SAGAN PIECHOTA - DON SOKER - MODERNISM

ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE - A.MUSE

06.24.10

(with assistance from RWM and DeWitt Cheng)

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Sagan Piechota Architecture: Antonio Cortez - Mathematical Formulations in the Service of Art. Curated by Hanna Regev.

Comment by AB: High geometry here materialized as complicated cosmic prints on aluminum panels by Antonio Cortez.

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Don Soker Gallery: Sublimating - Shoichi Seino; Topher Delaney.

Review by RWM: Ceramics that look remarkably like sponges (for those of you who wish to soak it all in) by Japanese artist Shoichi Seino-- minimalist forms that do more than just filter and purify the environment. Interesting statement here about the intense effects that art can have on us, in this case as a toxin-cleansing entity. Considering the current state of environmental affairs, these pieces may need to be repeatedly washed and reused.

Comment by AB: Also on display are mollifying meditative sculptural works by Topher Delaney.

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Modernism Gallery: James Hayward - Asymmetrical Chromachords; Michael Dweck - Paradise Lost, Montauk, NY.

Review by RWM: James Hawyard adds oodles extra weight to his sweeping textural abstractions by lobbing incredibly thick rich paint onto canvas. One cannot help but take the art that much more seriously because of it. Looking carefully one will notice that the colors have been subtly mixed. Odd colors can be seen within and beneath the surface strokes on close inspection. There it is. Paint. Color. Motion. Art.

Comment by AB: In the side gallery, Michael Dweck offers up an erotic nostalgia-tinged photographic perspective on the state of affairs in and around Montauk, Long Island.

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Italian Cultural Institute: Enzo Cucchi - Interior Costume. Curated by Achille Bonito Oliva.

Review by RWM: Hanging from the ceiling rather than the walls, the ink paintings on amorphous plaster forn by Italian Transavanguardia artist Enzo Cucchi engage viewers in unusual and unexpected ways. This unusual approach results in a memorable viewing experience.

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a.Muse Gallery: At the Water's Edge - Photos by Jamie McHugh.

Comment by AB: In an exquisitely presumptuous pique of unbridled pomposity, photographer Jamie McHugh requires his captive audience to sit still, maintain silence, close their eyes, do New Age breathing exercises, and submit to a guided meditation as a means of priming their psyches to comprehend the momentousness of his art.

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