July & August Picks – Christopher Chambers

Fiona Banner, Parade, 2006. Plastic Airfix models, nylon thread; dimensions variable. Photo: Bill Orcutt Courtesy of Tracy Williams, Ltd.

Come summertime, New York art world pundits, aficionados and scribes turn to the surrounding provinces for action. The occasional solo exhibition or outstanding thematic group show within the boundaries of Gotham may yet surface, but, on the whole, the pen points out of bounds, as it were. We investigate the smallish museums in Westchester and Connecticut, perhaps even get altitudinous via the Berkshires (BIG museum) or Poconos (not much), and, of course, peek in at the seasonal, shore galleries of Cape Cod and the Hamptons. The Cape has earned its own derisive nomenclature, "Cape Cod art," for the ‘seagulls on the dunes’ type of corny stuff–that is actually, once in a blue lagoon, interspersed with the true quality goods. I suspect there may still be a worthwhile gallery or two in the gay area of Fire Island, but ever since J.P. cracked up his car 50 years ago, the hype says that the Hamptons are the artiest in the North East. Well, I have looked around the Hamptons too. The area boasts two exceptional small museums, a couple of interesting non-profits, and commercially, a few "minor works by Twentieth Century Masters" kind of joints in East Hampton; plus this and that not worth mentioning in a few of the other hamlets which are generally not as good as the same sort of thing in Lambertsville, NJ. The only commercial gallery that has really piqued my interest on Long Island this year is Sara Nightingale in Watermill. She is planning projects with a two-woman team who call themselves, "Feral Child;" and a three-person team called, "Goldmine Shithouse." That said, the real action near NYC is in the Beacon/Newburgh area of the Hudson Valley, where we find artist Carl Van Brundt’s gallery in Beacon along with Max Protetch’s sculpture grounds and across the river Tallix Foundry’s founder, Dick Polich’s huge and impressive Yellowbird gallery in Newburgh.

In review, this year’s art season had its ups and downs. Early March has become Art Fair season in NYC, and they have reached new highs and lows. What started as a networking opportunity has become mandatory for enterprising galleries to participate in, most of whom won’t earn back their spendings (some do). Okay, enough of these fairs. The international art fair circuit has become overrun with brand name operators much akin to real estate promoters, which, in fact, is what they are. Have you been to one of these shark pits during the daytime and seen the gambler’s nervous mannerisms set fast upon a slurry of besotted art dealers countenances? Or their interns sitting instead wondering? The opening night parties are full of hopeful wide-eyed kids, desperate dealers and envisaged squares with their life earnings tight in fist. It’s ugly. Like Las Vegas. This is not about art any more than the Academy Awards are about acting or directing. It has become an ugly circus that is not why anyone started with this. Fine art was supposed to be something else, a cut above, or beyond, anyway; even something almost holy; a thing for reverence and philosophical discussion. Not this symbiotic feeding frenzy. I’d say end them. No more fairs. Of course only time will, but I put my say in print now. I doubt there can ever be an egalitarian art world, just as the best boxer will probably never get a chance to fight the champ, and the superior thespian shan’t emancipate the silver screen; but only as a fluke, it does happen sometimes. I far prefer ol’ fashioned exhibitions, and here follows your trusty’s picks from the season:

Brooke Larsen, "T H R E A D  D R A W I N G S" @ Jonathan Shorr Gallery — Drawings of Americana freely sewn in thread. Theme was reminiscent of Neo Rauch: trendy nostalgia. March 3-31.

Dana Melamed, "When Dawn Breaks," Priska Juschka Fine Art — First New York show by Israeli artist, mixed media works on paper – tangled, dense, somewhat frenzied drawings of urban development and decay — destruction and reconstruction. February 16 – March 18.

Jake Berthot @ Betty Cunningham — Moody, atmospheric land- and seascape based abstractions by veteran oil painter. Lovely stuff.

Roxanne Wolanczyk, "The Princess Series" @ The Phatory — Pseudo modern fairytale: animations and prints at East Village gallery. February 16 – March 26

Hope Atherton @ Bortolami Dayan — Nightmare visionary paintings by American farmgirl. First NYC solo but, "Her work has been exhibited in the Greater New York 2005 exhibition at PS1. She has also had solo exhibitions with Galleria Gian Enzo Sperone in Rome, and Patrick Painter Gallery in Los Angeles." (NYC) 3/2 — 4/1. I was really disappointed with this show. What I had hoped would be the authentic personal daydreams and nightmares of a backwoods personality turned out to be fuzzy photorealism by a cute teenybopper who dabbles with a style that was done better by Luis Renzoni and Peter Drake 25 years ago, not to mention Ross Bleckner, so I won’t.

Rosalind Nashashibi, "CHARMER" @ Harris Lieberman – "… first solo exhibition in the United States. A graduate of Glasgow School of Art, Nashahibi has exhibited extensively in Europe, including recent solo exhibitions at the Kunsthalle Basel, CCA, Glasgow and Lightbox Tate Britain. In 2003 she was the first woman to win the Beck’s Futures Prize.

Nashashibi’s work investigates micro-societies and contemporary myth-making, blurring the line between the invented and the real. Her deliberate and nuanced films are visually compelling with an emphasis on framing, pattern and rhythm. Charmer included three charming* film-based works and a series of new photographs." March 8 through April 8,

Karen Finley @ Gray Kapernekas Gallery — Over 200 drawings for forthcoming book: George & Martha, a facetious love affair between George Bush and Martha Stewart by inveterate performance artist. Feb 10 — March 18

Fiona Banner, "Nude and Parade" @ Tracy Williams, Ltd. — An installation of model warplanes in a warehouse space, and paintings with words and images in the West Village gallery. Concurrent with release of book about same subject at Printed Matter, the art book shop. March 8 — April 22 & March 10 — 31.