtown Jersey City. With more than 3,500 square feet, lots of natural light and raw aesthetics, the space is ideal for a range of work, including large installations and performances. The current show, Kyllä Kyllä, features the work of artists Trevor Amery and Kathryn Zazenski. It’s very un-Jersey City: no dollar-store aesthetic here.
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But, Is It Punk?
Any punk with their wits about them is bound to react rather viscerally to the words “punk rock,” “rainbow” and “sparkle” being tossed together in the same salad of a sentence. So, naturally, when I walked into Jonathan LeVine gallery last month to catch the tail-end of Natalia Fabia’s East Coast debut, I shivered at the sight of its title. Punk Rock Rainbow Sparkle? I shook my head, wondering what I had walked into. Whatever it was, I stood convinced that at best it would be an uncomfortable experience I’d hopefully forget. However, I soon got a schooling in the life lesson, “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” or rather, you can’t judge a show by its title.
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A Young Artist’s Voice from Occupy Chicago
CHICAGO — Wyl Villacres is a writer and book artist who, in 2011, took a class that I taught at Columbia College Chicago. At the end of last year, Wyl became involved with Occupy Chicago, an off-shoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City in the fall of last year.
