JOHN BERGGRUEN - WARNOCK FINE ARTS - SCULPTURESITE
JOHN PENCE - HYDE STREET GALLERY - NEW LANGTON ARTS
GOOD VIBRATIONS - CELLSPACE - ADOBE BOOKS - LOWER HATER
(with assistance from Libby Nicholaou)
04.09-10.08
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John Berggruen Gallery: Albert Oehlen - Paintings 1988-2008.
Review and photos by Libby Nicholaou: Albert Oehlen's large abstract paintings contain traces of known objects and figures as a way to entice the viewer's desire for more complete images. His work deals with the concepts of modernism and limitations of painting, while demonstrating more freedom and chaos. The colors in the work represented in this show were more subtle and lead your eye more to the shapes created, and to the use of the canvas' space. I would like to have heard about his work from him, but he had not made it to the gallery yet, when I was there around 7 p.m.
Comment by AB: Erk. Artist no-show 3/4 of the way into his own opening with paintings priced, I hear, in the $200K range. Dude... you better have a good excuse from your parents or else you're gonna get a demerit.
Paintings by Albert Oehlen... wherever he is. Art. Art. Art. Art. Floor plan.
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Warnock Fine Arts: Masters of the Mezzotint.
Artists: William Pether, Valantine Green, James Tissot and Frank Short will be shown, along with modern masters such as Reynold Weidenaar, Mikio Watanabe, Guntars Sietins, James Groleau, Konstantine Chmutin, Holly Downing, Sharon Augusta Mitchell and Katsunori Hamanishi, more.
Comment by AB: Sumptuous survey of 300 years of mezzotints by over 50 artists. Plenty to choose from. Do you like fine prints and printmaking? Then check out Warnock Fine Arts. No shortage of the good stuff here.
What it is. Mezzotints. Art. Art. Panorama.
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Sculpturesite Gallery: Reclaiming Materials.
Artists: Joan Robey, Ann Weber, Adele Seltzer, Jane Woolverton
Comment by AB: Sculpture from recycled materials ranging in flavor from "I'm gonna find some old junk and hammer it together" to outstanding oversized stapled shellacked cardboard sculptures by Ann Weber, and innovative woven six-pack holder wall hangings by Jane Woolverton.
Stapled shellacked cardboard sculptures by Ann Weber. Cardboard art closer (Ann Weber). Cardboard art even closer (Ann Weber - like it). Cardboard art (Ann Weber). Cardboard art (Ann Weber). Sculpture (Adele Seltzer). Sculpture (Joan Robey). Six-pack holder wall hanging by Jane Woolverton. Six-pack holder wall hangings, front & side (Jane Woolverton).
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John Pence Gallery: Five Women.
Artists: Juliette Aristides, Sarah Lamb, Kate Lehman, Dorothy Morgan, Patricia Watwood.
Comment by AB: Highly accomplished representational works by five women artists, mainly classical in style, but not without a dash of modern. If you like art that looks like what it actually is, John Pence is where to find it.
Art. Art. Art. Art. Art. Art.
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Hyde Street Gallery: Robert Adler - Burlesque.
Comment by AB: Robert Adler tells me that in the mid-seventies, he lived across the steet from a burlesque theater in Philadelphia for four months. He asked the owner if he could photograph in and around the establishment, including the employees, and the rest, as they say, is history. You can either buy individual prints or you can buy the book "Burlesque," by Robert Adler. Adler's a pleasure to speak with, by the way.
Photography by Robert Adler. Photos. Robert Adler. Burlesque - book by Robert Adler. Photos. Photographs. Inside. Out front.
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New Langton Arts: Alejandro Cesarco - Once Within a Room.
Comment by AB: I always expect to be challenged by the offerings at New Langton Arts, and this show is no exception. In fact, I'm in big trouble the instant I enter the gallery. Alejandro Cesarco's installation is so arcane, I don't even know where to begin. Er... wait. I know-- it's crisp, clean, professional, well-executed, and eminently aesthetically laid out. How about that? Didn't think I could do it, did you? Anyway, I pocket a copy the fact sheet and promise to do a double dutch delve on it when I get home. The upshot of that endeavor? A sound trouncing by syntax. Here... you figure it out...
Installation art by Alejandro Cesarco. Art. Art. Art. Art. Art. Art.
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Adobe Books Backroom Gallery: Matt Furie- Heads.
Comment by AB: Need a little head? Get it here. Itsy bitsy ink drawings of creature heads by Matt Furie, some barely larger than a thumbnail, plus a curious installation of stuffed animals crammed into a basket-like semi-sphere, heads facing outward, the whole shootin' match mounted on a wall. Always entertaining.
Head art by Matt Furie. Little head art. Little head art. Big head art. Art. Art.
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CELLspace Gallery: Welcome to CardBurg.
Comment by AB: An entity denoting itself as the Cardboard Institute of Technology or CIT conceives and constructs a cardboard metropolis (and performance space - performance in progress while I'm there) named CardBurg and proceeds to astound, amuse, and amaze all comers with a cascade of theatrical chroniclings on the rise, corruption, fall, and rebirth of this corrugated civilization. Don't miss the final performance, "End of the Ages," Friday April 18, 8pm 'til late. Recommended viewing for all audiences.
CardBurg looking toward the performance area. Cardboard art. Central CardBurg. Central CardBurg. CardBurg performance in progress. CardBurg performance in progress. CardBurg performance in progress. Comely CardBurghians.
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Lower Haters Gallery: American Gladiators.
Artists: Ashley Harris & Dan Herrera, Hannah Stouffer, John Stuart Berger, Miguel Rodriguez, Robert Bowen, Skinner.
Comment by AB: Urban extravaganza proffers all kinds of options with my vote going to Hannah Stouffer's exactingly intricate and demanding serpent compositions. Good selection under $300, average around $500, top price $1600.
Art by Hannah Stouffer. Art (Hannah Stouffer - like it). Art (Hannah Stouffer). Art. Art. Art. Art. Art. Statistical sampling.
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Addendum:
Erotic photography by Michael Rosen at Good Vibrations, Polk St. Michael Rosen (black suit) explains work at Good Vibrations, Polk St.
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